MARTY FRIEDMAN Announces Los Angeles Lecture, New York City Interview/Performance

In conjunction with the October 19 release of his new live album, "One Bad M.F. Live!!", and his record-release show two nights later at Hollywood's legendary Viper Room, renowned guitarist Marty Friedman has announced two additional American public appearances.

On October 15, Friedman will pay his second visit to the Japan Foundation in Los Angeles, where he will deliver a free lecture titled "Ask Marty: An Insider's View Of Japan Through The Eyes Of An American Rockstar". Fans interested in attending are invited to submit questions in advance at this location.

On October 23, meanwhile, Friedman will join veteran journalist Brad Tolinski at New York City's Cutting Room for an event titled "Music & Conversation With Marty Friedman". The event — which will include a long-form interview and a brief live performance — is part of the "BackStory Events" online series and will be live-streamed by Guitar World magazine. Tickets are on sale now.

Friedman is an American guitarist best known for his decade-long stint as the lead guitarist of MEGADETH, which sold over 10 million copies and earned multiple Grammy nominations during his tenure. His overwhelming love of Japanese music and the Japanese language, in which he became fluent, led him to move to Tokyo in 2003. He soon became a fixture in Japanese television programs, commercials and even motion pictures. In 2017, the Japanese Government appointed him Ambassador of Japan Heritage — the first time ever the honor was given to a foreigner — for a term of three years through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"One Bad M.F. Live!!" was recorded in Mexico City on April 14 during the final concert of Friedman's world tour in support of his 2017 album, "Wall Of Sound", which debuted on Billboard's Heatseekers chart at No. 12.

Joining Friedman on "One Bad M.F. Live!!" are his bandmates Kiyoshi on bass, Jordan Ziff (RATT) on guitar and Chargeeee on drums.

"This live album is a tip of the hat to the live albums that blew my mind when I was a kid," explains Friedman. "The musical content itself is modern and atomic-powered, but the presentation is decidedly old-school. The pacing of the show, the audience participation stuff, the special live arrangements of the songs, these are the things that got me all jacked up as a kid. I like to give the audience the feeling that they are really getting something unique, something that only happens at their show, not just a recital of the songs exactly as they know them. There are lots of happy accidents, once in a lifetime ad-libs, things that could have only happened because we were high on that particular audience's energy."

Friedman plans to announce a full American tour for early 2019 in the coming weeks.