4 days, live days

So I should be looking for my air con remote so that when the electrician comes over he's not all, "Are you sure you put in batteries?" But instead I'm gonna make that blog post I started last week. I would blame it on laziness again, but actually:

Our internet has been broken. For like 5 days. Apparently our provider has started this whole 7GB a month limit thing and well, ain't nobody got time fo' dat.

Anyway, for those that follow me on Instagram and Facebook, you'll know that I went to England for almost two weeks last month! Well, this is not that post. I have a ton of photos to edit, but first I wanted to write about what I did when I got back.

2014.05.22 Ruido K2

ASH DA HERO first secret!live

The day after I got back from England my dear friend Ash had his secret!first live at Ruido K2 in Shibuya. He's the former vocalist of the now paused NSDP and is starting solo activities from here on out. It was a really great show but I was waaaaay too jetlagged and started feeling a little ill towards the end of the set.

I also fell down the stairs and got an incredibly attractive blood blister on my hand D:


2014.05.23 Geki Rock

On Thursday, I ran into Lidy and Sohei of FEAR FROM THE HATE who invited me to come out to Geki Rock the next day. I was hoping to do an interview with Danger Kids (Geki Rock's special guest) but didn't have time to cement any plans so I initially just planned on going for fun instead.

However! The day before I got an email from my friend Landon about helping him film FFTH's set.

FEAR FROM THE HATE

Between filming I was able to go down on the floor and hear their cover of Marilyn Manson's "Rock is Dead". SO GOOD. These guys should really cover Manson more often. :D

When we went backstage to put our cameras up, I ended up running into the members of Danger Kids! Super nice group of guys (and one girl!) and they agreed to do an interview with us for trick/rock.

After we interviewed them, they actually asked to interview us! Landon and I were like WHUT but they asked some pretty lulzy questions and it's always so nice to catch up with fellow Americans. :))

Oh, and there was a group shot. My head is so tiny though like wtf DD:

Spent the rest of the show going back and forth between backstage and the floor and managed to see The Twisted Harbor Town, Make My Day, and Danger Kid's sets as well. Make My Day's vocalist Isam came down with the flu so they asked Taama of ROACH to stand in as their support vocalist; in case you were wondering why the guy crowdsurfing with a mic looks nothing like the former, haha.

2014.05.24 Thick Festival

The next day Lisa and I headed to Club Citta in  Kawasaki for Secret 7 Line's big event Thick Fest. I used to live the next station over in Tsurumi, so Kawaski is a pretty nostalgic area for me. Plus it was my first time at Club Citta!

Obligatory pass shot.

Jr. Monster

HEY-SMITH

ROACH

Secret 7 Line

Even though we were sitting upstairs, it was still hot as Hades in there. However, it was an epic show and it's always a pleasure to see Secret 7 Line. I'm normally not a punk person but I quite enjoy their style!

2014.05.25 Shores & Autumn Creatures

On Sunday, I headed over to Shinjuku to see Shores play with Colorado based band, Autumn Creatures. Lisa and I saw Shores for the first time in Okinawa with Her Name in Blood but didn't get to properly meet the guys until we saw them in Tokyo a couple months later. We became fast friends with them and they've got some great music so we try to see them whenever they're in Tokyo.

Autumn Creatures were really good too! Instrumental music has never really been my thing but I was super impressed with how professional and polished they sounded. Mature even? Really enjoyed their set, actually!



Anyway, I was supposed to do an interview with them on Monday but woke up with a death-migraine, no appetite, and nearly hilarious exhaustion. I would say that should teach me that getting back from a trip and then hitting the ground running probably isn't a good idea, but I never really learn from my mistakes anyway, haha. 

Now the question is, just how long will it take me to edit those England photos? :D

♡ miss wave

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monster box vol. 00

I can finally blog about Monster Box! I've spent the last few days training for my new job but apparently, the Polar Vortex from the East Coast decided to pay us a visit so I'm spending the day inside which means...yay! Writing time.

So MONSTER BOX is a big ol' event at Studio Coast with not only bands that I work with now, but also bands that I've really liked in the past.

lineup ↓↓

ESKIMO CALLBOY
girugamesh
ARTEMA
NoGod
ROACH
lynch
MAKE MY DAY
Kiba of Akiba

I honestly don't think I've properly written about an event since my days on eljay, but this was a really, really awesome experience for me so I want to remember it as best as I can.

love, love, love my vans!

I had originally wanted to do a video comment for trick/rock. with MAKE MY DAY (ex. Ashley Scared the Sky) but being that it was a such a big event, we opted to move that interview to the 7th - which I'll write about later :))

Ever since I saw the lineup, I was planning on going anyway for fun buuuut after finding out that we, in fact, could do a video comment with all the non-visual bands at the event, strapped on my oh-so-metal floral shoes and headed to Shinkiba :D

I can't even remember the last time I was here!

The first thing I noticed was how much smaller Studio Coast seemed! I guess when I first got here it seemed HUGE but now compared to venues like AX it actually didn't seem nearly as intimidating. Far venue is far, though. Not gonna lie.

I came in at the end of Kiba of Akiba's set but thankfully got to see all of MAKE MY DAY! It was my first time seeing them since they ended their activities as Ashley Scared the Sky and reformed as MMD. Really impressed! They've gotten a lot heavier and a lot of the visual-kei fans kept murmuring how awesome they were after their set.

Next up was ARTEMA and my first time seeing them since last November. They just released a new album...oh! and a new PV so check them out if you have time :) I always love seeing ARTEMA and I think they were probably one of the easier bands for visual-kei fans at the event to transition with. In my opinion, their set was over way too fast XD

I took a break during NoGod but headed back inside with Inger and Kat for ROACH. Their sets always, always feel too short for me and despite how much I regret the mosh pit pain the day after, it's always a great stress reliever. Though to be honest, constantly having to pull up my "skinny jeans" during HIGH FIVE! was kind of a pain in the ass. Goddam you, American Eagle.

Headed outside for some socialization after that. But mostly for locomoco because I was hungry and you know, food is important.

Ran into Taama and Sam (of ROACH and MAKE MY DAY respectively) then it was interview time! After that we grabbed Meg and Ko-hey of ARTEMA before the five of us headed around the back corner of COAST.

Meg x Sam x taama x ko-hey

The lulz here, though really. This comment was absolutely perfect and exactly the kind of video I want to keep shooting for our webzine. I don't know if it's because they're all vocalists (mostly, haha) or because they're all really good friends, but the chemistry and everything worked out so well.

After that we walked back to COAST to catch the rest of girugamesh's set.

accidental shot but I kinda like it

girugamesh!

Watching them from backstage was hands down one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. Some of you may know already know, but I used to really love them. I don't go to their shows anymore and my tastes have changed and all, but that doesn't change the fact that at one point, they had a pretty big impact on my life. Being able to watch them with the friends that I've met over the past 3 years working and being in this scene was really amazing.

Anyway. Mush aside.

When I was walking backstage the first time, we ran into one of the guys from Eskimo Callboy and just as we were walking away he was like, "Wait, who are you? You don't look Asian!" I laughed and told him that no, I was American and worked for a web magazine promoting Japanese bands to foreign audiences. I asked him if it would be possible to get a short comment from them later and he happily agreed. Yay!

Quite clean considering how many people were in and out of here.

After they came in, I met vocalists Kevin and Sushi and we got to talking about the States and Germany. Turns out not only did they play in Atlanta but at the Masquerade, no less! After that Ko-hey and Meg popped in again and joined Eskimo Callboy for another hilarious video.

I'm pretty sure I'll be editing videos until April XDD

They really love each other.

ARTEMA and ESKIMO CALLBOY. Proving that boys are almost exactly the same all over the world. And here's that epic photo, in case you were wondering. Not mine by the way! Borrowed it from here :)

I feel like this sums up a lot.

To be honest, I tend to not end up writing about this kind of thing because I run out of time or I don't know how to write it up but...this was such an amazing experience for me. Truly.

Seeing old visual bands like girugamesh and lynch. that I admired so much in the past along with the bands that I not only enjoy promoting, but also really love seeing live, was kind of amazing. It was also really cool to see how much the fans, of either genre, really enjoyed the whole show, regardless of who they came for. If the aim of Monster Box was to destroy that "wall" that's always been up between visual-kei and loud rock, then I think they did an ace job. 

♡ miss wave

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shibuya nights & bottled coca-cola

Geki Rock 10th Anniversary, ROACH oneman, and my friend's birthday party. Consolidation, just because. :)

2013.08.22 | Geki Rock 10th Anniversary

My friend invited us to club asia that night as he was one of the guest DJ's for the event. All night event and 3 floors (actually only two floors and 3 rooms) but it was a lot of fun! I don't drink that much anymore but it's always nice to see friends and listen to good music. Even if it's not a show. Guest DJ's included Miya of MUCC, Daisuke of ROACH, Julian of ASHLEY SCARED THE SKY, and Jorge of wrong city. 

Plus one of the DJ's played New Found Glory and Simple Plan. Oh hay thar high school. :D

Happy 10th Anniversary, Geki Rock! ♫


2013.08.23 | ROACH oneman @ Shibuya Milkyway

ROACH were the very first band I met in this scene and I really love their music a lot. I couldn't get in the pit myself since I broke my toe a couple of weeks ago and still didn't trust it to not get crushed among tons of two-steppers but still. Oneman still means lots of songs to listen to. :3

Their new EP comes out on October 2nd so check it out if you're in need of new music!



2013.08.25 | Birthday Time

My friend had his birthday last week at a recording studio here in Tokyo. I'd never been to a party in a recording studio and the atmosphere was really nice and chill.

Yesterday...Lisa and I headed to Shinjuku to do a video comment with Okinawa hardcore band, SHORES. I'll have it up on trick/rock. as soon as I'm done editing!

Why yes. I'm going to avoid wearing pants for as long as I possibly can. NO PANTS FOR LIFE.

 Mostly caught up on posts! Still have that final Okinawa one sitting around, though XD

Hope everyone enjoys what's left of their weekend!

♡ miss wave

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oki-fucking-nawa part III

Two posts in less than a week? Who is this person, really. Anyway, Okinawa Day 3! We had intended on taking a ferry to Zamami but didn't realize how expensive it was so ended up changing our plans the night before. However! Thanks to Lisa's trip planning we made it work. :)

Early morning in Naha before the stores were open. 

What up, Jamiroquai.

After that we decided to take the bus tour around Naha. I actually took some photos of one of the historic sites with my Canon--because I'm currently so dismally noob and needed practice--but I'll have to get them up later. For now the shoddy stylings masterpieces from my iPhone.

Tsukemeeeen.

After that we headed back into town for, well.

If you're thinking I eat way too many sweets, you're probably right. :D

After that we headed towards Kokusai Street again to see ROACH and SiM. Incorrectly assuming that, after all this is Okinawa and the show must be running on Okinawa time, we got to Central just a tiiiny bit late. Though we came in about halfway through ROACH's second song I'm still really glad we finally got to see them in their hometown. :3

First time seeing SiM, though! Always wanted to but hadn't managed to make it to a show of theirs yet. Certainly didn't disappoint. And they played Jack. B! ♡

Afterwards out for drinks to celebrate Mittan's last night in Okinawa, love her! ♡ She plays bass for The Heroes Syndicate so check them out! 

 Apparently I now drink invisible Cassis. :D

One more day to get up here! Have actually been super productive lately and will have a new band comment video up on trick/rock. on Wednesday! Let's see if I can get the last Okinawa post up by next weekend. :3

♡ miss wave

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