24 posts tagged “live”

OMFG, I WAS SO THERE!  I'm totally in this video somewhere!!! (But having trouble picking out the back of my head amongst the crowd, since I have dark brown hair too -_-;)  Aaaah, brings back such good memories!
I can't wait to see Merry's new DVD of the under-world [GI・GO] tour, which comes out today, by the way...I wonder if there will be more footage from this live on it?  The info said they'd be including video from the rest of the tour, and Namba Hatch was one of the bigger stops.  Well, if they have this footage I'm sure they filmed the whole performance, so hopefully they've included some more. <3

Wow, this event is gonna be amazing!  V-ROCK FESTIVAL is the first big visual rock festival to be organized in Japan and has a huge list of awesome artists participating, including the GazettE as headliners and Marilyn Manson as a sort of special guest.  The festival will take place over two days at Makuhari Messe halls 9-11 from Sat. 24-Sun. 25th in October.  One-day tickets are 12,000 yen.  You can find more information about the event at the official website.  There's also a promotional video where they introduce the festival and some of the artists that'll be in it, and discuss visual rock as a genre, mentioning a bit about where it started from and briefly examining the recent surge in international popularity.

This festival is great for so many reasons, not only because it shows greater awareness and initiative in creating a large scale event focused specifically on visual rock from within Japan, but a huge festival of this nature will hopefully attract the attention of the media and become a form of promotion.
Though the average Japanese person may have heard of some of the big names like X JAPAN, LUNA SEA, etc. a large percentage of the mainstream population has very little to no knowledge of visual rock bands, and it's difficult for the bands to really grab the attention of people outside the visual subculture (because that's what it is, a subculture that for years has only managed to break into the public consciousness to a limited extent.)  Even concerning fans of other genres and types of rock, it's still hard because there's long been an undercurrent of prejudice against visual rock for various reasons, though it seems to have lightened up a bit lately.  I really think certain young v-rock artists are making strides in breaking through these barriers though.
Thus, along with incidents where newer visual rock bands have been mentioned in regular morning TV news reports, and gained more ground in the charts, it makes me so happy to see an event like this that shows increasing attention being paid to v-rock. :D

It's nice that Japanese media and public sitting up and beginning to take notice of what's been going on here, because there really is an important flow of culture and soft power exertion happening.  My major is anthropology, so I've actually studied this frequently occurring phenomenon, where people don't become aware of something in their own culture until outside forces or other cultures become fascinated with it and then they think, "hey, they're making a big fuss about this, maybe there's something to it" and start to be more introspective and appreciate it themselves.  It's happened before in the world of art, music, food, fashion, and many other sectors in cultures all over the world.  It's really exciting and interesting to me that this sort of thing is going on right now and we can witness and be a part of it. 

What's more, they even mention in the festival promotional video that v-rock is an important representation of Japanese culture, and indeed it is and most likely will continue to spread and gain popularity all over the world, just like anime has...but I believe visual rock has perhaps even more potential than anime, because music is something that can really move people and be felt despite language barriers.  Also, visual rock aesthetics are in keeping with edgy, growing trends in global fashion and new ideas of what's beautiful so I think the appeal of the looks will be a big draw for people as well.

Sorry about my rant...^_^;
Here's a list of some of the artists who will appear in the festival:
ALI PROJECT
BREAKERZ
D'espairs Ray
DuelJewel
ドレミ團
the GazettE
heidi.
イロクイ。
Kagrra,
LOVEX
Marilyn Manson
メリー
Moi dix Mois
NEGATIVE
PENICILLIN
Sadie
SuG
SOHODOLLS
高見沢俊彦 （BAND MEMBER：Gt:ルーク篁/ANCHANG/KOJI）
土屋アンナ
Versailles
ヴィドール
ViViD

and more...

I was doing some cleaning of my music library ('cause once again my computer's running out of space...>_>) and guess what song I discovered hidden in a dark and dusty, forgotten corner....

Ahaha, YES!!! XD  Oh, B'z...this was one of their earlier songs, and SO 90's, but classic!  And gets stuck in your head like nobody's business...good stuff.  I have a strange affection for this song even though it's sorta "before my time" (meaning, I didn't know a thing about the Japanese music scene in 1995 when it was released >_< lol).  But hearing it makes you wanna sing along!
"願いよかなえ いつの日か  そうなるように生きてゆけ
僕は僕に 君は君に  拝みたおして 泣けばいい!!!" :D
I don't know why but I tend to have an odd feeling of "nostalgia" for old stuff like this though...kinda like, "Aah, the 90's....." <3 with a teeny bit of sarcasm as well as fondness.  I think that tendency is also why I like 80's music so much. ^_^;

A few days ago the music video for 'Eet' off Regina Spektor's upcoming new album came out!  Her new cd 'Far' will be released June 23rd.  Of all the songs I've heard from it so far (including 'Laughing With', 'Blue Lips', 'Dance Anthem of the 80's', 'Genius Next Door', etc.) I think 'Eet' is my favourite and something really special, probably because I can personally relate to the lyrics more than songs like 'Lauging With'.  It's been a while since Regina Spektor's last album 'Begin to Hope', which I also happen to consider her best, so I'm eager to finally hear more of her lovely voice and see what exciting things she's done on the new album. : )

One more thing that came out not too long ago is girugamesh's new DVD of the Crazy Crazy Crazy tour.  It features the tour final at Shibuya AX as well as a long extras section made up of footage taken while the guys were on the road (and it was a fairly long tour...from November all the way to March).  I love girugamesh because they're constantly so silly and entertaining....the members are really funny, easy-going guys and are always being idiots and messing around so it's hilarious to watch backstage footage of them.  In fact, I think the bonus clips on this DVD are as extensive and good as the GazettE's popular NLSG tour DVD.
Seriously, this is like one of my new favourite live DVDs, not even so much because of the concert itself (which was awesome), however it's the bonus stuff that makes it really great.  I was literally lmao the entire time I watched it. XD  They keep on dancing to their own opening se, beating on each other, making stupid (but amusing and actually true) metal jokes, singing randomly, and doing ridiculous voices and laughs.  Oh, and it also features their adventures with the deer in Nara (aka. Niiの鹿との対決 ^_^), a snowball fight, a quick appearance by Kousuke and Kiri of heidi., and the members acting like monkeys, cats, and dogs...among many other wtf moments. -_-lll
Btw, I was very excited to see the part that shows Kyoto Muse, because that's where I saw them on this tour.  Watching the final brought it all back for me too...they were so amazing live. <3

I think I've finally gotten over my jet-lag induced, screwed up sleeping pattern, though being waken up every morning by everyone else's noise kinda throws me off.  So far I haven't gotten a job yet, but I've written a resume and just have to finish the cover letter, which is the hardest part. -_-lll  I'm definitely not as active as I was every day in Japan, so it kinda makes me restless having no easy means of transport and nowhere to go besides the boring, almost empty mall and local shops. *sigh*  I wish I could just hop on a bus or walk somewhere interesting and new so easily again...I know I've been saying it over and over, but I really miss my life in Japan.  I'm also worried my Japanese will deteriorate since I can't speak it every day anymore...I've been working on lyrics translations for my blog as usual, as well as a book, and it disturbs me when I sometimes can't recall a fairly basic word.  I need to get cracking on my kanji study too.
 

But I have been making progress on this book I'm translating, though I've been going at a fairly slow, relaxed pace...I'm already a third of the way through.  Also, my translation blog is doing very well...I've had several requests to use my translations in subbed pvs, and I'm well over 10,000 views now, yay! \^o^/  One thing I need to get around to though, is organizing my Japan photos...I have literally thousands of them, so that's gonna take awhile.  I've put a few nice ones I took recently in this post for you to see. : )
Oh, and something pretty cool happened to me the other day...I actually had a dream in Japanese!  It's the first time that's happened, I think...maybe I just never remembered it when I woke up before, but it made me happy.  I also found something amusing last night...it's a comment by DELUHI's guitarist Leda where he does an interesting new "crab" pose at the end. XD  I love how he gets the (笑) and kinda cracks up at himself and runs away embarassed afterwards. lulz
 

But speaking of DELUHI, one thing that makes me extremely depressed is the fact that they'll finally be doing lives in the Kansai area (where I was living in Japan), in particular a show in August at Osaka BIGCAT featuring SCREW, Sel'm, DEATHGAZE, AND 9GOATS BLACK OUT as well!  マジかよ〜なんで?!!  I waited months while I was there hoping they'd play nearby, and now only after I've left they're finally going to!  Not to mention the GazettE will be having a summer tour for the new album 'DIM'... TToTT  What really gets me about this is that my visa was good until like, September, so it's totally plausible (if I had somewhere to live and something to do like a job or program) that I could've stayed there through the summer! *cries* [I am aware that this is an entirely selfish, pointless rant, so feel free to ignore it. ^_^;  I just can't help being frustrated about it though...]

Last night I saw D'espairsRay live at the Kyoto Muse stop of Tour 2009 'Psychedelic Parade'!  D'espa were excellent as always and it was a super fun, awesome show!  D'espairsRay is a band I've always wanted to see not only because I'm a big fan of their music, but cause from their DVDs and whatnot you can see how good their performance is...they sound even better than their recordings live!  

Once I entered the venue, I got the black version of the tour shirt, then put my bag down and found a good place in the middle of the crowd toward the right side, so I ended up being on Zero's side of the stage.  : )  When the band came out they were wearing fairly simple, mostly black clothes, and with the exception of Hizumi (who was brunette), were all sporting rather blonde hair.  I was surprised how short and light-coloured Tsukasa and Zero's hair was, but they both look good with it.  

They started off with 'Lizard' then played 'Redeemer' and soon after 'Reddish', which made me ecstatic because it's one of my favourites by them and I was really hoping they'd play it.  D'espa did nearly all of the 'REDEEMER' album during the show, even 'Paradox 5', which I was afraid they might not include since it's rather different from their other ballads or harder songs, and I wasn't sure how they'd incorporate it or how it'd play it out live, but it was great!  The atmosphere during the song was hypnotic and swept you up into the melody.  Other songs that were a pleasant surprise were 'Damned', 'Trickst☆r', and 'Mirror' from their previous album.  As I suspected would happen, they ended the live on a bright, high note with 'Yozora' and 'Heaven's Color'.  I personally wasn't a huge fan of 'Yozora' when I heard the new album, but it was ok live...I suppose when you're in the middle of things and the mood is right, it's a fun, nice song, but I'd take their dark stuff over it any day. >_>

The first encore included 'Hollow' and.....'Subliminal'! \^o^/  'Subliminal' made everyone go crazy as soon as they heard the voices and pumping electronic intro.  Though I enjoy their recent work too, it makes me so happy when they play their older material, since it's what first made me fall in love with the band.  The second encore was 'Kamikaze'.

During the MCs there was some funny banter between the band members, though Hizumi was usually rather brief and didn't pause for long before getting on with the next song.  The other members' individual MCs were amusing...I think Tsukasa and Karyu didn't really know what to say, so they just came out with silly stuff. :D  They all said they like Kyoto <3.  When Tsukasa was telling everyone to get even more heated up and excited he was like, "Yes, use Yatsuhashi Power!*...Tea Power!", trying (and sort of failing) to think of things related to Kyoto, which made everyone laugh. XD

Here's the full setlist:
Lizard
REDEEMER
TRICKST☆R
Reddish〜DIVA version〜
Dears
SIXty∞NINe
琥珀
Lost in re:birth
MASQUERADE
BRILLIANT
Subliminal
MIЯROR
PARADOX5
DESERT
R.E.M-冬の幻聴-
Bullet
HORIZON
夜空
HEAVEN'S COLOR

1st Encore:
LOVE PARADE (cover session w/o Hizumi)

2nd Encore:
Hollow
Cocoon
「浮遊した理想」

3rd Encore:
KAMIKAZE

* Yatsuhashi are triangular shaped traditional Japanese sweets made from a flat kind of mochi (soft pounded rice) wrapped around various flavoured fillings.  They're a local specialty here in Kyoto, and really delicious!

I just got back from seeing Merry live at Namba Hatch in Osaka!!! \^o^/  Tonight's live was the second-to-last concert in their current tour for the newly released album, 'Under-world'.  I was really worried when the news that Gara had injured his back came out, but luckily he progressed enough in his recovery to be present for the Japanese tour, which started on March 21st. (Unfortunately the European leg got cancelled, perhaps to be rescheduled later).  Gara seemed ok and pretty energetic during the live, but it was clear he was toning down the antics...just some usual thrashing, headbanging, dancing/messing around with a cane, and standing on the desk, but nothing extreme like jumps or headstands.
 
I was so glad to see he's healthy and well enough to perform...his voice was great and it's quite amazing he was so active despite sustaining such a serious injury not too long ago. I have to say though, it may be a result of his injury and recuperation, but Gara's extremely skinny...like a stick!  He's always been very slim, but the man seriously really needs to eat more...you can see way too many of his ribs! >_<

The live started surprisingly early with doors opening at 4:30pm and the live beginning at 5:30pm.  Before going into the hall I stopped at the goods table and got one of their cool-looking bandanas.  All the members (except Gara) came out one by one and began the live with 'GI・GO'.  Nero's hair had green highlights this time, Yuu and Kenichi were wearing classy all-black outfits, and Tetsu had a sharp vest and dress shirt look going on.  Then Gara came on stage with his hair up in a brown-blonde front swept mohawky-style with no shirt, black pants and multiple studded belts...it's always obvious what Merry's intention for a live is when you see what Gara's wearing, and his outfit made it clear they were gonna rock hard. ^_^  I love that duality that Merry has, because they can do classy, stylish suits with nostalgic, jazzy, smooth and melodic music, as well as wild, hard songs with crunchy, twangy guitars and intense screaming and chanting.  For sure 'Under-world' leans toward the latter end of that spectrum.

They played the majority of the songs from the new album, including 'Gesshoku', '[human farm]', 'Piranha', 'Under-world', and 'Canary'.  They also played some older songs like 'Lost Generation', 'Oriental BL Circus', 'Renai Kousaten', and of course, their "anthem", 'Japanese Modernist'.  The setlist was made almost entirely of upbeat, energetic, rocking songs that never let you rest...the crowd hardly stopped moving during the whole live!  It was one of the most テンション高い lives I've been to so far.  Everyone got really riled up and we ended up having three encores!  They performed 'Yellow Girl', 'Sentimental New Pop', 'Violet Harenchi' (of course including some water-bottle action from Gara!), 'Tokyo Telephone', and 'Tozasareta Rakuen', which was really great live because the everyone was singing along and really into it.  I was ecstatic that they did 'Tokyo Telephone' and 'Sentimental New Pop', because they're among my favorite older Merry songs. : )  As always Nero's drumming was impressive and I loved the tone of Tetsu's bass and his little solos in certain songs.

Each time they came out again the members were wearing different shirts, and threw lots of picks, water bottles, drum sticks into the audience, but unfortunately none came my way. : (  Nero also meant to throw his drum cover, but didn't manage to catch it when the staff guy threw it to him frisbee-style, so it just kinda fell somewhere into the front of the crowd. XD  Also, during 'Tokyo Telephone' Gara forgot a few lines and made a face that was all like "oops" :P hehe.

I took a gamble getting tickets to this live because they went on sale before the new album came out, but I figured Merry always puts out quality music and are awesome live, so it was worth it. :D  When I first heard 'Under-world' I wasn't sure how I felt about it, since it's so unusual sounding and experimental, but as is the case with so many bands and albums, it sounds much better live.  Sitting there and listening to the album straight through can be a rather insane, frenetic, and perhaps straining affair, but it was more fun to experience live exactly because of that wild energy.  There was lots of jumping, headbanging, fist-pumping, saluting, shouting/singing along...and during some of the crazier songs there were even a few girls sitting on other people's shoulders and stuff, which was a first for me to see at a Japanese live. ^_^  Of all the shows I've been to so far, this one really made me feel what it means to say it was an 熱いライブ...when the crowd has that much enthusiasm it spreads like a wildfire and riles everyone up to a unbelievable high, which makes it even more fun!
Just as I though from watching their dvds, Merry definitely don't disappoint live...they put on a great performance charged with infectious energy and spirit.  Here's the full setlist:

GI:GO
Friction xxxx
Midnight Shangrila
迷彩の紳士
赤い靴
月食
ピラニア
片道切符
新曲１
演説
[humanfarm]
カナリヤ
ロストジェネレーション
ジャパモダ
オリエンタルBLサーカス
under-world

1st Encore:
恋愛交差点
大阪テレホン

2nd Encore:
センチメンタルニューポップ
新曲２
閉ざされた楽園

3rd Encore:
バイオレットハレンチ
愛国行進曲

Haah, it's nearing the end of the semester, so things are getting busier and busier...two papers to write, a long translation to revise, podcasts to make, etc. all on top of our regular workload and kanji quizzes everyday.  For some reason even our regular Japanese homework is getting ridiculous...five pages of reading plus three pages of grammar/comprehension questions in one night. >_<  Also, we just got back from a weekend trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima (I'll try to post some photos of that later), so I had very little time to get my assignments for Monday done. *sigh*

Anyway, Kagrra, recently released the pv for 'Sakurazukiyo' from their upcoming album 'Shu'.  I think it's nice...a fairly standard yet beautiful, gentle, and slow-paced Kagrra, song, but nothing particularly new or exciting.  However, some of the other songs on the album seem more interesting, with a heavier sound and lots of amazing koto playing by Shin...for example, 'Juso', which was played not too long ago on Kai's Premium Radio.

The pv isn't bad, but not terribly interesting...it's pretty mellow, which is nice...it's very soothing.  One thing I noticed is that Isshi seems to outshine the other members since he's wearing bright kimono and his hair is dyed in such an awesome contrasting way, while the rest of the band are just wearing dark colours and have their hair dyed normal brown shades.  I suppose it's nothing new since he's the vocalist, but I would've liked to see all of them dressed in colourful traditional outfits.  However, I'm happy about the fact that they're once again using Fukaya Yuichiro's (aka. hardpain) gorgeous artwork for the new album cover, and bringing back some of the visual elements they'd been fading out for the past few releases.  It's sort of like they've jumped back in time to the 'San' album era while still incorporating the stylistic and musical developments they've made since.

Aaaah, last night was one of the best nights of my life~!  Finally, I've seen the GazettE live!!!!  Even so, right after I was like, I want to see them again soooo bad... >_< somehow, one day, I will find a way to see them again!  I didn't want the live to end, it was so awesome and insanely fun!  Really, seeing them live isn't just another concert, it's an experience...they have a stage presence, stylish grace, and charm that's rare and captivating.  Once isn't enough with the GazettE, they're addictive, I tell you...one time and you'll probably end up a serial concert-goer like so many of GazettE's fans (if you live in Japan, that is...for me this may unfortunately have been my only chance ever, or at least for a long while T_T *sigh* lucky Japanese fans).  That's why even more so, it was an unforgettable experience and something I'm sure will stay with me for the rest of my life...I think the girl walking behind me on the way out put it best: 「絶対に忘れられない！　死んでも忘れられない！」 XD
 
As to be expected, there were lots of people cosplaying the members, and a few that had really amazing outfits and looked just like the real thing. 0_0  There was also a large number of guys...way more than any other v-kei live I've gone to so far, which is not so surprising, but nice to see anyway.  What was more surprising though I'd heard of this before, were the number of older people attending the live.  There were several men and women who looked to be in their late 30's to 40's, perhaps even 50's there!  The guy two seats over from me seemed to be somewhere between 30-40, and he was headbanging, fist-pumping, and doing furisuke along with everyone else.  (However, there was a much younger guy to my right that did nothing but clap and stand there and nod his head a bit the whole concert...-_-;  不思議だな〜)

Anyway, the band came out wearing their 'DISTRESS AND COMA' outfits, but Ruki had these shiny stringy-ribbony things weaved into the back of his hair and put up similar to his 'Filth in the beauty' style hair.  Aoi also had his hair different from recent photos...it was parted in the center and loose rather than done up on the side.  They played songs spanning their whole history, from 'Madara' and 'Disorder' to 'NIL', 'Stacked Rubbish', and various singles in between up to their latest, 'DISTRESS AND COMA'.  It was amazing to be able to experience such a range of their material, since they haven't done some of these songs for years and years, and probably won't be doing them very much from now on either.  Lately they even cut songs like 'Taion', '$ocial Riot Machine$', and 'SILLY GOD DISCO' from their setlists. : (
 
Right from the start everyone flipped out when they opened with 'Anata no tame..', and then went crazy again for 'Sugar Pain' [I'm so glad I got to see Aoi's intense performance of the song! <3].  I have no idea how many thousands of people were there, but though I was fairly far back, there were two giant screens so I could still see what was going on.  The distance didn't matter really, cause even the furthest blocks were getting fired up and throwing themselves into it.  It was also amazing at the end how quickly everyone managed to clap and shout in unison for the encore, twice!  Kai even pointed it out in his MC. :D  There was a row of exploding fireworks when they started 'Maggots', strobe lights lining the sides of the hall, and at the end when they played 'Shunsetsu no Koro' streams of confetti burst up all along the front and sides of the audience, showering everyone in fluttering white paper squares.  I was kinda sad that Aoi and Uruha didn't do the whole back-to-back thing for 'Baretta' like they did at the NLSG live, but it was so awesome anyway that it doesn't really matter. ^_^

It's been a while since the GazettE have done a live, so I think the members and crowd all had a great time...Ruki talked about not being able to meet with the fans much otherwise, which is sad, and how nice it was to remember what it felt like to do a live.  Ugh, but damn, my body hurts like hell...I think I overworked muscles I never use normally, so my neck and legs in particular ache when I move them.  >_<  Despite that, I managed to get in some shopping in Harajuku before boarding the train to head home to Kyoto today...I couldn't let that opportunity pass, after all. ; )

Oh yeah, before the live I got in line for goods, and I must say, true to the hype the GazettE do merchandise right...the line went fast, there was a clear display of the options, and what you get was worth the money for the most part.  The t-shirts were well made (I was impressed to discover they have their own label..the tag in the back says 'Black Moral'!), and the "pamphlet" [or so they called it...] was a huge binder filled with special photos of the band in their new looks printed on large, durable solid cardboard-like sheets.  Fans were buying the merch like crazy, so I'm sure they made a huge profit from it...probably more than from the ticket sales, actually.

At the end of the live they made an announcement on the big screens revealing the title of the new album: 'DIM', and that it will be released on 7/15!!!  They also showed all the dates on their 2009 tour, "DIMSCENE", which starts in July, and that the final will be at Saitama Super Arena. 

It's so great that the GazettE have been able to come this far and spend seven years together...I hope the band continues to make amazing music and have many more successful years to come.  Well, it's late and I have work to catch up on, so I don't have time to go into endless details, but for now here's the setlist complete with live clips to get the full experience! GAZEROCK IS NOT DEAD! ^_^V

Anata no tame no kono inochi
AGONY
Maggots
LEECH
DISTRESS AND COMA
Sugar Pain
Sumire
Kare uta
Baretta
Akai one piece
Psychedelic Heroine
Jyuuyonsai no knife
HYENA
COCKROACH
Filth in the beauty
DISCHARGE

1st Encore:
Ride with the Rockers
Ruder
SILLY GOD DISCO
The $ocial Riot Machine$
Kantou Dogeza Kumiai
Linda

2nd Encore:
Shunsetsu no koro

*UPDATE*  I've heard from various sources that the estimated number of people who attended this live was somewhere around 15,000...which makes it one of, if not the biggest live GazettE's done to date! XD

AAAAH, why did all this sad, awful news suddenly come out at once?!!!  Merry's upcoming lives have been suspended due to an injury Gara sustained over the weekend during a concert!  He had to go to the hospital!  And I just bought a ticket for one of the dates on the tour not too long ago!!!  TT_TT  The European overseas lives actually seem to be canceled and may be rescheduled in the future, but I haven't read any explicit information about the Japanese spring tour, and there's nothing on the ohp so far.  The secondary source where this information came from is the company bringing them to Europe, and they said Gara won't be available for the next few months, but perhaps I can still hope that he'll be better in time. >_<  I really hopes he gets well soon...I'd be so sad if he were permanently hurt, and it would also mean I wouldn't get a chance to see them.  Hm, hopefully details will be released later...I wonder if he got the injury because of his crazy antics onstage?  *sigh* Well, at the very least, if the lives end up being canceled, I hope I can get a refund for my ticket...

Also, Miyavi announced that he's graduating from PS Company!  : (  He's been with the label for 10 years, but he's leaving!  I wonder why?  Is it that they can't provide him with the resources and international support he needs, or is there some kind of other issue?  There haven't been any outward indications of problems, but you never know...it's just that Miyavi's always shown his love for PSC and seen it grow from a small label into one of the most successful v-kei ones out there, so I'd like to think they're parting on good terms.  Haaah, but it's not going to be the same without Miyavi though...he's like a core pillar within the company and the informal "leader" of the PSC label bands and has always been something of an inspiring, rallying figure for everyone.  On his site he writes that he really thought seriously about it a lot and finally decided to become independent, that he feels he's done his duty in supporting the other PSC bands and is leaving for the sake of his future as an artist.  I think he feels that in order to grow and do what he wants this is a necessary move, so it's sort a sad but happy thing.  He wrote:
"気付けば朝になってました。

そして海からゆっくりと昇ってくる朝日を
何も考えずに見てたら自然と涙が出てきました。

悲しい涙でも嬉しい涙でもありません。

ただ泣きました。

そして決めました。

悲しい事でも嬉しい事でもありません。

ただ明るい未来の為に決めました。
少なくとも僕はそう信じています。

勿論これからも変わらず"Peace & Smile"を唄ってくつもりです。"

But, even worse that the previous two is the depressing news that Rin' is disbanding!!!  >_<  They weren't ever widely popular, but they had a lot of skill and made cool music mixing pop and traditional instruments, so it's sad to see them go and a shame since so few pop/rock groups use traditional Japanese elements in their music.  I'll definitely miss their unique sound. T_T