We were lucky to catch up with Kentaro Saito recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kentaro , thanks for joining us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

I do music related jobs, including performance, composing, recording, and teaching, for money. So, if I spend buying an expensive instrument and did not make as much or, spending too much for the recording and did not get as much return, they would be considered a bad investment.

Time can be an investment too, time of thinking, preparing, studying, etc.
So, if I were to choose 25 an hour teaching, for 4 hours without any traveling, or 100 for 3 hour top 40 cover band gigs with traveling, I would be happy to choose 25 teaching jobs, especially some of those top 40 requires more learning, which consume more time, which equals money, unless I decided that the learning them would help my career.

Now, by understanding that the worst investment would be the one which made smallest return/biggest loss, and the best investment would be the one which made the biggest return, monetary wise.
The biggest money I have spend for the music is the education.
But, since the education led to be able to do what I can do for money, I can say that it was the best investment.

The worst investment can be the most expensive equipment that would never be used, but if you count the time in, it is the wasted time you would spend on investing into other players who would change the course of the plan.

So, my worst investment was spending on people, who would just waste my time.

Musical Band, sometimes, is a very interesting cooperating body, that lucks the boss.
If that was regular jobs, whatever boss says is definite, since boss is paying you.
The reason why, I think is the case, is that music involves a lot of emotions, such as “I like this” and “I want to do this”.

I am not the smartest business man or musician that knows what sells, what don’t. And I am open to suggestions, and I also understand more money involves more responsibilities and leverages.

When I lead my project, and pay people to support me, I have some aim, and idea and reasons, including how much/less of money money I want to make and why.

I trust when other people are hiring me, they have some some aim, and idea and reasons beyond my understandings.
Therefore, I will not give any emotional judgement to any student who is paying me to teach them or any musicians who is hiring me to play their music. I only give them technical advise, only if I were asked, such as how to be able to playing in time, how to be able to mimic certain groove, harmony and such. Never any opinion, like I like this and I hate that.

So, when I am getting paid doing musical related jobs, I try my hardest to do whatever they tell me to do, and if I am not, I accept not getting paid. When I am hiring other musicians for my project, I expect them to at least not to waste my time by objecting the process.

The worst suggestions by hired guns are coming from the aim that them wanting to have their name onto the song writers credit. As a support musician, our names should not be on the writers credit, because we are get paid to support playing the music. Unless, we were not asked to co-write.

So, my worst investment was spending money on players, who would just waste my time, by suggesting according to their selfish aims to co-write.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am currently a band leader, for Kentaro and the Ramen Flag Band, formerly know as OTONANA Trio.

I am responsible for composing and producing all the songs and stage plot, talking to booking agent and record label, and making financial decisions for my band.

I am currently a paid music instructor belongs to music schools in Southern California, where I currently live.

I am currently a paid composer/producer for my clients.

I am currently a paid electric guitar player, a paid acoustic guitar player, a paid lap steel guitar player, a paid banjo player, and a paid singer for my clients.

I am an unpaid/amateur YouTuber, who hopes to make money in the future at this YouTube page.
www.youtube.com/@kentarosaito4808

I am a paid professional musician.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My artistically goal is to point out the conflict in right or wrong. I believe that by pointing out the conflict in right or wrong, we can all be flexible.
I have learned, by touring world wide, and meeting variety of internationals, regionals, races and societies, that the definitions of “Justice” varies.
So, that I learned the minute that I assume the justice/right answer is there, I am wrong. I always have to be flexible, in order to understand what they are who they are, because my “justice” only applies to me and me only, and everyone have its own “justice”, since they each have a different background.

Now, I do understand why they fight and why they make the war in the greater level.
There is a reasons involving wealth for their society and country and, etc…
But once you protect your wealthy society, you are denying other society to be as wealthy of more.
That is the fight.

I want to be comfortable. I want my family to be comfortable. I want my co-workers to be comfortable. I want my friends to be comfortable. I want everyone to be comfortable. But the truth is, if you fight for your own comfortabilities, closer you are can be benefited, but further you are can be annoyed because of it.

So, our fight is like a fighting for taste of food.
What taste good, or bad.
It’s all depends.

And in Japan, at 2003, it was the Ramen, which had the most variety of taste, and variety of opinions for the taste. Therefor I created the song called “the Ramen War” “Ramen War II”, and “Ramen War III”.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I would rather choose my society and adjust. I was born in Tokyo, and I liked the city, until they bully me, by saying I should go for “bigger places”,
Then I somehow decided to the American Hard Rock music is bigger, by being attracted by the popularities of the American Hard Rock, since it was promoted as “the most technical music” in Japan somehow as of 1994, and decided to go to school in Los Angeles, even though my favorite artist was Jamiroquai and Bob Marley.

First minute I go to school in the Los Angeles, I encounter the events to think that the country music, funk music, and jazz music, are more technically advance than Hard Rock.

I have tried to learn Los Angeles, including all the music, and awarded as the best student of a kind.
But, my liking for the Los Angeles expires in 1995, I decided not to like Los Angeles any more, and move to New York.

In New York I lasted a while, including my obsession to Punk and Jazz, two opposite genres.

But that expires again, go to Japan, finding Japanese music grows.

Then I travel around touring meeting audiences, my supporter, and finding out who they are, understanding what they love, my love to their musical suggestion grows.

Now, all that combine is me.

I think every local band supporters are very very supportive to the artist, while the artist loves the local societies.
The mass production may not be something to follow as an artist, unless you know where they are coming from and soak yourselves to the society for decent enough time..

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kentaroandtheramenflagband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KentaroAndTheRamenFlagBand/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@kentarosaito4808
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/1uosbrvDodp2uFmFZuRyWV?si=48c490e68d4c4711

Image Credits
Oscar Morero