[JJJ]

I got introduced to the Beatles in junior high school, starting with their early years - the stuff for baby ears.  I went looking at the record store for a greatest hits album and bought "The Beatles" figuring it was a compilation.  Mind blown.

There's a Beatles-themed bar in Tokyo named the Cavern Club.  They have a terrific Beatles cover band and they took requests.  I wrote down "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the slip of paper and gave it to the waiter.  I wanted to see if the guitarist could pull off the Clapton solo.  Whenever people tell me the Japanese won't say "No", I tell them this story.

I've been to the Cavern Club, but for my money, the real jewel was the Bauhaus, not far way in Roppongi, which played covers from '70s, '80s, '90s, and '00s and in the pre-internet days, was the safe haven for expats looking for a taste of home ("my 'haus away from home"). While the video below is old, and some musicians have moved on (Masato, the younger guitarist, since went to Berklee and is now gigging in Boston), the venue is still going strong. Tell'em JJJ sent you, and you might get a free drink (or a hefty surcharge on the music fee, who knows?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGTUUtnbNc

[JJJ]

I got introduced to the Beatles in junior high school, starting with their early years - the stuff for baby ears.  I went looking at the record store for a greatest hits album and bought "The Beatles" figuring it was a compilation.  Mind blown.

There's a Beatles-themed bar in Tokyo named the Cavern Club.  They have a terrific Beatles cover band and they took requests.  I wrote down "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the slip of paper and gave it to the waiter.  I wanted to see if the guitarist could pull off the Clapton solo.  Whenever people tell me the Japanese won't say "No", I tell them this story.

I've been to the Cavern Club, but for my money, the real jewel was the Bauhaus, not far way in Roppongi, which played covers from '70s, '80s, '90s, and '00s and in the pre-internet days, was the safe haven for expats looking for a taste of home ("my 'haus away from home"). While the video below is old, and some musicians have moved on (Masato, the younger guitarist, since went to Berklee and is now gigging in Boston), the venue is still going strong. Tell'em JJJ sent you, and you might get a free drink (or a hefty surcharge on the music fee, who knows?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGTUUtnbNc