One of the ideas I am looking at is a concert on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The trick will be having a band on Friday that doesn't require a full day of sound checks (requiring that we have full set-up on Thursday).

Ideally, it would be one jpop, one jrock, one wildcard.

Mike

I and quite a few friends of mine would love to see KOTOKO. We saw her perform at Anime Expo 2005, and she was absolutely awesome. Easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to, and we would fanatically come to see her again. She works with both Geneon and the I've Sound label.
http://www.kotoko-net.com

Shimamiya Eiko (who also works with I've Sound and Geneon) would also be awesome to see, and she probably has less US exposure than KOTOKO does.
http://www.shimamiya-eiko.com

I would DEFINATELY second KOTOKO. I was one of the many attendees that watched her rather awesome concert at Anime Expo 2005. She would really be a great addition to Pacific Media Expo 2007. Not only is she a great singer, she fuses Asian music with different genres, ranging from hardcore techno / pop to slow, melodic tunes.

While I would love to see NOIZ again, I realize that's unlikely as far as PMX goes. Sooo... Kishidan. I love me those costumed bands. Kishidan would probably also appeal to jpop lovers as well, since they flucuate between pop and rock styles. Not to mention that they are very cool guys.

Besides them, I can't think of any groups I like that PMX would be able to handle it's fanbase (B'z, Porno Graffitti, SMAP).

I'm probably at a very small minority here... though as much as I love Japanese bands, I wished the convention would truly expand like it advertises itself.

I would love to see bands from the Philippines perform-- like Parokya ni Edgar:
http://www.parokyaband.com/
I love these guys and I think they deserve as much attention, too.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-20-06 AT 00:33 AM (PDT)
 
To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to suggest the J-pop group w-inds. as possible guests for PMX 2007. They are managed by Vision Factory, which I heard is the same management company for Olivia.

The group has a very international fanbase, and they have given concerts in Taiwan (they were actually awarded the most popular J-pop artist in Taiwan at the Taiwan MTV Awards this year) and Shanghai; they are also performing in Korea at the end of this month. Furthermore, the members themselves have expressed interest in performing here in America. When asked what he wish to be if he could be anything in the world, Ryuichi Ogata, a member of w-inds., replied that he would like to be a foreigner; it is also a known fact that he has visted LA at least once for vacation in the past few years. The lead singer, Keita Tachibana, is a HUGE fan of Earth Winds and Fire, and has recently embarked on a solo experiment singing the ending song for the anime "Reborn."

w-inds. has three members, all of which are extremely talented. The lead singer Keita Tachibana is rumored to have a 5-octave voice range, which I'm not sure if any American male artist can match. Ryohei Chiba is a highly skilled break dancer, and Ryuichi Ogata, in addition to dancing, is very skilled at playing the acoustic and electric guitars (Keita also plays the acoustic guitar, as well as the piano).

Although at a glance, w-inds. may seem like a stereotypical "boyband," their music style varies from 50's inspired music to BSB pop and everything inbetween. Many unbiased music listeners like their variety in music styles, their unique dance styles, and the members' individual talents (there are guys who really admire Keita's singing voice because it's so unique).

I am aware that LA has a huge KAT-TUN fan following, and I think w-inds. would be a treat for those fans as well, since w-inds. are also very pretty and they dance =D. Therefore, PMX will also introduce attendees to a music artist they might enjoy but have not yet heard about. However, because w-inds. are not anywhere near as popular as KAT-TUN in Japan, and w-inds. management company are noticeably smaller, bringing w-inds. over would be a less complicated process for PMX and probably a lot less expensive as well.

Speaking of expenses... The unofficial North American w-inds. fanclub (http://www.w-inds.ws) currently has 300 registered members, some of which are willing to pay a premium in the triple digits for close up seats (it's still way cheaper than flying to Japan to see them ^_^). Besides British Columbia, California has the largest number of fans in North America, and many fans are willing to travel anywhere in the U.S. to watch w-inds. live (there are quite a few fans in the New York City and Toronto areas). If you can provide me with the costs history of inviting an artist to PMX, I can perform a feasibility study of bringing w-inds. over (I write and analyze feasibility reports for hotels all the time, so writing a report about inviting an international music artist should be on a significantly smaller scale compared to what I'm used to). I also have the resources to conduct a market study of the demand for w-inds. here in North America, and can provide you with a pro forma of expected revenues and bottomline profits based on that demand, as well as make recommendations for tiered pricing for the concert tickets.

Finally, because I am a hotel administration major, I can try my best to negotiate for the lowest cost to PMX possible of hosting w-inds. and their concert here (if the concert venue is within a hotel). Therefore, I would like to request information on PMX's requirements for inviting an artist, so I can make an accurate recommendation on whether or not it is economically feasible and profitable for PMX to invite w-inds. here. Because I am currently considering hotel development consulting in the future, I will make my recommendation completely unbiased, with the highest level of integrity, and based solely on the market demand and the costing information you provide me, since my reputation is worth more than falsifying information for a concert (and you are welcome to double check my numbers as well).

If inviting w-inds. is a possibility for PMX 2007, please feel free to contact me at natsuka@gmail.com, and we can discuss this topic further. Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask as well.

I am providing some samples of w-inds. performances below:

Live performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf5QfqdG7iY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-fJ107ei7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZOe6lf-Ws8

Dances compilation video:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=588158881
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhUgFQ5pJr4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LpHzjT4UVU

Tachibana Keita Solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbgetBrhwFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOsZBEHhRk0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcqq5-_8KM8

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Jean T.
w-inds.swept NA FC
http://www.w-inds.ws

I would like to put in a vote for w-inds. too! I would attend PMX for sure if w-inds. comes.

LAST EDITED ON Dec-25-06 AT 10:20 PM (PDT)
 
Since there seem to be a lot of pop suggestions, I'll put some rock band's names here

UVERworld (did theme songs for BLEACH, BLOOD+)
ELLEGARDEN (they have a lot of songs in English so I guess language might not be a problem?)
L'Arc~en~Ciel
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR
MUCC
No Regret Life (did the Naruto ending song)
Onsoku Line
RADWIMPS
TRIPLANE
Takahashi Hitomi (she sang theme songs for Gundam Seed, BLOOD+)

Now that it's dawned on me that w-inds. will need someone to open for them if they gey invited to PMX next year. If you haven't already thought up opening groups I'd like to request DASH!! or Lead to open for them Both groups can dance extremely well and I'm positive people would come to see them. If you're looking for which group more people would come to see, Lead's probably your best bet, but I'm biased and I'd want DASH!! to come over more ^-^a;
Both groups are also managed by Vision Factory I'm not going to write as much as Natsuka wrote about w-inds., but I am going to let you all know a little bit about DASH!! and Lead.

Lead;;
"There were 3 good friends at the "Caless Vocal and Dance School" in Osaka, namely Shinya Taniuchi, Akira Kagimoto and Hiroki Nakadoi. In March 2002, they formed a team called "remix" and performed on the streets. Later in May, they renamed themselves as "Flow", and decided to recruit a new member. On the fateful day, 13 April 2002, "Kyushu/Fukuoka Star Light Audition was held in Okinawa. Keita Furuya was the winner out of 8751 contestants! May 18th, 2002, Keita joined Flow. From then on, they finalized their name as "Lead" on May 23rd, 2002. Around July 2002, Lead performed their debut at Osaka Castle Park, with a high 7000 audience. A huge success indeed. On July 7th, 2002, they performed "Manatsu no Magic" as the opening act of w-inds.'s 1st live tour "1st Message"."
credit; http://geocities.com/getwildlead/

DASH!!;;
"DASH!! is a four member dance and vocal unit who attended the Caless Vocal and Dance School in Osaka. Energetic dancers, they are the junior version of music group Lead, who also are part of Caless. DASH!! began their dancing career because they were inspired by their senpais, w-inds. and Lead. DASH!! were members of Heavy Rhythm and Vision Factory . The dance instructor for this group is Taichi of Caless Dance Studio. Like Lead, DASH!! is a four MC group, meaning that all of them rap. DASH!! have many original songs, such as MILLIONAIRE, Memories, and SPECIAL DAYS, which was written by DASH!! themselves."
credit; http://geocities.com/dashignition

Lead has a lot of fans over here who are minor w-inds. fans, so though they might want to see w-inds. they wouldn't want to spend so much money to go, but if Lead opened for them then they would go because they get to see both Lead AND w-inds.. :]
the same for DASH!!, they are really good dancers and a lot of people who are fans of DASH!! are also fans of w-inds. and Lead.
]

Lead dance compilation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gumEezmmUxE <-- w-inds. are in this one, too

Lead lives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRdx73mSZr4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwbJ3S1MFb8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Auu3_UjfNU

DASH!! lives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw1pJTsz83w
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1631568533
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1631726714

Does it have to be JPop or JRock? Korean music is getting pretty big in the USA now too.

Here's my list of Korean artists (though some of them are getting big/are big in Japan ^^)

TVXQ/DBSK/DBSG/Dong Bang Shin Ki/Gi (Tohoshinki in Japan)
BoA
TRAX
Se7en
Seo Taiji

OK there's a ton more good Korean artists out there, but those are just the few that are in my iTunes right now ^^;;;;;

And... OK, here are my Japanese suggestions:

-- Kimeru!
(I CONTINUE TO BE THE LONE VOICE OF KIME LOVE. butbutbut. Kimeru is teh awesomesssss! He's been working with Daisuke Asakura lately. Same producer as TMR, which, if you remember, you had in 2004. *HIDDENHINT*)

-- SID
(They where in the US before, um ACEN or something like that? *fails, doesn't know*)

-- Nakajima Takui
(TOTALLY RANDOM LEFT-FIELD SUGGESTION BUT HE'S STILL AWESOME and does a mean cover of Hard Day's Night srsly.)

Let's see.. what else...um, um, uh, *MANDATORY GACKT REQUEST?* X3

「忘れられないときになる」
~Francesca Code ☆
http://fiyaa.com & http://meruki.com

I think it would be wonderful if you could get w-inds. for the jpop act.

What do you guys think of Pennicillin?

A PMX 2006 CONCERT T-SHIRT! You know you want one (or two)! http://pacificmediaexpo.info/2007/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=39&Itemid=79

This probably isn't possible, but I'd LOVE to see Miyavi, and maybe even S.K.I.N. if you could manage it. =D

I would love to see Orange Range, Arashi, ken hirai, or Utada Hikaru.

Of course, I'm going to re-submit my Kawabe Chieco suggestion from last year. However, I'd LOVE to have AAA come - they went to Otakon, after all, and we west-coasters should get a chance to see them too!!

I would most like to see:

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Kagrra,
KOTOKO

If you could get any of them, I would be overjoyed!