Photography and more for the Cosplayer
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J-Rock musicians CAMINO
Explode at Sakura-con 06! By BSaphire Camino, a five-person J-Rock band from Tokyo, Japan, gave an electrify concert Saturday at Sakura-Con 2006, their 2006 concert season opener. The fans chanted for an encore and were delighted with the performance of two new songs from their soon-to-be-released album. The first was a beautiful ballad well received by their fans. Look for six new songs on their upcoming album due out later this year. Sakura-Con 2006 was not their first USA performance. After the release of their début song “Arise” in April 2003, they appeared in May, with performances by Duel Jewel, at A-Kon in Grapevine, Texas where the audience was introduced to their rock like sound. In 2004, Camino released their second single “IC Brain” in June and continued gaining an American following with shows at Fanime in San Jose, CA, A-Kon in Dallas, TX, Oni-Con in Huston, TX, and Anime USA in Vienna, VA. 2004 also saw the departure of a couple of Camino clones and the introduction two new members. The band currently consists of Hayato as singer, Kiku on guitar, Taka on base, Rehit on Drums and Ryosuke on keyboards. In February 2005, Camino performed at *Numa Rei-Con #3 (3,000 free attendees and growing) in New Orleans, LA and June saw the release of their new maxi single “Lovin Moon” which features three songs: Lovin Moon, Wings, and Just. * Numa Rei-Con #4 scheduled for February 2006 in New Orleans, LA had to be postponed with no set convention date as of yet. Reports are hinting at December 2006 or early 2007. The Camino band members are very much like their fans. They enjoy manga such as, Lupin the III, Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, and Fist of the North Star. They are all big Shonen Jump fans or “Jump” as they called it. When asked what their biggest influences were, the band members replied professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, and American rock bands: Metalica, Motley Crue, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Deep Purple, and I heard mention of Nirvana.
I first saw Camino on stage at Fanime 2004 where they
performed with other bands Nami Tamaki and Blood. Since then, with the change in
a couple members, Camino has grown into a quite an impressive J-Rock band. I
asked the band how performing with other bands like Blood, Nami Tamaki, and Duel
Jewel has helped them. They said
that each time it has helped them to refine their performances, yet has allowed
them to be more artistically free to try new things, and American audiences have
enjoyed them even more. This was apparent when the Sakura-Con staff wasn’t
prepared for all the fans rushing the stage at the beginning of the concert.
When the fans rushed the stage, Camino band members later recalled that it was
very exciting and rewarding for them to see such a love and devotion from their
fans. “We were very touched.” I noticed the difference in their stage presence, their
performance, and how much the band has grown artistically in their music since
Fanime 04, and Kiku (founder of the band) enjoyed hearing that his hard work at
picking the right members for the “Camino Sound” was paying off. Kiku, along
with other members of the band, likes to visit live clubs and listen to the
bands performing there. This is how he was able to find some of the current
members. I asked Kiku to compare his previous band “Misty Eyes”
to Camino and what was it like for him. He said that he enjoyed his time with
Misty Eyes, but the direction Misty Eyes was going was not the direction he felt
he wanted for himself. Forming
Camino allowed him to be more himself in its style and performance and he really
wants the American fans to like the band. He hopes that one day his band could
perform with American bands like Metalica. Kiku was asked why he focused on being a success in America
more than in Japan and he stated that he didn’t feel that in Japan, Camino was
as respected as he wished they were. “In Japan there is a jumble of different
types of music that do not seem as passionate as American music. In America the
fans are very emotional, very moving, and this is rewarding. Since the band is
more of a reflection of me, it would be more respectful to feel appreciated for
what the band does and how they perform.” Performing in America verses performing in Japan is
different for the band. In Japan
the fans are shyer where as in America the fans are more passionate and exciting
and Camino enjoys watching their American fans getting into their music. This
was very true at Sakura-Con 2006. Camino enjoyed the ambiance that Sakura-Con
attendees created and most of all they really enjoyed the energy the fans
brought forth while the band performed. Camino also enjoys Van Halen, who’s sound has also
differed over the years with the departure of David Lee Roth and the addition of
Sami Hagar. I agreed with three of the band members that I also enjoyed Van
Halen pre-Hagar. I explained that I also loved Sami Hagar, but I felt that he
was much more artistically expressive before he joined Van Halen. I felt that
the change in Van Halen after David was less to my liking and I didn’t follow
the band’s music as much. Sometimes changing members, for whatever reason, is
necessary for a band. This can produce very different effects on the music and
stage performance. In Camino’s case, I feel that it has been a positive one.
As the artistic expression of each of the band members continues to develop, the
“Camino Sound” appears to benefit from it. Their show is more powerful,
dynamic, and rewarding to see and the numbers of fans continues to grow. This is a group of talented smexy (smoking hot and sexy = SMEXY!!! ^^) men who truly enjoy not only what they do, but the American fans as well. They perform for their fans much like American artists Areosmith. They were witty and relaxed during the press interview and were extremely interested in feedback from Sakura-Con attendees. Kiku was wearing a Star Wars shirt and when he was asked what his favorite character was from Star Wars he replied, “Storm Troopers.” This made everyone laugh and someone from the press mentioned to him that he had a “Storm Trooper” present for the concert, Kiku’s eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face. I told Kiku that I had taken pictures of a storm trooper at the concert which caused his smile to widen. I then jokingly said, “I guess that proves that Storm Troopers love Camino too!!” The band laughed along with everyone else.
The band said that some of the
things that they missed were Miso paste, Sushi, the Japanese standard of food
and taste, a cat, “Jump” (meaning Shonen Jump), and one of them left their
personal computer at home by mistake. The band commented that they enjoyed the
weather in Seattle and it reminded them of Tokyo. They remarked on how beautiful
the cherry blossoms were and over all are very happy to have come to Seattle and
perform for Sakura-Con. If you are into J-Rock and learn Camino is performing at a
convention that you’ll be attending, take the time to go see them. You could
possibly catch them somewhere else during the convention or even run into them
around town checking out what the area has to offer. If you know of any local
Japanese bands performing live at a club in the same city as the convention, you
might just see some of the Camino band members in the audience enjoying the
performances right along with you. Authors side note *Music, though scientifically
mathematical, is elemental in nature much like water. Its ability to exist in different forms (styles) allows it to
adapt to different situations and locations. It is an expression of ones self,
an emotion, an art form, and a universal translator. Reaching out to an
individual, and bypassing a language barrier or a time barrier, music speaks to
the human soul. Music does not have to be physically seen to be appreciated for
its nature to exist. Music is only made more rewarding to experience when this
happens. With each of the human senses it communicates with, music becomes more
fulfilling. J-Rock, J-Pop, or Visual-Kei… don’t let a language barrier prevent you from enjoying Japanese music, because the music will speak to you in some way and you only need to be receptive to it to experience it in its purest form what ever that style may be. * Pictures
will be coming soon ^^) | ||||||||||
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