To Taka, with Love

Konnichassu,

Kinda weird I am up even at this hour but just a few hours ago, I was rocking my head out and resisting the urge to jump as FLOW definitely rocked the house down. To know the reason why I said that, best wait for the live report on it.

Anyway, today, I shall post something completely off my usual writing here in the blog. Hope you like it though and I hope he likes it too.

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I do not remember when exactly I heard your name, but your voice was something very familiar to me when the song ‘The Beginning’ played in the movie house I watched with my brother for the first showing of Rurouni Kenshin. To me, back then, this band is quite good but who is this vocalist singing these beats. I did a little research and found out your name.

At first I was confused on what your full name was but I did not mind it because you were simply ‘Taka’ to people. I also wasn’t that too engrossed with you or the band even if I liked the OST you made for Rurouni Kenshin. I think it only took the songs Mighty Long Fall (Which is the first single I bought digitally), Summer Paradise (your collaboration with my other favorite band Simple Plan) and Dreaming Alone (your collaboration with Against the Current) did I take notice of you and band itself.

I had been quite curious to see you in person considering the aura you exemplified in every note you sang. Would you be like this in real life? Or are rumors of you being completely snobbish or difficult to reach really true? I would have tried to go to Makuhari Messe in the extra days for the Japan Tour but things came up and pretty much made that difficult. However, the announcement of the Asian Tour rekindled that curiosity and I immediately signed up for the chance to indeed meet you.

When that was confirmed, I have thought of all the things i wanted to say. But knowing that meet and greets were not really that long and that there is a huge chance an encounter would not be possible, I opted to write you a letter since we could give gifts anyway. I do not know if you read it, but those are some of the things I wanted to tell you. When I saw you on January 19, I wasn’t able to even hit off a good hello to you and embarrassed myself in the process. You were nothing like those bashers said about you. You were a man that has a lot of mysteries in him and doesn’t release that wave of “I’m better than you” vibe like other rockstars. You were simply you and thats one thing I like about you. I pmed you that very night to apologize, hoping that God does allow me a chance to speak to you but I know He will give me that chance if I believe in it.

Many things changed that night. Although the words I wish to say are still the same, I like to add new things to that. I like to thank you for being an inspiration not just to me but for everyone. I wanted to show you how Manila loved you guys when you visited Manila; showing you two of my most prized works: The ONE OK ROCK Live in Manila: The Concert feature and Love for 10969. I also wanted to get to know you and you the same. Time will hopefully give us that and once it does, I will write these thoughts in a notebook so when you do come back to Manila or for some reason, I get to watch your shows overseas and bump into you, I can indeed tell you some of these words little by little. Even joke on them would be something to look forward to.

As you turn 28 today… I have nothing much to give, especially as I have no idea how to send you a gift in the US where you are now. I also have no idea what best to give a person who means a lot to me and to everyone. I hope that my simple wish for you will be ok, until I actually think of something that I think you will enjoy and remember me by.

Make sure you keep up with your physical exercise, less on the drinking and smoking (if you actually do though I heard its Vape you are smoking) and don’t forget, stay true to yourself. Always remember that bit.

Happy birthday dear Taka and this writer prays this year and the next coming years will be the best ever for you.

And she also prays that you also get to read this. I’ll translate it in Japanese if I have to!