Las Vegas Loves JRock!
Posted By Heather | Thursday, April 10th, 2008

Laura stopped by, cupcakes in hand, to be the eyes and ears of JROCK.

Take it away Laura!

D’espairsray took the stage to the sound of the screams of fans who had traveled a long way to make it here to Vegas for Rockstar’s Taste of Chaos. I turned and looked back over the sea of heads, thousands of bodies packed into one house, and wondered to myself, how many of the people here had never heard of Jrock outside of a few songs backing a favorite TV show. Whatever preconceived notions you may have about them are bound to be ripped to shreds as Hizumi barrels to the center of the stage and blasts his voice across the audience. Watching Karyu and Zero play for the first time gave me the feeling of, “Wow, now here are a bunch of guys who truly loose themselves to the music.” They are a powerful five that know how to hook an audience in less than three minutes flat. Zero leans back on his heels as he lowers into a crouch and swings his bass out in front of the audience. His face breaks into a constant smile of satisfaction as the audience is pumped into frenzy. Once they exit the security guard can’t help but turn to me and ask, “Who were they?”

Mucc treated us to a taste of Japanese hospitality. The quintet entered barefoot with Asian inspired costumes, an elegant backdrop, and Tatsurou’s vibrant personality. He seemed to really enjoy talking to the audience and spoke completely in English in between the songs. By the time they busted out with FUZZ an otherwise once apprehensive crowd got taken for a ride and there wasn’t a still head in the house. Tatsurou was a spinning dervish breaking out into a variety of humorous facial expressions, taunting security guards, and never missing a note. That man is so much more engaging than I had ever imagined before.

Miya jumped up onto the center amps and belted out a guitar solo that earned a rallying cry for everyone below. Its fun to watch Mucc just because of how much they really enjoy playing together. They closed with their epic Libra before Tatsurou said goodbye with a deep bow and promised that they would be back again, “Very Soon!”

The Underneath was the band on this tour that I was the least familiar with. Immediately after Mucc left us they exploded from the second stage. The vocalist swaggers up to the edge and stares down the front row in a near challenging manner. The guitarists play off each other, and the bassist bounces around the stage full of the energy of the moment. The vocalist asks us if we are ready to rock but I don’t think it would have mattered if we were or weren’t. The Underneath charges ahead regardless.

In the end it was a fantastic evening for Jrock fans. We got to see three bands that most of us had not had the chance to catch before, and even better for those who are unfamiliar and got a taste for the first time. I’m sure there were a lot of people here who discovered something new.

Corpus Christi
Posted By Heather | Friday, April 4th, 2008

We almost made it to Mexico but decided to stay in Texas and play for the fine folks of Corpus Christi.  We had Michael and Jennifer come by to blog and win VIP tickets through Crushgirls.com radio contest.

“This is the best concert in the WORLD!! Rockstar Taste of Chaos with Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine these bands totally rock and put on a great show.  I live to see these awesome rock shows and I think this is the best concert I have ever been to. I came to get crushed in the chaos to see my ultimate fav band, Bullet For My Valentine, so being crushed was totally worth it, and Atreyu totally rocked the house too!”

Tomorrow we are on to San Antonio where things are about to get hotter and a whole lot better!

Heather

Orlando has winners!
Posted By Heather | Monday, March 31st, 2008

I have personally never won anything in my life, but kids all over the US are winning the chance to come backstage, interview the bands and be my guest blogger of the day!

_____________

Started the day off with finding the new UCF arena for the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour, with headlining bands Bullet for My Valentine, Atreyu, and Avenged Sevenfold. I went back and was able to interview the guitarist of Bullet first, asked him some questions about their past and some different touring questions. Apparently as he puts it one of the best parts of touring is the partying, next to actually playing and seeing the fans. As a band, their biggest influence is Metallica.

After that I went into the arena and watched the performances of D’espairsRay, Idiot Pilot, and Mucc. All three of these bands put on excellent performances, especially well recepted by the fans for opening bands. Mucc and D’Espairsray are from Japan, and really put on a different style of show, but excellent none the less.

I went back and interviewed the lead singer and drummer from Bless the Fall next. They were really cool guys and said that the coolest part of touring is seeing all the fans. When I asked who they would most likely to play with they said Linkin Park.

Bullet for my Valentine came out next and absolutely rocked the stage and the crowd. Came out and opened it up with their current single, Scream, Aim, and ` after they went off, Bless the Fall came out to perform and they were really good. I didn’t know much about them but they put on a great show and I would definitely recommend to anyone to go see them.

After their performance, Atreyu came out and made the crowd go insane. They were amazing and seriously had the crowd completely into them. I am currently writing this in between Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold. I am excited to see them the most. Out of the three headliners they are the only ones I haven’t seen before.

Lastly, I interviewed Jimmy the drummer from A7x. He was a real nice guy and an awesome drummer to add. He said that of all their videos they shot, Bat Country was the most fun. Well to conclude the night, this was amazing. I got the opportunity to come by winning a contest off of WJRR, the Orlando rock station, and got the privilege to come see the concert and also go backstage and meet and interview the bands. The Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour is amazing and anyone and everyone should come and see it at a city near you.

Rebecca in Albany!
Posted By Heather | Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

I first met Rebecca after a whirl-wind weekend at the New York anime festival last winter.  Believe it or not, working in music is actual work!  Take it away Rebecca!

Being able to go to the Taste of Chaos show in Albany on Saturday was truly an amazing experience, and I’m really glad I was able to be a part of this festival. Not only did I get to watch lots of amazing bands perform, but I was also able to be involved in behind-the-scenes work!

I arrived in Albany from New York City at around 11:00 in the morning. Some of my work involved things like putting up banners (and finding out I’m not very good at using those zipper twist things), writing information on posters before hanging those up, counting out wristbands, and helping to make Easter gift baskets for all of the bands. Hope they like chocolate. =)

While I didn’t see the bands much during my time working, I did get to have lunch with Taka, the lead singer of The Underneath! MUCC’s translator told Taka the things I was saying, such as that I had been a fan of The Underneath since five years ago when they were still known as Transtic Nerve, and that I had ordered their first album as The Underneath from J-rock Revolution’s website. Taka seemed very happy to know that he had fans here in America. Here’s hoping The Underneath will make more fans over the course of the Taste of Chaos tour!

Anyway, after lunch, I basically just hung out and watched the merchandise booths being set up. At around 4:00, the doors opened and people flooded in. I had planned on getting to the front of the stage before people got there, but I was told that I could get stage-side seats! However, the security guard there said I couldn’t be there if I was only a volunteer worker. So I moved into the audience, where it turned out I had a better view of the stage anyway.

The first Jrock band to perform, D’espairsRay, was excellent! I’ve actually seen them in concert two other times (once at Megacon in Orlando in 2006 and once at the Jrock Revolution festival in Los Angeles), and each time I thought they put on a great show. =)

After their performance, Idiot Pilot took the stage. The audience didn’t like them much, and the band even acknowledged this, but I actually thought that their music was pretty good. They definitely had an interesting and unique sound!

Of the three Jrock bands performing tonight, the audience seemed to especially like MUCC (with good reason, since MUCC is awesome). At one point during their set, people started moshing! I accidentally got caught in the mosh and ended up being propelled about halfway through the pit before it stopped. But this meant I was now closer to the left side of the stage, where The Underneath would play after MUCC finished.

It was awesome to finally see The Underneath live. As I mentioned before, I saw D’espairsray live twice before Taste of Chaos, and I even saw MUCC once before (also at Jrock Revolution), but this was my first time seeing The Underneath. I was very impressed with their performance!

After The Underneath’s set, I left the pit simply because I knew things were going to get even crazier in there from here on out, and I wanted to make sure I could go home in one piece. I still wanted to stick around and watch the rest of the bands, though.

I did miss watching part of Bullet for my Valentine’s set because I wanted to go to the signing sessions for MUCC and D’espairsray, but I could still hear their music from where I was, and they also sounded really great. I went to the bleachers to watch the rest of their set and drank two cups of fruit punch-flavored Rockstar energy drink (hey, I was thirsty, it was free, and that stuff actually tastes really good!).

I stayed there long enough to watch Blessthefall and Atreyu, who also did a great job. Unfortunately, I had to leave before I could see Avenged Sevenfold’s set, but I’m sure they were awesome, too!

On my way back to New York City, I was exhausted from the day’s events, but also incredibly happy to have had a taste of chaos. =)

Chicago from Emily!
Posted By Heather | Friday, March 14th, 2008

You know a show’s hot when the combined body heat and sweat simmers in the air and makes it harder to see the stage.

Chicago was HOT!

But let’s start at the beginning with the Stampede.

Here’s how it works.  A little before doors, the Jump the Line people get let through security into the venue, but not into the seating area.  Then they mass up in front of the doors until security opens them.  Then: STAMPEDE!!!!

In about one minute several hundred people rushed into the venue leaving behind stairs covered in the hand outs they had gotten.

At nearly the same time the local band started playing and the show was on.  First on the main stage was D’espairsRay who played as people were still coming into the venue, but managed to get all hands in the air anyway.  Maybe it was Karyu hitting himself with his guitar.  Maybe it was bassist Zero headbanging in circles, maybe it was vocalist Hizumi’s English MCs, maybe it was Tsukasa’s pounding his kit, but whatever it was by the end of the short set even kids in Bullet for my Valentine shirts were bouncing.

I missed Idiot Pilot and MUCC to do an interview, but headed back in back in just in time to catch the tail end of The Underneath.  Vocalist Taka’s slinky sexiness was a far cry from testosterone of the other bands, but they looked good and sounded better.

After The Underneath was The METAL, in the form of Bullet for my Valentine.  With Flying V’s and flying black manes this band was the love hate child of Iron Maiden and Megadeath.  At least three pits suddenly opened up in the sold out main floor and the steam started rising.  There were a couple softer songs but they closed the show they only way that made sense: bigger pits and Devil Horns all around!

On the side stage Blessthefall might have looked like your brothers band practicing in the garage, but they sure as hell didn’t sound like them.  With some of the best staging of the night they started off with two of the members pounding on floor drums as the drummer and bassist joined in for a primal beat.  Gradually they put away the drums and switched-over to the their normal instruments for a set of screamo with some serious melodies and basslines.  Before the first song was even over the vocalist had stepped out into the crowd, the mobile members were headbanging in synch.  The energy didn’t let down as the vocalist finished the set with a full out dive.

On the main stage Atreyu had no problem topping that.  Although you could probably pass the members on the street without noticing them, on stage they were all full body headbanging and guitar heroics.  Although there were fewer pits for Atreyu, there was more pushing toward the front.  But what really set it apart was their ability to go form singing happy b-day to the one of the crew to rocking so hard the crowd-surfers were popping out the crowd.

After some time to reset the main stage it was Avenged Sevenfold.  Coming out to a epic soundtrack and  the first use of the lights that night, they dominated.  M. Shadows was out of his shirt only a few times in and the pits became maws spitting out clothes and exhausted moshers.  In the back of the stage the Rev sang in a sweet voice that was completely out of whack with his sweaty, tattooed bulk, not to mention the thunder of his kit.  The other members all made sure the crowd knew they were there getting up to the edge of sides of the stage and just ripping there was through the main set and encore.  At least as much as I could see through the mist of sweat and body heat rising off the crowd.

It was no shock that the fans were sweaty and stumbling as they made their way home.

Way back in Denver!
Posted By Heather | Thursday, March 13th, 2008

I have been trying to post this since February! Now that we are up and at ‘em here you go! Thank goodness for Naomi. She was there to help out on the first day while we all ran around trying to make sense of a manic first day!

I wish things always went the way you want them to. Well, most of the time anyway.

Leave Bozeman at 6:30 am, get to Salt Lake, then to Boise, ID then to Denver by 3:00 PM. That would have been beautiful!

No, it wasn’t beautiful, but it sure did end up nicely.

The delay aside, I end up getting to Denver at about 5:30 pm, 2 and a half hours after I was asked to come, and a half hour after the show started. Denver international airport is really far away from Denver. So 45 minutes later, I show up at the Fillmore.

Ah the energy! Even outside I can feel it. A short wait in line, and I’m in.

It’s hot and muggy,Ii have all my earthy possessions on my back at the moment, and I’m praying that they don’t search my bag only to find my undies, but they don’t and I’m quickly in the massive throng of ToC goers.

It takes me a moment to get my barrings, because it’s really dark, but there is one band going full speed on the side stage and they had quite a crowd. Ears still adjusting to all the sounds, I soon confirm visually who the band is. Its the UNDERNEATH. Like a slap to the face…

So naturally, I pushed and shoved my way to get as close as I could.

It was strange, since I didn’t get a good walk about the Fillmore before hand and i’ve never been there before, that I saw people standing up behind the band as they were playing, so I assumed that it was apart of the backstage area. To my surprise, it was actually apart of the walking area! There were stalls and bars behind them, so I HAD TO walk up behind them. Had to.

That sure was an experience. Seeing a band from behind. LOL, that sounded bad. Anyway, I was completely mesmerized with the drumming skills of MASAKI. AMAZING!!!! I stood there for about 5 minutes, just gawking, I totally made those people around me uncomfortable.

I then made my way back to the floor for the end of their set. I was surprised but very happy with how the audience took to their performance. There was no audible booing, or any derogatory statements shouted out. It seemed like they were really getting into the call and response with TAKA, which was a sight to see. Fists in the air and shouting all around, I think the the UNDERNEATH’s first ToC performance was a success!

Even though I missed the first two jrock bands of the night I got very positive responses from my friend who said the first band (D’espairs Ray) was basically amazing. That’s our speak for totally kick ass. And the second band (MUCC) was a little different then what she usually listens to, but were an experience none the less. I laughed at the comment about the second band, she said, “oh yeah, the guy wearing the skirt?” Ah, she will learn so much. ^_^

Overall, the first show on the Taste of Chaos tour was amazing and what dreams are made of. I’ll leave you with this parting image from the pit:

The band is calling for a circle pit before they start their last song. The tension starts to rise as they jump into their first rift. You can feel it as some around you begin to mosh a bit too violently, but the rest stay put, waiting for that moment. The song soars and you are on the edge of your toes ready to pounce, watching for the invisible cue to let hell loose. The energy pulses through you and then like a whip to the back, BAM, the time has come. You run at full speed and you feel others doing the same. It’s a circle, it’s a mosh, pushing and pulling, you feel everything and nothing. Breath and sweat, fists and feet, the full force of energy swelling as you understand that you’ve just felt, a taste of chaos.

-Omi : Ambition

Thanks Naomi!

Just the first of many days and more to come!!!!

Chi-Town sold out!!!
Posted By Heather | Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Chicago was INSANE! Sold out, hot and energetic, just like I like it. Melony was amazing and took to the stages to get me the low down on how it went!
——-

My neck hurts from headbanging. I’m pretty sure that means that I had a great time.

I’m long-winded when it comes to writing about my concert experiences, so I apologize in advance if it’s too long.

I arrived around 11am, because I believe that part of the fun and excitement of a concert is waiting outside the venue and talking to other fans. It was really easy to talk to the JRock fans that were in line, because we shared the same excitement about having Japanese bands on the tour, and we all shared past experiences with Japanese bands coming to Chicago–for example, when Dir en grey played at the House of Blues last February. Hundreds of fans braved a blizzard just to get to Chicago and stand in line for several hours to get a good spot.

As for talking to the fans that were there for the American bands…I was a little worried at first, because I wasn’t sure if they’d be very open to the fact that there would be three bands who sang in Japanese. However, I was pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few people who thought it was interesting, and almost all of them seemed very open-minded about it. “As long as they’re good, it doesn’t matter what language they use.” This is something I’ve always thought, as a JRock fan, but this quote was from someone that was here for the American bands. I was really happy when I heard that.

Backstage before the show, I got to meet the Japanese bands briefly. It’s always a very unique experience to hang out with a band away from the show. My friend’s mom asked me if I got any photos while I was back there. My answer was no. As much as I would’ve loved to have photos with the bands, it was something I couldn’t bring myself to do. They were just being people, having fun in this very relaxed atmosphere; how could I intrude? They were kind and playful, and it was cool to see a side of them that you wouldn’t see on stage, but at the same time, it was like peering into a very private part of their lives, and to take a photo would have felt disrespectful. So I left without any photos. I think the memory of the experience is more than enough.

I saw D’espairsRay and MUCC at JRock Revolution last year, which was my first experience with them. I remember really getting into D’espairsRay’s show, but since MUCC played the last set on the last day, I was so exhausted by the time they came onstage that I could barely stand. So I was excited that I was going to get a second chance to experience both of these bands.

I was ready for D’espairsRay. Usually it takes me a couple songs to really get into a show, but I was ready for D’espairsRay. I was trying to take a few photos, but at the same time, they were playing Mirror, and I really wanted to headbang and sing the parts I knew. And when I looked into the crowd, they were warming up pretty quickly. I stepped back later near the end of D’espairsRay’s set so I could move freely without getting in anyone’s way. I looked up to see how the crowd was reacting to a Japanese band; when Hizumi told the audience to raise their hands and clap, I was amazed to see that about 90% of the audience on the floor were doing just that.

After taking my photos for MUCC’s set, I spent most of my time sitting in front of the barrier right at the edge of the stage–I would’ve gone back into the crowd, but one of the photographers asked me to watch his camera while he went to go grab something, so I stayed there. Without a whole lot of room, I just sat. But I was still headbanging, especially when MUCC played one of their recent songs, FUZZ, which I’ve loved since the moment I heard it. It was funny, only a few feet in front of me, on the side of the stage, members of The Underneath were waiting for their set. Tal and Taka were rocking out to MUCC’s set, and when they saw me headbanging, they threw horns at me and smiled. There were no words needed for us to communicate. As for the audience behind me, they were pressing forward, and the energy was almost tangible.

The Underneath played their set on the side stage, but from their performance and the audience’s reaction, they should’ve been on the main stage. I had thought that D’espairsRay would get the strongest reaction from the audience. I was wrong. The Underneath really worked the audience with their performance. Taka turned on the sexy, and…well, their performance blew me away. I can easily say it was one of the best performances I’ve seen. And the audience behind me reacted as much as I might’ve expected an audience of all JRock-fans to react. So many people looked like they were getting into the show, and it was great to see.

I guess the main thing I want people to realize is that, even though these bands come from an entirely different culture, they’re still more than capable of putting on a hell of a live show, and forming a very real connection with their audiences, no matter who they are. They’re here because they’re doing what they love, probably making dreams come true by performing overseas, and they want to see the audience happy, too.

They communicate through their music what they can’t communicate through their words. So for a moment, close your eyes, and forget what they look like. Forget that they’re Japanese. Just LISTEN. Then open your eyes. Watch them on that stage.

They’re reaching out for you with something better than words.

St. Louis and Kacey!
Posted By Heather | Friday, March 7th, 2008

With a high recommendation from our boss, Kevin Lyman himself, Kacey came and taught me a thing or two about JROCK!

Hit it K~

All I can say, for right now, at least is
“Wow.”

Taste of Chaos at St. Louis, March 5th, 2008. Headlining bands spin the city into a musical buzz and the fans are crawling around everywhere.

For a long time, I’ve loved music more than anything. It’s just one of those things you devote your life to, right? So, being the melodic teenager that I am, upon finding out that Taste of Chaos, brought to us graciously by Kevin “The BAMF” Lyman (Nickname copyright to Kacey Shoemake and Heather Overstreet, thank you) I squealed in delight upon finding out that, GASP,

Taste of Chaos ’08 was featuring international, non-English music!

Now, I have to say, getting the chance to scrounge for fun backstage was and is a totally amazing experience. Not only did I learn about the totally dizzying amounts of work that have to be done every night of the tour, but I saw the bands just being humans, not rock stars.

The amazing thing about D’espairsRay is the sheer power they manage to capture through the audience. Everyone, even the people that had never heard a Japanese song in their lives, seemed to be able to tell that these guys had some talent to say the least.

Something beautiful about music is the fact that it has no language barrier. Even if you can’t speak Japanese or German or whatever, you can still feel what the composers are trying to get across! Every one of the bands I saw did just that; I didn’t have any freakin’ clue what they were saying. I heard “Fuck” a few times and “kokoro” (meaning “heart), but the only thing I could understand was the pattern of the beats and the ringing of the notes. All I could do was jump and shout when the audience was motioned to do so!

And guess what.

It was intense.

Taste of Chaos and everyone in it is trying to tell America this; You gotta’ understand, these people, the Underneath and MUCC and everyone else, they don’t know English very much. They have their band, a bunch of roadies, and then after that, they just use a translator. Sounds difficult, huh?

All in all, as I say, we have one world and hundreds of languages… But music is the only language that anyone can speak and understand.

So next time Tokio Hotel from Germany is in town or Kyo from France is gonna’ be rocking around your city, don’t be a shallow douche. Get out there and speak the language of music!

St. Paul, MN
Posted By Heather | Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

Hey guys! After an amazing day off, Amber swooped in the the rescue to bring you her day with us on Taste of Chaos! Take it away….

I’ve known Kevin from helping him at Warped Tour in the past, so when he told me he was coming to town for the Taste of Chaos tour, I asked if there was anyway I could help. He called me back, and put me to work.

I was helping down in the sponsor area with Katie and Alternative Press. We had our ups and downs with traffic. Mainly I was helping her draw kids over and let them know that there was free magazines and flyers. We tried our best to sell subscriptions, but not everyone was biting. I guess Katie said it had been slow most of the day.

The main event of the day with her tent was the Atreyu signing. I wasn’t sure how things would be, whether it’d be chaotic with fans, or dead quiet. Luckily, we had an amazing turnout. It was amazing how many kids were willing to wait in line for almost an hour to meet them. We didn’t deal much with the band itself, but we just had to keep the kids in line, make sure they didn’t take pictures, and once they were done with their signing, they left to clear enough room for everyone else after them.

After the signing, things became quiet again. We tried our best with the subscriptions again, and ended the night with two! Afterwards, we broke the tent down and said our goodbyes. I didn’t have time to watch the show, but after I helped with the tent,

I came up to the stage and watched Avenged Sevenfold play. I wasn’t expecting all the pyrotechnics and explosions, but it was definitely worthwhile. Kevin also helped me out with my contacts and introduced me to a couple local promoters to help me start my career with the music business. So all thanks to Kevin, I met some awesome people, saw an awesome show, and hope to do much much more along the road.

Thanks Amber!! Keep checking back for more information and updates from the road!
JROCKPorVida

On The Road Blog - First Post
Posted By Heather | Friday, January 25th, 2008

Hello out there from the RTOC On-the-road Blog. Get ready, in just over a month and a half we will be hitting the road, taking the Rockstar Taste Of Chaos all over the US and Canada. Did you get your tickets yet? If not, they are on sale now, get ‘em while they are hot!

So do you think you know JROCK? Japanese Rock will be a huge part of this years tour. We will have D’espairsRay, MUCC, and UNDERNEATH coming on all of the US shows. What do you think about coming backstage, onstage and everywhere in between to help me blog? EMAIL ME to be considered to be the JROCK Blogger of the Day! In the email, send me the show that you have tickets for, your name and why I should pick you. All winners will be notified before the start of the tour, February 28th.

Tell everyone you know that the Rockstar Taste of Chaos is coming to town, until next time…

See you in the Pit!
Heather