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 Unedited Feed from the MELL panel at Otakon 2009. Transcription: bayoab
Note: ( ) is usually commenting on the panel and was not said.

13:03:50 <bay|Ota|MELL> MELL is delayed by 10-15 minutes
13:12:04 <bay|Ota|MELL> (There are maybe 40 people in the room... maybe 50)
13:22:32 <bay|Ota|MELL> Please welcome MELL
13:23:42 <bay|Ota|MELL> Hi, I'm MELL, thank you for yesterday, our time is short, but i hope we can spend some enjoyable time together
13:24:10 <bay|Ota|MELL> Haru Yoshida, I'm based in LA, I'm trying to promote MELL in the US
13:24:37 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Any inspirations you have when writing your lyrics?
13:25:01 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: There are moments where things are on my mind in day to day life that suddenly pop into my mind and I turn them into lyrics.
13:25:13 <bay|Ota|MELL> A melody forms in my head and it comes out in words.
13:25:27 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: What as the Idea behind the scope PV?
13:26:19 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: The lyrics are of course very sad.... the video was shot trying to encompass all the passions and the feeings of sadness in one video
13:26:30 <bay|Ota|MELL> The kimono I wore for the encore was for the video
13:26:33 <bay|Ota|MELL> Thank you for being familiar with my works.
13:27:12 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Inspiration for the lyrics for Red Fraction?
13:27:48 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: Basically, it was the theme for black lagoon and the imagry was about a girl totting two guns
13:28:16 <bay|Ota|MELL> I guess, the bad guys are the good guys in the story...
13:28:38 <bay|Ota|MELL> So I just sorta imagined throwing myself into that world and wrote those lyrics down all at once.
13:29:04 <bay|Ota|MELL> Haru: She was so involved, I swear I saw revy inside MELL
13:29:07 <bay|Ota|MELL> and the recording for the song was done in america
13:29:15 <bay|Ota|MELL> M: At paramount studios in LA
13:29:54 <bay|Ota|MELL> The composter and the lyricist were locked in a hotel room to finish it while I waited for them to finish it..
13:30:20 <bay|Ota|MELL> H: So in the discussion group trying to get that song finished, I swear she turned into revy and was like "finish it up"
13:30:30 <bay|Ota|MELL> M: I apologize for that
13:30:47 <bay|Ota|MELL> That was my debut single and since it was my debut song as a single, i wanted to put everything I had into it
13:31:12 <bay|Ota|MELL> I never expected to be so widely released in the US so it was a big surprise for me
13:32:10 <bay|Ota|MELL> (Talking about the wardrobe malfunction yesterday)
13:32:55 <bay|Ota|MELL> M: It wasn't part of the show, I swear...
13:33:14 <bay|Ota|MELL> H: So the keyboardist decided to fill in time...
13:33:21 <bay|Ota|MELL> M: That was the first time that happened in the years performing.
13:33:55 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Thank you for bringing the band. It was awesome to actually see a band here.
13:34:06 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: America(?) loves heavy metal and hard rock
13:34:18 <bay|Ota|MELL> the band was putting everything they had into rehersals, they were really excited about being in america
13:34:36 <bay|Ota|MELL> Crabcakes are like amazingly tasty....
13:34:47 <bay|Ota|MELL> I'm from Hokkaido which is also known for crap... Sapporo city...
13:35:00 <bay|Ota|MELL> So I do live in a place that is well known for its seafood
13:35:34 <bay|Ota|MELL> I mean, what could be different from crab in baltimore from japan... but they had these crabcakes ive never seen before
13:35:41 <bay|Ota|MELL> (lost that...)
13:35:44 <bay|Ota|MELL> I love that water taxi
13:36:06 <bay|Ota|MELL> I've got to say that baltiore has got good food and beautiful scenery
13:36:13 <bay|Ota|MELL> And I love the view that I have from the room in my hotel.
13:36:18 <bay|Ota|MELL> I want to come back.
13:37:17 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Do you prefer performing for american's or Japanese?
13:37:49 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: The biggest difference between the two is how friendly the fans are
13:37:51 <bay|Ota|MELL> they will see you and wave
13:38:03 <bay|Ota|MELL> but the Japanese fans are all "you did very well today"
13:38:19 <bay|Ota|MELL> Even after the big finale, the Japanese fans are all "that was good"
13:39:00 <bay|Ota|MELL> In Japan, even though we speak the same language, they are still very proper....
13:39:12 <bay|Ota|MELL> Here with the language barrier, you are all very friendly....
13:39:31 <bay|Ota|MELL> (She starts singing We are the World)
13:39:51 <bay|Ota|MELL> (When asked to actually handle the question)
13:40:09 <bay|Ota|MELL> Come see us in japan to see why the question was answered that way...
13:40:44 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Did you always want to be a singer or did you want to do something else?
13:41:41 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: So I always wanted to be a singer but there was so many years before I debuted as an artist that I wondered if i was meant to do this
13:41:49 <bay|Ota|MELL> But being here with you today makes me glad I stuck with it
13:42:06 <bay|Ota|MELL> The american performers have taught me a lot through their lyrics and their music
13:42:13 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Which artists do you like?
13:42:26 <bay|Ota|MELL> A; Areta Franklin (She's singing you make me feel)
13:42:37 <bay|Ota|MELL> I listen to a lot of that before coming to the US
13:43:50 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: A lot of musicans here reacted stronged to Michael jackson's death, I was wondering what your reaction was?
13:44:30 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: I really liked his thriller.
13:45:33 <bay|Ota|MELL> I mean everybody is very moved by his loss and listening to his musci, he made a diference around the world and everyone was saddened, and even with it all, gossip came up and that saddend me even more and tried to remember him for the vast scope of his work
13:45:41 <bay|Ota|MELL> I hope he is playing peter pan in the great never never land in the sky
13:46:03 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Can you tell us about your relationship with I've sound and how that affects your relationship
13:47:46 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: (Going over who I've sound is. Check wikipedia for the background)
13:47:57 <bay|Ota|MELL> The total music between the bands is 700 songs under that Label
13:48:14 <bay|Ota|MELL> MELL was one of the first artists to be signed with I've Sound
13:48:38 <bay|Ota|MELL> And the first major debut was 2006 with Red Fraction
13:49:11 <bay|Ota|MELL> So the goal of I've sound is to spread the music all over the world. To Mr Yoshida(?) over there is heading up the US office.
13:49:37 <bay|Ota|MELL> We'll be putting up more info on the US site soon.
13:49:52 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Where most of the songs last night fro the latest album?
13:49:58 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: Yes, they were from Scope.
13:50:12 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Are you close with any of the other members of I've?
13:50:40 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: Kotoko just began her Japanese tour yesterday... their tour dates overlap so they were encouraging eachother
13:50:47 <bay|Ota|MELL> I talked with her on the phone about it.
13:51:19 <bay|Ota|MELL> I'm really close to her.
13:51:31 <bay|Ota|MELL> All the bands under the I've label are really close. It's like a big family.
13:51:53 <bay|Ota|MELL> I hope all of our CDs and DVDs will be available so you can see it here.
13:52:09 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Did Kotoko give you any advice about performing here since she had previously been at AX?
13:52:34 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: She said that everyone was so excited and happy that it felt like being a big star when I came here.
13:52:39 <bay|Ota|MELL> So she said okay, just remember that and do your best.
13:53:04 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Any disagreements with the song writer about how it should sound?
13:53:20 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: You'd think a lot of artists would come into disagreements, but I haven't had any situation like that.
13:54:03 <bay|Ota|MELL> Instead of the producer and artist talking to eachother, we kinda turn our backs to eachothe and throw stuff till it sticks. (part lost)
13:54:29 <bay|Ota|MELL> Once we get into the studio and it becomes clear what works and what doesn't, at that point it mesh's together and we can say hey, we did a good job.
13:55:14 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: What's its like working with Aki-san
13:55:18 <bay|Ota|MELL> A; Wow, that was a long time ago...
13:55:51 <bay|Ota|MELL> It's really nostalgic thinking about it. I never thought her name would come up in the US.
13:56:09 <bay|Ota|MELL> All the artists have different styles.
13:56:27 <bay|Ota|MELL> We have a unit called the Love Planet Five that sung together at the budoukan..
13:57:06 <bay|Ota|MELL> For the ending theme to the shakugan no shana movie....
13:57:11 <bay|Ota|MELL> We each brought something different....
13:57:36 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: What's it like producing an album like disintegration?
13:57:56 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: Other: One of these days, I'll bring in Takase-san and he can actually explain.
13:59:12 <bay|Ota|MELL> I think one of the intersting things about the I've sound music is the instrumentals and our voices being on top of it.
14:00:39 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: I've has done many different things, games, anime, etc, where do they think MELL or I've will be in 5 years?
14:00:57 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: The future right?
14:01:09 <bay|Ota|MELL> I hope all of us are still together.
14:01:57 <bay|Ota|MELL> I mean with the internet, we can see eachother from where we are. Me being here is one of the proofs that we can expand what we can do through music
14:02:15 <bay|Ota|MELL> I think something I-ve'esque is trying something new for the future.
14:02:56 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Have you watched Black lagoon?
14:03:02 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: I've watched it and I've read the manga.
14:03:15 <bay|Ota|MELL> I learned a lot of colorful english words.
14:03:25 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: What other anime do you like?
14:03:45 <bay|Ota|MELL> A; Recently ... the death note movie was cool (she almost said K-on there...)
14:03:52 <bay|Ota|MELL> Manga... K-on
14:04:28 <bay|Ota|MELL> "Otakon desu ne", "of course they know"
14:04:16 <bay|Ota|MELL> For older titles, I loved the rose of versailles
14:04:43 <bay|Ota|MELL> I always wanted to wear a dress like that in Versailles
14:04:49 <bay|Ota|MELL> There are so many people wearing pretty dresses here.
14:05:15 <bay|Ota|MELL> There was somebody dressed a scarlet ohara like pretty dress with a big hat
14:05:48 <bay|Ota|MELL> and she went up and said it was awesome....and a guy responded...."thanks"
14:05:41 <bay|Ota|MELL> "Welcome to otakon" "sasuga otakon"
14:05:58 <bay|Ota|MELL> I took a picture with Gundam earlier...
14:06:07 <bay|Ota|MELL> I almost wanted to join these people wearing these costumes.
14:06:29 <bay|Ota|MELL> And the outfit i had for the opening was the farthest I can do for cosplay right now...
14:07:22 <bay|Ota|MELL> It makes me so happy to talk to you like this (all kinds of random cosplay related stuff)
14:07:43 <bay|Ota|MELL> Q: Do you have a specific song that you like to perform the most of your songs?
14:08:33 <bay|Ota|MELL> A: I was a guest at A-Kon before, and when i performed that, the spotlights hit me. It was actually my first solo concert, I haven't even done that in Japan yet.
14:08:40 <bay|Ota|MELL> I was really nervous... it's in english....
14:08:54 <bay|Ota|MELL> It's my first concert.... I was scared out of my mind....
14:09:13 <bay|Ota|MELL> So even though I was nervous, and when I started singing, everyone cheered, and that moment has stuck with me.
14:09:23 <bay|Ota|MELL> (The song being referenced is Red Fraction)
14:09:32 <bay|Ota|MELL> Sort of a real strong attachment to that song.
14:09:45 <bay|Ota|MELL> Int: Thank you for spending time with us
14:10:01 <bay|Ota|MELL> M: I hope we can stay connected through music and hope I can see you all again. I love baltimore. Thank you very much.
14:10:04 <bay|Ota|MELL> ENd
Notes: None