Finally the day had come and we were off to Japan. Something I had wanted
to do my entire musical career, and let me tell you this was better than I
could have ever imagined.
Our label in Japan, Dingwall, did an exceptional job of taking care of us
and really giving us the opportunity to be presented to both the Japanese
press and fans. We did a bunch of press, a couple TV shows, an acoustic
instore (all caught on tape) and two live shows. Along with plenty of good
food, drink and great company, we laughed the entire time. All of the
people associated with the trip were great. A bit of a side note: With the
live shows, I had a Japanese drum tech that did not speak much English.
Hands down the best tech I have ever had. Professional is the only word I
can think of.
The two shows were the first shows with our new member Philip Bynoe. We had
actually only rehearsed as a complete band for the first time, an hour the
Sunday before we left. It is always nice to work with pros. What a
perfect fit for Slavior. Great player, dominant stage presence and one hell
of a funny, nice guy. Just as important Slavior left Japan with a very
tight and unified band feel. Something I had been missing for years, and
promised myself when I started the band, that we would have. I guess youth
is wasted on the young, as being a bit older all of the members see the big
picture and are extremely excited about the future. Slavior has an
extremely talented lineup as well as a clear understanding of what the
future holds.
It was a great feeling to be treated by the label with such respect and
dignity. We look forward to a very successful business and personal
relationship with Dingwall for many years to come. Thanks to Hiromasa Ikeda
and Geoff Gillespie (please explain that soccer thing again.........)for a
great wonderful trip.
We have the shows on tape and will be getting the videos ready to be posted.
I am sure they will be on you tube as well as the Slavior site:
www.myspace.com/slaviorband. Also the label has posted a diary of our trip
that you can check out at http://dingwall.blog.shinobi.jp/Page/1/
This was the perfect trip to mark the beginning of SLAVIOR's assault on the
world.
Here are some photos from the tour:
