Jazz fusion virtuoso Masayoshi Takanaka has had a long and wildly successful career in his home country, Japan, with his 1976 debut, Seychelles, cementing him as a “pioneer in Japan’s rock fusion scene.”
But Takanaka's career is not stuck in the ’70s. Instead, he's currently riding a new wave of international popularity at the age of 72.
Last year, Tanaka's work exploded on streaming, after his guitar solo appeared in the soundtrack of the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson/Benny Safdie sports drama The Smashing Machine, leading to his revival in the States.
“In Japan, most of the people at my shows are in their 50s, 60s, or 70s,” says Takanaka in an interview with The Guardian. “But in LA, most people were in their 20s. You could really feel their energy, and hear the audience cheering so loud. It got me really emotional.”
Now, he's heading to the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand, with shows quickly selling out. “It’s hard to grasp and understand,” Takanaka admits. “It doesn’t feel real.”
Perhaps one of the most distinctive elements of Takanaka’s playing – and, by extension, his image – is his signature red surfboard guitar.
A joint venture between the guitarist and luthier Takeda Yutaka, the larger-than-life guitar was meant to embody the care-free, beachy essence of his psych-surf sound. It was also crafted as an homage to his friend who had passed away, an event that made him think about his own existence.
“You can do what you like while you're alive. When you're dead, you can't do anything. So I decided to make a surfboard guitar,” Takanaka revealed in an interview published on Surfer Today.
“I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I was thinking, ‘Oh, come to think of it, surfing was popular around the time of the Bubble Era… I have a summer song that goes well with it…’ and then I thought it would be interesting to make a surfing guitar. I heard it was hard to make.”
After discussing options, Takanaka and Yutaka managed to modify a real surfboard by hollowing it out so that an actual guitar could fit inside it.
“The surfboard itself is hollow inside, so you can't attach the neck or parts directly to it,” explained the luthier. “So I attached the neck to a small wooden body and screwed it in from the back of the surfboard.
“In order not to sacrifice playability, we made sure it wasn't too heavy and left enough clearance around the neck. Considering maintenance, the guitar part is removable.”
The now-iconic surfboard guitar – originally in a light blue colorway – debuted during Takanaka's 2004 and 2005 tours, before it was repainted bright red.
As for what it takes to play this off-kilter guitar, Takanaka explained, “It's hard to play, as expected. I just play this because I wonder if people watching me will find it fun, but I wonder if some percentage of them think I'm stupid.”
Its weight certainly doesn't help... and serves as a real testament to the virtuoso's skills. “It weighs about six kilograms [13.2 pounds]. So if I play two songs with this guitar at a concert, I will get a little more exhausted. So, I think it would be better to use it only occasionally.”
And, if you're hoping to spot the surfboard guitar at any of his upcoming shows... well, let's just say you're in for a treat.
“Actually, I gave it away after using it at a lot of my shows in Japan,” says Takanaka, but he managed to get it back just for this world tour.
“I thought I didn’t need it anymore. But life is short, and you have to do what you really want to do while you’re still alive – that was why I made the guitar in the first place.”
Speaking of some of the most unconventional guitars out there, famed Twin Peaks filmmaker David Lynch was the owner of both a five-necked guitar as well as an avant-garde guitar-meets-synthesizer Parker Fly, which was sold at auction last year.
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