Yoshiki and Sugizo at Otakon 2010

Having gone through these pictures today, all I can say is that these two musicians were at the pinnacle of my photographic experiences. I feel proud because the opportunity to shoot them was so rare.

I suppose these photos, even though they are only live shots, are more a symbol than anything.

Yoshiki and Sugizo in front of my lens...it's crazy to have come this far.

Explanation. Motivation. Creation.

Two years ago, for some wonderful reason, I hopped on board as a staffer for Askew Magazine when I was only 16.

At the time, I was a fan ready to make a difference in the industry, one of those weird overachievers I guess…And I was incredibly lucky to fall into the crowd that I did.

Through Askew, and the beautiful people who gave everything they had to keep it running, I fell out of love with fandom and in love with experiencing the jrock industry. I had purpose and talent…drive.

Watching this industry and contributing to it is, was, and will be my addiction.
Through jrock, I did things I never dreamed were possible.

Unfortunately, some of my biggest accomplishments, both written and photographed, never made it to readers. Askew closed in the summer and the fact that fans were missing out on the wonderful content we created was loathsome.

Plain and simple, I created this blog to continue where I left off. I want to share my images and create new ones.

As a college student now, I’m going to take everything I learn and put it into helping the popularity of jrock in America thrive.

-Cari M.