CURRENT MISSION

meet amazing people, have inspiring adventures!

ABOUT ME

I'm Thomas. I'm just about to graduate from UMass Amherst with a degree in Japanese. I lived in Japan for almost three years, so I think I can say I'm fluent now - for the most part. I've recently been doing a lot of work with translation, interning and what not, so I'm looking at that as my post-graduation career choice.

However, my passion is making music. I play piano/keyboards, bass, compose, arrange, produce, and (with the help of pitch correction software) sing eclectic pop songs. My sound's sorta retro, sorta electronic. I think of it as "hipster pop".

I'm almost finished with making my first solo album, so I'm hoping to eventually release it "officially", play more gigs and all that.
Check out my soundcloud if you'd like: soundcloud.com/niagaramoon

I also led a band in Kyoto called Otadehan - we're about to release our second album: otadehan.com

Thanks for reading! I hope I may get to know you too.

PHILOSOPHY

If it sounds good, it is good

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Mostly surfing. I want to host more in the future...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Iceland, Japan, Singapore, Vancouver and Seattle.

Interests

Pretty much said it in the "All about you" section, but I also love biking, good food, nature of all varieties, and hanging out with nice people.

• culture
• singing
• dining
• reading
• music
• piano
• cycling
• surfing
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Beatles, Animal Collective, Bjork, My Bloody Valentine, David Bowie, Washed Out, Pizzicato Five, Bob Dylan, Squarepusher, Brian Eno, Van Dyke Parks, Happy End, Boards Of Canada, Father John Misty, Harry Nilsson, John Grant, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, Mac Demarco, Hall & Oates, many others...

Movies: most stuff by directors like David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Coen Brothers, Danny Boyle, Akira Kurosawa, Terry Gilliam, Studio Ghibli, Quentin Tarantino, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

All my travels (UK, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands, Iceland, California/Oregon, Montreal, China/Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Japan, Pacific Northwest) have been pretty sweet.

Teach, Learn, Share

I want to learn about other cultures, and help others understand my culture.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States