Lareine

but he plays in one of the concerts right? unless he faking it ..but yea I dunno who arranges the piano songs..

Lareine's support keyboardist is named Naomi. He's been working with them for years. You can check his history with Lareine on his personal HP:
http://www.at-m.or.jp/~naomi/index.html

When Mayu played the "death piano" at the Romance Kakumei show (the one on "Chantons"), it was really him playing. He said in an interview that he was really nervous. But Naomi is Lareine's usual keyboardist, and he did all the keyboard arrangements for releases like "Crystal Letos" and "Reincarnation."

^^ so Mayu does play in it aww he was nervous but he did great! So most piano lareine songs are arranged by naomi okays..Which did mayu arrange?? I hope "Dear white" I dun remember tho I gotta check..

yea yea!!! there we go =) hahaha i knew the name of their keyboardist/pianist was a name ive heard a lot =P thanks inertia!

mayu plays piano?! hahahah i had no idea.... i just kinda assumed that he was pretending? ugh yea i know it sounds horrible, but lareine tends to do that for some songs that are more orchastrated? like setsurenka... emiru and kazumi didnt really play the violin did they? but mayu plays wonderfully even when hes nervous!! GOO MAYU =D

hahahhahahha oh lareine does that to ya.. .drifts you off in soft clouds of COMFY-NESS!!! ahhh i love lareine!! my goodness!!! my friend says we have to bid for tickets to eat dinner with kamijo!!? i didnt know that -__ i thought everyone got to eat with him =*( now this makes me sad

*Satsuki* said:

LOL hmm wow I dunno so many questions ^-^ I hope people don't ask him dum pervert ones like they have to other jrockers in the past and >_> I'm not naming any names...I really hope people will respect him and if some boos him >< they'll get it!!!

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Kaine said:

i didnt think anyone would be rude enough to ask dumb perverted questions? does that really happen?! ive never heard of that!

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*Satsuki* said:

yea some do espeacially if they don't know the artist jeez.. and give them weird presents

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(^_^ Oh come on! Nobody asks Jrockers perverted questions or buys them strange gifts! (0_<)

wait really?! haha are u being serious or sarcastic =P i cant tell... seriosuly tho... i didnt think anyone asked jrockers perverted questions??? but buying strange gifts i can see happening... despairs ray got some weird stuff like... underwear that melts when you lick em... and tampons.. i thnk thats kinda weird?

I was being sarcastic, that's why my smiley is sweating and the other one is nervously winking. A lot of Jrockers get asked perverted questions, but mostly by American fans. I am guilty of both perverted questions and strange gifts, but I'm not about to share what the questions/answers/gifts were! Not to mention the fanmail I've sent to some Jrockers lol...

Don't get the wrong idea, though. This doesn't mean I don't respect the artists. One of the fanmails I sent was to an already perverted rocker who asks fans to share details of sex dreams they've had about him, so I assumed it would be safe haha. D'espairsRay weren't offended at all either. I made sure prior to asking the questions that it would be okay to ask. D'espairsRay are in another realm, though. You can't really compare them to other bands since they encourage perverse behavior at their lives!

HAHAHHAHAHAHHA okay okay... i had a feeling u were being sarcastic... but oh well =P its alrite tho i think, in ur case, when you asked them if it was okay =) and the fact that it as to an already perverted jrocker is fine... but i think for lareine or something, hahah their virgin ears shall not be pierced with such perversion that you all know i am capable of =P so i shall control my wandering thoughts +P

hmm...i remember at the phantasmagoria show they told us we couldn't ask for a hug well because it just wasn't allowed. but guess what? someone did anyway. and so jun was nice enough to do as requested, or maybe it was just cause it was an awkward moment and he would look like a bad guy if he refused...ha! you should've seen seen some of the looks on the other girls' faces! they were shooting knives and daggers!

The reason they tell you you're not allowed to hug a band at a convention is since it would take up an extremely large amount of time if every fan wanted to hug the band (especially if it's during autograph sessions). They are usually pressed for time at these sort of things. I'm sure the bands themselves don't mind if you hug them. It's usually not even their decision, but the management's.

lol @ Lareine's virgin ears!
I think j-rockers must be inundated with perverted mail. ☝ Not to mention strange gifts...
I'm sure it would amuse Lareine to think of the view of their.. uhh.. purity. XD. But it is nice to preserve the illusion...

Kaine said:

hahahhahahha oh lareine does that to ya.. .drifts you off in soft clouds of COMFY-NESS!!! ahhh i love lareine!! my goodness!!! my friend says we have to bid for tickets to eat dinner with kamijo!!? i didnt know that -__ i thought everyone got to eat with him =*( now this makes me sad

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OMG, the dinner thing. I am so angry at Jhouserock about that. A management company which exists to help foreign bands get started in the US shouldn't lead their artists to do events which will destroy their reputations among American fans. -__-

I will not bid on any such auction. (unless they change it to a charity benefit) A couple of days ago I sent Kamijo a long letter saying that this type of auction is offensive by American ethical standards, some of the reasons why Americans think that way, and suggesting a few alternate ways to have a dinner with American fans that would be acceptable according to American cultural standards. Of course he might decide not to listen, or it could be the case that it's too late to change how the dinner event will be run. The method by which the dinner will be organized and fans will be chosen hasn't been announced yet, but jhouserock has always done things like that by auction. Anyway, I think Kamijo ought to hear from at least one person what so many Americans think, and I gave it my best shot.

It would be nice if they'd change the dinner to something like a Japanese-style "uchiage". Here, when Lareine has drinking/eating events with fans, it's open to many fans and the price is not unreasonable. (Lareine's uchiages here cost between 5,000 and 7,500 yen per person. It might seem like a lot to Americans, but in Japan we could easily spend that much and more in a single night at ordinary-price restaurants, bars, and karaoke.) There are many more fans than band members, so for most of the night we end up talking to our friends, or making new friends among the fans. It's fun to spend time with other fans like this and it relieves us of a lot of the pressure we'd feel at talking to the band individually.

Don't you dare bash a company that works hard bringing bands to my country. I don't see how you are the spokesperson for America, and I don't know how you are forming your opinions about the dinner being offensive and it ruining a bands reputation? Are you crazy?! I'm sorry if I sound rude, I'm not trying to be mean, but I think you are a little misguided, and I don't want someone who is misinformed to put ideas into the heads of fans.

First of all, do you realize how much money goes into bringing a band over here? These things don't just happen. JHRE staff has to fly to Japan to meet with the bands to discuss plans before anything is even settled. It costs even more money to bring a band over here once you include their entourage (and then add food, hotel, gas, etc.). Their equipment must also be shipped over. Then you have to consider costs of the venue and/or convention the band is performing at. Now, I know this is just Kamijo coming over, but you do realize this is to see how big the fan turnout is. If a lot of fans come, and they make enough money selling merchandise and doing the photo sessions then the entire band will be back for a tour. The auctions help pay the way for the band members to come here.

The bands have to agree to these events beforehand, so if they felt degraded by doing a dinner in any way they wouldn't have agreed to it in the first place. It's quite the opposite. The bands enjoy the dinner events. They even think of it as a blind date! An uchiage in Japan is one thing, but you even said you end up talking to your friends all night. I would much rather spend money to have an intimate one-on-one dinner with a band than meet a bunch of fans! This way you are actually sitting at the table with the band and able to talk to them all you want. The bands are always happy to meet their fans. After one of the dinners a band member even went up to Harry, gave him a hug, and thanked him for it!

I don't understand why people always have to put a negative spin on everything. This is a good thing for the United States! I am happy that a company like that exists. Otherwise I might never have the opportunity to see these bands unless I actually went to Japan. I'm sure whatever expenses I'm paying towards JHRE are far less than what I would pay for a trip to Japan! I don't even think $50 is that outrageous for a dinner with a band! I understand it is an auction, so the price can be greater than that, but sometimes they sell for under $100. When you deduct the cost of the meal you have, it really isn't that much, and I'd be happy to help out the band in any way I could even if it means spending a little extra money! (^_^)

Edit: I just checked Jhouse-Rock's website and it doesn't actually state whether it's going to be an auctioned off dinner, so it's always possible that it's going to be a banquet event where you will be in a ballroom at a convention center. That means there will be lots of other fans.

I'm happy that bands are going to the US and glad that fans can meet them. I disagree with the some of the ways that Jhouserock finances this. There's a huge stigma against putting people up for auction, or sellling opportunities to spend time with them. Raising money in such an unsubtle way as holding an auction causes existing fans to lose respect for the bands and potential fans to become prejudiced. There are other ways of raising money through meeting-opportunities that don't carry such a stigma. I do realize that it costs money to bring bands to the US, and that the bands aren't making so much in Japan that they can pass up opportunities, so before writing my letter I spent a week considering other options for doing it in a profitable yet respectable way and discussing them with my friends, so that I could offer suggestions which might be helpful instead of useless complaints.

A lot of fans, particularly the older ones who have the most disposable cash, won't bid on these auctions because they find it offensive. Sometimes the auctions sell for under $100? How is $100 worth the stain on the artists' reputations? If it's only about raising money to pay for the cost of bringing the artists, I'd be willing to personally give $200 so that the dinner could be held as a free raffle which wouldn't damage Lareine's image.

I'm sure the bands don't mind doing the dinners. Japan doesn't have such a strong stigma against paying for time with people, or a recent history of slaves being sold at auction. And yeah, most Japanese bandmen are polite, friendly, and down to earth, so meeting somebody new isn't exactly a hardship. But a huge number of Americans do find this type of auction offensive, and I think the bands ought to know about this so they can make an informed decision about whether they feel it's worth the relatively small amount of money.

You go sista!

I agree 110% with everything just stated.

Also, $50 bucks for a dinner with the band when you are getting a meal for about $20 total isn't bad at all.

Ahh this is pathetic. People make me sick. Be thankful for companies like JHRE! Everyone has such a warped oppinion on them, I don't get it!
Haha oh man. I don't find it offensive at all. What is offensive about it?!? I would totally let a company have an auction to go out to dinner with me to meet my fans. Coming from a musicians point of view it's a great opportunity to get to know your fans. Most muscians want to have somewhat of a friendship with their fans, you can't get that from standing in a line signing a poster and getting a snapshot with the band. There is nothing intimate about that. I could go on about a lot of reasons why I disagree with you, but I have other things I need to do than waste my time on that.

People auction people for dates for charities/fund-raisers all the time. It's not degrading and it's acceptable. I think that says it all!

yea yea! see, i honestly didnt know about it till my friend, who went to the kisaki and jun (is that him???) thing last year, told me... and i dont like the idea of it being an auction... its so.. i dotn know... so sad -_- i have no words to describe it -_- seriously, all this time, i did think it would be like... a big party for every fan and kamijo? like a little um... picnic sorta thing... without going outside of course, but a little get-together? just so we can chat and hang out and get to know everyone. it'll really suck if kamijo has to spend that dinner thing with one or two of his fans =*( i mean... its kinda lame -_-

GO INERTIA for riting a letter to kamijo! i think he will consider it... but whether he has the power to do anything about it... i dunno =( sigh... there goes my happy BIG PARTY WITH KAMIJO dream =*(

edit: woo after reading what everyone else said... heres a little tid bit on my part? um.. yea okay...jhre, yes i am happy they work so hard to bring bands over here =) in fact, i seriosuly love them for that! thank you thank you thank you jhre!!!
but i do have to agree with inertia that it should kinda be like a charitable thing? i mean.. the auctioning is kinda... weird? i mean i joke about wanting to bid for kamijo's body or watever =P but i think... seriously, its kinda weird to auction for spending time with a band member?? man i dunno if im makin much sense.. but its kinda like... okay okay... like a geisha!!.. u pay for their time ya noe? hm... i get wat ur saying pkk, they have those date a celebrity for charity and such... but yea i think thats for a good cause =) but... still... haha just seems kinda... so... hm... its like.. putin a price on someone? eh... nm i dont know how to expalin it. i bet kamijo would love to hang with all lareine fans? he's a really... "i love my fans" kinda guy, he even wanted to go flower lookin with them? so i dont think it would be like him to do a one on one intimate dinner with a fan? BUT, if jhre wants to do it that way, i dont think theres much we can do? just the fact that its an auction bothers me a bit

Yes POISONxIVY, everyone has such a warped opinion on jhouserock. Could it possibly be because their approach is not in touch with the majority viewpoint? Could it be possible that if they changed their style of presenting events to be acceptable to more people, they might find that the number of fan participants will increase and they'll make more money so that they can bring more bands?

Pinkkillerkisou, charity auctions are different. There's a huge difference in many people's minds between a charity auction in which the date is a volunteer raising money for a cause with which he's otherwise unconnected, and a fundraiser which is raising money to pay for that date to be there in the first place. The latter comes off more like an escort service than a charity benefit.

yea yea... i say everyone should just go eat with kamijo and donate money and give gifts =) therefore everyone will be happy =D man i dont know much about how jhre runs their stuff... but... y cant they just have everyone eat in that banquet/ball room thing and pay for entrance ticket or something =) like taking a ride at an amusement park =) they can make lots of money like that, assumin that everyone wants to eat with the band member =)

inertia said:

Pinkkillerkisou, charity auctions are different. There's a huge difference in many people's minds between a charity auction in which the date is a volunteer raising money for a cause with which he's otherwise unconnected, and a fundraiser which is raising money to pay for that date to be there in the first place. The latter comes off more like an escort service than a charity benefit.

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What pray tell does the difference between a charity auction and a fund-raiser have to do with anything? Charity is for a specific cause and fund-raiser to to fund a project... not much difference. Unless you mean auctioning dinners is trashy like a fund-raiser. No it isn't... it's better. This a just another chance for fans to fund the band. I see no difference between giving a band money through paying to have dinner with them and buying a cd. It's more intimate with a band and fans because there is a connection rather then rich people trying to get the hottest most well endowed woman (or man XD) on the market. I think it's already been clearly stated to but I shall spell it out. T-H-E B-A-N-D-S A-R-E O-K W-I-T-H I-T!!! Why are you trying to ruin it for the fans who have a chance to have a nice meal with someone they admire and get to know them. It's not an asian or culture thing either that makes it "inapporiate" so don't even try to use that as a defense. The asian college communities here hold date auctions all the time for fund-raisers for club activities and trips. Hell I attended one cause my best friend was for auction. It was a classy event. All fund-raisers aren't escort services.

sigh... maybe its just easier for them to have limited ppl go eat dinner? in case the translator gets tired of translating bazillions of stuff??

I am not trying to ruin anything for the fans who'd like to have dinner with him! I have no issue whatsoever with the dinner. It's the auction that I dislike! If the fans were chosen by random lottery, say if everyone dropped a numbered ticket into a box, that would be fine. They could include the tickets for "free" with some specific item sold at the con, like a CD, or if it's jhouserock that needs to get the funds to cover the cost of the weekend, a new America-only T-shirt. For legal reasons there would probably have to be a way to get the contest entry tickets without buying the item, so they could let fans send SASEs before the con to receive one ticket per household. But if it was a new thing like a t-shirt, fans would buy it anyway, maybe get extras for the sake of increasing their chances of winning, probably get extras for their friends who couldn't attend the con. Jhouserock would be able to have the dinner, they'd make money, all fans would have a chance to go on this nice intimate date even if they weren't rich by entering via SASE, the fans who bought the item would have a t-shirt even if they didn't win, and the event would lose the "escort service" feeling because anybody can enter for free.

That's one of the suggestions I made in my letter. How is this trying to ruin things for fans? My goal is not to take away anyone's chances of being able to participate in a dinner with their favorite artist. I just think that if it's going to be done, why can't it be done in a way that won't offend half the overseas fanbase?

It is a charity! You're raising the money for the band! What is all this crap with America not being okay with auctions?! Your reasons don't make any sense to me, because there isn't a way to justify that auctioning off a dinner with the band is a terrible thing that's going to ruin the band's precious reputation. Slavery?! Where is Tiffany? She is black and participated in a backstage auction! I'd like to hear her view on this!

The bands love these events and would like to do more of them (such as the bowling event that Aya and Seek did). Sadly some bands do worry about ruining their reputation when it comes to bowling. The eroguro bands think it would destroy their dark image, so they stick to dinners LOL.

If any fan is going to think less of a band for such a trivial reason as this, then I don't want them to be fans in the first place lol. Maybe JHRE could have a dunk tank. I'd pay $5 to dunk a fan or two for sure! Oh man, if they had a Jrock dunk tank that would be hilarious. I'm totally pitching that idea to Harry! "Step right up folks! Take your best shot! Dunk the Jrocker in shorty-shorts for a prize!" Or perhaps wet t-shirt contests? Would that be too degrading? (<_<)

$49.99 seems like a pretty good deal to have dinner at a fancy Italian resturant with one of your favorite bands and a group of fans if you ask me. I don't think you need to be rich for that either!

LOL I would love to do the jrock dunk tank, that's a great idea!

Shoot man, I don't even know what is going on. I don't even get this conversation. I still don't see how it's offensive. It's not like JHRE takes the money made from the auctions and pockets it or anything. It all goes to paying for hotel, food, everything for the band or member who is doing an event. What bothers me most, which has been said several times, is that the band or person has to agree to it.

I want to go on this dinner with Kamijo and ask him what he thinks of all this. I bet he'd say he loved it and would do it again and again! Maybe I will do it, and contribute to this slavery! ha