D'espairsRay autograph session @ Buddy Soundworks
Yesterday was the last day of an exhibition of D'espairsRay's instruments at Buddy Soundworks store and I think on a spur of the moment the day before D'espa decided to go there and have a three hours signing session (it lasted almost an hour longer in the end). Of course, the moment I read an announcement I sent a message to N. saying "Let's go to Tokyo tomorrow!" (she was quite perplexed about what I meant since she got it before she read the news of the autograph session lol) and started digging through my closet looking for something cute to wear. There was no way in hell I would miss a chance to meet D'espa!
Buddy Soundworks is a small guitar shop in Kouenji, 10 min train ride from Shinjuku. It is run by several really nice guys who look like long-haired old-school metalheads, I think my dad would get along great with them lol I don't remember seeing any other instruments there except guitars and basses and even though the exhibition was officially of Karyu's and Zero's guitars, other things like Hizumi's mic stand, riser and horn (or vuvuzela, whatever that thing actually is), their Love is Dead masks and Tsukasa's drumsticks were displayed too.
I went there with millenniere on Monday last week before the FC trip and took a bunch of pictures then.
All guitars and basses looked so beaten up, they were obviously in some heavy use. I love the fact that Hizumi's vuvuzela was bigger than his mic stand, which I thought was tiny. Was Hizumi that short? Even his tambourine-kun made an appearance ;)
By the way here is my outfit for the event. I wanted to look cute! I also put on my pink platforms and by the end of the night I was in so much pain. Actually I have pretty bad blisters on my feet now, I have troubles just walking around my apartment barefoot. But I don't regret it! おしゃれ我慢! Here is what the band looked like, except their poses were not that weird most of the time lol
Yesterday I got to Kouenji about 3p.m., an hour earlier than an autograph session was supposed to start, but it gave me just enough time to find my friends in a cafe nearby. Quite a lot of people came from far away for the event. N. and I came from Nagoya and I saw several other Nagoya manias, A. came from Osaka, she went and got on a night bus to Tokyo the moment she read the announcement, and T. even came from as far away as Okayama.
We went to Buddy Soundworks about thirty minutes before the start and there were only a few mania there at the time. By the way there must have been more than 200 fans total, the line winded around inside the store and a lot of people had to stand outside in the heat. We ended up in the beginning of the line and it almost became our undoing! *wails*
In order to have something signed we had to buy some of the tour goods they had in the store and at first they had very little actually laid out on a table. I think they had very few T-shirts and towels left, but lots of Tsukasa's piggy-bank boxes from Psychedelic parade tour. I got a Human-clad Monsters tour T-shirt first. We could also buy chekis. If one got lucky and pulled out a sighed photo, they won a photo together with a favorite band member. I didn't *cries*
The band appeared right on time and stood behind a counter signing stuff for the fans. Because we were right in the beginning of the line it was really awkward at first, both the band and us still didn't really know how things were going to proceed I suppose. They were even signing stuff by two, Karyu and Hizumi together and then Tsukasa and Zero together. We also didn't realize we had a lot of time to talk to the band and the conversation turned so awkward >o< I pointed out to Hizumi that there were almost no goods for the fans to buy and he asked their manager Sato-san about it. He kept looking at me like: "Huh?" But dumb me got so flustered, I just blurted out: "Nevermind!" I take that back! DO MIND ME!!! Actually I think he really does mind me, but more on that later. However, I did give Karyu a letter I wrote to him the previous night.
We got so frustrated with our failure, when we saw people behind us talking a lot and shaking hands with the band, that the moment we got out of the store we lined up again. We came all the way to Tokyo and we were not going to leave easily! I'll say it right away we went three rounds total though I had to run to a convenience store to get money from an ATM and even borrow 1000 yen from N. in the end *crazy gleam in the eyes* Just to give you an idea: 10000 yen for chekis (1000 yen per one), 10000 yen for tour goods to be signed, plus about 22000 yen for shinkansen tickets, total - over 40000 yen. Being a bangya is an expensive hobby!
Anyway one round took about one hour and just about time it was our turn for the second time, the band took a 20 min break. Sato-san was so nice and funny. Right before the break he was standing behind Karyu fanning him with a snare drum head (lol I guess he just grabbed whatever more or less suitable was nearby), it was really hot inside, when he suddenly turned away from Karyu and started fanning us. Yes, thank you! It was very welcomed ;)
When we stood right across D'espa, while waiting in the line that winded around the store, we started waving at Hizumi, who had no fan in front of him at the moment, trying to draw his attention to us, but he completely ignored us. On the other hand Tsukasa, who stood next to him, saluted us and, when we burst out laughing and called his name, he had to struggle hard to suppress his laugh ;D OK, I admit we were probably a pretty loud group, but can anyone blame us? We were so excited to see them again! However, I had the feeling about Karyu and Hizumi looking/not looking at me from way before, but my friend confirmed yesterday that it wasn't just my imagination. Karyu kept glancing in our direction all the time, but Hizumi on the other hand almost made a point of not looking our way. He has no problems facing me, when I'm talking to him during various meet-and-greets, but otherwise it's almost like he tries really hard not to look, turning away etc. I'm so curious why he would do that! Anyway, moving on.
We had a lot of time to talk to the band the second and the third time, though I still think the conversation turned awkward at times. Karyu was probably the easiest to talk to, because he asked questions and made an effort to chat fans up, unlike Zero, who did not say much even when answering questions. Karyu asked me where I came from and I said Nagoya, but then he asked about my home country, I think that's what he wanted to know from the beginning. On the third time he asked me how long I lived in Japan and after I said that it'd been four years, he complimented me on how well I can speak Japanese. Really? I think I kept making a fool out of myself >_<; I talked to Hizumi about his UMBRELLA project and said that if he had an exhibition of his art I would go to see it. I told Zero and Tsukasa that unfortunately I won't be able to go a charity live they play next month since I will be on a plane to Europe. The third round turned into a lot of laughing because I bought another Tsukasa's piggy-bank box for them to sign and I told them it was the third one I owned. Tsukasa said that with this I will be able to save a lot of money 1000000 yen per each box. Right! There was some weird equipment hanging right above the counter that Zero and Tsukasa kept playing with. Those things looked like they were for polishing and, when I asked Zero what they were for, he took one and pretended to polish his neck lol
But the most important thing was what Karyu told me. I am convinced he read my letter during the break otherwise he had no reason to say those words.
The story goes back a little to the FC trip last week. Karyu looked pretty depressed in the beginning though he gradually started to laugh in earnest and have a lot of fun. The worst part was when, while riding with us on the bus and answering questions, he suddenly brought up a topic of Isshi. He said that lately he kept loosing friends and maybe because he and Isshi were born on the same day (here, now you know for sure that Karyu was born on December 7, 1978) their lives and bands had a lot in common. But Isshi's death made him realize that he didn't have courage to die after all. The only way I can read those words is as an admission that he had been so depressed he thought about death. And the fact that Karyu let something like that slip in front of the fans only makes it worse, because it means he must have been thinking about it a lot. I was really worried about him and decided to write something to him about it, to say one more time just how much he means to a lot of his fans and that he should never forget about it. Since Karyu hasn't been updating his blog at all lately I wasn't sure if he read it (he does actually, he told my friend he reads fans' messages), I thought the signing session was my best chance to give him a letter.
When they came back from the break and we talked again, without thinking I blurted out a question about what his future plans were and he said that he was in a preparations stage, getting ready for the next thing. I said that I was glad to hear that and see him smiling instead of depressed like he was in the beginning of the FC trip. And that was when he told me: "I am not going to die!" The only reason I can think of why he'd phrase it that way was that he read my letter during the break. I was really happy to hear him say that and more so to see them all smiling and having so much fun!
In the end of the singing as the last fans were leaving the store, Karyu got from behind the counter and stood in front of it shaking hands with Hizumi and then Tsukasa acting like a fan. Then Hizumi and the rest did the same. With no one staying behind the counter to shake hands with. They were such dorks! lol The staff closed the store and lowered blinds at first, but then lifted them again so we could watch the band taking pictures in front of their exhibition display instead of just waiting for them outside. They came out some time later and got in a car. Karyu walked out carrying a lot of presents and Zero had his bass with him. We waved them the last good bye and watched them drive off. It was the first time I had ever demachi-ed D'espa actually.
We ate curry for dinner at Shinagawa before taking one of the last shinkansen trains back to Nagoya. Here is my trophies:
I am glad I had a chance to meet them one more time and moreover to see them smile and in such good spirits. I feel relieved and I wish them only the best from now on too.
Buddy Soundworks is a small guitar shop in Kouenji, 10 min train ride from Shinjuku. It is run by several really nice guys who look like long-haired old-school metalheads, I think my dad would get along great with them lol I don't remember seeing any other instruments there except guitars and basses and even though the exhibition was officially of Karyu's and Zero's guitars, other things like Hizumi's mic stand, riser and horn (or vuvuzela, whatever that thing actually is), their Love is Dead masks and Tsukasa's drumsticks were displayed too.
I went there with millenniere on Monday last week before the FC trip and took a bunch of pictures then.
All guitars and basses looked so beaten up, they were obviously in some heavy use. I love the fact that Hizumi's vuvuzela was bigger than his mic stand, which I thought was tiny. Was Hizumi that short? Even his tambourine-kun made an appearance ;)
By the way here is my outfit for the event. I wanted to look cute! I also put on my pink platforms and by the end of the night I was in so much pain. Actually I have pretty bad blisters on my feet now, I have troubles just walking around my apartment barefoot. But I don't regret it! おしゃれ我慢! Here is what the band looked like, except their poses were not that weird most of the time lol
Yesterday I got to Kouenji about 3p.m., an hour earlier than an autograph session was supposed to start, but it gave me just enough time to find my friends in a cafe nearby. Quite a lot of people came from far away for the event. N. and I came from Nagoya and I saw several other Nagoya manias, A. came from Osaka, she went and got on a night bus to Tokyo the moment she read the announcement, and T. even came from as far away as Okayama.
We went to Buddy Soundworks about thirty minutes before the start and there were only a few mania there at the time. By the way there must have been more than 200 fans total, the line winded around inside the store and a lot of people had to stand outside in the heat. We ended up in the beginning of the line and it almost became our undoing! *wails*
In order to have something signed we had to buy some of the tour goods they had in the store and at first they had very little actually laid out on a table. I think they had very few T-shirts and towels left, but lots of Tsukasa's piggy-bank boxes from Psychedelic parade tour. I got a Human-clad Monsters tour T-shirt first. We could also buy chekis. If one got lucky and pulled out a sighed photo, they won a photo together with a favorite band member. I didn't *cries*
The band appeared right on time and stood behind a counter signing stuff for the fans. Because we were right in the beginning of the line it was really awkward at first, both the band and us still didn't really know how things were going to proceed I suppose. They were even signing stuff by two, Karyu and Hizumi together and then Tsukasa and Zero together. We also didn't realize we had a lot of time to talk to the band and the conversation turned so awkward >o< I pointed out to Hizumi that there were almost no goods for the fans to buy and he asked their manager Sato-san about it. He kept looking at me like: "Huh?" But dumb me got so flustered, I just blurted out: "Nevermind!" I take that back! DO MIND ME!!! Actually I think he really does mind me, but more on that later. However, I did give Karyu a letter I wrote to him the previous night.
We got so frustrated with our failure, when we saw people behind us talking a lot and shaking hands with the band, that the moment we got out of the store we lined up again. We came all the way to Tokyo and we were not going to leave easily! I'll say it right away we went three rounds total though I had to run to a convenience store to get money from an ATM and even borrow 1000 yen from N. in the end *crazy gleam in the eyes* Just to give you an idea: 10000 yen for chekis (1000 yen per one), 10000 yen for tour goods to be signed, plus about 22000 yen for shinkansen tickets, total - over 40000 yen. Being a bangya is an expensive hobby!
Anyway one round took about one hour and just about time it was our turn for the second time, the band took a 20 min break. Sato-san was so nice and funny. Right before the break he was standing behind Karyu fanning him with a snare drum head (lol I guess he just grabbed whatever more or less suitable was nearby), it was really hot inside, when he suddenly turned away from Karyu and started fanning us. Yes, thank you! It was very welcomed ;)
When we stood right across D'espa, while waiting in the line that winded around the store, we started waving at Hizumi, who had no fan in front of him at the moment, trying to draw his attention to us, but he completely ignored us. On the other hand Tsukasa, who stood next to him, saluted us and, when we burst out laughing and called his name, he had to struggle hard to suppress his laugh ;D OK, I admit we were probably a pretty loud group, but can anyone blame us? We were so excited to see them again! However, I had the feeling about Karyu and Hizumi looking/not looking at me from way before, but my friend confirmed yesterday that it wasn't just my imagination. Karyu kept glancing in our direction all the time, but Hizumi on the other hand almost made a point of not looking our way. He has no problems facing me, when I'm talking to him during various meet-and-greets, but otherwise it's almost like he tries really hard not to look, turning away etc. I'm so curious why he would do that! Anyway, moving on.
We had a lot of time to talk to the band the second and the third time, though I still think the conversation turned awkward at times. Karyu was probably the easiest to talk to, because he asked questions and made an effort to chat fans up, unlike Zero, who did not say much even when answering questions. Karyu asked me where I came from and I said Nagoya, but then he asked about my home country, I think that's what he wanted to know from the beginning. On the third time he asked me how long I lived in Japan and after I said that it'd been four years, he complimented me on how well I can speak Japanese. Really? I think I kept making a fool out of myself >_<; I talked to Hizumi about his UMBRELLA project and said that if he had an exhibition of his art I would go to see it. I told Zero and Tsukasa that unfortunately I won't be able to go a charity live they play next month since I will be on a plane to Europe. The third round turned into a lot of laughing because I bought another Tsukasa's piggy-bank box for them to sign and I told them it was the third one I owned. Tsukasa said that with this I will be able to save a lot of money 1000000 yen per each box. Right! There was some weird equipment hanging right above the counter that Zero and Tsukasa kept playing with. Those things looked like they were for polishing and, when I asked Zero what they were for, he took one and pretended to polish his neck lol
But the most important thing was what Karyu told me. I am convinced he read my letter during the break otherwise he had no reason to say those words.
The story goes back a little to the FC trip last week. Karyu looked pretty depressed in the beginning though he gradually started to laugh in earnest and have a lot of fun. The worst part was when, while riding with us on the bus and answering questions, he suddenly brought up a topic of Isshi. He said that lately he kept loosing friends and maybe because he and Isshi were born on the same day (here, now you know for sure that Karyu was born on December 7, 1978) their lives and bands had a lot in common. But Isshi's death made him realize that he didn't have courage to die after all. The only way I can read those words is as an admission that he had been so depressed he thought about death. And the fact that Karyu let something like that slip in front of the fans only makes it worse, because it means he must have been thinking about it a lot. I was really worried about him and decided to write something to him about it, to say one more time just how much he means to a lot of his fans and that he should never forget about it. Since Karyu hasn't been updating his blog at all lately I wasn't sure if he read it (he does actually, he told my friend he reads fans' messages), I thought the signing session was my best chance to give him a letter.
When they came back from the break and we talked again, without thinking I blurted out a question about what his future plans were and he said that he was in a preparations stage, getting ready for the next thing. I said that I was glad to hear that and see him smiling instead of depressed like he was in the beginning of the FC trip. And that was when he told me: "I am not going to die!" The only reason I can think of why he'd phrase it that way was that he read my letter during the break. I was really happy to hear him say that and more so to see them all smiling and having so much fun!
In the end of the singing as the last fans were leaving the store, Karyu got from behind the counter and stood in front of it shaking hands with Hizumi and then Tsukasa acting like a fan. Then Hizumi and the rest did the same. With no one staying behind the counter to shake hands with. They were such dorks! lol The staff closed the store and lowered blinds at first, but then lifted them again so we could watch the band taking pictures in front of their exhibition display instead of just waiting for them outside. They came out some time later and got in a car. Karyu walked out carrying a lot of presents and Zero had his bass with him. We waved them the last good bye and watched them drive off. It was the first time I had ever demachi-ed D'espa actually.
We ate curry for dinner at Shinagawa before taking one of the last shinkansen trains back to Nagoya. Here is my trophies:
I am glad I had a chance to meet them one more time and moreover to see them smile and in such good spirits. I feel relieved and I wish them only the best from now on too.