This whole band project started because of one girl’s childhood band dream, that girl was Nostalgia. While she dabbled in instruments in her youth, she didn’t play any band instruments (guitar/bass/drums). In 2017, she picked up guitar to bring the dream to life. While she made lots of progress on her own, she opted for a guitar teacher, and he discouraged her so she put it down. But feeling encouraged again she picked it up as her 2020 resolution. When the pandemic started, she saw an amazing opportunity to build the band since people would be home and we can all learn the songs by the time things start to open up again.
Instead of partnering with more advanced musicians who can be intimidating and may be occupied with other bands and projects, she decided to find other young adults with a similar dream. People who were rookies and also had a band dream, or those who could play but have yet to gain any performance experience to get their name out there. Knowing that adults have different lives and commitments, she opted to make it a 2-3 year band project.
The first person she asked was Ptollemy, a guitarist from her first band attempt in 2014, and he was all for it. After a serious discussion, Nostalgia switched from lead to rhythm guitar, and Ptollemy switched to bass, which his brother already played and had gear for. They knew the anime songs they liked had complex lead lines, but neither of them minded what role they had, as long as they got to be on stage and live the dream.
She then asked another friend, Cloud. Back in 2015, Nostalgia also had a failed Kpop cover group. They practiced for much longer but things fell apart. She did create great friendships through them, and a couple within the group knew Cloud, so they all hung out a few times. Cloud also lived closer to Nostalgia, so they two hung out for ramen a couple times. Nostalgia was aware that they all had a singing group that didn’t come to fruition, and that Cloud was very passionate about singing in different langages. With a little nudging, she was open to trying it out.
By June 2021, after lockdowns were lifted and they could meet with applicants. They managed to have found a full band and rehearsals commenced. While it was certainly a rocky road, and a couple members had to booted to allowed the band to achieve their dream, one remained faithful til the end, Norman, their lead guitarist. He was the ‘maknae’ (youngest) of the group, and always a source of energy and laughs.
By August 2022, they achieved their band goal of playing at an anime convention, and by September 2022, Nostalgia fulfilled her dream and her promise to them as they got to perform on a real stage at the venue, See-Scape. (More details on the story on the main band project page).
Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
~Previous Appearances~
Pretty Heroes Convention
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Our acoustic debut was at the Pretty Heroes Convention, which took place at the JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre). We’re sooooo grateful to Emily for being the first to say ‘Yes’ to our band. We were asked to do songs that had strong female role models, so we chose “Fukai Mori” from Inuyasha and “Platina” from Cardcaptor Sakura. We were certainly nervous, and these were some of the hardest songs I’ve (Nostalgia) ever had to learn on guitar, but we got through it. We got to be part of the closing ceremony, so quite a few people left, and vendors were busy packing up, thus the audience was quite small, but that meant less pressure for us :P. Thanks to all who came out, including Riva, my friend from high school, who came to support us and took care of the filming for me<3
Idol Revolution @ See-Scape
Sunday, September 18, 2022
This day was obviously one of the biggest days of my life. To finally bring a childhood dream to life is crazy…but it’s much more than that. It was certainly a day of connections. Not only did I have a couple friends on stage with me, but Dolly, the host, was someone I met via the guitarist in my first band. I danced with her group as a guest at her previous event, so I also knew others who were on stage, old dance buddies, and idols from other groups. To make sure the event could even happen, we all invited some friends or family to come watch us as well. My mom, who certainly doubted my dream, was there. Andrew, who I met through my band ad, and was with me when I bought my pink guitar, was also there and he invited a bunch of his friends. Chu brought her mom, Norman brought some guys from school, etc. We did the best we could and we got through them, just having fun showing everyone what we worked on for the last year. Thanks to the venue staff, all those who came out to support us, and a special thanks to Dolly for hosting events like these for us in the Japanese/Lolita/Anime communities, and for saying ‘yes’ to us!
