Rahzel

vkgy latest interview, with a famous vkei writer! 
Also I worked hard on this one so it's a cross post with JROCKNROLL
 
Nagasawa Tomonori (長澤智典) is a music journalist of note, having written for most major visual kei magazines and bands. We had the chance to ask him questions over several weeks, and so we explore his career, and his decades-long view of visual kei from the inside.
 
 
 
Choose your favorite platform
 
vkgy
or
jrocknroll
 
If there are people who still have any questions about the "visual kei" history, we can do another round  
So if you do have any questions, throw them to me and I'll will ask them!
 

Actors making memes about how they've been feeling make me calmer bc it's all so relatable. Good to know celebs are getting fucked over just as much as me, I mean it's bad but it's good to know they're ALSO trying to make things work through creativity and just trying to have some fun amidst the mess yknow. Speaking of which, bandomen should do that too. (they won't but those would be... possibly the best.)

Lol to be honest I'm beginning to feel we have a discussion like this here monthly, only with a few different words maybe
 
To answer the beginning question well obvious... VK bands often don't last more than 2 or 3 years, so yeah it's not like you can just go back after years and your old fav is still kicking. There is going to be at least a drummer in jail for doing drugs or fighting in a bar or hospitalized or something lol.
Which brings us to it: VK is, well, usually not very gentlemanly. It's not the kind of culture you'd want to show your (japanese) kids or anything, so it's prone to not being very popular in general I guess ; and whenever it did get popular, that was because a few bands and bandomen took upon themselves to spread the word even worldwidely (which is a lot of work in itself and not one many bandomen would be up for honestly) and then they started appearing in variety shows and whatnot, which is ... what kpop stars do every single day. They wake up to plastic surgery, handcreams (trust me those feel marshmallow-y),  learning english (which in itself is a bit easier for Koreans I feel due to sounds and letters ...), global marketing strategies, perfect waifu/husbando image tm and variety shows with groups they are (not so) buddy-buddy with. It's just, well, a lot of marketing. Besides, k-pop sounds all the same which is positive for it as a "culture", while calling vk a "genre" means lumping X Japan and Purple Stone in the same box. And of course, well, not everyone who likes one would like the other.
 
Now on a more personal level I have never been a "typical visual kei fan" , as I never liked bands such as Malice Mizer / X Japan / Dir en Grey / old L'arc en Ciel  / the Gazette / (insert here any ~cool~ popular vk bands), I just liked some bands I heard in anime first (particularly Nightmare but also the occasional SID/PIERROT/MUCC/abingbon boys school ...?) OR knew through friends who liked "bigger" bands and acts, (such as alice nine/Miyavi idk)  which is how I first knew about visual kei while never being a "typical fan". And I guess many weeb kids are/were on the same boat lol which is why there is a lot of "turnover" ; it's not like they can go on gigs with a lot of bands so they can get to know other bands and buy cheki and live-exclusive albums and merch or anything, so yeah once their fav bands are gone (no matter how big they are/were,) they're done with it. Because, again, there is no "global marketing strategy" unlike, say, k-pop, so less accessible materials = you tend to be less obsessed about it and/or know less bands = more turnover as there is nothing to take that place (and, again, saying "if you like X Japan you may like Purple Stone lol" is ... not a thing. ) it requires a lot more effort in a sense so, unless you're reeeeeally obsessed with the whole cultural aspect of it (which is... very localized anyway,) you're prone to getting over it - and, well, the rebellious emo phase (fortunately) doesn't last forever for everyone I guess. (not saying everyone who likes vk is ANGSTY but yeah it takes an appreciation of an alternative aesthetic which is usually ... something you like when you are young ??). As for me I am definitely in that boat - I don't think I have ever considered myself a vk fan though if you ask me I'll say "oh yeah, I know it, it's ok", I've probably heard most popular bands at least and I was definitely a Nightmare fan by most standards for quite some time
 
In short, I guess I liked vk for the rock but also for the hand elephants and Mana variety shows, in which sense kpop definitely pales in comparision but I'll still take kpop over RAHFJSNDNNRRK *guttural noises* anyway. 🙊
 
Edit: It's worth mentioning I got back to vk because I was bored&unemployed and my kpop faves made a MV with Golden Bomber Jun as I translated Japanese videos for the fanbase, so of course I knew everything that was going on and I was rather surprised vk in itself was Still A Thing. So in my case that was The Call Of The Bandomen and not the other way around ironically

@Gesu your early 20s do be like that. Start by filling your time in between job applications with volunteering, at least your CV won't be empty and it'll keep your mind busy. Opportunities are ripe atm with vulnerable elderly being unable to work at charity shops, for example. It'll give you experience dealing with people and it'll give you a reference you can call on for future jobs. Then, like mentioned above, take what you can because any foot in the door is a positive step towards getting smth better. 
 

I am a lover of Asian food of all kind. I kind of have my own Asian "struggle meals" where I take ramen, mix it with lunch meat and various sauces, and stir fry it. Here is something I made a few nights ago
 

So... industry gone idol doing idol industry shit? Damn shook 
 
Sarcasm aside, really wonder how commonplace that kinda stuff is. It's all obviously very common among fabricated pop idols and all who are basically dolls to their companies, but I didn't know/would probably not take very seriously if some stranger told me this was going on in underground japanese rock 🤔 ... So wondering for how long 

Certainly japanese food though I only liked tenpura/kakiage and kani (and Hana no kuchizuke does it count??) and hated most of it for ages. Then I started working at a place which only had 1 restaurant really close by, which happened to be a traditional Japanese food parlor ... I'm lazy and didn't wanna walk for ten minutes just to grab food and that's how I ended up like this. (When I say "I didn't choose the weeb life" ...) I was often just grabbing an onigiri or plain bento with sashimi and gyoza etc and mochi, jelly candy or (a very missed) dorayaki (and THE ANPAN !! ALSO MISS ;_; ) for desserts but ALL of it was so well-prepared I started seeking Japanese food parlors everywhere lol.  (Unfortunately most did not beat that small restaurant ;_; ) started a course near a very good restaurant just before the pandemic (and ate the HUGEST tonkatsu on the first day k) so thx covid now I am not broke nor obese yay  
Also for some reason I never got to eat curry rice but I assume that'd be my favorite dish if I had (taking into account I've been eating only the powder ever since instant noodles came to exist) and also I want to eat okonomiyaki and that fried tako stuff someday 
 
For everything else ... Chinese food often makes me sick, not sure if it's just my luck or the spice is to blame, but kung pao is great. I'm not super into pasta but it's ok ?? (My bff is half Italian and she's a cook so I eat it often, it's not SUPER my thing but gnocchi .. yum) Also not sure how common this is elsewhere but (local variations of) chicken stroganoff is one of my favorite dishes. ... Also, almost forgot, very much like local variations of french chicken fricassee but no idea if I'd like the real thing ??  
Edit: thinking harder about this I reeeally like portuguese custard tart and latin american alfajor and churros ... Actually, when it comes to desserts I feel like my taste is way more diverse! Gee wonder y 
 
(Honestly aside from these my thing is just junk/fast food and local food though, and by local food I mean not feijoada but rather pao de queijo for breakfast, barbecue, casquinha de siri or pastel for lunch, dulce de leche, bolinho de chuva and brigadeiro for desserts and a nice guarana soda to drink 🥰 ) 

Not Sure But...
Though I was never properly diagnosed actually (got every kinda mental health diagnosis from ages 6 to 26 making me an official Kawaii Menhera Freak tm just none of it was what I suspect) there is now a high suspicion in me that I may be (hf) autistic (why? because... everything. Every symptom. Ever. + genetics.) however it seems that autism nowadays (since DSM V ...) is a very blurry diagnosis with eugenistic purposes (just like when Hans Asperger the nazi first described it. Seriously ...) that can only be diagnosed in males, sometimes perfectly functional males even, perhaps a way of justifying some males' "males will be males" behaviors. I am sincerely deeply annoyed at how no one takes me seriously on this and I am always walking on eggshells when talking about it to doctors so this is also a "venting" thing lol (went to another psychiatrist yesterday and now I'm on carbamazepine, which makes me psychologically shitty and dizzy ; turns out I'll probably be better off getting a medical degree bc that'll take less time than finding a doctor who won't avoid the subject of diagnosing autism in girls altogether. Or just, y'know, ask on Facebook "hey guys do y'all think I may be autistic?" which I'm p sure 9 out of 10 colleagues in my psych bachelor would say "oh yes" to) - so anyway with autism often comes depression and also epilepsy and migraines all of which I display hooray ; I also Can't Play 3D Action games (not talking anything too complex here I mean I had to call it quits on Kingdom Hearts and Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine a while ago; SMT Imagine was online so you can bet I wasn't making that up also thanks MGS for stealth ..........) though I have yet to find out if it's anything related to my shitty brain or...  
 
Venting Aside (I'm psychologically unwell, dizzy and angry now), I probably have respiratory issues still undiagnosed (nothing big though) and happen to have a weird syndrom in which I ave 1 kidney from birth so selling a kidney is a no-no all of which aren't exactly "disabilities" just, well, conditions.
 
(CLEARLY IM JUST VENTING HERE. /hate everything)  

Me

I do check out previous bands, current ones etc. 
Usually i do it more for the band members i took a liking too. 
Should i give an example, like most who wrote here did?
 
For example i follow up Ryo (joppin:cal, m:a.ture) i ended up listening to sound of  drug/ esolla because of him (there is not a lot of stuff from them eitherway), i listened to the stuff from serial number that got puplished during the time he was a member of them and i ended up listening to some of the stuff he played support-bass for. Thankfully i liked most of the stuff he participated. 
Of course there are other Bandmembers i ended up following too.
Also i don't always end up liking the new stuff they do. (Those two from Despa that ended up in The micro whatever for example.)
 
A stupid question, but does it sometimes make you feel like, following up an old friend? because thats what i noticed how it sometimes feels for me, of course i don't know them personally, but checking on them, seeing they are doing fine, even if i might not follow his current project,  makes me often happy. 
I know it sounds stupid, but there are bandmember i somehow followed up since 12/13 years or some where i lost track of them (because of my cursed break from vk) and suddenly i remember them and check over social media what they are doing. 
sorry, its a bit off topic
 

I don't game at all, so no
I fantasize more about them answering more than 3 words to my fanart, or something around this 
 
Otherwise, with who would i like to hang out? hmmm
Exactly this, i would be happy with anyone 
Also, no one said that, that one bandomen wouldn't be able to call over the rest of the band, or other friends 

In a less angry note and more of a "late nite tweet except this isnt my Twitter and clearly I aint ok." today (while I was thinking of, honestly, people I met in elementary/middle school) I was hit by the sudden realization that I first heard (of?) vk probably on the year GazettE was FORMED which makes me think firstly I am getting old ffs 
But also that maybe it is why I feel zero GazettE nostalgia and fail to see how influential they were/are (they were/are right?)? To me it was literally "some random vk band some kids like (and I don't)"? Not even kidding? I was around when western ~ vk fandom ~ was p much 1/2 metalhead X fans and 1/2 fujoshi Gackt/Mana ficwriters ??? 
 
This was a scary realization of my own age and one I wanted to share. Thank you 

1. Kra
2. 彩冷える (Ayabie)
3. 華族 (Kazoku)
4. ナイトメア (Nightmare)
5. アンティック-珈琲店- (AN CAFE)

Done, and you're welcome!

http://pigmy.jp/news/997/
 
Ryo is retiring from music. So, Kei has decided to suspend the band activities. They are cancelling all remaining dates of their 「BAROQUE TOUR SAINTS OR SINNERS」 tour. There's a lengthy message from Ryo detailing his reasons for retiring. It seems to be that he's both tired physically and mentally of performing. If someone wants to get into more detail go ahead.
 
This is a major bummer as he's become one of my favorite vocalists since giving BAROQUE a shot a few years ago. I've loved their music.
 
In other news, Kei announced a new solo album last week so he'll be continuing as a musician.
 
 

I'm a B+ and, incidentally, a sagittarius, both of which serve to prove to me that all of this horoscope astrological blood type bullshit is, indeed, bullshit and doesn't happen in real life at all as I'm possibly the most boring person you'll ever meet (but it's good excuse to make you look INTERESTING when you're not)
 
This also serves to prove I would not only be hardly employable in my current reality, but also in 60s Japan

This is sooo ~randum~, but hey. I really wanna see people's replies to this
If you had to describe one (or more) of your favorite vk band(s) with one piece of media, be it a paragraph, a lyric, a picture, a song, an mv, an interview, whatever - how would you describe it? That one thing you saw and went "oh, ok, this is quintessentially ___".
 
This idea actually crossed my mind when I felt this watching Nazuki by Nightmare - a PV not many would consider their favorite but I really liked back then and completely forgot why, until I went back to it years later and realized the mess it is lol.
 
 
From there I realized that I only like messy bands most bands would have something like that you consider to be a "classical (this band)" thing, so... please introduce me to your favorite band(s) with one piece of media alone! No need to explain it, just go!  (The weirder, the better.)

This is sooo ~randum~, but hey. I really wanna see people's replies to this
If you had to describe one (or more) of your favorite vk band(s) with one piece of media, be it a paragraph, a lyric, a picture, a song, an mv, an interview, whatever - how would you describe it? That one thing you saw and went "oh, ok, this is quintessentially ___".
 
This idea actually crossed my mind when I felt this watching Nazuki by Nightmare - a PV not many would consider their favorite but I really liked back then and completely forgot why, until I went back to it years later and realized the mess it is lol.
 
 
From there I realized that I only like messy bands most bands would have something like that you consider to be a "classical (this band)" thing, so... please introduce me to your favorite band(s) with one piece of media alone! No need to explain it, just go!  (The weirder, the better.)

My favorite Girugamesh song 
 

Imagine going on a date with a girl and tricking her into thinking that you speak French just by saying a bunch of VK band names like it's a sentence.
 
Lareine Versailles? emmurée. Moi dix Mois, Baiser, L'arc en Ciel. Noir Fleurir... Noi'x.

This group is really talented and are really wholesome people. ;____;
 
 
 
 
I saw them for the first time in 2018 in Seattle when I had just started to get in to KPOP and it was a lot of fun. Since then I have made a lot of new friends because of them from all over the world. I've taken a 13 hour road trip to Calgary, AB see them, in which the members were shocked to hear I had traveled so far. I then saw them again in Seattle at the end of 2019 where they were surprised to find i brought my 8-year-old sister with me. I was also able to grab some photos of them from a busking event they did in Seattle. They're just really nice and really give an effort they don't owe us to remember their fans. 

Honestly my playlist just rolled and I wanted to share this instead:
 
 
So we were talking about Shoutan me and a friend and it's just amazing how he takes the 3D Bishounen Aesthetic to another level?? Cheesy choreo, check. Flawless looks, check. Actually bearable music, check. Doubles as an idol and seiyuu, check. TECHNOLOGY, check. Can't really point any flaws. Guess that's where years of j-pop and k-pop took us. I'm fine with this

Looks like österreich (Kunimitsu Takahashi ex. the cabs) released a new song! It features cinema staff's vocalist! Very nice~  (@saishuu)