Jrock Media Series: SHOXX

Starting a mini-series of posts this week surrounding my thoughts on various jrock media outlets. This first part of the series is going to focus on the top music magazines and SHOXX is up for the kick-off.

What is SHOXX and how does it compare?

Probably one of the most widely known jrock mags, it’s a good place to start for fans in terms of the amount of material it has. Each issue dedicates about 40 pages to its cover band/artist, is full of photos and live reports, and has plenty of pretty ads for you to tear out and stick on your wall. At one point in time I subscribed to SHOXX for two years and it was a good run. However the cons are that you can count on every other cover to feature Nightmare and there isn't a lot of variety with the photo shoots. SHOXX is a great source for everyone's favorite major bands but if you're looking for higher quality pages and fancier photos, NEO genesis and Arena37c are a better choice.

SHOXX Site: http://www.ongakusenkasha.co.jp/shoxx/sh_main.html

Where can I get it?

CD Japan offers subscriptions as well as Jhouserock. Honestly just about every jrock memorabilia site carries SHOXX.

Tune in tomorrow for a look at Cure!

Exchanging Photos for Smiles

I declare today "Derp Day"

Caption ideas, anyone?

Live House Advantages

Santos Party House, a little venue in Soho, is no House of Blues.For concertgoers, the place appears standard: black stage, black bar, no fancy decorations...But it's the backstage access that bumps this place up to a New York Narnia.

As the photo above shows, I took advantage in the bathroom which doubled as the perfect backdrop for Echostream's guitarist Tomo. We spent only one or two minutes in this covert art gallery but it certainly paid off.



With a few different edits, the graffiti gave each photo a different perspective. Throw in a guitarist who knows how to model and things get awesome.



The real lesson I learned here is that location trumps mundane photography backgrounds. Of course my photographic experiences have always been limited to scouting locations, but it's something I want to stand by.

REBOOT

Changed the description in the header to give this blog a real personality.

I decided that instead of creating another blog, I'm just going to transform this one.I realized that Seikatsu needs more originality and a step back from becoming another news/review blog.

So what is Seikatsu now?

A tribute to the image of visual kei.This means I'll still be posting photography but I'll also be writing about visual trends in the genre, particularly amazing images, photobooks, original concepts, etc...

I also plan to attempt some Photoshop tutorials for photographers and cosplayers to have fun with.

Thanks everyone for dealing with my indecisiveness! XD

New Year FTW

Sup 2011!

Looks like the year is starting off right with an exciting new announcement from Kuroyume! Watch the vid and find out what they're up to.



Now that I've warmed you up with Kiyoharu (or set you on fire, depends on how you like 'em), let's talk resolutions jrock style.

Resolution #1: Start an Additional Blog and Make It Work

Currently I'm making plans and gathering content for my visual kei photography blog. I'm still deciding on whether it should be strictly photography of musicians or if I should take a step or two out of my element. Suggestions please!

Resolution #2: Buy More Music, Spend Less on Extra Crap
Kind of self explanatory here, but I want to continue to support my favorite musicians without breaking the bank. This requires telling myself that it's okay to wait 2-3 weeks for singles instead of paying 30 bucks for fast shipping.

Resolution #3: Make 2011 Better than 2010
Every year I like to write a list of the things I managed to accomplish and 2010 turned out to be incredible. I don't know if I can top working with Kanon, having the craziest conversation with Kiwamu, or covering Yoshiki and Sugizo's Otakon performance but I'll just have to try.

P.S.
Perhaps GazettE could make it to the US...Just sayin', that would be nice.

Who else has jrock resolutions?

Golden Bomber Fights “The Man”

Whilst checking my RSS feed last night I came across some news worthy enough to pull me out of my hiatus and get my ass back in the game.

Now I find this band to be a bit on the dorky side but I feel the need to spotlight them because they really know how to hang onto their interests.

At a recent live the band announced that despite being approached by SEVEN major labels, they would not go major.

I find it really respectable when an artist decides to protect their freedom like that. You go boys!

Short Hiatus DX

BRB Getting shiz together..

Translation:I'm just taking a short break from the blog to strategize, prioritize, and work on launching an additional blog.

If it helps, I'll probably do another list post before the year ends.

Time to go plot a massive content makeover!