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SAGA OF AN ASIAN BADBOY
PAGE 6 of 7
| "She was very much into me as a human being. She motivated me." |
"First week I came out, I realized I was nobody," recalls Kita. "I had a hard time because I wasn't used to that. It humbled me. I didn't have any friends. I was the only Asian and back then no one else had long hair." With hopes of becoming a martial arts actor, he began training alone in the gym and took a drama class.
Literature wasn't one of Kita's favorite subjects, but he acquired a taste for poetry from a girl he met soon after moving here. "She liked to do a lot of reading," recalls Kita. "She was also an artist who did a lot of paintings of me. She was very much into me as a human being. She motivated me." Kita began writing poems and songs though he didn't start singing them until he was 23.
There was a three-year period in the beginning when Kita's life was divided between Guam and the States. Ultimately, at the age of 17, he decided that his musical career would have to be built here.
"The only reason I came out here was to make it in music," says Kita, somewhat contradicting his earlier statement. He joined an Orange County hard rock band called Darkness after seeing an ad for a guitar player in The Recycler. Later he moved to a heavy metal band called Titan. When he was 18 or 19 he started Kita, his own band. After Kita dissolved he joined Max Havoc which enjoyed notable success in the LA heavy-metal scene.
"They were all like biker types," recalls Kita of fellow Max Havok members, "long hair, Harley-Davidsons." To fit in Kita cultivated a Native American look. By the time he was 23 he tired of being a guitar player and being pigeonholed into the heavy metal category. He concentrated on writing and singing material that reflected his own impulses. Kita believes that by following his own path, he can create a sound with far more universal appeal than heavy metal.
Kita's career as a student at Pierce College lasted about two weeks. Sensing that a highly developed ability to project character would be helpful in building a career as a multimedia sensation, Kita started with the thought of studying acting. Unfortunately, he had a hard time working up an interest in the required academic courses.
photo by Chuck Goodenough
Tomi Kita is now immersed in making himself into a media product. Kim Fowley helped produce his demo tape. Fowley's assessment of his chances of success means a great deal to Kita. "He strongly believes in my future because I'm Asian, I'm the first one. Being an Asian male motivates me because I feel different and I like being different. Now I'm starting to see that I want to play this role because being Asian is a beautiful thing, a special thing. The world isn't saturated with Asians. I don't see a lot of negative energy but when I do, I use it in a positive way."
In Kita's case race may prove an asset, but a real obstacle to getting air play is the radio stations' need to plug artists into established formats. "A lot of people don't understand what I'm doing," says Kita with a hint of complaint. "Europeans understand my stuff bette than Americans. We're getting so much reaction from Europe now. They compare me with Peter Murphy and David Bowie."
Not having a life band/act, Kita is concentrating on video as the way to promote himself. He cites Michael Jackson and Billy Idol as two more whose success he would like to emulate. Kita's emergence coincides with a bad slump in the music market. "No one is doing anything in this town," he says. "Right now all the action is in Seattle." At the time of our interview Kita was speaking with a couple of producers who had flown out from New York to meet with him. PAGE 7
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