nice to meet you, i'm bino. pronounced bee-noh. thats what my user name means. im not japanese. but im learning. 

stumbled across this band last year as i went down a youtube music rabbit hole that started with stereopony, then wagakkiband, then babymetal, then band maid, and then scandal. the first time i saw Mami's melting ice cream guitar, i needed to know more. 

thanks to this guitar, this band has become my current FAVORITE band. because this guitar was such a catalyst for finding how versatile and artistic this band is, i wanted to do it justice, so after much planning which started last august, i am about to begin my mamicaster replica. if i don't get too caught up in the work, ill try to remember to take progress pics as i go. i just so happened to have a USA standard strat with maple fretboard already, thats a bit beat up from gigging. and i have already converted it to HSS. wish me luck, and i would love to see some of your mamicaster replicas too! so please share!

a little about myself... im from california. i am a beginner guitarist, and have been for about 27 years now. i also dabble with bass guitar, and i just ordered a set of drums to start messing around with those. my musical influences range from classic rock to reggae to R&B to metal to even country. but honestly i love any music that sounds good to my ears. sometimes that means the "weird stuff" (not to be taken as derogatory my any means). you know the stuff that most people wont give a chance to really listen to because its not what the general masses like to hear. anyway thats enough about me.

scandal is amazing to me. why? because reasons...
1. lets just get this out of the way. they are beautiful. but thats not the main reason.
2. their music covers such a wide range. from beautiful ballads like namida no regret to punky jams like master piece and amdkj. rock to acoustic conversions like koe (my favorite song btw - both versions). and all the cool stuff between and beyond. 
3. watching videos of them live... theyre having so much fun on stage. i know now much work it is to put on a show. ive been there. and they do it with grace, class, and have a good time the whole way through. it has sparked a fire in me to want to get back on stage and perform again. such an inspiration.
4. MAMI

so there i was. on youtube. i clicked on a scandal video (i listen to something from them every day). and right there was an announcement of their rescheduled kiss from the darkness tour. and nov 17 they will be in anaheim HOB. i thought about it for about 2 full minutes and decided to go all out and get the meet and greet tickets. totally worth it. i cant wait. got my fingers crossed. anyone from here planning to be at that show?

welcome! the mamicaster brought a new fan, awesome
nice intro! good decision about the meet and greet  .clap.

Hi Bino

Welcome to SH and I am not Japanese either

I have been a bass player since the 60's ( yes I am old ) so of course Tomomi is my favourite plus I love her chipmunk voice

Way back I was a better bass player than Tomomi but now she is better than me ( and nicer to look at )

All your reasons for liking them are very much the same as mine, hope you have fun here.

Oh and I am very fond of good whisky

Hello Bino, welcome to SH. You will find that members here are from all parts of the world.

I don't have fave band member, for I think all four of them are great and talented.

I also got a ticket to go see them in London this October.

Hi, Bino.
Nice to meet you, welcome to SH  

Got a ticket for the London show myself, hope the show happens and that I can make it there!

tonymiller wrote:
Oh and I am very fond of good whisky

i happen to be a bit of an aficionado myself, actually! the fact that you left the E out of the word tells me that you are a scotch drinker predominantly yes?

i love scotch. but my heart belongs to bourbon.

@hajimemashitabinodesu


My wife is Indian but from New York and yes I like bourbon but I prefer 10 year old Scottish whisky, but the Japanese also makes excellent whisky as I am sure you know although sadly it is very expensive !

@tonymiller

of course! the yamazaki 12 is fantastic! my favorite of all the japanese whiskeys. i have had the 14 (or was it 16?) once. but the 12 is perfection. i was fortunate to find it locally for less than 1/2 its street price, just before it became so popular. i savored it so much it took me 3 years to finish that bottle.

@hajimemashitabinodesu


For many years Japanese whisky was only drunk in Japan or Europe but then in 2001 America discovered Suntory's Yamazaki whisky and it became really popular.

It lasted you three years, I am lucky if it lasts me three days

  A Japanese friend said her husband only drinks Hakushu 18 year old which costs around $500 a bottle, remind me not to go out drinking with him.

As a Scotsman, I also love a good Malt once in while. I got small collection plus a Hibiki 21 year old.

I think it good for Scotland that Japan making good whisky for some of the Scottish distilleries were getting lazy at what they were putting out.

@Andy666

I am half Scottish ( my Mother was a Cameron ) which is probably why I like whisky

And I agree, Scotland had the whisky market all to themselves for too long and even some Japanese whiskies are worth thousands now.

Hello Bino. Nice introduction.

Rina is my favourite

I'm from Russia. I also have a tickets in Paris and London.

Whiskey is exotic for us, but as is usually considered all Russians drink a liter of vodka every day. This is not true, I have not drink any alcohol since 2007 

Welcome to SH Bino.

Nice intro, I not only know a bit about yourself but thanks to both you and Tony my knowledge of whisky has been expanded, every day is a school day .lol.  

Tomomi is my favourite member although all four girls have a special place in my heart as Scandals music got me through a tough period last year.

Hey Bino! Welcome to SH! I'm Arthur from Manila, Philippines, your fellow SCANDAL and whiskey fan. I''ve known SCANDAL for almost ten years but became a serious fan only in 2014. My favorite member is Tomomi because of her mad bass playing skills, cat-like looks and voice, hence my username TOMOmeow. I saw your homemade Mamicaster and it's beautiful. Hope we can talk more soon!

TOMOmeow wrote:Hey Bino! Welcome to SH! I'm Arthur from Manila, Philippines, your fellow SCANDAL and whiskey fan. I''ve known SCANDAL for almost ten years but became a serious fan only in 2014. My favorite member is Tomomi because of her mad bass playing skills, cat-like looks and voice, hence my username TOMOmeow. I saw your homemade Mamicaster and it's beautiful. Hope we can talk more soon!

well now... one more thing in common... im Pinoy too.

what kind of whiskey is readily available in the philippines nowadays? i lived there from 93 to 96. i was still a teenager. but the only whiskey i ever saw was white castle (and the occasional jack daniel's  that someone brought over from the states). is the philippines distilling their own whiskey yet? i would be very interested.

hajimemashitabinodesu wrote:well now... one more thing in common... im Pinoy too.

what kind of whiskey is readily available in the philippines nowadays? i lived there from 93 to 96. i was still a teenager. but the only whiskey i ever saw was white castle (and the occasional jack daniel's  that someone brought over from the states). is the philippines distilling their own whiskey yet? i would be very interested.

Kumusta Kabayan, hehehehe! Can I call you Kuya or Pare? Gosh, I miss going to the States especially Chicago where my sister relocated 13 years ago. We're probably in the same age range. I turned 43 last March. 

Speaking of whiskey, I usually see popular brands like Jack Daniels, Macallan, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, Yamazaki, and Hibiki in the market. I prefer Japanese whiskey specially Nikka from the Barrel because of its sweeter, fruitier taste. That's my go-to drink when smoking cigars (occasionally). I like Yamazaki too. Just a disclaimer that I can only drink a maximum of two glasses of whiskey. :D

I never tried White Castle but my late dad didn't really like it. I sent you a private message about the Philippine-made whiskey, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. XD

What other Japanese music do you like other than SCANDAL?

TOMOmeow wrote:

Kumusta Kabayan, hehehehe! Can I call you Kuya or Pare? Gosh, I miss going to the States especially Chicago where my sister relocated 13 years ago. We're probably in the same age range. I turned 43 last March. 

Speaking of whiskey, I usually see popular brands like Jack Daniels, Macallan, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, Yamazaki, and Hibiki in the market. I prefer Japanese whiskey specially Nikka from the Barrel because of its sweeter, fruitier taste. That's my go-to drink when smoking cigars (occasionally). I like Yamazaki too. Just a disclaimer that I can only drink a maximum of two glasses of whiskey. :D

I never tried White Castle but my late dad didn't really like it. I sent you a private message about the Philippine-made whiskey, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. XD

What other Japanese music do you like other than SCANDAL?

Pare is just fine. im only a year older than you. no need to seek out the white castle. its no good. it was about P50 a bottle back then (about $2 US). and if you left it in a glass in the sun, it would turn into plastic lol. 

other than scandal? i would have to say Band Maid is equally beloved by me. im just waiting for them to do another world tour. Kanami, Misa, and Akane are absolute animals on their instruments! and then there's...
-TK/ling toshite shigure
-asian kung fu generation
-one OK rock
-ellegarden
-miyako from lovebites (OMG)
-miyavi
-polkadot stingray
-a little bit of gacharic spin (mostly because of hana the drummer)
-stereopony (so sad after i found out they disbanded)
-a little bit of silent siren
-babymetal
-wagakki band - every. single. member. is. phenomenal
-otetsu just the stuff with miku

theres gotta be more but thats just off the top of my head. easy to see that a lot of the influence comes from anime OPs and EDs. i check out one song and get sucked into a rabbit hole. but in the end, it comes down to scandal and bandmaid. good thing i already have more than one strat, so making the mamicaster replica was a no brainer. but if kanami ever customizes one of her PRS guitars or if she actually gets a signature, im going to have to draw the line there. i already own a PRS custom 22 in whale blue, and that was just too much money hahaha. i rarely even take it out of the case. 

ok im just rambling now. apologies.

@hajimemashitabinodesu

Well I have a red Fender Jazz bass from the 60's and a Hofner violin bass both of which Tomomi has played but sadly not my ones

tonymiller wrote:@hajimemashitabinodesu

Well I have a red Fender Jazz bass from the 60's and a Hofner violin bass both of which Tomomi has played but sadly not my ones

i didnt know timo played a violin bass. too cool!

you know, i started playing a little bass because of Nohana from stereopony. hitohira no hanabira was one of the first songs i learned. then i noticed just now talented and versatile timo is on the bass. even from videos over 5 yrs old. im currently trying to learn the bass part for shunkan sentimental. and i know the slap part is going to kill me.

Yes I cannot remember the song but there is a video of her playing it in a retro type number, I thought it would be ideal for her as she likes to leap about and they are smaller and much lighter than a heavy Fender bass