I'm so pleased that Nightmare was the guest on the October 30 HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ. They're finally getting recognition on a major music show. It's funny how having their songs featured as the opening and ending themes of the massively popular anime/manga DEATH NOTE has given them such a career boost, even though those two songs aren't even their best works.
My copy of the fall purple SKY issue arrived today (purple SKY is the successor of jrock ink, the first English language J-Rock magazine). Since I did't have time to read it, I briefly flipped through to see what's covered.
The fall 2006 issue features articles of the following nature:
MUCC interview
BLOOD interview
Plastic Tree interview
YOSHIKI at Otakon 2006
LUNA SEA albums
BUCK-TICK history
Gazette Nameless Liberty.Six Guns review
Live report on various indie bands (including 12012 and Phantasmagoria)
Dir en grey at Family Value Tour 2006 live report (written by Go of jrocknyc)
possibly a lot of other things I missed
This issue also has much improved layout design and uses glossy, thick paper. Quite nice.
I also noticed that the magazine subscription fee has gone up. Before the fall issue came out, the US subscription was only $12.50. Now, it's $17. Hmm... I might not renew my subscription for next year if the old subscribers also have to pay the new rate. At about $6 per issue, this is pretty damn expensive.Since my last post was about VIDOLL, I just have to share my love of the most fanservice-y PV I've seen in a while. It's SinAI, the video that turns my brain to utter mush and proves that yes, VIDOLL is indeed too gorgeous for the world to handle. When I first saw this PV, I almost fainted when I realized 2 seconds in that it's one of those "sparkly" PV's (I normally hate sparkly, insanely happy PV's), but decided to trudge on only because it's VIDOLL. I admit it, the major reason I even like this PV is due to the fanservice. *is ashamed of herself* But, the song is great, so having the fanservice doesn't hurt.
Fangirl Psychology 101:
1. Fangirls like seeing beautiful men
2. Fangirls like seeing beautiful men showing lots of skin
3. Fangirls like seeing beautiful men showing lots of skin, especially thighs
Catering to fangirls' wishes shall gain you a cult following and allows you to rip the said following's money off by releasing multiple editions of CDs. The fangirls'll curse and wail about the unfairness and empty wallets, but will likely buy the releases anyway. The suckers.
Oh, and here's the PV itself.
(A post from the future! Daylight Saving Time ends in 2 minutes.)
UNDER CODE announced last month that VIDOLL (ヴィドール) will be releasing their very first full-length album called "V.I.D~Very Important Doll" on November 22. This will be their last release under UNDER CODE, for they'll be "graduating" from the label in February, 2007.
In typical UNDER CODE fashion though, this release comes with 2 (TWO!) editions. Type A consists of a 11-track CD with a PV DVD and costs 3,990 yen. Type B is a CD with the same 11 tracks from Type A, plus a bonus track that features a never before released song. This costs 3,260 yen.
I wanna kick UNDER CODE (or maybe just KISAKI)'s ass for doing this again. How the hell am I supposed to choose between the two editions? Yes, Type B is cheaper and has an extra song, but Type A has a PV DVD! I like PV DVDs. Jeez, I'm so tired of ranting about these greedy indie labels.
I'm debating whether I should bug YesAsia about making this available. I'll feel obliged to order it when YesAsia stocks it (and I'm sure they will).
I don't think this album is a limited release though. At least, the official website says nothing about it being one. Maybe I should just sit on my ass and wait 3 months before getting this. Or, maybe I'll be lucky and get this in mint condition from Yahoo! Auctions Japan for $5 less. ~_~ (Hah, dream on!)
Since this is my first blog post about VIDOLL, let me just throw in a PV for anyone who's interested in giving them a try. A lot of their songs make me feel happy. They just do.
After much hassle, my copy of D's Tafel Anatomie limited edition album (pre-order-only release) finally arrived. I had feared that I didn't pre-order it early enough.
The album itself is really, a beautifully packaged thing. It's made to look like a hard-cover novel, the disc and the photo booklet are revealed when opened. The paper used for the booklet is thick and parchment-like. In addition to the photos of the band, the booklet includes a 100-question interview. Asagi and Tsunehito played basketball in high school? What the heck?! :D
Take note of the new costumes in the booklet (shown above). I'm relieved that Asagi finally shed that ugly white coat thing he wore for the Taiyou wo Okuru Hi PV. He looks so much better in this. Princess (Tsunehito), of course, is showing lots of skin. Supposedly, he never smiles, not even at lives. Oddly, he reminds me of Mana, with similar type of eye makeup and facial expression. And look at Asagi! Man, he's showing off so much thigh for a man who really isn't young anymore. It's amazing how he can pull it off so well.
I'm also pleased with the songs from this album. I especially adore 抉る衝動 (Eguru Shoudou), Glow in the sun, and Leukocyte. I hope that D'll make the PVs for those 3 songs.
By the way, now there is a LJ journal that's devoted to translating D (and Asagi solo) diary entries and lyrics. Check it out here.
The Japanese Student Network (JSN) here in the United States will organize an event called Tokyo Night 2007 on March 31/April 1 in Los Angeles, California.
Q: What is Tokyo Night?
Our objectives of Tokyo Night are to promote a spirit of unity among those of different backgrounds, and to introduce them to both traditional and popular Japanese culture. We are also committed to helping young aspiring artists to expand their creative possibilities in the U.S. We will produce a synthetic entertainment event for our anticipated more than 2, 800 attendees by combining latest club music, visual arts and a fusion of Japanese goods and services. We strongly believe that it is important to create goodwill between people of different backgrounds: our goal remains to promote understanding and respect for differences along with a will to work together to achieve similar goals as members of the same society in order to advance harmony. These are the major themes for upcoming Tokyo Night 2007.
According to the related threads on Batsu J-Rock Forum, JSN is now in serious talks with Kagrra,'s management about the possibility of performing at Tokyo Night, but they must bring in an audience of 2000 or more. If you're pretty damn sure you can make it, please let the organizers of the event know. Bring our beloved Kagrra, to the US! (Please note that Tokyo Night is a 18+ event.)
Related Batsu threads...GIVUSS was formed by Shou and Tora back in 2003 and disbanded in March of 2004. Its members by the time of their last maxi single release 能音楽、無生命。 (no music, no life.) consisted of Shou on vocals, Tora on guitar, Tsunehito on bass, and Yuu on drums. I wouldn't be surprised if you recognize the names. After the breakup, the band members' music career continued and now, they're...
Shou is now in alice nine., with much improved vocals and appearance.
Tora is also part of alice nine.. God, what the hell was he thinking with that awful makeup in the GIVUSS photo?
Tsunehito actually joined SCISSOR after GIVUSS. Upon SCISSOR'S breakup, he became the new bassist of D in 2006. I think he looked much cooler in GIVUSS. Now, I get the impulse to stab him in the eyes because he always look so startled in photoshoots.
Yuu's not-really-current band 華族 (Kazoku) broke up just last month. I know nothing about them.
Along with one of my recent CD purchases, came two flyers of two J-Rock indie bands I've never heard of. It's hurts and Clutch.
According to the flyers, hurts will be releasing 4 maxi singles beginning in December of this year, while Clutch has a coupling CD with another band called Cyasarin released.
Hm, I'm especially interested in finding out what hurts sounds like, since the band's signed to UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. If KISAKI's involved, my curiosity's definitely piqued. But alas, hurts' homepage is still very much incomplete. I'll be keeping an eye on this band.Yes, YesAsia came through for me!
I found out about D's new limited album release "Tafel Anatomie" about a month ago (yes, I was behind on news) and immediately requested YesAsia to make it available for pre-order. I was happy that they fulfilled my request even though they didn't originally plan on offering this item. I placed my pre-order around 3 weeks ago, or about 2 weeks before the release.
So, the release date October 18 came around and being impatient, I checked the YesAsia site on October 20 to see my order status. To my utter shock, YesAsia listed the album as out of print and nothing on my order information indicated that my copy was ready to be shipped, the order was still listed as "pre-order". Concerned, I checked the other major online vendors like CDJapan and HMV; all of them told me the same thing, Tafel Anatomie was out of print, only 2 days after release. Even more puzzled, I zipped over to D's official site and realized that, damn, Tafel Anatomie was actually a pre-order only release! So by "limited edition", they didn't just mean pressing, but order period as well.
I was really really worried. Even though I pre-ordered 2 weeks in advance, was it early enough to guarantee me a copy of the album? I e-mailed YesAsia and asked them upfront whether they can ensure that I'll receive the album. All I got as an answer was something along the lines of "we still haven't received the stock from our suppliers and therefore cannot tell you for sure yet". That had me writhing in pain. Now that the album's out of print, the only other way I can obtain it is through Yahoo! Auctions Japan, but that method will be expensive as hell (double the price of what I pay YesAsia). I was seriously going to be majorly pissed off if YesAsia couldn't ship the album to me.
But now, I breathe a sigh of relief. YesAsia just e-mailed to inform me that they've shipped Tafel Anatomie to me. I'll have it in my hands in about 10 days, and so ends my most recent personal music drama.
Hurray for luck.The new Utakata single PV preview is now available at the Kagrra, official website.
The 30-seconds of PV preview is stunning beautiful. There is something deeply moving about the song that it actually makes tears well up in my eyes. The torrent of swirling emotions conveyed by "Utakata" hits me so hard that I want to weep in both happiness and sadness.
God, I'm going to feel off-balance for the rest of the day because a 30-second song preview caused a train wreck of emotions in me.
What is this sorcery that so affected me?Either due to the bad quality of the original mp3 (128kbps at iTunes Japan), or Shou sounding like he forgot his vocal training over the past year, I can't say I love this song. I dislike the synthesized vocal effect and feel that it just cheapens the production. Honestly, what happened to the magic of alice nine.'s Zekkeishoku album? The two post-Zekkeishoku singles NUMBER SIX. and Blue Planet are mediocre compared to a lot of songs on their full-length album released earlier this year. While this song is quite decent, it can't hold a candle to their early 2006 releases. I think I've begun to hold alice nine. to higher standards. I feel let down.
I am SO bloody jealous of Germans right now.
The German company CLJ Records will be releasing the European edition of Gazette's Nameless Liberty.Six Guns live DVD set. This release will consist of the two concert discs and include both German and English subtitles. The booklet will also contain English lyrics.
Price: 24.99 EUR (about $32)
A special fan edition with DVDs and a T-shirt is also planned. Details will be announced soon.
I'm disappointed, however, that the European edition doesn't include the third disc from the Japanese limited edition. The third disc is the one that contains backstage and interview footages, and kicks absolute ass. Guess the company's too lazy to translate and subtitle it. Because the third CD's not included, I hesitate in buying this...
Bah. We Americans are so neglected. *kicks Free-Will America* Why can't you do the same for us?! PS Company is a sub-label of Free-Will, for god's sake! The euro-dollar exchange rate sucks.Artist: D
Release: Tafel Anatomie (limited edition)
Label: GOD CHILD RECORDS
Date: 2006.10.18
Catalog Number: DAKGCR-3
Price: 3,800 yen (tax in)
1. Phantom pain
2. Fanfare
3. 太陽を葬る日 (Taiyou wo Okuru Hi)
4. Leukocyte
5. Calling me
6. Card
7. 青い果実 (Aoi Kajitsu)
8. Humanoid
9. Glow in the sun
10. 抉る衝動 (Eguru Shoudou)
Now, just watch D release a normal edition of this album 3 months later, with 3 extra tracks. I'll cry. I swear KISAKI (of Phantasmagoria, ex Syndrome) still rubs off on them too much. Stop releasing remastering/remix CDs with bonus tracks! I'm too broke to buy them all.
Track list credit to currypanman of D LJ community. A preliminary review of the album can be found here.I just received my copy of Phantasmagoria's "Splendor of Sanctuary" today.
When I cut open the outer envelope, I was confronted with another envelope. Shrugging, I ripped the second envelope open, but to my surprise, there's yet another envelope inside. Bloody hell? There's nothing to it but to keep on opening envelopes, until 6 envelopes later, the Phantasmagoria album was revealed. Whew, I was starting to worry that there was actually a ticking time bomb in the package.
Dear Free-Will America:
Bubble-wrap would have worked just as well.
Love,
MeToday, my jaw dropped when I saw the following entry at the Kagrra, LJ community:
Now, compare the quotation above to my previous blog entry. It looks like a paraphrase of what I wrote....Album Art Change
So, for anyone who has been reading Izumi's diary [ or not ]. According to his post on September 30th, Kagrra,'s CD jacket designer will be changed. By this, I assume he meant the artist who drew the DVD, CD, photobook and the like [cover arts].
Why this came to be, I have no idea. All I know is that Fukaya Yuichiro's art became a major trademark for Kagrra,.
Oh, no! According to honyakuno-hime's translation of Izumi's September 30 diary entry, Kagrra,'s CD jacket designer will be changed. By this, I assume he meant the artist who drew those gorgeous cover arts. If this is so, I really don't think it's a good idea to replace the talented Fukaya Yuichiro, for his beautiful artworks have essentially become trademarks of Kagrra, the band.
Why fix something that ain't broken?
I just discovered a new favorite band called Phantasmagoria!
*is giddy from excitement*
As I was reading D's Wikpedia entry, I came upon the name of the vocalist Asagi and guitarist Ruiza's former band Syndrome and the mention of Syndrome's leader KISAKI's current project, Phantasmagoria. I've seen Phantasmagoria posts around various J-Rock communities before, but never paid too attention. Now that I realized the existence of a link between Phantasmagoria and D, I decided to check out Phantasmagoria's Wikipedia entry.
This is when I realized that, oh my freaking god, KISAKI is actually the head executive of UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. The indie visual kei production company/record label that also produces popular bands like VIDOLL and 12012 (and not quite popular, but still beloved Karma-Shenjing). And! He was the leader and bassist of La:Sadies, the band that was to become Dir en grey (now under Free-Will's FIREWALL Div.)!!! And what's more, he was the executive of Matina before its dissolution. This was the label Gazette was on before switching to PS Company (a sub-label of Free-Will)! Jesus Christ, KISAKI is linked to everyone!
This "degrees of separation" intrigued me so much that I simply had to investigate Phantasmagoria's music. I just couldn't resist finding out more about this fascinating KISAKI's current band. All I did was type in "Phantasmagoria" in YouTube and went through the PVs that turn up in the results. And to my pleasant surprise, I actually love every single song featured in the PVs produced by this band. This is an amazing feat in of itself. The only other band who's achieved the same in my book is SID, not even my darling Gazette has done it because I dislike their earlier works. This is so ass-kickingly awesome.
Without futher ado, a Phantasmagoria PV...
What's really great about becoming a Phantasmagoria fan is: the band's releases are distributed by Free-Will America in the United States. I can purchase their releases directly from the record label right here in the good old US of A. Oh my god, this is too good to be true! Their first (and only so far) full-length album is a compilation that's only released in the US.
So, according to Shou and Hiroto of alice nine., they visited Aki of SID ("the charismatic bassist Aki", wrote Shou) after their Shibuya Kokaido live and brought him souvenirs from Okinawa. And Aki made pasta for the two of them. Then, Hiroto and Aki went to a near-by park and talked deep into the night. And then, both of them fell sleep until it was morning! I assume right there in the park!
It's odd how all these bands on different labels know each other, isn't it? What's interesting is, they can't just be casual acquaintances because I would never buy things for people I don't really know and go out of my way to bring the gifts to them, especially if this is right after a big concert and I'm probably dead exhausted.
Aki apparently is a good cook, too.I'm so sick of being stuck in my current Hicksville location.
We get no international cultural events here, let alone any possibilities of J-Rock concerts. When the highlight of the year in this little town consists of only Dave Matthews Band and Justin Timberlake, it's just freaking sad (and hm, we got The Rolling Stones last year). In fact, this entire state is out of loop when it comes to diversity and international culture. The population's interests here are just so homogenous, it drives me nuts.
Such frustration inevitably leads me to lament about no longer living in New York City. I moved away 2 years ago, though I still consider myself a New Yorker. NYC is one of the most ass-kicking cities when it comes to diversity. The city offers so many resources and opportunities that cater to everyone's interests and tastes. I miss those afternoons of fun browsing in Chinatown with a green tea ice cream cone in hand (from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory near Bowery, of course), those detours to Asahiya, Kinokuniya, and Book Off for regular dosage of Japanese entertainment (though such detours always guaranteed that I wouldn't find a seat on the train going back home), and heck, I even miss those street/subway performers you often find in busy districts and subway stations. (Speaking of which, I heard that the MTA got a new batch of shiny trains in for some of the subway lines. Awesomeness.)
In comparison, the town I currently live in has absolutely nothing. For Asian entertainment needs, I must rely on online shopping sites like YesAsia, but I can't do a thing about the lack of cultural events. I really need to move to some place bigger and more diverse in the next two years or so, or I'll die of jealousy whenever any major (and non-major) act from Asia decides to make an appearance in the US (in some city not anywhere close enough to my state to make a trip worth it). Since I've already lived in the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, I think I should give the West Coast a try. San Francisco and Los Angeles, I'm looking at you!
That brief stroll down memory lane gave me a craving for green tea and red bean ice cream. But god, there are no such things within a hundred miles. ;____;Artist: アリス九號. (alice nine.)
Release: HELLO, DEAR NUMBERS Tour Final at Shibuya Kokaido Public Hall (live DVD)
Label: PS Company
Date: 2007.01.24
Limited Edition
Concert disc + bonus disc (making of, interview)
Catalog Number: KIBM-90129
Price: 6,090 yen (tax in)
Normal Edition
Concert disc
Catalog Number: KIBM-129
Price: 3,990 yen (tax in)
Take one look at the song titles of Gazette's two upcoming singles.
REGRET -Auditory Impression-
1. REGRET
2. Phychedelic Heroine
3. Worthless War
Filth in the beauty -Auditory Impression-
1. Filth in the beauty
2. Rich Excrement
3. Crucify Sorrow
Phychedelic Heroine?! Don't you mean, "psychedelic heroin"? And, Rich EXCREMENT?!! First of all, why in the world would you use the word "excrement" in a song title of all things? And second, why the hell is the excrement "rich"?
What the fuck is wrong with these Japanese bands? They need to hire an English song title consultant.
Dir en grey: "So, what do you think of 'Agitated Screams of Maggots'?"
Consultant: "..."
Dir en grey: "Well?"
Consultant: "This is the most stupid ass song title I've ever heard."
Maggots: X__x "You hurt our feelings! Maggots have a right to feel agitation, too!"
When it comes to shopping for Japanese music, I use YesAsia, Play-Asia, and J-XYZ. Why these 3 services? Because these accept PayPal as payment. Due to my credit card having a really high limit, I avoid using it for online shopping whenever possible. Due to this limitation, sites like CD Japan, HMV, and Amazon.jp aren't included.
Below, I detail my experiences using the 3 services mentioned above. The reviews vary in length and detail because I haven't used some services as much as others.
This is probably the biggest and most popular shopping site for Asian media out there. It is the primary service I use because of the huge selection and reasonable prices. In addition, taking advantage of their Super Saver shipping method (read: discounted shipping, even though they call it "free shipping") really saves me a lot of bucks over time. I receive my items in about a week (I live in the United States).
However, what I like the most about this site is the customer service. Due to bad luck and carelessness on my part, I had to e-mail YesAsia customer service quite a few times about various issues surrounding my orders. Their consistent prompt responses really win me over. They've always gotten back to me within a few hours and usually get my problems resolved in about 2 days.
Because I follow a lot of Japanese indie bands, I sometimes find that YesAsia doesn't have certain future releases online when pre-order periods begin. When I e-mailed customer service and requested for the items though, YesAsia always got back to me in a day or two and made my requested items available.
When one of my recent purchases got delayed for 2 weeks due to the items getting held-up in US Customs, YesAsia actually upgraded my shipping for free to speed up the domestic transport and gave me a coupon as apology even though this wasn't even their fault ($5 off on order above $30, I used it to pre-order D's Tafel Anatomie limited edition album). Now that's good customer service.
Though, there are two things that other people often complain about when it comes to YesAsia. First, if you pre-order Japanese music merchandises before a certain date, freebie goods often accompany your items. However, YesAsia actually takes those freebies off your items and sell those separately, despite the fact that bonus goods are marked not for re-sale. It's one more channel for YesAsia to make money, but this bugs a lot of people. Though, I personally don't care.
Second, when your orders are canceled or payments are refunded for whatever reason, the refund takes the form of store credit. Since I order from YesAsia so often, this usually isn't a problem. The principle of it turns some people off though.
Despite the issue with a few of their practices, I've had really good experiences with YesAsia so far. So, I give it...
I use Play-Asia as backup when certain releases aren't available at YesAsia. Its Japanese music goods are usually a bit more expensive than YesAsia and it doesn't offer free shipping. However, Play-Asia offers more shipping options in that you can actually choose the packaging. I always pay a few dollars more for a boxed Airmail packaging, instead of the traditional envelop packaging just to ensure my purchases arrive safely.
With every single one of my orders so far, Play-Asia has sent a coupon. $5 off on orders above $50, not bad.
When Play-Asia wasn't able to source one of my items after a month, they agreed to cancel my order and give me a refund. At first I wasn't happy that they offered store credit and e-mailed them back insisting that I prefer direct PayPal refund. They gave a PayPal refund the very next day. This incident was the only time I contacted Play-Asia's customer service and consisted of 3 e-mail exchanges. I got very prompt replies and my problem was resolved in about 3 days. Very nice.
One thing I don't like about Play-Asia is that they don't seem to update their product listing when items go out of stock permanently due to the fact that they're not longer being printed. This can be misleading and is what caused the incident I described above.
Also, Play-Asia takes longer time to ship items out. There's usually a week delay after you make the payment. So, it takes about 2.5 weeks for items to reach me on average.
J-XYZ is my very last resort when neither YesAsia nor Play-Asia has what I want. It specializes in band goods not carried by the other shopping sites because they offer tour goods (T-shirts, pamphlets, wristbands, guitar picks, etc.), posters, photo books, flyers, magazines, in addition to good old music CDs. This is the place I can usually count on for still carrying out of print CDs.
Price-wise, however, J-XYZ is often more expensive than YesAsia and Play-Asia (but not excessively so). Because most of their goods are of the rare-to-find variety, I'm perfectly willing to pay a premium for them.
J-XYZ's online shopping interface isn't very advanced. Much of the transaction is handled by a real person instead of automatically by the computer system like other sites and you can't check your order status. Once your order's submitted, it takes a few days for a confirmation e-mail to arrive detailing payment. Once you pay, it again takes a while for them to inform you that your item's been shipped. The site will register your parcel unless you specifically request them not to do so.
Basically, I'm not a big fan of J-XYZ's customer service because it really takes its sweet time to get back to you on everything. When I bought alice nine.'s Zekkeishoku limited edition album from them. It took them 3 days to confirm my order. Then after hearing nothing for a week, I e-mailed them asking about the order status and was informed the CD was shipped out about 5 days before. Geez, would it have killed them to e-mail me when the item was first shipped? Then, almost a week later, I got another e-mail telling me the CD was shipped and apologizing for not keeping me up to date. What the... do they not keep track of their e-mails? Anyway, it took me about 2.5 weeks to receive the album, but the lack of communication was frustrating. -_-;
Based on my one shopping experience, if it hadn't been the fact that J-XYZ carries out of print CDs, I'd never shop there. I just ordered another item from them because I can't find it anywhere else. The confirmation e-mail, this time, came in a few hours instead of 3 days, and the shipping notification e-mail arrived within a day, maybe there's hope for J-XYZ after all.
alice nine. members now have their individual blogs. The new blog designs capture each band member's personality and style pretty well, I think.
Shou is down-to-earth.
Tora is cool and badass.
Hiroto is youthful with a dash of punkiness.
Saga is all about making fangirls' brains explode with his sexiness.
Nao is innocent and fanciful.
Together, they're alice nine..
I prefer Shou's personality the best, actually. I like those who have their feet planted firmly on the ground. They're the ones whom I can relate to. Shou is focused, hard working, and yes, very real and sensible. This is the type of guy a girl wants to take home to show to her parents.
Whoever says that Japanese girls are super skinny lies!
The Kagrra, T-shirt I won on Yahoo! Auctions Japan came today. After washing it, I put it on and took the picture below. This is a ladies size M shirt, which initially worried me because I thought it might be a bit small. Because you know, Japanese sizes are supposedly smaller than the US sizes in everything and whatnot.
But, the T-shirt isn't too small, at all. In fact, it's a size too big on me. I wear size S for normal adult shirts in the US, this size M is pretty much exactly the same as US size M shirts in terms of width, but a bit shorter in length.
The thing is, I'm not even considered "small" in the US. When I shop for clothes, I can wear some things in petite and almost anything in the smallest miss size. So, I'm only slightly below average for a woman in the US. While in East Asia, I'm considered slightly above average. I really don't understand how this T-shirt from Japan can be so large. (Oh wow, I just gave my size away, to strangers, on the internet. Damn. >_>)
Now I know that in the future, if I want form-fitting band clothes from Japan, I have to make sure to get ladies size S. And this is a lesson for all of you out there in the US who may potentially buy clothes from Japan, the Japanese sizes aren't as small as you think, at least not for band clothes. :D
By the way, for the curious, this T-shirt is from Kagrra,'s 東奔西走巡業 (Touhonseisou Jyungyo) Tour in 2004. I really love this particular design. It's bold, yet stylish. I plan to wear this on days that I feel like being an attention-whore.
I translated half of Silver Ash's Interview with Sohu Online in August of 2004. This is such a hugeass-ly long transcript that I have to take a break before tackling the second half. This interview gives us overseas people a very insightful view of the Chinese music industry. The struggles Silver Ash faced/faces in China really makes me realize how lucky the J-Rock bands are for being able to develop and expand in a much more receptive and accepting market.
Please do not reproduce this translation (or any part of it) anywhere in any form without getting explicit permission from me beforehand (see my e-mail at the end of the post). Translation is a lot of work. I won't appreciate people just taking things without asking first.
Host: Good afternoon, everyone! Because Silver Ash had to attend a promotion event today, this interview was delayed to 4:20pm. Thank you for your understanding!
Host: Silver Ash has just arrived. The interview will begin in ten minutes. Let's let them rest a little. Really sorry about the wait!
Host: Good afternoon, everyone! This weekend, we invited the four members of Silver Ash rock band to our Sohu Guangdong Chat Room. Hello! Everyone's been looking forward to your arrival. First, please greet your fans!
Silver Ash: Hello, everyone! Thank you for your support.
Host: First, welcome to Guangdong to promote your releases. You're known as "China's first visual kei rock band". How do you look at this concept?
Silver Ash: In addition to having a visual impact, we want to have an aural impact. Simply put, we strive to look good and sound good.
Internet Fan "Xiaomi": I really like Mr. Zhen on drums. I've also bought the third release, but now I live in Japan and can't purchase your CDs. Do you plan to expand to Japan?
Silver Ash: If an opportunity arises, we'll look into it. Please contact us when we visit Japan, since we also have people in Japan listening to our music.
Host: Japanese visual kei has reached the pinnacle. However, it's slowly getting lighter. The bands' costume and music style are gradually going downhill. What do you think of this phenomenon?
Silver Ash: I think this is simply a continual evolution. Your style can't be stagnant, just like you can't wear the same clothes for four years straight. Japanese visual kei is about ten-something-years-old from the early 90's to now. Listeners are receptive to all bands, but I also think it's like the ocean tide washing up against the sandy shore. The good bands will remain, but the ones that aren't will be washed away. It's better to say that visual kei is at a settling down stage. During this period, the bands without substance will be eliminated, while the ones with real talent will remain.
Internet Fan "Xiaomin": Mr. Ling's lyrics are so beautiful. They remind me of a band that I used to really love called Autumn Bug (note: Qiutian de Chongzi). Their band members also put on makeup, but they aren't really visual rock. And, the members aren't as aesthetic as Silver Ash, but their songs really are great. Yingzi's (note: Sakurako) voice was especially awesome. I wonder how they're doing now?
Silver Ash: Haha, you've come to the right place! I'm really good friends with them. We had rented the same apartment together and shared living expenses. I heard that they're on hiatus. The vocalist and the guitarist are a couple. They're busy making ends meet right now.
Host: A lot of bands like Autumn Bug used to have lots of fans. But now they're merely trying to survive; their fansbase declined. Do you face similar problems?
Silver Ash: We mentioned that this is our last album on this trip. We do face the issue of making ends meet. We need to survive, meaning two meals a day and a bed to sleep in at night.
Silver Ash: Right now, I live at home. I use my dad's car and spend my dad's money. But I'm the only member who's a Beijing local. Everyone else isn't Pekingese (note: a resident of Beijing). We must deal with the issue of daily survival.
Host: Right now, you still don't have a big enough presence in the music scene. How do you plan to expland your influence?
Silver Ash: Sohu is a major web site (note: it's like Yahoo!). If you enter "Silver Ash" as keywords into the news search, you'll get 52 pages of hits. So in reality, we do have a pretty good presence. But the issue of making ends meet is affecting our music. We're quite influencial in a lot of areas, but this popularity hasn't helped our goals, because there are too many communication problems.
Silver Ash: We're already working so hard, including at every tour. We produce materials and inform fans of band news ourselves. In terms of media promotion, we're doing okay. Our vocalist takes care of the band's makeup all by himself. We do a lot of things ourselves.
Host: I think you should focus on communication with the overall market, not just the niche. In the current music scene, every Jay Chou release triggers a massive pre-ordering wave. How can you achieve this?
Silver Ash (Ling): How we wish that we can be that popular, too! But in the end, it can't be helped. We aren't that well-known right now. A fan had said something that really hurt. People scoff at visual kei. They really have no idea how much we dedicated ourselves. I make the trip to stores to purchase makeup personally. That fan really doesn't know what it's like for us. They have no right to criticize us. Even if I stop doing this some day, no one has the right to say that we've abandoned visual kei. At least, we're working really hard. They don't know this, but I have grievances, too. Having to do the makeup for all four band members by myself is exhausting.
Silver Ash: We still have more lives. I'm so tired. My arms hurt after putting on makeup for the band. No one has the right to criticize that we've abandoned visual kei. We've done our best, including investing money. Now our main goal is to make music. We want to continue producing music. Zhen wants to drum, Yue and Yu want to play their guitar and bass. It comes down to wanting to continue our music. I wish the critics can be more forward thinking. They should at least know that in order to achieve commercial success, you must "look deeper" and not be deceived by the surface.
Silver Ash: These years we went from the dilemma of choosing the music or the visual, to being deceived by surface issues and losing our head to success, to many other challenges, but at least, we still know what we're doing.
Silver Ash: Our promotion schedule isn't like that of the other artists. Promotion begins after the album is released. This method results in less communication with fans and listeners. At this promotion, we'd like to tell people that whether you're a Chinese music consumer or watcher, you should communicate with the creators and the artists more.
Silver Ash: The media is the most important, whether it's web, TV, radio, or print. Consumers, creators, and the media should cooperate and work on changing the current state of the industry, instead of criticizing and blaming each other. Artists blame fans for not buying CDs, fans then criticize the artists, while the media just worsens the issue by egging everyone on. I understand that foreign music industries have more specialization.
Silver Ash (a different member from above): I'm no expert in this, so I won't criticize. If you like metal, you needn't say bad things about other bands. You have a right to your personal preference. That's what I think.
Host: Your words make me heavy hearted. What you said is very frank and direct; it's the market's current state. At Sohu, we have always tried to support original music and local music. We hope to promote real music. The main thing is for you guys to presevere. We at Sohu will support you and promote you.
Internet Fan "Wanou": After you guys signed with Scream, you are glam rock to the outside, while remaining visual kei to the inside. Do you think you can have a breakthrough in your style?
Silver Ash: I haven't listened to too much 60's rock. I've never done glam rock. We really don't have a strategy for the "outside". Outside is overseas, inside is mainstream. Once your CDs sell over a certain number, no matter what kind of music it is, it become mainstream if it's successful.
Host: Will you continue preservering with quality music, or will you turn to mechanically manufacturing "canned music"?
Silver Ash: I don't understand what you mean by "canned music".
Silver Ash: I'd like to release CDs in a can. Hope he can help us. (note: whichever member said this was joking, I think)
Internet Fan "Wuyan": Do you use other bands as reference? What are your future goals for development?
Silver Ash: We use Silver Ash as reference, and our own band is used to plan future goals, though some say we're influenced by Japanese bands.
Part two will be posted once I translate it. Again, do not reproduce this translation anywhere else in any form without my explicit permission (e-mail me at: nagetou [at] gmail.com).
