December 21st.
-After months and months and months, finally re-connect with college friends and have a great time.
December 22nd.
-Enjoy some great Christmas cake with coworkers.
-Go to my boss's daughter's piano recital. Adorable.
December 23rd.
-Hizaki invited me to the Versailles tour final at Shibuya Kokaido, which will always and forever be a way better name than "C. C. Lemon Hall". That name is the worst. I let him know I would be bringing Ryota as well.
-The show was great--the stage had FIRE and EXPLOSIONS SORTA and stuff like that. There was a huge tiered stage that Yuki was up on, and periodically Teru would scramble up and down it. The performance was spot-on as usual, although at one point I remember thinking that I really didn't care for the song they were current playing. I turned to Ryota and asked what song this was. He said, "Princess. I don't like it much either." Ha.
-So Versailles is going major in June and that's pretty cool and I'm happy for them. They're also playing 5 days in a row at Rokumeikan. That is insanity. Kamijo told me that originally it was going to be 3 days, but Hizaki pushed for 5 BECAUSE HE IS RIDICULOUS.
-At one point Ryota went to the restroom, and when he came back he hurried back to my side and said, "I just peed next to Shinya." I patted him on the head. "Good for you."
-After the show, people without guest passes were ushered out, and there was a short short after-party on the 2nd floor lobby with everyone. Matenrou Opera was also there, and I randomly ran into people from Hear Japan and J-Rock Revolution as well, so 'sup guys. Also Noriko Shouji was there and she is the VK grandma basically and she is tiny and really sweet.
-'Zaquitos had me come to the final uchiage, and there we talked a bit of business that was quite neat indeed. Basically it was just chillin' and maxin' and relaxin' with Versailles, Matenrou Opera, Dollis Mary, Shinya, and then a small handful of roadies, hair/makeup staff, and then their management and recording engineer.
-I never, every thought that my path would cross with Dir en grey in any capacity, but sure enough Shinya told me that he and Die were learning English but that he wasn't advancing as fast. "So you want to practice right now?" I asked. Nervous and embarrassed, he refused, very Shinya-like.
December 24th.
-Spent the evening with the regular crew of Masaki, Yanagi, Keita, and a nice handful of others at a really relaxing darts bar in Shinjuku. Yanagi is currently in the band SwallowtaiL, and their other two members Rai and Ryuji were also there. Ryuji sang Ayaka's "Mikkazuki" and... I am not exaggerating; Ryuji may very well be the best vocalist in visual kei that I have ever heard. He nailed that song in terms of both technique and soul.
-We did a gift exchange, sort of white elephant style, and pretty much everyone did a great job of gift-giving. I don't think I'm very good at gift giving, so the reaction everyone had when my gift was opened felt pretty good. The one I received is sort of an O. Henry situation; one of our friends is a tattoo artist and part of his gift was one free tattoo. While I am far too fickle to get a tattoo, nor have I really thought about ever getting one ever, I appreciate the gesture and loved the rest of the gift. :)
December 25th.
-I met up with Reina, who had gifts for me from people, and that was great. We headed to Club Quattro in Shibuya, which was smaller than I expected. I got my pass from Ryo and in we went. The crowd was diverse, with lots more foreigners than I'm used to seeing in one place, and a healthy number of males. A few girls there were in those Santa dresses and that was cute, and some of the stage lighting in the beginning felt Christmas-y, so that felt appropriate. :-P
-It was my first (and last, obviously) time really seeing Rentrer en Soi, and it was neat to see them. They seem to have a more relaxed, swaggering energy. Banter is minimal, but when Satsuki did speak he chose his words very carefully. Quite a long set; several encores, and in the 2nd one there were a lot of old songs, which I liked.
-After the show the guests went down to say hello to the guys, and Jasmine You showed up, which was good because otherwise I really only know Ryo. Ryo was excited to introduce me to the rest of the guys, who were friendly and talkative, particularly Mika, and Satsuki was friendly as well. Ryo gave me a really cool business idea so I hope I can find the time to put it to work. :)
December 26th.
-I bought an mp3 player that is modeled after SOUNDWAVE the DECEPTICON TRANSFORMER and it ACTUALLY TRANSFORMS, and I subsequently win all y'all so flippin' hard.
I had a very unconventional Christmas. I'm excited for the developments and happy for the experiences I had, but I wouldn't have much of a problem trading it to spend some time with my distressingly awesome family. :)
-Hizaki invited me to the Versailles tour final at Shibuya Kokaido, which will always and forever be a way better name than "C. C. Lemon Hall". That name is the worst. I let him know I would be bringing Ryota as well.
-The show was great--the stage had FIRE and EXPLOSIONS SORTA and stuff like that. There was a huge tiered stage that Yuki was up on, and periodically Teru would scramble up and down it. The performance was spot-on as usual, although at one point I remember thinking that I really didn't care for the song they were current playing. I turned to Ryota and asked what song this was. He said, "Princess. I don't like it much either." Ha.
-So Versailles is going major in June and that's pretty cool and I'm happy for them. They're also playing 5 days in a row at Rokumeikan. That is insanity. Kamijo told me that originally it was going to be 3 days, but Hizaki pushed for 5 BECAUSE HE IS RIDICULOUS.
-At one point Ryota went to the restroom, and when he came back he hurried back to my side and said, "I just peed next to Shinya." I patted him on the head. "Good for you."
-After the show, people without guest passes were ushered out, and there was a short short after-party on the 2nd floor lobby with everyone. Matenrou Opera was also there, and I randomly ran into people from Hear Japan and J-Rock Revolution as well, so 'sup guys. Also Noriko Shouji was there and she is the VK grandma basically and she is tiny and really sweet.
-'Zaquitos had me come to the final uchiage, and there we talked a bit of business that was quite neat indeed. Basically it was just chillin' and maxin' and relaxin' with Versailles, Matenrou Opera, Dollis Mary, Shinya, and then a small handful of roadies, hair/makeup staff, and then their management and recording engineer.
-I never, every thought that my path would cross with Dir en grey in any capacity, but sure enough Shinya told me that he and Die were learning English but that he wasn't advancing as fast. "So you want to practice right now?" I asked. Nervous and embarrassed, he refused, very Shinya-like.
December 24th.
-Spent the evening with the regular crew of Masaki, Yanagi, Keita, and a nice handful of others at a really relaxing darts bar in Shinjuku. Yanagi is currently in the band SwallowtaiL, and their other two members Rai and Ryuji were also there. Ryuji sang Ayaka's "Mikkazuki" and... I am not exaggerating; Ryuji may very well be the best vocalist in visual kei that I have ever heard. He nailed that song in terms of both technique and soul.
-We did a gift exchange, sort of white elephant style, and pretty much everyone did a great job of gift-giving. I don't think I'm very good at gift giving, so the reaction everyone had when my gift was opened felt pretty good. The one I received is sort of an O. Henry situation; one of our friends is a tattoo artist and part of his gift was one free tattoo. While I am far too fickle to get a tattoo, nor have I really thought about ever getting one ever, I appreciate the gesture and loved the rest of the gift. :)
December 25th.
-I met up with Reina, who had gifts for me from people, and that was great. We headed to Club Quattro in Shibuya, which was smaller than I expected. I got my pass from Ryo and in we went. The crowd was diverse, with lots more foreigners than I'm used to seeing in one place, and a healthy number of males. A few girls there were in those Santa dresses and that was cute, and some of the stage lighting in the beginning felt Christmas-y, so that felt appropriate. :-P
-It was my first (and last, obviously) time really seeing Rentrer en Soi, and it was neat to see them. They seem to have a more relaxed, swaggering energy. Banter is minimal, but when Satsuki did speak he chose his words very carefully. Quite a long set; several encores, and in the 2nd one there were a lot of old songs, which I liked.
-After the show the guests went down to say hello to the guys, and Jasmine You showed up, which was good because otherwise I really only know Ryo. Ryo was excited to introduce me to the rest of the guys, who were friendly and talkative, particularly Mika, and Satsuki was friendly as well. Ryo gave me a really cool business idea so I hope I can find the time to put it to work. :)
December 26th.
-I bought an mp3 player that is modeled after SOUNDWAVE the DECEPTICON TRANSFORMER and it ACTUALLY TRANSFORMS, and I subsequently win all y'all so flippin' hard.
I had a very unconventional Christmas. I'm excited for the developments and happy for the experiences I had, but I wouldn't have much of a problem trading it to spend some time with my distressingly awesome family. :)
15 comments:
Man you are actually the coolest person ever...meeting awesome VK people while I have to pick up trash at the local AMC :( haha
Yeah, seriously Jimi... You just keeping topping yourself for unbelievably cool stories. I think you're destined to become famous even if only because you'll know and become friends with so many famous people.
You are so totally The Man.
Happy Christmas!
Hahaha. What you're doing is ridiculously awesome. I just imagine the fangirls foaming at the mouth at these entries.
I'm glad everything is going well, and you're meeting a ton of cool people and making great connections in the "biz."
Happy holidays!
And now you've met a member of Deg. What next; now you'll bump into Sugizo in the future! Tell him I said hi if you ever bump into him. Anyways, CONGRATS on having a blast this week; I totally envy you but I'm happy that you're having so much fun! It wouldn't be cool to have a boring Christmas week. Cheers~! :]
"and I subsequently win all y'all so flippin' hard."
If that wasn't already blatantly apparent but the amount of admiration and envy in just about every post on your blog XD
Really hope you enjoyed your Christmas and I hope your new years is equally as good!
suh-weeeeet!
My big excitement this week was teaching Kate to ride her new Inescapable Disney Princesses bike.
Once she got the idea that "stopping peddling" = "diminishing forward momentum," we were golden.
Meri Kurisumasu! ~Akemashite omedetou!~
i hope this doesn't sound too TEH GHEY, but it makes me really happy that you get to go out and do all this cool stuff. :)
Merry Christmas!
I'm glad you had so much fun!
I hope the next year will be even more successful for you^_^
holy crap dude.
Merry Christmas, everybody. :)
CJ: Well, yeah, NOW you have to do that, but later, who knows? :)
Marius: Haha, famous by association? I dunno I'm not sure how famous I actually want to be. :-P I think it just boils down to the fact that my friends are in the spotlight.
fuzzurin: Oh man I hope I don't piss anyone off D:
Toaster: HA! Doubtful. :-P But I will, if ever.
Ito: Oh crap, I just realized that that "win so hard" line sounds like I'm bragging about all the people I'm with. All I am bragging about is the Transformer. The other stuff is humbling and baffling. I don't want to sound arrogant, so sorry if I did! （゜口゜；）
Go: Gah, now she's riding bikes? I swear just yesterday she could barely talk! :')
I work with children and even though I'm not their father it's awesome but difficult watching them grow up.
And thanks. I'm really glad I've been able to come even this far. Heck even getting to be in Laverite has been a huge blessing.
Haha, Jimi, don't worry about it. Only way anyone would think you were being arrogant is if this is the first post that they've read from your blog. We all know by now how cool of a guy you are and that you aren't bragging about that stuff. I just meant for my post to be read as: you are awesome. lol
Thanks for sharing! This way we get to live VK life vicariously. :D
I've been following your blog for a while but never commented but after reading about your unbelievably cool Christmas, I thought I'd drop a comment. =)
...seems like this is all in a day's networking! XD
Jimi...you're a LEGEND!
I was wondering if the guys in Deg were keeping up with their old friends from Lareine.
@Silv: I gotta admit, it's pretty neat to see that they are. Or at least one of them is.
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