THE NOVEMBER SUN A novel about music, love, and social media

(Unedited)

Written by Sebastiano Mereu

Copyright © Sebastiano Mereu, 2011

All rights reserved.

No part of this novel might be used or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the

author.

Google the author for contact information.

This is a fiction novel. The main characters and their names were created for The November Sun. Other

mentioned characters are public figures. The schools and some businesses mentioned in the novel do exist,

but their actions and attitudes, as described in the novel, are purely fictional.

This edition of the novel is unedited.

The story behind this novel

It was August 2005 when I went to Japan for the first time in my life. I didnʼt know what to expect. I had never been further east than Eastern Europe up until that point. My travels and studies had primarily taken me to Western Europe and to the USA. But somehow, it just felt right to spend some time in Japan.

My International Management studies at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), required me to study abroad, so I thought, if I have to go abroad, I want to study in a country I donʼt know much about. East Asia was my first, and honestly, only choice. I knew Japan would be the country I want to go to, but since our school would only send two students to Japan, I had to consider other countries as well. The next choices were South Korea and China.

After a couple of weeks, FHNW sent me a notification saying that they would send me to Kansai Gaidai University. I was ecstatic. I had googled the university before and felt it was the most appropriate fit for me. I took Japanese language classes to prepare myself for my year in Japan, even before I knew that I could go.

After eight months of preparing myself for two semesters at Kansai Gaidai University, I was finally able to leave for the land of the rising sun. I have to admit that the first couple weeks were hard. I even thought about quitting and spending my semester abroad in a country where I would already speak the

language. France and Italy were my first choices all of a sudden. Why is that? Well, I had a culture shock. My Japanese was way worse than I thought it was, I couldn't understand why Japanese are the way they are, and the teaching style was very different from what I was used to.

Fortunately, I met wonderful people, who helped me understand the Japanese culture, and eventually, I overcame my culture shock. It also helped that I fell in love with a Japanese girl. That girl became my wife a few years later.

Another couple of people, who made me feel at home in Japan, were my friends from the GMS Blues Band, Jiri and Garr. Both had been living in Japan for many years and knew very well what Japan had to offer. Both were very successful at what they did, and they still are.

Besides playing with Garr and Jiri, I also played with a Japanese rock band, where I was the only foreigner. Since my bandmates didnʼt speak very well English and my Japanese wasnʼt very good either, communication was rather difficult. However, it was lots of fun and I learned a great deal just by hanging out with them.

This novel is based on true stories from bands I played in before, during, and after my year in Japan. I tried to show how young bands can work on a possible career today using technology that is right at their fingertips. A computer can be found in basically every household.

Itʼs an essential tool, especially for students. Also, everyone has the possibility to use social media to connect with friends or people who share the same passion, such as music, in the case of Yuki and her friends.

When I decided to write a book on social media, I told myself, ʻSebi, there are many great books and blogs on social media already. No one needs another book on social media.ʼ Luckily, I had just read The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten, a fantastic bassist and author, who basically explained music theory in a fiction book. I embraced his approach with social media and music, and added some drama to it.

At this point Iʼd like to express my gratitude to everyone who has ever inspired me in one way or another and to everyone who found the time to pick up this novel. Thank you.

Sebi

March 2011

Dedicated to Aya, Lina & Vittorio Mereu-La Rosa,

and Harumi & Kunihiro Noguchi.

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Episode 1

A beautiful Monday morning in Hirakata

It’s a beautiful Monday morning in Hirakata, a city with a population of about 400,000, located halfway between Osaka and Kyoto, in the heart of the Kansai region. The August sun looks like a delicious orange floating in the Japanese sky, and many claim she is responsible for a high percentage of humidity in the Land of the Rising Sun, at least in the summer. Salarymen wipe off sweat from their faces after every move they make, but do not consider taking off their jackets. They are very committed to their dress code and don’t show any sign of overheating in their suits, except the accumulated sweat on their noses. Well-dressed Japanese ladies, biking down to the city center, wear gloves that cover their entire arms. For them it’s a necessary precaution to avoid sunburn or simply getting taint. And, of course, wearing a boushi (translation: hat) is a must for all ladies.

“Attsuuuu! I don’t like this heat. Summertime in Japan is terrible,” Yuki tells her friend and classmate Maki. “You’re never happy. Wintertime is too cold and summertime is too hot for you. At least now you can wear that cute summer dress you found at Shimamura.” Maki looks at Yuki and smiles with her eyes shut. Yuki stops at a vending machine and gets herself a bottle of Pocari Sweat. “A revitalizing drink is the right choice for this kind of weather,” she thinks.

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“This heat makes me want to drink a lot. But then I have to pee. I don’t like that.” Yuki is standing next to her bike and takes one little sip at a time.

Maki’s phone rings. She doesn’t pick it up right away. For whatever reason, incomprehensible to Yuki, Maki always needs to sing along with her ringtone. It’s Ken Hirai’s 2006 hit-song, POP STAR. Maki sings ♫ I wanna be a pop star, kimi wo motto ♫ when Yuki grabs her phone and picks up with an annoyed voice, “Moshi moshi.”

It’s Yutaro, Maki’s bandmate from their university music club. “Where are you guys? Everybody is at the studio in Korien getting ready for rehearsal.” Yutaro doesn’t sound annoyed at all, but most probably he is. Like most Japanese guys, Yutaro is always in control and tries not to show any kind of emotions. “We’ll be there soon.” Yuki hangs up and puts the phone back into Maki’s pocket. “Maki, let’s hurry. They’re already in the studio.”

In Korien—Yuki and Maki finally arrive in Korien, a little town three stops from Hirakata station, thirty minutes late, but that’s okay. All members from a different band were hanging out at the studio before their actual rehearsal slot and didn’t mind to fill the slot Maki’s band was supposed to take. In order for Maki’s band not to waste money on the studio rent for thirty minutes not used, Yutaro decided to give the slot to the other band. He is allowed to do that, because he is the president of the university music

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club and has the authority to make almost any kind of decision.

Music studios in Japan are places where musicians can rent a room on an hourly basis. These music spaces are fully equipped with everything a band needs for a rehearsal. The music studio in Korien has a handful of rooms with drums, bass and guitar amplifiers, microphones and a PA. Musicians only need to bring their individual instruments, such as guitars, basses, or keyboards, and of course cables.

Maki and Yuki enter the premises and greet their peers, “Ohayo!” A choral Ohayo! echoes back. Yutaro approaches the girls and tells them that another band took Maki’s band slot. “Thank you very much for organizing that.” Maki bows. “No problem. But please make sure this doesn’t happen again. We are all university students and don’t have money to waste.” Yutaro stops and looks at Yuki.

“Did you decide what instrument you will play and in which band?” Yuki nods. “I’ll play bass and will sing lead in Hiko’s band.” Yutaro smiles and replies, “So you want to be Nana and Billy Sheehan in one person?” Yuki tries to suppress a laugh, but then admits smiling, “That’s my aim.” “Then prove it. But… did you talk to Hiko about this?” Yutaro points outside the studio where Hiko is shredding on his guitar to warm up for rehearsal. “No, but he will want me. They have no bass player and no singer. What can they do with only guitar and drums?”

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While all rooms are occupied by bands from the music club, a dozen of other students are hanging out in front of the studio entrance gossiping and warming up on their guitars and basses or drumming with a couple of sticks on anything that makes noise when hit. Yuki approaches Hiko holding her second-hand Music-Man bass on its neck.

“Hiko, can I join your band?” Hiko looks at her and keeps playing warm-up lines up and down the neck of his guitar without saying a word. Even though his beautiful polished Yamaha guitar is not plugged in, Yuki can hear the perfection of Hiko’s technique. Every note sings and his timing is impressive.

Yuki has wanted to play with Hiko ever since she heard him playing with a few friends in downtown Osaka. They had organized a showcase on Osaka’s largest walkway, where many bands try to get discovered or sell their self-produced CDs. That day, Maki had dragged Yuki along and Yuki understood that she had to put in some extra effort to improve her skills, if she wanted to play with prodigies such as Hiko. When Yuki heard that Hiko’s bass player left their university music club band, she was too shy to ask if she could fill in. At the time, she felt she wasn’t good enough to play with Hiko.

Hiko stops his warm-up exercise. “Hm. Why do you want to join our band?” he asks.

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Episode 2

The first rehearsal

“Obviously, you need a bass player for your upcoming live gigs and I’m looking for a band I can go on stage with,” Yuki tells Hiko. “Have you ever played any lives? We are planning to play live a lot.” Hiko’s words don’t impress Yuki. She stays cool. “Huh. But how are you going to play live without a bass player? You are a virtuoso guitar player, and when you shred on your guitar, your drummer seems quite lost without a bassline. And if I recall right, you have no singer either. Or are you going to be playing guitar, bass, and sing all at the same time?”

Yuki gives Hiko time to respond, but he doesn’t. She continues, “Well, that’d be a truly remarkable thing to do. Nonetheless, a great guitar player like you should focus on playing guitar on stage. I think that’s what your fans want to see. So, why don’t you do that and let me play bass and sing?” Yuki’s words put a smile on Hiko’s face. She goes on, “And, I think that a girl like me in your band is good for the band’s marketing.” Hiko can’t stop laughing.

“Okay, I will send you MP3s and lyrics of all the songs we’re planning to play live. You will have to learn them until next week and you will audition for us. After that, we’ll decide if you’re as good as you believe you are.” Yuki puts on a serious face. “Why don’t you just tell me now which songs you were going to

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rehearse today and I’ll join you in the studio already? That will surely save us time.” Hiko looks surprised. He agrees. “What’s your email address? I’ll send you our set list and some chord changes for our originals, and we’ll see you in studio 3 in about fifty minutes. Okay?” Yuki nods.

Fifty minutes later, it’s time for Yuki to join Hiko and his drummer in studio 3 for their first rehearsal together that will determine if Yuki will become a member of the band or if she has to look for a different group. She spent the last 50 minutes listening to songs from their set list on her cell phone.

Nowadays, basically all cell phones have Internet connection and it’s easy to find any song on Youtube or on another video and music platform online. Fortunately, Yuki already knew all the songs on the band’s set list, even their original songs. Hiko uploads all his demos onto Youtube and adds links to free downloads of MP3s and iPod videos in the info box. That way, people download his productions and spread them through Mixi, Facebook, Twitter and other blogs. That’s how Yuki got a hold of them. And since Hiko added chords to the videos, she could play along and learn the songs in no time.

“Yuki, meet Junji, our drummer.” Yuki bows and introduces herself, “Hajimemashite. Yuki desu. Douzo yoroshiku.” Junji nods while juggling with his drumsticks behind the drums. “We can talk later. Let’s use our time wisely and start playing right away,” Hiko suggests. Yuki plugs her bass into an Ampeg amp with

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an 8x10 inch cabinet and slaps a funky line on her bass. She gets the attention of Junji and Hiko right away. Hiko shouts, “Okay! Let’s play ‘Fallinʼ in love on Facebook’. Junji, count it in!” “Ichi, ni, san, shi!” And the trio rocks hard and loud in studio 3.

Yuki has never played with such a dynamic and professional band before. Her eyes light up with the first note they hit together. She can’t believe how great it feels to lay down the bass line for such a gifted guitar player as Hiko. And locking-in with a drummer as tight as Junji makes her sound even more confident. Even though they only play in a trio setting, it sounds as if more musicians are rockin’ along. The energy is immense, and when they get to the chorus, Hiko and Junji add harmonies to Yuki’s lead and the magic is perfect. The song has never sounded better in Yuki’s ears.

She knows the song from Hiko’s Youtube channel, but she doesn’t remember it being so much fun to play. Outside studio 3, other music club members start gathering to get a glimpse inside the room and watch the three of them rockin’ out.

“Wow, who would have thought that Yuki could rock like that?” Maki asks Yutaro. “Hm. As she said herself, her aim is to be Nana and Billy Sheehan in one person, and to me it seems as if she’s on the right track.” Yutaro can’t stop watching Yuki running her airy fingers across the fingerboard.

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The song seems to never end. The trio goes off on sharing solos and jammin’ to leads. It seems as if they have been playing together for a long time. The chemistry among Yuki, Hiko and Junji is incredible. They are listening to each other and engaging in a musical dialogue.

“Why didn’t I push her to play bass in my band?” Yutaro keeps asking himself, when Maki interrupts his thoughts, “Oh man, I should have told her to join our band as a bass player. That Swiss exchange student, who is playing with us, is so unreliable.” Yutaro tells Maki, “I agree. Have you checked his Twitter channel?” “No, why?” “He told us that he had to go down to the city hall for his alien registration, but he is tweeting pictures from an amusement park.” Maki can’t believe it. “What’s his Twitter name?” Yutaro replies, “@samsteiner” and Maki shouts, “Ussoooo!!” Yutaro calms her down, “But he is a very nice guy and a tremendous bass player nonetheless.”

After the one-hour session, Yuki asks Hiko, “Are you happy with how we sounded?” Hiko looks over to Junji, who is wiping off sweat from his face, and asks him, “What do you think? Shall we give her a chance?” “If she can handle hard practice, frequent rehearsal sessions, and making weekly videos for Youtube, I’d be willing to let her join us,” Junji replies with a big smile on his face. Yuki smiles back.

“Yuki, let’s see where this trio can go. We have a clear vision of our future and music plays the main role in it. If you can commit to what Junji just said and if

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you’re willing to work as a team to make this band your top priority—after your university studies, of course—then you can be one of us.” Yuki’s eyes are shining like a supernova. “After all, as you mentioned before the rehearsal, having a girl like you in our band is good marketing.” Hiko winks at Yuki and the three of them laugh.

The door opens and a girl that could have jumped out of a Japanese fashion magazine enters studio 3. “Hiko, you sounded amazing even from outside this room. My dad is a lucky man to have you as his guitarist. But why do you waste your time playing with these amateurs when you can practice with real professionals?” She puts her arms around Hiko’s neck and ignores Junji and Yuki. He introduces the girl, “Yuki, Junji, this is my girlfriend Rena.”

All of a sudden Yuki’s great mood is gone. She feels jealous of Rena.

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Episode 3

To commit or not ‘not-to’ commit

♪♫ Words in my mouth, someone told me to say. They go unspoken ♪♫ Mr. Big’s 1996 hit-song Take Cover is blasting through Yuki’s stereo in her 1-bedroom apartment in Hirakata. She grabs her bass and plays along. After the song is over, the next one starts with a lonely distorted guitar playing eight straight down-strokes on one chord, and a female voice enters with the words ♫♪ akehanashita mado ni mawaru ranbu no DEEP SKY, ah aoide (translation: I throw open the window and turn to the stormy deep sky, ah and I look up) ♫ It’s the song GLAMOROUS SKY by NANA starring Mika Nakashima, the soundtrack from a Japanese shojo manga series, which was later made into a live-action movie.

Yuki sings along and smiles. “Yutaro is right. I really want to be Nana and Billy Sheehan in one person.” She puts down her bass. “Yuki, Yuki!” Maki is knocking on Yuki’s door. “Come in.” Maki takes off her shoes and enters with her guitar bag in her hand and kneels down next to Yuki. “Hey, you guys really rocked that studio yesterday! Everyone was really impressed with what you got out of your instruments as a trio.” Maki keeps talking and manifesting her excitement.

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“We were all in a very good mood yesterday and found the right song to start with. Still, we have a lot of work in front of us, if we really want to make this band work. I’m not sure this is really going to work, though.” Yuki bites into her breakfast onigiri, a white rice ball formed into a triangle and wrapped with nori. Maki looks at her with a questioning gaze.

“What are you saying? You guys rocked that studio like no one else did yesterday. I mean, you could just take Hiko’s songs, rent a recording studio for a few days, record those songs, and self-publish them onto iTunes, Napster, Amazon or any other digital music store for the world to enjoy them. I don’t understand why you’re so negative.” Yuki puts down her onigiri. “I have a feeling that Hiko’s girlfriend won’t be happy with him playing in a band other than her dad’s popular band, and sooner or later he will be confronted with that.”

♫ Kowareru hodo aishitemo, sanbun no ichi mo tsutawaranai (translation: Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won’t reach) ♪♪ The song 1/3 Pure Emotions by SIAM SHADE is playing on Yuki’s stereo and both girls sing along. They look at each other, calm down and laugh. “Yuki, don’t worry. I’ve met Hiko’s girlfriend and I know she can be a bitch,” Maki tells Yuki with a mellow voice. Then she goes on, “Sure, her dad is a pop star and they have money, and she gets to travel a lot. But what does she have on you? Nothing. You are a great and creative musician, a great friend, and a plain hot girl! If I wouldn’t be

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allover Yutaro, I would definitely try my moves on you.” Yuki’s eyes jump wide-open. “Ah, shut up you crazy closet otaku!” The girls hustle a bit and enjoy the heartily laughs before getting ready to leave for karaoke in Osaka.

At Hirakata station—Yutaro is waiting for his Keihan train connection to Osaka. He is on his way to a live-music bar to discuss a possible gig for his band. Then, Hiko runs into him in front of the lift that goes to the train tracks.

“Hey, Yutaro. Where are you heading to?” “Osaka. You?” Yutaro shows no enthusiasm. “I’m heading to a rehearsal with Rena’s dad’s band in Kyoto. We have to meet in Kyoto, because Rena’s dad just got in by Shinkansen from Tokyo and will have to leave tonight again for an acoustic outdoor gig in Hiroshima with our other guitar player,” Hiko explains.

“By the way, what do you think of our new trio with Junji on drums and Yuki playing bass and singing?” Yutaro pauses the music on his cell phone and puts his earplugs in his pocket. “I think your trio sounded good. Junji is a terrific drummer and Yuki is a fantastic bass player and a very charismatic singer. You are a very lucky guy. You finally found the missing part to your music puzzle. I hope you will cherish what you have now. Just don’t drop it like a hot potato when you find something you think is better.”

Hiko’s smile vanishes. He understands the point Yutaro is trying to make. Rena’s dad signed Hiko as a

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guitar player for his band, the Genji Hatoyama Band, and that means Hiko has to fulfill the agreement that if the Genji Hatoyama Band gets booked for a concert, Hiko has to call off other obligations, even if it means paying a penalty. Because of that, all Genji Hatoyama Band members refrain from playing with other bands. They just teach on the side when they are not touring. But Hiko wants to try and have his own band on the side.

Hiko knows it is going to be hard to study for university, tour with Rena’s dad this coming autumn, and work on a set with Yuki and Junji. “Listen, Yutaro. I know what you mean, and I appreciate your concern for my band. But we will be able to manage this. I have finally found two great musicians that can help me develop my music and bring it onto a stage, and I won’t jeopardize that.”

The Keihan Sub-Express train bound for Yodoyabashi just got in. Yutaro checks the time on his cell phone. “Then, don’t jeopardize it. Gotta go. See ya.” Yutaro runs upstairs to catch the train to Osaka and leaves Hiko behind. Now Hiko is caught up in thoughts about the conversation they just had and how to handle the situation.

Obviously, playing for Genji Hatoyama is his ticket for becoming a professional musician. But will Hiko be able to focus on his own music and work on it with Yuki and Junji? And what if the trio has a gig on the same day as the Genji Hatoyama Band? How will he bring such news to Yuki and Junji when he asks them

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for a commitment, which he himself can’t bring to the band?

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Episode 4

Hiko’s song

Besides having a Youtube channel, a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, a Mixi account, and a bunch of other social media tools, Hiko likes writing blog posts on his cell phone when he’s riding the train and publishing them right away. Sharing his thoughts with the world makes him feel good. He likes to quote Charles Leadbeater, the author of We-Think, especially the very first sentence in the book: You are what you share. That might be the reason why Hiko is so keen on sharing all his music online. That is who he is and the only thing he wants to be.

While on the Keihan train from Hirakata to Kyoto, Hiko types a new post for his Japanese blog on his cell phone. He usually writes on the train or in the subway. For him it’s great how advanced technology is nowadays. He doesn’t need to wait until he’s at home, sitting in front of his computer. When he’s got something to say to the world, no matter where he is, he simply grabs his cell phone and shouts it out in bits and bytes.

Hiko spends hardly any time in his small 1-bedroom apartment. If he’s not rehearsing in a practice studio, he’s usually studying at the library or out with friends at a live gig. His small apartment is solely used for sleeping. He doesn’t even like having his girlfriend Rena over. The two of them frequently take a room at

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a love hotel in Osaka for a couple of hours when they want to be intimate with each other.

In Kyoto—The train stops at Sanjo, a district of Kyoto. Hiko gets off the train and his cell phone rings. “Moshi moshi.” “Hiko, it’s Genji. I’m sorry but we have to reschedule today’s rehearsal.” Hiko stops at a traffic light. “Hatoyama-san, sure no problem.” “I will have my assistant contact you as soon as possible to schedule a new date. I have to go now. Bye.” Mr. Hatoyama hangs up.

Hiko thinks, “At least now I have time to work on my own music. I had the whole day reserved for rehearsing with them. Good thing Hatoyama-san called it off.” He smiles. “Since they called off the session, the studio space will be available.” Hiko decides to go to the music studio, where he was supposed to meet with the Genji Hatoyama Band, and rent the room for a couple of hours and work on his latest song.

At the studio, Hiko asks for the room that was supposed to be taken by the Genji Hatoyama Band. The clerk at the front desk points him to the studio all to the back. It’s the largest and best-equipped room. “Wow! I don’t think I can afford that room all by myself. Do you happen to have a smaller room available?” The clerk checks the list. “Yes, we have a practice room for guitarists for 800 yen per hour available for the next three hours.” “Great. I’ll take it for 3 hours.” Hiko enters the room and gets everything ready for recording.

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He usually brings all his recording equipment along to rehearsals. It’s not that heavy, and he is often most creative after practice sessions. Hiko’s portable recording studio consists of a MacBook Pro, an external USB audio interface, an EV Cardinal condenser microphone and a portable preamp. The combination of his EV Cardinal mic and a portable tube preamp makes the sound of his guitar and his vocals wider and fuller for his recordings, even without using high-end recording software.

Ever since he bought his first Mac, he’s been using Garageband, a free music recording software that enables Hiko to record and edit multiple tracks. And with iMovie and Final Cut Express, he creates videos for Youtube, where hundreds of thousands of people have been enjoying his music all over the world for the past two years.

Hiko believes in a new economic order, as discussed by Chris Anderson in the 2005 book The Long Tail. The Long Tail gives people the possibility to find niches they are interested in and allows them to be found by others, who share the same interests. For those like Hiko, who want to be found, Seth Godin explains in his 2010 release Linchpin that artists can now own the means of production for their work with only a couple of thousand dollars and produce and publish content for anyone across the globe to find, enjoy, share, and buy.

The Internet has practically no restrictions, and with the rise of social media, people are talking about

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anything 24/7 anywhere in the world. Hiko understands that, and despite the fact that he enjoys engaging in conversations with other musicians and other people who enjoy his music online, he sees great potential to have his work spread through the Internet.

“All set. Okay. I still like the drum programming I did last week and the bass line I came up with. All I need to do is to record the vocals and a couple of guitar lines.” He tells himself, “Let’s rock this song—now!” Hiko pushes record … ♪♫ Totemo sabishii, anata ni aitai … ♪♫ Two hours later Hiko’s song is ready for mixing and three hours later he’s already sent his song to an online mastering studio that will have Inakute Sabishii ready for upload to iTunes and other online digital music stores within 24 hours.

“I can’t wait to play it with Junji and Yuki.” Hiko writes a short blog post from his cell phone and embeds the new song.

Ping—Yuki gets a push notification on her iPhone. “A new blog post from Hiko.” She starts Hiko’s application, puts on her earplugs and listens to his new song. Yuki has been a fan of Hiko’s music since she first saw him playing live, and after subscribing to his Youtube, she just fell in love with his music.

“Are these drums programmed or did he play them himself? Can’t really figure it out. And what a great bass sound. That low C note has so much low-end! Oh, Hiko, how much would I love to play this song with you and Junji. I hope we can play it next time we

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meet for practice.” Yuki is lost in her thoughts, when a text message interrupts her dreaming. It’s Hiko. He sent the message to both Yuki and Junji.

Hiko’s text says, “Hey guys, I just posted a new song on my Youtube channel. If you like it we could play it next time we get together for rehearsing.” The text message application closes and Yuki falls back into dreaming with Hiko’s soundtrack.

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Episode 5

Hirakata at 4 AM

Peepeepeepeepeep—It’s 4 AM. Yuki’s Hello Kitty alarm clock goes off. Like almost everyone in Japan, Yuki sleeps on a futon on a tatami floor. In order for her not to be late for work or for classes, she always puts her alarm clock up high on a shelf, so that she actually has to stand up and reach for the alarm clock on the shelf. Especially, now that she’s got a part-time job where she has to start working at 5 AM, being late or oversleeping is absolutely no option.

Classes started last week and it has already been hard for her to work almost every morning from 5 AM to 9 AM and then bike to the university to attend classes. But that’s how she chose it to be. At the end of her last year of high school, Yuki thought that just letting her family finance her university studies or living off student loans wasn’t the right thing to do.

Shortly before moving to Hirakata, she figured that keeping herself busy and committed to a part-time job would be like working out. She got that idea from a young businessman, who spoke at her high school graduation ceremony.

He said, “Sooner or later, all of you will have to work hard on something that does not seem easy and that does not reward you as much as you think it should reward you, but if you stick to it you will recognize

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that it was worth going all the way without giving up. Once you commit to something or someone, believe in it and learn your lessons while you go along. You will grow with your commitment. And, the harder you stick to your commitment, the stronger you will grow.”

That’s why Yuki sticks to a job that makes her get up at 4 AM and pays her much less than what she could earn while working evenings in a fancy cloths store. She knows it’s not a permanent situation, but she has to pay her dues and learn what it means to start from scratch. Nevertheless, working early in the morning will give her more time to practice by herself or with bands in the afternoon and evening.

Yuki manages to finally get up and to turn off the alarm clock. Her first thoughts today are, “Why the hell do I have to get up this early? I’m a musician and they don’t get up before noon. This part-time job at Gusto is just terrible. I should write a song about my life right now. I’m sure many people could relate to this situation. Good thing I don’t have any interesting classes today. I guess it’s gonna be okay to take a nap after work in class.”

Yuki sees the Seth Godin book Linchpin next to her futon and thinks, “Hm. I know I can choose to be the person ‘writing the manual’, Seth, but until I get some more sleep, I choose to be the person that ‘follows the manual’. Only until I get some sleep.”

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Yuki checks her cell phone for messages: 3 missed calls from Maki. “Why did she try to call me in the middle of the night? I wonder what’s the news.” Yuki smiles and writes her back: I’ll be at work before class. Tell me everything afterwards. See you at 9:10 in class.

Yuki picks up her bass, plays Hiko’s new song on her cell phone, and plays along. Another smile appears on her face. “I hope he didn’t write these lyrics while thinking of Rena. She definitely doesn’t deserve it.” After a couple of runs Yuki gets ready and leaves for work on her bicycle, while listening to Inakute Sabishii on her iPhone.

Peepeepeepeepeep—It’s 4:30 AM at Yutaro’s place in Makino, a small suburb of Hirakata. “Turn it off. It’s still dark outside,” says a female voice coming from the same futon. Yutaro answers, “I always go jogging very early in the morning. That puts me in the right mood for practice before classes.” “What? You’re crazy. Please let me sleep. Yuki always says that real musicians do not get up before noon, and I would like to achieve that.”

“For that you have to work a bit harder on your guitar skills,” Yutaro jokes and covers her with a light blanket. “I’ll try not to wake you up when I come back from jogging. Sleep now.” She breathes deep and falls back asleep. Yutaro gets ready for jogging, but one thought bugs him, “I hope Yuki doesn’t mind me sleeping with her best friend. But why should she?

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She’s all over Hiko anyway.” Yutaro leaves the house and Maki keeps sleeping his in futon.

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Episode 6

The Yutaro/Hiko-Collaboration Part 1

“Yuki, I’m here!” Maki shouts across the classroom. Yuki walks all the way to the back of the room and sits down next to Maki. “I’m glad you chose to sit in the very last row. That way, I don’t need to feel bad if I fall asleep. Kotaro-sensei won’t catch me sleeping back here.” Yuki gets a notebook and a Hello Kitty pencil from her bag.

“So, you had to work before class this morning?” Maki asks. “Yap. I work five mornings a week,” Yuki replies. “I figured that if I work early hours, I get paid a bit more and I’ll have time for practice after classes.” “But isn’t it hard to get up that early, work, and then come to class?” Maki’s look reveals that she wouldn’t like to do that. Yuki looks at Maki and puts on a joking diva-like attitude, “A real rock star has to pay her dues in order to prove her awesomeness to the world.” Maki shouts, “You’re such a bitch! I want to prove my awesomeness by rockin’ out on stage and sleeping until noon.”

Professor Kotaro enters the room and asks for silence. Yuki whispers, “By the way, did you listen to Hiko’s new song? He posted it on his Youtube yesterday.” Maki leans closer to Yuki and whispers back, “Sure I did. It really rocks. Inakute Sabishii, I wonder if he wrote the song for Rena?” Yuki feels jealous—again.

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In a different classroom—Yutaro is scribbling in a notebook, when someone pats him on the back. “Class didn’t start yet. Don’t pretend to be all into this international marketing stuff they teach us here.” Yutaro looks up to Hiko, who has a grin on his face. He takes a seat next to Yutaro. Yutaro replies, “I’m actually very interested in marketing, since any kind of industry is going through a fundamental change and creative people can and should market their craft through social media.” Yutaro doesn’t get why Hiko still has a grin on his face.

“What are you so happy about?” Yutaro asks. Hiko tells him, “Well, since you’re a social media change agent, you might want to use my Youtube channel for a case study. My new song on Youtube got more than 10,000 views overnight and was not even featured on the Youtube homepage. I guess some people really must have liked it and spread it around.” Yutaro does not seem impressed.

“Huh. This isn’t the first time you got this many views overnight, right? I remember, I checked out your channel a while ago and saw that you had reached half a million views on Youtube. I mean, you’ve been connecting with all your subscribers and fans on a regular basis for what now, a year?” Hiko rectifies, “Actually, with this new channel, only for about three months. But I was very lucky that about 30 percent of my old subbers joined my new channel after the Warner Music Group had my old Youtube channel suspended, because of a copyright infringement claim,

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which I still claim was unjust.” The WMG incident obviously still upsets Hiko a lot.

Yutaro turns his usually serious face into a more serene look. “Anyway. I listened to your new song and I have to admit that I really like it. You might be onto something here. I posted it on my Mixi and Facebook pages and my friends seem to like it as well. Are you going to sell it online?” Hiko nods. “I’ll have it mastered by tonight and will upload it right away. But it will still take three weeks until it’s approved by iTunes.” “Just keep your fans updated with news and maybe publish another song on Youtube, which will be on the single. Something like a B-side, as they used to call it when vinyl was still the standard,” Yutaro suggests.

“Thanks for the input, but unfortunately, I don’t have another song ready yet that could match with Inakute Sabishii.” Then Hiko has an idea. He asks Yutaro, “Why don’t I cover one of your songs?” But Yutaro has a better idea. “Or, why don’t we work on a new song together? I have a bunch of songs that are ready to be finalized.” Hiko seems sincerely excited about Yutaro’s idea. Yutaro continues with the description of this possible collaboration.

“We can make two different multi-window videos for the song. One video features my parts in a larger window, so that my subscribers can learn my parts on their instruments—we’ll upload that video onto my Youtube channel—and the other video features your guitar work in a larger window for your subscribers to

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enjoy and learn those lines from you. That way, you might get new fans from my channel and some of your subscribers might find their way onto my channel. It’s a win-win situation, if we do it right.” Yutaro and Hiko are both visibly excited about the idea.

Yutaro asks Hiko, “Do you have time to work on the song tonight? We can produce it as a remote collaboration.” Hiko asks, “Why don’t we just go to a studio together and record it there?” “Because I got other things to take care of tonight, and I trust your musicianship to make the song great even without me having to teach you the song or oversee your work.” Yutaro smiles. Hiko smiles back.

Yutaro goes on, “Great! I’m glad we’re doing this, Hiko. I will have time this afternoon, after classes, to finalize my parts and send you the link to the Garageband file. I will upload it onto Mediafire. I guess the size will be around 200 megabytes.” “And I will then record my parts onto the same file and do the mixing. It would be great if you could cut the videos, though. Your video editing skills are just so advanced and every video you make has that great artistic touch,” Hiko adds. “Absolutely. As I said, I won’t be around tonight, but I’ll get up very early tomorrow morning and will finish the videos before the 9 o’clock class. Okay?” Hiko replies, “No hurry with the videos. First we have to have our song approved by iTunes. After it’s in the iTunes store, we will publish our videos on our respective Youtube

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channels, linking the videos with our song on iTunes, so that people can find it there and hopefully buy it, as well as Inakute Sabishii, since they’ll be on the same single.” “I see. We’ll wait for the right moment to release the second song on Youtube. Sure. This is going to be good,” Yutaro concludes.

The professor greets the class with a loud, “Good morning class!” His thick American accent attracts everyone’s attention. “Welcome to International Marketing 201. Today, we will talk about ‘Social Media’. Who can tell us what that is?” The professor looks around. Hiko raises his hand. “Yes, please.” The professor points to him.

Hiko clears his throut. “Social media is a virtual meeting place, where everyone and everything can find and be found, teach and learn, see and show, buy and sell, speak and listen. Some claim it’s just a fad, many others know it’s a new way of dialoguing without boundaries—and it is here to stay.” Yutaro adds, “Wikipedia and Youtube are best examples for how the Wisdom of the Crowd works and for how important social media has become for public relations and marketing.”

The professor smiles and replies, “Glad to learn that there are some Net Geners that do not only use social media for entertainment, but also understand what it actually is for.”

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Episode 7

The Yutaro/Hiko-Collaboration Part 2

Yutaro just finished recording the last line for the collaboration song with Hiko. “This is going to be good,” he tells himself. “Let’s get this file uploaded.” Yutaro uploads the file to Mediafire and sends Hiko the link via email. Hiko can download the music project file by clicking on the link and keep working on the song at his place.

Toktoktok—“Heeeeey there!” The door to Yutaro’s 1-bedroom apartment opens. Maki slingshots her shoes in a corner of the genkan, a little entryway every Japanese house has. In Japan, it is custom to take off one’s shoes before entering a house or an apartment.

“What are you doing?” Maki asks and jump-hugs Yutaro from behind. “I just finished my parts for a collab with Hiko. It’s going to be something like the B-side of his new single.” Yutaro clicks play. A thunderous slap bass makes his speakers jump. Maki is impressed. “Araaa! Is that you playing the bass or is it a Garageband loop?” Yutaro reacts with a smile. “Seriously? When did you learn to play bass like that? Why don’t you play bass in a band? Your skills are crazy!”

Yutaro finally answers, “I have always played guitar in bands and people know me for being a guitar player,

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not a bass player. It would be too much of a hustle to start over again and try to position myself as a bassist. Still, I like playing bass, and on this recording no one will ask about the bass player, because it’s about Hiko’s guitar playing.”

Maki counters, “Please don’t get me wrong, but I think your bass playing—at least on this song—is way awesomer than your guitar work. You should definitely make a tutorial video for this bass line on your Youtube channel. I’m sure many viewers will want to learn this line.” Yutaro starts realizing his potential. “You think I’ll have a chance as a bass player? But there are so many incredible bass players out there, like Yuki.”

Yutaro shows his concerns about his bass playing, but Maki reassures him, “You’re right. There are many great bass players in the Kansai region, especially in Osaka. Nevertheless, after listening to this raw mix, I’d totally see you becoming one of the popular bassists around here. And I’m not saying that just because I sleep with you.” Maki shoots her typical closed-eyes smile to cheer up Yutaro, which affects his mood and makes him smile.

Yutaro takes her gently in his arms, while she sits on his lap. “You are great, Maki. Can I hire you as my motivational trainer and personal branding manager?” “I’m not sure you can afford me,” Maki teases Yutaro. “Why don’t I start by paying you like this…” Yutaro kisses Maki, lifts her from his lap and lays her on the tatami floor. “I like this kind of payment.” Maki turns

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off the light with a remote control and starts unbuttoning Yutaro’s shirt.

Hiko just downloaded the Garageband file that Yutaro sent him via Mediafire and is amazed by the quality of the production. “Wow, that bass line is crazy!” he tells himself. Bzzzzz. Hiko checks the door.

“Yuki? What a nice surprise.” Yuki is clearly nervous. “Sorry for stopping by unannounced. I just wanted to ask you a few things about the songs for our next rehearsal.” She’s just making it up. Hiko replies, “I’m actually starting a recording session right now, which I really have to complete today. Hm. Listen, I usually don’t like having people here, since my place is rather small, but if you’d like to help me out with the production…” “I’d love to!” Yuki interrupts Hiko’s sentence energetically.

She knows that Hiko doesn’t like having anyone over, and because of that, she wants to get in before he changes his mind. “Good. Come in.” Hiko is all set to start recording. His guitars are tuned, his effect pedals are plugged in, and the microphone is set to the right height.

Yuki observes, “So, this is where the magic happens.” Hiko smiles. “That’s what we want to find out, right? Just grab those headphones and make yourself comfortable.” Both have their headphones on. Hiko pushes play on Garageband. “What an amazing bass line,” Yuki shouts. Hiko nods. “It’s Yutaro’s bass line.” He explains their collaboration.

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“I had no idea that Yutaro could play bass like this. I thought he was just a guitar player.” Yuki is still amazed by Yutaro’s production. Hiko explains, “We used to play in a band together. That’s when he first picked up the bass. Our bass player left because he got signed by a touring band and we didn’t want to lose time looking for a bassist. Hence, Yutaro decided to play bass in our band. Unfortunately, we never had the chance to play live, since I left the band as well shortly after that. Then they blamed me for their split-up. I thought Yutaro was still mad at me for that, but apparently he’s over it, since he offered to collab with me.” Hiko is immersed in thoughts.

Yuki asks, “Do you want to play this song with our band, too?” “Sure! It has so much drive.” He continues, “Honestly, I feel it’s going to be even more popular than my last song.” A smile on Yuki’s face makes Hiko smile as well. “What?” he asks. “Inakute Sabishii is a truly beautiful song. It will be hard for you guys to top its popularity.” Yuki really means it.

“Well, I try to top every song I make. And with Yutaro contributing such great ideas, I’m very confident that this could become a new milestone for me. Also, tastes are different and what one person likes, another person might not like, and that’s okay. But it sure means a lot to me that you like my latest song.” Yuki and Hiko look at each other for a few moments.

“Okay, let’s do this!” Hiko interrupts the silence. They put their headphones back on. One last smile towards

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Yuki, and Hiko hits the recording button to record the first track for the Yutaro/Hiko-collab.

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Episode 8

Still rehearsing for the first gig

It’s a beautiful mid-October day in Hirakata. Leaves are slowly turning red and the temperature is getting milder day by day. Yuki, Hiko, and Junji have been playing for two months as a band now and they grew closer as a team. Their first official public performance is scheduled for the Kansai Gaidai International Festival, which will be held in the first week of November, around the Bunka no Hi holiday, which is known as Culture Day in English.

As the president of the music club, Yutaro organized three performances for Hiko’s trio during the 4-day festival. The band will be playing two 20-minute shows in a university lounge that can hold an audience of about 100 people. Every music club band is entitled to play there twice. Additionally, Hiko, Junji, and Yuki will have the opportunity to perform on an outdoor stage, where all festival visitors can see and hear them play. Not every band gets to do that.

Yuki is very excited about that. She hasn’t had the chance to gather much live experience, especially in front of large audiences. And playing on the outdoor stage will give the band great exposure.

Back in the studio in Korien the trio is practicing. ♫ Youtubers unite against unholy obedience, we ain’t just the crowd we are considerable deviance. With an iPod in our left

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and a computer in our right, we create art with every single byte. ♫ “Yes, that’s exactly what this song should sound like!” Junji dries the sweat from his face and adds from behind the drum set, “Hiko, are we going to play the Yutaro/Hiko-collab song at the festival?” Hiko replies, “Sure. The single should be approved by iTunes any day now. And besides playing for the love of music, I would also like to use these festival gigs as a marketing platform to promote the songs, if that’s okay with you guys.” Yuki and Junji smile and nod.

Hiko’s cell phone rings. “Oh, I have to take this. Moshi moshi?” “Hiko, it’s Genji Hatoyama. Am I interrupting anything?” Hiko replies in a very humble voice, “Hatoyama-san, no, no. I have time.” Mr. Hatoyama goes on, “As you know from our concert schedule, we will be playing a special performance at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo on Monday after the Bunka no Hi holiday, the second week of November. But because our performances in the Kansai area have been very successful in the past couple of months, a few other places want to book the Genji Hatoyama Band for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, before the Monday gig. Just make sure you’ll be ready to leave for Tokyo one day before the first performance. That means, Thursday. Yokoyama-san will call you later to discuss the details.”

Hiko realizes this means that he would miss the International Festival and therefore, would have to cancel the gigs with Yuki and Junji. “Sure. Thank you for the information. I’ll see you next week for

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rehearsal in Kyoto,” Hiko replies and suppresses his disappointment. Mr. Hatoyama hangs up.

“What’s wrong?” Yuki asks. Hiko explains the situation to his band and adds, “I don’t know if I ever told you about my adhesion contract with the Genji Hatoyama Band.” Junji nods, but Yuki looks puzzled. “Basically, if they get booked and I cannot make it, they look for another guitar player to replace me right away and kick me out of the band. And since Osaka is filled with great and available guitarists looking for a good gig, they always find someone in no time.”

“What?” Yuki shouts. “Can they do that? Well, obviously they can do whatever they want! Man, I’m so upset.” Yuki is obviously distressed and in rage about the situation. “Because of greedy businessmen like them, youngsters like us can’t get anywhere!”

Rena enters the practice space and asks, “Hey guys, how’s rehearsal going?” “YOU!!!” Yuki points to Rena with a very upset look and approaches her showing her clenched fist. Junji realizes that Yuki’s temper is boiling over and rushes from behind his drums to hold her back before she lays hands on Rena, who has no clue what just happened. “It’s all your fault!!! We won’t get to perform at the International Festival, because Hiko has to play in Tokyo with your dad’s band.” Yuki screams at Rena.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rena runs out of the studio crying. Hiko puts down his guitar and apologizes to his bandmates. “Guys, I’m

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sorry to cause you all this trouble, but please, if you want to blame this on anyone, blame it on me. I didn’t think about what it meant to sign a contract with the Genji Hatoyama Band. It’s solely my fault for not thinking further than my wallet. I know, sometimes Rena might seem arrogant, spoiled, self-centered, and very proud of being the daughter of a celebrity, but she is my girlfriend and we belong together.” Yuki is still furious and Junji is still holding her.

“If you excuse me, I have to go after her.” Hiko walks to the door and concludes, “By the way, I will leave the band…” Yuki and Junji are baffled. “I mean, the Genji Hatoyama Band.” Their gazes relax. “This means, you guys better keep working on that rhythm section, if we want to impress any potential bookers or label guys at the Kansai Gaidai International Festival.” Hiko winks and runs after Rena.

“Man, my heart almost stopped when he said that he would leave the band. For a second I thought he wanted to leave this band, his own band.” Junji shows his relief and sits down on the studio floor. Yuki is in a rollercoaster of emotions. She doesn’t know if she should be happy about the fact that Hiko is leaving the Genji Hatoyama Band or if she should be upset that he doesn’t see how bad Rena is for him.

“Okay. Junji, pick up your sticks and let’s try that collab song again—just drums and bass. Now that Hiko has only this band that can make him a star, we have to support him as much as we can.” Yuki’s

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dedication motivates Junji. “You said it best, sis’… Ichi, ni, san, shi!” And they rock the groove.

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Episode 9

You canʼt have both

“Rena, are you okay?” Hiko asks his girlfriend. Rena is standing outside the studio premises in Korien, crying. “Why don’t your friends like me? Am I such a bad person? I really tried to be nice to them, ever since you started playing with them.” Hiko looks surprised. “You haven’t really been nice to them. I remember, the first time Junji, Yuki, and I jammed in this very studio, you asked me why I would waste my time playing with such amateurs, when I could practice with real professionals such as your dad’s musicians. That wasn’t very nice, but still, they never said anything about you coming to all our rehearsals.”

Rena sighs. “Whatever. This band is over anyway. Please let’s get your stuff and let’s leave.” Rena grabs Hiko’s hand. He pulls her back and says in a harsh voice, “Are you completely insane? This is my chance to make it in this business. Junji and Yuki are such a fantastic and dedicated rhythm section, and they support me with all their passion. They believe that our trio has what it takes to make it in Japan. What will I have if I play with your dad? Some money from the gigs, where my name is nowhere to be seen. Plus, that music doesn’t push me to the limit. Strumming a few chords isn’t what I aim for these days.”

Rena counters aggressively, “You know, you’re only 19 years old and you have absolutely not enough

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experience to make it in the music business. Playing with an established act will teach you the mean side of the music biz, while being in a safe position. If anything goes wrong for whatever reason, it’s not your brand on stake, but the one from the guy that offers you the job. Too many times, I’ve seen my dad being depressed and taking hits from journalists and promoters, because the concert hall was half-empty, or because the event organizers simply thought the show wasn’t good enough for the amount of money they paid to the Genji Hatoyama Band. And my dad took all the blame—not his musicians.” Tears fall from Rena’s eyes.

“Rena, I’m sorry. I decided to do it my way and will therefore leave your dad’s band. I mean, the contract states that if I can’t make a concert, the management will search for a replacement and I’m out. And I’m fine with that. I want to make my own mistakes and built my own brand, like your father did.” Rena’s tears overflow her cute Japanese face.

“Congratulations!” Rena affirms, “You just made the first major mistake in your rather short career as a musician. You quit a great and secure job that could have led the way to your very own record deal.” Rena gets snappy. “Have a great life, Hiko. I’ll send you your stuff by mail.” Rena turns around and walks away. Hiko stands motionless in front of the studio until Rena is out of sight. Then, one tear runs from his right eye down his cheek all the way to his chin, where

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it gathers all the salty water to a single teardrop and slowly falls to the ground.

“Big fight?” Junji’s voice reverberates from the studio hallway. Junji and Yuki are walking towards Hiko. He nods his head. “It looks as if it’s over. Rena, the Ganji Hatoyama Band… everything’s over. But that’s good, right?” Hiko’s voice is initially trembling but gets very solid with the next sentence. Sigh. “I guess it’s as Rocky said, ‘It ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’” Hiko smiles while quoting that line from Sylvester Stallone in Rocky 6. Junji laughs very loud. He puts his arms around Hiko’s neck and drags him back to studio 3.

“Hahaha! Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor yet, even though I have no clue why you would quote Rocky. Anyway, let’s go back in and rock the hell out of our instruments. Now that we are your only band, we gotta work even harder, if we want to crack the jackpot.”

Hiko and Yuki pick up their instruments. Junji takes a seat behind the drum set and asks Yuki, “Miss Bass-star, would you like to give us the honor and slap the hell out of your bass for the intro of the collab song?” Yuki hits the strings as hard as she can and the energy swaps over to Junji and Hiko, who enter the song with great oomph.

During the song, Yuki’s thoughts are completely dedicated to the future of the band. She thinks, “Now

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that Rena and her dad are out of Hiko’s life, he can set the focus on this band and spend more time with us, as he asked me to do when I joined. Fortunately, everything turned out the way it was supposed to.”

After practice, Hiko congratulates his bandmates to a very lively, even though emotional, rehearsal. “See you tomorrow in class, Junji. I gotta go home and call Hatoyama-san to tell him about my decision to leave his band.” Junji replies, “You do that, and don’t forget your Rocky-quote.” The three of them express amusement. Hiko turns to Yuki, “Lunch at shokudou (translation: cafeteria) tomorrow?” Yuki’s eyes brighten up. She nods vividly. Hiko waves and leaves shouting, Jaa!

Junji approaches Yuki and tells her in a rather fatherly tone, “Listen, Yuki. I know you like Hiko. And if Hiko and Rena really split up, I’m sure he will want to be with you as well. Unfortunately, love relationships in bands always end badly for everyone involved, and that includes bandmates that are simply extras in the story, like I am. As much as I want you guys to be happy together as a couple, I see a huge potential for our band here and I don’t want anyone and anything to jeopardize that. Do you understand?”

Yuki gets nervous and wants to object, “But…” “No, But!” Junji interrupts her and persists, “I am asking you as a friend and for the sake of what we can achieve with this band. This can only work, if we stick to professionalism and don’t let intimate relationships screw up our plans.” He gently holds Yuki’s shoulders.

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“We are friends—the three of us—and we need that friendship to lead our way. I’m begging you. Don’t think only about yourself, but about all of us.” Yuki hugs Junji and whispers while her head is resting on his shoulder, “I promise, Junji. I won’t jeopardize what we have. But please, keep reminding me.”

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Episode 10

Friends with benefits

After the emotional rehearsal, when Rena broke up with Hiko, and Hiko decided to leave the Genji Hatoyama Band to focus on his own band with Yuki and Junji, the trio devoted many hours of practice in creating the best possible set for their performance at the Kansai Gaidai International Festival. Junji worked on more detailed arrangements, Yuki and Maki took care of word-of-mouth marketing, handing out flyers to students and to people at live music houses in Osaka, and Hiko published Youtube videos every other day with subliminal messages to promote their forthcoming gigs in Hirakata to his subscribers.

«Come and rock out with us at Kansai Gaidai International Festival in Hirakata», a video coming from Maki’s iPhone says. “My friend Yuki will be playing a featured gig on the outdoor stage on Saturday. You should definitely not miss this. And while you’re at it, go to this website and download their music. Believe me, they’re awesome! I got all their music on my iPod.” Maki hands a flyer to a bunch of students that are forming a circle around her. “See you there!” She smiles at them and leaves.

“How is my #1 promotion manager doing?” Yuki asks Maki approaching her from the side. Maki turns around with a grin, “If Yutaro and Hiko sell a thousand MP3s online, it’s all because of me, and I

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will want to see some royalties from that,” Maki says with an acted Diva-like attitude.

“I don’t want to sound too cocky, but I think I’ll apply for a promotion manager position at one of the major record companies in Tokyo after I graduate from here.” She sounds very confident and serious about that. “What happened to becoming a rockstar? Did you change your plans?” Yuki asks with a wink. “No, that is still on the list. I will just take care of both, music and promotion. I mean, isn’t that why we have social media now, to take care of marketing ourselves? Yutaro and Hiko are on track to prove that it can work for unsigned artists to make it without a major label.” Yuki asks Maki, “Why do you want to work for a major label then, if you’d be able to make it to the top without one?” Maki pauses for a few moments.

“Good question. I guess, because it will sound good in my biography one day.” She starts a narrative of her own biography:

«Before making it big, Makiko paid her dues in the hard reality of the music business, working as a promotion manager for a major record label. Her road was paved with many ups and downs, but after realizing that she could make better decisions than her boss, she left the company to take care of business herself. And that's when she brought her band to their first number one hit on the Oricon charts in Japan with no major label backing her.»

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“Bravo!” a male voice responds mockingly. Yuki and Maki turn around and see Yutaro approaching with a smile.

“Don’t make fun of me, mister!” Maki punches Yutaro in the stomach. “Ouch! That hurt.” Yutaro is still teasing her. Maki pretends to get mad. “Stop it, Yutaro, or no sex for you tonight!” Yutaro blushes. The ambience changes instantly. “What?” Yuki asks, not believing what she just heard. “You’re joking, right?” “I’m obviously joking.” Maki’s voice is trembling. She is extremely nervous.

“You’re lying, Maki. I know you are.” Yuki gazes at them and they both blush even more. It is now obvious to Yuki that Maki and Yutaro have an intimate relationship with each other. “So. Are you guys a couple or are you just sleeping together?” Yutaro turns to Maki and whispers, “Glad we discussed this scenario.” Yutaro’s statement is evidently ironic. Maki apologizes to Yutaro also whispering, “I’m sorry! It just slipped out.” Yuki puts on a smile.

“So, which one is it? A couple or just friends with benefits?” Yuki can’t hold back her grin. Maki and Yutaro decide to enter mute-mode and leave fast in different directions. “Gotta go! See ya later, Yuki.” Maki waves and walks away, fast.

Five minutes later, Yutaro enters the classroom and takes a seat next to Hiko. “Hey Yutaro, ready for the upcoming gigs at the festival?” Hiko asks. “I hope so.”

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Yutaro is still upset over his bloopers with Maki. “Something bugging you?” Hiko asks his friend. “Maki told Yuki that we sleep together,” Yutaro replies. “You guys are a couple?” Hiko shouts. “Shhhhh! Yes. No! Maybe. Ah. I don’t know. When we decided to play in the same band, everything became a bit more complicated. We agreed that as long as we’re bandmates, it would be better not to appear as a couple. Our bandmates and other music club members might get the wrong idea.”

“Hold on a sec. Does that mean you guys have been a couple for a while already?” Hiko still looks very surprised. “It doesn’t matter. Fact is that I like Maki, but I’m not sure if engaging in an exclusive romantic relationship with her would be good the future of our band. First of all, our band is really picking up and chances are that we can perform at some cool festivals next spring. But if we fight, our band will suffer from it. That’s why I’d rather be friends with benefits with her and not a couple.” Yutaro leans back in his chair and sighs.

“Do you really think that being friends with benefits will keep your emotions checkmate? If else, it will make you go even crazier. What if Maki goes out with someone else, because you don’t want to be exclusively hers?” Hiko shows concern for his friends. Yutaro checks his phone to see if Maki sent him a message.

“I envy you and Yuki. So much attraction from one to the other and you keep being only friends and keep

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your relationship safe from any emotional hazard.” Hiko leans back in his chair. “Believe me when I tell you that it is incredibly hard. Every time we get together for rehearsal, to go to a gig, have lunch, dinner, whatsoever, I always fight with myself. I’m in a constant dilemma. I want to take her in my arms and give her all the love she deserves. But then something inside of me tells me that it would be wrong now. Our band is on the way to create something great and emotional distress would tear it apart. I’m not sure how Yuki feels about me, but I hope she doesn’t want to be with me, because if I knew that she likes me as much as I like her, I wouldn’t be able to resist.”

Yutaro pulls himself together and pats Hiko on the back. “Listen my friend. If we ever fall into absolute despair, we will just leave our respective bands and create a band with you on guitar, me on bass, and Junji on drums, and the girls can do the same with a female drummer of their choice. That way, we can all be together with whom we please and we won’t have to care about emotional distress. What do you think?” Yutaro’s face finally lightens up, but Hiko isn’t sure if Yutaro really means what he just said or if he is merely joking.

“I think time will tell how we’ll have to handle these things.” Hiko’s phone lights up. It’s Yuki texting him, Hey rockstar, don’t forget that we moved our rehearsal from tomorrow to tonight. Can’t wait to rock the studio with you tonight! Hiko smiles from ear to ear.

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Episode 11

The Kansai Gaidai International Festival Part 1

Today is the first day of the Kansai Gaidai International Festival, which will be held for the next four days on the campus of the Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata. People from close and far attend the festival. The festival aims to bring foreign cultures, as well as Japanese culture, closer to its visitors with dishes and cultural performances from different countries by Japanese and International students. The festival aims to bring Japanese and foreign cultures closer to their visitors. Outdoor stands sell anything from onigiri to tempura, from tacos to Spaghetti Bolognese, or from American hotdogs to Cevapcici. Indoors, classrooms got remodeled to stages, where students can either perform a dance or a play from a specific country, or simply present their countries and languages to interested visitors. The festival takes place every year and is always a big success.

“Guys, I think there are about 100 people crammed into that small lounge, and they are waiting for us to get on stage and rock!” Junji is jumping up and down. He is visibly excited. Hiko and Yuki are tuning their instruments in a classroom on the other side of the hallway from the lounge, where they will be performing in less than ten minutes.

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“Are you ready, Yuki?” Hiko asks her with a smile. “I’m very nervous. What was that change we made in the third verse of Inakute Sabishii?” Yuki looks stressed out. Hiko puts his hand on her shoulder. “Just forget about that. Let’s go out there and just have fun. Our audience came to have fun with us, not to judge if we play well or if we suck. This is our very first gig in front of a paying crowd. I consider this a warm-up gig, which it is, considering the circumstances and the preparation for the open-air gig on Saturday.”

Junji adds, “Forget about perfection and it will happen. Simply be aware of our music as a team, and feel the energy we transmit to each other. If you happen to lose the groove, just listen to what I play and you will find it in no time. And if you get lost in all those notes you play, listen to Hiko and you’ll be back on the right track.”

Then he gets philosophical, “As legendary bassist Victor Wooten always says, music is a language, and if you want to join a conversation, the first thing you have to do is to listen and then you contribute your message.” Junji stops for a few moments. “Well, he puts it more eloquently, but you get my point.” Yuki smiles and feels more comfortable now thanks to the words of her bandmates.

Yutaro enters the backstage room. “Are you guys ready to prove to your fans that you’re worth the 300 yen they paid to see you rock?” Yutaro can’t hide the fact that he’s proud of having Yuki, Junji, and Hiko opening the concert series of the university music club

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he presides. Junji shouts, “Hell yeah! Let’s rock this crowd.” He storms out of the room and jumps on stage. Yutaro, Yuki, and Hiko can hear the crowd screaming and clapping their hands.

“What a crazy guy,” Yutaro says with a smile. He turns to the rest of the band. “Are you going to be playing the collab-song as well?” Yutaro asks Hiko. “No, not today. We’ll play it on the open-air stage on Saturday.” Yutaro is disappointed, but doesn’t show it. “No problem. I’m looking forward to hearing your version in a couple of days then. You guys better go on stage now, before Junji gets all the audience on his side and leaves no fans for you.”

Hiko and Yuki nod and leave the backstage room. Hiko makes his first step on stage and all hell breaks loose. It sounds as if thousands of people would cheer for a rockstar. Like when Ozzy enters the Budokan stage on his Live at Budokan album. Shortly before making her appearance on stage, Yuki takes one deep breath and tells herself, “This is it. Nana, Billy Sheehan, you know how Goku and Vegeta became unbeatable in Dragonball. Let’s try that as well. Fuuuuuusion!” And she enters the stage.

Hiko and Junji are ready and set to play the very first note. The crowd has calmed down a bit by now, but suspense is still building up. No one says a word. Every one in the room is looking at Yuki setting up her effect pedals and tuning her bass one last time. The stage lights shine very bright and Yuki can’t really see the audience. Junji told his bandmates before the

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gig that there were about 100 people in the room, but the audience is larger than that and it sure feels like thousands came.

The energy is pumping up Yuki to an extent she has never felt before. Finally. She is ready. Trivial thoughts cross Yuki’s mind, “What do I have to do now? Do I have to say anything, or, shall I count in? Man, these stupid lights are way to bright.” Then, she remembers the music video for Pearl Jam’s Even Flow song, where Eddie Vedder yells at the light guy, because the lights are too bright. She smiles and shouts to the light guys in the back of the room with her loudest and rockiest voice through her microphone, “Akira, Ken, turn down these lights. This is not a TV studio, this is a rock concert!” The lights dim right away. Yuki adds, “Junji, count it in.” And Junji picks it up. 1, 2, 3, 4!

A bombastic and loud sound shoots from the PA. The trio plays the intro to their first song and the crowd is cheering and dancing. Yuki is doing exactly what Hiko and Junji told her to do before the gig. Everything happens naturally. Yuki is not thinking, she is just enjoying and going with the flow. It has never felt better and more natural. The audience is jumping up and down with the beat of the song. Some even know the lyrics and sing along with the band. These must be Hiko’s Youtube fans. The trio gets more and more confident with every note they play, and the crowd gets more and more into it with every beat the band plays.

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Backstage, Yutaro is watching his friends planting the first seed for their career as an active live band. “Are you the manager of this band?” A man in an expensive suit approaches Yutaro from the backstage room. Yutaro replies, “No. Well, kind of. I’m the president of the music club they belong to.” He is rather confused and changes the subject quickly. “I’m sorry. This room is reserved for the bands that perform here today. I have to kindly ask you to leave.”

The man looks like a businessman and his attitude is very professional. “I apologize for the intrusion. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Genji Hatoyama and I am interested in singing the band that is playing on your stage. Can I please have a word with you?” Yutaro is completely confused and can’t believe what just happened. “This is weird,” he thinks for himself.

Yutaro knows who Genji Hatoyama is and knows all the details about Hiko’s fight with Rena and the contract he had signed with the Genji Hatoyama Band, but obviously Mr. Hatoyama doesn’t know who Yutaro is. Many questions are spinning inside Yutaro’s head. Why did Genji Hatoyama come to see Hiko’s band perform. Why is he offering a deal to the band? And more important, what kind of deal? And, wasn’t the Genji Hatoyama Band supposed to play in Tokyo this weekend?

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Episode 12

The Kansai Gaidai International Festival Part 2

A visibly nervous Yutaro asks Mr. Hatoyama, “Why do you want to sign Hiko and his band, when you just fired him from your band?” Loud music is blasting from the lounge, where Junji is just about to give a drum solo accompanied with bass and guitar harmonies. “I couldn’t bear to see Hiko leaving the band…” Yutaro interjects, “With all due respect, Hatoyama-san, Hiko left because of your unfair contract.” Mr. Hatoyama picks up where he got interrupted. “As I was saying, I couldn’t bear to see Hiko leaving the band. He is a great musician with lots of potential to make it in this hard industry, and even though he is not playing for me anymore, I’d like to support him and his band financially, and by pulling some strings.”

Yutaro realizes that he is talking to a music business veteran that has been through highs and lows in his music career and the trio could definitely benefit from Mr. Hatoyama’s experience—and of course from his business contacts. They both hear Hiko shouting through the PA, “Hirakata, see you Saturday on the open-air stage. Jaaa!” And the trio closes with a huge thunder.

Junji, Yuki, and Hiko rush offstage, while the audience is still applauding and screaming. According to the

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code of conduct made by the music club, encores are not permitted, since every band only plays 20 minutes and has to give 10 minutes set-up time to the next band. Junji and Yuki pass by Yutaro and Mr. Hatoyama and go to the backstage room with a very genuine smile on their faces. Hiko is the last one to come offstage and remains petrified by the look of the last person he expects to meet there, his ex-boss and ex-future-father-in-law.

“Hiko, that was a great show. I’m very proud of you.” Mr. Hatoyama compliments Hiko and his band with a strong voice for anyone lurking around the backstage room to hear. “Hatoyama-san, thank you very much. I appreciate your kind words. May I ask what you are doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be performing in Tokyo this weekend?” Hiko is not pleased. Yutaro points to a little garden outside the premise. He leads the way and opens the door for Mr. Hatoyama and Hiko. The two of them continue their conversation in the garden, where no one can hear what they are talking about.

“Hiko, when you left our band…” Hiko corrects, “I didn’t leave. You and your management fired me, because of that infamous clause in your musician’s contract.” Hiko’s temper starts boiling. Mr. Hatoyama tries to calm him down with a heartily smile. “Hiko, I always saw you as the next big guitarist in Japan. And I even considered sending you to a music college abroad for a couple of years, before producing a record under your brand followed by a tour with your own band.

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But when we parted, all of that was gone. It was already hard not having you with us anymore, as a member of the family, since you and Rena also split up. I lost you completely. For that reason, I cancelled the Tokyo gigs. I even had to pay a penalty fee to one of the organizers, because I wanted to come and see how you are doing and how far your band is. And I’m really impressed by what I saw today.”

Hiko adds, “Just wait until Saturday. We’ll blow you away.” Mr. Hatoyama laughs and claps his hands once. “I am sure you will. Hahaha! Listen, I was talking to your manager, or, president of this music club,” “Yutaro? He is actually more something like my music production partner. We’ve been producing songs for Youtube together.” Hiko turns in a good mood when thinking about his collaborations with Yutaro.

“Yes, that guy.” Mr. Hatoyama takes back the conversation. “So, I was talking to Yutaro about offering you and your band a management deal with my agency. My people and I will take care of promotion, booking, touring, and financing studio time. All we want from you guys is commitment and royalties.” Hiko laughs in disbelieve. “Why does it always sound like you want to screw me over when we talk about business?” Hiko gets offensive.

Mr. Hatoyama tries to stay calm and continues, “Well, you know, in business communication classes they teach that communication happens on the receiver’s side. That means you might have perceived my message in a way that I didn’t mean. I only mean

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good, and I don’t want to have you out of my life. Hiko, you are like the son I never had. Rena is a good girl, but she is spoiled and will never be a musician. And who knows what kind of guy she will end up with one day. With you, I know what I got. Please, sign with my agency and let me be your manager.”

Hiko is touched by the fact that Mr. Hatoyama is literally begging him to sign a deal, but Hiko doesn’t show it. Au contraire, Hiko says in a cold Wall Street-like attitude, “Hatoyama-san, I have to decline your offer.” Mr. Hatoyama’s eyes jump wide-open. “If you really consider me as a part of your family and don’t want to be cut out of my life, I am willing to be your friend and meet up with you, jam, talk about the music business, politics, or other things, but we don’t need to be connected through business. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll collaborate on a song? Honestly, I want to make it with my band without having to involve a label, outside financing, or whatsoever. We got the Internet and things look very promising right now. Yutaro is a great marketer and producer and we got all the equipment we need to produce songs for online music stores. We are quite confident that we can make it our way. Actually, if you want, I can teach you how to use social media to connect with your fans and publish your music without having to give royalties to a record company.” Mr. Hatoyama smiles, then the door opens.

“Dad, I was looking for you everywhere,” a young female voice says with an attitude. “Rena!” Hiko

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shouts. His heart stops. “Hello Hiko.” Rena’s reply is rather snippy. She commends, “Let’s go, daddy. I want to go home.” “We’ll stay in touch, Hiko.” Mr. Hatoyama puts his hand onto Hiko’s shoulder. “See you this Saturday at the outdoor concert?” Hiko asks. “Only if I can buy you a drink after your gig and you tell me more about this online marketing stuff.” Mr. Hatoyama walks after Rena.

“You did the right thing.” Yutaro’s voice sounds from the other side of the garden. “How the hell did you get up there?” Hiko asks. Yutaro jumps from a rock that is almost two meters high. “I was waiting for you to come back inside when I saw an open window that brought me on top of this huge rock. And since in some ways your future concerns me as well, I thought it would be good to listen to your conversation.” “You sneaky son of a gun,” Hiko jokes.

“As I said, you did the right thing,” Yutaro affirms, again. “If Hatoyama-san wants to be your friend and help you succeed in the music biz, he can. You left him that door open.” Hiko picks up, “And we don’t need no manager. We got you. A great producer, event organizer, and friend.” “But don’t get too used to that. Sooner or later I won’t have time to do this for both your band and my band.” Yutaro smiles. Hiko smiles back. “Then we’ll leave our respective bands and start our own band, where it’s only about us boys.” They both laugh out loud. “I see, you really listen to me.” Yutaro is surprised that Hiko still remembers his statement from last week in class.

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“What are you guys doing out here, where no one can find you? Are you hiding from anyone?” Maki puts a rock in front of the door to keep it open. “Kick-ass performance, Hiko. You can really shred, but you know that. Are you coming to watch us rock the stage tomorrow?” Hiko nods. “You guys take care. I gotta look after my band. Want to congratulate them.” Hiko waves and leaves.

“What was that about?” Maki asks Yutaro. “Nothing. We were just talking, and Rena’s dad offered them a management deal or something like that, but Hiko declined.” Maki shouts, “What? Why does that never happen to me?” Yutaro comforts her, “You don’t need that. Wait for your brand to grow and then you’ll be able to have the contract on your terms. But until then, you gotta work with social media and the power of the Internet. Just trust me on this one.” Maki smiles and hugs Yutaro saying, “You really make it hard for me not to like you as much as I would like to.” And they kiss.

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Episode 13

A new band is born

The Kansai Gaidai International Festival is over and it was a great success for Yutaro’s music club, especially because of Hiko, Yuki, and Junji’s performances in the lounge and on the open-air stage. Sales for the Hiko/Yutaro-collab on iTunes have surged since the trio’s performance at the festival. Hundreds of people downloaded the song onto their cell phones right away during the concert and tweeted pictures and videos for thousands of interneters, who could not attend, to enjoy. Hiko’s and Yutaro’s Youtube channels registered hundreds of new subscribers in the week after the festival, and many asked for more Hiko/Yutaro-collabs.

At the Miki Gakki music store in Shinsaibashi, one of the shopping districts of Osaka, Yuki and Maki are trying out some new guitars and basses. “You know, I’m really happy for Hiko and Yutaro that their music is generating all this buzz, but sometimes I wish they would include us more into their songwriting. I feel as if the two of them are a band and we are just supplements.” Yuki is walking her way through a 5-string bass neck. “I know what you mean,” Maki acknowledges. “But they are a great team, and even if both our bands end up playing pretty much the same songs, those songs are great and people like them a lot.”

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Yuki confesses, “I know, I know. I guess, sometimes I’m just jealous of Yutaro.” Yuki plucks the strings harder now. Maki frowns, “Why are you jealous of Yutaro? If, then you should be jealous of Hiko, or am I missing something here?” Yuki explains, “I’m jealous of Yutaro because he gets to spend so much time with Hiko and they share ideas, credits, and fans. I am just Hiko’s bass player and singer. Something like a sidekick.” That obviously bothers Yuki.

“Why don’t they just start their own band and let us be. At least if it was like that, I could tell him how much I long for him, and this whole band thing would not stand in our way.” Maki puts down the guitar she’s been holding in her hands for 20 minutes and sits down next to Yuki. “Yuki-chan, I know exactly how you feel. Do you think it’s easy for me to play in a band with Yutaro and not being able to show him my love when others are around? I hate that, but that’s how it has to be for now. The day will come when Yutaro will leave our band and Hiko will leave your band to team up and start ‘their’ band. And then we will be able to be with them, for good. Unfortunately, we will then not be part of a great band and we will have to start over.” Maki’s eyes start getting glassy.

Yuki engages in a hard one-bar T.M. Stevens-like slap-attack and tells Maki, “I’m sick and tired of this! Maki, let’s leave our bands and start our own band.” Maki can’t believe Yuki’s words. “Are you out of your mind?” she asks Yuki. “Not at all. Can’t you see it? Ever since they published their first collab on Youtube

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it has been about the two of them, not their respective bands. And if they can’t see it, we have to make them realize what’s happening here. What’s the worst that could happen? That they won’t get along? They are already a band on the Internet, and sooner or later they will form a band offline as well. We are just standing in their way. Hiko plays guitar, Yutaro plays bass, and Junji plays the drums. And all of them can sing. Problem solved.” Yuki has figured it all out.

“And what about us?” Maki asks. “We start our own trio. We take everything we’ve learned from the guys and make it better.” Yuki winks. “But we have no drummer.” Maki walks to the classified ads on the wall of the music store. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll find a drummer in no time.” Maki turns to Yuki. “Okay, Yuki-chan. I’m in. How shall we tell the boys without making them mad?” Yuki puts on a mean smile. “Maki-chan, do you feel like jamming and recording something right here, right now? We could then post it right away onto my Youtube channel—which, btw, is in desperate need of a new video!” Maki starts jumping on the spot and shouts, “That’s going to be fun!”

Yuki asks one of the clerks if she could film them with her iPhone, while jamming. They grab a couple of instruments and start playing a 90’s rock tune. ♫ I wish that I could fly, into the sky, so very high, just like a dragonfly … I want to get away, I want to fly away! ♫ The jam attracts basically every customer that is in the guitar

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section. Many sing along and the clerk catches the whole thing on Yuki’s iPhone.

A customer approaches the store manager, who is enjoying this unexpected customer-generated show from the back of the room, “Those two girls are fantastic. Do they work for you?” The store manger replies, “Unfortunately not. But they are our loyal customers.” The customer suggests, “You should have them perform here with their band.” “I will definitely talk to them about that.”

The girls are creating a great atmosphere at Miki Gakki and the store manager is very impressed. More customers are entering the store to take a glimpse and enjoy the positive atmosphere. The jam comes to an end and the customers applaud the duo. Maki and Yuki look around and can’t believe what just happened. “Arigatou gozaimasu!” Yuki turns to Maki and whispers, “See? I told you we could pull this off.”

The clerk approaches Yuki and gives her back the iPhone she used to tape the performance. “You should publish this onto Youtube,” she suggests. “I will,” Yuki replies and edits the video with iMovie right on the spot. Then, she uploads it directly onto her Youtube channel. After a few minutes it’s up and she’s spreading it through different social networking websites and asks her friends on Mixi and Facebook to do the same.

“Ready to hit the road?” Yuki asks Maki, when the clerk that taped the video stops them and approaches

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them very humbly. “You girls were amazing. Are you a band?” Maki and Yuki look at each other and nod at the same time. “Yes, we are!” The clerk continues, “Do you have gigs planned or a website where I can listen to more of your music?” Yuki replies, “Actually, we just started playing together. We just split from our bands and are now looking for a drummer.” “Seriously? Coz you sounded as if you’ve been playing together forever. And, by the way, I’m a drummer in search for a band.”

Yuki asks the girl, “How long have you been playing the drums?” The girl answers, “I’ve been playing since I was 8 years old.” “And do you have live experience?” “My mom was a professional musician and always let me fool around on her drumset when I was little. I played many concerts through junior high and high school, but when I started university last year I stopped playing and focused on my studies. But watching you girls playing and spreading all that positive energy rocked my internal groove. I’d love to audition for you.”

Maki looks at Yuki. “Then we need to set up an audition. And since we have no time to lose, we’d like to meet you as soon as possible. How’s tomorrow for you?” Maki asks. “I’m free tomorrow afternoon,” the clerk answers. “We’ll organize the studio in Amerikamura and will let you know exactly where and when to meet, okay?” Maki sounds very professional.

“By the way, my name is Yumi.” Yumi bows. “I’m Maki, and this is Yuki.” They all shout, Hajimemashite!

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and they all bow. After exchanging their cell phone email addresses, Maki and Yuki leave Miki Gakki. “What do you think, are we making a mistake?” Maki asks Yuki. “Not at all. I’ve got a good feeling that Yumi is the perfect match for our band.” Maki affirms, “I feel the same way. I sure hope Yutaro, Hiko, and Junji won’t be too mad at us.

Yutaro and Hiko are taking a break from working on different remote collaborations. “Check this out!” Yutaro tells Hiko over Skype and sends him a link to a Youtube video. “That’s Maki and Yuki jamming.” Hiko replies and recognizes that they sound great together.

“Did you read the description of the video?” Yutaro points out. Hiko starts reading aloud; «Our first unrehearsed and unofficial band performance. More girl rock music coming soon.» Then he gets loud “Are you kidding me, they started their own band?” Yutaro calms him down, “Hey, take it easy. You had a second band as well in the beginning. And if it weren’t for Hatoyama-san’s grotesque contracts you would still have two bands. And FYI, we are a band as well.” “But only in the virtual world. We don’t spend time rehearsing and playing gigs,” Hiko justifies their band status. “Maybe we should, though.” Yutaro means it.

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Episode 14

We Are THE NOVEMBER SUN

In a studio in Amerikamura, a retail and entertainment area in the Minami district of Osaka, Yuki and Maki are auditioning Yumi, a drummer whom they met the day before at Miki Gakki, a music shop in Osaka. They are overwhelmed with Yumi’s drumming and singing skills. The trio is rocking songs by Lenny Kravitz, Ayumi Hamasaki, Radwimps, and other artists.

“Yumi, how come no professional band has signed you yet?” Maki asks. Yumi blushes and answers shyly. “I don’t know. Maybe because they didn’t think I was cool enough for them?” “Seriously, I think you are ʻcool enoughʼ and a great musician, and I would like you to join our band. What do you say?” Yuki asks with a serious face. Yumi nods fast. “Sure! I like the same music you like to play and I feel very comfortable around you girls.” Maki and Yuki look at each other, smile, and scream, “We found ourselves a drummer!!” Yumi laughs and claps her sticks.

“Do you have a name for the band?” The girls are caught off guard. “Not really,” Maki admits. Yumi suggests, “What about The November Sun? It’s November, the sun is shining outside and I think it matches the mood of your music.” The three of them hold on still for a few moments. “We are The November Sun.” Maki mumbles softly. Yuki smiles and shouts,

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“We are The November Sun —Woohoo!!!” The three girls scream from the top of their lungs and they start jamming to what is going to be their first original song as The November Sun.

After the jam, Yumi and Maki have to go to their respective part-time jobs and Yuki gets on the Keihan train to Hirakata, when she runs into Hiko at Yodoyabashi station.

“Hey Yuki! Good to see you. Haven’t seen you at all this week.” Hiko is visibly happy to see Yuki, but he can feel that she is a bit tense and somehow distant. “Hi Hiko. Yeah, I was busy these past few days. I apologize for not having had much time to talk or chat online.” “Yeah, I saw your video with Maki at Miki Gakki.” He smiles. “That looked like big fun.” Yuki is embarrassed. “Yeah, it was fun.”

“So, did you girls start a band?” Hiko asks. Yuki doesn’t know what to answer. After a few moments she gathers all her courage and tells Hiko exactly how she feels about the entire situation. “Hiko, I’m sorry if this comes unexpected, but I think I have to leave your band.” The conversation mutes. After a while Yuki continues, “I know it’s not fair from my part, especially since you could have gotten any bass player and singer you wanted for your band. And after our great gigs at the Kansai Gaidai International Festival we got so many contacts and opportunities to play live clubs and summer festivals and now you’ll have to

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audition a new bassist and teach him or her all details.” Hiko’s face shows no emotions.

Yuki goes on with her explanation, “Please, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t like to play with you and Junji. Actually, it’s very much the opposite. I’d love you to include me more into songwriting, marketing, and band life in general. You spend all your free time with Yutaro producing songs and I feel you guys are the band and I’m just a sidekick.” Tears fall from Yuki’s eyes.

“Yuki, I’m sorry you feel that way. But I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong here. You participate in the arrangements, you give your own touch to the songs, and without you our band is not the same. You are an indispensable part of the band.” Yuki dries her tears with her sleeves. “I know you’re not doing anything wrong. You are doing the right thing for the band. Yutaro and you together can write the greatest songs and view-counts on your individual Youtube channels are proof enough.”

Yuki sighs. “Maybe the problem is that I’m in love with you.” There, she said it.

The Keihan train enters the station. Passengers get off and it gets busy on the tracks. Yuki’s words still buzz in Hiko’s ears. ‘Maybe the problem is that Iʼm in love with you.ʼ “How can that be a problem?” Hiko asks himself and gets the answer from Yuki.

“When we play music and you smile at me, when I sing a line and you add a harmony to it, or when you

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send me a message and tell me that you’re looking forward to seeing me at practice, in class, or at the bar, all I can think of is that it is not right for us to be together, because it would jeopardize the future of our band. I hate that bittersweet emotion. I want to be with you. And if it means that I have to leave the band, so be it. You and Yutaro are a band in any case. People ask for your music, not ours. I guess that is the only right thing to do then.”

The train for Hirakata leaves without them. Hiko is speechless. Nobody is around anymore. They stand next to each other facing the same direction. Hiko turns to Yuki and moves closer to her. He wipes her tears with a soft handkerchief, caresses her left cheek with his thumb… and kisses her. Time stands still. At least that’s what it feels like for Yuki. As unexpected as her leaving the band might have been for Hiko, this kiss is for her.

The next Keihan train for Hirakata is arriving at Yodoyabashi station. “Shall we get onto this one?” Hiko asks with a very soft and caring voice. Yuki smiles and they get on the train. Yuki and Hiko sit next to each other and Yuki puts her head on Hiko’s shoulder. The doors close and the train leaves for Hirakata.

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Episode 15

Makiʼs song

Peepeepeepeepeep. It’s 4:12 AM and Yuki’s alarm clock is peeping her way to Yuki’s ears. It takes Yuki only four peeps to get off her futon and turn off the alarm. She is smiling and the day has not even started yet. After yesterday’s encounter with Hiko at Yodoyabashi station, she spent the hours walking around Hirakata and the Katahoko Library with him talking about their feelings and how to deal with the band split-up and their romantic situation. They decided to grow into the situation together without rushing anything. The next important step would be for Hiko to talk to Yutaro about joining forces and finally start playing live concerts with their Youtube band.

Yuki checks her iPhone for messages. «Told Yutaro that I’m leaving the band and he didn’t take it very well. Please text me when you’re off work», Maki texted her. “That doesn’t sound good,” Yuki thinks aloud and starts typing on her phone.

For the next four hours at Gusto, Yuki serves coffee, tea, and cake to business people, taxi drivers and others that get up early for work or are on their way home from a night shift. She usually doesn’t like her job, because most people don’t treat her with respect and are not thankful for being served, but today it’s different. Yuki’s smile is able to touch most of her customers. They smile back at her and thank Yuki for

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her kindness. “What happened to you? You seem extremely fulfilled and happy,” a colleague asks Yuki. She shrugs. “I guess that’s what they call love.”

Knock knock knock. “Yutaro! Are you up?” Maki knocks on Yutaro’s door at 5 AM. Nobody is there. “He must be jogging,” she assumes and sits down on a bench next to a rice field in front of the apartment house. One hour passes and still no trace of Yutaro. Maki knocks on his door again, calls his cell phone, texts him, but no response. “Was I really that wrong to leave the band? All I want is for him to succeed and to be with him, even if it means to sacrifice our band.” Maki’s thoughts bring tears to her eyes. She sits back on the bench and starts writing from her cell phone onto her blog…

Sugoku suki (I’m crazy about you) Anata no koto zembu shiritai (I want to know all about you) Atashi wa anata no, anata wa atashi no mono (I’m yours, you’re mine) Kissu shite mo ii, hazukashi garanaide (May I kiss you? Don’t be shy) Me wo tojite, shimpai shinaide (Close your eyes and don’t worry) xox.

…and texts Yutaro the link adding, I’m too shy to tell you this that is why I will post it on my blog. Hit or miss, I just want to tell you this. Please comment my post and tell me what you like the most. I really mean

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everything I said and wrote. Forever yours. Maki packs her stuff and leaves with tears in her eyes.

“Hey, Yutaro. Wake up. We gotta get ready for class.” Hiko says in a loud voice to Yutaro, who fell asleep on the floor at Hiko’s place. “How do you feel this morning,” Hiko asks his still-sleepy guest. Yutaro rubs his eyes and answers, “Not sure yet.” “Are you going to talk to Maki again today?” Hiko seems concerned about his two friends. Yutaro checks his cell phone and finds Maki’s note and blog post. He smiles. “I think I’ll have to clear things up with her.” Then he slightly changes the subject. “You know, I wasn’t planning on joining your band, Hiko. Working on Youtube is one thing, but starting a band for gigs and stuff is a whole other dimension.” Hiko nods a couple of times. “I know. But you have to admit, that we talked about this a few times. And, you came up with the idea before anyone else. So, I ask you, Don’t you think this was supposed to happen sooner or later?”

Yutaro gets off the floor and stretches his body. “Yeah, you’re probably right. The more I think about it, the more the girls are right. But how can two alpha males like us work together in an actual band setting?” Hiko puts his bass in Yutaro’s hands, reaches for his guitar. “As we’ve been doing for the past couple of months. Like this.” He pushes play on his drum machine, hits the strings and invites Yutaro to join him for an early-morning jam.

Later in the afternoon Yuki, Yumi, and Maki meet for a spontaneous practice in the same studio they met the

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day before in Amerikamura. “Maki-chan, why haven’t you returned any of my calls today?” a worried Yuki asks. “I’m really sorry, Yuki, but I just didn’t feel like talking to anyone and felt more comfortable texting you. Hope you’re not too mad.” “I understand that. Sometimes I’m too shy to talk on the phone and rather send an email,” Yumi adds. Yuki seems a bit annoyed. “So, why did you want to get together for practice today? We didn’t prepare much since yesterday. And by the way, you still didn’t tell us what exactly happened with Yutaro yesterday. Hiko just told me that you fought that they didn’t decide if they wanted to work together as a live band or just keep it as an online project.”

Maki bows and apologizes, “First things first.” Maki reaches for her phone and plays a demo of a song. “Wow, that is beautiful and rough at the same time.” Yumi’s body starts whipping to the beat. “Maki-chan, I didn't know you knew how to produce songs.” Maki’s new found talent surprises Yuki. “I didn’t know myself. After I couldn’t find Yutaro at his place this morning, I decided to skip classes and write this song. Fortunately, there are thousands of How-To websites and Youtube videos that teach how to produce songs on Garageband. So I made this and would like you girls to add your parts to it. Now that we are a band, I would like to act as a band and create music with you. Let’s not make the same mistake as Yutaro and Hiko.”

“I’m in!” Yumi shouts. “Sure as hell that I want to add my lines to your song.” Yuki gets her Electro Voice

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Raven microphone from her bag. Maki is moved and screams, “Let’s get this party started!” and the trio is pumped to create their first original song as The November Sun.

Because Maki didn’t return Yutaro’s calls, he decided to go after her. Fortunately, he detected some tweets and foursquare posts that pointed to the right music studio in Amerikamura.

At the studio Yutaro approaches the clerk at the front desk, “I’m supposed to meet my friends here, a band with a girl on guitar and girl on bass, but I don’t know in which studio.” The clerk tells him to check studio D. Yutaro walks up to studio D and has no idea what to say to Maki. Then, he hears a beautiful and rough song blasting from the PA inside the studio. He recognizes the lyrics right away. It’s the words Maki wrote on her blog for Yutaro embellished with music. He looks through the little window in the door and sees three girls jumping and dancing around to the song that is playing from Maki’s MacBook through large speakers. Yutaro smiles. “Hm. This is how it’s supposed to be,” Yutaro realizes.

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Episode 16

Maki & Yutaro

It’s the last week of November and stores in Japan are starting to put up Christmas decorations. Maki, Yuki, and Yumi are rushing through the new music releases section at Tsutaya in Namba after practice, when Maki asks her friends, “Why does every popular artist have to release a Christmas song or even an album?” Yuki answers while checking out the new Ayumi Hamasaki album, “You gotta monetize where you can and take advantage of holiday seasons. I mean, why do American film studios bring out Christmas movies on Christmas, or Valentine’s Day movies on Valentine’s Day?”

Yumi jumps in before Yuki can answer her own question, “Because it wouldn’t make sense to release a Christmas movie in July.” Yuki goes on, “Thank you, Yumi. They want to make the most out of the emotions that are floating around during that exact time. And, if you take a look at American sitcoms or soap operas you’ll realize that they do the same with basically every holiday. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, that turkey holiday…” “You mean, Thanksgiving,” Maki corrects. “Yes, Thanksgiving. Thank you, Maki.” Yuki laughs at her own faux pas. Yumi adds, “I guess we should also play some Christmas songs then.” Maki and Yuki look at her in disbelieve.

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“What did I say wrong?” Yumi asks with an embarrassed look on her face. “We’ve only published one original song on Youtube and have not established our band as a rock band yet. I don’t think that releasing Christmas songs before releasing an actually album, or at least an EP, with originals would help our brand.” Yuki seems gridlocked in her opinion.

Maki contributes, “But maybe we could just grab our acoustic instruments and play a few Christmas songs at Hirakata station, in Umeda, and at Gaidai. Just so people know that we actually exist as a band. And we can hand out flyers to promote our Youtube channel.” Yuki agrees and adds. “If we play our own songs—and we don’t have many of them—people might not stop on the street and listen to us. But if we play Christmas songs now, it is more likely that they stop and check us out. And if we can make a couple of good videos from our performances and publish them onto Youtube, we might even attract people that wouldn’t find our channel in the first place.”

Yuki reflects for a few moments. “You girls discussed this behind my back, didn’t you? Ah. You know what? It doesn’t even matter, because you’re right and I actually like the idea. We should do that. But you girls better get me an acoustic bass for those performance.” Maki is visibly excited. “Don’t worry, I already put together a great set list and worked out the perfect arrangements for the songs.” Yumi smiles from ear to ear and claps her hands in a typical Japanese way.

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It’s past 9 AM and the first classes of the day at Kansai Gaidai University already started. Maki is rushing to the wrong classroom. “Ain’t you supposed to go to building 2 for your class?” a male voice asks Maki. She turns around and recognizes Yutaro sitting at a table in the hallway of building 1. “I’m not sure.” Yutaro surfs his iPad to check today’s class schedules. “You got International Logistics now, right? Room 212. That means, building 2, first floor.” “Thank you.” She walks towards Yutaro and sits down next to him.

“Yutaro, I’m sorry I didn’t return any of your calls this past week. And I’m sorry I didn’t want to see you. I was just very hurt because of your reaction after I told you I would leave the band.” Silence fills the hallway. After a while, Yutaro replies in a very calm voice, “And I apologize for having reacted like that. It felt as if you didn’t want to be with me anymore, even though we were never officially a couple. It felt as if I was losing you.” Tear fall from Maki’s eyes. “I know, Yutaro. Hiko told me everything.”

Yutaro confesses, “And when I saw you girls dancing and singing to your new song at the studio in Amerikamura last week, I knew I was wrong.” He asks, “By the way, how do you like my cover of your song?” Maki smiles and wipes her tears. “I like it a lot. Thank you very much, and thank you for asking that ukulele player to make a ukulele cover of the song. We got quite some traffic on our Youtube channel thanks to you guys.” They both smile and Yutaro puts his left

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arm around Maki. She rests her head on his shoulder for a minute, which feels like forever.

“Why don’t you go to class now and meet me after school, so you can tell me everything I missed out on this past week?” Yutaro suggests. Students start to fill the hallway before the bell for the next class rings. “I’d really like that.” Maki gets up and looks around. Many of her friends and members from the music club are around. She bents towards Yutaro and leaves a kiss on his right cheek. “I’ll see you later.” Maki smiles. Yutaro holds her back and kisses Maki on her lips. “Looking forward to it.” Maki and Yutaro know that everything will be okay, at least for the moment.

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Episode 17

Rockinʼ around the Christmas tree with a ukulele

“What’s that red hat you’re wearing?” Yuki asks Yumi in a rather harsh tone, while waiting for Maki in the lounge of Kansai Gaidai’s gym. “Well, since today is December 6, I decided to wear this to celebrate Santa Clause Day,” Yumi answers. “Santa Claus Day? Are you just making it up or is there really a Santa Claus Day?” Yuki looks doubtful. Yumi smiles and teaches Yuki after starting a browser on her cell phone, “Let me see. Ah, here we have it. According to Wikipedia, «Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas and a bunch of other names, is a figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24 or on his Feast Day, December 6.» And that is Saint Nicholas Day. See?” Yuki nods. “I see.” “And that’s why I am wearing this hat today. Besides, it’s nice to spread the spirit of Christmas also visually.”

Yumi seems excited about this Christmas season. “Yeah, yeah. I’m not really into Christmas. You girls seemed so excited about playing these Christmas gigs that I didn’t want to spoil your enthusiasm.” Yuki is setting up her Ampeg micro stack and Maki’s Marshall mini stack to practice their Christmas set, which they will premier on the circle stage at Kansai Gaidai

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tonight. “Yumi, that is a great hat!” Maki compliments her friend. Her energized mood spills over to Yumi, whose hands start clapping and feet start jumping.

“Here you are your acoustic bass for the Christmas gigs.” Maki hands over a small and light case to Yuki. The case looks as if it would only fit a violin in it, certainly no bass guitar. Yuki frowns, “Is this a bass assembly kit? Where the hell is my acoustic bass?” Yumi and Maki laugh. “Open it!” Yumi orders. Yuki puts the little case on a table. She opens it and finds a baritone ukulele equipped with extremely thick gummy chords. “You gotta be kidding me!” Yuki is not pleased with what she sees. She takes the ukulele/bass out of the case and tries to play it.

“This is no bass. It’s acoustic but definitely no bass.” Yumi teaches Yuki about the UBass, “It’s a fretless Kala UBass. It’s a very short-scale bass in a baritone ukulele mahogany body with black polyurethane strings. The tension is very low, I have to admit, but once you plug it in and find out how best to play it, you’ll love it—I promise. There are different artists on Youtube promoting the UBass with acoustic music, so Maki and I thought, it would be great for you to try it during these Christmas concerts. Please, just give it a shot, okay?”

Yuki sighs. She picks up a cable and sits down on a stool next to her micro cabinet. She plugs in the UBass and turns up the volume to 5. Pluck. Mmmwoaw~~~. The Ubass sings like a bird! Yuki is amazed by the

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colorful sound she is bringing out of her tiny acoustic bass.

“Oh my God, this instrument is amazing!” she admits. Yumi and Maki watch Yuki playing fantastic fretless-style bass lines on her newfound love and hurry to get ready to jump in and jam with her. They jam to all Christmas songs they will be playing later on tonight, just to get a feel for the arrangements and for the mini instruments they will be using for the set.

“So, will you be playing that ukulele tonight as well?” Yuki asks Maki. “Oh yes. I’m very much looking forward to it.” “But tell me something. What’s the deal with this ukulele or small instruments hype anyway? Did the recession hit musicians so hard that they can’t afford real instruments anymore?” Yuki asks with a smile.

Yumi explains, “That is one possible answer. I think that in the past few years—especially thanks to Youtube—a bunch of very creative musicians brought the ukulele closer to the masses and it finally found its way to popular music. For instance, the hit song Hey, Soul Sister by Train features a ukulele, and Brother Iz’s cover of Somewhere Over The Rainbow is played on ukulele as well, just to mention a couple. And then there’s a huge and thriving ukulele community called Ukulele Underground with many, many members that spread ukulele music all across the net and reach people all over the world. Not to forget Jake Shimabukuro and Aldrine Guerrero as the ukulele superstars.”

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Maki adds, “And when I play my ukulele, I feel like holding a baby in my arms. And that makes me very happy.” The three of them laugh and Yuki responds, “Just don’t tell Yutaro, otherwise he might try to make you a gift that ships in nine month.” Now they laugh even louder.

Hiko, Yutaro, and Junji are rehearsing their set in the music studio in Korien. “Sounded good, guys. Hey Hiko, do you think you can try a less distorted sound next time?” Junji asks. “I will. I found it to hard as well. I’ll work on it at home.”

Yutaro changes the topic, “Guys, I got contacted by a booker in Tokyo, who asked if we want to play a couple of gigs in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Tokyo and Yokohama, and if our performances are convincing, he might be able to arrange a few talks with some other bookers from his agency.”

Junji jumps at Yutaro. “That’s awesome!” But Hiko brings down the excitement, “I’m very much up for the gigs, and I think it’s always good to talk to people from the business, especially if they approach us. Nonetheless, I would like for us not to rush anything. We are building a strong and solid brand and I don’t want any agency or company to jump in, benefit from the work we’ve done so far, and take over our business.”

“What are you talking about? A booking agency won’t tell us what to do. They will just look for gigs and take

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their 20 percent, or whatever share they want, and send us off to rock some stages.” Junji is still pumped by the opportunity.

“Can’t we do that ourselves or by bringing someone we know on board?” Hiko asks. Junji doesn’t understand Hiko’s concerns. “Why should we do that, if professionals are interested in us? I don’t know what you’re afraid of.” Yutaro tries to calm down his bandmates, “Guys, take it easy. I think the both of you are right and that we need to explore both options. First of all, we have no idea if they really want to sign a booking deal with us and what kind of deal that would be. And, on the other hand, why not think about working with someone we know that has knowledge of the music business in Japan and is a good sales person.”

Yutaro’s words cool down the atmosphere. He asks Hiko, “Were you thinking of someone in particular?” “Hatoyama-san.” Hiko’s answer confuses Yutaro and Junji.

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Episode 18

Rockinʼ around the Christmas tree on Circle Stage

“Are you out of your mind?” Junji questions Hiko’s ability to think straight. “Common Junji, no need to be rude,” Yutaro keeps his cool and turns to Hiko. “I understand that Hatoyama-san is a big shot in the music business and that he could pull some strings for us and make things happen in a rather traditional way. But his mindset is still very old school and he has no idea how the new marketing works. For him a band needs to book a studio, hire a recording engineer and an established producer to create an album, print music on physical mediums, and spend a ton of money for promotion. And that is definitely not what we have in mind and how we do things.”

Hiko replies, “I don’t know why, but since we discussed matters after our warm-up concert at the Kansai Gaidai International Festival, I feel that I can trust him. And let’s be honest, if we set up a contract we all can sign without nothing to worry, it doesn’t matter if it’s Hatoyama-san or someone else.”

Junji’s temper is still boiling. “Dude, we almost disbanded, because of that Hatoyama guy, and honestly, I still don’t trust him. I don’t know him, and I don’t like him. And have you thought about Yuki? How is she going to take the news that your ex-girlfriend’s dad will be our booker and might come to

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our gigs with his daughter, or better, your ex-girlfriend?” “Junji has a very valid point there,” Yutaro adds. Hiko knows that his friends are right, but he can’t help it. He simply wants to work with Mr. Hatoyama.

Meanwhile at Kansai Gaidai, Maki, Yuki, and Yumi are setting up their backline on the circle stage between the cafeteria and McDonald’s for their first public performance ever as a trio. Since many International students are already done with their final exams and are just sticking around until the very end of the semester to return to their respective countries, a handful of them are helping the girls to set up the PA and lights and many others are simply waiting for the trio to start playing.

“I’m still not sure this was a good idea,” Yuki complains to her bandmates. “Awww, is little Yuki-chan getting nervous?” Maki teases her. “If we screw up I’ll blame the whole thing on you and will set the UBass on fire.” Yuki’s statement sounds very serious. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. And if it’s a success I’ll have to share the compliments with you girls—obviously.” Maki smiles at Yuki while tuning her Kala concert ukulele.

“Are you girls ready to rock the Christmas spirit into our lost souls with your tiny instruments?” Yutaro approaches the stage with a big grin on his face. “You’ll be surprised how hard we will rock you with our mini instruments!” Yumi shoots a threatening, yet

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ironic look at Yutaro. Maki jumps offstage and meets Yutaro halfway.

“How was practice?” she asks and gives him a kiss. Yutaro answers, “Practice was good, but afterwards, when we started discussing the possibility of signing with a professional booking agency, Hiko drifted into a weird mood. He said he wants to have Hatoyama-san as our booker.” Maki frowns in disbelieve.

“What? That’s weird. Why would he want that?” “I have absolutely no idea. He said he trusts him.” Yuki approaches and Yutaro switches to a different topic. “So, Yuki, how do you like your ukulelebass?” Yuki answers, “If I could play some slap bass on it, I’d love it. In the meantime, I just like it.” “That’s good enough,” Junji replies from behind the stage. Hiko and Junji greet some friends that are sitting on the platform in front of the circle stage.

“Hey rockstar, how was your day so far?” Yuki smiles at Hiko and puts her arms around his neck. “It was okay, but I’m confident that it will be better soon.” Hiko kisses his girlfriend. “Really? What will make your day better than it has been up until now?” Yuki smiles and Hiko answers, “Well, first, you and your ladies will give us a taste of uke rock music with Christmas songs, and second, we will have to celebrate your successful first acoustic gig.” “I’m not sure there’ll be anything to celebrate. These tiny instruments are a lot of fun, but I’m not very positive that people will like this.” Hiko assures Yuki, “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Plus, everyone likes little

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instruments. They’re cute and yours even sound good. Just show us how much fun you have on that stage. Like when we played the open-air stage at the International Festival.” Hiko’s words make Yuki very happy. “You’re the best!” She hugs him.

“Yuki-chan, it’s time!” Maki shouts from the stage. “Off you go.” Hiko lets his girlfriend go. Yuki runs to the stage and tunes her UBass one last time, while Hiko sits down.

“May I sit next to you?” an older man asks. Hiko looks up. “Ah! Hatoyama-san. Sure!” Hiko is surprised to see him. “I was giving a presentation and overheard a group of students talking about an all-girl band playing an acoustic set out here after classes, so I thought to drop by and see if there were other great musicians at Gaidai besides you.” They both smile.

“Isn’t the girl playing that UBass your bass player?” Mr. Hatoyama asks Hiko. He answers, “She used to be. We basically restructured two bands. She joined another guitar player, whose bass player then joined my band.” “I guess that’s the guy you produce songs with online, right?” “You’re well-informed, Hatoyama-san.” “I read your blog and follow everything you do,” Mr. Hatoyama admits. Today’s discussion about signing with a booking agency still bothers Hiko and he just has to ask Mr. Hatoyama, “Hatoyama-san, can I ask you for advice on something music related?” He nods.

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Hiko continues, “Bookers and promoters have been approaching us and we’ve been talking about signing a deal, but I’m not quite sure if that’s a good idea. We don’t know them and I’m afraid they don’t understand what we are aiming for. That’s why I wanted to ask you, if you’d want to be our booker.” Mr. Hatoyama replies, “I’m flattered, Hiko, but do you remember that I offered you my help in a professional contract and you didn’t want to take it because you didn’t trust me?” “Yes, I remember.” “And do you remember that we agreed on being friends, no strings attached, you teach me about this new social media business thing and I help you guys out as far as I can?” “Yes, we agreed on that,” Hiko replies.

“Then, why don’t we just leave it to that? I’m sure you’ll do fine. Also, it’s good to do business with people you don’t know. Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘Merchants have no country.’ In my understanding he meant that if people that don’t know each other do business together, emotions wouldn’t affect their decision-making. Therefore, I advice you to look for a booker that has no personal connection to your band, and business will be strictly professional.” “But what if I can’t trust that booker?” “I think you’re having some trust issues here. Don’t you, Hiko? In any case, you should get to know that booker and set up a contract that has been approved by a lawyer. And if you can’t afford a lawyer, I can go over it, if you’d like me to. I think, I have enough knowledge of the business to

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assist you and your band in this matter—still, strictly as a friend, without touching any money.”

A loud voice shoots from the PA and interrupts their discussion, “Minna-san, we are very pleased you all joined us for this special outdoor Christmas concert featuring this newly-formed band. Please give it up for Maki, Yuki, and Yumi: The November Sun!” The trio starts playing Rockinʼ Around The Christmas Tree in an acoustic uke rock version and brings a big smile to the entire audience, also to Mr. Hatoyama. He tells Hiko, “They sound great. I’m impressed. And the girl singing and playing bass has so much charisma. She must be a very special person.” Hiko can’t stop smiling. “She definitely is.” “Do you know her well?” Hiko answers, “Yes… She is my girlfriend.”

Mr. Hatoyama is pleased. “Keep her tight. She might be the muse the musician in you has been looking for,” he concludes and leans back to enjoy the show.

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Episode 19

Santa, his wife, and a couple of sexy elves

The acoustic Christmas concerts at Gaidai, Hirakata station and in downtown Osaka were successful and Yumi, Yuki, and Maki have learned a valuable lesson: It doesn’t matter how you present your art, as long as you do it in an innovative, creative, and authentic way. Even if Yuki wasn’t convinced at first, she grew into her role and became one with it after realizing how much fun it was to play that UBass in an all-tiny-instruments band with Maki and Yumi.

Yumi, Yuki, and Maki are having desert after an intensive afternoon karaoke party in Namba. “I had great fun playing these acoustic concerts, but I missed many hours of work and need a second part-time job for over these Christmas holidays. Do you know any store that has open positions in Osaka?” Yumi asks her friends. “Wait a sec…” Maki pulls a newspaper out of her bag.

“Check this out. This store in Amerikamura is looking for four people who’d have to dress up as Santa Claus, his wife, and two elves on the 24th of December and play with customers and their kids.” Yumi is not convinced. “I don’t think they want a female Santa.” Yuki joins the conversation, “We could ask Yutaro, Hiko, or Junji to play Santa and you could play sexy Mrs. Santa.” “And we could play two sexy elves,” Maki adds. Yumi likes the idea. “Plus, they pay very

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well. ¥2,000 an hour and 10 hours of work. That makes ¥20,000 (approx. $200).”

Yumi and Yuki are excited about the possibility. “Let’s call up this store to see if they’re still looking for people and message one of the boys afterwards,” Yuki suggests. Maki grabs her cell phone and steps outside the coffee place to call the store. Three minutes later she comes back in with exciting news. “They said all positions are still open and we should go talk to them as soon as possible.” Yumi suggests, “Let’s go now!” She is desperate to get the one-day Mrs. Santa job.

Yuki gets her phone out of her pocket and dials Junji’s number. “Let me check if Junji is available right now.” “Don’t you want to ask Hiko first?” Maki asks Yuki. “I think, Hiko and Yutaro rather work on their music than play Santa,” she answers and continues, “and if they want to come hang out with us, while we talk and play with children, they can still do that.” Junji picks up the phone and agrees to meet the three girls in Amerikamura in 20 minutes.

When the girls arrive at the apparel store in Amerikamura twenty-five minutes later, Junji is already discussing the positions with the manager of the store and greets his future team, while shaking hands with the hiring manager, “And this is my team. Nakashima-san, may I introduce you to Yumi, Maki, and Yuki, also known as The November Sun.” The girls shout in unison, “Hajimemashite!” and bow. The manager bows and introduces himself, then seals the deal with Junji

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and wishes them a nice day. The four of them leave the store.

“What happened?” Yumi asks Junji with a big smile on her face. “I was here a bit early and thought I should start dealing with the hiring manager right away instead of waiting for you. And since you girls ain’t the best when it comes to sell yourself for this kind of things, you sure don’t mind, right? Anyway. We got the job and I was even able to persuade him to pay us ¥2,500 an hour…” The girls shout and do the typical Japanese jump-dance. “BUT,” Junji adds, “you’ll have to play three Christmas songs every hour on your ukulele.” The girls know that it is good promotion for their band, and thank Junji by group-hugging him.

At Hard Rock Café in Hommachi, close to Amerikamura, Yutaro and Hiko are discussing serious matters over a couple of drinks. “I talked to Hatoyama-san about being our booker,” Hiko confesses to Yutaro. “And what did he say?” Yutaro doesn’t seem nervous at all. “He doesn’t want to be our booker or agent or anything like that. But he offered his help as a friend, if we need anything like legal advice.” Hiko stops and takes a sip from his Ozzmosis drink.

Yutaro asks him, “And that is okay with you?” Hiko nods, “Yes, it is. I don’t know what was going on inside of me. Somehow I felt, and sometimes still feel, that everything is becoming bigger than I can handle.” Hiko’s honest words sound heavy.

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“Don’t worry, buddy. You’re not alone. You and me are partners in crime and Junji is our pumping V8 engine. Look at it that way, our situation can be compared to the Dragonball story, when Goku and Kuririn work out for their first tournament: Our band is Kame House, you are Goku, I’m Yamucha, and Junji is Kuririn. We work out together and create art to make our master proud with a great product. And finally, we will prove our strength at the tournament, which in our world would be the stages in Tokyo and Yokohama—at least for now.” Yutaro’s metaphor makes Hiko laugh.

“Yeah, you’re right. And I appreciate that you guys make this band your number one priority.” Hiko thanks Yutaro by raising his glass. “So, shall we drive to Tokyo or shall we go by night bus?” Hiko finishes his drink, when Yutaro pulls out an envelope. “Well, the organizers of the two gigs thought they’d pay for transportation. And since we should travel comfortable, they booked ’executive class overnight bus tickets’ from Osaka to Tokyo, roundtrip!!”

Yutaro and Hiko get all excited, when Junji comes through the front door. He sits down in the booth, orders a Sex on the Beach, and finds the executive class overnight bus tickets on the table. “No way?! This is too good to be true. And we’re not even rockstars yet.” Junji is still amazed by the treatment they’re receiving. Yutaro brings his friend down to his feet, “Well, if we were rockstars, we’d get our private jet

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flying us from Osaka to Tokyo. But this is pretty awesome already.”

“Let’s celebrate.” Hiko suggests and all of them raise their classes. “To a rockin’ time in Tokyo!” Hiko, Junji, and Yutaro have never felt this connected as a band before.

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Episode 20

Have yourself a merry little Christmas in Amerikamura

It’s the 24th of December. Junji, Maki, Yumi, and Yuki are dressed up in their respective costumes and are ready to pick up their one-day job in Amerikamura. Junji, dressed up as Santa Claus, sits in a big red and golden chair that looks like a throne. He is waiting for the first customers to bring in their children and put them onto Santa’s lap for a picture and a wish. This isn’t a typical Japanese tradition, but thanks to American TV shows, younger Japanese generations know what the festivity is about and enjoy the character of Santa.

From his chair, Junji can see across the street to a café, where a young mother is feeding a physically and mentally disabled child in a wheelchair. Junji assumes it’s her child. The disabled girl, about 14 years of age, isn’t able to eat the sweet bun by herself. Her mother feeds it to her, and since there’s a lot of cream in it, a mess on the table and the young girl’s cloths is to expect. Nonetheless, the mother keeps her genuine smile and is visibly fulfilled by the look of her child enjoying the sweet.

“When do you see these beautiful things here in Japan?” Junji asks his friends, standing next to his chair. They were watching the scene as well. “That’s heartbreaking. I admire people like that. They must be

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amazing human beings with an incredible amount of love to share with the world.” Maki’s eyes get watery.

“What about we stand in front of that café and play a few Christmas songs, just for them?” Maki’s idea quickens the group. They grab a couple of ukuleles that are standing behind Santa’s chair and move outside, right in front of the young woman and her child. Maki looks at her friends, “I play, you guys sing.”

She starts strumming and they sing… Have yourself a merry little Christmas…♪

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Episode 21

After Tokyo is simply after Tokyo

Yuki is riding the very first Keihan train to Osaka to pick up Hiko from his trip to Tokyo with the band. She is very excited to have him back after one week, and she wants to hear all about their gigs and the talks with the bookers from that agency that wants to sign them. They didn’t have much time to talk on the phone this past week. Yuki had to work a lot and Hiko was always invited to networking meetings with people from the music business. Networking is a must and Yuki knows that.

“Perfect timing.” Yuki gets to the bus stop right when the bus arrives. She has never had the chance to ride in an Executive Class overnight bus, but she is confident that someday she will be able to do that.

“Hiko!” Yuki waves and shouts when she sees him getting off the bus. “Yuki!” Hiko’s face lightens up. Yuki pushes a kiss onto his lips and asks, “How was your trip?” Hiko points to the bus, “What do you think? Believe me, once you travel Executive Class you don’t want to travel economy anymore.” “Whatever you say, you rockstar!” Yutaro jokes and pushes Hiko to the side, while handling their guitar cases.

“Hi Yuki. Did you come with Maki?” He asks. “She wanted to come, but she had to work early at the cake shop.” Yutaro is a bit disappointed. “Yukiiii!!!” a well-

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rested Junji shouts in the coolest way possible asking for a high-five. “I guess you enjoyed Tokyo?” Yuki asks. Junji takes up a Julius Caesar-like position and says in a theatrical voice, “We went, we saw, and we rocked!” They all laugh.

In a Starbucks nearby, Hiko tells Yuki all about the concerts and the meetings they had in Tokyo and Yokohama in the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

“It was such a great experience. When we first got to Tokyo, early in the morning, the booker that organized the trip picked us up with his assistant and they brought us to the hotel to take a nap and freshen up. The hotel was in Shinjuku and had everything you could have asked for.” Yuki affirms, “I can imagine. I saw your tweets and the pictures on Facebook.” Hiko continues, “Then they introduced us to the CEO of the booking agency, who I already knew from my Youtube channel. He often comments on my videos and apparently he also follows me on Twitter. Isn’t that great?” His own story gets him all excited.

“Tell me about the concerts!” Yuki wants to know. Hiko moves closer to Yuki.

“As you might have seen on the pictures I posted online, there were about 500 people in the audience in Tokyo as well as in Yokohama. The guys from the band we opened for, Floor9—they just got signed by a major label and will be breaking through soon, according to their manager—were really nice and told

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us a lot about how they got where they are now. But there is a way easier way than how they decided to do it. They did it the traditional way with going to a studio, producing physical CDs, and everything that comes with that, whereas today bands like us have the possibility to spread music through social media. Anyway, the gigs were a blast! Many of the people in the audience wore the shirts we sell online through Spreadshirt and knew the words to Inakute Sabishii, Youtubers Unite! and even to Makiʼs Song. They sang with us. That was simply amazing!” Hiko can’t hide his enthusiasm, and Yuki shows her happiness for them by pressing his hand and smiling.

“So, what’s going to happen now?” Yuki is eager to know what’s going to come next for Hiko, Yutaro, and Junji. Hiko leans back.

“Not much—at least for the next six months. We just proceed with producing songs for Youtube and iTunes, play some gigs on weekends—preferably local—and we keep going to Gaidai to get our bachelor degree.” Yuki is baffled.

“I don’t get it. They didn’t want to sign you? But it sounded as if everything was great.” Hiko smiles. “No, no. They wanted to sign us already and they would still give us a great deal, but Hiko, Junji, and I realized that we’re just not ready for such a commitment yet. Our set list is very good, but not remarkable. And as Seth Godin says, Very good is bad. You gotta be remarkable.”

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Yuki laughs heartily. “You really like quoting Seth Godin, don’t you?”

“I’m just afraid that we sign one deal, then we’ll sign another deal, and sooner or later we’re too deep into a whole mess that doesn’t reflect what we want to reflect and maybe even has control over our own music.” Hiko gets more thoughtful, when Yuki asks him, “Do you know what you exactly want?” “Yes. I want to play music I like, with people I like, for people that like it, plus, whenever I like to.” Hiko’s words touch Yuki.

He adds, “The exclusiveness of these deals always bothers me. I think the incident with the Genji Hatoyama Band taught me well. Why should I give up my freedom and control, when I’m always connected to people that like my music and spread the word? One executive we met in Tokyo told us that we’d have to give up control over all our social media sites and let them do it.” “Yeah, I read that on your Facebook, but I don’t think it’s always like that.” Yuki takes a sip from her Matcha tea.

“Anyway. We told the booking agency that if they want to book us for gigs on weekends in Osaka, they are more than welcome to do so, but we won’t sign a deal or go on tour. And they agreed on that.” Hiko seems happy with that agreement. “But we told them that if transportation and hotel is covered, we might consider playing other cities as well. And comes the summer, we will consider playing festivals. However, much will happen until then and we have no clue

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where we will be with our lives.” Yuki moves onto Hiko’s lap and they cuddle.

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Episode 22

All these glitters are pure gold

Today is Seijin no Hi in Japan, or in English, Coming of Age Day. On this national holiday, January 10, all young people who turn twenty this year are celebrated. They can be seen wandering around the streets of Japan in large groups, but Maki, Yuki, and Yumi decide to celebrate just in their little party of three. The trio was out all night celebrating their massive surge of online fans. Since Hiko, Junji, and Yutaro played in Tokyo in the last week of December, hundreds of people subscribed to the The November Sun Youtube channel and more subscribers join on a daily basis. Maybe it’s because they played Maki’s song and linked their channel and other pages to the girls’ channel. Maki, Yuki, and Yumi still don’t know and don’t care. All they care about is that their music reaches people who enjoy it.

“What time is it?” a tipsy Yuki asks her companions while walking down Midosuji Dori in Shinsaibashi. “5:55,” Maki answers. “Look at those beautiful girls…” Yumi points to a dozen of beautifully dressed girls taking one little step at the time in their Kimonos. “Ain’t your parents mad at you for choosing not to celebrate Seijin no Hi with them?” Maki asks with a concerned look.

Yumi replies with a smile, “No, they understood when I told them that I wanted to celebrate with you girls.

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Besides, I’ll be celebrating over a nice dinner with them tonight.”

Maki’s phone rings. She still has Ken Hirai’s 2006 hit-song, POP STAR as her default ringtone. ♫ I wanna be a pop star, kimi wo motto ♫ and as she always does, she dances along, which drives Yuki crazy. “Girl, you really gotta change that ringtone. It’s sooooo annoying!”

Maki picks up, “Moshi moshi.” It’s Yutaro telling her something that makes Maki’s jar fall open. “Did something bad happen?” “What happened? Tell us!” Yumi and Yuki are worried. “Okay, see you later!” Maki hangs up… silence… Maki browses through her cell phone, searching for something, when she suddenly screams from the top of her lungs. Yumi and Yuki shout in unison, “What?” “Our video for Maki’s Song is featured on Perez Hilton’s blog and we got more than 100,000 views overnight!” The girls are ecstatic.

After calming down, Yuki asks, “How could that have happened? What did we do?” Yumi shrugs. “I’m not sure. I think it was just good to upload all those videos we took while rehearsing and the videos from the Christmas concerts. It’s obvious that the more videos we have on our channel, the more different people we can attract. And sooner or later someone influential will get across one of our videos, which he likes and links it on her blog.”

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Yuki adds, “And sharing our Youtube videos on all the other social media platforms we use accelerates that process. Glad a couple of our songs are already approved and ready to be bought on iTunes and the other online music stores. I wonder if we sell any MP3s, since we also give them away for free on our site?” The girls look at each other with big smiles and let another shout of triumph run free.

Maki admits, “I don’t care if anyone buys our MP3s. I’m happy as long as people visit us online and enjoy what they see and hear and share it with their friends.” Then, Yumi comes up with an idea, “Why don’t we record a song right now, live and raw, to thank everyone for having subscribed?” “How shall we do that?” Maki asks.

Yumi explains, “We all have cell phones with video cameras. Let’s ask Yutaro, Junji, and Hiko, if they would film us while we play and then we’ll cut it together as a multi-window video, like that ukulele guy Yutaro likes to get ideas from, and for the audio, we just use the best one.” “Awesome idea. Let’s do that!” Yuki says with excitement. Maki nods. Yuki texts their friends to meet in a couple of hours in the music studio in Korien and they all text back agreeing to help.

Hiko, Junji, and Yutaro meet up at Korien station. When they get to the studio, they see a crowd standing in front of one of the studio rooms, in which a band is rocking out. Everybody is visibly excited. Yutaro tells his friends, “I got a deja-vu. This is like the time when

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Yuki auditioned for you guys, and the entire music club wanted to get a glimpse of your studio atmosphere.”

Junji replies, “And I wouldn’t be surprised if that crowd is cramming in front of the window to see Yuki and her girls.” The music in that said room stops and a few moments later, Maki steps outside wearing a beautiful kimono. She fights her way through the crowd until she stands in front of her three friends, who are speechless. “Glad you guys could make it. Thank you so much!” Maki bows.

Finally, Junji gets his speech back, “You look tremendously awesome!” Yutaro doesn’t know what to say, so he just adds, “You’re beautiful!” Maki smiles and blushes. A girl’s voice shouts from inside the room, “Hey, let’s get going. We’re paying money for this.”

Yumi and Yuki give the guys a big smile when they enter the room and ask, “Do you like it?” Their question is related to their fashion. Hiko notices, “You’re all wearing a kimono.” And Junji asks, “Does it have anything to do with the fact that today is Seijin no Hi?” Yumi explains, “Actually, yes. We thought, since it’s Seijin no Hi, and we just got featured on different blogs, we should make a Thank You video for all fans and supporters in a kimono.” Yuki adds, “And without sounding too smugly, we simply look fabulous in our kimonos, don’t we?” Everybody laughs with joy.

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“This is how we’ll do it:” Yumi starts explaining how she’d like to have it, “Hiko, Junji, Yutaro, each of you take one of our cell phones and film us while we play a couple of tunes. You stand in different angles and film another band member. Say, Hiko takes Yuki’s cell phone and films her, Yutaro films Maki with her cell phone, and Junji, you’ll take my cell phone and film me playing the drums. After that, you’ll send me your files and I’ll cut the video on Final Cut Express. Alright?” They proceed as explained by Yumi.

“What songs are you going to play now?” Hiko asks. The girls grin and Yumi answers, "First we want to say 'Thank you' to all our subscribers with a cover of Youtubers Unite!, and then, we thought we should return the favor, since you guys promoted our channel a lot in the past, and cover one of your songs. So, hit the record button now! Here we go…Ichi, ni, san, shi!”

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Episode 23

The World is not flat enough

It’s a cold but serene January evening in Hirakata. Yuki and Maki are spending the evening with muffins and Matcha drinks at a Starbucks, close to Hirakata Keihan Station.

“It was a great idea making those ‘Thank you’ videos in our kimonos.” Yuki is browsing through the mass of comments that piled up ever since they uploaded the videos, when all of a sudden she sighs. She puts down her cell phone and throws a glove to the other side of the table, where Maki is sitting in a comfortable green armchair with a cup in her hands.

“What was that for?” Maki shouts. “I’ve been answering all comments for the past week and I’m getting tired of it. Can’t you take over?” Yuki is annoyed and puts on a sad face. Maki starts laughing. “Common, you baby. You volunteered. You must have seen it coming.” “No, I didn’t! I thought people don’t comment much online. And replying to 30 or so comments in total is no big thing. But we get 30 comments every day and that is just too much for me to handle!”

Yuki is clearly stressed out about it. Maki grabs Yuki’s cell phone and suggests, “Okay, let me handle the replies for the next couple of days, so you can relax and spend your free time writing songs and think

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about how we can best produce songs as remote collaborations.”

Yuki leans back and takes a big bite from her blueberry muffin. She asks with a mouth full of muffin crumbles, “Why do we need to make remote collabs? We live so close from each other and we always record in a studio anyways. That’s how we do things.” Maki keeps her eyes on the screen and answers, “But things change.” Yuki isn’t getting Maki’s point and has to follow up, “What do you mean by that?” Maki sighs and puts down the cell phone.

“Yuki, do you remember that I always wanted to study music in the US and that I was checking out all those colleges of music?” Yuki nods. Maki continues, “Well, I kept following a handful of US music colleges on Twitter and Facebook, just to receive news from them, and since I’m convinced that what they do is great, I also retweeted and shared some material with my friends online. Because of that, a handful of these colleges kept in touch with me and followed me back.” Pause. “Still not getting your point.” Yuki looks puzzled. Maki takes a deep breath and cuts to the point, “I’ll be leaving for the US next week, to study music at McNally Smith College of Music.” Maki is visibly tense and Yuki is in shock.

“I’m sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, but I had no clue that my parents would actually let me go. Plus, the college is giving me a scholarship!” Maki can’t hide her excitement. Yuki is still perplexed.

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“I don’t know what to say… How long will you be gone?” Yuki asks in a very sad voice. “I'm not sure. At least one year.” Maki can feel Yuki’s disappointment and tries to hide her excitement now.

“When my parents told me that I need to get an education in Japan before going abroad and that they wouldn’t spend all that tuition money on music studies, I just gave up. Then, when our music got popular online and some music colleges started showing interest in me I thought, why not just to try again. And then, I got the offer. Ain’t you happy for me, Yuki-chan?"

The news of Maki leaving comes very unexpected for Yuki. Her perception of the situation up until now was that they were on the right track to create a remarkable set and play great gigs during the summer. Who would have thought that one of her band members would get such an offer and move away?

Maki explains, “You know, me leaving the country to study doesn’t mean that I have to leave the band. I don’t want to leave the band at all. Fact is that we don’t have a set yet to play live shows. Because of that, we need to work on originals and cool cover songs, and we can do that over the Internet and present our results to our following to entertain them. And that will result in promotion and brand-building for The November Sun.” Maki smiles.

Yuki can’t lay down her disappointed face. “I know, and by the way, I am thrilled for you. You’ll get to

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study music in the US. Wow! You’ll be playing music everyday, all day long, and you’ll be studying everything you need to know to become a professional musician. I’m so proud of you!” Yuki gets up and hugs Maki. They are both moved.

Yuki calmed down now and brings the conversation to a less emotional level, “How come do your parents allow you to leave Gaidai?” “I got more than enough credits to get a 2-year college degree from Gaidai. It’s not a bachelor, but I can always continue and get my bachelor when I come back from the US, which I will most likely do.” Maki smiles at Yuki, who replies, “You better do come back and play with Yumi and me. I believe in us and I can'’t imagine rockin’ out with anyone else other than you and Yumi.” Yuki tries to control her tears, but Maki’s eyes are getting watery and a couple of tears find their way down her cheeks.

Yuki gets emotional, “I am really going to miss you, Maki-chan.” Her voice starts shaking. Maki loses control over her tears and cries with a smile on her face. Maki tries to get a grip, “Common, we got Skype, Mixi, Facebook and all those other communication possibilities. And we’ll be making tons of remote collabs for our band.” Yuki adds, “And I’ll come visit you during our breaks, and you’ll have to come visit me during your beaks. I guess the scholarship you get can cover all that traveling.” The girls laugh with tears in their eyes.

“Did you tell Yutaro yet?” Yuki asks. Maki dries her tears with a napkin. “No, I only told you and the dean.

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I hope he won’t take it too hard.” Yuki smiles at Maki and consoles her, “If he loves you as much as I love you, he will wait for you and simply be happy for you.” Maki looks a bit worried. “I hope so.” They lean back in the same armchair.

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Episode 24

Time to say goodbye

Maki and Yutaro are cuddling and dwelling in melancholy on a bench in the park behind the Katahoko Library in Hirakata. They know these will be the last moments they might spend alone together for at least four months. Ever since Maki told Yutaro that she will be studying in the US, he decided to free his schedule and spend every second possible with Maki. Yutaro wasn’t disappointed when Maki told him about her going abroad. He was very proud. Of course, Yutaro would rather have her in Hirakata, where they can be together every day. But things are the way they are and Maki has received a great opportunity and simply has to make good use of it and study abroad. Thanks to Skype, Yutaro and Maki will be able to talk and see each other on a daily basis for free. It makes being apart a bit easier.

“Your parents called me today and asked me if I’m still bringing you to the airport tomorrow. They want to make sure you really miss me once you’re gone.” Yutaro smiles and Maki hits him on the chest. “You’re mean! I will miss Japan every day, and you most.” “Nevertheless, try to enjoy your time at McNally-Smith as much as possible. You’re going there to improve your skills and hopefully find friends with whom you’ll get to apply the stuff they teach you in class in the studio and on stage. And never forget to

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work on material for The November Sun. This is mostly happening because the three of you created a remarkable brand with great potential to succeed. My vision is to see your following grow thanks to remote collaborations during the year you’ll be spending abroad, and when you come back, you girls will perform live and rock your Japanese fans.” Yutaro makes Maki dream.

“What did I do to serve you?” Maki asks and kisses Yutaro. “Guess what. You will deserve me even more, if you keep in touch and simply come back to me.” They kiss and don’t let anything disturb their romantic moment.

After a whole week of moving some of her belongings to Yutaro’s place, sending some other things to her parents’ house, and looking for a student to take over her apartment, it’s finally time to take a deep breath and dare to get on the plane; the plane that will bring her to a new place filled with music; the plane that will make remote collaborations truly remote.

It’s 5:45 AM and the taxi is waiting in front of Yutaro’s apartment to pick them up and bring them to the long-distance bus stop in downtown Hirakata. They get there on time to catch the bus that will bring them directly to Kansai International Airport. Yuki and Hiko are already at the bus stop waiting for Maki and Yutaro.

Yuki shouts, “Ohayou!!!” and hugs Maki. It’s the sort of hug that shows how much she doesn’t want Maki to

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leave. Yuki asks, “Did you have a good night sleep?” Hiko intrudes, “A good night sleep? We were out all night long partying at that karaoke place. How much could they have slept?” Yuki leans closer to Maki and whispers, “I hope you had some time to at least ‘say goodbye’ to Yutaro.” Maki blushes.

Yutaro asks Yuki, “Do you know if Yumi made it home alright last night?” She answers, “Yes, she did. She texted me. And she’ll be at the airport around 8:30 she said.” The bus driver asks all the passengers to show their tickets and to get on the bus.

During the almost 2-hour bus drive from Hirakata to the airport, Maki sleeps leaning her head on Yuki’s shoulder. Yuki can’t stop thinking about her best friend leaving her. “It seems as if you didn’t have enough time to prepare yourself for this either,” Yutaro whispers to Yuki across the aisle. “No, I definitely didn’t have enough time.” Yuki is visibly sad. “But if this is what she wants and needs to do, she has all our support, right?” Her words sound like a command, not like a question.” Yutaro smiles and nods. “Always.”

The bus driver announces the last stop, Kansai Kokusai Kuukou.

“Maki, wake up. We’re at the airport.” Yuki caresses Maki’s face. The four of them get of the bus. Yutaro and Hiko get Maki’s suitcases, when Yumi approaches the group. “Maki-chan!” Yumi gives Maki a hug and shakes her from one foot to the other, before the

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three girls move inside, while the guys carry Maki’s belongings.

“I usually like coming here, because I get to leave. But this time I’m not sure how happy I can be.” Yuki gets very emotional and turns away from her friends to hide her tears. “Hey rockstar!” a young man shouts from behind a group of travelers. “Junji-kun!" Maki notes with a big smile. “Did you think I would let you leave without saying goodbye?” Maki replies, “Sure not.”

After Maki checked-in it’s time to face reality and to say goodbye.

Maki stands in front her five friends that are lined up in a half-circle, behind her, the security-check area, where only passengers with a valid boarding pass are allowed in.

“I guess this is it,” Maki starts with tears in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say, other than, thank you all so much for having been there for me during these past months, and some of you for the past years. As Yutaro pointed out to me, the reason why we’re here today is because you guys made it possible for me to become a better musician, and above all, to grow as a person. If I hadn’t fallen in love with Yutaro, I would never have left that band. And if Yuki hadn’t had such great bandmates like Hiko and Junji teaching her everything she needs to know to be a bandleader, The November Sun would never have been founded. And Yumi, your

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great personality and butt-kicking drumming brought our music to a new, more professional level.”

Maki's words stop, because her tears absorb all her voice. She puts her hands in front of her face. Yutaro takes her in his arms.

“And you were always the sunshine of our posse and you will always be that sunshine, even if you’re thousands of miles away. Remember when you wanted to be a professional music promoter, because you were so good at attracting people to our gigs at the Kansai Gaidai International Festival?” Everyone smiles. Junji steps in, “Or when you made that young mother who was taking care of her disabled child in Amerikamura last Christmas cry of joy.” “Or when you gave that drummer girl a place in your band,” Yumi says trying to stop her tears at the same time.

Maki can’t fight her tears anymore. She just let’s them run. But no matter how sad this moment is, she smiles of joy and happiness. She knows that her friends will be there for her even if they don’t live in the same time zone. And they will still be there when she comes back.

Yuki approaches Maki and gives her a hug. “Maki-chan, I don’t know if you ever realized that, but I consider you my best friend. You are the reason why I am who I am. You always inspire me and you make me wish to be more like you.” “Ah, stop it, Yuki. I wish I were more like you.” The girls smile at each other.

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“I only let you leave under one condition,” Yuki holds Maki’s hands, “you have to promise that you will come back to me.” She presses a soft kiss onto Maki’s lips and smiles at her. Maki smiles back.

“You guys are the best,” Maki tells her friends. “And don’t forget these words: Every time you look up to the sky, I will be looking at the same sky. That’s how close we are to each other.” She grabs her guitar and her backpack and joins the line to get into the security-check area. The line is very short and it doesn’t take long for Maki to get through the security-check point. After she gathers her belongings from the baskets, she looks back to her friends and waves one last time. Yutaro, Hiko, Junji, Yumi, and Yuki wave back. Maki smiles and proceeds to the gate.

…

Further resources

You can find songs by The Hiko/Yutaro-Collaboration and The November Sun performed by me at YouTube.com/ACellphoneNovel.

If you’d like to get in touch with me, follow my Twitter at twitter.com/sebinomics and tweet me. I’ll reply as soon as possible.

Thank you!