Wow, what a week. Everything lately has been about as unreliable as Wisconsin weather lately. Just last week it was over 70 degrees (around 20 Celsius) for a span of a few days, and then, in a matter of 36 hours, we get caught at 30 degrees and constant spurts of snow flurries. It’s then that I realize it’s already November and that the warm days earlier were pretty much a freak accident because this is Wisconsin, with weather that’s moodier than a woman in menopause. Well, one can only have hoped that it would stick around a little longer. In a sense, however, one could really say that the weather reliably changed to colder and that the warm days were the unreliable (though more enjoyable) experience. Ooh, Wisconsin…

Aside from the insanity that school brings me I really enjoy making contributions for the magazine.  Maybe I just don’t feel like my life is hectic enough and I want to pile more things on my plate. This week is kind of a tough week to get through. Waiting on loans to process to be able to access grades for my study abroad application deadline this Friday, and to be allowed to sign up for next semester’s classes on next Tuesday. I just had an interview test in Japanese, but the big chapter test is tomorrow. My Buddhism professor changed our quiz to the day when I’ll be gone to Chicago for the Dir en grey concert. Plus, I’m kind of 2 chapters behind in my textbook for Intro to Music and Cultures, anyone care to read it for me and share the basic details? Haha, it’ll get done.

Besides all that, this last week had some great releases that kind of got overlooked in our selection process. I’ve successfully covered a few of them but I’d hate to see them overlooked. Girugamesh, Suicide Ali, heidi., Lolita23q, C4, XodiacK, and vistlip! I’m also formulating ideas for some features and am also working making a few suggested features a reality. This is really shaping up to be a constructive experience for me, and I look forward to trying to personally make diverse contributions that appeal to our readers. I want to make this something unique, want to make it special, and most of all want to promote the exposure of so many excellent Japanese bands to you, the reader! I love hearing ideas, and I love being creative with ideas myself. I’m just a fanatic when it comes to international music.

Moral of the story, I’m just a regular college student who enjoys doing what he does. I’m an opportunist, and I’d like to take this opportunity to make this more than a mere magazine publication. Together we can make this an EXPERIENCE. I want to make this more than just something pretty to look at, I want this to have dimension and to have real substance. We can’t be what we are without you as the reader.

- Evan Benner

Filed under: Uncategorized, Evan Benner, Introductions | 3 Comments

Filed under: Uncategorized, Rubab | 2 Comments

I woke up on Tuesday morning, the day of the MUCC gig, to find that the sun was shining, the birds were singing, work was a distant memory… and that someone had stolen the hubcaps from my car.

I love my car.  I bought it brand new less than three years ago and have cared for it in the same way that I care for my imported CD collection – by wrapping it in plastic and avoiding anything that means that I actually have to use it.  It is spotless, show room condition even, but now it’s been defiled.

It was not the best start to the day.

After I had mourned the loss of my hubcaps and sworn bloody vengeance on those responsible I made my way to Birmingham.  The Academy is situated in the heart of the city centre and is only a short walk away from the major train stations and department stores that make up England’s second city.  It took an immense amount of willpower to drag myself away from the shops and the big SALE signs everywhere but, for the good of Askew Magazine, I resisted the urge to get lost in the sale racks and instead headed for the Academy.

I followed a group of Atreyu shirted teenagers who were discussing the line up.  They appeared pretty familiar with Atreyu, As I Lay Dying, and Story of the Year but seemed to be having a few problems with MUCC.

“How do you pronounce that?”

“Is it Muce?”

“Moo-she?”

“Muck?”

“Mook?”

I bit my tongue and continued walking.

It was still early and the doors were yet to open so I was able to enjoy my favourite past time – people-watching!  My favourite sight of the night?  The very, very, bad Tatsurou cosplayer who had come to the gig with a refugee from a Las Vegas chorus line who was having great difficulty walking over the uneven pavement in stacked high heels, sequins, laddered tights and a cowboy hat.  It was one of those sights that once seen cannot be unseen no matter how much therapy you pay for.

As I was waiting I saw that MUCC had decided to take advantage of the venue’s closeness to the city center by sneaking out of the side entrance for a walk.  I decided to follow their lead by going to a local Starbucks for a warming cup of hot chocolate and I was highly amused to see an unnamed member of MUCC (name removed to protect the innocent) walking past the shop window… only to walk back in the opposite direction two minutes later looking considerably lost.

He must have found his way back because the doors finally opened and I approached the harassed-looking blonde girl at the ticket desk in order to pick up the press pass our lovely publisher Laura had worked very hard to get arranged.

“I have a press pass to pick up.”

“I don’t have a press pass for you but you’re on the guest list.”

“The guest list?”

“Yeah, that’s free entry but you can’t take photos.”

“No, I should have a press pass so that I CAN take photos.”

“Are you sure?”

“YES!”

“I’ll call someone.”

As I waited for the now even more harassed-looking blonde ticket girl to find someone who would actually pick up the phone I could hear the first band starting to play.  I knew the running order of the gig and that MUCC would be on pretty early so as their set began to wind down I started to become very nervous…

“Sorry about the wait!  Here’s your pass!”

Success!

The review of the gig will be published in the magazine so I won’t go over old ground but to be less than two feet away from MUCC when they are in full, live flow is an amazing experience.  I spent most of their set on my knees, not a wise idea in skinny jeans and boots, crawling around other photographers like a rat in order to get the best shots and I was even hit on the head by Tatsurou’s mic lead (does that man ever stop jumping around?).  Again, the sacrifices I make for this magazine!

As the road crew began removing MUCC’s gear for the next band I had a walk around to try and gauge the general feeling towards them.

“They were good!”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a Japanese band before.”

“They were Japanese?  I thought they were Chinese.”

“Hm, they might have been Chinese.”

“I think they were Chinese.”

Geography is obviously not Birmingham’s strong point (as anyone who has ever driven on the city’s motorways will confirm) but overall the crowd seemed impressed and I noticed that I wasn’t the only person present taking advantage of the special offer on MUCC posters – 2 for £1 is a bargain – as half the audience could be seen wandering around with posters in each hand.  I had no interest in the rest of the playbill and as soon as the lead singer of Story of the Year started calling for a circle pit I figured that was my queue to exit.

- Kellie Lacey

Filed under: Events, Kellie Lacey, MUCC, Taste of Chaos | 3 Comments

The flight into DC was not too bad.  I spent most of the time polishing up questions in my notebook and trying to get myself up to speed music-wise on Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet-, who I have to admit I have not been too familiar with and have come to find that I enjoy their music.  “Crystal City” is practically next door to the Reagan airport, and it was a mere five-minute shuttle ride to the hotel.  The Hyatt was a maze of escalators, elevators, back-alley staircases, and costumes of every variety for those three days.

I had never been to a convention before in my life.  At first i wasn’t sure if I liked it very much, but by day two I was having fun.  I’m not sure how much finding myself sitting next to Jack Sparrow at the bar, who even ordered his rum in full accent and in character, had to do with any of that.

There was a businessman who I guess just happened to have booked a room in this very hotel, who asked me for directions on the street. So I told him, “Oh just head down a block and there will be like 100 people in really funny looking clothes standing outside.”

He was like, “But its all SO COOL!”  as he kept going, behind a group of FF7 cosplayers, to his destination.

SiSeN brought the party both nights that I was there.  The first night I was entirely too tired to enjoy it much myself, running on two hours worth of sleep.  Dancers formed conga lines that snaked around the room, performed light shows with glowing swords, and cheered when SiSeN slung candy out into the crowd.  Before any of this started he was found out in the lobby taking pictures with his fans, talking with them, and even talking to one fan’s friend via her cellphone for a few minutes.  I’ve never met anyone so wonderfully open and unafraid about being in the middle of a group of fans like this.  It wasn’t even an obligation of any sort, he was just truly enjoying the hell out of himself.

The next afternoon I headed up to his hotel room where he offered me his own seat, and answered a series of questions that form the rather interesting interview that’s going in the January issue.  I think most people just know him as this really eccentric character, but I found somebody who’s really intelligent and thoughtful about everything he does.  He’s completely candid.

I don’t think Versailles was having the very best of days that day.  Fans lined up at 9pm to get into the show slated to start at 10.  Staff members then told the crowd that the show was delayed and they had no idea how long for.  It got to be about 11 before the heat rose to such a point in that room that hotel staff had to come down and serve everyone water and plug in oscillating fans.  We were all forced to sit on the ground, and it was so crowded we could not even stretch our legs enough to get the blood flowing to our limbs.

Versailles’s fans are pretty tough characters, I think.  Once midnight passed they started singing songs to themselves to keep themselves occupied.  We were told they were having sound problems, and we could hear them practicing through the walls for quite some time.  Sadly, a lot of people ended up having to go home when we were finally let in to the auditorium… and had to wait even longer.  SiSeN came back down for what was his third appearance, and got his entire gang of dancers and a con person up to keep everyone entertained during the wait.  The concert finally got to a start, and it was a strong one.  Everyone seemed tired but completely riled up.

Sadly, the media pit was having some technical difficulties of its own and I vacated during the second song with the press Liaison to try and help get the problem solved, so I didn’t get to see their full performance.  I hope everyone had a good time.

After the show DJ SiSen took to the stage again and started another party.  Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet- signed another round of autographs, and even gave Askew a set of signed photo cards to give away.  We’re getting the materials together to advertise that now.

It took the entire next day to get back here to Las Vegas, and I am very tired but also very happy.  It was a weekend of new experiences for me, indeed.

Filed under: Events, Anime USA, convention, Laura Brickman, SiSeN, Versailles | Post a comment

“Ru…”
“Rubab.”
“Ru-babu?”
“Yes.”
“Rubab.”
“Yes  XD ”

“Is that you’re real name?”

“Yes…its Arabic.  Its a musical instrument from my country.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhh…”

Rubab and Jess headed up to San Fransisco so sit down and chat with Juno Reactor for the January issue.  Its a wonderful, wonderful show.  If you can catch any of the remaining dates make sure you get out there while you have the chance!

- Laura B

Filed under: Uncategorized, Juno Reactor, Sugizo | 1 Comment

My name is Laura Brickman, and I am the Director of Publication for Askew Magazine.  I am also the Chief Executive Officer for the company that is putting this magazine together, Askew Media Inc.

This isn’t a first time business venture for me.  I previously ran a web design company called Extroweb.net and was externally contracted for several big name companies.  I also grew up in a family that spent a lot of time around both the media and music.  My father was the manager in a newspaper pressroom, and on the weekends I helped him with his work as the soundboard guy for local music events surrounding his non profit work.  One of my favorite memories surrounding this time was getting to bring the guitarists their morning coffee while still being barely taller than any of the instruments they were carrying.

This specific line of work, and running a corporation is a bit new to me but I am up for the challenge and I learn pretty quickly!

We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback about the magazine, and your desire to have a publication that is geared to you in English.  We’ve also gotten a couple of really negative e-mails stating that we’re doomed for failure and that there is “no point” in even trying.

I’d seriously beg to differ.

I’ve seen this scene get together numerous times when they wanted to see something get done.  I think if, as a community, we get behind putting something together - anything is possible.

One of the questions you always hear bands get asked is, “Why did you pick the name that you did?”  I know its best to keep the air of mystery but we picked our name with a definitive reason and I think its important enough to be slapped across everything we do.  Our very name is the integral pillar of our business model.

Askew Magazine was formed by a couple of people who really wanted to see this approached in a different way.  We want to do what couldn’t be done before.  We’re approaching this magazine from a completely different angle, and that is how we came up with the name ASKEW.

I think this may also answer the question you might have about why we’re starting a staff blog.

If the success of this magazine is based on the investment of us as a community, then I think it’s easy to see why we would rather put a personal face and touch to what we are doing than stand behind closed doors like many companies would choose to do because its “safer”.  We’d much rather let you sit at the dinner table with us that put you on the other side of a fast food counter.  Askew Magazine seeks to put an edgier-higher-end touch to field, but as a company we want to continue to foster the community spirit that is so important to each one of us here at Askew.

You will probably hear from me the most often, but I expect Laura Witzig our Editor in Chief to drop by pretty soon as well as some of the other faces of the really great people behind this project.   I’ll be talking about what’s going on here at the magazine, as well as posting videos when possible, and keeping you informed on life here at Askew Media Inc.

Askew Media Inc. is based here in the lovely Las Vegas.  We’re about 20 minutes away from the Strip.

As you can see.  Daily life here at the office is complete serious business.

I think its time to go grocery shopping before the fridge knaws off my arm.

I’d show you the water cooler, but its not nearly as awesome.  Try as I might, imagining it filled with the unholy goodness of UCC Coffee just does not seem to bring it unto fruition but I can show you where all the magic happens…

Having a black desk is really nice and all, but everything else I own is black…which gives me strange scenarios like not being able to find my business card case when its right in front of me because I simply can’t see it!

Its 7:30 AM, so I gotta run since I got a few more things to do before I can get myself to bed.

I’ve got a question for you all though:  What would YOU like to see out of a Jrock Magazine?

Filed under: Uncategorized, Laura Brickman, the office | 3 Comments