Apr 10

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Chin Music Press Owner Bruce Rutledge

  By Julio Perez Jr. (Kyoto-shi, 2011-13) for JQ magazine. A bibliophile, writer, translator, and graduate from Columbia University, Julio is currently working at Ishikawa Prefecture’s New York office while seeking opportunities with publications in New York. Follow his enthusiasm for Japan, literature, and comic books on his blog and Twitter @brittlejules. After spending a few years in Chiba doing teaching and promotional work that would […]


Jul 18

JET-alum owned Chin Music Press opens in Seattle’s Pike Place Market

Thanks to JET alum David Jacobson, who works for Chin Music Press, for sharing this press release.  Chin Music Press is a Seattle-based publisher owned and run by Bruce Rutledge (Monbusho English Fellow, Chiba-ken, 1985-87) with a reputation for noteworthy cover art. Indie Book Publisher Opens Office/Retail Space in Seattle’s Pike Place MarketPress ReleaseJuly 16, 2014Local independent book publisher Chin […]


May 31

MEF Bruce Rutledge’s Chin Music Press launches innovative “BooksRX”

MEF Bruce Rutledge, founder of Seattle-based independent book publisher Chin Music Press and editor of Ibuki magazine, has launched an innovative new approach to independent book publishing: Mail-Order Medicine For Your Mind! Announcing BooksRX In 2010, small independent publisher Bellevue Literary Press won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction with Paul Harding’s Tinkers – the first […]


Nov 28

Write for Ibuki Magazine? Book ideas for Chin Music Press?

After running a “Culture Spreaders” post on MEF Bruce Rutledge a couple weeks ago, Bruce sent the following response: “Wow. This was a pleasant surprise. Thanks for the accolades! I encourage anyone interested in writing about Japan to get in touch. We’re looking for contributors to Ibuki (stories should have a Pacific Northwest hook) and […]


Nov 2

“Big in Japan: A Ghost Story” Now Available from Chin Music Press

***** Chin Music Press, the Seattle-based publisher owned and run by Bruce Rutledge (MEF Program Chiba-ken, 1985-87) has just released its newest title, Big in Japan: A Ghost Story. The debut novel from Hawaii-based author M. Thomas Gammarino is a deadly funny story of haunted progressive rock composer Brain Tedesco. The book has already received […]


Oct 19

“Two Authors Send Readers on Mysterious Journeys Through Japan:”Chin Music Press Book Reading at Capitola Book Café- Oct 20 (Santa Cruz, CA)

Chin Music Press, the Seattle-based publisher owned and run by Bruce Rutledge (MEF Program Chiba-ken, 1985-87) is headed to Northern California as author Todd Shimoda reads from his latest novel, Oh! A mystery of mono no aware, at the Capitola Book Café (1475 41st Avenue in Capitola) on Tuesday, October 20th at 7:30pm. Shimoda joins […]


Sep 16

Chin Music Press, the Seattle-based publisher owned and run by Bruce Rutledge (MEF Program Chiba-ken, 1985-87) will be well represented at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop (16 West 32nd Street, 10th Floor btwn Broadway & 5th Avenue) on Thursday, Oct. 1 from 7-9pm when author Todd Shimoda will be read from his latest illustrated novel, […]


Aug 25

Japan Times review of Chin Music Press book “Oh!” by Jeff Kingston

**************** The Japan Times has a nice review of the novel Oh!  A mystery of ‘mono no aware’ by Todd Shimoda, and published by JET alum Bruce Rutledge’s Seattle-based publishing company Chin Music Press. The review describes “an emotionally numb and alienated technical writer” who “suddenly decides to bolt Los Angeles and visit Japan, his […]


Mar 25

Thanks to JET Program Coordinator/Consular Specialist at the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle (and a JET alum herself) Lynn Myauchi for letting me know about Bruce Rutledge, the owner of Seattle-based independent publisher Chin Music Press (www.chinmusicpress.com).  Bruce was a Monbusho Exchange Fellow (MEF), the predecessor program to the JET Program, and now he is […]


Apr 10

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Jazz Musician Meg Okura

By Allen Wan (Ishikawa-ken, 1990-92) for JQ magazine. Allen works as a foreign correspondent in Shanghai. He is also a lecturer in the executive MBA program at Jiao Tong University and currently serves as president of the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club. Allen would like to get in touch with other JET alumni in Shanghai who […]


May 5

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Patrick Bartley of J-MUSIC Ensemble

By Rashaad Jorden (Yamagata-ken, 2008-10) for JQ magazine. A former head of the JETAA Philadelphia Sub-Chapter, Rashaad is a graduate of Leeds Beckett University with a master’s degree in responsible tourism management. For more on his life abroad and enthusiasm for taiko drumming, visit his blog at www.gettingpounded.wordpress.com. People from all over the world come to New […]


Jan 16

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Grammy Winner Arnie Roth on ‘Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy’

  By Vlad Baranenko (Saitama-ken, 2000-02) for JQ magazine. Vlad is an avid photographer. Sephiroth, meet Maestro Roth. On Jan. 31, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center will hold a double performance marathon of Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy, an official concert program of the beloved video game series, also coming to Boston (April 24) and St. Louis (May […]


Dec 14

JQ Magazine: The Steady Riser – A Conversation with Tokyo Musician Nelson Babin-Coy

By Sheila Burt (Toyama-ken, 20010-12) for JQ magazine. Sheila recently returned to America after living in Japan for three years (two years in Namerikawa with JET and one year at a private school in Ehime-ken). She is currently looking for a job and welcomes all leads. View more of her work at www.sheilaburt.com. The first time Tokyo-based musician Nelson Babin-Coy visited Japan, he […]


Feb 7

JET help needed to secure music grants for Iwate, Fukushima & Miyagi

Via the JETAA USA website: JET help needed to secure music grants for Iwate, Fukushima & Miyagi Margarita Rozenbaoum of Relief International (an international humanitarian nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles) is reaching out the JET alum and JET community to secure music grants for schools in Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi-ken. This project, called Jam for Japan aims to […]


Sep 6

JQ Magazine: DVD Review — ‘Live from Tokyo’ Explores Music’s Japanification

  By Sam Frank, an ALT who taught English in Hiraizumi-Cho, Iwate-ken, from 2002-04 and worked in Shirahama-cho, Wakayama-ken as a JET from 2004-06, for JQ magazine. He currently manages the New York division of UnRated magazine and works as a project manager/Web producer at Arrow Root Media. When it comes to cultural diversity, Japan has […]


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