Interview Questions for May'n for AFA 2011

[VF25-F]

Actually I've never really given much thought about which generation one is from but since you asked, chronologically anyone who had their first contact with the Macross franchise beginning with SDF Macross would be 1st gen. Flash Back 2012 (5th anniv.) - 2nd gen., Macross II (10th anniv.) - 3rd gen, Macross PLUS and Macross 7 (15th anniv.) - 4th gen, Macross ZERO (20th anniv.) - 5th gen and Macross Frontier (25th anniv.) - 6th gen.

But I don't think there's anyone who is 2nd gen because if you had seen Flash Back 2012 (which is just a succession of music videos) one could hardly believe anyone could fall in love with the Macross franchise after watching it just by itself! So if Flash Back 2012 doesn't count then everyone moves one step down.

Another thing is if the 30th anniversary has no anime at all, then there would be a LOST GEN? (Does sound kind of cool though. Q: which gen are you from? A : the LOST gen! : )

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I'm just happy to be partying with my fellow Macross fans!

[VF25-F]

There is usually some sort of PR event where the fans can see May'n close up in person a day or two before the concert. in both LA and SF. Usually it'll be a record shop that carries her album or an Anime related store (mine was at an anime store) - keep an eye on the news (maybe someone at May'n fans USA might know)

If anyone can get the info, post it here so everyone can share.

Another place where you can get a glimpse of her is probably some iconic place in LA and SF (photo shoot) - quite a low chance, but let's see if anyone gets lucky!

[VF25-F]

Another thing the fans may do is catch her at the airport when she lands and throw her a welcome greeting! This happens every time in Singapore and shower her with gifts and in return she signs her autographs on the stuff the fans brought. She usually arrives 3 to 5 days before the concert (she needs to practice for the show as each venue is different ) but this info (such as time and flight no.) can only get from an insider source (probably tortured out of some poor victim .........I'M ONLY JOKING - please don;t this!)

Usually only the local fans can do this unless you're there for like a week..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRbBMlItNmo&feature=related

Uh....NO, she not going to sing this at the concert but it demonstrate that she can do everything live!

[VF25-F]

This is a fan made video. This person has put together 6 different videos (from different time and venues) and made them into one for the same song, which in this case is Northern Cross ( Macross Frontier) The thing that impresses me is : as the song progresses, the actual audio from each of the concerts is singled out for the viewer to listen and when the it's time for the chorus part, all 6 May'n sings together! Nice touch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7RGF1Wd7rs&feature=relmfu

[VF25-F]

May'n will be making an appearance in FanimeCon 2012 this month.

http://www.fanime.com/programming/panels/panel-listing/category/?category=Industry%2FPromotional#962

[VF25-F]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRhBbWnzB88

More from the fan that made the earlier one. This is - Iteza Kuji gogo - Don't be late.

I can tell you, this one is a real crowd favorite. Macross and non-macross fan alike can go crazy with this number. Seen it on youtube and with my own eyes - no matter where she is, the crowd behaves the same.

[VF25-F]

Some update on other venues other than those earlier posted by May'n USA. It's China - Hangzhou (July 8th), Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing.

There are other venues according to my source which will be posted later.

Something interesting to note. Before May 2011, whenever May'n sings 'Diamond Crevasse' - fans would sing along with her. It was during her China tour after the 1st venue, fans have actually asked other fans not to sing along because it got so loud that it drowned her voice ( fans who had attended her concert more than once). Since then it has trickle down to other venues (last one was in Singapore).

I'm quite sure she'll sing this song cause this is the song that got her to no. 2 on the Oricon charts. So, don't sing along even though it feels like the right thing to do ( I've actually seen her got surprised when the audience did that during her BIG WAAAAAVE tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2010)

[VF25-F]

With 'Heat of he moment' at no.9 and 'Chase the World' at no. 5 on the Oricon, her next project is with Capcom. The game : EX Troopers.

http://www.capcom.co.jp/ext/index.html

[VF25-F]

Message from May'n to San Francisco Fans (in Japanese)

Message to L.A. fans

Well, that's how down to Earth she is when's she's not on stage. If you don' recognize her, you'd thought that this was somebody's friend posting a message on Youtube. When she talks to you, at an interview - she talks like she's your friend whom just happens to be a foreigner. At times she even appear on Youtube without make up! (can't say I know any other artiste who does that)

[VF25-F]

Ok. The results are out. Just wondering if there's anyone out there, still sitting on the fence. Well, consider these few things.

1. To many (including myself), THIS is as close as you can get to a 'Macross Frontier' concert in your own country. (Unless you plan

to fly to Japan to attend one). I know the US is big in terms of land mass but compared to flying to Japan, this is considered in your

own backyard (you don't need a passport and visa). But more important, May'n came all the way to see all of you. (She likes to see

peoples's faces , meet people & she wants her fans to have a face, that's why she enjoys doing live shows more than studio

recordings). The other thing is though she don't mind at all performing for small crowds, it's the company and the organizers that

decide whether there will be other venues in the future.

2. She may not sing all the songs from Frontier, but she'll sing more as it's the first time she's doing a full concert in the US, France

and Germany. But in terms of time frame, this is her 7th year with HORIPRO and each year she does around 30 (actually more)

concerts and appearances. That's like 30 x 7 years = 210 times she sang the same songs (not including practices). So in future,

she'll have to phase out the older songs to make way for the newer ones.

3. The live performances are really something to witness. What I like about her concerts, is that there are ample opportunity for the

audience (you) to take part in. I've done my share of arm folding during concerts, but somehow her songs enable you to do more

than stand there and listen. Usually the fans will take the lead (just join in), other times May'n will give you the signal - once you've

joined in to the cheering, waving and etc, YOU become part of the concert/part of the song/part of the act! You become a

participant, not a witness. Try it for once, you'll really enjoy it. The best part - she WANTS to hear your voice!

So the equation is something like this :

= Fantastic Singer + Fantastic Song + Fantastic Audience (YOU) = AWESOME CONCERT!

Yup, you get to make the concert even better and oh. don't forget to get that all important LIGHTSTICK!

(I waved for the whole 2 hours of the concert, pausing only to change hands + plus I think I loss a pound or two. : ) )

Edited May 27, 2012 by VF25-F

[VF25-F]

Here another interview and about what she would like to do in the US : )

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2012-05-16/interview-mayn

[VF25-F]

May'n message at Famicon

http://www.facebook.com/events/308472812556739/

[VF25-F]

More of what no. 3 in my earlier post looks like in real life. Here she is (with one of my favorites) : Lion (......a more serious version!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0nBxdAyLNg

[VF25-F]

Another song posted by fans in youtube. This one is her 'World Uniting Song' - PHONIC NATION (Rhythm Tank concert 2011 - encore)

A few things to watch out for in this top-notch performing concert.

1. You can see tears coming down her eyes about a minute after the song starts. An emotional one for her as she wrote it, inspired by the different cultures and different souls she met during her tours.

2. The audience is awesome! Though it's only 99% with one percent arms folded, anyone would be happy with such a response! Her concert is full of things to do. Watch out for the sudden camera pan on a bunch of people just sitting there! That's the media booth!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80bybjKOU0Y

[EXO]

This is my favorite song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SgIFwtUt4

halfway thru she really starts to bring it...

[VF25-F]

Yup, she has quite a lot of songs that I like including those not Macross related.

I've noticed that she has this pattern, where the second half of the song is much better than the first half (like building up a climax in a story) Or maybe she needs some time to adjust to the 'character' of the song (her songs ranges from serious, fast paced, slow, ballad, pop, dance and even comical). She really put effort and emotion into each of her songs and for that I really enjoy her performances.

At some point of the concert, she'll sing one after another fast hitting songs (like chain combo) and one could feel like the concert is going at 'Macross speed'

[EXO]

I don't think the first half is bad, you need the slow part so you can build up to the urgency of the later half. Otherwise it's just a fast rock number.

[VF25-F]

: ) I didn't mean to make it sound like that. Actually there's nothing wrong with the first part, she's a talented singer.

For those of you who will witness her for the first time, well let's just say there will be surprises. Like many, we saw here performing on youtube and some live in mini concerts (anime related event where she only performed like 6 songs) When her new album came out - Styles (back in 2010) I found one of her tracks - PARANOIA - to be interesting - catchy tune, fast paced etc. But when I saw here performed this song during her BIG WAAAAVE concert tour in my country - I was like ........What? She's doing this! (see video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weckBwqx8UQ&feature=relmfu

After I got home, I downloaded the same song from youtube and took a closer look. Though this song is actually a comical song, it actually took more effort than her the other more serious songs. There are actually choreography involved. She has to be at a certain place at a certain time in the song, hand and facial gestures too. The routine, other than the chorus part is not repeated and you can see her breathing deeply at the end of the chorus (when she clench her fist, posing and the lights dim out) This version looked much better than the one I saw probably because of the huge stage. (Mine was quite small and no supporting dancers for this song)

The other reason why I was kinda shocked was when she does her serious fast paced songs or slow ones, she looked sooooo mature. But in fact she's only 21 at that time. Another such fun and enjoyable song has her name on it - MAY'N SPACE!

[Seanzilla]

I'm going to show in San Francisco and can't wait. I have her concerts on bluray, but I got to ask, are we going to get the same type of performance? I mean my friend who lives there said Yoshi's is very small. I wonder if we are going to have her band there. Or if the music will be piped in. I figure her main dancers will be there, and I am confident that we will still have an awesome show with her singing her heart out. But I do wonder how much she will be limited from putting on the big show she does at her huge signature concerts.

I also bought the ticket to meet her!!! : )

[VF25-F]

The huge signature ones are likely only to be in Japan because it's a guarantee sold out hands down plus many more can't get tickets! Her other venues, though in Japan ( Side A type ) are not likely to have elaborate settings. So all the overseas ones even though sold out will still not have elaborate settings unless she can get enough support (that's from the audience) for a big show (organizers and companies are only in it for the money, elaborate settings cost more money to set up.)

Since this is the first time for her to have a full concert in your country - the organizers dared not put up a big event. In short they are testing the market . If both venues are a sell out, then likely one of 2 things will happen - more venues will open up (mid and east coast) while maintaining the ones in the west or a bigger place next year. Or even both. We'll have to see how it goes.

But from what I can see and gather the lighting system will the same as the one used in japan - the lights behave according to the song. But to tell you the truth, from a 3rd person (watching it from TV, youtube after the actual concert) we'll notice it, but if you're at the concert itself, you'll not likely to notice it because you're totally absorb in the concert. It helps in the overall experience (together with a lightstick). But the whole concert still rest on May'n shoulders.

Really happy you can get to see and greet her face to face Seanzilla. Is the event on the same day of the concert or one day before? If it's not on the day of the concert, then it's a meet and greet event with a Q & A session with the fans.

[VF25-F]

Does it sound gloomy in my previous post? Well actually, it's the norm. When singers from your country come over to perform, it's the same thing - very minimal set up.

It's because the setting up a elaborate set requires lots of time plus practices by the performers and taking down the set after the concert takes a lot of time, which means the rental of the premises cost more and no one else can use that place while this is going on. I wanted to load up a video from one of her concerts which shows the setting up process to show how much work goes into it but unfortunately they have all been removed but if you have her DVD/BD, check out the Making of it. (BIG WAAAAAVE and RHYTHM TANK have good ones)

In fact, when May'n started performing in live concerts (after singing as Sherly) the venues were pretty small until 2009 she had her solo concert on a big stage. Not to worry though, if the performer is good, you don't even need any of this.

And May'n didn't get this far in her career by being a just regular performer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD5fUlF4gWQ

This is her with 'Kimi Shinitamo Koto Nakare (lously translated as : Thou Shalt Not Die!) from the anime OP Shangri-La. (Big Waaaave concert 2010) As you can see, it's another crowd favorite!

Edited June 11, 2012 by VF25-F

[The Songstress Fairy]

Few Updates/questions

-I spoke with Yoshi's as of yesterday. They said they dont know the exact time of the "early" admission for the VIPs, but they open at noon. So I am going to stake out early to get prime seating, etc.

- Does anyone know if theres a limit on autograph goods? Also I was thinking of bringing May'n a gift (She talks of loving american pancake mix on her blog and things like that..)

-Would any of the MW people would like to get post concert dinner/lunch together? Possibly take a photo? I know theres a good udon, shabu shabu and a yakiniku house.

[EXO]

Hi SF,

I forwarded your question over...

here's the reply.

VIP ticket holders can get 1 item signed.

No gift policy has been posted -- the attendee should ask the HoriPro staff at the event to see if it's okay.

[VF25-F]

Actually it;s not a bad idea to meet up fellow Macross fans during this event, like suggested by The Songstress Fairy.

In fact, it was in such an event that I finally managed to find my local Macross Fan club. This was back in 2010 when May'n came over as part of her 'BIG WAAAAAVE' tour. She had a PR event one day before the actual concert and I was there like so many others. Suddenly, I saw 2 guys approach May'n on the stage and gave her some gifts - the MC informed that they were members of Macross Fans club (that's Vanpang and John). Immediately after the event I approached them and made contact. (we didn't have FB back then)

The next day we met up again and he introduced me to more fans and we went in together. Since then I've been an active member, meeting with Vanpang almost every weekend when there's things to do for the club.

Each time I go to one of May'n event, I meet more people. And to tell you the truth, I've met more people in that 2 year time period (thanks to May'n) than in 10 years of my working life.

[UN Spacy]

Hi SF,

I forwarded your question over...

here's the reply.

What about for folks that won free tix?

[EXO]

Those aren't VIP tix. But I would double check at the door.

[VF25-F]

This is the same song : Kimi Shinitamo Koto Nakare (OP fr Shang-ri La posted in youtube by fans) but sang in another way. Almost as if it was another song. The 2nd half really rock the concert hall (Rhythm Tank 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O544qz5CD8&feature=relmfu

This one is from the title song of the Movie 'Incite Mill' - Shinjite Miru (also posted by the same fan) (Rhythm Tank 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2j2v0CsLoA&feature=relmfu

[VF25-F]

A few more days to the concert and to see May'n Live!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1l18v7tjJA&feature=relmfu

Sound familiar? This is the song they used in the 2nd Movie : Sayonara no Tsubasa - during Sherly's jailbreak scene. But of course that was a duet version.

How does she sound like in a slow song (other than Diamond Crevasse)? Here's one of my favorite 'SWAN' (both Rhythm Tank 2011 posted by fans)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSPHKiBvyY&feature=relmfu

[Mercurial Morpheus]

-Would any of the MW people would like to get post concert dinner/lunch together? Possibly take a photo? I know theres a good udon, shabu shabu and a yakiniku house.

There's a thread concerning that in the Meetups Conventions board. Though getting Norcal fans to collaborate on anything of late is a trying experience. ;;

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=36962

I did write back to the street team organizers as to whether the tickets were upgradeable, and it doesn't sound like they are, but it also wasn't certain they understood what I meant. They suggested buying the VIP and then telling them to transfer the ticket to another name. So who knows? I'd gladly pay the difference.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Mercurial Morpheus

[VF25-F]

I tried to look for the article I wrote on May'n UNITE concert, june 2011 (approved and posted in MW sometime in August, which is 4 pages long - posted by vanpang) but can't find it. Anyway, would love to hear about your reaction to the concert..

The concert will be great, especially she'll be singing more Macross Frontier songs. The crowd will be great especially this time it'll be hard core May'n fans, Macross fans and smaller number of curious ones. The hard core fans will actually practice all the moves for each song. You'll probably find them behind the venue or in a empty car park lot. There's just 3 basic moves - quick strokes, upward arc/toast and the 'Hei! Hei! Hei!...' cheer. They may look like they're casting some kind of spell but once in the concert and music is playing - they're awesome! (some used light sabers as light sticks) So, get that light stick and jump in for an enjoyable time!

This is the last song on her Rhythm Tank concert, and like she mentioned in her interview in Animenewsnetwork, ' You can practice as many times u want but things doesn't always happen the way you predict it.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf-wfcK8jwo&feature=relmfu

[Seanzilla]

I assume the LA show has a meet and greet like the SF show. For those going, can you tell us how early before the show they let you in to see her?

For the SF show, I guess I am going to show up around noon when the box office opens to pic up tix. I called Yoshi's and they really have no idea. LOL

[EXO]

L.A. WEEKLY has a news article concerning May'n's concert and the songstress in general. They also included a link on the article about the 2010 MW Con.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2012/06/mayn_macross_frontier_accel_wo.php

[VF25-F]

Here's a report from a local TV in Japan - What is May'n secret of popularity? They also mention about her USA tour and there's some clips of her practicing for her 'Rhythm Tank' concert.

http://www.fujisankei.com/video_library/art/mayn.php

[VF25-F]

Thanks to <EXO> we have a LA review. Anyone for a SF review?

[VF25-F]

Another request. Song list! Can anyone scratch up one? Even partial will be nice.

So far : Diamond Crevasse (encore), oh....and that song where u need a towel (XYZ)

Edited June 27, 2012 by VF25-F