the GazettE is a band from Japan

My first proper post has to be about the thing in my life that is the most special thing to me. Music as a whole has always soothed my soul and helped me through rough patches in my life but nothing has even come close to this band:

From left to right - Aoi, Reita, Ruki, Kai, Uruha

Unfortunately if you're going to be reading my blog you will have to know at least the basics so you can understand half my references (If you happen to know me personally you can skip this. You will know this band inside and out even if you don't want to).

The GazettE were formed in 2002 in the Kanagawa region of Japan. The five boys weren't as they are now, the drummer was Yune, who was later replaced by Kai.

Yune, on the far right, was the original drummer

The GazettE are a visual kei band, which means a lot of their performance comes from projecting an image using hair, makeup and stage costumes. Visual kei can mean anything however when it comes to sound. The GazettE have experimented with many different sounds and still do to this day, meaning they never produce an album that is quite like the one before it.

The Gazette have seven studio albums. Disorder, NIL, Stacked Rubbish, DIM, Toxic, Division and Beautiful Deformity, and they are currently recording their eighth, DOGMA. They also have a variety of singles, maxi singles and DVDs. There are currently fifteen stand alone performances available on DVD, as well as a world tour documentary, three collections of music videos, other performances in festivals and so on and some of the very early shows are only on VHS.

As a visual kei band, the GazettE are very successful. However as visual kei is a sub genre of japanese music they are still a relatively obscure band. This has not stopped them from having wild success overseas with fans clamouring to buy their albums and DVDs despite the shipping costs. I know, I'm one of them.

In 2014, a once in a lifetime oppurtunity was made available to me. I went to Tokyo and I saw the band that help me keep going live. This wasn't my first live experience of the GazettE, I had seen them in Helsinki on their 2013 world tour. However, they are not their best overseas I'm sad to report. I had to see them in Japan. I had to go to Japan for many reasons besides this too.

And so I did. In August 2014 I flew over to Japan and spent 10 days there (which I will most likely write another post about). For me, I didn't know when I would ever get to have this kind of chance again. It could be I never get to go again. So I was determined to make the most of it. On the fourth of August all my dreams came true. I got to see the GazettE live in Tokyo.

I won't harp on too much. That day was physcially the most demanding I have experienced and yet I loved it. It has kept me going through many a tough time. If I ever feel like the world is agianst me I just remind myself that the GazettE is a band from Japan. And those five men, who won't even know I exist, have done a lot for me. 

I would like to end with a piece of advice. If you love something like I love the GazettE, hold it close to you. But don't hold it too tight. For me, the struggle to see them live, the lack of funds to buy their merchandise, it has caused me pain. But I would like to think instead that when I succeed, when I buy their magazines or CDs, when I manage to scrape and see them live, that it is all that much more sweeter for me. There are people who can run off at the drop of a hat, who have seen all their tours since day whatever and so on. Some even go so far as chasing them from show to show. I was jealous of these people. I now pity them. Like catching a butterfly, they run the risk of squeezing too tight and ruining the beauty. I stand with my grasp loose, and I can see the brilliancy all the more. I still have my child like wonder looking at them perform and hearing their music. I still scream and cheer when I get the thing I've wanted and saved up for months to buy. And I have friends who I can talk to and imagine being rich enough to see every tour and it makes us closer because we know one day we will see them again and how sweet that will be after years of longing.

If you love something, don't hold it too tight. You'll ruin it. And you'll miss all the wonderful other things you have around you too.

Rei ♡