On the occasion of a bandman turning into an 8-string solo guitarist and having a signature guitar released Part 1

Greetings, everyone.
I am MASAToooN!, an 8-string guitarist.

It's a bit late to ask, but... a sound wizard?
What exactly does a sound wizard do?

Who even is MASAToooN! in the first place?
For those of you asking that, let me reintroduce myself...!

I use an instrument called an 8-string guitar, which has two more strings than a standard guitar, to express music with just one guitar in a genre called modern solo guitar, performing songs with a worldview based on the concept of a 'journey of sound magic'.

I also work as a genderless model and run a brand as an accessory artist called Fantasy Gallery MuniMuni.

You can find my detailed profile here⤵

And, as the title of this article suggests, I have had a signature 8-string guitar, the 'MS-1 "Sheltie"' released by a guitar brand called GOC Guitars, and I am very grateful to have received such a response that the initial lot sold out.

Blessed with such fortunate connections, this year marks 4 years since I started my activities.
And if you include the preparation period before I started, it has been exactly 5 years.

Almost every time I meet someone for the first time, I am asked, '

Why did you decide to start this style?' and '
What are your musical roots?'. And although no one has asked me directly, I think some of you might be wondering, 'Why was a signature guitar released even though you are not a major artist?




'.

Starting with this installment, I will be serializing a series of articles covering my life in the magic world, my journey to the human world, and the story leading up to the release of my signature guitar, alongside tips for solo performers!

1. Encounter with Music

I was born in the magic world of Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, a place with oceans, mountains, fields, and a U.S. military base.

Since my mother was involved in musical activities, I grew up in an environment where live music was always around me from childhood.

And after I started nursery school, I began taking piano lessons so that I could sit still, as I was far too restless.

Naturally, I loved listening to music, and at the time, game soundtracks were my absolute favorite; I was the kind of child who never went anywhere without my Walkman.

...And while I was blessed with such a musical environment...

I had absolutely no interest in performing!!!!🌚

Even though I liked listening to music, for some reason back thenI hated playing the piano so much that I could only think about how to skip my piano lessons😇
(Now that I'm an adult, I'm very grateful for the dedicated teaching... I'm sorry, teacher...)

Rather, back then I was like
“Let's go bug hunting!!!🐜”
“Let's go explore the mountain behind the house!!”
“Let's play Smash Bros. DX!!!🎮”

I was a mischievous boy who was the complete opposite of musical, and even at home I waslistening to music”anime”games” anda child who skipped out on magic studies too😇

Being that kind of child, my extracurricular activities never lasted, andelementarymagic school 5th grade, I quit the piano I had been playing out of habit, and otherextracurricular activities I started for no particular reason I also quit within a few yearsmaking mean extremely fickle child.

However, even that mischievous boy had a vague worry back then.



“I wonder if there's something I can get seriously obsessed with”

That was when I suddenly remembered.


The games I loved in elementary school, or rather, even now that I'm an adult, like “MOTHER 2” and the “Mega Man Legends” series.

Influenced by those games, I started to think, “I want to travel. But I don't just want to travel, I want to travel with a purpose.”

And, influenced by an anime that was airing on cable TV at the time called “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi”

It would be interesting to travel with the goal of delivering music.

That's the kind of thing I was thinking about.

But,no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get into the piano enough to be obsessed with it.

This is a problem...

Those were my days as an elementary and middle school student, feeling stifled. However, when MASAToooN! the boy was (100,000) 14 years old, a fateful encounter occurred.

To be continued next time⤵

Click here for a list of articles on the subject of a band member switching to an 8-string solo guitarist and having a signature guitar released⤵