MARTY FRIEDMAN Shares His Music Video For Japan Heritage Official Theme Song

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, who was named Japan Heritage ambassador in 2016, has shared his video for the Japan Heritage official theme song.

Marty announced the video's release via social media, writing in an accompanying message: Says Marty: "Many people outside of Japan relegate their image of Japan to anime/cosplay conventions, Harajuku fashion, futuristic neon signs and Samurai warriors. This is an incredible shame because as uniquely Japanese as all those things are, that isn't even the tip of the tip of the iceberg.

"I always wanted to do a spectacular video showing the rich yet completely understated beauty of Japan, to show people a side of the country rarely seen outside of Japan.

"Most bands from overseas come to Japan and play in 3 cities - Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. If they are lucky, they come again and add Sendai, Fukuoka, maybe Kyoto. Since I was constantly touring all over Japan, I was fortunate to play also in Akita, Nobeoka, Hiroshima, Tottori, Kagawa, Sapporo, Kobe, Nagaoka, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Yonago, Okinawa, Nagasaki and so many other wonderful places. I wanted to make a video to show these rarely seen locations and unique artistic customs, and just share some of the wonder that I was lucky to experience over the time I lived in Japan.
Well, that was an ambitious dream, and it didn't soon materialize.

"I did a video for 'Undertow' which was good for what it was and had a very Japanese theme, but nowhere near the extravagant picturesque video I had in mind.

"A video was made for 'Inferno' which also had a very Japanese theme, but many people outside Japan saw it and just thought I was a nutcase. Even the American director who made the video had no idea what I was talking about.

"The first thing I thought of after I finished composing the Japan Heritage Theme Song for the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra was, 'This is going to be perfect for the video I always wanted to make. I'm going to guide all my friends from around the world through visions of Japan that will make them want to visit more than ever.' I was filled with the excitement of the prospect.

"Of course then Covid pretty much wiped out the idea of anyone coming into the country for what seemed to be an indefinite period of time. Before I could even get started on any kind of music video for the song, it got put onto the back burner.

"As soon as I saw things starting to lean towards re-opening the borders, I pushed the idea of making this video to the powers that be (and there are many whenever you are doing anything even remotely government related) with an urgency, knowing that really soon, people from all around the world will want to discover this mysterious place. It's a bucket list destination for sure, and I knew that I wanted to play even a tiny part in making a few dreams come true.

"So now the video is finally done, and I am ecstatic about how it came out. Japan is a small country with so much cool stuff packed tightly in it, it is truly a feast for your imagination. Every culture has its own beautiful traits and Japan is certainly no exception. I am excited to show you my musical interpretation of Japan as a foreigner who has been here quite some time. If it resonates with you even a tiny bit, I'll be thrilled."

Earlier today (Monday, February 13),Marty spoke and performed at the Japan Heritage Symposium.

When he first announced his Japan Heritage Symposium appearance on Saturday (February 11),Marty took to his social media to write: "It's a great honor to be an Ambassador of Japan Heritage. Occasionally I will be requested to speak or perform at events related to Japan Heritage. I'll be doing both of those things at the Japan Heritage Symposium on Feb. 13.

"The date, 'February 13', if you translate it to numeric Japanese, would be ni (2) I (1) san (3). This becomes a play on words as 'ni' is short for 'Nihon' which is the Japanese word for Japan and 'isan' which is the Japanese word for heritage, hence the Japan Heritage event taking place on that day each year.

"Of all the places I get to play guitar, this has got to be the farthest from what I envisioned as a little kid!"

In July 1999, Friedman was onstage performing at Woodstock '99 in front of a sea of fans as the lead guitarist for MEGADETH. Since joining the band in 1990, Marty played a crucial role in their rise to stardom with his unorthodox style of virtuoso guitar playing, selling millions of records worldwide, and being nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. Just six months after Woodstock, in an unexpected move that shocked his friends, family, and especially his bandmates, despite platinum albums and sold-out tours, for reasons unknown, he suddenly quit the band and walked away from it all. Unbeknownst to his U.S. fans, Marty moved to Tokyo to pursue his love of Japanese pop music, and in the process, reinvented himself as a wildly successful Japanese TV celebrity! Marty has appeared on 700-plus television programs, commercials and motion pictures since then, and become was dubbed "the Ryan Seacrest of Japan" by Billboard magazine in the USA.

Friedman in 2014 spoke to Wondering Sound about his decision to leave MEGADETH in order to make the kind of music that he was passionate about: Japanese pop music, or J-Pop, which Friedman calls "embarrassingly happy."

"I found myself touring with MEGADETH, and in my hotel room I'd be blasting this Japanese music all the time. What's wrong with this picture?" he said.

As his interest in J-pop grew, Friedman started enjoying MEGADETH less. "I thought I was doing myself a disservice just playing the same old stuff and not really enjoying it," he told Wondering Sound. "Making money from fans who want to see you play when you're not into it didn't really sit right with me."

According to Marty, he simply outgrew metal, explaining that MEGADETH's music began to bore him, and he singled out the band's popular ballad "A Tout Le Monde" as an example.

"The melody's like duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh. It's kind of the same thing over and over again," he told NPR in a separate interview. "I'd go play the show at night with MEGADETH. And I'd be like, you know, what what I'm listening to is just so much more exciting than what I'm playing as my gig."

Friedman told his MEGADETH bandmates that he would leave the group at the conclusion of a 16-month-long tour, but "only stayed three more months." He explained to Wondering Sound: "It was just too much. I'm the kind of guy who can't fake it that well. It wasn't very nice, but I just couldn't go on anymore."

Focusing on the J-Pop genre, Friedman noted that going for the opposite of metal was the whole point.

"There's not a whole lot of happy music going on," he told NPR. "Especially in the heavy metal world, where everybody's just trying to out-lame each other, you know, with darkness and monsters and crap like that."

Marty was recently announced as direct support on the upcoming QUEENSRŸCHE tour. Marty is confirmed to perform on 31 dates with QUEENSRŸCHE, kicking off on March 3 in Orlando, Florida and running through April 16, where is wraps up in St. Petersburg, Florida. Along the way, the tour will make stops in Dallas, Texas (March 11); Anaheim, California (March 19); Chicago, Illinois (March 31),New York City (April 10) and Nashville, Tennessee (April 14),to name a few. Also, Marty recently announced two headline shows on his own: March 17 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Counts Vampd and March 18 in Los Angeles, California at the Whisky A Go Go. The tour marks Marty's first time performing in the U.S. since 2019.

Marty's latest album, "Tokyo Jukebox 3", came out in April 2021 via The Players Club/Mascot Label Group. The record, which was made available in Japan in October 2020, is the third in a series that began with "Tokyo Jukebox" in 2009, and then "Tokyo Jukebox 2" following in 2011. The trilogy presents Friedman's inspired performances to Japanese repertoire he's chosen to cover.