Those who can, do; those who can't, teach. Right? That was certainly true of the various losers and sociopaths who "taught" me when I was in school. But this hoary old adage doesn't apply to a showbiz school recently launched by leading Japanese record label Avex.

Avex President Ryuhei Chiba, Chairman Tom Yoda and Yoshihito Aoki, general manager of the new Avex Artist Academy

Most of the teaching staff at Avex Artist Academy are musicbiz professionals supplementing their day jobs with part-time teaching gigs. The school opened Oct. 1 in a building near Takeshita-dori in Harajuku, which is about as close to the heart of Japanese youth culture as you can get.