8 posts tagged “miyavi”
JRock Revolution is conducting a poll regarding whether to have miyavi do a live in New York City or not! I'm shocked (and of course utterly pleased) that NYC isn't getting screwed over once again because of a certain West Coast city that I shall not name (*points accusatory finger* =P).
If you live anywhere close to NYC, go vote!
At this point, I might as well admit that I'm now a full-fledged miyavi fan (musically, not fandom-obsessive-ly). I really hope that JRock Revolution give people enough time (at least 2 months!) to prepare and fit the concert into their schedules. Not everyone can pop over at the drop of a hat because, you know, we actually have lives outside of J-Rock like work, school, and whatnot. There are classes to attend, money to be made, so please be considerate JRR!
Now I'm off to wince over how Japanese anime/manga fandoms had totally infiltrated even original fiction writing. Why do I find Saint Seiya, Detective Conan, Naruto, etc. references everywhere?!
1. 咲き誇る華の様に－Neo Visualizm－ (Sakihokoru Hana no You ni -Neo Visualizm-) [watch]
2. 歌舞伎男子 (Kabuki Danshi) [watch]
3. ママゴト (Mamagoto)
3A. あした、げんきになあれ ～独奏 JAMセッションver～ (Ashita, Genki ni Naare ~Solo Jam Session ver~)
3B. Coo Quack Cluck ～独奏 JAMセッションver～ (Coo Quack Cluck ~Solo Jam Session ver~)
Instead, I'd like to focus on the 2nd track of this single, Kabuki Danshi (or Kavki Boiz, if you want to follow the PV title). I'm honestly pleasantly surprised by how much I like this song. It's funky, upbeat, danceable, and totally fun. Kabuki incorporates an eclectic mix of rap, acoustic guitar, turntable, beatbox, saxophone, etc. etc. that presents us with a dizzying array of crazy, hip-hoppy-jazzy-rock-ish goodtime. This incredible diversity and excellent musical execution wowed me so much that I've been having this song on repeat for the past week.
I'll admit it. I'm not a miyavi fan at all. I've always been aware of his presence in the J-Rock scene and known that he stands in his own right as an influential musician. However, I never got what the hype's all about until his more recent releases came out. I began to pay more attention to him starting with Itoshii Hito and Kimi ni Negai wo. His music has gotten catchier and individual songs have become more compositionally cohesive, not to mention his singing has improved tremendously. The daring experimentations have so far paid off well.
Hmm, if he keeps up the excellent work, he'll gain (yet) another fan. :D
Unrelated: By the way, I just installed a site tracker on this blog since now Vox allows widget embedding. I can finally find out exactly how much traffic this place generates. Yay. And look, *points down*, Vox has enabled Digg too!
As promised, I have compiled the live reports covering the J-Rock Revolution Festival (I prefer writing it as "J-Rock" instead of "JRock"). As of 11pm Tuesday May 29, I have read reports written by more than 30 people. The overwhelming number forced me to pick out the ones I liked instead. So now, I'm only posting links to around 10. My preferences for live reports were explained here, in what I think makes a good live report.
amouraiguise - Yes, I love details.
coiled_iris - Is it possible to fangirl about a live report? The author is a girl after my own heart. The blow-by-blow accounts leave me a puddle of fangirl mess on the floor.
danimation - Written by a male fan.
direngreyfan413 - Encounter with YOSHIKI after the live.
fourscrewsloose - Great details, with photos of concert-goers.
fy_sanctuary - A report with lots of photos.
jrock_junkie00 - This one's got a photo of miyavi arriving in his convertible. WTF, he wears that hat even when driving?!
radicalfxcker - This was written by an Akiya (of Kagrra,) fan! *hugs her*
remix_sakura - Great coverage of Kagrra,.
Two eL's - Nice details on MUCC's performance.
It seems that both Kagrra, and alice nine. gained a lot of new fans on Friday night. Whooo! Despite being an alice nine. fan myself, I'm still surprised by how popular they are. They seriously brought the house down, my god. Aside from the YOSHIKI band announcement, it seemed that alice nine. stole the night. I'm incredibly delighted and proud of them!
On a related note, more videos of the 2-day concert have surfaced. Keep on checking YouTube!
Edit:
Oh, and a rant. I'm shocked so many people are indifferent about SUGIZO. "Oh, I have no idea who that other guitar guy in Yoshiki's new band is." This reallly bothers me. If you don't know who LUNA SEA is and consequently, who SUGIZO is, please go check out the band's entry on Wikipedia.
Who do you think was the biggest influence and inspiration for Gazette? (I'm using them as an example because they're getting so big now.) Where do you think Reita and Uruha's performing style come from? Who the heck do you think Uruha's hero is?
It's one thing to not have heard of LUNA SEA's works, but I think a J-Rock fan should at the very least know of the band since they're so legendary.
Err...
But the bit of Kagrra, live in the beginning and backstage footage at the end are worth it.
"Ah, I knew it!" says me.
During his performance for the first night of JRock Revolution, miyavi confirmed the members of Yoshiki's "super band" that so many have speculated about. The members are Yoshiki, Gackt, miyavi, and Sugizo!
My original post last year speculating about miyavi's plan to join YOSHIKI's project was seriously the most linked entry ever. I kept on seeing this blog being referenced or linked to in various J-Rock communities, blogs, and even Wikipedia. So now, it's been confirmed. miyavi is indeed the 4th member of YOSHIKI's band.
And according to Wikipedia, the band's name is SKIN. SKIN will be performing at the Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, CA on June 29 (already? what about a bassist?!). Gosh, why do the Californians get all the cool J-Rock events? *headdesk*
I'm seriously tempted to move to the West Coast.
You people in the Los Angeles area...
I HATE YOU ALL!!!!
YOSHIKI says on his blog:
More than a year ago, some of my friends asked me if I could organize a Japanese Rock event in America……… then I said……. OK! ..... Well that's it…… We're doing it.
When I used to live in Tokyo, I organized several rock concerts….. So this time I'm doing it in Los Angeles with several partners. ….. Some small details may change, but we have 9 bands coming from Japan and will be performing at the "Wiltern Theater" in L.A. on May 25, 26th.
(The band lineup will be: alice nine., Vidoll, Duel Jewel, Kagrra, Miyavi, DéspairsRay, Merry, Girugamesh, and MUCC.
Also, at the theater, the fourth member of the band will be announced.
I'm not performing….. but I'll be there to make sure everything rocks.
For more information (such as ticket sales), see the Jrock Revolution myspace.
Kagrra,, oh god, Kagrra,'s finally coming, but they're going to be on the other side of the country! And there's also alice nine., VIDOLL, D'espairsRay, and girugamesh... Why can't there be a similar event in New York?!
By the way, notice how miyavi's on the roster and YOSHIKI's also going to announce the fourth member of the super band? Looks like my speculation a while ago may even be true.
But, why-oh-why are we East Coast residents so unloved?! I feel so utterly bitter to know that some of my favorite bands are going to be so close, yet still unreachable. This is almost exasperating enough for me to just move to LA! Had Gazette also been on the roster, I'd die from regret. Come to New York in June/July (while I'm in the city), pleeeeeease?
J-Rock has picked up such momentum internationally that I wonder if there are sustainable growth opportunities in getting personally involved in this developing business. At this point, it's still too early in my career to make the transition. Yet, I can clearly see three different pathways that can lead me to this from my current position. One day, I can actually have a hand in directing the flow of this sub-industry if I so choose, Hmm... the future holds so many endless possibilities. Let's see what happens in the next 10 years.
I wrote about YOSHIKI's announcement of forming a band with Gackt way back in August. By now, everyone should know that yes, SUGIZO (ex. LUNA SEA) has signed up for this project too (article translation here). In certain J-Rock fandom circles, tongues are wagging and excitement is building.
Now, there are two more spots left in this super J-Rock band of the century. Who will be the bassist and the second guitarist?
I, along with many others, have been thinking that whoever YOSHIKI end up inviting to the project, they must be of the older era J-Rocker crowd. Since YOSHIKI's X Japan, SUGIZO's LUNA SEA, Gackt's Malice Mizer were all bands that reached their prominence in that late 80's to 2000 time span.
But, something that happened just yesterday made me reconsider.
Enter miyavi.
Here, I will quote the wonderful LJ community masakarasu's translation of miyavi's video message from his blog entry yesterday (December 30). He had just returned to Japan from Los Angeles.
He said that he has something he wants to tell everyone, but not in a text, rather in a comment, in person, right there as he's tired, as he's wanting to tell everyone.
He said it's been four years since his old band broke up, and he debuted as a soloist in 2002. Being in a band was amazing, as it was said in magazines as well, but it didn't work out and he had to go solo. And now it's been four years, and it's all thanks to everyone. He said he's really feels that from his heart.
He said he thought that soccer and being in a band were over for him, but that next year, he's thinking of being in a band, playing guitar. He found an amazing guy (older than him), and he thought he'd like to try screaming in the background once again (laugh), so he hopes we look forward to it.
He can't say who's going to be in the band yet, but he hopes that they can in the new year. He's sorry for making everyone, especially Comiyavi, wait for so long this year, so that's why he decided to make a comment.
But of course, he still wants to continue his solo act as a solo artist, so he wants everyone to look forward to it.
He said he'll be working on pre-productions and he's thinking about going back to Los Angeles again, and he knows everyone's going to miss him but he's still going to play guitar, doing neo-visualism.
Los Angeles? An older musician? 2007? Right after the announcement of SUGIZO's involvement in the YOSHIKI+Gackt project? This is too much of a coincidence to be coincidental. Meeves, you're up to something!
Before you think, "has YOSHIKI lost his marbles?", consider this further. Yes, miyavi would be like a pipsqueak next to J-Rock legends YOSHIKI and SUGIZO. But the man is damn talented on the guitar. And let's not forget YOSHIKI's shrewd business sense. With the project's current lineup, the band will draw a huge audience from the mainstream pop world because of Gackt. YOSHIKI and SUGIZO will attract the fans of the older era J-Rock bands nostalgic to experience the magic once again. And if miyavi joins the fun, he will bring to the table the younger, visual kei-following crowd. The project won't just be a "let's resurrect the J-Rock dinosaurs", but "let's create a band that will encompass and appeal to all tastes and ages". It'll be the supreme band of the century.
Of course, many also worry that by having so many prominent musicians on board, the entire world is not enough for their egos combined. It'll be like a powder keg, ready to self-destruct at the smallest spark. Yet, I'm comforted by the fact that the band members themselves are aware of this and will work to overcome such obstacles. I remain optimistic about the collaboration and look forward to the final product.
In SUGIZO's words, “Look out for high-impact, explosive rock music." (tsukinoshita)
Release Dates:
2006.09.06: Gazette / Standing Live tour 2006「Nameless Liberty.Six Guns...」-TOUR FINAL- at BUDOKAN (live DVD)
2006.09.13: LISA / SHOWTIME (single)
2006.09.13: miyavi / 【雅－みやびうた－唄】～独奏～ (album)
2006.10.04: alice nine. / NUMBER SIX. (single), Blue Planet (single, download only)
2006.10.24: Gazette / REGRET (single)
2006.10.25: BoA / new single (title unknown)
2006.10.25: LISA / new album (title unknown)
2006.11.01: Gazette / Filth in the beauty (single)
2006.11.08: SID / play (album)
2006.11.22: Kagrra, / new single (title unknown)
Sources: Oricon Style single releases chart / album releases chart
