MARCELLUS NEALY

The grinding stone

The grinding stone

Yesterday I walked into the dining room and saw my daughter sitting at the table. It was obvious that she was talking on the phone with someone, however, the second she saw me she pretended like she wasn't talking on the phone at all. I thought it was kind of odd that she would just strike up a conversation with me and keep the person on the other end of the line waiting for a good 10 minutes. So, I said to her , “Aren't you talking to someone on the phone right now?” The lo

Home

Home

I went to a small gathering of young musicians last night They took all of the proper corona precautions and almost everyone wore masks. The place was not crowded, so I could talk to a few people at the event. It was nice to get back to my roots for a while even though I lamented going at first because I didn’t want to take the long train ride into the city. The event was mostly attended by 21-year-olds. The manager of the venue invited me down to do a guest appearan

Over the clouds to a bowl of instant curry

Over the clouds to a bowl of instant curry

Almost every person who comes to visit Japan climbs Mount Fuji. It’s like a tourist rite of passage. In all the years I have been here though, I have never actually done it. The closest I came was climbing for about 30 or 40 minutes before the group unanimously decided that we would rather have beer. So, we climbed back down to the car and enjoyed the view instead. Being that close to one of Japan's most majestic mountains is awe inspiring. It fills you with a sense of ear

Less than black

Less than black

At 3 am this morning, I wondered if this text would make it into the archives of my daily journal. If I was to stick to my ideals of writing the truth of my own experience, then I believed I had no choice but to publish this story. I'm certain it will only serve as cause to exasperate my situation. I don't care. Look away now if you are the type to become infuriated by deep discussions of race. If you're particularly offended because someone doesn't see things the way that y

Don't forget the knife

Don't forget the knife

I think the last story I told you was about the band manager who tried to trick me into fighting him when we were in New York City. As I wrote in my previous post, I knew it was a trap because if I had thrown a punch, I would have surely been fired and he would have been rid of me. The leader of the band noticed his behavior and sent him back to Tokyo. Later I found out that I wasn't the manager’s only target. He had been abusive to several of the other staff members. I don'

Teamwork

Teamwork

I was watching a YouTube video with Stevie Wonder. He was riding in a car with another celebrity, whose name I can't remember. I think the show was called Carpool Karaoke. In that show, Stevie Wonder said something that seemed so profound to me because I had never heard the expression before. He said, “teamwork makes the dream work.” That phrase made me think back on all the moments of my life when I was trying to do something. In almost every case, it was cooperation among t

Maybe I will get to see her again

Maybe I will get to see her again

I was going through my hard disk looking for a photo to post when this one grabbed my attention. It’s a bit blurry but I will post it anyway. I met her in London while visiting friends about 11 or 12 years ago. Her name was Sylvia Chant. She was a friendly woman who loved to laugh, tell jokes and share stories about her yearly jaunts to The Gambia. She enjoyed being there because of the beautiful scenery and equally beautiful people. “If you ever get a chance I highly rec

Tokyo

Tokyo

There's no other city in the world like Tokyo. It's packed with people and alive all day, all night and yet anyone can walk down the street in relative safety. We can stumble and sway drunk as we want to be, fall asleep on the train with our bags next to us. I don’t know how many times have I left my laptop or my iPad on the seat only to have it waiting for me somewhere at a nearby station or police box lost and found. Yes, over the years I have had some difficult times, but

The impossible task

The impossible task

My mission, which was given directly to me by the leader of the band, Masa, was to help him get his dance remixes on the streets. He wanted to do a dance remix for a long time but the record company said no. The management company also refused him. They both did so with good reason. The dance music world is very unforgiving and also very cynical. It was highly unlikely that a J pop artist like Dreams Come True would be a big hit with the electronic music crowd. People who lis

The time I became a music emperor's disciple

The time I became a music emperor's disciple

Working for Dreams Come True would have been a dream come true for most Japanese people. My dear friend Aoka went nuts when she found out I was interviewing for the company that manages them. She collected every album they ever released and made me listen to all of them. She was such a huge fan that she insisted on becoming my coach. Before stepping into the MS Artists' offices, I had no idea who they were beyond the vague familiarity with their name. Oddly enough, no one

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