I don’t normally write too much about band related stuff here, but today I was going through the old Pashya blogs, because I needed a cute photo of Reiya to use for Shattered Tranquility’s Suvivor. Oh yes, we’re putting him on a deserted island because he is made of win. And that’s not sarcasm, Reiya is definitely totally awesome and despite the fact I don’t like chariots whatsoever, I’ll always support him (and Akito and Yuuri).

So yes, I was looking through both Hijiri and Tomo’s old blogs. Reiya didn’t have one when he was in Pashya, so I’m honestly kind of surprised that he’s posting in the chariots one. But then I felt all nostalgic — I miss those guys. Well, I miss Ruephy Alive more than Pashya.

I’ve always kept wondering what’s going on now with Hijiri and Tomo. Then of course with Hinata, Akira, Yamaji, Kei, Daichan (even though he was in a band up until a few months ago) and Yuzuki. I’m glad the four Jaguar boys have joined new bands, but I hope that Kou is doing well. I’m also really happy that Sora’s in meth. now, but I wonder about Io and Yuina too. Not so much Ren because I read his blog and I’ve talked to him a few times since the band broke up and I know if I wanted to I could message him again. He’s super nice.

Hinata and Akira I probably think about the most. Out of all the bands I’ve loved, Barby was definitely the first (and hopefully when I get the chance to see R指定 live I’ll feel the same way about them that I did about Barby). Then when I got that comment on my Livedoor from someone who’s ‘friends’ with Barby, thanking me for the continuous support and saying that they still remembered me I nearly died. I kept wondering if it was actually one of them, but who knows.

The weird thing is, they were saying it to me and Nels, but they used ネルスケ, which I had NEVER EVER used in my blog or anywhere online. The only time that appeared was in our letters to them (we wrote them two, one when we gave them the chocolate and the second when we were leaving to say thanks for everything). So… it has to be someone who’s either really close to them, or one of them.

OMG UNLESS IT WAS SAMI-SAN WHO I ADORE. Only because he makes me laugh.

But Hinata… I always wonder what if I had said something more or something different. Well, nothing I’m sure, haha. But I regret not saying anything more than I did. Especially after he went to all the work to draw me that bunny with the house and the sun (even though the bunny looks a bit high in the photo). That boy had the cutest smile I’ve ever seen and I was totally in love with his voice. Speaking voice, too. He was easy to listen to.

Anyways, enough about that. It would be funny if I ran into him one day again. I think I’d recognize him still.

Even if he shaved one side of his head again for no apparent reason. (And that’s enough of that, because as you know that’s the look we don’t talk about, right Nels? Haha). A look we can talk about is him in his suit (jacket, no shirt under). Yes… that was a good night.

In my searching for photos of Reiya, I came across this photo that I love of Tomo and Reiya. Plus a few totally adorable photos of Tomo… the one I’m putting below is with him and Kairi (from Siva).

I love how he called himself “Magical Prince”. According to vkdb, he’s changed his name back to Sai now and is doing session work and what not. I haven’t seen any session bands with him in them, but I also hope to see him again someday wearing those tight, white, leather pants. He was always really fun and always made Nels and I feel like we were noticed and included.

But in all fairness, our four bands always did. I miss those times. Going with Nels to lives and seeing our favourite bands play. I have a lot of really awesome memories from them, which I was going to write about, but I can’t really bring myself to because I feel they’re too special. I hope when I go back I’ll be able to have some more great band related memories with Mamo. And I hope some of my favourite boys return to the scene. Even if I could only see a few of them once more, it would make me elated.

Especially Hinata.

tep One: Choose a band that you like and are reasonably familiar with.
Step Two: Answer the questions. You can answer them for the band as a whole, or go by individual members.

Band: R指定 (Hopefully that was obvious)

How did you get to know them?
When Nels and I went to Japan the second time just to hang out, I went to Like an Edison and saw this cute pink, polka dotted CD. I liked the way it looked, so I bought it. It took me a few weeks to actually listen to it, and when I did I fell in love with the band. That was when they were going by the name キャサリン (Catheline) so I just kept up with them. I also started translating Mamo’s blog and did a few by each of the other member’s as well which helped me get to know a little more about the guys in my favourite band.

Out of all their songs, which is your favourite?
That’s a really tough call. I love 死んだ春、黒猫、太陽と月、cult life、 under the sun. . . I actually like all of their songs but those ones are probably the ones I listen to most.

What PV of theirs is your favourite?
They don’t have any PVs out yet, but they will in October! I do have their live DVDs though and I can’t remember which one it is, but I like the one where they’re in the white costumes.

If they were a family, who would each member be? Explain your choices!
Mamo: The mischevious middle child who drags his younger brother into everything
Ultra Z: The goofy father
Kaede: The youngest brother
Nanahoshi: .. I hate to say it, but probably the mother. Not just because he looks girly in his costume, but he seems responsible, haha.
Hirotaka: The older brother

What would they be like if they were your classmates?
Haha, that would be one hell of a class. I think that Nanahoshi and Ultra Z would be pretty good, as far as behaviour goes. And I think Mamo would be the kid who’s always talking about anime and writing emo poetry. Kaede would get pulled into whatever antics Mamo or Hirotaka are cooking up. I think Hirotaka would be one of those kids who pulls stuff, but never seems to get in trouble for it.

If you were going to go on a date with one of the members where would you go?
If you know me at all, you know who it would be with. And it doesn’t matter where we go because he’s just so full of awesome that being able to hang out with him would be really cool.

If you and the members worked at the same place what would each member do?
Well I currently have two jobs… one is at a campground and one is teaching piano lessons (at a conservatory so we teach other instruments there as well).
Mamo: He’d be in one of the costumes / work in the recreation department
Ultra Z: Could work at the reservations desk, he seems like he’d be friendly towards customers.
Kaede: Teach guitar. We always need another guitar teacher, and Kaede seems like he’d be so sweet, so he wouldn’t intimidate the children.
Nanahoshi: Work as one of the rec staff. He seems like he’d be good with kids.
Hirotaka: Teaching drums because we need a drum teacher (we only have one right now) and Hirotaka is very cool.

What animal do you feel represents each member of the band?
Mamo: A Boobah. With makeup on, sometimes a lemur.
Ultra Z: When he’s making a screamy face, he looks like a snake or a dinosaur.
Kaede: A puppy.
Nanahoshi: Some kind of happy cartoon rodent.
Hirotaka: Some sort of reptile, or a fox.

If you were giving each member a present, what would you give them?
I don’t give presents very often, unless it’s someone who’s a close friend or a family member… or it’s for some special occasion. I always feel awkward because I get paranoid that the person I’m giving to won’t like the present. :/

So unless I became good friends with anyone, I wouldn’t be giving a present.

Describe what the band represents to you.
R指定 is currently my favourite band. There’s one other band which rivals them for how much they mean to me, but that band is no longer in existence nor are the members still active around the visual scene.

I don’t really know what they represent to me… I love their music and I always enjoy listening to them. They haven’t put out a song yet that has disappointed me. Although Mamo’s lyrics are in general, pretty dark, I think he does a good job with writing them. He also writes most of their music as well, so I really respect him.

I think they also work really well together. They’ve said that Mamo likes to be in control and it’s rare you’d find a group of people that all work well in a creative setting with having one person be in the lead over the others and have most of the creative license.

I don’t really know what I’m talking about anymore, so I’m going to cut to the chase and say that their music makes me happy. I like what I’ve gathered about the member’s personalities and I’ll continue to support them. I really hope they’re one band that stays around for a long time.

From Shattered-Tranquility.net’s Monthly Meme! September 2008 Edition.

【August Bi-Monthly Baton — Round II - Google Search!】

Choose five of your favourite band members:
1. Mamo (R指定)
2. Hinata (ex-バービー)
3. Kaede (R指定)
4. Tenten (MY BactEriA Heat iSland)
5. Kaito (ex-ガイズファミリー)

Now, go to Google.com and search the following phrases filling in the [ ] with the number of the corresponding artist. After the ♪, paste a sentence you have found.
If you can’t find any results, swap the names.

Type in “[number one] needs” in the Google search:
♪ Mamo needs to explain why a simple router can’t do what’s needed.

Type in “[number two] looks” in Google search:
♪ Hinata looks very sensual! (I’d agree to that; when he wore his suit jacket with no shirt underneath)

Type in “[number three] says” in Google search:
♪ Kaede says: to be precise im getting sexually harrased by my wallpaper.

Type in “[number four] wants” in Google search:
♪ Tenten wants your weapon

Type in “[number five] does ” in Google search:
♪ Kaito does not put on a shirt. (No complaints)

Type in “[number one] hates” in Google search:
♪ Mamo hates christmas music!!

Type in “[number two] asks” in Google search:
♪ Hinata asks what would they do if a comrade suddenly disappeared.

Type in “[number three] goes” in Google search:
♪ Kaede goes for a bit of vengeance.

Type in “[number four] likes” in Google search:
♪ TENTEN LIKES DOLLS?!?!?!?

Type in “[number five] eats ” in Google search:
♪ Kaito eats anything if he is STARVING.

Type in “[number one] is” in Google search:
♪ The Hawaii Mamo is classified as Drepanis pacifica.

Type in “[number two] plays” in Google search:
♪ Hinata plays a big part in my sleeping wet dreams. (Ths amused me too much to pass up)

Type in “[number three] must” in Google search:
♪ Kaede must walk across a booby-trapped floor.

Type in “[number four] watches” in Google search:
♪ Tenten watches others train.

Type in “[number five] will” in Google search:
♪ Kaito will lounge around the shop all day long without buying anything.

From Shattered-Tranquility.net’s Bi-Monthly Baton! August 2008 Edition II.

My CDs came, but before I talk about them there’s something that happened this morning which was sheer stupidity.

I went downstairs and decided to make tea (that’s when I realized that my CDs had come). Naturally I fill the kettle, turn the burner on and leave it there until the water boils. Except, instead of coming back for it I got excited about my CDs and went upstairs to open them and rip the songs off.

A while later, I smell this really weird burning smell and I have no idea where it’s coming from. I figure it must be the neighbours, so I leave it. But it gets stronger and stronger and then I hear a ‘thud’. That’s what makes me realize that I totally left the kettle on the stove with the burner on. The water had completely dried up and it was starting to toast the metal.

Mm. That’s nice, eh? The smell of burnt metal.

So I ran downstairs, turned the burner off, took it off the stove and put it in the sink. I don’t know how badly it got burnt, so I don’t know if it’s ruined or not… but I can’t believe I completely forgot about it.

I’m going to blame that on R指定. I was just so excited about getting their new CD that i couldn’t wait, haha.

Along with that, I got Lycaon’s newst and the Visualyzm - The Cure Century omnibus. I also e-mailed Brand-x, because they were supposed to send me a load of stuff a while ago, and it never came. :/ I’ve never had problems with them before, but I’m tired of waiting. I checked all the stuff and it’s all released now, so it’s not that. Hopefully they write back soon and at the very least can give me my money back.

【Band Opinion Baton】

Choose the sentiment that best fits the band:
Love them = ◎
Like them = ○
They’re okay = □
I’ve only heard of them = ●
Don’t know them = x
I’m interested in them = ◇

Alice Nine ⇒ ○
the GazettE ⇒ ○
SID ⇒ □
Nightmare ⇒ □
Antic Cafe ⇒ □
Sadie ⇒ ◎
Sendai Kamotsu ⇒ □
chariots ⇒ □
DaizyStripper ⇒ □
PIERROT ⇒ □
BUCK-TICK ⇒ □
Janne Da Arc ⇒ □
X JAPAN ⇒ □
Gackt ⇒ □
SCREW ⇒ ◎
12012 ⇒ ○
Irokui. ⇒ □
angelo ⇒ □
Himeichigo ⇒ □
Charlotte ⇒ □
Dir en grey ⇒
PENNICILLIN ⇒ □
MUCC ⇒ □
Luna Sea ⇒
Kagrra, ⇒ □
Guy’s Family ⇒ ◎
Miyavi ⇒ ○
Lolita 23q ⇒ □
Merry ⇒ ○
Dolly ⇒ ◎
D ⇒ ○
Megamasso ⇒ □
Ayabie ⇒ □
NoGoD ⇒ ○
-OZ- ⇒ □
jealkb ⇒ □
SMILE ⇒ □
heidi. ⇒ □
Girugamesh ⇒ ◎
Vidoll ⇒ ○
SuG ⇒ ○
Metronome ⇒ □
Serial Number ⇒ □
LuLu ⇒ ○
Wizard ⇒ □
Tokyo Michael ⇒ ◎
LM.C ⇒ □
R-15 ⇒ ◎ (Definitely my favourite band)
Phantasmagoria ⇒ □
Kuroyume ⇒ □
Kagerou ⇒ ○
Jinkaku Radio ⇒ □
Doremidan ⇒ ○
Black:list ⇒ □
bis ⇒ □
Mix Speaker’s,Inc ⇒ □
ν(NEU) ⇒ ○
kra ⇒ ○
Plastic tree ⇒ □
Kamikaze Boyz ⇒ ◎
Matenrou Opera ⇒ ○

From Shattered-Tranquility.net’s Monthly Meme! August 2008 Edition.

1. What got you into liking visual kei?
Hm, well for a few years when I was younger (like, twelve, thirteen) I was into anime, which lead to me liking some Japanese Pop. From there, I found out about Gackt then Malice Mizer, X JAPAN and Pierrot which lead to Dir en grey and it pretty much snowballed from there. I thought it was interesting

2. What bands are you currently into?
R指定, INSANITY FRONTIER, xTRiPx, ギルガメッシュ, サディ, バービー, Lycaon, unfade

3. What bands do you currently dislike?
Cuartet (I will always dislike them, even though they already broke up. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from that live).

4. What was the very first visual band you liked?
Oh goodness. I guess it was Malice Mizer

5. What’s a band that you used to hate?
I don’t know if there’s any bands I hated, but now like or can tolerate. Usually if I can’t stand them, I can’t stand them always.

6. What’s your favourite song?
Too many to list!

7. What are your favourite lyrics?
「笑った顔、泣いた顔も、全部愛してるよ」

8. How much have you spent on CDs?
Probably somewhere over $1000.

9. What vocalist do you respect or like?
マモ　(ﾊｧﾄ) He’s so dorky yet so cool at the same time, haha. Although I don’t know him (obviously) I feel like he’s just himself and I like the journal entries where he’s told the girls who were being rude at lives to not bother coming back.

I’ll always have a soft spot for ひなた (Hinata) because he made me smile more than any other vocalist out there. I wish he’d come back to the scene, but I realize that’s something that probably won’t happen. Regardless, I’ll always like him.

There’s another vocalist I respect (and like a lot!) because he works so hard for what he wants. I’m a bit too shy to say who though, haha.

10. What guitarist do you respect or like?
I’ll always love Akira (from バービー) because he really came out on stage (in real person, when I met him and saw him after shows he was so shy!). I really miss him being on stage. I also respect 秋都 (Akito) (who’s currently in chariots). Even though I don’t like chariots, I know that Akito is a good guitarist and a talented song writer.

ミサ (Misa) from Babylon is also amazingly talented. He used to intimidate me, but when we met them he was really really kind and one of the easiest members to talk to. I think he’s really great.

11. What bassist do you respect or like?
竜次 (Ryuuji) from Marusa. I don’t know much about bass to be honest, but every time I saw them I was always really impressed by him. I also love 聖 (Hijiri) who used to be in Pashya. He makes me smile, haha.

12. What drummer do you respect or like?
Sora from meth. is currently my favourite drummer. Well, he’s always been one of my favourites. But I like him because he seems sincere and of course, he seems to be a pretty good little drummer. (I also don’t know very much about drums).

If we’re going for drummers I respect, that would have to be Hiroki from D and Nero from Merry. Both of those guys are AMAZING. Like I said, I don’t know much about drums but they really blew me away.

13. Is there a member who is similar to yourself?
Haha, I’m not sure. If there’s someone who is, tell me!

14. What music do you listen to outside of visual kei?
Believe it or not, I do listen to some other music. Most people don’t actually know I do. So for now, that’s a secret.

15. Is your makeup or clothing ‘visual’?
Not at all. Aside from a few outfits I used to wear to lives, looking at me you’d probably have no idea I’d be into visual bands at all.

16. What changed after you started listening to visual bands?
Well, I became more and more interested in them so it really drove me to practice my Japanese. Which might sound lame, but I really wanted to talk to people at lives or online who shared the same interests and read the magazines.

When I first started listening to it I didn’t tell many people bceause I was kind of nervous about what they’d think of me. I tend to care (way too much) what people think of me, but I think that in a small way, it helped me get over a bit of that.

17. What are three sets of lyrics that you would recommend and why?
「死んだ春」 by キャサリン (Shinda Haru by Catheline).
It’s really sad. That’s about it.

「それいけ!!クロヒゲ泥棒団～Legend of Hige～」 by バービー (Soreike!! Kurohige Doroboudan)
Most random song EVER. Well, probably not. But it’s really random, haha.

「追恋の華」 by サディ (Tsuren no Hana by Sadie)
It’s another sad song and I don’t really want to get into why I like it or ‘connect’ with it, I guess you could say, but I do.

18. What are three songs you recommend and why?
Secret by MANNEQUIN because it’s awesome. And I love singing along with it.

指先 (Yubisaki) by meth. because it’s awesome. And I love singing along with it.

Cult life by R指定 because it’s really catchy. (And I love singing along with it).

19. What three bands would you recommend and why them?
R指定. They’re currently my favourite band. I don’t care if their music isn’t revoluatonarily different or anything like that. They’re cool and I like them.

MANNEQUIN. Awesome, awesome band. I think their music is really easy to listen to.

Lycaon. They’re new, but I was shocked and relieved about how great they were with just their first single. Besides, I absolute adore リツ (Ritsu) but I miss his name being 壱吾 (Ichigo). He’s so cute.

20. Finally, do you love visual kei to death?
To death? Maybe that’s a bit intense. But I thoroughly enjoy it.

From Shattered-Tranquility.net’s Monthly Meme! July 2008 Edition.

Write the name of the visual band that you most associate with the statement.

♪ Has intense fans
Dir en grey, Antic Cafe, Gazette

♪ A band that you want to revive
バービー (with Hinata on vocals), Shulla

♪ The most recent you saw live
Oh my… I haven’t seen a live in a while. I think the last one I saw had Gyackmen, Dali, Siva, Pashya, UnsraW… and maybe a few othres.

♪ Your favourite band right now
R指定, INSANITY FRONTIER, バービー always has a special place in my heart (as totally lame as that sounds).

♪ A band that used to be your favourite
Gazette, Dir en grey, Alice Nine, Fatima

♪ A band that’s ‘riding the wave’ (successful)
DaisyStripper latley. They really got popular out of no where, it seems.

♪ I think think it’s good that they’re already popular
Moran

♪ My recommendation
R指定 (of course) even though I don’t really like the new song they have on their MySpace. WTF is up with it? No, really. Mamo, don’t rap.

♪ Most or all the members are good looking
MY BactEriA Heat iSland. SCREW. Shulla was a really good looking band (too bad they’re gone).

♪ The opposite of the above question
Someone else said NOIZ, and I’m inclined to agree, but I do love Taka and Masato. And the Pumpkin Head, but only because they had Fry Pan and clowns scare the shit out of me… and when I saw them live, his red makeup kept running onto his white shirt… so yeah. That’s all I think of when I think of them, and that was definitely not attractive. Even though I absolutely love them, I don’t think the guys in ギルガメッシュ are particularly attractive without makeup on.

♪ Hurtful fans
Antic Cafe. I never got so many bruises from being pinched, stepped on, etc. etc. at a live before.

♪ Nice fans
バービー fans were always really nice. And D fans were nice too (that’s when the girl pulled me up into the third row with her, for no reason, so I always have good memories of D’s fans).

♪ Must buy their releases
R指定, meth., バビロン, MANNEQUIN

♪ Frankly, I’m already tired of them
chariots. Sorry, but I always feel like the three guys that I adore in that band can do better. Although with that said, I should try to give chariots another chance. After I found their first release so unlistenable, I haven’t tried them out again. I really should give them another chance because I do adore Reiya, Yuuri and Akito.

♪ They’ve been on my mind lately
R指定 because of their connection to that thing.

♪ Has a good relationship with their fans
I’d have to go with UnsraW for this one. I think it shows a lot of dedication to your music and your fans to keep going despite being short your vocalist. Especially when you have one who really makes the performances. I’m sure there are many other bands who are great to their fans too.

♪ I don’t hear good things about them
I’ve probably heard bad things about every band, but none stick out in my mind.

♪ Seems like they’ll disband soon
I want to think positively, and I don’t want to jinx anyone, haha. So I have no idea.

♪ Lots of people cosplay them
Dir en grey. Nightmare. Gazette.

From Shattered-Tranquility.net’s Monthly Meme! July 2008 Edition II.

Another video blog with me … rambling about Christmas, the blizzard that I swear isn’t coming, my students and the visual kei fandom. A guest appearance by Watson.

Showcasing gifts from my students, my favourite page from issue 50 of Cure magazine, demands for you to vote for Mister Splashy Pants and three random things about me.

The totally weird thing that happened with my SHOXX magazine and a piano performance (haha, that sounds intense) of the Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.