SixtyTwo
I saw this guy posted up outside of the station. I stopped and looked at him and thought to myself, “Dude looks cool, I should ask him for a photo”. After looking for a few seconds I decided not to and walked off. I stopped again after a few steps, looked at him and once again decided not to. As I was walking off for the second time I stopped took a deep breath and said, “Screw it, lets do it” and walked towards him.
Not really sure why I hesitated to speak to him, I think it was a mixture of exhaustion and lack of faith (pic sucks, too many mistakes, not sure wtf im doing, etc) that was messing with my state of mind.
I went up to him and asked in Japanese if he speaks English and he replied, “no”. I normally ask people this because you would be surprised at how many people can speak enough English to hold a little conversation. Also it gives them that rare opportunity to practice their English.
For some reason when he said no I was about to give up and walk off…
He then turns to me and in Japanese asks, “Are you ok? Do you have any sort of problem you need help with or anything?”
That kinda put a smile on my face and restored my drive. I told him I take photos of strangers and I thought he looked cool and asked if it was ok to take him and he said sure.
My camera was in my bag and I didnt even have film loaded in it (completely off my game). I asked him if he could wait a little for me to get setup and he said no problem that he is not in a rush or anything.
I told him that he looks like a musician and asked if he belongs to a band or anything and he said yes (I haz psychic powaz).
He is part of a band called PlasticZooms. On the 11th January (today) they will be releasing their second album called “STARBOW“ which will be on sale at Tower Records. They will also be doing a Special Exhibition at Tower Records where they will have their stuff displayed. Alongside their music they also have their own clothing line.
I congratulated him and told him it was inspiring to hear about what he is doing. Most people don’t really do anything with their life’s, so seeing him living/chasing the dream put a smile on his face. I asked him what he was gonna do after the album release and he said that his band had a countrywide tour scheduled.
I wished him good luck and he thanked me saying that he felt really happy that we met first thing in the New Year and I took his photo. We swapped info and I told him I would send him the photos when I get them processed.
I asked him what today’s objective was and he said that he had a date :)
If you live in Tokyo go Tower Records in Shibuya and check out what they are doing. Here are some of their details:
