Shining Stars: TAKII 6 guests/performers

D-chan
Japanese/Korean Vocal Musician
D-chan is a 23 year-old Japanese-mixed male & professional Japanese/Korean vocal musician. He has been singing since he was a lil boy, with his 1st recording being when he was in kindergarten at Manoa Elementary School in Havertown, PA, singing "10 Little Indians" ^_^. Since then, D-chan has moved on to become a major member of all the top vocal groups my academic career had to offer, which he has been successful in as an adult.

Among other milestones in his young vocal career, D-chan sang on the opening day of The Kimmel Centre Of The Performing Arts in Philadelphia PA, won various district & region-wide vocal festivals, & aided his vocal groups to gain top honors in vocal adjudications up & down the east coast. He is also the youngest member of the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus & their auditioned group, Brotherly Love, of which he has been a member since 2003. D-chan also has various singles & 2 demo albums ("Watashi Wa..../I Am...." & "Ai no Chikara/The Power Of Love") to his credit, all of which are available for purchase in PDNMZ CD Shoppe's "CD Centrale".

As of 2008, D-chan will have performed at T-Mode 2008 in Arlington, VA, Con-Con 2008 in Columbia, MD, GALA 2008 Festival in Miami, FL, & many other venues & events as a part of the innovatively-extreme "TAKII World Tour". Making a lasting influential impression on people around the world, D-chan's emotive 6th season guest performance at TAKII is sure to touch you: mind, body, & soul.



CCAmanda
Shikkaricon Founder/Freelance Vocalist
CCAmanda (really known as Amanda W., from Philadelphia, PA) has been cosplaying since 2003 & has been singing at Anime convention karaoke rooms since her 1st con, BAAF 2003. The 1st song she sang was "Fukai Mori (Deep Forest)" (from InuYasha). Since then, she's competed in several karaoke contests at conventions; these include AnimeNext, Otakon, & AnimeUSA. She placed 2nd in Otaku Idol 2004 at Otakon & won the karaoke contest at AnimeNext 2004! As if this Asian culture enthusiast wasn't busy enough, CCAmanda also is the Founder & a former Chairwoman for Bucks County, PA's premier Anime event of the year, Shikkaricon (currently on a "Revival" hiatus).

It wasn't until she became exposed to The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational did her "true nature" show itself. For those of us were there (or heard about) TAKII 3 ~Video Game Esctacy~, CCAmanda established herself as the most self-serving, venomous, & dramatic judge the TAKII Show had ever seen! Just what will this femme fatale have to say when she makes her long-awaited return to Asian culture's "House Of Hardcore" for TAKII 6?? 1 thing's for sure: you will NOT wanna miss a thing!!!!



Charles Cohen
Electronica/Synth Musician
(c/o The Philly Ambient Consortium) Based in the Philadelphia area, Charles Cohen has been amazing & challenging audiences for over 20 years. His music is entirely improvisational & produced solely on a vintage Buchla Music Easle synthesizer. An avid collaborator, Cohen is most well known to (most) listeners from his work with Jeff Cain in their group The Ghostwriters.

With few recorded/commercially available works to his credit, Cohen prefers to concentrate on creating Electronic Music in the setting of the live performance space. His music ranges from completely abstract & challenging to pleasantly rhythmic & infectious. Each performance is original & new, to the audience & to Cohen as well. Charles explained once that the reason he isn't interested in making an album is because he doesn't believe in product. "If anyone likes my music that much," he says, "they can bother releasing it." Thankfully, in the past two years a few of Charles' recordings have found there way onto a few compilations: on a CD which accompanied Sound Collector #3, & on WKDU's SUBMIT Electronic Music Compilation.

In the Summer of 2004, Charles Cohen & D-chan combined forces to produce the Japanese/Korean vocal musician's 2nd EP demo CD, entitled "Ai no Chikara (The Power Of Love)" (available for purchase at PDNMZ CD Shoppe). Featuring tribute covers to themes from Bishoujo Senshi SailorMoon (Pretty Soldier SailorMoon) & Ken Hirai's "Love Is....Another Story", the musical outing proved to be Cohen's 1st foray into Asian music....& he hasn't regretted it since.

From Philly to NYC, Charles Cohen can be found sparring with all sorts of media artists, with this being his inaugural season with "the world's most extreme Asian culture fusion festival". Be-it as a wealth of knowledge on 1 of our talk shows, or as a live performer, he is a sight to be seen & a sound to be heard at TAKII 6!



The Obama Campaign
c/o Asian Americans For Obama (Volunteer Activists)
After receiving an invite to appear this season at "the world's most extreme Asian culture fusion festival", volunteers affiliated with the Obama campaign couldn't resist! Asian Americans For Obama (AAFO) was founded in December 2006 to reach out to & organize the Asian Pacific American community to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States. By way of scheduled meet-ups, correspondence with the official campaign, & massive multimedia out-reach, Obama's plan for the Asian community is conveyed in a uniquely effective way everyone can understand & enjoy.

Now, the question begs to be asked -- just what kind of impact will this volunteer group from the Obama campaign have at TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~? Not only will AAFO be engaging the TAKII faithful outside & interacting with everyone inside at "Community Centrale", no sir. They'll be a part of our extreme-branded, weekend-long celebration that will be unlike anything a political campaign, nor an Asian event, has done before! For all of our offerings this season, TAKII is proud to have AAFO aboard.



Dokudel
Award-Winning Cosplay Savant
Prior to her involvement with TAKII, Dokudel (known as Alicia L. & the sister of the infamous [Ai]) started on her path to cosplay greatness by making her 1st cosplay outfit in 1998 & subsequently attending her 1st convention in 2001. Over 80 costumes & countless hours later, Dokudel has realized just how much of a passion cosplaying is in her life & how it can spread so much joy in the lives of others.

As a result of her adoration for this artform of sorts, she has opened up her own cosplay commission business (Cosplay Forever), volunteered for countless other organizations in a cosplay-related capacity (including Shikkaricon, among others), & hosted cosplay panels at some of the 20+ conventions she has attended over the past 7 years. A young cosplay aficionado in her own right, Dokudel made her 1st waves @ TAKII in TAKII 2 ~Rebirth~'s Asian Karaoke Idol show, where she took 2nd place. Since then, she has been a dedicated TAKII dealer & has become the fusion festival's unofficial cosplay coordinator &  Cosplay Battle Royale hostess with the mostest ^_^!



Half-Born
Cosplay Performance Troupe
Half-Born is a cosplay group obviously infatuated with the amazing addiction of anime who is also honored to make their return appearance to the "House Of Hardcore Asian Culture Appreciation" in the form of TAKII 6. (....you know, the only sort of addiction that won't be hazardous to your health at all! Okay, that's a complete lie, but we like to send you wonderful amounts of false hope anyway to amuse you ^_^).

We will be performing a skit about the amazing adventures of Capcom & Friends, featuring characters from some of the gaming giant's most infamously-dynastic series (ie: Devil May Cry & Resident Evil). When you witness our little act, for sure, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you might even excrete unsanitary substances into your pants! But most of all, you'll love us so very dearly! Will we love you back? No one may ever be conscious to witness a definite answer. Why might that be? Come watch us to find out!



Jeffrey Branch
J-Pop Retro Aficionado
Residing in Philadelphia, PA, Jeffrey Branch is an Asian Music enthusiast who just so happens to be the most trusted & reliable source of Pink Lady information (as documented by a hardcore fan) in the entire USA! His site, Pink Lady America, has been mentioned in Japan-based magazines, as well as serving for a portion of the inspiration behind "Pink Lady: A Comical Tribute" from TAKII 4, the "Pink Lady &  Jeff: Lost Episode" from TAKII 5, & a guest host of our retro-themed gameshows. Since becoming a dedicated fan of Japanese Pop music in the 1970s, Jeffrey has made numerous trips to Japan & other points on the globe in search of his next Pink Lady fix.

Jeffrey Branch is a prime example of a TAKII extremist: someone who is passionate about his love for Asian vocal music & makes every effort to share that same affection with the world. This is why TAKII is extremely honored to have this man grace us with his presence at TAKII 6! Welcome "home", Jeffrey!



The Asia Foundation
Official TAKII 6 Charity Beneficiary
The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, & open Asia-Pacific region. TAF supports programs in Asia that help improve governance, law, & civil society; women's empowerment; economic reform & development; & international relations. Drawing on more than 50 years of experience in Asia, TAF collaborates with private & public partners to support leadership & institutional development, exchanges, & policy research.

Among other notable accomplishments, Afghanistan President Karzai presented TAF an honorary medal for its contributions to the development of the new Constitution for Afghanistan. The medal was presented during the closing ceremony of all 502 delegates of the Constitutional Loya Jirga in Kabul following the ratification of the Constitution on January 4, 2004.

With a network of 17 offices throughout Asia, an office in Washington, D.C., & its headquarters in San Francisco, TAF addresses these issues on both a country & regional level. In 2007, TAF provided more than $68 million in program support & distributed 974,000 books & educational materials valued at $33 million throughout Asia. The Asia Foundation is not an endowed organization, & depends solely on monetary contributions from donors to accomplish its work.

Through our various charitable efforts this season (by way of "Win, Lose, Or Draw: Artists Alley Edition", the "Makenai Benefit Concert", & more), TAKII 6 & it's faithful fans hope to add to the chorus of voices that echo the sentiments of what TAF stands for & promotes around the realm of Asia & beyond.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS






Have a question to ask a guest?
Wanna become a performer? EMAIL: guests_performers@takii.pdnmz.com