The fact that this power pop punk quartet has never even been to Japan seems to make perfect sense, or possibly none at all. Big in Japan, made up of bassist Joey (no surname was given on the band's website) guitarist Toddball (no surname was given on the band's website) singer/guitarist Zac Damon (the least suspicious surname from the band's website) and drummer Corky Pigeon (the most suspicious name from the band's website) seems to be interested less in the promotion of music than the playing of it. It's about time somebody was. Recently, Guitar Center got a chance to talk with the aspiring foursome that's likely to be big in the land of the free and the home of the brave, as well.
GC: Let's dive right in with what kind of kit you have.
Corky: I have a DW kit that was given to me. It used to be Reel Big Fish's drum set. There's no serial number on it and it has maple shells. I've had a Premier kit for about five years. It's a Black Diamond Keith Moon reissue. I bought it from Guitar Center.
GC: What type of heads are you using?
Corky: Remo.
GC: And sticks?
Corky: Vic Firth 5As.
GC: How come?
Corky: I like the way they feel. They've got enough thickness to where I won't snap a stick on every song. Plus, they're big enough to cut through and small enough to get around.
GC: How about your snare and cymbals?
Corky: I have a 14" Premier snare, Black Diamond, that came with the Keith Moon kit. The cymbals I'm using are K Series Zildjian. I've got a 19", 18" and 22" ride.
GC: What's your choice for hardware?
Corky: DW hardware for the DW kit and Premier hardware for the Premier kit.
GC: So, you don't like to mix and match?
Corky: Sometimes. I've got a DW snare stand that I use. I've got a Premier cymbal stand and a DW cymbal stand, so it's kind of mixed and matched.
GC: What about any recent additions?
Corky: It's pretty simple. Just a four-piece kit. My Premier has a 12" rack, 14" rack and 16" floor tom. The DW kit has a 12" rack tom, 14" rack tom and 15" floor tom. I have two hi-hats, two crashes and a ride. I have a Camco kick pedal which has been with me for so long. It's a great pedal that has never broken down on me or anything.
GC: It doesn't seem like anyone's ever completely content with what they have. Anything out there you'd like?
Corky: Maybe a new snare. (laughs) I love my snare, don't get me wrong. But, you can always splurge and spend $400 or $500 on a new snare and usually be a lot happier.
GC: A new Premier snare?
Corky: Or DW. Either one.
GC: Any particular model?
Corky: I haven't really shopped. I haven't had enough time to really look into it. But, it's been in the back of my mind to buy one.
GC: What do you recommend to the beginning drummers out there, in terms of kit choices?
Corky: I would say not to splurge too much. Get a starter kit. Maybe get something a bit lower end in price and quality because when you learn, you go through so many things, you beat them up pretty badly. You're learning to take care of them as you are learning to play. A mid-line kit like a Tama (would be a good choice). Cymbals are really important. You can always get away with a mediocre kit, but if you don't have a decent cymbal it's definitely going to hinder the quality of sound on your songs. That's something I've learned from 23 years of playing.
GC: The process of learning seems like a combination of things you can learn from others and things you can only learn on your own. Can you talk about that and how it relates to something like how you practice?
Corky: When you first start out, the coordination part of playing is probably the hardest thing to actually accomplish and overcome. When you're riding on the hi-hat, being in conjunction with your kick drum and your snare. I think this is probably the hardest thing to do. Also, being consistent, like with a click track, and keeping the beat. I think that's one of the main things that new drummers have to think about. If they lay down a basic beat, learn that beat and get real good at it where they can play it for three minutes straight to a click track or a metronome, then they know that they got the time down. I think keeping time is probably the hardest thing, even for some experienced drummers. I think that they should practice every day too, which is what I did for you know years. I'd come home from school and play every day in my room. My mom would come home and strangle me and tell me to shut up. She got tired of it after awhile because I played for years and years inside the house. Instead of turning on the TV or going and hanging out with my friends, I would get behind my kit and play for two hours. I'd play songs that I actually liked, by bands that I liked. I think you learn a lot just teaching yourself. A teacher can teach you a lot too, like tablature, reading music and all that other stuff. But I think if you want to play rock music, it just takes practice. The more you play the better you get.
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GC: How much do you practice now?
Corky: I live in an apartment so it's really hard for me to just sit down and jam. I was thinking about purchasing some V-Drums sooner or later. Then I could put on headphones and play. But, right now, we probably practice about two or three times a week.
GC: How many hours?
Corky: Sometimes three hours in a session. A lot of the times it's just to run over the set. If we have to learn new songs, then we book it an extra an hour or two.
GC: Speaking of the band, do you write as a group or as individuals? How does everybody present their ideas to the rest of the band?
Corky: Zac is the main songwriter as of now. He'll bring in something, like a structure or skeleton of a song with the riff and a couple parts. Sometimes the parts are longer than what they end up to be when we're done with the song. We just kind of jam and work off of what he brings in. He's the main lyricist right now, as well. It all comes together when we play. Anybody that plays music that's in a band, or has played with any kind of group would realize that when you play, you just play what everybody else is playing. The guitar player will throw down a riff, then the bass player starts playing and everybody kind of throws in their two cents. You just kind of feel it that way.
GC: Everybody has a consistent opportunity to input what their idea, whether lyrics or music, go into the song?
Corky: Exactly. That all happens when we get together.
GC: Got it. Tell me more about the band. How did you guys get together? And explain Big In Japan, which I think is a real great name.
Corky: Joey and I were in a band prior to this called The Gain. We were around for quite awhile. We did a lot of 7" singles, one full-length actually. We were together from '94 until '99. So that was about a four or five-year run. I joined a band called Buck when I got a call from Zac. Zac and I were friends because of The Gain. Back in the day we would play in Reno. That's where we met Zac, in Reno. Their band, Zoink, played a show with us. Zac called me and said, "Hey, I got this new band together and it's called Big In Japan. I need to have Joey play bass on the demos." So I gave him his number. Zac called Joey, and he went up there and started learning the songs that were going to be on the demo. At the time there were these twins playing rhythm guitar or lead guitar and drums. As soon as they got the demos finished, Zac had sent them to the label. They basically liked it and saw one show with the twins, Joey and Zac playing. They got the deal, but the twins had another side project. So they quit. It was kind of a mutual thing. Zac didn't want them in the band for whatever reason and thought it would be a good idea for me to be in the band. That was it. We got together and we started playing. We added Todd after we did the record.
GC: How did you guys find him?
Corky: We were friends with Todd during The Gain days. Todd's actually our web designer for our web page. He was in Sixtysixpercent, which is a garage punk band, for a while. He's a good guitar player and we just thought it would be a perfect combination. So, I was going to bat for him, as was Joey. Zac didn't really know him at the time. He finally came down and we jammed with him. He learned all the songs and it worked.
GC: What about the name? I think it's really funny, and obviously a lot of musicians who have that fame, when nobody really knows who they are here in America but they're big in Japan. (laughs)
Corky: Right. Zac came up with the name. I thought it was just great, so catchy. It had all the good things about a good name. People can remember it easy. I think one of the things he was thinking about was just that same theory. Bands that are all washed up here in the states are always big in Japan.
GC: With respect to other bands, who did you guys like touring with?
Corky: We played a show with Lag Wagon up in Mammoth a couple of months ago. We did a couple of warm-up shows, just smaller clubs. Then we did three shows with Reel Big Fish which was really cool. We did Chico, Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Those were really successful. We sold quite a bit of merch. It was pretty surprising actually. We've done a couple of local shows. We headlined a show at the Troubador. Our record wasn't even out yet and we did a show there. But this tour, this is actually the first big tour.
GC: Since we're talking about touring, do you warm-up before a performance?
Corky: I do a little warm-up thing. I stretch my arms out and stuff. If I don't, I'll lock up. I can't have that.
GC: What kind of advice would you give to the fifteen-year old who wants to get to this spot?
Corky: I would say not to wait for anybody or expect for the phone to ring. There's a lot of resources out there to book your own tours and to get your own promotions going on. It's a lot of time and a lot of work, but if you're serious about being in a band, knowing these things makes it a lot easier to get your name out there. People don't book tours unless you have a draw. I would also try to find an independent label to put out some singles. Just record it cheaply, as cheaply as you can, if not for free.
GC: What do you think of Guitar Center?
Corky: I think Guitar Center is great. I've always gotten really good deals at Guitar Center. They've always served me quickly. I buy all my sticks, heads and pretty much all of my other gear there. I bought all my crash cymbals there and I got really good deals. By far, they have the best prices for me. I don't know if somebody else went in there and didn't get the same deal I did, but I know I got a great deal. I mean, that's where we go.
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