Ujino's Love Arm

The keytar to end all keytars?
"In the hands of a batter, the baseball bat assumes the status of a tool for winning games, for homeruns. Unlike the game of cricket in England, the baseball bat is held high and aloft, the maximum position for exerting maximum energy with a swing action. It has thus also been adopted as a weapon by gangsters and street gangs throughout the twentieth century in America.
Like the bat, the guitar also symbolises other forms of violence. One of the 'fathers' of electric guitars in America is Fender Company. Its guitars were played by guitar heroes such as Jimi Hendirx and bands such as The Who (who were British) in the 1960s also began to destroy their guitars and instruments on stage as part of their performance, often swinging them around their heads like baseball bats.

Both of these tools are iconic American inventions, symbols of the dominance of American popular culture in the modern age. They have entered the popular Japanese culture too, almost to the point where they have lost their American-ness. Baseball in particular enjoys a popularity in Japan only second to America, and the Major League is often referred to my commentators and players with envy as the pinnacle of their destinies.

Love Arm 4 is a simple wooden baseball bat that has been adapted to become a cross-over guitar feedback tool. Over a wooden bat, Ujino Muneteru has attached a black metal frame which contains pick-ups and electrics. When plugged in and swung in different directions, the bat becomes a feedback machine. Ujino performs this Love Arm with Gorgerous. On stage, surrounded by a cacophany of noise, Ujino swings the bat around in a simultaneous homage to the bat and the guitar and its various images of violence."

via the-rotators.com where you'll find more info and other creative works.