A Langley guitarist has the honour of playing Expo 2005 in Japan, but he won't let a little thing like being in Asia stop him from performing at Arts Alive.

Guitarist John Gilliat is traveling back in time to perform in Japan and Langley.

The Walnut Grove musician has been invited to play at Expo 2005 Aichi in Japan, and will leave Asia at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20. He will arrive in Vancouver at 10:15 a.m. the same Saturday and hit the stage for Arts Alive in downtown Langley City from 2 - 4 p.m.

"It's quite an adventure," laughed Gilliat, who joked that the situation gets even more complicated: he has been hired to play at a wedding the same night.

Gilliat - who has experienced some adverse conditions when playing Japan in the past - said the tight travel schedule will be worth it.

"It's amazing," he said of his chance to play Expo 2005. "They thought I'd be a perfect fit."

Gilliat, a world beat guitarist who combines elements of flamenco, Latin and jazz into his music, had originally planned to be in Japan for a series of "slow train" concerts.

Japan Railways is trying to improve its image, he explained, and for several years, it has been hosting performances where musicians play in open-air rail cars. The public can purchase tickets to get on board the train, or greet the musicians when they pull into rail stations along the concert route.

This Aug. 18, Gilliat will be in Imabari on Shikoku Island for the Torokko train concert, which sold out in seven hours. The following day he will play in the town of Onishi for Yuyu Ressha, an outdoor concert based around the slow train.

It will be the fifth time Gilliat has played a concert in Onishi. Last year, he had to return to perform in October, after the original summer event was cancelled due to a typhoon. The wicked weather returned again in the fall, and was even worse than the last bout.

Because of Gilliat's connection to Japan - which has resulted in the song "Onishi," which is featured on his Beyond Boundaries album - members of the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo suggested he apply to play Expo 2005, as he was coming to Japan anyway.

Gilliat worked with Oye Canada out of Montreal, which is producing the cultural program for Canada at Expo 2005, and was accepted to perform, despite the fact that the application deadline was long over.

He will play on an outdoor stage at Expo on Aug. 16 and 17, which falls during Japan's Obon festival, one of the country's major holidays.

"It should be jam-packed," Gilliat said.

After four days of concerts, Gilliat will embark on a nine-hour flight home that will see him travel through the International date Line, so that he will arrive in Langley earlier in the day than when he left Japan.

He's not worried about being jet-lagged for Arts Alive and the wedding: "When I play, fatigue and everything else disappears," Gilliat said.

by Erin McKay
The Langley Advance

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