S.S. HANAMI

"Their music is complex, captivating and plot-focused. Each song is a dramatic Broadway-sounding production– like ‘What’s Love Without Danger?’ It has the vibe of a painful and climactic anime love-story scene, all narrated by the singer." - Grey Matter

WHAT’S UP NATION!? Today we’re gonna look at another “Themed Driven” band. One that I have talked about before and with their performance coming up at Grand Brony Gala i’d say now is the perfect time to take a look at SS HANAMI-Original Soundtrack, Season One.

Now this review is going to be a tad different because the main theme of this band is “Anime” and that’s something that perhaps the average music listener may not understand. So the verdict is going to be from the perspective of an outsider. Although I am familiar with anime I am not the biggest fan of it so I did an interview with the singer Robin Adams (Which you can see HERE) where he explain the artistic vision of his band. The first thing you may notice is the name of the album “Original Soundtrack, Season One”. It seems such an odd title for an album but, turns out there’s a method to the madness. It’s because they see SS Hanami as an anime as much as it is a band and the songs are meant to be the original score to the series and the songs are meant to reflect certain scenes you would see in an anime and they let you create the scene in your head.

(I have to admit, that’s pretty creative.) So because of this each song has a different theatrical feel to it. So one song feels dramatic, another feels edgy, others feel whimsical or dark and they do this by using both traditional instruments and writing as well as the use Japanese influences. Like they play a Japanese Harp called a Koto to create a sound of elegance plus a keyboard synthesizer to add a touch of J-Pop and any other effects they can get out of it. So if you’re into theatrical musical scores or love the artistry of anime i’d say this is the band worth checking but, for average music listeners. If could give you an idea of they’re writing style I would say it’s like QUEEN. Now I know this is a pretty big statement so allow me to explain. I’m not saying they sound like them but I notice that both bands write music that feels (As I said before) like theatrical musical scores and sometimes change styles in just one song. So I give this 3 1/2 \m/\m/\m/\n out of 5. So whether your a fan of anime or not, give it a listen and hear for yourself. Be sure to check them out at this year’s Grand Brony Gala with voice actors Cathey Weseluck (Spike & Mare Mayor), Michelle Creber (AppleBloom & Singing Sweetie Belle) As well as My Little Pony Author GM Berrow and Brony Musician BlackGryph0n. Until next time nation STAY LOUD!!! - The Concert Cruizer

Based out of Cape Canaveral Florida Say hello to the J-Rock band inspired by anime and the Visual Kei movement from Japan, S.S HANAMI. Coming together in 2009 from the the Japanese word for “cherry-blossom viewing”, actually starting this journey as a solo project with Robert Adams by 2011 this explosive project had become a four piece musical riot including Nat Morkan – Guitar, James Brinkle Jr. – Bass and Andrew Wiggins on Drums.

The band has been busy entertaining Floridians at a run of shows including Orlando Nerdfest, that culminated in two performances at Umicon Daytona Beach to celebrate the five-year anniversary of their first show.

Now a very cool aspect of their album is The koto, a traditional thirteen-string Japanese harp, makes an appearance on several of S.S. HANAMI’s songs, such as Another Yesterday, What’s Love Without Danger? and Eternal Autumn!

You can hear more at: https://www.facebook.com/s.s.hanamimusic - OrlandoBands.com

It was supposed to be a day of fun. It was supposed to be a day of excitement. It was supposed to be a preview of things to come.

Instead of being what it was supposed to be, Chibi-Pa Sampler II lacked the organization it needed to create a worthwhile anime convention.

Registration was scheduled to open at 9am. It was past 10am before the first badge was purchased. The line of anticipatory anime fans waiting outside was told the dealer’s room was still setting up.

The opening ceremonies were informative as far as one event was concerned: Lose Weight, Win Money.

Being a man of few words, Jason Bailey gave no conclusive statement during opening ceremonies. Attendees waited for 10 uneventful minutes before they unanimously figured out that the ceremonies were over and left the main entertainment room for panels and Pocky.

The panels of this one-day convention were a hit or miss. The World of Warcraft discussion panel had plenty to talk about with lots of audience participation. The Name that Anime Tune panel was cancelled due to a Wi-Fi malfunction by the hostess’s netbook.

Many fans were disappointed by the panel that never happened. Whoever was running the Video Game Tournament of Champions did not show up. It was cancelled, but that gave S.S. Hanami extra time to set up for their show.

S.S Hanami is a Florida-local band headed by a cosplayer vocalist who identifies himself so much with Shuichi Shindou from Gravitation that his hair is permanently dyed bright pink.

S.S. Hanami’s performance was as beautiful as the cherry blossoms that were thrown into the audience. However, the buzzing feedback from the equipment made listeners cringe. A microphone malfunction called for an encore, but the instruments were so loud that the vocals were drowned out anyway. One mentionable aspect of the S.S. Hanami performance is the use of a stringed Japanese instrument called the koto. The combination of rock and traditional Japanese sounds may seem uncanny to most, but the way it was blended into the song showed true artistry for such a young band.

It may have only been a day long, but there is still more about the Chibi-Pa Sampler II to come. Subscribe to your local Anime Examiner to find out more about the good and bad of the mini convention.
- Examiner.com -- Fort Lauderdale Anime Examiner (Susan Schwartz)

“Today we’ve got something really special in store for you. If you’re a fan of Japanese Anime or any sort of fantasy cartoon fiction, this is gonna be up your alley. S.S. Hanami is an American band but with major Japanese influence. Read for yourself!” - Epicbull.com