Interview With TAKII's Damien "D-Chan" Christopher

A few months ago, I posted an article here about a local Asian culture gathering called The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational (TAKII for short). Well, after the crazy experience I had there, I wanted to take things a bit further. And with that in mind, I managed to score an interview with the founder and head of TAKII himself, Damien "D-Chan" Christopher. Even though he was busy with planning for the next season of TAKII, he was able to answer a few of our questions. Here's what he had to say:

D-Chan announcing the order of events to a packed house of
TAKII attendees.



- What is TAKII about?

TAKII stands for “The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational” & it is “the most extreme Asian culture fusion festival” in all facets of reality! It promotes the dissonances & harmonies in all of the different facets of Asian culture fandom, giving everyone who attends a true sense of “belonging” to a larger “family”.



D-Chan highlighting one of the
 Asian American Idol contestants,
letting the crowd choose the winner.



- How did TAKII start?



The 1st incarnation of PDNMZ's "The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational ~Ichiban~" was a wonderful way for Prince Diamond's NegaMoon Zone to break into the live event scene & give back to its fans & fans of Asian Music & Anime everywhere. It was held at The William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, PA on February 5th, 2006. The theme was inspired by SailorMoon SailorStars' 3 Lights (Yaten, Taiki, & Seiya), with the theme song being "Chasin' After You" (by the Three Lights), from the 4th SailorMoon Musical. People who assisted in planning this event were not quite sure how everything was going to go, but we were pleasantly surprised by the turn-out & fun that was had!

- What is your role in TAKII?



I am the Founder, Lead Coordinator, & all-around guest performer of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational. I am aided by my volunteer group of Co-Coordinators, countless sponsors, & a multitude of fans who personify the spirit that TAKII seeks to promote & preserve.

- What inspired you to create TAKII?



Contestants of the Cosplay competition
 line up for photos.

Wow, this is a good question! After attending my last Otakon (I believe it was 2004), I wanted to fuse what I was doing at home with my Asian online shop (at the time known as PDNMZ CD Shoppe), my love of my own culture (I am part Japanese), & how much fun I saw others having when they got together to celebrate anime, manga, & the like. It was originally intended to be a 1-shot fundraiser for another area event, but as they say, all things happen for a reason (^_^). Combining the efforts of some of my best friends with my creative imagination, we were able to put on one helluva season with TAKII 2 ~Rebirth~, also held at The William Way LGBT Community Center. Ever since we moved to The Rotunda (in the University City section of Philly, PA), things have been lookin’ up -- & we’re reachin’ for the stars with each season of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational that comes up!

- What is your most memorable moment of TAKII?



My most recent “memorable moment” from The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational would have to be from TAKII 10 ~Family Reunion~. It was meant to be our “fondest memories” season of sorts, & everything that we did that season was just out of this world! When some of our “Returning Legends” performers got up on stage, some to sing for the possible last time, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Prior to that, TAKII 8 ~HoliDAYZE~ was memorable in the sense that it was put together, promoted, & produced in less than 4 days (no one could tell & it was one of our best turn-outs). It’s really hard to single out any particular moment from a particular season. You see, with TAKII, we have a habit of creating MANY “must-see” happenings that you would be a fool to miss!

- What is the best cosplay that you've seen at TAKII?

More shots of the Asian American Idol judging.

I have to admit, the very 1st cosplay that I saw at TAKII (not counting James “KojiroJames” Craven) since we’ve moved to The Rotunda would be this little girl dressed up as Totoro for TAKII 3 ~Video Game Ecstacy~ holds a special place in my heart. Of course, there was TAKII 2 ~Rebirth~ with the “debuting” performance of a Bishoujo Senshi SailorMoon troupe called Prism (in full Sailor Senshi fuku)! Each season just seems to get better & better -- & we have plenty to thank by way of Alicia “Dokudel” Lugo in her continued enthusiasm for this wonderful facet of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational.

- Do you have any plans for future TAKII events?



We get wonderful suggestions for future TAKII festival seasons, or events! Some of which include: extra seasons of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational, more stops on our TAKII World Tour, seasonal video game tournaments, cultural excursions, & plenty more. We’re always open to suggestions & the best way everyone can give us them would be to join or ranks as a member of the Team TAKII Coalition. Just visit the “Interaction” section of our website for more info! And of course, The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational is about to hit the Philly area with TAKII 11 ~Stage On!~ this May 2011!!

 

~*~

 

I would like to thank D-Chan for doing the interview for us. You can check out the TAKII website at http://takii.pdnmz.com/ for news, anformation and more regarding TAKII. And don't forget that TAKII 11 will happen this May so be there!!! Until then, minna-sama!!!

 

 -Ray Riley

Welcome to Philadelphia's TAKII 10

So for a while now, I’ve been wondering why there haven’t been many anime events in Philadelphia. Honestly, the city is big enough and you run into a lot of anime fans if you know where to look. But considering that everyone can’t travel to Otakon, AnimeExpo, Katsu-con and other major anime conventions, you have a good amount of people wishing there was something here.

Then I found out about The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational - or TAKII for short.

What exactly is TAKII, you ask? TAKII is a local Asian culture gathering held at the Rotunda (a small concert/event hall next to The Bridge Theater) right in the heart of University City. From what I know of it, it's been running for almost 5 years on a bi-yearly basis. Anime fans throughout the city come to this event to meet up with others and embrace their love of all things anime and Japanese on this two day event. And it's not just sitting back and watching anime, there are events ranging from a talent show contest (Asian American Idol), a cosplay competition, live concerts, a video game tournament, and even a rave for all the ravers in the building.



From first glance, it seems that TAKII is a mini-con held for the Philly anime fans. However, after experiencing the first day, you can tell that it’s deeper than just anime love. TAKII pays homage to all Asian Pop Culture, including video games, music (mainly Japanese and Korean Pop), cos-play, treats and – obviously – animation.




D-Chan judging the winners of the
Asian American Idol contest.

 

One of the things that are attractive about TAKII is the atmosphere itself. To be honest, TAKII feels like it’s just a large family reunion rather than a convention. For starters, you get in for free. And that’s something that anybody will fall in love with. It’s one of the things that organizer Damian “D-Chan” Christopher has kept to make TAKII stand out as a gathering with friends.



And does it feel like a gathering with friends? That answer is yes. The atmosphere’s a highly sociable one, meaning you’re guaranteed to be cool with a few people by the middle of the day. Even one new attendee had this to say about it:

“What I like about TAKII was the atmosphere. The atmosphere made it fun to socialize with people while having fun and not making me feel uneasy.”


The TAKII 10 Cosplay Competition's entries.



This being my second time there, I had to make a return trip. My first time there was at the insistence of a friend and well, what I experienced there was more than enough to bring me back again. And when I came back, it was an epic experience despite the cold weather. Just remembering the acts that took place in the Asian American Idol Competition on Saturday keeps me laughing still.

The second – and final – day of TAKII was the perfect end to the festivities. I won’t go into much of it because of space constraints, however I will say that between the musical chairs event that I walked in on to the Cosplay Competition, it was the perfect build-up for the final event: the video game tournament. This season, the game was Soul Calibur 4 but was switched to Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit due to technical difficulties.

And that’s one thing that I give D-Chan: he came prepared for that situation. This is something that I’ve seen some bigger local conventions fail at when it comes to game tournaments.

Needless to say, the tournament was insane. From the opening where two contenders ran onstage and held an air guitar jam session to the opening video – yes, that actually happened – to the matches, it kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the end. Both teams had good matches and for an instant, it seemed that the team that took an early lead was destined to lose in the second round. But in the end, the team that took the early lead managed to make a comeback and take the win.

Saturday night's performer Sin with a back-up dancer as she performs "The Real Folk Blues".

And that’s all I have to say on TAKII 10 at the moment. Even though the memories will stay fresh in my head – and my laptop via .MOV files – TAKII is done for the year. However, the date for the next season of TAKII is already set. So if you want to experience this event for yourself, mark down May 14th and 15th on your calendars because that’s when TAKII returns for its 11th season. And check out the TAKII site here: http://takii.pdnmz.com

Hope to see you there next year!
- Ray Riley