On Becoming a Promoter Part 4: The INSIDER

I was aware that the gentleman sitting next to me was an important person the moment he walked in and was greeted with "Shacho" (President) while people scrambled to get him a drink and raise a toast with him. But it was nearly an hour later that we were introduced. He was the owner of E.L.L., one of the oldest and most respected rock venues in Nagoya, if not Japan, and he wanted to practice English. He offered me a deal: I speak English with him for an hour, he gets me into any show at his venue for free. I couldn't accept fast enough!


The very next day I had tickets for a Guy's Family, Sadie (and others) event at ell fits all. So after the show, on my best behavior I headed into the office and teaching English conversation. Luckily the owner and his wife were wonderful people and after a couple months of going every week, I knew I would always get a welcome at E.L.L, that same venue where a year earlier I had been so completely shut out. As the president, Mohey, and I got to know each other better, he started introducing me to the various managers, bands, promoters and journalists that floated through his office. Meanwhile I gained a better understanding of business in Japan and soon found my emails to bands meeting with much greater success. By August, my cell phone had contacts for Kiyoharu's manager, Dir's promoters, Balzac's members and a whole slew of others.

But in talking to all the bands, I noticed one thing. They were happy to do an interview but what they really wanted was to know about touring and releasing records in America.

While that thought percolated and my life as a writer got better and better, I still was working full time as an English teacher, living alone in a foreign country and trying to see a bunch of non-work related shows. It was too much. My apartment was always a mess, I was constantly short of sleep and, with little time to exercise, I was gaining weight. I knew I couldn't keep it up much longer.