SUICIDE ALI & LUZMELT: VISUAL KEI CONCERT AT EAST COAST ANIME CONVENTION, TEKKOSHOCON. J-ROCK BAND INTERVIEW, JAPAN MUSIC IN AMERICA.
I promised you J-rock eye candy… and here’s the delivery. Young Visual Kei band Luzmelt wearing what can only be described as training bras! And shorty-shorts. And a butt bustle? Regi and photographer Shiori Saito continue their epic Tekkoshocon journey by interviewing Suicide Ali about Pikachu pijamas and headbanging to their music. Read on…
Tekkoshocon brought in one of my favorite bands for the convention this year: Suicide Ali. I anticipated only interviewing them, but was also scheduled for an interview with Luzmelt, a new Visual Kei band I had never heard of before. Fortunately, prior to each interview, I managed to see the Q&A panels and performances from both bands.
Luzmelt’s interpreter knew ahead of time that she would be on break, as I speak Japanese. Unfortunately, the band seemed to have forgotten… and the result was rather comical (one almost fell off his chair and there was quite a bit of nervous laughter going on). The vocalist, Yuhma, was extremely polite, and the drummer, Miu, was absolutely adorable, always smiling. It was harder to get the other members (guitars Asuka and Kaie and bass Zig) to speak, and when they did I was never 100% certain of where their minds were. My favorite question was: “What country do you want to go to?” and the answer was immediately “London.” They also had gone to Walmart, and were fascinated by it, enough so that they took tons of pictures.
The Suicide Ali interview was extremely enjoyable, with lots of laughs and random comments from both sides. Kozi (bass) started the comedic ball rolling when he sounded out his name incredibly slowly. Apparently Hiroshi (guitar) sleeps in Pikachu kigurumi, and Goshi (vocals) swore that he saw it. Hisashi (drums) didn’t say much. At one point I accidentally skipped Goshi on a question (I thought he had answered it already)… I apologized but he had answered the question (“Favorite brand?” “I don’t have any, actually…”) the same way I’d written it on my notepad a few moments earlier. Awkward…
Time to rock out. Luzmelt opened with an energetic rock vibe, and Suicide Ali sealed the deal with their twisted “industrial metal,” for lack of a better term. Both performances were outstanding and the crowd was very involved, even trying to mimic the para-para-style motions.
Suicide Ali’s live act never ceased to impress. Goshi’s vocals were spot on and every attempt to speak English was adorable (Hiroshi forgot the word “happy”). They’re not quite as gimmicky as Mix Speaker’s Inc, but the sight of Goshi spreading his arms as though they were wings during the song “Revendish Ring” made me scream and jump around like an idiot.
Though there were some sound problems, the shows were executed nicely and the bands treated fans who lined up for autographs with respect and a touch of humor. Though I am partial to Suicide Ali, I highly recommend seeing both groups live.
Also: buy their new singles! You can get Luzmelt’s “Sacrifice” from HearJapan. Suicide Ali’s “Stitch Doll” (which is AWESOME) and the best-of album of Variable Messiah (Goshi and Hiroshi’s former band) are available from Darkest Labyrinth. What are you waiting for? Go for it!
Any fans of Suicide Ali in the house? Which Visual Kei band would you most like to see perform in America?
Japanese Word of the Day: Mijuku = Immature
Song of the Day: Suicide Ali – Revendish Ring (from the DVD)
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CNN INTERNATIONAL & CNNGO TV SHOW: TOKYO GOTH FASHION DESIGNER KENZO-A, TAKUYA ANGEL HARAJUKU SHOP.
I write for CNNGo (all my articles are here), so when the CNN site launched a TV show, they asked me to be part of the Tokyo episode. And I got to choose the topic! I immediately suggested that we interview my friend Kenzo-A, designer of Goth clothing brands Rituals. To my delight, I got the thumb’s up. Here’s what I wore to the shoot…
Little cake hat: gifted from Agent Lover. So cute, and easy to attach. Remember when my fat cat tried to eat it?
Fake eyelashes: from a Japanese dollar store. I split one in half for the lower lids.
Eyeshadow: “The real gold” gifted from Sugarpill, swept over grey and light blue shadows gifted from Aromaleigh.
Lips: Purple eye pencil to outline, followed by purple lipstick from Daiso (dollar store).
Stickers around the eyes: from Daiso.
Gothic Lolita dress: Innocent World, from Closet Child Harajuku.
Long, sheer overcoat: Ozz Croce, from Closet Child Shinjuku.
Orb-print tights: Vivienne Westwood, from Marui Womens Shinjuku.
Swashbuckler boots: Alice and the Pirates, from Closet Child Harajuku.
Coffin backpack: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child Ikebukuro.
It was a bi-polar day… rain-sun-freezing-sweltering. Kenzo-A arrived on his motorcycle and met the CNN crew at the entrance of Takeshita Doori.
(With story producer Alex.) Whenever there’s a TV camera around, passersby will stop and gawk as if there’s a bloody accident. While we were preparing, dozens of people gathered around and took photos. Even the Japanese schoolgirls insisted on posing with me, V-fingers held high!
Kenzo-A and I strolled and chatted about Harajuku street style. He told me about coming here as a teen and being inspired by the Goth/punk clothes worn by youths. The district is much more commercial today (think Forever21 and H&M) but Yellow House and Takenoko are two old-school indie stores that are still standing.
Kenza-A began his career designing t-shirts for Sexy Dynamite London. The boutique was located near Takuya Angel’s shop, and they became fast friends. Kenzo-A suggested that we visit him; unfortunately, he was away, but we showed CNN around the store and tried on Takuya’s cyber-meets-samurai designs.
Kenzo-A hit the nail on the head when he said: “We’re a village people. The Gothic/alternative subculture here is small, and we should all support each other.” I agree wholeheartedly: there’s cattiness in every scene, but in the end, everyone benefits if we share the limelight and help each other out…
The Tokyo episode of the CNNGo TV show aired on CNN International last week, and is now online. Our segment is about halfway in the video above. Unfortunately, they cut out Kenzo-A’s fashion show but I’ll have photos and video of that coming right up, don’t you worry! Check out his Rituals site to see his latest clothing collection.
Did you enjoy the CNN TV show? Have you seen Kenzo’s designs or met him?
Japanese Word of the Day: Itareritsukuseri = graciousness, politesse
Song of the Day: Yoko Nagayama – You’re My Love (1980s Japanese Italo Disco! My heart, my heart.)
LA CARMINA
