The
last time this site encountered (left to right) Aki, Lina, Reina and
Nana of Max, they had a spirited performance at AnimeFest in Dallas.
Two years later, they made a second American anime convention
appearance at Anime USA. "We have few chances to come abroad for live
concerts," Lina said. "I've been looking forward to this chance, not
just because of the convention, but because I want to visit the White
House, the FBI, the CIA - I have a full plan." By Japanese popular
music standards, Max have been around for a long time - they're in
their tenth year. That means they're relative veterans in a notoriously
competitive business. "It is difficult," said Nana. "It is like a wave
with crests and ebbs. What is important is that we have a vision and we
stick to it." That vision is to keep performing in public, she said.
The quartet has to keep supporting each other, on and off stage, and
they find a way to keep going that way. That support is needed to
prepare and perform a dance and music show of the kind that Max
performed at Anime USA. All the fans saw was the music and flash
action, but that took two weeks to rehearse. It was the first time that
Max has prepared a show specifically for an American audience,
something inspired by the audience reaction to their Dallas concert.
"We're trying to make sure that we create the power," Nina said.
Max
have localized shows before in Asia, but not in America. They had an
October show earlier in China where they had songs in Mandarin Chinese.
"It was hard to get our tongues to move properly to pronounce the
lyrics properly and to keep the emotions in the songs," Reina said. All
of this follows in their goal of performing on stage before live
audiences. "Our first live performance came after we recorded a few
songs nine years ago," Lina said. "When our mangers said we would have
a live concert, we though it was a joke. We went around asking `Really?
Really?' We were so excited and so nervous, but it was so much fun."
Max' career has gradually seen a change in their audience, the singers
said. They began with a mostly male teen audience, but they have
attracted what has evolved into a mostly-female fan base. The group
hangs out a lot together between concerts, spending time at each
others' homes. One of the people at those occasional parties is Namie
Amuro, Reina added. At the start of their career, Max was known as
Super Monkeys and had Amuro as a member. While Amuro left the group for
a solo career, Max' never got out of touch with her and they still
attend each others' parties and concerts, they said.
The
last time this site encountered (left to right) Aki, Lina, Reina and
Nana of Max, they had a spirited performance at AnimeFest in Dallas.
Two years later, they made a second American anime convention
appearance at Anime USA. "We have few chances to come abroad for live
concerts," Lina said. "I've been looking forward to this chance, not
just because of the convention, but because I want to visit the White
House, the FBI, the CIA - I have a full plan." By Japanese popular
music standards, Max have been around for a long time - they're in
their tenth year. That means they're relative veterans in a notoriously
competitive business. "It is difficult," said Nana. "It is like a wave
with crests and ebbs. What is important is that we have a vision and we
stick to it." That vision is to keep performing in public, she said.
The quartet has to keep supporting each other, on and off stage, and
they find a way to keep going that way. That support is needed to
prepare and perform a dance and music show of the kind that Max
performed at Anime USA. All the fans saw was the music and flash
action, but that took two weeks to rehearse. It was the first time that
Max has prepared a show specifically for an American audience,
something inspired by the audience reaction to their Dallas concert.
"We're trying to make sure that we create the power," Nina said.
Max
have localized shows before in Asia, but not in America. They had an
October show earlier in China where they had songs in Mandarin Chinese.
"It was hard to get our tongues to move properly to pronounce the
lyrics properly and to keep the emotions in the songs," Reina said. All
of this follows in their goal of performing on stage before live
audiences. "Our first live performance came after we recorded a few
songs nine years ago," Lina said. "When our mangers said we would have
a live concert, we though it was a joke. We went around asking `Really?
Really?' We were so excited and so nervous, but it was so much fun."
Max' career has gradually seen a change in their audience, the singers
said. They began with a mostly male teen audience, but they have
attracted what has evolved into a mostly-female fan base. The group
hangs out a lot together between concerts, spending time at each
others' homes. One of the people at those occasional parties is Namie
Amuro, Reina added. At the start of their career, Max was known as
Super Monkeys and had Amuro as a member. While Amuro left the group for
a solo career, Max' never got out of touch with her and they still
attend each others' parties and concerts, they said.
