Going to the Anime Con worked.

04月12日2010年 — Seren 古心弦

Oh My Gosh. I have met a number of really amazing and talented people. At. The. Anime. Con. And they are all such nice gentle people! I hope I can work something out, to have an all-girl band.

I noticed something interesting though. In Singapore when you throw a stone at a bunch of girls, you are likely to hit someone who can play at least one instrument with intermediate skills at the minimum, but it’s hard to find someone who can truly sing. At the Anime Con (in New Jersey), there are so many awesome singers who nail the Japanese lyrics so well, but hard to find a girl who’s really awesome at an instrument.

Well, instruments can be learned. We’ll see how things go!

I’m excited, but I’ll make sure I plan well and not rush.

Love, Seren

Posted in Anime, My Band. View Comments

Recruiting New Band Members 招新团员

04月09日2010年 — Seren 古心弦

I live in Brooklyn, New York City. I am charmed by K-On! and other Jap Anime Songs.

I would like to start an all-girl band, to play rock tunes while still having a gentle girlie image like they do.

Currently on K-On!!, this Rock-Band-School-Club has 5 girl members. They named their band 放課後ティータイム, Hōkago Tī Taimu (After School Tea Time).

Currently on K-On!!, this Rock-Band-School-Club has 5 girl members. They named their band "HTT", or 放課後ティータイム, Hōkago Tī Taimu (After School Tea Time).

To gather band mates, I will advertise here, on craigslist, facebook, and also go to anime conventions to find like-minded people.

I have never been to an anime convention or cosplayed before, because I was never too crazy about it, even though I LOVE watching anime. But I am really serious about music, and for the sake of that, I shall give it a try.

So for the first time, I will be attending the Cあstle Point Anime Convention  this Sunday April 11th 2010, cosplaying as Mio/Asuza from K-On!! holding up this home-made sign:

Front of home-made sign

Front side of my home-made sign

Back of home-made sign

Back side of my home-made sign

Three unrelated friends with band experience: Isaac, Ruiyi, and Justin have advised me that forming a band, getting regular practice and retaining the right members is not easy, and it is a process that can take a long time. To make matters more difficult, I am looking for female band members in Brooklyn/NYC who are interested in this genre of J-music, and that’s gotta be rare. :-(

As we could see in both Season 1 and Season 2 of K-ON, recruiting members is not easy. Also, members don’t necessarily gel and may leave. We could see in Season 1 that Asuza struggled with the group, wondering if she could clique with them.

The 5 girls from K-ON!! putting in A LOT of effort to recruit members

The 5 girls from K-ON!! putting in A LOT of effort to recruit members

So I am mentally prepared that this would take some time to have a response, and my hopes are to start band practice by Fall. Sigh~ TT^TT

I just have one question though. Shall I keep the band closed to only 5 basic members? Or Shall I keep it Open like Sakura High School’s Light Music Club? ”Closed” means that we shall only have one drummer, one keyboardist, one bassist, and either two guitarists or one guitarist and one vocalist. “Open” meaning that there might more than one drummer/ bassist/ guitarist/ keyboardist/ vocalist in the group, and we’ll have to share and take turns. That can be messy and a logistical nightmare, but it also means we have back-ups if someone is not coming, and more people to share the cost of a practice space.

Multiple members playing K-On Music??

Open Band with Multiple members playing K-On Music??

I was wondering about this because New York City is such a transient place where people don’t stay here for long. I may not stay here for long either. It’s just like Yui, Ritsu, Mio and Tsumugi who would be graduating from Sakura High, and Asuza would be the only one left. They can’t stay in school forever. There are pros and cons, comforts and discomforts to having a closed or open band. Therefore if you are interested in joining my band, you would have to tell me your preference in a survey form. I would like to know what you think.

Ok! That’s it for now. I will follow up this post with another post about what I am looking for in a band, and a survey form for people interested in forming a band with me. ^_^

Posted in Anime, Bass Guitar, K-ON, My Band. View Comments

Skirt from Sakuragaoka High School Uniform (K-On!)

03月24日2010年 — Seren 古心弦

From k-on.wikia.com: Sakura-gaoka (High School) is the main setting of the K-ON! series. It is the school of Yui, Ritsu, Mio and Tsumugi, and later on Ui and Azusa.

k-on! girls in their uniform

k-on! girls in their uniform

And I think, I have just found a store which sells a skirt like theirs.

Blue-ish Grey Skirt, Pleated in one direction

Blue-ish Grey Skirt, Pleated in one direction

You can see from their 2nd season Promo Banner, that the pleats are pleated in one direction only, rather than the “double direction inner pleat” kind.
K-On!! 2nd Season Promo

K-On!! 2nd Season Promo

Depending on your camera settings, this skirt can actually let off a bluish-vibe, rather than the grey it actually is.
Bluish Tinge when using indoor lighting

Bluish Tinge when using indoor lighting

So if you think you are gonna cosplay a uniformed K-on character anytime, I think the skirt is one of the more important elements.

Sometimes, their skirts give off a bluish vibe too.

K-on! Casual Uniform

K-on! Casual Uniform. If you are gonna cosplay a uniformed K-on character anytime, I think the skirt is one of the more important elements. :-)

But I prefer the grey look rather than blue. But I guess with an adjustment of camera settings, I can get either. :-)

The Sakura High School Skirt look-alike costs SG$29 which is about USD $21

The Sakura High School Skirt look-alike costs SG$29 which is about USD $21

I spotted and bought this skirt from a huge fashion chain store called “This Fashion”, and it comes in sizes S, M and L. I fitted both M and L, but somehow I felt that M was too short for my liking, I wouldn’t wear such a short skirt if I were a school-girl. Yes yes I know anime skirts are supposed to be short, but I don’t think my husband would be comfortable with it. ;-D

Here's the tag. Enlarge the picture and copy down the tag seriel number. The store would be able to track down the skirt for you.

Here's the tag. Enlarge the picture and copy down the tag seriel number. The store would be able to track down the skirt for you.

So yeah, I thought I would just share my discovery with you. I would try on a full Sakuragaoka look someday. Soon. :-)

Posted in Anime, K-ON. View Comments
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