The sky was an intense indigo, the sun as hot as a branding iron on the afternoon of the interview with Keith Gordon, drummer and co-composer of the band Ryukyu Underground.
Gordon¡¯s village of Kunigami, in the northern region of Motobu on Okinawa¡¯s main island, is accessed from a lane off the coastal road. Arriving at Gordon¡¯s home by scooter, something streaks across the road, practically grazing the front wheel of the vehicle, before vanishing into subtropical undergrowth.
¡°That was a mongoose,¡± Gordon, who is waiting at the gate of his house, explains. ¡°It¡¯s a good sign. They keep the number of habu at bay.¡± This was just as well, as the interview was conducted under a pergola thick with passion fruit vines, the ideal habitat for Okinawa¡¯s most venomous serpent.
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