Taro's Blog

ゴールデンボンバー (Golden Bomber) is a Japanese visual kei “air” rock band. I have no problem with them.

When I grew up in Japan and watched the Japanese bands on TV, I discovered that some frontmen/women were only pretending to play guitars. In other words, they could not play the instrument but were faking it. I felt betrayed.

On the contrary, frontmen/women of the US/British bands actually play guitars. And they play very well. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick are excellent guitarists. Not to mention the King of Rock and Roll, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, and Emily Armstrong of Linkin Park (former Dead Sera frontwoman), humble Mick Jagger, and Freddie Mercury both said they could not play guitars, actually played their guitars like pros (well, they were pros after all). Like Freddie, Mick could also play keyboard!

I asked Chat GPT why so? Here is the answer.
Some Japanese bands’ frontmen/women may pretend to play guitars for stage visual effects and audience engagement. When their sound is turned off or not audible, it can be due to technical issues, sound engineering choices, or artistic decisions. Sometimes, performers focus on visual performance and interaction rather than actual playing, creating a dramatic or stylized show. This approach can enhance the entertainment value and emphasize the performative aspect even if the actual instrument sound isn’t heard.

What a sugar-coated bull sxxt! Again, I felt betrayed by AI.