Exclusive: J-rock group MAN WITH A MISSION are on a mission to play Glastonbury
MAN WITH A MISSION's Jean-Ken Johnny talks dreams of playing Glastonbury, performing at Ozzfest and the rise in masked bands.
Japanese rockers MAN WITH A MISSION have set their sights on playing Glastonbury.
The half-man, half-wolf collective have been a band for 15 years now, but they still have dreams to tick off their bucket list, including playing the world-famous music festival in the UK.
Speaking exclusively to ContactMusic.com, guitarist and vocalist Jean-Ken Johnny said: "We've never had a chance to join those huge festivals overseas. So one day, if it's possible, yeah, I would love to go on the stage at Glastonbury, places like that."
MAN WITH A MISSION - who last week released a new vinyl and CD of XV EP Across The Globe with bonus tracks - got to play Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest Japan in 2013, and said it was a huge "honour".
Asked if they got to meet the late Prince of Darkness - who passed away in July at the age of 76 - he replied: "We saw him. We never directly met him. It was really an honour and a pleasure participating in his festival."
The band are bringing their HOWLING ACROSS THE WORLD tour to the UK next week, including a stop at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 3, with further stops in Manchester and Birmingham, before heading off across Europe for 10 dates.
Johnny said of playing live in wolf masks: "It's damn hot, you know, with all this fur on. And I'm glad we're doing this in autumn. It should be a little bit cooler, but it's still hot on stage. But you guys [Brits] don't have to worry about that."
Asked if they've ever been close to passing out from the heat, he said: "Yeah. I mean, especially the drummer, he doesn't talk onstage, but, you know, after a show, he talks less."
Johnny also commented on the rise in masked bands - including Sleep Token, Ghost, and more recently, President - and suggested social media has put people off showing their faces.
He said: "I mean, I guess people don't really care about like, showing their faces these days, probably because of social media and stuff like that, it's probably a lot more easier for them to do it anonymously."
Head to manwithamissiontour.com to grab remaining tickets for the HOWLING ACROSS THE WORLD tour.
