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Marty Friedman

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-	!colspan="2" style="text-align:center; color:black; background:#f4bf92; font-size:150%;"|マーティ・フリードマン	+	!colspan="2" style="text-align:center; color:black; background:#f4bf92; font-size:150%;"|Marty Friedman
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-	!colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFFF"|[[Image:Maati_1.jpg|240px]]	+	!colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFFF"|[[Image:Marty_1.jpg|240px]]
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	!colspan="2" style="text-align:center; color:black; background:#f4bf92; font-size:90%;"|Background Information		!colspan="2" style="text-align:center; color:black; background:#f4bf92; font-size:90%;"|Background Information
	|-valign="top"		|-valign="top"
	! style="width:100px"|Birth name		! style="width:100px"|Birth name
-	| マーティン・アダム・フリードマン	+	| Martin Adam Friedman
	|-valign="top"		|-valign="top"
	! style="width:100px"|Born		! style="width:100px"|Born
-	| December 8, 1962<br>JAPAN!	+	| December 8, 1962<br>Washington, DC, USA
	|-valign="top"		|-valign="top"
	! style="width:100px"|Genres		! style="width:100px"|Genres
-	| J-Pop	+	| Thrash Metal <br> Neo-classical Shred Metal <br>J-Rock / J-Pop
	|-valign="top"		|-valign="top"
	! style="width:100px"|Instrument		! style="width:100px"|Instrument
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	| 1982 - present		| 1982 - present
	|-valign="top"		|-valign="top"
-	! style="width:100px"|Associated acts	+	! style="width:100px; "|Associated acts
-	| Japan (The country, not the band.)	+	| Megadeth<br>Cacophony<br>Hawaii<br>Jason Becker
	|}		|}
-		+	'''Marty Friedman'''<ref>For those without comedic tastes, the so-called experts at Wikipedia have an article about '''''[[Wikipedia:Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Marty]] "[[Wikipedia:ja:マーティ・フリードマン|Maati]]" [[Wikipedia:Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Friedman]]'''''.</ref> (born '''Martin Adam Friedman''', on December 8, 1962) is a [[Texas Jewboys|Jewish-American]]<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk: Marty_Friedman_%28guitarist%29 #Marty.27s_Religion His name is Marty Friedman. That sounds like a reliable source to me.]</ref> guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for the [[thrash metal]] band [[Megadeth]] from 1990 to 1999. He now resides in [[Japan]]<ref>"Visit Japan in the fourth year. Broadly active in Tokyo." -[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avexnet.or.jp%2Fmarty%2F biography.html Marty's official website].</ref>, where he hosts a number of TV shows, including
-	'''Marty Friedman'''<ref>For those without comedic tastes, the so-called experts at Wikipedia have an article about '''''[[Wikipedia:Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Marty]] "[[Wikipedia:ja:マーティ・フリードマン|Maati]]" [[Wikipedia:Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Friedman]]'''''.</ref>< (マーティ・フリードマン, ''Maati Furiidoman'') (born December 8, 1962) is a [[Guitar ninja|Japanese guitarist]] and [[Popular Media Personality|TV superstar]], known the world over for how [[HowTo:Be Awesome|awesome]] he is. For a short period of time, he played in some [[HowTo:Write A Funny Band Article|American bands]].	+	Mr. Heavy-Metal, Rock Fujiyama, and [[Jukebox Hero|Jukebox English]].
	__toc__		__toc__
	==Music Career==		==Music Career==
-	[[Image:Maati_6.jpg|thumb|left|Marty is very good at playing guitar. Playing guitar is a lot like having sex.]][[Image:Maati_5.jpg|thumb|right|[[HowTo:Eat with Chopsticks|The ability to use chopsticks]] is a uniquely Japanese skill.]]
-	Marty is a largely [[HowTo:Be a guitar hero|self-taught guitarist]]. This is because no one is good enough to teach him anything. In fact, Marty saw so many flaws in the conventional study of guitar and [[Music Theory|music theory]], that he decided to start from scratch and re-derive music from the ground up. Marty invented many well-known and popular scales including the [[Gypsy|Ciprian scale]], the [[Japan|Slendro scale]], and the Harmonic Minor scale.
-
-	===Early Days===
-
-	While in high school, Marty [[HowTo:Get Laid|formed the band]] '''Deuce''', which got him laid a lot. And not just by [[Sexually Active Band Geek|high school girls]], either. Every girl from [[Girls Gone Wilde|college co-eds]] to [[MILF]]s wanted to be ravaged by Marty. It was during this time that Marty developed [[Yellow fever|his discerning taste in women]]. After this, Marty moved to [[Hawaii]] and formed the band '''Hawaii'''. Roughly 17% of Hawaii's population is Japanese, so Marty felt right at home. Another 16% of Hawaiians are native Polynesians, who are also pretty hot, especially when they're not fat. Other Asians (not including Filipinos, who don't count) make up 7% of the population.
-
-	===Cacophony===
-
-	In 1986, while in America, Marty discovered a young guitarist named '''Jason Becker'''. Marty saw promise in the child, and taught him [[Arpeggio|everything he knows]]. When Jason got good enough, he and Marty formed the band '''Cacophony''', which was the fastest band ever.
-
-	Cacophony was not very successful in the US, because most Americans [[retard|cannot hear fast enough]] to listen to it. So Marty took the band on a tour of Japan. The Japanese people love Cacophony, because they have [[Pseudoscience|superior hearing]], and also they like it when a band's lead guitarist is [[Wapanese|Japanese]]. Marty would have loved to keep the tour going forever, but eventually, the band had to return to the US because Jason was like 15 or 16 years old or something like that and missed his parents.
-	[[Image:Maati_8.jpg|thumb|right|<center>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No! Dave!<br><big>Don't eat that!<br><big>That's not food!<br><big>That's a fretboard!</big></big></big></center>]]
-	===Post-Cacphony===
-	In 1990, Marty joined the band '''[[Megadeth]]'''. While in Megadeth, Marty pushed the band from a crappy [[thrash metal]] sound to a much more interesting j-pop sound, and was responsible for the band selling over 100 million albums world wide. Thanks to Marty's connections to the Japanese music industry, Megadeth was allowed to play [[Pokémon Stadium|The Nippon Budokan]], which is the biggest and most important musical venue in the world.	+	Friedman is a largely [[HowTo:Learn_Guitar|self-taught guitarist]], with no formal training in [[Music Theory|music theory]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSaTAGsIBEI I am scales and so can you!]</ref>. Despite this, he is esteemed for his improvisational skills and his unique ability to fuse a wide variety of unorthodox [[world music]] styles with metal, which conventionally took its inspirations from Western Classical music, such as that of [[Randy Rhoads|Bach]], [[Paul Gilbert|Haydn]], and [[Yngwie_J._Malmsteen|Paganini]]. On stage, Friedman is known for his energetic, passionate playing style<ref>[http://www.martyfriedman.com/media_galeri_popup.php?id=14 ''Energetic'' and ''passionate'']</ref>. In contrast to the sweep picking of his neo-classical contemporaries and the alternate picking method favored in thrash, Friedman uses a unique picking style which favors up-strokes. Friedman is instantly recognizable for his vast arsenal of exotic scales, though he says he never studied scales and plays everything by ear<ref>"The misconception about me is that I know technical stuff." -[http://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/990621/9.shtml Marty]</ref>.
-	In 1999, Marty quit Megadeth because '''[[Dave Mustaine]]''' is a jerk.	+	===Pre-Megadeth===
-	[[Image:Nanase.jpg|thumb|right|Aikawa Nanase yearns for Marty.]]	+
-	===Post-Post-Cacophony===	+
-	After this frivolous aberration from his career, Marty went back to making real music.	+	While in high school, Friedman teamed up with Tom Gattis to form the band '''[[Deuce Deuce|Deuce]]''', which played music inspired by [[KISS]], [[Geddy Lee|Rush]], [[The Ramones]], and [[Box of Scorpions|The Scorpions]]<ref>[http://www.gattismetal.com/guys/tom/index.htm Yes, SCORPIONS]</ref>. In 1982, Friedman formed the band '''[[Kitsune|Vixen]]''', which put out an album before realizing "Vixen" is a girl band name. The band reformed as '''[[Hawaii]]''' and put out three more albums before it broke up in 1985<ref>From the bastions, in the deepest fathoms of the sea, came spewing forth in a cloud of volcanic ash and raining fire, a structure of molten rock forming [http://eds.org/~dan/images/hawaii.jpg ''ONE NATION UNDERGROUND]</ref>.
-	Aikawa Nanase, who is super [[Hot Chick|hot]], fell in love with Marty. Since she is [[Married Women|married]], however, she can't have him. So she did the next closest thing, [[HowTo:Make a Band|ask him to play guitar in her band]]. Marty, being a [[classy|gentleman]], obliged her. As soon as they started playing together, her career [[famous|took off]], and many other j-pop idols got [[Bitch Disease|jealous]]. One after another, they begged and pleaded Marty to come and play with them. He now plays guitar for [[Jrock|every single band in Japan]]. Marty is also singlehandedly responsible for the revival of Enka.	+	In 1986, Friedman was approached by '''[[Lou Gehrig's Disease|Jason Becker]]''', a young guitar prodigy in search of a new teacher. Together, they formed the band '''[[Guitar Duel|Cacophony]]''', renowned for its technically challenging, complexly harmonized guitar solos (duets) and ridiculous lyrics. Cacophony put out two albums, ''Speed Metal Symphony'' and ''Go Off!'', and toured the United States and Japan, before Friedman and Becker went their separate ways in 1989<ref>[http://megadeth.rockmetal.art.pl/articles_metalattack1990.html There were fears that this talented virtuoso would land in a pop rock band wasting his talent.]</ref>.
-	You might wonder how Marty has time to play with every Japanese band ever. This is a good question, but the answer is simple. After watching the [[South Park]] episode "4th Grade", in which the characters construct a [[time machine]] using [[Timmy]]'s wheelchair, Marty called in some favors from former Cacophony bandmate [[:Category:Tasteless|Jason]].	+	===Megadeth===
		+	[[Image:Marty_2.jpg|thumb|right|Megadeth's 1990-1998 lineup: Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine, [[Drummer|Nick Menza]], and [[Moë|David Ellefson]].]]
		+	After the 1989 release of ''[[Nobody cares|So Far, So Good... So What!]]'', '''[[Megadeth]]''' band leader '''[[Dave Mustaine]]''' once again [[HowTo:Kick Someones Teeph In|fired]] half his lineup and set about rebuilding the band. As per tradition, he replaced drummer Chuck Behler with his own [[Roadie|drum tech]], Nick Menza<ref>"I'm not saying that we will have another guitar tech there who is going to take over Marty's gig..." -[http://megadeth.rockmetal.art.pl/articles_hotmetal1990.html Dave Mustaine]</ref>; The search for a new lead guitarist was not as easy, with many auditions held over the course of over seven months<ref>http://www.myspace.com/fallen_hero_dimebag<!--If you know a better (read: worse) Dimebag tribute site, please feel free to replace this one.--></ref>. Friedman was eventually selected for being [[Opposite world|exactly unlike]] his predecessor, Jeff Young, who had extensive music theory training and was known for wearing his guitar high and concentrating intently on his playing.
-	==Television==	+	In 1990, Megadeth released its first album with the new lineup. ''[[Missile|Rust In Peace]]'' was hailed as "awesome" and "heavy" and "really difficult to play" by fans and citics alike, and to this day is acclaimed as a definitive thrash metal album. The album went on to sell over a million copies in the US, and was nominated twice for the Best Metal Performance Grammy; it lost both times to '''[[Metallica]]'''<ref>It's an honor just to be nominated [http://megadeth.rockmetal.art.pl/releases_facts.html#Grammy seven times]</ref>.
-	Everywhere Marty goes, television camera crews just seem to [[Stalker|follow him around]]. He can't help it. He doesn't know why it happens, but suspects it is because of a) how interesting he is and b) how sexy he is. As a result, Marty is on [[Reality TV|TV]] almost all the time. Like the fictional "The [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] Show", "The Marty Show" (which is not an actual show, just a trendy new [[slang]] term used as a catch-all for a whole bunch of different shows about Marty) is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Japan.	+	''[[Recipes on Endangered Species|Countdown to Extinction]]'', Megadeth's 1992 album, was a stylistic departure from the band's previous releases. While still driven by fast technical riffs, the songs were shorter and more [[sold out|radio-friendly]]. The change was motivated by trends in thrash metal at the time, Mustaine's desire to reach a wider audience, and Friedman's love of popular rock music. The move paid off and the album was Megadeth's most successful release<!--<ref>What, did you expect me to justify this with record sales or something?</ref>-->. The trend continuted with ''[[Euthanasia|Youthanasia]]'', the band's 1994 album.
-	One of Marty's favorite pastimes is hanging out with [[Paul Gilbert|really cool famous people]] and playing [[Guitar Hero|music-centric]] parlour games with them. As it turns out, people who are not cool enough to hang out with these famous people themselves enjoy [[Virtually Virtual Reality|living vicariously]] through Marty, and these games, serialized as '''[[That Television Show With Blinking Lights Where People Talk Really Loudly!!!|Rock Fujiyama]]''' (which means "[[Mountain Hunting|Mt. Fuji]] is a giant rock") are watched by more people than any other [[Rozen Maiden|Japanese TV show]]. In addition, wapanese people and wannabe-guitarists around the world [[Video Piracy|download the show]] from the internet all the time, to the point where they often slow down other peoples' [[Internets|personal internet connections]]. While Marty doesn't condone piracy, he is fine with it because he knows he is irresistible viewing, and it would be wrong to deprive anyone of him.	+	The late 90s saw Megadeth complete its transformation from thrash metal to [[Music_radio#Rock|mainstream radio rock]]. ''[[Worst 100 Cryptic Crossword Clues of All Time|Cryptic Writings]]'' (1996) and ''[[HowTo:Catch A Mouse#Buy A Cat|Risk]]'' (1999) together produced six top 20 singles, inclusing Megadeth's first #1 hit song, ''[[The Useless Idiot's Guide to Girlfriends|Trust]]''<!--<ref>BLAHBLAHBLAH</ref>-->. However, Mustaine began to feel pressure from [[Metalheads|long-time fans]] to return to the band's former thrash sound. He informed the band of his decision during the Risk tour, and Friedman, who preferred the Hard Rock sound, left the band<ref>"Remember the reason that Marty is not in Megadeth anymore: he wanted to be in a pop band with a female singer in Japan. He quit." - [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/ blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode= Article&newsitemID=19177 Dave Mustaine]</ref>.
-	==Political Career==	+	While Friedman was in Megadeth, the band sold a total of over ten million albums worldwide<ref>But would you trust a [http://www.celebrityrockstarguitars.com/rock/friedman.htm source] that lists his fifth solo album as his debut?</ref>.
-	In 1986, Marty released the landmark album ''Marty's Awesome... But Who Didn't Know That?''', the title track of which contained such lyrics as "What do you mean I don't believe in [[God]]? I am God!", "What do you mean I can't get to work on time? I [[Musician|set my own hours]]!", and "What do you mean I couldn't be the [[Prime Minister]] of Japan? Both houses of the Diet would vote for me if they got the chance!" Following this album, "Marty Friedman for Prime Minister of Japan" became a common rallying cry amongst Marty's fans.	+	===Post-Megadeth===
		+	After the split, Friedman spent a few years traveling, hosting clinics and master classes in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. During this time, he got an apartment in Shinjuku, a district of [[Tokyo]]. By 2003, he had set up permanent residence there. That same year, he released his first post-Megadeth solo album, ''[[HowTo:Avoid speeding tickets/fines|Music for Speeding]]''. The followup, ''Loudspeaker'', was released in 2006. The latter featured a number of guest musicians, including [[Billy Sheehan]], [[Steve Vai]], and [[Dream Theater]]'s [[John Petrucci]]<ref>[http://www.neowing.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=AVCD-17958 ビリー・シーン, スティーヴ・ヴァイ, と ジョン・ペトルーシ]</ref>.
-	As it turns out, the song was prophetic and both houses of the Diet ''did'' vote Marty into the position in 2006. He took over the position from [[Junichiro Koizumi|Koizumi Junichirō]], who, during his resignation speech, said "I may have been the coolest Prime Minister Japan has ever seen, but I am not nearly a third as cool as Marty." Koizumi and Marty have similar tastes in music. Both are fans of [[X Japan]], [[Morning Musume]], and [[Elvis Presley]].	+	Friedman joined the backing band for j-pop idol Nanase Aikawa in 2005. He plays on her album ''R.U.O.K?!'' and continues to tour with her. He also regularly tours with other Japanese musicians, including Ami Suzuki and Nana Kitade.
-	Anyway, Marty decided he didn't really want to be the Prime Minister, because it took time away from his music career and his television career and his sexing up hot Japanese chicks career, so he resigned. To this day, he is the only member of Megadeth to have ever held political office.	+	==Career on Japanese television==
		+	In 2005, Friedman co-hosted the show "Mr. Heavy Metal" alongside [[Not Quite Legal Preteenage pictures showing their first time to go fully nude|model]] Yoko Kumada. The show, which showcased metal musicians visiting Japan, was cancelled after six months. In response to [[fanboy|fan]] outcry, the show was re-envisioned in 2006 as ''Rock Fujiyama''<ref>KEEP ON ROCKIN<nowiki>''</nowiki>? [http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/fujiyama/ HELL YEAH!!!!]</ref> (Lit. ''Mt. Fuji Rock'', Fig. ''A Lot of Rock''), which extended the scope of music represented on the show. Friedman also hosts a show called ''[[Engrish|Jukebox English]]'', in which he explains the lyrics of English songs in Japanese.
-	==Girls Marty has crushes on, listed alphabetically==	+	In addition to his own shows, Marty makes regular guest appearances on Japanese television. He's built up a TV personality where he acts as a "[[Wapanese|crazy gaijin]]" who thinks he's Japanese, while the country [[The "No Gaijin Allowed"'s of Japan|humors him]] because he is so good at guitar. According to Friedman, "In Japan, so many more people know [him] from [his] television appearances than from [his] music career that it’s not even funny. It’s all good, though, because the exposure is getting [his] music into the mainstream."<ref>In [http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/marty-friedman/jul-07/29344 the same interview], he calls the Ibanez MFM-1 (the shiny blue one with the stars) a "manly guitar".</ref> Friedman also recently landed a role in a major Japanese film titled '''[[Kitten Huffing|Guuguudatte Neko Dearu]]'''.
-	[[Image:Aki.jpg|thumb|right|This picture kick-started Marty's puberty in 1974.]]	+
-	* Arashiro Beni	+
-	* Asabuki Keito	+
-	* Kaji Meiko	+
-	* Maeda Yuki	+
-	* Shirley Manson	+
-	* Masuyama Eiko	+
-	* Misora Hibari	+
-	* Otonashi Kyōko	+
-	* Grace Park	+
-	* Roppongi Akemi	+
-	* Shimakura Chiyoko	+
-	* Takahashi Rumiko	+
-	* Todoroki Yukiko	+
-	* Umeki Miyoshi	+
-	* Yashiro Aki	+
-	* Emerald Yeh	+
	==References==		==References==
-	[[Image:KirkDrill.jpg|thumb|right|Kirk Hammett tries unsuccessfully to copy Paul Gilbert's drill-picking technique. Maybe if he accidentally screws his foot to the floor, he'll stop using the wah pedal so much.]]
	<references />		<references />
-	[[Category:Japanese]][[Category:Guitarists]][[Category:Pop Musicians]][[Category:Awesome People]]	+	[[Category:Jewish]][[Category:Guitarists]][[Category:Heavy Metal Maniacs]]

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Marty Friedman

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Marty Friedman
Background Information
Birth name	Martin Adam Friedman
Born	December 8, 1962 Washington, DC, USA
Genres	Thrash Metal Neo-classical Shred Metal J-Rock / J-Pop
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1982 - present
Associated acts	Megadeth Cacophony Hawaii Jason Becker

Marty Friedman (born Martin Adam Friedman, on December 8, 1962) is a Jewish-American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for the thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 1999. He now resides in Japan, where he hosts a number of TV shows, including Mr. Heavy-Metal, Rock Fujiyama, and Jukebox English.

Music Career

Friedman is a largely self-taught guitarist, with no formal training in music theory. Despite this, he is esteemed for his improvisational skills and his unique ability to fuse a wide variety of unorthodox world music styles with metal, which conventionally took its inspirations from Western Classical music, such as that of Bach, Haydn, and Paganini. On stage, Friedman is known for his energetic, passionate playing style. In contrast to the sweep picking of his neo-classical contemporaries and the alternate picking method favored in thrash, Friedman uses a unique picking style which favors up-strokes. Friedman is instantly recognizable for his vast arsenal of exotic scales, though he says he never studied scales and plays everything by ear.

Pre-Megadeth

While in high school, Friedman teamed up with Tom Gattis to form the band Deuce, which played music inspired by KISS, Rush, The Ramones, and The Scorpions. In 1982, Friedman formed the band Vixen, which put out an album before realizing "Vixen" is a girl band name. The band reformed as Hawaii and put out three more albums before it broke up in 1985.

In 1986, Friedman was approached by Jason Becker, a young guitar prodigy in search of a new teacher. Together, they formed the band Cacophony, renowned for its technically challenging, complexly harmonized guitar solos (duets) and ridiculous lyrics. Cacophony put out two albums, Speed Metal Symphony and Go Off!, and toured the United States and Japan, before Friedman and Becker went their separate ways in 1989.

Megadeth

Megadeth's 1990-1998 lineup: Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine, Nick Menza, and David Ellefson.

After the 1989 release of So Far, So Good... So What!, Megadeth band leader Dave Mustaine once again fired half his lineup and set about rebuilding the band. As per tradition, he replaced drummer Chuck Behler with his own drum tech, Nick Menza; The search for a new lead guitarist was not as easy, with many auditions held over the course of over seven months. Friedman was eventually selected for being exactly unlike his predecessor, Jeff Young, who had extensive music theory training and was known for wearing his guitar high and concentrating intently on his playing.

In 1990, Megadeth released its first album with the new lineup. Rust In Peace was hailed as "awesome" and "heavy" and "really difficult to play" by fans and citics alike, and to this day is acclaimed as a definitive thrash metal album. The album went on to sell over a million copies in the US, and was nominated twice for the Best Metal Performance Grammy; it lost both times to Metallica.

Countdown to Extinction, Megadeth's 1992 album, was a stylistic departure from the band's previous releases. While still driven by fast technical riffs, the songs were shorter and more radio-friendly. The change was motivated by trends in thrash metal at the time, Mustaine's desire to reach a wider audience, and Friedman's love of popular rock music. The move paid off and the album was Megadeth's most successful release. The trend continuted with Youthanasia, the band's 1994 album.

The late 90s saw Megadeth complete its transformation from thrash metal to mainstream radio rock. Cryptic Writings (1996) and Risk (1999) together produced six top 20 singles, inclusing Megadeth's first #1 hit song, Trust. However, Mustaine began to feel pressure from long-time fans to return to the band's former thrash sound. He informed the band of his decision during the Risk tour, and Friedman, who preferred the Hard Rock sound, left the band.

While Friedman was in Megadeth, the band sold a total of over ten million albums worldwide.

Post-Megadeth

After the split, Friedman spent a few years traveling, hosting clinics and master classes in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. During this time, he got an apartment in Shinjuku, a district of Tokyo. By 2003, he had set up permanent residence there. That same year, he released his first post-Megadeth solo album, Music for Speeding. The followup, Loudspeaker, was released in 2006. The latter featured a number of guest musicians, including Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai, and Dream Theater's John Petrucci.

Friedman joined the backing band for j-pop idol Nanase Aikawa in 2005. He plays on her album R.U.O.K?! and continues to tour with her. He also regularly tours with other Japanese musicians, including Ami Suzuki and Nana Kitade.

Career on Japanese television

In 2005, Friedman co-hosted the show "Mr. Heavy Metal" alongside model Yoko Kumada. The show, which showcased metal musicians visiting Japan, was cancelled after six months. In response to fan outcry, the show was re-envisioned in 2006 as Rock Fujiyama (Lit. Mt. Fuji Rock, Fig. A Lot of Rock), which extended the scope of music represented on the show. Friedman also hosts a show called Jukebox English, in which he explains the lyrics of English songs in Japanese.

In addition to his own shows, Marty makes regular guest appearances on Japanese television. He's built up a TV personality where he acts as a "crazy gaijin" who thinks he's Japanese, while the country humors him because he is so good at guitar. According to Friedman, "In Japan, so many more people know [him] from [his] television appearances than from [his] music career that it’s not even funny. It’s all good, though, because the exposure is getting [his] music into the mainstream." Friedman also recently landed a role in a major Japanese film titled Guuguudatte Neko Dearu.