JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

It’s always sad to see a person take a destructive path in life. This is especially true if the person is a colleague or peer. Unfortunately, when some people reach the pinnacle of their careers, it changes them in a way that makes it virtually impossible to continue life as “normal” person. This can be true in the Okinawan rock ‘n’ roll world. Recently, a local ‘70s rock music icon showed that he is unable to function in life as an everyday person. Since this was part of a destructive antisocial pattern he has chosen in the past ten years, the news media was quick to jump on it. His actions and the manner in which it was covered by the media tend to present a negative view of the overall Okinawan rock music scene. What the media fails to divulge is that this particular person has not really been active on the local music scene since the early ’90s. In addition, there are many local musicians who have been able to make a living in the music field without being antisocial and/or self destructive. Almost every day of the week a person can find some local venue presenting live rock music being performed by talented and conscientious musicians. But, I guess that’s not news