So much Caffeine, so little time~
Where do I begin? What started me in on this little adventure called music? I could blame/thank my parents, who raised me in a house constantly filled with music of all sorts and eventually encouraged me to take up piano. I could blame my friends in middle and high school, who got me to try listening to bands I would probably have never really heard of were it not for them, and ignited my first love of a band beyond “oh, I know that song”. I could blame DDR and other music games, which introduced me to this silly sort of music that I’d never heard anywhere else.
No, I fear that’d be giving them too much blame. I instead blame myself, for choosing such a bizarre way to go about my enthusiasm for music— have the audacity to join my heroes. I started composing this music (without really knowing it) when I was, what, 13? With my family’s computer and a simple MIDI editor, I set out to create fast and interesting music that gave people more to do than just sort of sit idly and listen to it; quite a few hardware changes (and one room-change) later, I’ve had the privilege to talk to and work with some of the best creative minds and musicians in the Eurobeat world. I haven’t met them all, and I’d like to, but the fact that I’ve gone as far as I have without someone with talent finally telling me to stop, is truly a blessing for me.
As of this Monday night in which I type this introduction, I’m a 20 year old Macbook hipster who just recently got accepted into San Jose State University. I run on Caffeine, Eurobeat music, God’s love and the support of my friends. I also currently work at Safeway as a courtesy clerk in an almost all-senior citizen town in California.
Where do I fit into the Eurobeat picture? Depends on who you ask. In Japan, you’d recognize me as “the singer and writer on ‘Sands of Time’ by Sugano”, or, more simply, “Ken Blast” from Super Eurobeat 201. On the internet in general, you’d know me as either that or Ray Dynamo. You may even know me as Odyssey from my Myspace; more power to you. Others still may know me from my songs on Most Extreme Ultiate Thunder. All in all though, if I can have a hand in creating Eurobeat, I’ll do everything I can to do that. And while I certainly don’t know as much about the Eurobeat world as some fans, most producers and almost anyone who’s forged their trails in this industry, I know this much: Eurobeat’s my music, and I am its vehicle here in Cali.
-Odyssey/Ken/T