So something got me thinking just a bit ago and so I decided to make a topic about it. I was wondering, how many fans actually have the word "VAMPS" firmly implanted into their brain? Seriously.

Now, I know you'll probably be all, "OF COURSE WE DO, WE LOVE VAMPS!" But what I mean is, what do you think of when you think of VAMPS? When I watch a YouTube video of VAMPS or something, I'll see almost every comment say "I love HYDE" (I won't lie; this includes most of my comments) and then there will be an occasional fan girl that shouts, "OMG FUK U, SHOUT 4 K.A.Z 2!" Not really because the fan actually cares about K.A.Z, but to sound like a better fan.

Since I can't speak for everyone, I can only list my own flaws. One of those being that even though it's been a little over a year now, I'm still not used to the name "VAMPS." Whenever I look for a song by them, I still have an impulse to accidentally type "HYDE - song title" for example "HYDE - EVANESCENT." It's not that I don't like VAMPS or care about the fact that it is a different unit, it's just that I've grown so accustomed to typing "HYDE" that I don't think of VAMPS.

Going back to the aforementioned YouTube comments, almost every YouTube comment shouts "OMG I love HYDE" and only the angry fan girls seem to actually mention K.A.Z, mostly just to sound like they're a more extreme fan of the band. Honestly, most of them probably wouldn't know until a year later if K.A.Z officially left. Again, I admit. I do the same thing myself. But it's not because I don't love K.A.Z, but because I'm not used to him. Although I knew his name, I rarely paid attention to him prior to 2008, and not much of a surprise: Neither did anyone else. Thinking about it, I only remember ONE comment regarding K.A.Z -ever- prior to 2008. It was something along the effects of "I love HYDE's guitarist, K.A.Z" or something like that.

Again, I can't speak for everyone, but I think it's an easy guess that people have not yet grown use to the name "VAMPS." For the longest time, we've just thought of K.A.Z as a support musician, and even today he acts like he still is. So it's hard for fans to adjust to remembering his very existence.

To me, HYDE solo and VAMPS feel like one in the same, even if they are regarded as a different unit altogether. They both provide the same feel for me and um... well... it's the same band =x - I mean, it would be like if L'Arc~en~Ciel decided to start a new band with a completely different name, but with the same members on the same instruments and performing the same type of music as well as old music. It would still be L'Arc, but not with that name, in my opinion (lawl, omg get the reference? - The Zombies?). So in turn, VAMPS and HYDE's solo work to me are like the same thing because it has the same composers. And because of that, it's even harder for me to remember -VAMPS- instead of just HYDE. That's not to say I want them to dramatically change so I can get used to it, but it contributes to the similarities.

Another thing is that while K.A.Z is also amazing, we were touched by HYDE -before- being touched by K.A.Z. HYDE is a hero to me. I'm not going to go too much into my private life, but before I got into any L'Arc side project, I was a fanboy of L'Arc for pretty much no reason. I acknowledged HYDE's solo work, but I didn't find it as appealing as L'Arc. It wasn't until a dramatic turn of events happened and I randomly found JESUS CHRIST on YouTube that HYDE officially became my favorite musician and idol. If HYDE has taught me anything over the years it's that music has the amazing power to mend the hearts of not only the listener, but even the COMPOSER (remember HYDE crying during JESUS CHRIST on the VAMPS LIVE 2008 DVD? D: ). Thanks to HYDE, I've dug up my long discarded dream of being a musician. So I've had a longer and more close relationship, in a metaphorical sense of course, with HYDE than K.A.Z. It's not to say K.A.Z couldn't do it. I mean, he -has- done it. He wrote fucking SWEET DREAMS. Granted HYDE wrote the lyrics as he does with all the songs, but K.A.Z still wrote the song. But HYDE seems to have seniority in this instance.

So, yes, before I continue to write this novel, I was wondering what your outlook on this matter was? Are you any better than the terrible VAMPS fans that sometimes forget that K.A.Z and the name "VAMPS" even exist? Suggestions as to how we can help resolve this matter are also welcome.

Well since I already met Vamps as a whole and even got the chance to speak to them and hang out a while (and yes I even mean Ju-ken, Jin and Ari) I relate Vamps to all of them. Each of them are talented members ^^ so since Hyde is dead! (or so he says now xD) Vamps for me is a unity ^^ like a cool indie band. Even if Hyde writes everything, sings everything and pays for everything under his own label.. for me Vamps is a group not just Hyde. And this comes from someone that has loved Hyde for the past 9 years and will continue to ^x^.

Agree with Usagi on this one.. Hyde's solo for me was Hyde, Kaz, Hiroki, Jin... I saw them live too and I completely LOVE Hiroki just as much as I love Juken too now...
And now they're VAMPS, and VAMPS will stay... I hope because I'll cry if Juken leaves too...
When I think VAMPS I do think of all the members, if not specially Hyde and Kaz.
And no I'm not saying that to sound as a better fan, everyone knows I'm a hyde fangirl and follow hyde everywhere and no matter what he does..
However, I do admit, when I look them up on youtube I do write "Vamps Hyde" but I only do that because if I type "Vamps" only stupid Twilight or something else will show up but since there's so many "OMG I LOVVVVEEEE HYDE!!!!!"s I'm guaranteed to find the right Vamps by putting in hyde in there.

I guess I understand where you're coming from, but no... some of us do see it as a whole. That you see Hyde alone there's nothing wrong with that, you're a HYDE fan afterall but we must admit Vamps is a unit that will dramatically change if any of its members change... Yes L'arc to me is diff too since Sakura left... I call it D'arc... like the dark ages *hides* and L'arc when the sun came out and Yuki came in

I don't approve of the name change, as I have already said many times on the forum. But it's something I'm going to have to get used to seeing because it's reality. hyde has formed a band with K.A.Z. VAMPS started off with music extremely different from HYDE. "Love Addict" and "I GOTTA KICK START NOW." Now I'm not going to lie, I didn't like either of those two songs. (don't fret, "Love Addict" has grown to me, but the 2nd single? Not so much...) They didn't sound like it would've came from HYDE. The music and the lyrics. Then came "EVANESCENT." It seems VAMPS has returned to the HYDE sound. And the entire album itself just screams FAITH to me. It's probably just me though. But pretty much, VAMPS is in my head now, though I favor HYDE more. HYDE is DEAD. Yes, but there's always a REVIVAL stage or some sort. HYDE's BEST ads already said he's back. So he's not dead, probably in a hiatus of some sort.

i really dont care what Hyde or kaz name there band XD

but i do love both Hyde and K.A.Z
as long as they keep making music i'll be happy
with what ever they do!!!

(09-19-2009, 04:51 PM)Jazmin Wrote: guess I understand where you're coming from, but no... some of us do see it as a whole. I guess I understand where you're coming from, but no... some of us do see it as a whole.

Of course, I'm not saying that EVERY fan is like that. I mean, this forum is full of them. I'm referring to mostly the more general fandome. And I think you misunderstood. I'm not saying that I, or most people, only think of HYDE when they hear "VAMPS." What I mean is that sometimes we, not everyone but a good amount, seem to forget that VAMPS is not just HYDE. It's not that the fandome is bad, it's just what happens when you have an extremely large fandome. I'm almost certain that once S.K.I.N. decides to... I don't know... RELEASE A FUCKING CD... that almost everyone will forget about Yoshiki and the other members and go all, "GACKT GACKT OMG GAACCCKGGKFKGACKT!"

And by routing for K.A.Z to "look like a better fan" I primarily meant those who give HYDE less attention than they normally would to show their support for K.A.Z too.

Come to think of it, I don't think even I -know- how to explain what I mean =x - Yeah, I suck. I have a tendency to sometimes make topics trying to explain a point then have them misunderstood by people... and then figure out I barely know what I mean.

Quote:That you see Hyde alone there's nothing wrong with that, you're a HYDE fan afterall but we must admit Vamps is a unit that will dramatically change if any of its members change...

Again, I think you misunderstand that too. I didn't say that I or other people think of VAMPS solely as HYDE. I said, to me, HYDE's solo band and VAMPS are the same band, but in the same way that Moi dix Mois with Seth is the same band as Moi dix Mois with Juka. All the members that compose the music are still there (except M10M is a more direct example of people only giving a shit about one member, lawl). In VAMPS' way, HYDE and K.A.Z -both- produced music during HYDE's solo career and they are both in the two members who compose music in VAMPS, so to me, HYDE's solo band and VAMPS are the same thing. I'm not saying I think of them ONLY as HYDE, I'm saying that they are the same unit. To me, anyway

I guess what I'm mostly trying to say is that although we're trying really hard to promote VAMPS overseas, there's still a huge amount of fans already that don't even remember that VAMPS exists sometimes. Again, not trying to speak for everyone, but in my instance, because they've grown used to seeing "HYDE" everywhere. It's not that they don't appreciate the other members, but they haven't grown used to seeing them everywhere. It's the same thing as when Pierce Brosnan as James Bond was changed to Daniel Craig. People had a huge outrage over it, but over a course of time began to realize that Daniel Craig wasn't so much bad as much he was different than what they expected.

Quote:Yes L'arc to me is diff too since Sakura left... I call it D'arc... like the dark ages *hides* and L'arc when the sun came out and Yuki came in

Lawl, I thought they were on they were on the verge of changing even during the Sakura era.

Quote:I don't approve of the name change, as I have already said many times on the forum.

I actually didn't either. I mean, it wasn't necessary. I mean, you didn't see GPK of GPKISM change to MIDVICTORIAN PEOPLE when he started co-producing his solo work with Kiwamu and people STILL acknowledge Kiwamu just as much as they would have had they changed the name. But I think HYDE said it was because he felt guilty having K.A.Z play his name, thus HYDE getting the credit for K.A.Z's work.

Quote:hyde has formed a band with K.A.Z. VAMPS started off with music extremely different from HYDE

Not really, in my opinion. I used to think that too. But when I thought about it, I began to realize HYDE's never been just one genre. See WORDS OF LOVE for reference, lawl.

Quote:"Love Addict" and "I GOTTA KICK START NOW."

No love for TIME GOES BY?

Wow! such a controversial topic, i hope K.A.Z's fans won't feel offended.

I can see where you're coming from: i didn't care much about Kaz until recently, i was mostly a HYDE fan...no....i was mostly a L'Arc-en-Ciel fan; if i were more into hyde's solo music, i think i'd appreciate Kaz earlier (but i did know that he wrote one of my favorites, Season's Call).
Even though i used to think like you do now, i disagree with the "hyde's support musician" idea...he is not and never was. But, yeah, i still don't feel much cohesiveness in VAMPS, i feel like they're two musicians kinda working together and not a really unit, so i can understand why you can be fan of one of them and not care much about the other one (this also applies to fans of K.A.Z).

Anyway, in the last months some things happened and Kaz really grew on me:
- I liked Times goes by better than Love Addict
- I watched DMC and i found out that he wrote the opening.
- I liked the songs he wrote for the Vamps album...a little better than hyde's song (don't get me wrong...i liked hyde's songs as well, Evanescent is one of my favorites)
- I started to check out his other projects (Spin Aqua is love).

At this point, Kaz was to me this great musician who was kinda cute, but i went to the U.S. to see "my beloved HYDE" . My hand-made present was for "VAMPS", but it was clearly inspired by hyde's drawings.

Then...
- I found out that he's really hot in person (yeah, i know i'm being shallow)
- In the Portland show, his live performance was a very nice surprise for me...he had such a strong presence and was very into his playing. I was a bit underwhelmed by hyde's performance, so Kaz and Ju-ken kinda made the show for me.
- I read about Kaz being such a cutie with fans.
- I read his Tour Diary ...he thanked fans like me, who traveled from very far to to see VAMPS. This made me happy!
- he's smiling more in the interviews...he has such a cute smiling eyes(like this: ^^).

So yeah, i'm in a K.A.Z love phase right now <3
I still feel like HYDE is made of awesome and hotness, but he seriously needs some vacations and loose up some more with non-japanese audiences.

^ I wasn't referring solely to people acknowledging just K.A.Z, but how people seem to have not adjusted much to the name "VAMPS" and looking into it as an entire band instead of looking for "HYDE" plastered everywhere. To be fair, HYDE always made sure that his support musicians are given a visible amount of credit as opposed to most solo artists, coughgacktcough, who flash their face and name everywhere and then put their support band in tiny, tiny print. So it's not like the band environment has changed the way they do things.

Quote:i disagree with the "hyde's support musician" idea...he is not and never was.

um... yeah, he was. K.A.Z even says himself.

K.A.Z.: Though I didn't consider myself as part of his support band when I was playing for HYDE's solo project, I feel I can brace myself with the name VAMPS.

Source: http://www.jame-world.com/uk/articles-54...vamps.html

But um... I don't think anyone's actually seeing where I'm going with this, so I'm probably just going to shut up and ask an Admin to lock this before I get myself in deep shit. I'll try explaining again, but I suck at it. I'm not referring to K.A.Z or the unity of VAMPS. I'm referring to how many people have grown used to referring to HYDE's side project -as- VAMPS. Maybe it's just me, but I'm hoping I'm not alone in the people who still accidentally type "hyde - insert name here here" when a VAMPS release is announced. The many times I've accidentally typed "hyde - sweet dreams" looking for the PV to come out is uncanny. It's not that I don't like the thought of K.A.Z or VAMPS or anything like that. I'm just not used to it. It's not just when looking for a new song though. A number of VAMPS-related activities, I accidentally type "hyde" instead of "VAMPS." Again, not because I don't like it, but because I haven't adjusted to typing it because I'm used to drooling mostly on HYDE. Old habits die hard as they say.

So maybe it's not a problem on THIS board in particular, but... I dunno. As I said, this was mostly based on MY account and from what I've seen. So yeah.

And just so this is made clear to people again - I adore K.A.Z, Ju-Ken, Arimatsu, and JIN like I do HYDE and I have nothing against their changing the project to "VAMPS." This topic is not about my liking or disliking anything, but rather the disorientation it may have caused some fans by changing the names and what we might be able to do to get the general fandome back on track. But it looks like nobody here seems to have that problem D:

I guess it is just your own mind set, as in everyone's for the word "your" .......
To me, VAMPS is VAMPS and Hyde is Hyde. They may be very similiar, but they are not the same to me. When I do a search on YouTube, I put in either VAMPS or Hyde depending on what I want to see/hear. The same if I am looking for something by L'arc. I put in L'arc and not Hyde.
Hyde may be the mainstay (to most people) in all three bands but to me they are different units.
The same as when I listen to the music. It may be Hyde singing and K.A.Z playing, but it is either Hyde or VAMPS.....not just Hyde.

Okay, since I'm the only one who goes through this. . . An admin can close this topic if they want or something. I don't know. Is it just me or is that whenever I start a topic on music-based forums I can't make a simple thing without people misunderstanding and getting either extremely defensive or causing a ton of controversy? *hintz the title* =x Not to say that's the community's fault or anything. If I thought someone was trying to insult my VAMPS, I'd be all, "GO TO HELL!" ... okay, no I wouldn't. But you know what I mean. But yeah. I dunno. I give up on this topic. I don't think it's really going to benefit on this forum at all. Lawl.

BUT IT AT LEAST GOT THE DAMN BOARDS MORE ACTIVE THAN IT'S BEEN FOR THE PAST WEEK. GOD. BEFORE, IT WAS FUCKING DEAD. SO YOU SHOULD ALL PRAISE ME FOR MAKING A TOPIC THAT GOT REPLIES LIKE THIS. *killed*