PumpkinPatches

I sell on lj and most of the cheki I get now are specifically from trades. I normally charge like, $8-$12 (€6-8.50) for them and it normally covers the PayPal fees and things like shipping. Some cheki are a little more rare (or amusing) so the price tends to reflect that. It also completely depends on how willing I am to give it up. An example is I had an Oz cheki I kind of didn't want to sell, but someone offered me $30 for it and considering my current situation, I took it. Like I said, I tend to buy people cheki in bulk, so... It isn't uncommon for people to send me $70 and leave with 10-15 cheki from their band. It just depends on how you feel about the entire thing.

Yeah, I actually started buying people cheki because when I started my blog and putting pictures of cheki up, people were always like "Oh my god, how did you get those Galeyd/Nokubura/Awoi/etc.etc.etc Cheki!?!?" and hearing that, I've spent the last 6 months collecting cheki from TONS of bands for foreign fans. Nokubura's merch guy thought I was just really insane until he actually asked me how many cheki I owned. When I said "A little over 50, I think?" he immediately asked where all the nokubura cheki were going. (If you ever go to a nokubura live, ask about the girl who, right before they closed shop, bought every single cheki-- like 50 something-- from them.) They actually likeknowing that their fans from overseas love them enough to sent the token gaijin to pick them up cheki. And, it's money. It actually got so bad the band actually started taking MORE cheki shots and now, when I used to be able to buy up all the cheki at the end of the live once the other fans went through and got theirs, I can't. Yucchi actually laughed at me the first day they showed the 'new' cheki box and he asked me if I was going to buy all their cheki today. Definitely not.

^ That I have a friend who works as a merch girl (for a company, she doesn't actually work for a single band, though she works for many over a long period of time) and she explained it to me like this: The band takes 100 cheki and a good night is if they sell 50. If they sell more, it means not only did the band break even for the night (covering things that their label doesn't cover) but it means they actually have a kick start for the next week. Most these bands literally are living hand-to-mouth in regards to the livelihood of the band. Not always are they starving (though those ones exist, too) but they won't have enough money to keep the band going if no one actually helps them. So, when you see a little indies band that you liked a lot, throwing a 1000 yen down on two cheki isn't going to break your wallet but it will mean a lot to them.

It sounds kind of weird, in the video. I think it's partially the quality? Because he definitely doesn't sing like that live...

Cheki is usually the only way bands actually make money, if you want to know the truth. Particularly if they're under a label. Label gets all the funds from the ticket sales, but generally merch (other than CDs) goes to the band. A box of cheki costs, roughly, 3500 yen. It comes with 50 cheki (10 packs of 5 cheki each). So, if a band charges 500 yen for each cheki, they make a profit of about 21500 yen per box. That's no a bad profit. Some bands take up to 10 boxes of cheki for a live (Mejibray, for example) so... do the math. They're making about 400% on them. They're a brilliant marketing tool, as well. In addition, I have seen girls (and have done in myself) who pull until they get the elusive cheki from their favorite member, or the cheki that the bandman puts on their blog for the live. They're considered sentimental pieces. Girls trade their cheki, sell their cheki, and the band gets paid for standing around looking pretty for 15 minutes. They're not a required item for fans to purchase, so... if you don't wnat them, you don't buy them. It's really that simple.

I don't like their music one bit, but the singer of v neu has an amazing voice live. Goddamn can that man project his voice. He managed to sing on key, loudly and quite beautifully, in a fully packed seated venue without a microphone. For most singers, you take away their mic and they are just done.

It would be $13 total. Kaya, you want all 3 flyers? I'm not sure, your wording is a bit strange. Sorry!

OKAY. So, I got my copies of FLEE FROM REALITY about 2 weeks early and I think most of you guys are going to be super pleased. I'd suggest picking up the Blue Version if you have to choose between the two, because RELADR and fractale symphony are pretty amazing B Tracks. Future world and PANDORA are also great, so it's super hard to pick which one is best, but... Yeah. Definitely pick up at least one of them. They also didn't over-saturate Garo's vocals, and the solos are amazing (Nikky and Toki even get them!) So, I am MUCH happier with this release than Revolution. It's just all-around better.

In addition, I am fixing the photographs right now to include the new cheki I have for sale.

Hi! No, I still have te Leda cheki. Oh, damn it. I accidentally put him In the Chikage spot, but I do have him. I have way too many of these damn cheki. And the xenon flyer is still available. F you want it hand-delivered send me a message.

Doesn't everyone have problems with tainted reality though?

I don't ask. I really, really, really do not want to know. And yes, she attends ALL of the lives (even in different cities) with both bands. She had a meltdown when Nocturnal Bloodlust played in Osaka and Galeyd played in Sendai. She was tearing out her hair for weeks.

I dunno if my shikiri is weird, but the Shikiri for Galeyd and Nocturnal Bloodlust is the same person. She goes into conniptions when there are lives that happen on the same day at different venues. I've seen her book ass so many times...

Hi, yeah. I don't think you got what I meant at all. I may have worded it way more strongly than I meant, but if there is one thing I am it definitely isn't rude. I don't judge these guys AT ALL because of their jobs. Not one single bit. My job is pretty much equal to their own. The laughter comes from the fact that I accidentally went to one of their shows and bought the ticket from them, and since then they stare at me like I have ten heads. They also didn't realize that I understood Japanese, so they'd actually talk about the bands (particularly the tiny bands that I used to follow) until finally one day they said something and I started giggling and they realized I understood them. After that, we've actually talked about music (one of them plays bass, and he and I chat about the bass) but I can't get either of them to tell me the name of their band. They said it would be like real life colliding with their dreamworlds. I can definitely understand and respect that. That's why when I see these guys on the train, or on the bus, or working at a shop, I really don't care unless they actually recognize me and start making a fuss. (Awake's singer was like "I KNOW YOU YOU COME TO OUR LIVES PLEASE COME TO OUR NEXT LIVE OH WAIT I DON'T HAVE A FLYER BUT IF YOU WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK WE HAVE NEW ONES!" and it's hard not to giggle when this guy starts rambling and excitedly waving a crepe at your face.) For the costume, I used to lightly jest with the guy about it but it was never cruel. I adored the /shit/ out of him and his bizarre compulsions. I actually offered to sew new trim onto his costume (I'm a seamstress) but there wasn't much reason to as they retired the costumes soon after. So. As for Mitsu-dates, I did laugh when I first saw my favorite singer on one-- because I was so shocked I didn't know what else to do. It wasn't a side-busting laughter, it was a panicked and kind of confused laugh. This particular singer has been very vocal about how much he "Hated how bandmen used their fans for gifts" but was in fact perpetrating the same actions as those he'd mocked. I But you know what, selling yourself because you don't want to get a normal job kind of sets yourself up for people noticing you and realizing exactly what you are-- a hypocrite. But, I know more than one bandman and know that a lot of them have actual ass-busting jobs (I have a friend who works 3 jobs to support his musical lifestyle) so they can make their own music and never take a yen of a fan's money from their hand. I have no respect for a man who makes his living from saying one thing and doing another. A lot of these guys do construction (literal back-breaking labor because they can do it at night and don't have to change their looks) or work in call centers, or do online work, or some even work in shops. Those guys get respect, because they bust their ass to provide for themselves. A man who complains about a systematic issue with abusing fans and then turns around and does the same thing is someone who deserves no respect. But really, I don't respect any man who actually takes money from women because the fan delusionally believes they can buy love. This is why I have little to no respect for hosts and hostesses, despite having friends and acquaintances who have jobs in that particular industry (You can like someone without liking their job. Most times these people wear masks for their jobs, so that pretty host boy who's chatting you up in Ikebukuro is probably a decent or even good person under the ample amounts of Gatsby and cologne.) It's a severe issue in Japanese society that people believe that they are able to actual bottle and consume the love and adoration of those who are considered 'beautiful' or 'desirable'. It's the reason why the idol-phenomenon exists in Japan-- and why fans turn against their favorite idols when it comes out that they have lovers, or spouses, or have ugly feet, or whatever may be offensive to their fans. This society perpetuates every single offense that Visual-Kei originally lambasted for its abusive nature.

kfxxxpfdxgfgf;iudspeuietr/.,knjsgf;oiyfsdhfsdmn;rsoyt Uh. Erm. That is all. I announced this in the middle of my business class to my friends and one girl freaked out so hard she spilled her water everywhere. Her response to the professor (who is really cool) was "BUT KINGDOM HEARTS 3!"

Well, if they are on a label the label has a costume designer who does the costumes at little to no cost for the actual band. Small indies bands who have no backing change their costumes less often unless they know someone who is willing to do it for free. I know a girl who makes costumes because she uses it as practice for her design school. But the reasoning behind constant costume changes is a bit practical. Imagine how much you sweat wen playing on a stage. Imagine how many holes and rips and tears you put in the costume when you wear it for everything for months on end. Why do you think the venue reeks of male cologne after a really indies band goes on? They bathe in the stuff because otherwise standing near them is disgusting. Even dry cleaning doesn't get it all out. Or they can't dry clean it because of tiny pieces that would get ruined. I used to make fun of a bassist because he was insane about washing his jacket after lives, but there was fur on the trim an it was matted to hell and back. His response was pretty much "but I don't smell gross".

I dunno it this is a crime against the music, but more against the fans, but I saw the last post and wanted to just mention something, because Lolita was mentioned. If you don't want your $500 lolita dress touched by other people, DO NOT FUCKING WEAR IT TO A CONCERT AND STAND IN THE FRONT 2 ROWS. And don't get huffy when you walk by and drag your white dress across MY face and then look at me angrily when my eyeliner's smudged on your princess-pony-candy-marshmallow-stuffed-animal-kawaii print. flkasjhflkjsad (I think I need to start a blog which is just rants about people I meet at vkei lives, because seriously. This is stupidly common.) But more on the music, I do think it is a crime for bandguys to actually ask you for money. I've had the experience of not being asked to be a 'benefactor' for a bandman, but meeting said bandguy's 'benefactor' in the VIP section. And the thing is... it does happen. I mean, I can think of multiple times and multiple bandguys who pull this shit on a regular basis. (I've actually seen one of my favorite musicians on a mitsu-date and when I laughed when I noticed it was him he least had the decency to look a bit ashamed.) I don't care what these guys do in their personal lives-- I'm in it for the music, but dude. Don't ask me to help you basically prostitute yourself kthkzbiii (And whoever is still under the delusion that these guys make a lot of money from their bands needs to wake up. The singer of Awake made me a crepe last week and not a month ago I had to teach a bandman the /proper/ way of making a Jack-Coke. And don't even get me /started/ about the two indies session-bandboys who work at the 7-11 next to my house. I have no idea who they are, but I buy tickets for all my lives there at 2 in the morning just to laugh at them. These guys actually have normal day jobs.

Added Avelcain, Galeyd, Nokubura, Mejibray, and Black Line cheki! Also, from now until 6/13 there is a big sale going on. Check the main post

I am actually really digging the PV version. The live version of the song is fun, but Meku's guitar tends to overpower Garo's vocals, particularly with the super fast vocal parts. I do wish they would pick a different place to film their Pvs though. They ran into some trouble for Garo laying the tracks down in the studio so nthey were some of the last things done. I only hope that they don't over saturate his voice like they did with revolution.

Gallo is awesome. That is all. *slinks back into the corner, putting makeup on for the oneman*

Hi! Your total would be $3+Shipping ($4) +$1.00 fee. So your total would be $8. You can send me a message and we'll get things done!

More cheki, more flyers, more other live goods, and I've also put up a "WANTED" area, in case you have something I may want!

I didn't have the balls to ask Hiro if he was a half (or even a quarter) because it would be kind of rude.... but honestly, he has a very strange bone structure for a full-blooded Japanese man, particularly his nose. And I take him as a huge nerd, so I don't actually think he'd be vain enough for a nose job. Then again, I have a friend who I never would have believed to have gotten a nose job until he actually told me. His English is great, though. There's really only a little of an accent when he talks. Then again, Masa knows English as well... So. Diaura's new stuff has been diappointing. They started off really exciting, as I really loved Valluna and their darkness, but... Diaura's different. Not sure I'm a fan anymore.

Hi! I never really know for sure when I'll get new things. I try to update the post ever Wednesday and Friday (ish) so I may have some stuff tomorrow. I trade my cheki with friends quite often, so I never know for sure if I'll find something interesting.

FYI: Information from the fan who follows their asses around. It was Rua. He's been hinting that he wanted out since their live right before their last One Man. Excuse me, I'm going to go sob now. (Also, Raychel jumped ship last month with good reason (his mom's getting pretty ill) So, it's partially him, too. I don't believe in blaming anyone for this, though. So don't get that impression.)