Lee Izumida

Name, where are you from?
Lee Izumida, Hokkaido, northern Japan.

What do you do?
Painter.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
I went to see The Rolling Stones at Sapporo Dome with my parents. The crowd was a mix of old salarymen in suits and run-of-the-mill older ladies, all getting down to the music. I got goosebumps. Not just from the concert itself, but the pure coolness of the whole spectacle. I remember thinking how good it is to love music. My parents were really happy when they played 'Jumping Jack Flash', which was cool to see.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Fashion and music. The Beatles’ film 'Yellow Submarine' has been a particularly big influence. I’ve seen it countless times, more than any other film. I had the video when I was a kid and wore the tape out because I watched it so much. And when the DVD came out, I bought it — twice! Thinking about it now, it was the use of colour and vivid imagery that had me mesmerised. In terms of fashion, I’ve been influenced by live shows of the 1970s. Bands like Led Zeppelin wore these very tight-fitting clothes. Body-hugging men's fashion was particular to that era and I preferred it to the female fashion of the time. Anime, manga and games have also been a huge influence on me.

Of all the venues you’ve visited, which is your favourite?
I went to a small music club in the Seattle suburbs when studying abroad there. Seattle is all about garage rock. It rains all the time and can be quite a depressing city and outdoor festivals are not really a thing there. The venue I went to was more of a cooped-up caged kind of place... I can’t remember the name of it, though. It was a small space, just like a bar. I remember being very nervous because of my age.

If you could be on the line up with any bands in history?
This is a difficult question to answer because I’m not a musician. But if I try to picture this scenario, I wouldn’t want to be too nervous up on stage. So based on that, I’d join Fleetwood Mac for one of their shows, dancing and playing the tambourine. Maybe on 'Go Your Own Way'. If I’m just playing the tambourine, there'd be no reason for me to be nervous and completely blackout (lol).

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
The guys from The Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin would be good — they all seem like bad boys (lol). Out of that group, I like to spend some time chatting to Charlie Watts in the pub. He seems like a nice guy. I’d probably be too nervous to ask him much, but I’d like to hear about his memories and perhaps get him to sign something I was wearing.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
All the artists in my playlist play the type of music I couldn't share with my friends when I was a teenager. And I think there are still lots of people in my generation who don't know about them, so I hope more people will dig a bit deeper into their music because they are all cool.