Foreigners in Japan Profile – featuring Nikolas Faraguna

2.Where did you go to school? Music college in Nelson

3.What brought you to Japan? Tokyo has always fascinated me… my Japanese friends in Canada said there would probably be a lot of opportunity in Tokyo for music and modelling work.

4.How long have you been here? About 2 years

5. What do you do for a living? Modeling and music. Right now, the modelling is paying my bills and buying me the time to keep working on my music…which is my real dream.

6. I’ve heard that you’ve got some pretty serious musical skills 😀 . What instruments do you play? How did you get into music? How long have you been playing? My main instrument is guitar. I’ve been playing for about 20 years. I also sing; been singing my whole life. I can play drums, bass, a little shiamisen, used to play the violin, and a a little piano. Basically any instrument I get my hands on, I can make it work!! My Dad plays guitar and sings.. my brothers also play drums and bass… so the whole family is musical.

7. Is there any artist in particular that inspired you to get into music? Too many to list… but my father got me in to the Beatles when I was young. Then I was (and still am) a huge fan of Guns n’ Roses. But there have been many other influences along the way: Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Van Halen, the list really does go on forever. I love all styles of music, rock being my favourite.

8. What kind of music do you have in your ipod/iphone/android right now? Everything! But top played are probably GnR (Guns n’ Roses), Steve Vai, David Lee Roth…

Nik has done some extensive work in a very short time.

10. Have you played gigs in both the Canada & Japan? Yes.

11. What’s been the biggest difference between a US gig and a Japanese gig? The biggest difference is that in US or Canada, the live house or bar usually pays you as a professional to play and bring customers. In Japan, the band has to fork out the money up front to rent the live house, then bring customers to cover that cost, which is usually very expensive, and your lucky to make enough to buy a beer or 2 after the show.

12. What was one of the worst music gigs you’ve ever had? It’s hard to say. I try not to remember the bad ones, or at least learn from mistakes I might have made.

13. What was the coolest? Too many cool gigs to say. From the 1st time I played in a bar at the age of 16, to rocking tiny rooms packed full of people kicking and pouching fans off of me while Im playing, to opening for Michael Schenker!! To playing huge live houses packed full of people, or even playing in Yoyogi Park!! Your favorite? to hard to say… playing with Michael Schenker was pretty cool…..but playing with my bros at our annual family music festival I think tops everything…

I WANNA ROCK!

14. What would you like to accomplish musically? For now, rockin my 2 bands in Japan… NITRAMB and Sasazuka Brothers. I think NITRAMB will continue to get more fans and grow to become huge!! it’s such a mix of all styles, people, and no limits…everybody is really great to work with too.. Sasazuka brothers will also continue to rock, as for now, we play mostly covers, but seeking drums and bass, and will be writing original material soon!!

Nikolas does regular, live gigs here in Japan. Go check him out!

15. What advice would you give to aspiring musicians living in Japan? Don’t give up, keep exposing yourself, don’t be lazy, don’t’ be shy or afraid to promote yourself, there will always be people who like your music, and those who don’t, but remember the ones who do, as they are your friends and fans!!

16. If people want to come and check out one of your shows, where can they go?
Check out Nitramb and Sasazuka Brothers on Facebook! even add me as a friend on FB, as I always post our live info up on FB.

Nik, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. You rock! (no pun intended)
Wanna talk to Nik? Use the comments section below! 😀

Nik and I doing a Kiehl's Promotion