Empowerment through Bilingualism:
An Evening with Marty Friedman

Date:
Monday, January 26, 7PM

Venue:
The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd. # 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

Admission: Free

RSVP Required: This Event is Full

Street parking is available near JFLA. Click Here for Parking info
(NO PARKING VALIDATIONS PROVIDED)

Legendary guitarist Marty Friedman has been an inspirational figure to musicians since his 10 year tenure as lead guitarist in the heavy metal group Megadeth, but Friedman's accomplishments do not end there. He has lived in Japan since 2003 and speaks fluent Japanese, which he learned mostly through self-study. In Japan, alongside his musical career, Friedman also has hosted and appeared in hundreds of Japanese television programs, ranging from music, variety, comedy, politics, education and even to cooking.

Marty Friedman's mastery of the Japanese language has unlocked many opportunities for him in his professional career and has inspired students of Japanese all over the world. On January 26th, 2015, we will have the rare opportunity to hear Marty Friedman discuss his relationship with Japan, how mastering a foreign language can lead to new opportunities that would otherwise not exist, and answer any and all questions you may have about the mysteries of actually living and thriving in a country so different from your own anywhere else in the world.

Check out these videos to see Marty in action：

Marty Friedman-Teach Yourself Japanese

Marty Friedman interview at the 2014 PRS Experience Tokyo

ROCK FUJIYAMA (Japanese TV Show)

Lecturer: Marty Friedman
At the end of the 20^th Century, few guitar virtuosi were as respected and revered as Marty Friedman. His 10-year tenure with iconic heavy metal group Megadeth – during which he co-wrote and recorded the thrash landmark Megadeth album "Rust in Peace", which sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and earned multiple Grammy nominations – continues to inspire new generations of metal fans to this day. In 1999, the Washington D.C. native announced his departure from Megadeth and moved to Tokyo, Japan, where he continued to record and release albums that further solidified his guitar hero reputation overseas.

In Japan, Friedman became an enigma of sorts. Armed with fluency in the Japanese language, he left a platinum-selling American band to start from nearly zero to pursue his longtime dream of making his mark on the Japanese music world. That mission was accomplished far beyond his wildest expectations. Friedman has performed at the largest venues in Asia, and has played on and wrote several Japanese top 10 hits. Additionally, Friedman also became a popular television personality who not only hosted several programs, but was even featured in several long-running national television ad campaigns. Most recently, Friedman has recorded his first solo album of original material in four years titled "Inferno", and features what Friedman recently told Guitar World is "the most intense writing and playing" he has ever done.