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RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
Considering that Japan has the most flamenco scenes, outside of Spain of course, I would have thought there would be some nice guitars to check out. Beside I'll be in Japan for 3 months so I can def. make some room to make a trip to a store
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
quote:
Japan has the most flamenco scenes, outside of Spain of course
Tons of dissapointed houswifes,having less rights than men, getting treated badly in that society, using flamenco to let some feelings out in form of stomping. In these classes are playing (if thesre is anybody with guitar) only very bad guitarists who can barely hold the guitar correctly..or pro-players taking crazy salary. Same for tablaos in Tokyo. You only get in if you reserve a table..everything horribly expensive. Forget about flamenco while being in Tokyo.And again, it has so much other things to experience.. if you go for flamenc, you do a big mistake. I skimmed through these flamenco catalogues which are full of commercials for flamenco schoolsall over japan. Funny thing is..there are tons of pictures of female dance-teachers...all japanese, but all look spanish. It felt so weirdto see that... I didnt even took a look. Not at these schools, not tablao. trust m,..flamenco in japan..forget about that. The only good thing are the pros who come over from spain to make some bucks.... Chicuelo is one of the guys who show up most over there as I was told. ee....just forget about the whole japaqn flamenco thing.Its not worth to waste your time for.... If you are american..go roppongi and have fun. :P Take care and dont talk to the nigerian doormen.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
Do-it is such a Negative Nelly...sheesh.
You should go seek it out. The old fashioned way to find flamenco is to go find some one who knows someone who knows someone. I bet this would work in Tokyo too.
I have a friend who goes to Japan twice year who is an aficionado, his wife is Japanese. He goes to see flamenco I can ask him what is up. There is a guy named Takeshi who used to post on the old Temple.edu and yahoo Flamenco Disc groups. My buddy met Takeshi San and they hung out together and Takeshi took him to some places where there was more than repressed housewives acting out anger at the floor. Maybe if you go on one of those talk forums you can dredge up old Takeshi.
Osaka is a more "arty" city than Tokyo even though Tokyo is the Big Apple of Japan. There is also a lot of flamenco in Osaka if you happen to go down there. Artists like Paco Fernandez and Miguel Funi are spending a lot in time in Japan these days, and there must be someone pulling though monthly to play shows.
And the time I was in Spain I thought the Japanese dance students were often the best. There is also a very fine dancer in Los Angles who is Japanese, her name escapes at the moment apologies, and in Japan there area few very high level Japanese artists who you would not want to tangle with as a guitarist unless you were top level player.
So unless you are one of the boring flamenco policy wonks who are biased against non Spaniards as flamenco artists, I would suggest finding who the best dancers and guitarists in Japan are and trying to see them.
In the end there are American, English, Canadian, Mexican and other non Spanish Europeans doing flamenco and playing tablaos and mounting bigger shows, so why not Japan too? And I betcha dollars ( or yen) to donuts you will find some good people there. It's kind of hypocritical for non Spanish aficionados to bag on Japan without giving it a good try. That kind of "I only like Spanish artists " snobbery is one of the things that sucks about the flamenco world. Sure, we all love a Spanish artists and know what that means and we can all get really snotty about it, but there are some non Spaniards you really have to see.
Ever see El Pollito? I could name a dozen...and a dozen more.....
Flamenco is about the search, the attitude of the people and not the snobbery. Good aficion is not about being a snob.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
No its all crap believe me haha... I have friends living there. U get live ticker right from tokyo ""tokyo de furamenko ha sugoku takaiiiii8.,unko chinko manko.... roppongi he itte party ****e!! "" And thats an order! ;P
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
quote:
Sometimes I wonder if you know anything about flamenco at all.
I do ;)
(First of all, estebanana, unfortunately harsh comments will follow...,(and i have no spelling correction here damnit!) but I want you to know that I like you. Nothing is meant as attack..lets stay ez .. )
But I stopped careing too much about many things of minor importance..like the whole flamenco thing..I focus on the part I like and exclude everything else, BASTA. Just have no time to wastee~~~ Rationalization of unimportant things make me seeing important things in my life more clearly.
Even if your traveler’s guide praises flamenco-country japan, (and friends who had vacations there..pimping any boring story to a Hollywood blockbuster 5*... the usual exaggerating holiday stories...) I must disappoint. There is nothing about flamenco really worth seeing except it gets expensive. Sometimes I wonder if Im the only one here living in reality.. :P
I have been to all these cities.. well,..... you can make great experiences there, with the right amount of money in your pocket.
And we discussed earlier that Paco Fernandez is a snobbish douche who isnt really that great. He sucks in relation to the opinion he has about himself. well...in that business you need that to survife... How could you sell that **** otherwise without dying on shame. So if good aficion is not about being a snob....Paco Fernandez is just a businesman.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Doitsujin)
quote:
And we discussed earlier that Paco Fernandez is a snobbish douche who isnt really that great. He sucks in relation to the opinion he has about himself. well...in that business you need that to survife... How could you sell that **** otherwise without dying on shame. So if good aficion is not about being a snob....Paco Fernandez is just a businesman.
You just proved my point.
I'm a kind of a rough around the edges sometimes, but there is one thing sacrosanct in my flamenco life, I never talk smack about Gitano artists. Even when I know there's dirty laundry, especially on the internet. That is the difference between you and I, I know a of them personally and I don't have to put forth my opinions in public to prove I know something.
More importantly your opinion on Paco Fernandez is baseless and worthless.
And I didn´t tell yet how he bitched around like a diva when not enough ppl for his taste signed up for his workshop... because they didn´t appreciate that a woldstarpremium player offers to share wisdom for a few bucks. Then they found some more ppl to please him who entered later and he refused to repeat.. psh... sometime later he came for another workshop...same game. And there´s even a more ridiculous story about what he did.. I see you don´t know him.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
There's a company trading under the name Iberia SA that's making more impressive videos than that coming out of Spain. They have a shop, a restaurant and a dance academy staffed by Spanish teachers. Might be worth checking out their website.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Neotriz)
Miguel Funi just posted on Facebook he is in Japan right now. But since Doit knows there is no flamenco to be had, I would go to Fukushima instead and inspect the nuclear plant just for fun.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
ORIGINAL: estebanana
Miguel Funi just posted on Facebook he is in Japan right now. But since Doit knows there is no flamenco to be had, I would go to Fukushima instead and inspect the nuclear plant just for fun.
Well, they all go to Japan because they get paid extremely well. Which in turn would mean that the tablaos must be charging appropriately hefty prices to their customers, which Doit did mention.
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From: Washington DC
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
ORIGINAL: estebanana
Miguel Funi just posted on Facebook he is in Japan right now. But since Doit knows there is no flamenco to be had, I would go to Fukushima instead and inspect the nuclear plant just for fun.
If doit even knows who funi is, I am sure he can't stand him.
RE: Any stores worth checking out in... (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
If doit even knows who funi is, I am sure he can't stand him.
More Funi business for me then!
It's a pity then, because Funi is a great flamenco artist. He has his a wonderful cuple' for buleria that he acts out about Belmonte' the bullfighter. It's sad for Doit too because when Funi comes to town all the otherwise 'chaste and pure' flamenco women who would never give you a second look get in the mood.
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