Project: Cosplay Documentary

If you didn't know I am an aspiring movie director and scriptwriter. I'm also a cosplayer...specifically a crossplayer. Let me breakdown some vocabulary in case you don't know what that is. Cosplay is aform of fashin where you mainly dress up as an anime character. Some people cosplay as jrockers, cartoon characters, or video game characters. Crossplay is a form of cosplay where a person dresses up as a character that is the opposite sex as themselves.

Like every hobby, there's always newbies, posers, and the elite, but I think cosplay should be fun for everyone and it shouldn't be taken too seriously. I guess I have a reasonable elitist mindset about the subject, especially appearance-wise because I'm black. People should take pride in their costumes and take advantage of the "play" part of cosplay, becoming the character. Also not to take credit for store bought or commissioned costumes and be respectful of other people's costumes. We should unite and help each other out to improve if people are willing. Cosplay is an art to me, it should be fun, but some seriousness doesn't hurt if you're considering high recognition and such.

Since I have this passion for film, participating in cosplay, and attending anime conventions, I want to combine my love into one by starting a documentary on the subject. I want to cover each type of cosplayer and cosplayer admirer. I also want to show off my own stuff and open up that little part of me to the world. So, if you're interested in helping a budding film director, please feel free to contact me through IM, email, or a simple comment on this post.

Live: ALL THINGS VISIBLE '09

ALL THINGS VISIBLE '09
[2009.11.03] Trees in Dallas, TX
featuring: Dir en grey

I’ve been fortunate enough to see Dir en grey perform three times: once in Dallas and twice in Houston. So, I was really looking forward to seeing them again. I originally planned on seeing them in the Warehouse in Houston, but I wanted to see another Japanese rock performer that was going to be in Dallas the same date. So, my friends and I decided to try to see both, but only ended up seeing Dir en grey since the other artist postponed his show due to sickness and injury in a previous live in Europe. Anyway, I was trying to make the best out of the situation, despite my negative feelings toward the city of Dallas.

This year, the band wanted to perform in more intimate venues and their schedule was shorter than usual. Normally, they reach out to several cities across the country and Canada, but this time they only covered a couple cities in Texas, Chicago, two cities in California, and New York City, which was a bit disappointing for a few of my friends outside of Texas.

Entering the Trees night club, I checked out the setting of it and it was definitely intimate like the band wanted. Although, I wish the nightclub wasn’t so literal with its name and had trees in random places. It was a little inconvenient for the concert, but I’m sure it’s fine for what usually happenings there. There was a good turn out, which wasn’t surprising, but it was disappointing that the guys were an hour late getting to the stage to perform for us.

Last year was an amazing performance. I felt like the band kept getting better and better on stage and there was this true, passionate connection between them and the fans. Everyone helped each other, aside from a couple rude people who wanted to bring people in the mosh that didn’t want to participate, and they followed directions well by singing when Kyo pointed the microphone out to the audience or chanting in the right areas in a song like “Hydra -666-“ and “Lied Buried with a Vengeance”. They were already my favorite jrock band and their performance then and previous years put them on a higher pedal stool in my mind. This year…was nothing like that at all. Before I comment any further, here’s an unofficial set list I’ve put together after the show in no particular order:
SA BIR
OBSCURE
Merciless Cult
THE FINAL
Toguro
HYDRA -666-
DOZING GREEN
GLASS SKIN
Ryoujoku no ame
Lied Buried With a Vengeance
AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS
AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -unplugged-
Repetition of Hatred
The Deeper Vileness
VINUSHKA
STUCK MAN
BUGABOO
DOUKOKU TO SARINU
REIKETSU NARISEBA
GAIKA, CHINMOKU GA NEMURU KORO
CONCEIVED SORROW
Shokubeni

Despite the lack of room on stage, the band still had strong energy and Toshiya played up the crowd most of the time. Die usually displays the same movements, but I didn’t notice him being extremely wild like he normally is. Kaoru felt a little more closed off than usual and I felt disconnected to him. Even though Kyo had his usual little stand to deliver his lyrics, I also felt a disconnection from him as well. All the songs slowly meshed together in my head after the show, which made it difficult to put together the set list. I normally don’t have those sorts of problems so soon, but the crowd and setting didn’t help me remember such an important thing. Normally, I remember special moments that happen like the band performing an older song or interacting with the audience in a rare way, but there was none of that. The only moment close to that was when Kyo decided to sing the bridge of “Conceived Sorrow” without the music or his microphone, letting his voice echo in the small venue.

Along with the show being an hour late, which is very unusual for them, the set list seemed shorter than their previous shows. It wasn’t as diverse either. On their later shows in New York and California, they played some of their older songs from Kisou and even a song from their first full-length album GAUZE. I was so upset about the show that I couldn’t listen to Dir en grey for a few weeks. I felt completely unsatisfied and ripped off. I felt no emotional connection, no overwhelming energy taking over the crowd, and no common sense from the Dallas fans.

A few good things about the concert was being able to see them for the fourth, the crowd being excited to see them, Toshiya’s interaction and natural energy surrounding him throughout the show, and the fact they played “Vinushka”, “Toguro”, “Glass Skin,” and “Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemura Koro”. They did make an effort to mix up heavy and somewhat light songs and we spotted Die outside of a bar, which really isn’t part of their performance. The negatives are the fans, the short set list, and the location. The live wasn’t too traumatizing that I never want to see Dir en grey live again like the German pop/rock band Tokio Hotel, but I never want to see them again in Dallas. I hope that I never feel that disappointing feeling from them again when they return.

Live: Oni-Con 2009

Oni-Con 2009
[2009.10.30] Marriott Westchase in Houston, TX
featuring: Buranden, echostream, Satsuki, & born

Buranden

Brandon: Voice/Composition/Lyrics
Derek: Guitar
Lisa: Keyboard
Z: Drums
Mio Komatsu: Lyrics

I wasn't expecting a fourth group to be joining the other three musical guests and I kind of wish they kept it like that. I'd never heard of this Buranden kid, but apparently he's an American Japanese pop (and they added rock to his description too) singer that transferred to Japan for school and got into songwriting. I’ll try not to be overly critical, but I didn't particularly care for his music and my friends can back me up on that. The guitar was slightly inaudible and sounded like Derek and Z were just on this repetitive rhythm pattern. I could barely understand Brandon when he was singing and I preferred it that way. I couldn't tell whether he was singing badly in Japanese or singing badly in English. Either way he seemed a little out of tune. One of their songs sounded like the Mortal Kombat theme, but their music is enjoyable if it were an instrumental. Reading over the description they have on the official Oni-Con site, I found myself in disbelief that this Edward Cullen look alike has "taken Japan by storm" with his music, but maybe we're not hearing what other people are hearing.
I admired their female counterparts Lisa and Z. I believe Lisa set the tone for the music, Z established the rhythm and beat, and Derek and Brandon filled in the gaps. I believe overall they can improve. If they truly want to incorporate a rock element into their music then they will have to bring the guitar sound out more and Brandon will need a little more attitude and strength to his lyrics. Not necessarily angry and start randomly yelling and growling, just be able to blow his fans’ minds with energy like other jpop artists. Get in touch with his influences: Gackt, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Do As Infinity. Even if they improved in these areas, I highly doubt I could jump on the Buranden bandwagon.

Here's one of his performances someone posted on YouTube:



Satsuki

Originally the vocalist of Rentrer en Soi, a Japanese rock band that performed at Oni-Con in 2007, Satsuki decided to go solo after the band’s break-up. I must admit I am not a fan of Rentrer en Soi, but I really like Satsuki’s solo work. It’s soothing and memorable. He tries to keep a soft angelic image through his vocals and pure costume appearance, but still maintain some sort of rock edge to keep himself and keep his fans pleased.
For his second solo performance in the U.S., I didn’t know what to expect. I heard a few good things about his lives and the rest of the comments were solely on his appearance. He came on stage alone, with no band accompanying him. He mainly sang with pre-recorded music, which didn’t take away from the experience at all. His voice is truly gentle and angelic and only enhanced the recording with his voice flowing through the cords of the speakers to the crowd. He did a couple of songs without the music and just relied on his voice and guitar and piano skills. He was a little nervous and wanted us to enjoy the sounds he produced. At the end of his set, he brought Tomo, guitarist of echostream, to the stage to help bring energy and hype up the crowd a little. It was very different than the previous songs and got the crowd very into what was happening on stage between both men. Satsuki’s set list seemed to consist of most of his single releases, which there are only two of presently, and possibly a few unreleased tracks like the last one with Tomo.


echostream

Ryoko: vocal
Tony: keyboard/programming
Tomo: guitar
Jen: acoustic drums
CJ: electric drums

Before seeing them live, the only song I knew was a Radiohead cover of “Creep” that a friend sent me and even with that I didn’t remember what it sounded like. All I could really remember from it was that it was a soft song and I thought it was okay; nothing to make me go look up more music immediately or anything. After seeing them live and hearing more material as well as “Creep”, it left an impression on me and two of my friends that I saw the performance with. They have a calming, haunting energy about them that lingers in your mind and resides deep in your soul. It could almost be considered sensual to some. The cover song that I was introduced to sounded ten times better than the studio recording on the album.
Echostream was something a little different than what I’m used to hearing, and I listen to a very broad range of music. I think you could describe them as a more mainstream Enya with a hint of rock elements. They use a combination of something natural as the voice and technology such as computer effects and distortions and electronic instruments. Ryoko’s voice is definitely an instrument of its own, stretching and echoing throughout the room. There was one song where she switched microphones to give that haunting echo effect for the background and allowed it to resonate as she threw in her natural vocals with a simple line before repeating the process. Echostream gave a nice balance to each member and allowed everyone to shine in a certain song. Although in some areas the sound was a little louder than it should’ve been, but there was no outrageous cliché guitar solos or a mad beating of drums. It was something a little more subtle that doesn’t destroy the band’s image. Both drummers worked together amazingly and they both compromised their sounds by quieting one and bringing out the other depending on the mood. They also did something simple by letting Ryoko do what she does best with her voice and she played the keyboard on a piano setting.
Echostream is definitely not a heavy rock band, but they have a hard hitting sound by experimenting with natural born sounds of keyboard, guitar, and drums and arranging them to make them darker or lighter to the audience. These experimentations do not overpower the vocal element but subtly enhance the message being delivered through Ryoko. I was fortunate enough to attend a panel they had at the convention with a couple friends and Ryoko, Tony, and Tomo gave us a demonstration on how they create music through Tony’s laptop. They rearrange and distort the original sounds by plugging the microphone, guitar, or keyboard into a music editing program. Miraculously, they still bring that same mind blowing sound or a slightly better one to the stage. I believe that’s one main reason I like them so much and promote their music.

Here's a preview of echostream's performance posted by someone on YouTube:



born

Ryouga: vocal
K: guitar
Ray: guitar
Kifumi: bass
Tomo: drums

The final band of the evening and the band I was most looking forward to were born. The crowd got excited; I know a few of them were new fans, and soon one by one: Ray, Tomo, K, Kifumi, and then Ryouga. The live started off with tons of energy as Ryouga leaned backwards and wailed out, “GOD STAR!”. The band members had a lot of chemistry and played off of each other at times, especially Ryouga. He led the chaos for night and added some perversion as well by being a little affectionate with Kifumi and using the microphone to his advantage. They also included the audience into the fun of their performance, which made things all the better.
They played a few things from their first and only album, -Abnormal Heads Machine-, as well as some songs from their previous band names D&L and Renny Amy. They didn’t play any slow songs, just heavy and upbeat ones to keep the energy high between the band and the audience. There was a lot of stage diving from each member, even Tomo took a dive during the encore. Unfortunately, Kifumi got a little hurt somewhere in the beginning, but nothing too serious for him not to continue the performance.
Watching them on stage, I could tell they had true passion for what they do and for their fans. Every time Ryouga would say it’s the last song and the crowd made this sound of disappointed and disapproval, he would take it back with a chuckle. Each member, aside from Tomo who’s stuck behind the drums, made an effort to come closer to us and break that imaginary wall on the stage. Here’s the setlist that Tomo posted on his blog:
1. THE GOD STAR
2. Dust pain
3. with hate
4. shrive
-se-
5. Tragedy
6. Extremly waltz
7. Innocent Bullet
-se-
8. Vermin's cry
9. ケミカルロマンス [Chemical Romance]
10. MAD whistle
11. COURTSHIP
12. shrive

en. COURTSHIP


I had a lot of fun this year at Oni-Con and being able to see Satsuki, echostream, and born live before my eyes. The crowd was great and very receptive, even to Buranden who didn’t get an overwhelming reaction. There was definitely connection made between the band and the fans. It’s kind of hard to compare to last year, because I had just as much fun watching last year’s musical guests, Sugar and Dio – distraught overlord, as I did with this year’s. They’re both very passion, memorable, and energetic. I hope I get the opportunity to see echostream and born again and maybe Satsuki.


If you're interested in checking out my Ryouga cosplay: click here
Duckie and I also did some interviews with a few born fans: click here

Movies Watched in 2010

Starting another round of movies for the year. Once again, I hope I don't forget any~

Starting date: January 1, 2010
Finishing date: February 8, 2010

1. Precious (2009, USA)
2. The Fifth Element (1997, USA)
3. Quarantine (2008, USA)
4. Ichi the Killer [Koroshiya 1] (2001, Japan)
5. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003, USA)
6. Monsters, Inc. (2001, USA)
7. Aquarian Age [Akuerian eiji: Gekijô ban] (2008, Japan)
8. The Pregnancy Pact (2010, USA)
9. The Eye [Gin gwai] (2002, Hong Kong)
10. The Eye (2008, USA)
11. SAW (2002, USA)
12. Scary Movie 4 (2006, USA)
13. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006, USA)
14. Disturbia (2007, USA)
15. The Skeleton Key (2005, USA)

Quick Music Review

Juliette - MERCHEN A LA MODE (2009, Japan) | Rating: 3.5/5

Feeling excited about this amazing oshare kei band releasing their first album, I immediately obtained it and listened to it in my long list of new releases, after my vacation. They have great potential of being in the spotlight for new oshare kei bands. The album picked up some memorable songs from previous releases and combined it with a great variety of new songs to make Juliette fans and possibly oshare kei lovers happy. It's definitely worth a couple listen throughs and possibly worth adding to your jrock collection as well.



the GazettE - DIM (2009, Japan) | Rating: 3/5

I bet there was a mixture of excitement, anxiousness, dread, and hope for this new GazettE album. From the single releases, things were looking up and up, in my opinion. once it released, I got a little nervous to start up the first rack on my iTunes player and suddenly had horrible flashbacks of their last failure of an album, Stacked Rubbish. I started the first track and survived all 17 tracks without being disappointed or traumatized by another fail album. I was quite satisfied to the point that I added it to my wish list on CDJapan. I know a couple people disliked the album and thought it was boring, but you must admit it's a step up from the perfectly titled "rubbish" album. Although, I think I could've lived without all the meaningless instrumental tracks. For an added bonus, I would like to hear everyone's opinion on the album, since the GazettE is such a "big deal". So, please feel free to leave your comments below the review.



lynch. - SHADOWS (2009, Japan) | Rating: 4.5/5

For those who don't know me personally, I love lynch. to death. I'm very grateful I was introduced to them by a couple friends, because I followed them ever since. I've mostly became attached to Hazuki's unique vocal talent and adored their relationship with each other. Clinging to some of their older songs like "the whirl", "liberation chord," and "I'm sick b'coz I love you" and pleased with their new songs like "Adore" and "ambivalent ideal", I was getting very anxious to listen to their new collection of songs. not being surprised by the first run through, I re-fell in love with the band and immediately repeated the album at least twice that day. Shadows is absolute genius! Lynch. kept their signature dark, slightly aggressive and alluring sound and mixed it with something fresh and addicting. I don't know if any of my friends had any complaints about the album, because they were too busy relistening to the album. It's definitely worth adding to your personal collection. My only complaint about the album is the PV for "Shadowz". It was too boring for such an awesome song and made me disappointed they took the simple route of flashing lights and camera rotation on the band, but I still manager to enjoy the song no matter what. I hope they continue on the genius path they've created over the years.


Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now (2009, USA) | Rating: 4/5

Some fans complain that the album is too soft, but I think it's mature by having a nice balance of heavy hitting songs to make your blood rush and something slightly mellow to make you mentally reflect on personal issues. In my opinion, Three Days Grace just keep getting better and better though each album. You can tell that they've definitely grown but maintain their signature sound that makes them stand out from the rest. My only fear after hearing this album repeatedly is for the band to hit that horrible creative brick wall that Linkin Park has smacked into this year. But everyone has one big flop in their musical career.


Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (2009, Germany & USA) | Rating: 4/5

I've had some personal conflicts from seeing them live that made me hesitant to listen to them for a while, but I feel this album has redeemed them some to me. I think this is an improvement from Scream and I've been listening to a few tracks repeatedly every day now. Although, I must admit their first video choice was kinda weak for me. "Automatic" tried to make Tokio Hotel's appearance to be more bad boy than pretty boy by going all out in black, racing expensive sports cars through the desert, and featuring robots that end up falling in love. I didn't really like the song that much anyway, but tracks like "Human Connect Human" and "Darkside of the Sun" made me feel better about liking the German pop/rock band. I enjoyed the bonus tracks and the German album is equally just as good. There are a couple tracks I prefer in their native tongue, but the rest I like about the same in either language. Despite me praising this album, there's a good chance I still won't see them live again.

Rant: Where to buy jmusic

Since I ddi a post about JapanFiles and jrock downloads, I figured I'd throw in a post about where to obtain hard copies, if you're the type of person who likes to own CDs instead. Now, if you don't already know, most addictions or passions can be rather costly at times, so the main struggles for Asian music lovers is finding easily obtainable, but affordable CDs and DVDs. Here's a few places I'd like to suggest.

CDJapan
The number one place I purchase my jrock merchandise from. Even though releases are a bit pricey compared to your typical American releases, it helps bring the artist/band go up on the Oricon charts. You also get the benefits of frequent shopper points and you some new release perks as well like mini posters.

YesAsia
Unfortunately, Japanese releases are a little more expensive than CDJapan, but international shipping is free and sometimes they have great deals on certain items throughout the year. Like CDJapan, they also give little freebies with new releases sometimes. On the plus side, YesAsia is a really good site for purchasing Korean music. For jrock (or Japanese music) lovers, this a good secondary spot.

Other places friends and acquaintances have mentioned are HMV, Brand-X, and Closet Child. MaruMusic also offers a few bands on their site like Miyavi, An Cafe, Kanon Wakeshima, and LM.C. I haven't used them myself, but I heard they're good spots to shop for your jrock needs.

otaku.com has mostly anime and video game merchandise like soundtracks, figures and the like, but they offer some jrock CDs as well. I bought a LuLu mini-album from them.

JHouseRock & JPopHouse offer some artist/bands that have visited the U.S. as well as tour merchandise and autographed goodies. JPopHouse has a little bigger selection than JHouseRock, but both sites are worth taking a look at if you're planning on purchasing artist/band merchandise.

CureMediaUSA is trying their hardest to bring affordable jrock music to the U.S. They're trying to expand their selection on their eBay account and their prices are definitely reasonable. They also offer a few tour merchandise like JHouseRock and JPopHouse and definitely put their all into making jrock music more accessible as well as affordable.

Amazon carries some jrock releases and I believe you can pre-order new releases like CDJapan and YesAsia. You can also try you luck finding older releases for possible lower prices, even though most likely it's second hand. eBay works just as good for jrock goods owners do not want and other jrock goodies. Most likely they're second hand, but sometimes you can come across some that haven't been open at all.

If you're fortunate enough to attend a jrock concert, buying CDs and other merchandise would help the artist/band even more. A friend informed me that most of the profits go to the artist/band through lives. Also, anime and jrock conventions are good places to purchase jrock items. Sometimes you may come across some overpriced booths and other times you'll run into something reasonable or at least about the same price as you would spend on an online site like CDJapan and YesAsia minus the shipping.

FYE has a few jmusic CDs and DVDs. If you watched the YouTube video from my online show with my friend, I mentioned that the store should carry some U.S. releases of Dir en grey's Withering to death, THE MARROW OF A BONE, and Agitated Screams of Maggots, D'espairsRay's Mirror and Spiral Staircase #15 Final DVD, and The Underneath's first release Moon Flower. Although, this place gets bashed by Japanese lovers, Hot Topic occasionally carries jrock CDs like Girugamesh's MUSIC and the D'espairsRay releases I mentioned above.

If you live in an area where there's some sort of Asian shopping area, you might be lucky to find some jrock items as well. Or you can try your luck with shopping services where people take group orders that live or visit Japan. Then there's good second hand communities on LiveJournal and possibly other places. Of course, remember to proceed with caution when putting your personal information on the internet. If you buy anything second hand, make sure to check their feedback from previous buyers. Also, don't pay more than you should for preowned items unless their old and/or rare. If you care at all, be sure you're getting something official and not some bootleg from Taiwan or Hong Kong. That goes with autographs as well. If you can, compare official signings with the autographs you're planning to purchase.

Quick Movie Review

Zombieland (2009, USA) | Rating: 4.5/5

Normally I avoid zombie movies, because I think they're boring, lame, and they just show the same things over and over again. I'm very selective when it comes to zombies, the undead, and infections like "Resident Evil", "Silent Hill", and "Planet Terror". But I think this is the first real zombie flick I wanted to see in theaters...and I'm glad I did. Zombieland is not your typical zombie horror flick of macho man versus the undead, it is a comedy and a story of trust and friendship. This movie definitely keeps your interest and laughter with ease. The acting is good and you can relate to the characters and situation in some way. It has its cheesy romantic moments, but not too cheesy to the point that it's lame. In the end, I highly recommend this movie. It's a good date movie and it's worth viewing at least twice.



SAW VI (2009, USA) | Rating: 3.5/5

The newest installment to the newest highest grossing horror franchise has hit the theaters and, as usual, has brought attention to its fans and possibly horror lovers. Sadly, I'm part of this group that admires the originality and creativity of this series. Although, I personally (among a few friends) felt satisfied with concluding the series at five. Of course, directors in Hollywood are too money hungry to realize when a good thing is going sour to those who truly enjoy the art of this story. Watching this new addition made me truly satisfied with the twisted outcome. It filled in more gaps in my mind and traps were not that bad. I must admit that the dialogue and overall storyline is improving gradually through each movie, but the traps are lacking here and there. Nonetheless, I seriously believe that there are no more questions to be answered and creators, director, and everyone else should move onto the next genius idea...and I don't mean a Dead Silence sequel either.



This Is It (2009, USA) | Rating: 4.5/5

Honestly, I thought this movie was created to profit off the King of Pop's death, but once I saw it with my mother...I didn't care anymore. For every die hard Michael Jackson fan and person who has been exposed to his music throughout their childhood should definitely see it. It's only going to be in theaters for one more week, I believe. It's worth seeing more than once as well. Watching this show made me realize several things: "Why I'm so determined to become a director and open people's minds to things they've never experienced before", "How much MJ has influenced the world and the people who live in it", and "How I would never be able to go to another concert if I had the opportunity to see something like that in person". It had a slight documentary/live feel that naturally pulled you in and possibly get you involved with MJ's greatest hits like one audience member moving to the tracks when I went to see it. Watching MJ's involvement with every little aspect of his tour added respect points, despite how society put him down due to his personal life. I never really cared about the rumors, but this footage was proof that despite his fortune and popularity worldwide, Michael was truly a genuine and humble person. He took his music seriously and he was very passionate about it, not caring how much he made he off it. All he cared about was pleasing his fans and giving them something truly unforgettable through enhanced visuals, crazy choreography, upgraded costumes, and pure love through each and every song. Just from those couple hours of preparing an amazing tour, you learn so much about this great performer and you can't help but be touched or in awe once it ends.

Rant: JapanFiles vs. JRock Fandom

Ever since the birth of Napster and the angry words from Lars, drummer of Metallica, downloading has been the source of sampling free music before deciding on buying an album. Although, most music lovers abuse this privilege by not supporting the artists at all by hanging onto their free music files and sharing them with one another. Some also abuse it by trying to profit from this new technology by selling bootleg copies to the public, which I highly disapprove of. So, the question is whether downloading is the "root of all evil" or is it a simple new path to discover new music that people would never dream of hearing?

Through my own experience, I don't think I would be listening to half the stuff I do if it wasn't for downloading. Sure, it's wrong and all, but most times I either don't have the money and I'm desperate for a listen until I obtain the needed amount or I simply do not desire to buy the whole album, because I don't particularly care for the artist and/or I want a couple tracks for my own personal pleasure. I would never cross the line of actually making profit off of cheap burned CDs of Lady GaGa's Fame or the fanclub release of a Dir en grey DVD. I respect the artist and cash in my $15-$65 on a new or used release, but I want to make sure I get my money's worth.

In this rant, I wanted to bring attention to the infamous JapanFiles. Like a wildlife documentary, jrock fans quietly shared, promoted, and praised new jrock releases and bands, letting fandoms of indies bands grow and grow, as well as major and disbanded ones. We all tagged the lines of "please support the artist" and a good portion try their best despite having to pay for tuition, rent, and the ridiculously high album prices with international shipping charges. Although the fandom isn't squeaky clean, there are leeches out there, but you can't police everyone. Suddenly, an untamed force broke through with harsh words, unnecessary threats, and many questionable actions called JapanFiles. JapanFiles is a site for purchasing jrock mp3s, mostly of bands you don't care about at all like Atomic Poodle, mark muffin, and roly poly rag bear. Once they put their claim on an amazing band that people actually care about *coughs*Girugamesh*coughs*, war was declared. Now I can perfectly understand companies wanting the band/artist's audience to actually go out and buy the material, but simply targeting them and harassing them to do so is not the way to go about business. I don't know first hand how JapanFiles goes about notifying moderaters and/or users about uploading the bands they promote, but I've heard some pretty gruesome stories.

It's nice to have a place to achieve jrock mp3s for a small fee without having to hassle with the international boundaries of iTunes, but to threaten a group of people and endangering their user accounts is crossing the line. The jrock fandom isn't full of idiots, we do listen, but like a child being constantly yelled at, the words simply go through one ear and out the other. I feel that JapanFiles is doing this to the fanbase. Once things calmed down a little, a Q&A was open from the fans to the company and many questionable things arose. The system doesn't seem respectable or even trustworthy for possible customers to even consider purchasing such items and when certain questions were asked, they were simply deflected with "we cannot disclose that information". It makes the company/site even more suspicious. Aside from being completely unprofessional and consistently losing potential customers, I heard there was drama among the company when they brought Girugamesh to Sakura-Con 2009 in Seattle, WA. I think it was something about making the fans rebuy the album or something for it to get signed. They couldn't use their Japanese release for autograph purposes. I may be wrong, but that's what I heard, but if it's true...that's a truly douche move to pull on potential customers...SERIOUSLY!

Some people may be a similar jrock fan like myself that thinks that the Japanese release is superior and doesn't want to waste their hard earned money on a U.S. copy if it's basically the same stuff as the Japanese release. I'm also the type that rather spend my money hard copies and not a single mp3 file. I've always wondered how much profit you can get from a 99¢ download...really. Now there might still be a little hope for JapanFiles to redeem themselves from the failtastic grave they've dug for themselves, but their main competition for giving reasonably priced jmusic downloads is HearJapan. I've read the statement of how hard it is to get bands to bring over their stuff for the mass outside of Japan and how much money is being used for production, promotion, and all that good stuff that goes along with making a CD and getting their names out there. I can totally understand the pluses and minuses of downloading. There's also different views on it from artist to artist no matter what country they're from. Some may be pissy about the situation like Lars or somewhat encourage it while still making mad cash like System of a Down and D'espairsRay.

So, let me conclude this controversial rant with a break down of pros and cons, which may or may not have already been mentioned above. Strictly focusing on jrock, since that's where I zoomed in on this topic, there are a lot of indies bands that I enjoy and many others do that are not very well known except in the homeland of these bands: Japan, such as [_vani;lla], GallowS, and Pablo Honey and people wouldn't have ever known about these great bands if it wasn't for downloading. I know there are a lot of jrock bands that are in shock that they have so many overseas that support them and appreciate their music. I know a good portion of fans try their hardest to support their favorite bands/artists. Maybe some of them are like myself and just want to put in for the album and some live DVDs. Or even the vast boat of fans that have to worry about paying for tuition and dealing with the worldwide recession. Life is hard for a college student, so we do our best to show our favorite bands/artists as much support as possible. Downloading gives them more fans which could increase their profits and demand other places, especially overseas, as well. On the other hand, many people know that downloading also can decrease profits as well and risk the band's active status. Life is hard for an indies band that has to pay for studio time, costumes, and everything that goes along creating a catchy single and/or album as well as promotional costs. So, in the end, do I think it's wrong to download? Not completely no, but not completely yes either. As mentioned before, the major thing I dislike about downloading things for free is when people try to profit off of cheap copies.

Rant: Oni-Con Curse

For those who have never heard of Oni-Con, it is an anime convention held in Houston, Texas every year usually held on the last weekend of October. It has hosted many great Japanese rock bands such as Camino, Duel Jewel, echostream, Phantasmagoria, 12012, Sugar, and a few others. Personally, it's one of my favorite anime cons in Texas.

Anyway, there's a little topic floating around the Oni-Con forum that there's a curse on the jrock bands that perform there. I think it's amusing and I don't really believe in curses (most times). But let's start with the first jrock band I've seen live, Phantasmagoria. I think the reason for their disbandment is their growing popularity and success. Now you might think that's a weird reason to break up such an amazingly talented band, but I seriously believe that their band leader and bassist Kisaki has fear of being in a major band, but I will most likely expand upon that in a later rant. Then we have RENTRER EN SOI. I don't know enough to comment nor am I a fan of theirs. Next is 12012 who were in the transition of graduating Under Code with Vidoll. They're staying stong, but in my opinion they're becoming musically weak. I'd like to believe that this won't hinder their growing popularity and creativity, but a little break to get in touch with their roots will bring a new wave of love in their direction. Let's move on to last year's bands, Sugar and Dio - distraught overlord. To me, Sugar's disbandment seemed completely random. Maybe the fictious curse broke up the band, but the members personal relationship with each other, along with their former bassist Koto, is still on a positive note. As for Dio, I ca't explain what happened there either. After performing at Oni, they had plans to revisit Europe, produce more amazing tracks, and move to a new label. Maybe it was a sign the band was going major and Erina couldn't handle the chaos any longer. Whatever came up, I'm not upset with his decision. I wish the best for him and the band.

With all those bad news about bands, you must consider that indies bands have it hard whether they perform at Oni-Con or not. A few examples are Ayabie who signed to a major label and gained a great replacement guitarist, after Ryouhei's departure. Despite losing a member, Suicide Ali is making a U.S. comeback live this year. And for all the bands that broke up, good things have happened. Satsuki of RENTRER EN SOI is having a successful solo career and is reappearing to the Oni grounds this year with echostream and born. And to prove that the curse doesn't exist, we have the examples of Duel Jewel and Camino keeping things strong in the music world.

Rant: An Café Suspends Activities

[from left to right] Teruki (drums), Miku (vocal), Yuuki (keyboard), Takuya (guitar), and Kanon (bass)


It's amusing how fans freak out when their favorite band decides to "suspend activities". Most of them immediately jump to the conclusion that the members are considering disbanding, but that usually isn't the case. I think a band like An Café deserves a little break from popping out new singles and touring all over Japan and a little overseas, especially from their sudden lost of their former guitarist Bou. I know it's been a while since Takuya and Yuuki joined, so people figure things are settled. I wouldn't be surprised if they're still not by now.

The band had to adjust quickly to the new members while rushing to their first U.S. appearance without their blonde fourth member by their side. I'd like to believe that this suspension is to clear each members' minds of the stress of touring, recording, losses, and jetlag. I believe by the time they come back from this pause that An Café will hit harder than ever. With the new line-up, the band has more room to grow and gain an even bigger fanbase. I'd like to wish all the members luck and to all the Cafekkos (or people like me who enjoy the band more casually) to keep your spirits high and welcome the band back with warm hearts.