That first night I went to the bar, called "Galop", I had no plans to drink or anything like that. On days of nursing a hangover or days of little sleep the night before (usually they go hand in hand) I tend to go on long walks or anything to get outside, as being at home makes it hard to concentrate on anything productive. So one day I walked toward the Akashi-Kaikyou bridge area, Maiko, located next to the Tarumi ward. I go by this area on my regular running course, coming out from Maiko station. On the street that I usually run up there's a bar that I had eyed several times before, and wondered what kind of place it was. This area doesn't have the amount of bars that a place like Sannomiya has, so seeing an American-style bar was always a curiosity. I walked past the bar and decided to go in for a drink. The bar wasn't anything out of the ordinary: mainly beer and whiskey, although anything besides the two tends to run at a higher price range. There was also a full food menu that made it also serve as a local eatery. In terms of style, there's a definite surfing theme, as the bar is located near a beach by the Akashi-Kaikyou bridge. Large figures of whales hang down from a fishing net attached toward the ceiling, giving it the quirkiness of a local bar rather than the more sleek designs of bars in Sannomiya and other more urban areas. Blasting from the radio were some of the most monstrous (I'll let the reader decide what context "monstrous" is being used) songs from the mid-70s and 80s ("We built this city on rock and roll"), but the playlist was varied enough to signify an interest in music. As I sat drinking a beer, a man next to me started conversation and claimed himself the master of the place.
The master of the bar turned out to be a 60 year old bassist, who opened the bar in the area around ten years before. He had a wife who passed away about eight years ago, and now runs the bar with his daughter. As he does with every new customer, he broke out his Yamaha bass guitar (he has a 40+ year-old Fender bass as well, but doesn't keep it in the bar) and displayed what he had learned over 40 years of playing. Either playing along with whatever song was coming on the speakers or playing the bass by itself, it was a joy to hear an instrument that usually goes unnoticed in a lot of modern rock music (the image of bassists in Japan, I have noticed, is a lot more esteemed than the mocking, unappreciated image of bassists in the United States) be played with such enthusiasm. He told me that they do live performances from time to time at the bar, in spite of it being too small to fit a drum kit. He invited me to the next small show at the bar which would be in a couple of weeks.
Over his lifetime, the Galop master played through the 70s "Group Sounds" music movements in Japan, which emulated American and English rock groups (even on the level of just covering foreign songs) before the genre eventually evolved into Japanese rock as well as creating other sub-genres such as Japanese electronic dance music. He has also played with some notable American jazz musicians, most recently Paul Jackson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jackson_%28bassist%29) who now resides in the Tarumi area of Kobe. Aside from music, he drinks about a quarter bottle of tequila every night and sleeps in until the afternoon. Certain people in Japan have told me that it's impossible to build a successful life in Japanese society without the mainstream progression of high school, university and then lifelong employment. However, this man clearly breaks the mold; he does what he loves through playing music and running a small business at his leisure (he will open and close sometimes based on other things he has planned), and has raised a daughter who helps him along the way.
Along with a number of locals who frequent Galop, there are an even greater number of musicians that know the master. Most of these musicians are middle-aged with kids, but still find the time to do music projects with the Galop master. There are also many foreigners who come to the bar or know the master through his musical endeavors. Most of them are on a professional level of music and play frequently throughout Kobe and the Osaka area. There's also a young woman that fills in part time (although fully employed during the day) at the bar when the master's daughter isn't available, and she's classically trained in opera vocals and piano. Another woman that frequents the bar is a lonesome housewife with a lot of time on her hands who took up learning keyboards from one of the music players that comes to the bar; he has jam sessions out of an old factory (over 60 years old) near the Suma ward that's owned by a professional guitarist. The point of these explanations is to show just how strong of a music community frequents the bar. Many of these customers share a deep love of music, and they continue to play even while being fully employed and having families. It shows that even in a society like Japan where similarity is a virtue, people are still able to indulge their individual happiness.
While this is just a brief summary of the time I've spent at Galop and the musical adventures that came from it, I will continue to post what happens as I spend more time there.
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