Marc Romance is my favorite alias for the master of Pousse Cafe, a stylish wine bar hidden away in Jiyugaoka. He has used many names, including Mac, Kota and the unlikely Alien J. Perkins -- most adopted for the convenience of his foreign friends but some, like the latter, as a nom de plume for writing music. But he was born Kotaro Honda, the son of a Japanese literature professor tenured at a Shikoku university. (And yes, this has earned him the nickname "Professor.")
In the mid-'70s, when Honda was 11 years old, he turned on the TV one Saturday afternoon. NHK just happened to be broadcasting a live performance of the rock band Kiss. Honda was transfixed.
"It's amazing to think how many Japanese kids must have been watching that show that day," says Honda. "I've met so many musicians my age who were inspired by that program. For me -- it woke me up."