Former MEGADETH Guitarist Gets Goosebumps While Performing With Japanese Singer

July 6, 2003

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman recently completed a series of Japanese tour dates with "the amazing rock goddess" Aikawa Nanase, according to Friedman's official web site. Nanase has reportedly sold over 12 million CDs in Japan and besides being a fabulous vocalist, is one of the few singers in Japan who actually write their own lyrics. Her style is full of attitude and charm, great pop hooks, and chock-full of powerful heavy rock guitars — very high-energy, uptempo music. The production of her records is done by none other than Tetsuro Oda, who is known for his futuristic cutting-edge production and unique song sense.

Commented Friedman, "This band was tight as a gnat's ass in a power dive! They made it easy for me to play my heart out every night and really dig into my interpretation of producer genius Tetsuro Oda's guitar wizardry. What can I say about Nanase herself?? I found myself literally melting to her voice during songs like 'Tori Ni Naretara' and 'Hanabi Ga Owaru Koro'. Serious goosebumps. The way she powered through aggressive tunes like 'Shock of Love' and 'Troublemaker' made me bash the hell out of my guitar harder than I ever had before, and that is saying a lot! My new Ibanez guitars took the beating like a man, and I really put them to the test. Overall the gigs were really cool, I was wishing my fans and friends outside of Japan could check them out. I certainly hope to do more work with Aikawa Nanase."

As previously reported, Friedman will be teaming up with Alex Skolnick (ex-TESTAMENT, SAVATAGE) and Chris Poland (ex-MEGADETH, DAMN THE MACHINE) for a U.S. tour later in the summer. Friedman will be performing as a solo artist while Poland and Skolnick will be showcasing their current group projects, OHM and THE ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, respectively.

The trek, dubbed "Guitarevolution", will hit the following cities in early September:

Sep. 06 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
Sep. 08 - San Diego, CA @ Canes
Sep. 09 - Santa Ana, CA @ Galaxy Theatre
Sep. 10 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
Sep. 11 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
Sep. 12 - Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk

More dates are expected to be added soon.

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