From
left to right they're Meg, Mackaz, Kazuto, Maki, Sassy and Yusuke, the
Okinawan rock sextet High and Mighty Color. The previous evening, the
group had made their U.S. debut at Shiokazecon, delighting a cheering
audience of anime convention fans and pleasantly surprising the band.
"Before the show, everyone was yelling `High and Mighty Color' and they
wanted us to appear on stage," Yusuke said. "That got us into an
excited emotion - it was really great." Added Marky, "I was really
stunned, really astonished. I knew that our record was out there, but
when we came and did a concert, we said we have to really enjoy this."
Kazuto said the group had a hint of what they might face because of
previous audiences in Okinawa. The Japanese island still has a major
U.S. military presence, and American soldiers were a large part of
their audiences when the band began. Still, the Houston event was High
and Mighty Color's first concert outside of Japan, and the enthusiastic
reception the band received from the Shiokazecon audience made them
feel at ease on stage. "It made me think about living here," Kazuto
joked. "Because everyone was going so crazy, we thought they were our
relatives."
The
band's members talk of making music that will be liked outside of Japan
and accepted by other cultures, and they've paid close attention to
U.S. rock. It's not just a coincidence that Sassy wore a Metallica
T-shirt to the event; "I brought six T-shirts this trip and five of
them are Metallica T-shirts," he said. There's also a lot of
appreciation for groups such as Linkin Park and Limp Biskit among the
band's members. Ironically, vocalist Maki said she wasn't into rock
until she met and heard a previous version of the group at the first
rock concert she attended. The band has a strong anime connection,
performing "Pride," a theme song for the Gundam Seed series that is the
most popular animated series in Japan. "This was the whole beginning of
how we've been accepted here," said Yusuke of "Pride." Noted Maki,
"This is our debut song. It reminded us about what we were when we
debuted as a band. What we have been doing has proven that it was a
right thing to do. When we wrote the song it expressed our feelings.
Now, (we know) it was right and we want to do more in a similar style
and reach more people."
From
left to right they're Meg, Mackaz, Kazuto, Maki, Sassy and Yusuke, the
Okinawan rock sextet High and Mighty Color. The previous evening, the
group had made their U.S. debut at Shiokazecon, delighting a cheering
audience of anime convention fans and pleasantly surprising the band.
"Before the show, everyone was yelling `High and Mighty Color' and they
wanted us to appear on stage," Yusuke said. "That got us into an
excited emotion - it was really great." Added Marky, "I was really
stunned, really astonished. I knew that our record was out there, but
when we came and did a concert, we said we have to really enjoy this."
Kazuto said the group had a hint of what they might face because of
previous audiences in Okinawa. The Japanese island still has a major
U.S. military presence, and American soldiers were a large part of
their audiences when the band began. Still, the Houston event was High
and Mighty Color's first concert outside of Japan, and the enthusiastic
reception the band received from the Shiokazecon audience made them
feel at ease on stage. "It made me think about living here," Kazuto
joked. "Because everyone was going so crazy, we thought they were our
relatives."
The
band's members talk of making music that will be liked outside of Japan
and accepted by other cultures, and they've paid close attention to
U.S. rock. It's not just a coincidence that Sassy wore a Metallica
T-shirt to the event; "I brought six T-shirts this trip and five of
them are Metallica T-shirts," he said. There's also a lot of
appreciation for groups such as Linkin Park and Limp Biskit among the
band's members. Ironically, vocalist Maki said she wasn't into rock
until she met and heard a previous version of the group at the first
rock concert she attended. The band has a strong anime connection,
performing "Pride," a theme song for the Gundam Seed series that is the
most popular animated series in Japan. "This was the whole beginning of
how we've been accepted here," said Yusuke of "Pride." Noted Maki,
"This is our debut song. It reminded us about what we were when we
debuted as a band. What we have been doing has proven that it was a
right thing to do. When we wrote the song it expressed our feelings.
Now, (we know) it was right and we want to do more in a similar style
and reach more people."
