皆様こんにちは、ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です。
昨日はニコ生出演！？という世紀の大誤報を流してしまいましてまことにすみませんでした…
この場をお借りしてご迷惑をおかけした関係者各位、及び楽しみにされていた視聴者の方々に心よりお詫びを申しあげます。 Continue Reading…
The old guard media are on the way out and there’s no way to stop it.
Yesterday, I had a meeting with the president of one of Japan’s leading internet companies. They run the biggest and most popular blogging portal in Japan as well as many other internet related business and internet media broadcasting. Their business is exploding.
In our short meeting yesterday, we discussed television and radio. He had a few words. He said very directly, “They have no future at all.”
In these past few weeks, I’ve been working with some other people who are very much in touch with internet broadcasting as well as experienced in traditional media. Here’s some information that I gathered that I’d like to share with you:
Did you know that nearly all smart phones have FM radio built in to them but the makers do not turn it on because they have determined that there is not enough demand for it?
Did you know that all Japanese car manufacturers stopped putting FM radios in cars as a standard item in 2010?It’s now an option; you have to pay for it if you want it.
Did you know that there is not a single company in Japan that manufactures FM radios anymore?
According to a recent survey of Japanese young people by one of Japan’s largest publishing companies, people between the ages of 13 to 30 showed that only 11% had a TV in their bedroom. Less than 7% had a radio.
But over 98% of those people in that demographic had a smart device or PC in their bedrooms.
Now you know how and why some Japanese internet video sites can get 5 million viewers for some shows. The vast majority of young people do not watch TV or listen to the radio on any sort of a regular basis…
And yesterday, this:
Norway to Become First Country to Switch Off FM Radio in 2017 www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/norway-first-country-end-fm-790131
In what will likely be the opening move in a global transition to digital radio, Norway has announced it will shut down its FM band.
Norway will start turning off FM radio on Jan. 11, 2017, and plans to stop transmission of the last FM signal to the country’s northernmost regions by Dec. 13 of that year. The announcement, made by their Ministry of Culture, makes Norway the first country to do away entirely with FM radio. The move is intended to save money and allow a full transition to digital radio, which Norway argues will give listeners “access to more diverse and pluralistic radio content and enjoy better sound quality and new functionality.”
In its statement, the Norwegian government said the cost of transmitting national radio channels through the FM network is eight times higher than via the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system, the standard digital radio technology used across Europe.
Wow! A digital radio station can be operated at 1/8th the cost of a traditional FM station?
The writing is on the wall for FM radio. It has been a wonderful partner and part of my life.
I love FM radio. I hate to see what is happening. But progress shall not be stopped.
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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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格安ビデオ制作、ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, 格安, ビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, 撮影, 格安, ビジネスビデオ制作, 動画, 紹介動画, 動画制作, 東京,
Well, folks, last night, the first episode of “Ninja Slayer From Animation” aired. Along with it, “The TV Show” had its debut.
ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, 格安, ビデオ制作, ビデオ編集,
I reckon I should give you a short report of the results. Well, according to the chief producer, the results were great. He said that more than 1/2 of the viewer remarks were negative and critical of the animation. That’s bad! No, that’s good, actually. Hundreds of thousands of comments were made and the worst thing that could happen is if people didn’t care enough to comment. You know what they say, “Love and Hate are two sides of the same coin.”
He also informed me that during the program, the topic that was #1 on the “Now trending” charts at Twitter was Ninja Slayer. It gets better! Not just #1, but Ninja Slayer From Animation related topics also were trending at #2, #3 and #4 at the same time! So, it’s kind of like the Beatles in the sixties when they had the Top 5 slots on the Billboard Pop Charts!
Ninja Slayer From Animation held the top 1 ~ 4 slots all at the same time! Wow!
Immediately after Ninja Slayer from Animation aired, the segment called, “The TV Show” aired. The TV Show is a short variety program that I created, wrote and produced along with Ken Nishikawa and Motoyoshi Tai.
“The TV Show” (ザ・TVショウ）features interviews with the musicians that make the theme music for Ninja Slayer from Animation. As far as “The TV Show” is concerned, the reaction was very good again! More than 50% of the comments were negative with many commentators saying they didn’t know who the artists were and they couldn’t figure out what “The TV Show” was all about.
I am very happy about that.
The TV Show is supposed to be a sort of “flow of consciousness.” We created it to intentionally make the viewer think, “What the heck is this?” The first time I watched Monty Python’s Flying Circus, in the mid 1970s, I thought, “What the heck is this?” I didn’t realize for the first 15 or 20 minutes that it was a comedy show. Duh! When I finally figured that out, I was hooked for life.
Here’s the trailer for the TV Show:
Unsurprisingly (at least to me) was the audience reaction to Mina Shirakawa, our co-host. She’s “Japan’s Sexiest Japanese Girl!” (I just made that up! Pretty funny, eh? Get it? “Japan’s Sexiest Japanese Girl”?! Ha! Ha! Ha! She is too!) That’s her in the bikini at the top of this page. She hit it big time on last night’s show. The viewer reaction was massive and they just loved her voluptuous, er,… boobs…er, boos….Boots! Yeah! Boots! That’s it!
They loved her boots!
You can watch next week’s episode on April 23, 2015 at 11 pm Japan Time on Niconico Douga for free (check your local time!) Here is the link to watch it: http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv212629769
Of course, you can check back here for more photos and videos of Mina Shirakawa in the coming weeks!
And thanks so much to all of you for watching our program. We appreciate it!
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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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格安, ビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, レストラン, 動画, 紹介動画, 動画制作, 格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, ビジネスビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, 東京, 撮影, 格安,
人類の皆様ご機嫌麗しゅう！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！
もう皆様もご存知かと思いますが、ROBOT55が3ピース・ガール・ロック・バンド、Su凸ko D凹koi（すっとこどっこい）の名曲「ブス」のPVを制作しました！
この撮影が行われたのは４月３日金曜日。この日はSu凸ko D凹koiのワンマンライブが下北沢モザイクで行われたのでそのついでにPVも撮影させて頂いたという訳でございます。 Continue Reading…
“I’ve always said, I thought the Sex Pistols was more Music Hall than anything else – because I think that really, more truths are said in humour than any other form.” – John Lydon (lead vocalist of the Sex Pistols)
“The Sex Pistols was a part of my life. Just a small part.” – Steve Jones (guitarist of the Sex Pistols)
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This is a story (mostly my very stretched imagination) about how a band named the Sex Pistols really affected my life, and still does, to this day.
It was mid-1977. I was a college student. I had very long hair. Just like all the other guys did.
The FM radio was filled with lame rock bands like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner and Journey or disco music. Real rock and roll was long gone; Kiss and Aerosmith started doing ballads. I thought it should be against the law for heavy metal bands to do ballads. It sucked.
In my car, I had a dozen cassette tapes. Ten of them were David Bowie and the other two were T-Rex. I couldn’t really stand listening to anything else. Except a few radio shows I really liked. (I wrote about some of those shows here: The White Stripes Jack White and Me (A True Story) (robot55.jp/blog/jack-white-and-me-a-true-story/)
One day, bored (and stoned) as usual, I came home from college. And turned on the TV. There I saw a news report about a sick new rock and roll craze that was sweeping England; it was the punk rock craze.
It was freaky: kids with short spiky orange colored hair and girls and guys holding dog leashes and collars on their boyfriends and girlfriends – who dressed in similar black leather attire with a tinge of fashionable Nazi regalia.
I thought it was way cool.
As the announcer kept telling the viewers that this was a “sick and twisted trend” in UK music, I watched and thought, “This is great!”
Later I would go to the local record shop and ask for “Punk Rock.” The clerk, with a confused face, scowled and looked at me and said, “What’s that?” I told him it was a new kind of music that was popular in England and he pointed me to the import section. I didn’t know what I was looking for exactly; I only knew these people had short and messy hair. I filed through the imports and then came upon the Damned’s first album (the one where pumpkin pie is smeared all over their faces.) I turned the album over and look at the back and saw some of the guys I had seen on TV: One was dressed as Dracula, another was wearing a waitresses uniform.
This is it! I bought the record and took it home. From the first listen, I was hooked!
On November 1st, 1977, I went to Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and bought the first Sex Pistols album. November 1st is my birthday! What a great birthday present! I liked the Sex Pistols even more than the Damned!
I became a hard core punk rock fan. From then on, that’s all I listened to. I would go on to be a member in a one-hit wonder punk band and that was a turning point in my life.
To make a long story short, Punk Rock had changed my life and it set me up (for good or bad) as a person who wants to have fun doing what I like and to generally reject mass-consumerism and Pop-Music.
Fast forward many years later and, in 1996, the Sex Pistols who had broken up in 1977, had reunited and came to Japan. I had a chance (invitation) to go see them and perhaps interview them, but I didn’t. Just like my band, the punk movement of 1977 ~ 1980 was a great memory. I wanted to keep it that way. I wasn’t interested in seeing my past heroes as middle-aged fat punks.
I guess I should have gone, though.
A few years ago, Glen Matlock, the original bass guitarist for the Sex Pistols would come and tour Japan. He came to my radio station. I did go meet him then. I took my photo with him. See?
Glen Matlock and Mike Rogers in Tokyo. Feb. 4, 2014
I asked Glen Matlock that same day if he would allow us to make a promo video for his song, “Yeah Right.” He said, “OK!” So, with no planning and no pre-shooting planning meeting at the show, we shot this video. It was made taking video at his rehearsal and then shots of the live performance:
It was great fun and I’m glad I got to finally meet one of my heroes, Glen Matlock. Making his video was a dream come true.
Several months after that, famous photographer Sheila Rock came to Japan. Sheila Rock was the wife of famous music photographer, Chris Rock, and Sheila spent her youth taking photos of early UK punk greats like Generation X, the Clash and the Sex Pistols. Even though Johnny Rotten didn’t attend her event, I did, and I sat and talked with her and she even took my photo for me! I wrote about that in Sex Pistols, Clash, Gen X, Sheila Rock and Why We Sometimes Make Videos for Free! (robot55.jp/blog/sex-pistols-clash-gen-x-sheila-rock-and-why-we-sometimes-make-videos-for-free/) I think there’s a photo of me taken by the famous Sheila rock at that link, so please check it out.
Like I said, the Sex Pistols have greatly influenced my life even to this very day!
They taught me that it’s OK to be an individual and to not follow the crowds. They also taught me that in life, sometimes hype is bigger than reality.
I’ve used that idea and concept all my life since then. It has helped me greatly all my life.
Steve Jones said (quote at the top of this page): “The Sex Pistols was a part of my life. Just a small part.”
But, for me, the Sex Pistols were, and still are, a big part of my life.
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Actually, if you want to read a really true story of how I made successful ventures into the music business in Japan, by using ideas – hype and marketing techniques I learned from the Sex Pistols, please refer to: My Very Own Rock & Roll Swindle! How I Scammed the Music Business in Japan! (modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/04/my-very-own-rock-roll-swindle-how-i.html)
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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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格安, ビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, レストラン, 動画, 紹介動画, 動画制作, 格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, ビジネスビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, 東京, 撮影, 格安,
Time once again for this week’s Top 3 New Artist Videos for the week of April 14, 2015. This week I want to show you my fave videos for the week. Of course, I play these artists and these songs on my regular weekly FM radio show, “What the Funday” on InterFM that is broadcast in Tokyo and Nagoya (and all over Japan on the Radiko.jp network. You can listen to that (if you are in Japan) here: http://radiko.jp/).
First up today is a band from Sheffield, England named, “Slow Down Tallahassee.” Slow Down Tallahassee are Nicola Coleman (vocals, harp, keyboards, bass), Claire Hill (vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass) and Richard Butterworth (guitar). They released their debut single in 2007 and it was entitled, “So Much For Love.” In 2008, they this fabulous single entitled, “The Beautiful Light” from the album of the same name.
But there, the trail goes cold. I can’t find any information about this band after 2011 so the trail has gone cold. But today’s track is too delicious to miss!
#3) Slow Down Tallahassee – The Beautiful Light https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM6fx78dpuM
At #2 this week is Surfer Blood. Surfer Blood is an alternative rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida. Now they are independent, but used to be signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band has 4 members: John Paul Pitts (lead vocals/guitar), Thomas Fekete (guitar/backing vocals), Kevin Williams (bass guitar/backing vocals) and Tyler Schwarz (drums). The band was originally called Jabroni Sandwich.
Surfer Blood announced their 3rd album “1000 Palms” and that it would be released on May 12th, 2015. So we will be playing stuff from that for you for sure. But, until then, enjoy!
Surfer Blood – Demon Dance: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T99JYIq0Xtk)
Next up, if you are twisted, you are gonna dig this. Baby Strange is a band from Glasgow that combine the classic punk rock of Ramones with Jesus and the Mary Chain and a surf guitar rock drive into killer tunes. They represent the forefront of a wave of great, fuzzed out and totally rocking guitar bands who who storm the charts… That is if the radio dares to play them. Which they won’t.
But we do here and on our radio show. This is awesome! The video is delightfully cheap and crappy! It’s perfect!
Baby Strange – Pure Evil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ci-4Wnizq8
That’s it for today. See past weeks of Top 3 Video countdown below and see you back here next week!
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PAST ISSUES:
This Week’s Top 3 New Artist Videos (04/07/15) robot55.jp/blog/this-weeks-top-3-new-artist-videos-040715/
Top 3 New Artist Videos (03/31/15) robot55.jp/blog/top-3-new-artist-videos-033115-〜ミュージックビデオも制作/
Top 3 New Artist Videos (03/25/15) 〜ミュージックビデオも制作 http://robot55.jp/blog/top-3-new-artist-videos-032515/
Top 3 New Artist Videos (03/17/15) 〜ミュージックビデオも制作 robot55.jp/blog/this-weeks-top-3-new-artist-videos-031715-〜ミュージックビデオも制作/
Top 3 for the week of March 12, 2015 here: This Week’s Top 3 New Artist Videos #2 & the Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock! 〜ミュージックビデオも制作 (http://bit.ly/1Br0f66)
Top 3 for the week of March 5, 2015 here: This Week’s Top 3 New Artist Videos & Shonen Knife!〜ミュージックビデオも制作 (robot55.jp/blog/this-weeks-top-3-new-artist-videos-shonen-knife/)
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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, ビジネスビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, 格安, ビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, 動画, 紹介動画, 動画制作, 東京, 撮影, 格安,
Gang! We just made the new video for Japan’s Hottest New Girl’s Group! Su Ko D Koi! These girl’s are fucking fantastic! Su凸ko D凹koi 「すっとこどっこい」. The song is called, “Busu” which means “Ugly.” Check it!
She sings、
“Ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly…. I know I am ugly….
But, I got a boyfriend and we have been going out.
But one day, out of the blue, he hit me for no reason.
I woke up in the hospital and he had his head in his hands.
Then he was gone….
But, I finally was able to realize that finally, he treated me like a woman!
I was happy!”
It’s kind of like the old 1950s song, “He Hit Me, and It Felt Like a Kiss” by the Crystals but with a 2015 twist!
Cool! Isn’t it?
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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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格安, ビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, レストラン, 動画, 紹介動画, 動画制作, 格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, ビジネスビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, 東京, 撮影, 格安,
(Photo of me, as Nigel Nitro, circa 1980)
I really have worked as a Stand Up Comedian in Hollywood and around in small venues in Southern California when I was a teenager… I was very popular and got paid… OK. That’s not exactly true. I wasn’t a teenager, I was about 21 or 22 years old when I was a stand-up comedian; and it’s probably a bit of a “stretch” to say that I was “popular.” I did get paid a couple of bucks each time too (which was often more than I got from being in the punk band!)
Months before I became a Stand-Up Comedian, I was playing in a punk band and, from that, I got to see how the stage set-up was done for concerts. I saw an opportunity to be able to go on stage, tell off-color jokes and actually get paid a little bit (plus it was a great way to meet girls!) I figured that, in between the bands – while the Roadies were changing equipment on the stage – I could go up on stage and entertain the troops. (I wrote about my punk band in: The White Stripes Jack White and Me (A True Story) (robot55.jp/blog/jack-white-and-me-a-true-story/)
I actually went to clubs and owners to sell myself and my routine. For a while there, I got jobs; a lady from the department store I worked at actually got me lots of jobs too. She got me jobs at some sort of social events! She could have been a good manager! At that time, I was telling jokes in front of crowds of 50 ~ 200 people one or two weekends a month for a short while!
Sometimes I did so well, and the crowd liked my jokes so much, that the fans were crowding the stage and throwing coins at my feet. This time I am not exaggerating!
Other times, with the very same act and original jokes I wrote, even the next night in front of a different crowd, it was like I was giving a speech at a fricking funeral; it was dead. I definitely am not exaggerating about that either.
I was always confused as to why I was such a hit one night, then the next night, it was terrible! Like night and day!
The first time people threw money at me, I was mad because I thought they were throwing stuff at me to get me off the stage. That was until a friend told me, “Wow! You were great! People were even throwing money at your feet!”
Getting up on stage, by yourself, is much more difficult than people can imagine; you are completely alone. If you are in a band, that’s scary enough, but, in a band, you have your band members and instruments to hide behind. Being a stand up comedian is just you, naked (figuratively speaking), on the stage with a few dozen or, even hundreds of people just staring at you. Their eyes pierce you and their expectations are quite high (or incredibly low – which can be a problem too!) Their eyes and faces are saying, “Entertain me! make me laugh or get off the stage.”
Being a Stand-Up Comedian is a very rough job.
I did this gig, off and on, from 1979 until early 1981 or so.
My very last stand up routine was at my university at a talent show. People were roaring with laughter. I couldn’t figure it out. They were laughing in all the wrong places! I later asked a girl why people were laughing so much and she said, “Your facial expressions were hilarious!” I couldn’t figure that out. If anything my facial expression were of confusion because I couldn’t figure out why people were laughing at my jokes in weird places! It was then and there that I decided that I wasn’t good enough and didn’t have what it takes to be a Stand-Up Comedian.
But I’m very glad I tried my luck as a Stand Up Comedian. Being a Stand-Up Comedian is a great way to become a great public speaker. It is also a good way to overcome inhibitions and to learn how to control a crowd’s behavior.
How and why did I ever first become a Stand-Up Comedian? Let me explain further…
In about mid 1979, a few months after Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died, my punk band broke up. I was quite disillusioned with the entire “Punk Thing” by then anyway. Sid dying (he was my hero) was the last straw for me.
But, I had loved being on the stage as a Punk band vocalist and wanted to stay and hang out in Hollywood. So I decided try try my hand as a Stand-Up Comedian. It made sense to me at the time.
Being the front of a punk band was powerful. It was also a lesson in crowd control. When my band ended, at first, I wanted to start another punk band but everything I tried just didn’t work out to my liking. Also, I had learned a lesson from playing in a band with other people who weren’t so dedicated; having to depend on other people sucks!
Being a Stand-Up Comedian is really just you against the world, it seems. It’s a great experience and, no matter your age, I think everyone can benefit from having to stand up in front of a bunch of strangers and give a speech.
After all, giving a speech and doing stand up comedy are first cousins in the public speaking world.
In Japan, you can sometimes see young people standing at a busy train station and giving speeches. I hear it is a kind of initiation at some companies to make their new young employees overcome their inhibitions and become better representatives and salesmen. I think it is good.
I will always fondly look back to my 20 or 30 times as a Stand Up Comedian. Sometimes I was the funniest guy! King of the hill! Other times I was a pathetic little loser standing butt-stark-naked in front of a crowd of people without a friend in the world!….
Both are great learning experiences.
Everyone can benefit from public speaking exposure like that.
Like they say, “Don’t dream it. Be it.”
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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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格安, ビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, レストラン, 動画, 紹介動画, 動画制作, 格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, ビジネスビデオ制作, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, 東京, 撮影, 格安,
人類の皆様ご機嫌麗しゅう♬ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！
先週は人間の皆様の間ではお花見で賑わっていたようですが、ROBOT55は撮影や編集でザ・忙殺！
やっと一段落ついたと思ったらぐるりはもう葉桜になっております。
ROBOT55も来年こそは日本の悠久のロマン行事に参加して桜の樹の下でハイオクの油を一気飲みした挙句、ベロンベロンになってカラオケ歌いたい♬
ま、しかしながらこうして忙しいのには当然、色々理由があるんです。 Continue Reading…
Ricky Martin (about 10-years-old), in blue shirt at front. Mike Rogers, left, white shirt.
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“Upside inside out,
She’s livin’ la vida loca,
She’ll push and pull you down,
Livin’ la vida loca”
– Ricky Martin (Lyrics from ‘Livin’ Da Vida Loca.’
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The other day, I posted that article about Jack White of the White Stripes. It got a fantastic reaction! Thanks so much. If you want to read that story (when you read it, you’ll also see that it is, indeed, a true story) then click here: The White Stripes Jack White and Me (A True Story) – (robot55.jp/blog/jack-white-and-me-a-true-story/）There’s also photo of me with Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes and that was well before they ever became famous.
Actually, folks, may I brag? I have tons of photos like that with me and the rich and famous. I went looking through a bunch of them and saw a few names that I’d like to drop: Yoko Ono, Paul Weller, Arnold Schwarneggar, former US President George Bush… But which story would impress you, dear reader the most today?
Well, the hint came from an alert reader and friend Jimbo who wrote: “Wow, Placebo, Linkin Park, and Elvis Costello are all very impressive, but I doubt many people can claim to have a photo with Menudo. That is a gem. :)”
So, today I am going to show you proof of me with Menudo and Ricky Martin when he was a 10-year-old boy.
No kidding.
First off, “Who is Menudo?” You ask? Here’s what Wikipedia says: “Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band that was was one of the biggest Latin boy bands in history. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Latin American teen musical group of the era. The band was a starting point for superstars like Ricky Martin and Draco Rosa, who were members around the mid 1980s during their youth.”
Actually, they were so popular they toured Japan in 1985. I was there.
Here’s the official release story for the mass media after I left Menudo:
Mike Rogers, was the sixth, most handsome and eldest member of Menudo. He wrote all the hit songs and played all the instruments. He also was director of choreography for all the stage shows. During Menudo’s Japan tour, things came to a head when the other five members complained that Mike was getting all the action with the hot and sexy Japanese babes (who were just dying to meet him) while the other Menudo members couldn’t run around with girls because they still hadn’t reached puberty and all had to be in bed by 8:00 pm.
During their Japan tour, Mike was having so much fun with sex-starved Japanese girls that he said “Goodbye” to Menudo and quit the group.
It was a mistake that Mike Rogers would always regret. If Mike had stayed, it would have been him, and not Ricky Martin would would be living in massive homes in the Caribbean, yachting on his yacht and flying around the world in his own private jet.
But he left, and the rest is, as they say history….
Mike would be quoted as saying later: “Sure, I regret it. But I just couldn’t live with myself having all that money and all those women trying to get into my pants all the time!… So I decided to take a $7.42 an hour job teaching English to Japanese businessmen.”
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Well, OK…. the above is a bit of a stretch… That’s not exactly how it happened. What really happened was I was a regular on a kid’s show named “Ohayo Studio” on TV Tokyo in the mid eighties and Menudo came on my show. After the show ended, I asked if I could take my photo with them so I could claim, years later, that I was the eldest member of the group…
See? I have always been a guy who planned ahead! (But the fake story is much more fun, isn’t it?)
Chuckle!
Have a great weekend!
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