Motopsycho Mania!

Grindco's Motopsycho Mania tour was this last Friday at the Comcast Arena, and both myself and Tim were able to go! It was a rocky start for us since the GPS took us through every back road possible since it thought the freeway would be worse. Once we got there, we had to find a place to park that had enough lighting in it and would accept card (we both  never carry cash on us). Once we finally found it and started heading over to the ticket pick-up, there was a huge line! We finally got our tickets and I mentioned that I was to receive two VIP passes; I didn't get them.

I'll go ahead and mention now that the crew at Comcast Arena is beyond useless and snobby. I got told to talk to someone inside, and when I did, the guy whined about "why people always go to him when there's a problem." I explained to him that I had already talked to Tony Grinder in regards to passes and that they would be ready for me once I got my tickets. His remark? "Everything in regards to that should be done before the show. You can talk to Tony about it if you'd like." I asked where to contact him and I simply had just had it after his reply of "I don't know." BLAH! We checked out where our seats would be and being quite unhappy, I checked my Vampirefreaks account with the hope that I had gotten a message I wasn't aware of, and turns out I did! The passes were actually under my username.

We finally made it down to the all access floor where we could literally high five the motorcyclists (and the lot of us did, for that matter!) and enjoyed the show. There were three sections to the stunt show: a dirt bike stunt show, the globe of death, and a street bike show. My favorite had to be the globe of death because at one point, there were two stuntmen at the same time.

The stunt show went on for a good hour, and there seemed to never be a dull moment. The arena is large enough that all three sets were displayed at the same time without leaving any time to set up over and over (I personally hate having to wait for a set up, so this was a great venue choice, in my opinion!) I should also mention the fact that such great music was played, my favorite for a stunt show has always been "Firestarter" by Prodigy. As soon as I heard that song, I was immediately excited throughout the whole event! Shortly around 8:50pm, the DJ announced Tony Grinder & Means to an End to play on stage. The interesting thing is that they are filming their world release DVD, so we had a great time being part of it.

I don't know a lot of the music that the band played, considering that I had just heard them maybe a month before the event, but the music was really good, though the last two covers were definitely something I could have lived without. I enjoyed it, and I took enough video and pictures to the point that I had to switch between SD cards. My most favorite part of the whole show, of course, was getting to hear "Be Like Me" live! It's the first song I heard from them when I was doing my research, and I've just been in love with the song ever since.

Tony Grinder has a great presence on stage, and definitely puts his heart into each set the band plays. The band as a whole work together and flawlessly delivered throughout the whole show. No one actually stayed put in the same place for two long, and when possible, the band interacted with the audience. They even had a crowd starting to mosh, though unfortunately, the Comcast Arena group didn't allow it for no more than a minute.

I think the fact that I was pretty much arm-length to the amps helped me stay away from the forever extinguishing mosh pit. 

The one thing that stuck with me during the show is that every time I turned to the audience, it kept getting smaller. It eventually dwindled from 300+ people to a good 50 people or less. I believe that this was because the event was poorly marketed. Being aware of the band's music genre, I expected to see a lot more people into the same, rather than a demographic of 70% parents with kids, and 20% party/skaters. Because there was a huge amount of parents with kids, the arena became pretty vacant during the start of the band's performance, and the few that stayed eventually left a little before the show ended. The point being, the band played excellent, and didn't disappoint... but the target audience was completely wrong for them.

Regardless of the event, the band has a lot of potential to be bigger, I just hope that this event wasn't one that will influence their decision in never playing in WA State again! Also as a bonus, I'll have a video from the event for everyone on the Alternative Kei Youtube channel, so check back for it!

Deserved Update!

Another personal post, I know! There has been quite a lot of drama regarding a few people and unfortunately, I'm caught in the middle. I did learn a very important thing throughout this continuing drama, and that is that people that have disappointed you in the past, WILL disappoint you again. I'm not as hurt as I thought, and instead I'm doing my best to help another person get through this problem.

On top of that, I did go to the Motopsycho Mania event, and I had a lot of fun! I always love going to a show and supporting a band, and I always have the mentality that a show is a show, so I remain with a positive attitude during the whole event. I'm still working on editing the video(s) for the blog and the band, so I won't have a review up until then.

Even though I'm dealing with this stress and drama, I do have some good things to mention! The casting for the second group for GAL TV is done, and we'll have a decision for the participants in possibly one or two days. I'm so excited for all the exciting projects regarding GAL TV, and I can't wait to unveil all of the new things we'll have on the channel!

I'm also trying to get back into drawing. I was never really one to draw, and have the patience for it, but I've been drawing consistently for the past two days and I feel like I've improved since the last. My thing has always been those vacant zombie-like eyes, but I actually like them. I've tried different eye styles and they just don't suit me. I'm also getting better at shading, so I hope to make more of these doodles.

Here's to better days and better blog posts coming up!

Into the past

Everyone has that dark past in their style and own way of life before they reached a platform in which they would be happy in. Mine for instance, before Gyaru, was Goth, Emo/Scene, and Punk. In reality, a lot of those styles are in relation to each other in one way or the other, but going from that to Gyaru was a huge style jump. My past may be in reality a huge reason as to why I prefer Rokku & Ora Ora Kei, rather than something sweet like Hime(kaji) and the like.

This picture was back in High School, when Myspace was the best social network.

During this time, I was emo/scene with a bit of a skater element (notice necklace).

My favorite music, of course, was Taking Back Sunday, Bayside, Coheed & Cambria.

Oh, and my favorite color back then, like now, was purple.

Before you found a style you were comfortable in, were you involved in another style?

Salon Inspiration pt1

Only in Japan do I ever see salons be this well-managed. At least, in my experience, all the ones in Mexico and United States have the corporate feel, run by some of the biggest chains: Regis, Gene Juarez, etc. The ones that aren't "corporate", are always run down, and have a very dirty, unkempt look to them.

So why not offer some salon and hair inspiration? Truthfully, these make me want to pursue cosmetology asap! If only the economy wasn't so bad, I probably would be doing so.

3F, 6-15 John Howard City, Kagoshima city 東千石

3F, alley entrance 七味

EXTENSION Q9 鹿児島店　【エクステンション　キュッキュ　カゴシマテン】is one of the salons that I would love to visit. It's cute, it's pink, it's girly, and it caters to Gyaru style! I like the clean look that it has and how minimal it looks.

Not only that, but it literally is the salon for extensions, and they also do crystal tattoos.~

Midori Nakamura is the main stylist for this salon.

Building 5F, 6-7-3 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo Yukimasa
5 minutes walk from Okachimachi / JR Ueno Station
Aala wi Natty is one of the salons that makes me continue to love B-GAL style. Even though it's a style that I don't practice, and might not really ever practice, I still like the hairstyles.
The salon itself looks like it has a natural feel to it, way different from Q9!

Chou Takeharu is the representative for this salon.

太融寺 Nippon Building 4F 3-27, Kita-ku, Osaka city 太融寺

Each line away from Umeda Station!

OZ 梅田店 【オズ】is so elegant-looking! Needless to say, this salon specifies in sujimori-type hair! The GAL clientele is agejo style, and there are some Gyaruo that go to this salon as well. Did I mention the sujimori goodness?!

Shinya is the director for this salon.

Buckle Girl

I've never honestly ventured into Buckle because the prices are usually insane, but I ended up going today and just fell in love with so many of the shirt styles! It's exactly what I go for lately: rock, grunge, vintage, studded, and brand (which in Ora Ora kei, brand is VERY important!) When I went into the store, I was looking at a certain rack with all the different brands they carry, and I made it my mission to find out exactly what brands would interest me to purchase in the future and start building up my wardrobe better.

Affliction Clothing

If I could sell my soul to them, I would. Anything that has Slash in their promos automatically makes it worth it to me. I'm seeing a lot of Rockabilly style into this as well, which makes me love it even more. In all reality, this would be the equivalent to an Ora Ora Kei brand seeing as how focus is motorcycles, cars, boxing. Isn't this was SOUL JAPAN goes for? In it are also American Customs & Sinful Clothing.

Filter Clothing
I'm a sucker for 'tattoo apparel' I guess. The designs are fresh and have the rock vibe that I go for, while it's not my favorite next to Affliction, the prices are decent compared to it.

Rebel Spirit Clothing
Another shop similar to Affliction which focuses on motorcycles, cars, and now tattoos. The designs are amazing and I'm a sucker for their hoodies! Even the outlet section is decently priced, which makes it even better. (If there's one thing I've learned, is to only shop sales for brands!)

My goal is to treat my self every now and then to some of these brands and rebuild my wardrobe! Right now it's so mixed up that it's pretty ridiculous. It's one of my resolutions, so I hope that I can keep doing this the right way. Next stop: shoes!

First Vlog of the Year & Cute Tutorial!

My first video blog of the year is finally out! I hate the fact that I can't do good intro segments yet, but I will learn and apply them in the future! This video is, as you may have guessed, about the bow I made yesterday! As I mentioned, a few people already had requested a video tutorial on it, so I figured it would be a good idea while I dive back into the whole video blogging thing!

Please forgive my nerves xD, I really did try my best to make this a better video compared to my usual GAL TV ones. I hope to improve from here on out. Oh, and if you haven't subscribed to my Youtube channel, you should! Why? Simply because you're a nice person...!

I feel really weird about the video simply because I ran out of space on my camera when I was filming, so I had to delete footage and ended up deleting the second part of the tutorial... I did type out the next steps in the tutorial for everyone, and I hope to be more conscious of what I delete from my camera so that this doesn't happen again!

On a side note, maybe it's just me, but I think I take better still shots than video shots. It irks me! Then again, I have the luck of using a photo filter on my pictures (my lighting really is the way the video and animations show.... it's horrible!).

Thank you, my dear, sweet, camera! You haven't failed me in stills yet! /cry.

Anyway, here is the link to the video, any input is appreciated. I really do want to get better at doing videos!

Vlogging & Minnie Mouse, yay or nay?

Minnie Mouse Inspired bow I made today, 01.20.12

I went on my Youtube account today (why I have a ton of different e-mails is beyond me.. I guess I thought it was a good idea at the time!) and I saw that I had a couple of new subscribers since I posted about my announcement to vlog again soon. Thank you, again, for supporting me!

I already have a few ideas as to what I want to vlog about, and I was looking at some After Effects information today. I also did some research on a couple of Youtube vloggers to see how I could adapt my own style into my AlternativeKei vlogs as well as on GAL TV. I'll probably suffer a bit through the first few videos while I make myself a bit more comfortable with video blogging, but I'm looking forward to making more videos!

I wonder if I had this much of a hard time when I had my radio station gig... I can't really remember. I think my biggest issue was my blasted microphone, but other than that, I think I was fine. Anyway, I'm really excited to make the first video of 2012! 

There is one very important thing...

From the picture above, I already got requested to make a DIY tutorial (how to make my Minnie Mouse bows, to be exact), but is there anything you'd like me to talk about? I know I'm not a professional by any means, but I don't mind answering questions or just rambling on about something, so let me know!

Vlogging Soon!

Revamping the Alternative Kei Youtube Channel

One of my resolutions for the year is to commit to video blogging, and as much as I've been stalling (I really do not look forward to studying After Effects thoroughly and bending over backwards for a good camera angle to vlog in), my mind goes back to Chaudie's Vlogger Goals and Miccah Boo's recent Skype conversations. Now, I know as much about vlogging as a lawyer knows about farming, but I still want to do my best now! Not only that, I want to improve with GAL TV, so I think that committing to vlogging on my own channel will help me out.

I'm assuming that vlogging is pretty much the same as blogging as far as most things go, so I should be fine. Maybe it's the fact that I haven't been to work for five days and counting due to the snow that's getting to me. Whatever the case may be, expect a video fairly soon! I would give an exact day but it never seems to work due to one thing or other, keep an eye out and subscribe if you haven't yet!

Readers & Writers

Image Credit to Weheartit

I found an interesting read from The Guardian last night about books. It's definitely something I wanted to share with everyone since I consider bloggers to be their own authors in the creation of their books, digitally done. As a blogger, I write about what interests me and do my best to cover them to my fullest potential. As my readers, you choose to follow and read me blog for what I have to say. You'll read one of my posts (for example, my post about ALDIOUS and the possibility & lack of a mixture between Gyaru and Visual Kei) and through every sentence I have typed, be compelled to agree or disagree, to bring up a valid point I may have made, to take mental notes, even respond. You may read another post that is one of those personal posts on my blog and have your own thoughts and responses as well. All of this being done without me or my posts asking for anything in return. I personally rarely ever ask for comments in most of my viral posts. How do I know that you think that when looking at my posts? Because as a follower and reader of your own blogs, I do the exact same thing.

"For Didion, as for so many people – not just authors and serious readers – an admired writer is a peculiar but superior form of "friend". There are a number of senses of the term in which this seems true: someone you can turn to; someone who has wisdom to transmit; who has been a constant and trusted presence; who can share similar experiences with us; who can give without asking anything in return." - Some of my Worst Friends are Books by Rick Gekoski

I'm an avid reader of Gala Darling's website. There's not one single blog post of hers that doesn't make me think or leave me with something to take away from it. There's been the occasional post that inspires me and gives me the advice I need, but never asked for. I then think about Gekoski's article on books and I think, people like her got to where they are because of her readers, exactly as Gekoski portrays the connection of a reader with one of a book.

"There's the rub, of course. Tolstoy doesn't want anything from me, nor does Byron. They need me in the brute sense that, in a world with no Rick Gekoskis in it – with no readers – there are no Tolstoys or Byrons either." - Some of my Worst Friends are Books by Rick Gekoski

In the sense that my blog is just starting out from what it used to be: a personal blog known as F00L'S PARADiSE to a professional blog known as Alternative Kei, I can understand this sentiment very well. There is no Gala Darling without any readers. There is no Alternative Kei without any readers. A plethora of blogs may not ask for anything in return except for the gratitude of knowing that there is someone out there, many someones, that will read them.

It's with that knowledge that I truly believe a blogger should engage with his or her readers. It's the only thing separating our blogs from books when we do engage. It's with that knowledge that I continue to blog with the mindset that there are people there that read my blog posts and can possibly connect with what I write. It's a gratuitous feeling, one that I hope every blogger and author shares.

If interested, I truly recommend reading Rick Gekoski's full article on the Guardian. If it inspired me, maybe it will inspire others; Who knows?

Snow Days

First Snowfall of the year in WA State - 01.15.11

I'm usually not one to complain, but I've been stuck at home since yesterday and it's driving me insane! I hate the snow, not when it's falling, but when it leaves because all that's left is ice... I hate having to deal with the aftermath, it's ridiculous. We don't get that much anyway, but I find it to be really annoying...

Snow Days = Computer Days

The day before yesterday, I offered to change a layout completely for Miccah Boo's blog. She received not only a new layout design, but customized tabs including a new 'about me' and her own social logos. She also has her first 'signature' and a little floating animation for her readers to please comment. This wasn't exactly in vain since I told her I would only do this for her in exchange of her becoming more active in her blog, which I think the new layout definitely motivated her.

She's really trying hard now, I think, and is going to start posting her content in both English and Spanish instead of just Spanish. I think that will help her a lot. In my own opinion, she's a very interesting girl and she has a certain unique style that I still can't really pinpoint myself.

I'm also possibly remaking Ninoshka's header for her blog and making her a signature.

It's probably weird, but I really do enjoy working on new designs and layouts for others. It keeps me busy and I at least have something to do. I suppose that I'll eventually open this up to more people, but I think that will have to call for another four-day weekend.

I sincerely hope it's not snowing where you are, if it is... I feel your pain!

Photoshoot: High Rise Photography

© High Rise Photography

Do you see the shirt I'm wearing?

Yesterday was my photo shoot with High Rise Photography, from one of my good friends Linda. She's still starting out and has as much of a passion for photography that I do, and that says a lot! We were both a bit nervous, I think, since I'm not the most graceful of 'models' that she could photograph, and I tend to hold very high expectation for everything in general. Because this my friend's photography deal, I want to be as fair and precise in my review with her as well as my own experience.

• Flexibility

Scheduling - At the time of scheduling, Linda was able to work with my somewhat busy schedule (I tend to only have Thursdays completely free.... until 5pm when I go to work). As a photographer who's starting off and already gathering quite a few clients, she was still able to find some time to do a photo shoot with me. There was no hesitation and no need for her to reschedule, overbook, or cancel me.

Location - I don't like to drive to downtown... It's awful! Linda was kind enough to meet me at my apartment for the indoor photo shoot; She went out of her way for me. The fact that you have a photographer or whomever be willing to drive to you for the first session is something that, as a client, I appreciated.

• Professionalism

Before the session - Linda was kind enough to send me a second message confirming the date, time, and types of photo shoots. Even before this, she asked questions about how I wanted the shoots to look, what I thought about any ideas she may have as far as locations, and always verified at least twice with me before setting anything in stone. I also received a call from Linda before she arrived to my home and was courteous enough to let me know she was on her way, as well as gave me an estimated time. She also e-mailed me a photography contract for photograph releases.

During the session - I'm a space cadet. Let's be honest about that right now, haha. I had a shirt I wanted to wear (of course, if  you follow my blog, you know that I had the plan of wearing my reconstructed Chiodos shirt to the shoot), and I was a mess because I had just gotten home from the craft store and neither my hair or makeup was done. Linda got to my home a bit early, and instead of rushing me or egging me on to choose a different shirt, she waited for me to do what I could to make the shirt wearable. The mesh fabric on the shirt was pinned down with safety pins. I felt very punk rock, and I made it work. After apologizing half a dozen times, I showed Linda the finished result and even she agreed that it was better than the outfit I originally had on. During this ordeal, I never got the hint of impatience or negativity from her. She was kind from the very beginning.

She also guided me through every shot. I'm not the most graceful of people out there, and I'm probably also the most uncoordinated out there, so it was great to have here here with me guiding me on what would look best for each shot, and also letting me do my own thing every other time. She asked me a lot of questions regarding the style I wanted to achieve, and tried her best to understand what I hoped for from the photo shoots.

After the session - Linda placed a picture on her Facebook page as a 'teaser' for the upcoming pictures. When she realized that I wasn't too pleased with the outcome of the picture and editing, she sent me a message and called me a minute or two as soon as she read that I wasn't too pleased. I'd like to point out again that she's still just starting out as a photographer, and as my friend it was very difficult for me to tell her that I wasn't pleased, but if either of us are to grow, we need to be honest! Once I informed her about what I didn't like, she didn't defend the picture, instead, she asked questions again. She asked me what I didn't like, what could have been done better in my opinion, and what just flat out didn't work for me and would not try again. That's difficult to take as a professional! The fact that she didn't let her feelings get in the way of our discussion, and even offering a re-shoot was completely professional of her.

• Results

I'd like to make it clear that once I saw the pictures, I went over each one with Linda over the phone. I explained to her what I liked, if I liked them, or what I completely hated and would not share with the world. For the purpose of this review, I'll showcase both the good and bad (in my opinion).

[The Good]

Linda managed to capture shots where I was genuinely having fun. I'm used to posing in a serious manner and the popular fake smile. Every time that she told me to smile, I'd have that fake smile and she would see right through me. In fact, she'd have to do or say something funny, or make me do something out of the ordinary (headbanging, dancing, and jumping) to get me to loosen up. She captured pictures where I was really having a good time. I had also tried a new makeup style that I was really nervous about because colors don't tend to show so well on my skin, and she managed to capture my eye makeup perfectly, which I loved! Not only that, but I wanted to use my 'new' Chiodos shirt and she made it work. The only thing that I would have liked is to see more than just these really good pictures. She must have taken hundreds of pictures, but only seven turned out the way I liked... This proved my theory that I'm the most non-photogenic person on the planet.

[The Bad]

It kills me to put the picture of the full Chiodos shirt on here as bad, but.. I must! I still like these pictures a lot, and plan on using them regardless, but I hate how colorful my makeup looks. First of all, I never wear lipstick, and when I do, it's one close to my skin color because well, as you can see it kind of looks like I got into my mother's makeup and just did whatever. The blush also is something that threw me off, especially because in the last good picture, you can see that I barely have any on. I would have preferred maybe five different shots of this because I do feel that they could have been photographed better. I also don't feel that my style was captured at all. I managed to go from Gyaru to Harajuku mixed with Punk!

[The Ugly]

The number one reason that I hate my smile? There you have it. I'm genuinely smiling, having a good time, and with the ugliest mug in the world. I'm extremely anal about smiles, I really am. I don't believe that your gums should be showing, or you look like a horse. I don't like the curvature of my teeth either, as stupid as that is, and the cheeks! Anything but the one reason I was bullied to hell and back in Mexico! Anything! I like everything else, but I hate my smile, and it has not much to do with the way I was photographed, but it's the angle and the smile and the reason I hate it to begin with. The second one is also an angle issue for me. I like the vibrancy of it, but my face just looks extremely awkward. I know my angles, and unfortunately, Linda didn't or was not able to take the pictures in such a manner.

• The verdict:

Out of 14 pictures, two were horrendous, four were unsatisfactory, and eight were amazing. Putting my friendship with Linda aside, I would mention the following:

There is still much growing that High Rise Photography needs to do. In that same aspect, she did better than anyone I could have trusted to take pictures of me, but her pictures are not perfect, and flawed in some ways. Considering the fact that High Rise photography just started not too long ago, I see a ton of potential and I can see the dedication and love that she has for this company. I only point out the negative because well, I have very high expectations out of just about everything. The fact that there were eight amazing pictures says a lot about her photography, but even as a photographer she still needs to learn her client better as far as the style that the client wants to portray if the client is given that choice.

How was my experience? I had a blast! For a while I had actually forgotten that it was a photo shoot, and I wasn't as scared of the camera as I usually am. In fact, I'm pretty inspired to continue pursuing photography on her level as well.

Would I recommend High Rise Photography? Of course! High Rise shows so much promise that I honestly feel honored to be one of her first actual clients. I know that this company will grow as much as Linda will, and experience is truly the best teacher; especially in photography. I didn't regret any of this entire process, and I am definitely reaching out to her again in the future.

Thank you to High Rise Photography for having me as your client!