Before going on a french tour with guitarists Yossi Sassi and Stephan Forte, Marty Friedman was kind enough to answer some of our questions. A short and fast interview.
Can you present the concept of "Guitar Universe 2012" ?
Marty Friedman : It is similar to the G3 tour, but the three artists are known for having exotic, "international" styles of music. Of course you know my strange background, but Yossi and Stephan also have very strong ethnic flavors.
How do you feel about playing with Yossi Sassi and Stephan Forte ? Will it be the first time ?
Yossi played a song with me at my 2011 Tel Aviv show and we became friends right away. A great guy and unique musician. It will be the first time seeing Stephan on stage, however we met in Paris once.
Can you tell us more about your last release "Tokyo Jukebox 2 : BAD D.N.A." ?
This is a 2 cd release of my most recent albums that were released in Japan in 2010 and 2011, Guitar wise and arrangement wise. these are by far the most interesting albums I`ve done. Tokyo Jukebox 2 will give you an idea of my interpretation of songs that almost all Japanese people know. I pretty much destroyed them and built them back up from the beginning.
How is the life today in Tokyo with the danger of Fukushima ?
The fear of another quake/tsunami is still there and uncertainty about nuclear problems is there, but aside from those things in the background, much is pretty close to normal.
LG
Photo : DR
The dates of the european tour 2012 are :
09 OCT – FR – COLMAR – LE GRILLEN
10 OCT – NL – ZOETERMEER – BOERDERIJ
12 OCT – UK – LONDON – UNDERWORLD
13 OCT – IRL – DUBLIN – THE VILLAGE
16 OCT – FR – NANTES – LE FERRAILLEUR
17 OCT – SP – BILBAO – KAFE ANTZOKIA
19 OCT – PT – BENAVENTE/LISBOA – SIDE B CLUB
20 OCT – SP – MADRID – RAMDALL
21 OCT – SP – BARCELONA – SALAMANDRA2
22 OCT – FR – TOULOUSE – CONNEXION LIVE
23 OCT 2012 – FR – MONTPELLIER – SECRET PLACE
24 OCT – FR – TOULON – LE VOX
25 OCT – IT – PRATO – KELLER PLATZ
26 OCT – IT – RETORBIDO/MILAN – CARLITO’S WAY