Band Project
The Chromatic Dreamers Band Project was concepted by Nostagia in Summer 2020.
When they finally had enough members, they started rehearsing together in Summer 2021.
The band consists of 4 individuals who had musical dreams, but they didn’t see a future in it and gave up.
By fate, we were brought together and eagerly worked to bring our dreams to life once again.
Our objective was to perform at an anime convention…and we accomplished that in summer 2022!
Natsukashii Kumo re-debuted in April 2023, and got to perform at Japan Festival Canada in August 2023!
Check out Band Project 2.0 – Natsukashii Kumo for more details, and Follow our Instagram!
Here’s a summary of the project:
Why This All STarted
Hi! I’m Nostalgia, the leader and founder of Chromatic Dreamers. I’ve been a student of music forever and took a class all through school. Back in 2006, I saw a band rehearsing in my middle school’s music room, and I just knew I wanted to play in a band one day. Two things were in the way though: 1. I didn’t play any rock band instruments and 2. I didn’t have any musical friends or people interested in joining me.
I have performed as a soloist in the past (piano and viola), and was part of my school’s drumline which performed various places around the city, but nothing ever filled that hole. To me, there was just something magical about different people playing different instruments and coming together to make music, and I wanted to live that out one day. I watched anime as a child on TV, but 2006 was also the year I heard my first Japanese opening, so I always wanted to make an anime cover band.
First Attempts At A Band
In 2014, I watched K-ON!! and it just lit this fire in me. I attempted my first band back then with one friend and others that I found on Kijiji. I was initially going to play drums as I had a foundation, but with no kit to practice on, I switched to keyboard. The first rehearsal went great! But it was impossible planning a second. Different schedules and priorities. I then tried again around 2017, once again finding new people online, but we never made it to a rehearsal.
While you can consider these attempts ‘failures’, I actually learned a lot from them. A big lesson is that it’s okay to wait for the right people instead of just taking anyone who said they’re down for it. Even if a musician has the skills, they may have other priorities and/or ghost on you. And even if someone seems enthusiastic about the band and the music, they may not put in the time or effort to learn the material and be a dependable member. Not everyone is going to be a good fit, so you don’t have to stick with the same people until the end if it’s not working out or they’re holding you and your band back.
Secondly, I wouldn’t have met Yumiko Kurosawa, a super talented guitarist who was in my first attempt. When I later picked up guitar, he was there to support me and answer my questions. He also invited me to a few of his gigs, and at one, he introduced me to the host, Dolly Momoiro, the creator of Toronto Harajuku Style who has given me and my band opportunities as you’ll see below. They’re both a huge inspiration for me, seeing them get on stage and do what they love, and they gave me hope that I could do the same.
"Chromatic Dreamers"
2018-2019 was a year of fulfilling various dreams. I went to Japan on my own, danced on stage for the first time with Dolly’s THS dance team, went to my first concert to see my favourite Jrock band, One OK Rock, and just crossed a lot of other things off my bucket list. So for my 2020 resolution, I decided to pick up guitar again as I really wanted a musical hobby. I had internet at home this time around, and was able to fill the holes in my foundation with GuitarTricks.
The pandemic started not long after, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to put a band together. I mean, ‘everyone is home with nothing better to do, right? We could all learn the songs ahead of time, and be ready to go when things open up again’, at least that was the plan. Since I was still a beginner myself, I was open to connecting with other beginners. I thought it would be really cool to be like a real life K-ON! band!
I also knew that as a beginner, it can be intimidating to work with or jam with advanced musicians when you’re still learning, but I didn’t want to wait 5 or 10 years to be ‘good enough’ either. Heck, 5 years is a lot of time as an adult, and I’m aware that we have families, bills, and other priories that can make committing to a band long-term quite hard, thus why I started this as a short-term project. So this was the concept and idea behind the name, Chromatic Dreamers, musical beginners with a dream of getting on stage one day.
Finding My Team~
So with a mission of starting a band again, the first step is to find members. I The bassist was in my first band attempt. I was happy to hear he was down to try it again. The year after that band attempt, I attempted to make a Kpop dance group (I preferred Jpop, but no takers). We actually practiced a lot, but things started falling apart. Cloud, the singer, was friends with a couple in the group, and we got closer through hangouts. We even hung out a few times as she lives in my area of Toronto, while the others lived far east in Scarborough.
I found out that she started a singing group with them that didn’t get anywhere, and that she loved singing in different languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish, so I was eager to have her on my team. She wasn’t too sure initially, but with enough nudging and me finding out that she too had a band dream in the past, I was able to convince her to at least try it out, and she can decide to commit later.
I managed to find 2 others, the drummer of my first band, and another guitarist who was super enthusiastic about getting this started, but the guitarist cancelled and drummer ghosted at our first and only rehearsal, and has never responded to my messages since.
Without a full band, Cloud, the bassist, and I hung out a few times to discuss and plan, but not much happened in 2020. I posted more ads and got quite a few replies, but no one wanted to commit until they met us, which wasn’t possible due to lockdowns. In June 2021, I held a rehearsal/audition with those who were still interested, only 3 showed up, and only 2 were committed to the project.
Choosing Our Path
After a few successful rehearsals, I was feeling pretty confident about out potential, but I had to ask the group a serious question: “Do you want to take the casual route where we just set up some social medias and do some open mics, OR Do you want to take this seriously, make a website, get business cards, and maybe even make some money gigging?”
To my pleasant surprise, they chose the serious route, thus me making this website and starting the blog. While we were beginners, I wanted people to take us seriously. I also tried blogging earlier in the pandemic, so I was already building sites and knew how blogging could help bring us traffic. I also booked us a photoshoot as I knew they’d be essential for promotion.
I had my eyes set on performing by Summer 2022. There are a lot of anime conventions and Japanese events in the summer, so I wanted to prepare an audition tape asap so I could start sending out emails and inquiring. Better to be really early than too late, especially when there was always a risk of another lockdown.
Drummer Dilemma
After 8 months of working on the same 3 songs, it was very apparent that our drummer had no interest in improving and mastering the songs for our sake, nor any motivation to perform. He refused to memorize anything, and couldn’t play along with a metronome, so I had to let him go in March 2022. He threatened to sue me if I didn’t take all content with him down (which was everything), but I had his written consent and always asked or told the band what I was doing, so I stood my ground, and he backed off.
Either way, we needed a backup plan. Since summer was around the corner, we opted to use drum tracks so everyone can practice on their own, and we can also save money since a rehearsal studio would no longer be required. We started rehearsing at the bassist’s place as he had his own house with space, and multiple amps as both he and his brother played instruments.
We already secured a slot at Pretty Heroes, but thankfully, it was only an acoustic set so drums was never needed. Anime North was also around the corner, and we were discussing busking outside as a band to promote, but the bassist expressed his wishes to ‘busk alone and sing his heart out’. I always want to support my member’s dreams, so I respected his wishes and we separated for a while. The bassist picked up guitar again to focus on Anime North and do his own thing, while the singer and guitarists focused on Pretty Heroes.
Prep For Our First Gig
It took a while for us 3 to finalize the songs we were going to perform for Pretty Heroes. We were requested to prepare 2 songs from shows with strong female characters. I was really rooting for ‘Wind’ from Naruto, an easier song that I loved since high school, but the other two pushed for ‘Fukai Mori’ from Inuyasha and ‘Platina’ from Cardcaptors. I went with their choices as they had more notable female leads, and they were also more enthusiastic about those songs.
While we got the gig since February, we were still working on band songs hoping for another gig, and then the lead guitarist was finishing his final year of nursing college, so I gave him time to focus on his placements and tests. I personally needed solo time as well as both songs had many new and complicated songs, and they were also fast and hard for me at my current skill level. So we finally got together in July at the lead guitarist’s condo rental, and while we only had a few rehearsals before the gig, things were coming together really well 🙂
Pretty Heroes Convention
It’s finally the day! August 14, 2022. For costumes, we went with an Inuyasha theme. I coordinated with the AV team as I know these conventions usually don’t host live bands, but thankfully Ray, a guy who was in bands as a drummer, was our sound guy so it gave me some comfort.
We showed up a bit after 4pm on Sunday, as the closing ceremony was around 6:30pm. That gave the other two time to get into their full costumes, along with time to look around and connect with vendors. We then headed upstairs to set up, mic up our amps and do some volume checks.
We weren’t too nervous beforehand as it wasn’t too crowded. The audience, along with the fellow performing group, Velvet Fates, were really sweet. We’ll rate ourselves a 7/10. Could have gone better, but it’s also our first gig, so we’re not going to be too harsh on ourselves. Afterwards, we celebrate with some ramen/bentou and bubble tea!
OUr Next Opportunity!
As mentioned above, I’ve been connected with Dolly Momoiro for a few years now. Not only have I attended her events, but, being a casual J-dancer myself, she allowed me to join her THS dance team at the last Idol Revolution event back in 2019. After that, she announced her retirement from THS later that year. In May 2022, she invited me to her birthday party, and we hung out for milkshakes a few weeks after. She’s so cool and sweet <3 Don’t let her creepy anti-idol aesthetic fool you haha!
A week before our Pretty Heroes event, she told me she was planning another Jpop event. I was surprised, but also ecstatic! I asked if my band could perform, and she said ‘of course!’ ;_____; I was really worried about getting a gig for the full band since other anime/Jpop events either didn’t reply to me or said they weren’t equipped to accommodate bands, and we were already mid-way through the summer, so it truly meant a lot for her to give us this opportunity <3
We decided to do Uragiri no Yuuyake and Shunkan Sentimental, which we’ve been working on since our audition, along with Haruka Kanata and Just A Sunny Day For you which we’ve spent quite a few months working on as well.
Rocking Out At Idol Revolution 2022
Our official debut has finally arrived in September 2022. We arrived at See-Scape for sound check and then was told we will be going first…expected due to equipment and setting up. We’re so happy to all have our friends and fam come out to support us, along with others who were hyping us up in the audience.
Afterwards, Rcvde, THS.Go! and Dolly Momoiro performed. Good vibes all around. There honestly couldn’t have been a better place for us to debut. It was great getting to meet the other acts and network with some other people after. Hopefully we’ll meet again soon 😉
Anyways, that brings us to the end of the original Chromatic Dreamers band project. I certainly grew a lot as a guitarist and learned a lot as a band leader navigating this foreign field. As we discussed, we said we would keep it going, but under a new name and the bassist’s leadership.
Going Our Seperate Ways
After the drummer incident, I lost a lot of my own drive and enthusiasm. I practiced so much to be solid for my band, but no one else seemed to be putting in the same effort. I also felt some fear, because I worked so hard on the band and this blog, just for a member to threaten to take it all away. So I announced that I would end the band after I fulfilled my promise to them of getting on stage.
To my surprise, the bassist volunteered to step up and be the next leader, and the others was fine with that as they wanted to keep it going as long as possible. I figured that’s okay, as long as I didn’t have to lead anymore as I was tired. It didn’t feel like people listened to me when I would constantly ask them to memorize their parts and be consistent. I didn’t see much of a future if we couldn’t even master the 4 songs on our list, but I didn’t mind hanging and practicing with them regardless. I did truly like everyone and thus was patient with them. So weeks before the gig, I gave the bassist all the deets on how I ran things, lots of tips, helped him build a new site for us, and so on.
After the big gig, the bassist took over and we started operating under a different name. The leader instantly added a keyboardist, which I was always against at our skill level (pianists are usually well-trained so I wouldn’t want them getting annoyed with us amateurs), but they were friends so I wasn’t as concerned. The new member was actually really cool and full of spunk. It was nice having someone who was just as talkative as me regarding music and setup, but I had to put in more energy than I planned to since I was the only one who can play keyboard and had music theory knowledge to assist him. We had a new song list and I learned everything asap. ‘Perhaps this was a new start and I would be inspired again’ ^_^
Well, that was until I found ads that the new leader made regarding a second, competing band. It hasn’t even been 3 months since he was in charge. The betrayal was real, made worse as he struggled to memorize his parts or lyrics, and he always claimed to be busy and tired, but he apparently had the time to make and lead a second band. He tried to make excuses, but no one was buying it, including his friend. Cloud also spoke up as she came prepared every week, but had to sit around as the band wasn’t solid enough for her to sing over most of the time. She barely got to work on her vocals, and didn’t get to cover any songs she really loved. We both wasted our time and money each week travelling by bus/train almost 2 hours to the bassist’s home just to not make any progress.
We then spent a week talking it out, sharing our experiences, feelings, issues, and complaints. We were all willing to work it out, everyone was passionate about the band, especially the new member…but the trust was gone, us girls were exhausted, and deadlines weren’t met. So Cloud and I left the band and went on hiatus, while the guys stayed together and kept working on the band.
Natsukashii Kumo
I didn’t have other plans for guitar as the only reason I even picked it up was to have the experience of playing in a band. One time was enough for me. I did practice some drills as part of my morning routine, and also reached out to Emily from Pretty Heroes about a solo performance just to keep me motivated, but I was satisfied.
Cloud, on the other hand, kept nudging and suggesting that I make a new band, saying ‘we just got to find friends and such’. I was burnt out and knew that that would be my last attempt, so I was reluctant. She’s an introvert who finds leading people draining, so she was also against my idea of her making her own band and I’ll just be a member.
At the end of March 2023, she pitched that we could be a duet. I was still hesitant as I’ve mostly used power chords for the band, and it would be a lot more pressure as the only musician, but I was open to it as it would help me improve. I also still wanted to support her singing dream since she helped support my band dream.
Thus, our official re-branding in April. We started with just 3 songs on our list, but I learned them pretty quickly, and we quickly expanded to learning 20 songs, including 5 personal solos. We recorded our first couple covers in May (I was a little sick ;___;) and then spent June working on our Pretty Heroes set.
Pretty Heroes 2023
After Cloud and I got together, I reached out to Emily again and asked about changing my solo into a duet since we started a new band. She offered to give us a 30-minute set! We still had a couple months so I felt it was doable at our speed.
Since I would be the only musician this time around, I did flip between songs for a while as some were quite fast and technical and I didn’t need more pressure as the only musician. So in the end, we decided on Gurenge, Yoru ga Akeru, Orange, Toumei Datta Sekai (my first solo), Army of Two, Butterfly, and Secret Base.
I purchased a karaoke set that came with two microphones and prepared space in my room for us to practice. Cloud has never been to my house until then, but it was nice since we lived somewhat close to each other (2 buses/30min max), and could make the most of rehearsals. Instead of us both focusing on the band, she was able to sing more and I was able to listen to her and give her valuable tips and advice.
I opted to just use cables and a pre-amp pedal so I didn’t have to bring an amp and other gear with me. It was nice being able to pack lighter. Instead of playing in a room, we got an actual stage, but it was in the middle of a lot of things, so there was a lot of background noise. I didn’t mind it much once we got started, less pressure when people aren’t paying attention to you haha. Our set went better than expected, and certainly prepared us for the grand finale that we landed for the following month…
Natsukashii Kumo at Japan Festival Canada!
We did it!!! Ahhhhhh!!!~ To be a rookie guitarist on a big stage (Mississauga Celebration Square) at one of the biggest Japanese festivals in North America feels so surreal. We’re so thankful for the opportunity. We ended up covering 5 songs: Brave Heart, Sayonara Elegy, Dearest, How Crazy, and Secret Base.
We arrived later in the day, about 7:30PM as we were set to go on at 8PM, however the program was behind so we had more time to chill and chat before getting on. I also noticed Dolly’s Magical Monsters/THS.Go Members, and they then sat with us which was nice. They went on earlier, and also performed here last year, so it was great getting some of their insight ahead of time.
Andrew, the organizer, the stage crew, and the MCs were all really nice! There were no pre-show soundchecks or rehearsals since this is a full day, 2-day event, so there were some sound and technical issues with our set (feedback, volumes, etc), but we made the most of it! Still had fun on the stage and the audience were really supportive <3
After 3 years of organizing, rehearing, and preparing for gigs, Cloud and I (Nostalgia) are certainly burnt out, so we will be going on hiatus. Taking a well deserved break and being free to explore what we like musically for a while. Will we reunite or create another band in the future? Who knows! But for now, it’s a privilege to end the band project on such a big stage and on a high note.
Thanks for all who followed and supported us along the way!! And special thanks to those who stuck around to watch us even when you had no idea who we were haha. We’re certainly outcasts in a pool full of dancers and idol groups, but we really enjoyed getting to share the love of Japanese music with you all ^_^
...So, What's Next?
These last 3 years has certainly challenged and tested me in ways unimaginable. It’s hard enough being a beginner musician learning music that is complex and unpredictable as Japanese music, but it’s another to manage a band and prepare for gigs. It’s been amazing to cross that dream off the bucket list, and to perform more than once, but I certainly need a well deserved break, so I will be going on hiatus.
I personally want to dedicate more time to God/Jesus and continue to evangelize online as I’m very sure we are in the very last days. I’ll still be playing guitar now and then, but I’m looking forward to exploring other styles and maybe start working on improvisation again. While in the band, I spent most of my time just learning and rehearsing songs as I needed all the practice I could get! But now, without any gigs or deadlines, I can definitely spend more time just enjoying the instrument and trying new things with all my new found skills.
Cloud is also looking forward to her break. I’m sure she’ll keep on singing, and she has shared interest in making a dance group. Through this project, we both definitely feel that a duet is a lot of attention and pressure as we are more background people (I’m an ENFJ, she’s INFJ), but we both pushed ourselves to make this happen. Now we need some rest haha <3 But there was honestly no better way to end this project.
Joining A Worship Band/Music Ministry
Around new years 2023, I came to accept the true gospel of faith alone in Jesus Christ and was born again. I lost interest in a lot of things, including Japanese music, and only cared to hear or read about things concerning God. I wrote my first Christian article around this time, and later started my Christian Journal with all my discoveries. I then decided to go back to my home church, but realized they had a lot of false doctrine and interpretations. While I was hoping for a new church family for connection and encouragement, I was also wary of the search as I already knew most aren’t biblical and have compromised for the world, but I did tell God that if I saw 2024, I will get serious about it.
Just in time, a couple churches reached out to me on BandMix. They were both quite some distance outside of Toronto, but one answered my doctrinal questions well, offered to set up a ride for me, and their online bible studies/church meeting sounded decent, so I said I’ll check em out. During my first visit, I was put on stage and stumbled through songs I never heard before via progressions from the keyboardist. It was a very small church plant and the members were friendly, so I decided I’ll stick it out for now. I’m excited to work on playing by ear and improv through this experience. Gospel and Christian music isn’t as complex and random as Japanese music, so it’ll be easier to pick up on patterns and transpose songs <3
PUrsue Your Dreams
It’s crazy what could happen in such a short amount of time if you just take that step and work towards your dreams. I know stepping into the unknown could be scary, and perhaps those around you made you doubt yourself to the point that you considered giving up…but life is short. We don’t know what the future may hold.
Stop making excuses and blaming the world for why you can’t do things. Just take that leap of faith and start working on it. You may fail, heck I failed a few times! But if not for those failures, I wouldn’t have gained the knowledge or made the connections I needed to succeed this time around.
I’m not the most talented musician, but for many things, you don’t need to be the best to get where you want to be. You can still write songs, you can still join an orchestra, or perform on stage. You just need to practice and work hard towards that.
Never give up on your dreams, and don’t procrastinate forever.
You can truly do anything if you believe in yourself and just try!~
Sincerely, Nostalgia the Guitarist <3