Japanese Punk Trio Recruits a Baltimore Ringer, Briefly
by Tom Warner (Baltimore or Less, March 30, 2012)
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth! – Rudyard Kipling
Frontman Seiji, aka "Guitar Wolf"
Lone Wolf and Club
Late in their set at Baltimore’s Ottobar last Friday night (March 30, 2012), the Nagasaki, Japan-based punk trio Guitar Wolf briefly became a quartet. That’s when Guitar Wolf frontman Seiji unstrapped his guitar and handed it to a fanboy in the crowd, letting the new “fourth member” wail away for a good 5 minutes before returning to sonic equilibrium. Word on the street (or in this case, the Mosh Pit) has it the guy was a drummer in a local band, but hey, the guy could play! (Maybe he logs lotsa hours playing GUITAR HERO at home?) Seiji let the gaijin guitarist shred away while he body surfed the crowd; upon his return to the stage, they traded places, and it was the fanboy’s turn to body surf his way back to his rightful place in the Mosh Pit. But for one shining moment, Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and Nagasaki’s Sea of Ariake flowed as one, united in harmony and cacophony. As Guitar Wolf would say, that’s Lock ‘n’ Loll!
Watch “Area Man Jams with Guitar Wolf, View 1.” (filmed by almosthipguy)
Watch “Area Man Jams with Guitar Wolf, View 2” (filmed by wongster41)
