DirtyKnobs

About Me
Username: Avatar DirtyKnobs
Homepage: http://www.zbsatozofjmusic.com
Biography: I'm currently a writer and editor for Japanator, a Japanese culture blog (receiving 500,000 page views a month), having contributed 400 articles since my first day February 19th, 2007. I started there as a simple anything-goes contributor, covering anime and manga news as well as whatever odd cultural tid-bits I could dig up. Eventually I found my niche covering Japanese music almost exclusively. I've been a huge fan of Japanese music since the late 1990s. In fact my favorite band of all time is the Japanese new-wave art-punk band Polysics. From my rabid music coverage emerged Japanator Radio, an hour long weekly Japanese music podcast. It quickly gained a strong following, and receives some of the highest numbers of downloads on the Modern Method Network. (The Modern Method Network consists of the sites Destructoid, Japanator, Tomopop, MiamiNights, PopRox and Ectomo.) My music coverage at Japanator has also led to the inclusion of my quotes on various official press releases, as well as several opportunities to interview Japanese bands touring America. Years ago as a college music DJ I had the chance to cut my teeth interviewing the likes of Moby and BT. I've built upon those experiences to craft what I hope have been interviews not only interesting to the readers, but the bands as well. From my music coverage on Japanator rose my own Japanese music blog, ZB's A-Z of J-Music. Because of the various limitations of the Japanator site, I wanted to make my ever growing number of band profiles and album reviews easier to access and browse. I set up the A-Z site on my own time, and it now contains over 200 band profiles spanning tens of thousands of words. Many other sites have cited it as an excellent resource for insightful English language reviews of Japanese bands, many of which have little to no other English coverage. Indeed my emphasis is on underground and unknown bands, though I do cover everything from indie bands to mega idols. I have a love for just about every genre, from rock to pop to electro to metal to vis-kei to shibuya-kei, and treat them all as equals. While it may seem like I had sprung out of nowhere and landed at Japanator, that isn't exactly the case. Prior to that I has started my short lived (though technically still alive) gaming blog called The Atari Thief. I was also a music review for a local independent newspaper called The Ripsaw News. In addition to doing weekly album reviews I also worked as a graphic designer, building ads as well as doing general page layout. While I was studying for my Graphic Design major, I re-discovered my passion for writing. At the time I never would have thought I'd be just as interested in writing about design as actually designing, but thanks to one professor I did just that. Looking back now I don't think it was so much the subject matter as it was the simple act of writing itself. This goes back to my days in high-school, junior high and even before that to grade school. I had simply forgotten that I enjoyed writing sometime in the in-between days. Once I re-discovered it in college I began blogging, until, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, Japanator changed my life. And on it goes. www.japanator.com www.zbsatozofjmusic.com www.thesurfactants.com
Interests: Japan, Music, Japanese Music
Social Networking
JapanSoc: http://www.japansoc.com/user.php?login=DirtyKnobs
My JapanSoc Stats
Joined: 2008-03-07
Total stories submitted: 5
Total Top Stories: 0
Comments: 0
Total Socs: 5
Top Story Socs: 0
Favorites: 0
Genki: 0%
Points: 50
Sumo Rank: Jonokuchi