While at the NY Comic-Con, I received a copy of Manga Cafe, the quarterly Animefood magazine dedicated to manga, anime, J-rock music, and convention culture. I read the Feb/Mar 2008 issue front to back. If I had to pick a highlight, it would be the comprehensive interviews with Visual Kei bands (including BLOOD and Rentrer en Soi), accompanied by full-color glossy photos.
I laughed out loud when I read Manga Cafe's chat with The Candy Spooky Theater, the Tim Burton-esque trio with a demented sense of humor. Formed in Tokyo in 2003, the band quickly became infamous for its wild on-stage antics and B-rated horror-inspired music. (For those of you playing the "She-male or Female?" guessing game, the answer is: all the members are men.) Here are some excerpts from their interview:
† How did you pick your names?
Jack Spooky: I just felt the groove of the name and thought it fit me. Jack is a very generic name, yet it can remain a little mysterious.
Peggy Giggles: It just came to me.
Kiddy Skeleton: Me too.
† How did you meet?
J: Basically, Peggy and I were in a band called Dororo. That band broke up, and after a time we met Kiddy.
† And your parents' reaction?
K: None of our parents have ever seen us on stage. They always say "Do something better with your life."
† Do they know you perform?
J: They know that we wear makeup and perform on stage.
K: My parents called me right before I was getting on the plane, and I told them, "I can't talk right now I am about to get on a plane to America to perform." Then my mom started screaming at me and said, "You are still in that band?! You are leaving to America?!" So I told her I would call her back.
† Do you believe in Santa?
J: We really like Christmas, but in Japan, Christmas time is the day when couples hook up. So Christmas is a very annoying nuisance to guys, and it can be lonely.
† If you were not a musician, what would you be?
K: Lots of things.
J: An actor.
P: A fisherman.
† With a fisherman's hat?
P: Yes! (laughs)
K: I think I would be... a homeless guy!
† What? A homeless guy?! (everyone laughs) With a homeless guy sign?
K: No sign. Just a house out of cardboard.
† Final message as a band?
J: We are not all scary, and we won't eat your head alive.
† From the Feb/Mar 2008 issue of Manga Cafe, p57-60. You can listen to tracks by The Candy Spooky Theater on their MySpace.
