Marty Friedman was the lead guitarist for Megadeth, but after he left the band in 1999, he moved to Japan and is now a TV celebrity/musician there. Who knew?
Apparently, he now lives in Shinjuku and guest stars as the guitarist for lots of Japanese bands. He was a regular on a TV show called Hebimeta-san (Mr. Heavy Metal), and gives YouTube guitar lessons. Pretty random!
Marty Friedman's web site (Thanks, Mary!)

Both Marty and Paul Gilbert (ex Mr. Big) married Japanese women, thats why they are in Japan
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/paul-gilbert-with-marty-friedman-on-japanese-tv/
Posted by: jaswong | September 06, 2008 at 07:39 AM
didnt know he was living in japan but kind of lost track - for those that like asian-influenced very mellow acoustic guitar, check out his 'scenes' and 'introduction' CDs. They're very good and about the last thing you'd expect from a megadeth guitarist. he's very skilled its just a different tyep of guitar playing, and great to chill to.
Posted by: bdb777 | September 06, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Umm, you might want to correct this post, the band is called Megadeth, without the A ;)
Posted by: Saavik256 | September 06, 2008 at 02:44 PM