L~Lotus~ is a five-piece band comprising of three ex. as milk members – 蓮華 (Renka) on vocals, saki and Takayuki on guitars, masato on bass, and YUJI on drums. They officially began their activities on March 6th and have released three digital singles to date: 「worry」 on May 19th, 「snow」 on May 26th, and 「tree」 on June 2nd. The members of L~Lotus~ sat down with us to answer a couple of questions, so give it a read to get to know them better! We’d like to thank JapanFiles... Read→
-LEON- is a five-piece band from Gunma comprising of Yuji on vocals, Shin and Koya on guitars, Yamato on bass, and Masashi on drums. Mixing Asian cultural influences with visual rock, -LEON- has a heavy, modern sound with a distinct, ethereal flavor. On December 13th, the band released their first three track mini-album, 「REGULUS」 along with a PV for their song, 「Kokou ni Tou Tsuioku no Kagen no Tsuki」. The members of -LEON- took time to answer a few of our questions, so take a read through... Read→
GLACIER is a five-member group from Okinawa, comprising of Makoto on vocals, Nao on lead guitar, Koujirou on rhythm guitar, Aki on bass, and Yuuki on drums. The band formed in July 2007 and made their major debut a year later on July 23rd. They have released a full album and six singles to date with their seventh single, 「愛の降る街」 (Ai no Furu Machi) which is the third installment of a 7-month digital release project, coming out on June 30th through JapanFiles and on iTunes. The members... Read→
O-PARTS is a two-man unit that started in June of 2009, formed by vocalist sho-ka (ex. Vogus Image) and bassist Jun (GaGaaalinG, ex. WAIVE). On August 20th, they released their first maxi-single entitled 「向日葵」 (Himawari) which included four tracks, all of which made it into the top ten of the Oricon Indies ranking. On May 26th, their second maxi-single, 「煌[kou]」 was released and will be available through JapanFiles from June 6th. Both sho-ka and Jun took time out of their busy schedules... Read→
In 2002, Kaya made his vocal debut in the Mana produced two-man unit, Schwarz Stein. In 2004, Schwarz Stein disbanded, and departing from the label the band was signed to, Kaya became a free singer. Using “aesthetics” as his main theme, Kaya conducts his activities with the goals of “the revolution of the aesthetic senses” and the “liberation of sexuality” in mind, and manages his own lyrics, CD jacket designs, make-up and costume designs as well as the organization... Read→
born is a five member band that began together under RENNY AMY, which was active from August 2005, until December 31st, 2006. Shortly after, the same five members created D&L, and eventually changed their name to ‘born’ on April 9th, 2008 with the sponsored event at Takadanobaba AREA called “born presents 「bug scremo vol.01」”. About a week later, they released their first demonstration single, entitled 「Dust pain」, which was followed by the tour, 「Abnormal skin’s」. Since... Read→
砂月-Satsuki- began his solo career on February 14th, 2009, after spending seven years as the vocalist for RENTRER EN SOI. His first solo release, 「AWAKE」 came out via his online shop on May 9th, and that month he also started his 「AWAKENING TO MOONLIGHT」 tour, which even made a stop in Los Angeles, California. His next release, 「CRYSTAL」 was out on August 21st, which was followed by his 「PEER INTO YOUR CRYSTAL HEART」 tour, where he preformed in both Tokyo and Las Vegas, Nevada. ... Read→
MERRY have announced that they’ll be releasing a new single on October 6th!
It will be entitled 「クライシスモメント」(Crisis Moment) and will come in two types – limited type including bonus DVD for 1890 yen and regular type (CD only) for 1260 yen. Unfortunately no more details are available so far.
Source: OHP
Little HEARTS will celebrate their second anniversary with special events! Artists for them are Nightmare, Lc5, MERRY, Sadie, DELUHI, THE KIDDIE and SKULL.
September 19th @ Zepp Sendai
OPEN/16:00 START/17:00
tickets advance: 4,800 / from door: 5,800
September 25th @ Shibuya C.C.Lemon Hall
OPEN/16:00 START/17:00
tickets advance: 4,800 / from door: 5,800
Lottery for tickets will start July 23th and sale August 3rd here. Limited amount of tickets for Zepp Sendai show will be available at Little HEARTS shop too.
Source: Little HEARTS, Nightmare OHP
Merry and jealkb will be featured on a 25th anniversary tribute album for The Blue Hearts, a punk band that was popular in the late ’80s and early ’90s, released on February 24th. Merry will be recording the song 皆殺しのメロディ (Minagoroshi no Melody/Massacre Melody) from the album ‘High Kicks’ and jealkb will be recording the song 少年の詩 (Shounen no Uta/Boy’s Song) from the album ‘The Blue Hearts’. First press will cost 3000 yen and regular press will cost 2800 yen.
Source: Merry OHP
Today’s Random Fact comes from Gara of Merry. When asked about how many hours, on average, of sleep he gets a night he answered “About three. [I] generally do not want to sleep.”
That’s pretty hardcore, Gara. In case you were wondering, Big Ern needs at least 10 hours of sleep to function.
A few months ago, FOOL’S MATE’s editor in chief, Toujou, passed away.
As a tribute, メリー (Merry) have announced that they will be having a free live on December 24th at Shibuya O-EAST.
The members felt that he took care of them, and wanted to do something in his memory. After giving it some thought, they felt that they wanted to show their gratitude towards him through a performance.
They are holding the show at Shibuya O-EAST, because that is the first place that Toujou came to see them perform live. The band has also announced that they will be playing his favourite songs. They hope that on that day, along with their fans, they can send their music to Toujou in heaven.
On December 24th, starting at 1:00pm they will be distributing tickets. The ticket numbers are random and on a first come first serve basis. They ask fans to not stand in line over-night waiting.
Source: OHP
Did you know that Gara of Merry was featured on the right side of vol 19th (September) issue of V!NYL SYNDICATE?
Other bands featured in this issue are 12012, Zoro and Girugamesh – but Gara is the one they showcase on the cover in this issue.
If they wanted someone sexy on the cover, they should have called me!!!
Great news for メリー (Merry) fans!
On November 7th, the band is releasing their album, 『アイデンティティー』 (Identity)! The album costs 2000 yen, and contains seventeen tracks, two of which are studio recorded versions, and the rest are from their TOUR09 under-world [BURST] at Shinjuku Loft:
CD Tracklist
1.アイデンティティー (Identity)
2.stupid×cupid
★TOUR09 under-world [BURST] at Shinjuku LOFT
3. GI･GO
4. Friction XXXX
5. Charlie
6. sweet powder
7. montage
8. 演説～シュールレアリズム～ (Enzetsu~Surrealism~)
9. [human farm]
10. stupid×cupid
11. Midnight Shangrila
12. カナリア (Canary)
13. ジャパニーズモダニスト (Japanese Modernist)
14. 愛国弐～BURST～ (Aikoku~BURST~)
15. 激声 (Gekigoe)
16. アイデンティティー (Identity)
17. under-world
The band is also releasing 『BURST EPDVD／Live at Shinjuku Loft』, which is both a CD and DVD. The CD contains two tracks:
1.アイデンティティー (Identity)
2.stupid×cupid
The DVD, is 90 minutes long and has footage from their TOUR09 under-world [BURST] at Shinjuku LOFT:
1. OPENING
2. GI･GO
3. Friction XXXX
4. Charlie
5. sweet powder
6. montage
7. 演説～シュールレアリズム～ (Enzetsu~Surrealism~)
8. [human farm]
9. stupid×cupid
10. Midnight Shangrila
11. カナリア (Canary)
12. ジャパニーズモダニスト (Japanese Modernist)
13. 愛国弐～BURST～ (Aikoku~BURST~)
14. 激声 (Gekigoe)
15. ハライソ (Haraiso)
16. T.O.P
17. オリエンタルBLサーカス (Oriental BL Circus)
18. PLTC
19. アイデンティティー (Identity)
20. under-world
The cost is 4000 yen, and the catch? It’s only available for sale through DISK UNION.
Source: Jishuban Club, OHP
More bands have been announced for the festival. And now who playing when is now known! I would die from so much star power!!
October 24th
abingdon boys school
Alice Nine
ALI PROJECT
Angelo
BOUNTY
BREAKERZ
D
D’espairsRay
D’ERLANGER
ドレミ團 (Doremidan)
イロクイ。(Irokui.)
Kra
Marilyn Manson
Moi dix Mois
ニンジャマンジャパン (Ninjaman-japan)
PENICILLIN
SEX MACHINEGUNS
SOHODOLLS
SuG
高見沢俊彦 (Takamizawa Toshihiko)
ベルベット (VelBet)
ViViDOctober 25th
Aoi
And
彩冷える (Ayabie)
D=OUT
DaizyStripper
DuelJewel
exist†trace
heidi.
heidi.
Kagrra,
LM.C
LOVEX
メリー (Merry)
NEGATIVE
-OZ-
サディ (Sadie)
SCREW
土屋アンナ (Tsuchiya Anna)
the Gazette
the Underneath
【_Vani;lla】
Versailles –Philharmonic Quintet- (????)
ヴィドール (Vidoll)
Not sure if Versailles will cancel the appearance here as well.
To promote their latest tour, and newest single which was released on August 04th, the band has a new look
Source:Visunavi
I don’t believe this was posted about before, but if so, please excuse me.
I’m excited about this so much! Check out the main site at http://v-rockfes.com/ for more information, as well as a line-up of most of the artists.
A few of them are: Versailles, the Gazette, SuG, D’espairsRay, Sadie, ヴィドール, Moi dix Mois, etc…
In 2009 JAPAN will set its attention to the WORLD!
We proudly present this year’s Festival of Festivals!
In October 2009 more than 50 artists will participate
in the world’s largest visual-kei festival ever…V-ROCK!
For two days on four stages Makuhari Messe will be transformed into sacred ground.
More than 50 bands from overseas and Japan will provide the greatest live spectacle ever!As well as space for live performances there will be space for other events made available for you:
A lobby area where you can meet artists and participate in events
An international food court where you can sample foods of the world
Space where you can purchase exclusive event/artist goods
A flea market where you can sell your own goods
Areas where you can freshen up and rest and relaxOn July 19th, 2009 (Japan time) the madness begins!
For those living outside of Japan, you can purchase tickets as part of a tour-package.GENERAL INFORMATION
DATE: October, 24th (SAT)-25th (SUN)
VENUE: CHIBA MAKUHARI MESSE
TICKET: 1-DAY TICKET 12,000 JPY (tax-included) / 2-DAY TICKET 20,000 JPY (tax-included)
Source: V-RockFes.com
Yuu of Merry grew up in a house of music. Both of his parents were musicians and he used to listen to his dad’s old recordings. Wow, no wonder he grew up to be such a cool guitarist. On the other side, Kenichi used to dislike music as a kid, especially vocal lessons.
Must have been those boring choir classes or something, I don’t blame him. I ended my vocal training a few years back.
メリー (Merry) have opened up an official blog for their spring tour, 『under-world 【GI・GO】』!
The blog is hosted on CD data, and is written by the members.
Check it out: http://www.cddata-mag.com/blog/staff/009/
Merry has posted an update on Gara’s condition, and for those who weren’t aware, Gara has recently been in the hospital.
They say that although Gara wanted to perform on March 21st at their live at Shibuya-AX, at the present time the doctors are saying that as a result of the exams that were done recently, it is necessary for Gara rest for the time being.
As a result, the members will continue their plans for the instore and live on March 14th at Tower Records in Shibuya, and the talk and handshake event March 15th at the Tower Records in Shinjuku.
While they feel that Gara adds a special uniqueness to their group, the remaining four members want to persist in the band, and therefore hope that fans can allow their voices to reach Gara, and assist him.
They are currently going through rehearsals for their “Tour 09 under-world 「GI・GO」”, and say that when Gara is in tip-top condition, he will make his return to the stage. Until that day, they hope that the fans can warmly watch over them.
Source: OHP
On April 22nd メリー (Merry) will be releasing a new DVD, which is yet to be titled, but is their first PV collection.
The tracklist will be as follows.
・溺愛の水槽 (Dekiai no Suisou)
・首吊りロンド (Kubitsuri Rondo)
・さよなら雨 (Sayonara Rain)
・林檎と嘘 (Ringo to Uso)
・コールing (Calling)
・Blind Romance
・最果てのパレード (Saihate no Parade)
・ Plus more footage featuring the best of Merry!
The DVD will be approximately 80 ~ 100 minutes long, and will cost 6825 yen.
Source: Brand-x
As we posted about back here, Merry has postponed many of their lives due to Gara being injured.
For all interested fans, a little more information about what happened has been released. On February 14th at their fan club only live in Shibuya, Gara hurt his back, and reluctantly, they had to stop the live. Even though it was only an accident, the band apologizes to all the fans that were there that day.
A few days later, Gara went to the hospital and had some MRI tests done, which revealed that he had a herniated disk. Currently he is having trouble moving, and is commuting to the hospital for treatments, and resting in order to recover.
The band feels they have a bit of a clearer idea of how they can proceed with their schedule from here on in, and say that Gara is hellbent on recovering for and performing on March 21st at Shibuya AX.
They apologize once again to all the fans, and will make their return as soon as Gara is in tip-top condition. Until that day, they hope that fans can watch over them warmly.
Source: BMA
Along with the official opening of their new OHP, メリー (Merry) has also started up an official MySpace!
Check it out for a few samples, and add them to show your support!
http://www.myspace.com/merrymerrycojp
Source: BMA, OHP
Today’s random fact isn’t about a band member, but instead about a song. Merry was asked about the origin of “GI・GO”, and Yuu explained:
GI・GO” basically stands for “Garbage In, Garbage Out”, but it means “garbage can only be born from garbage”. In other words, it’s like “Merry can only be born from Merry”.
If you didn’t know what it stood for, what would you have guessed?
All Night Nippon’s Mucomi is sponsoring an event that will be taking place on April 4th and 5th at Shibuya C. C. Lemon Hall called 「TOKYO VISUAL FESTIVAL ‐ZERO-」.
On April 4th, the bands performing will be Kagrra,, Kra and 彩冷える (Ayabie)
On April 5th, PENICILLIN, メリー (Merry) and others.
Tickets cost 5000 yen a piece; advanced sales through Mucomi start February 23rd and regular ticket sales start March 7th.
Source: BMA, Kra OHP
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