Osaka Japan

We just finished two nights at the Blue note in Osaka. What an amazing place! We played two shows a night to a packed house of fans, standing room only! Today was very special, I got to hang out with Mr. Toshio Setozaki, my bass builder. He picked me up at 9.15 in the morning and drove me to his office/factory in the outskikrts of Osaka. We drove for about 45 minutes and arrived at his factory around 10.00am. The sun was out and the view from his office was spectacular. The Bossa factory is on the 10th floor of an office building overlooking the water. His space is very serene and ideal for designing basses! We talked shop for a while, ate Italian food and he showed me some of the new basses that he is building, Spalted maple, Brazilian Rosewood, buckeyed burl. The finishes are amazing. Please check the Bossa site in a few weeks for new picts.

He also gave me a beautiful spalted maple guitar which I plan on using on my upcoming CD. The sound is round, punchy and cuts through any mix. Al McKay is using a similar instrument on the tour. I am very excited about the new Bossa basses and guitars that Toshio is building. His instruments stand up to any high end guitar or bass out in the market.

I wish that I was staying in Osaka for a few more days, I really like it here. The staff at the Blue note is incredible and I love hanging with Toshio, not only is he a great luthier, but also an amazing human being. I look forward to coming here soon.

Back in Japan!

It's great to be back in Japan! I love it here! The people are very friendly, respectful and very efficient. The food is amazing here. You can find amazing Italian food, yummy french pastries, Indian food, Sri lankan food pretty much anything your pallette desires. We will be playing at the Blue note Nagoya tonight.

Looking forward to meeting my good friend Toshio in a couple of days. He lives in Osaka and I plan on spending a couple of days with him. I miss Marita on this trip. She comes with me to Japan almost on every tour, she loves it here. Looking forward to playing with the guys again, we go on to Europe after this leg.