DOGSTAR

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• FASHION POP CULTURE LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENTTOP NEW MUSIC PICKS
• fusionFUSION MAGAZINE TEAM
• DUA LIPA & HOLLYWOODThe incredibly gifted Platinum musician Dua Lipa opens up about her thoughts and feelings about beginning a Hollywood film and her future plans as she makes her Hollywood debut. FEATURED
• DUA LIPAHOUDINI Dua lipa sounds never keep stoping and now with her fresh new song from the Barbie Soundtrack Something about Dua Lipa's music captivates me, and this new tune from the Barbie soundtrack showcases her signature blend of sexiness and pop perfection. You'll want to play this song over and over again.
• TAYLOR SWIFTCRUEL SUMMER OLIVIA RODRIGO
• DOLLY AVEAUTHOR E RRY CORIA PHOTOGRAPHY: E RRY CORIA A NEW MUSIC NEW TASTE
• Page 7B Photo by Jerry Coria
• Page 8DOLLY: The wonderful thing about the path to art is there's no particular roadmap. It's unique to each individual. That was something I had to come to terms with. I would like to say my career is slow and steady building one brick by brick at a time. The funny thing is some would say my career is shaping surprisingly faster than usual considering how "late" I started this journey. For me, I am just taking it a day at a time. There are so many surprises with each new milestone. While it might be ideal to have an overnight hit, or crazy fame now - there is something sweet and satisfying about putting all my blood, sweat, and tears into this and having success come through persistence. FUSION: How do you see music from today vs from before?
• Page 9I was about thirteen when I decided I wanted to be called, "Dolly Ave." I am not sure what overcame me with this thought at the time, but I was adamant on reinventing myself. I loved that it not only had a ring to it but "avenue" was a creative path with multiple outcomes. I dropped "Avenue" to "Ave" shorter after reading about different startup names losing the word "the" before it. I had more than one reason to want to reinvent myself. I moved quite a lot growing up which exposed me to discrimination, bullying, and using my biological Vietnamese last name as a way to mock me due to their lack of ability to pronounce the Iname. It was also a creative choice.
• Page 10DOLLY: I am open to collaborations if the right project or song comes along. It's important for the circum- stances to make sense rather than forcing it. Currently I don't have anyone on my radar. I'm sure that will change as I continue to write new material. FUSION: What is your motivation as a songwriter and music artist?
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• Page 12usion: First, for the viewers that do not know who you are, can you please share a little introduction about yourself? GACKT: I'm GACKT, I'm a singer, an actor and a producer. I'm a jack of all trades
• Page 13age. In the past, CD mar- keting was the main rev- enue for musicians, but CD sales have gone down, and people downloading digital music and stream- ing has now become the main focus. I think there are a lot of people who have been affected by the music marketing shift to downloading and stream- ing. Personally, I don't really pay attention to the difference in inno- vation of the marketing sales methods between now and then. I think it's important to carry out my musical expression through creating music FUSION: As a musician and producer, learning more and more about the entertainment indus- try has made you very open minded about music. What were the turning points in your life where you really started to ap- preciate music on a deep- er level?
• Page 14ACTOR, PRODUCER, MUSIC ARTIST THE JACK OF ALL TRADES, THERE IS NOTHING GACKT CAN'T DO. HE WAS BORN TO ENTERTAIN AND INSPIRE THE YOUTH AS WELL AS ANYONE THAT BECOMES A FAN, AND THERE IS MORE TO COME. GACKT: I've been searching for how to express my music; my style when I perform solo vs. where I was with the band. My style of stage perfor- mance is different from other art- ists, it was not easy until I struc- tured my style on stage.
• Page 15After all, I feel even more attached to the music from that time, than from other albums. Music always has a theme, so I call that Zipang Rock. The culture of rock that I want to create came from Europe and the United States, so I wondered what kind of musical expression we could create, and what kind of sound only I could create, and I wanted to make something called Zipang Rock. Japanese instruments include musical instruments of Asia, but if you overdo the approach and melody of those instruments, the whole thing becomes very lame. I had been trying to fuse those Japanese instruments with Rock music.
• Page 16P EVERYBODY MAKES
• Page 17the near future, etc. Demonic beings exist in Japan, and I thought that those demons could be portrayed in a beautiful way, so I started writing about the story prior to the Kamakura era period in Japan and its historical background. MOON SAGA's story begins from ancient history, moving into the modern era. I had been writing the story going backward from the near future to the modern era, and moving to the medieval period, then to the Kamakura era which was around the year 1200. This time, I was trying to figure out different ways of expressing my performances, like I wanted to express myself on stage, and I also wanted to express my music in a way that the music and the performance fused or linked together. That is the story of MOON SAGA, and after all, visual live performance is not just a fusion of music and im- ages, but it is like watching a movie and then suddenly it becomes a stage show. I guess I could say it's like a transition from the stage to the show. Then it transi- tions again, to images from the stage and it repeats over and over. This world vision is very interesting to the audience. It also feels like it jumped off the screen, and I think that's what became known as Last Visual Live.
• Page 18FUSION: Not only have you created so much music that the world can appreciate, but you have also done a lot of movies and tv shows that talk about the other side of the industry. What got you interested in starting acting? GACKT: Basically, when I'm singing a song, in my case, I feel like it's very close to acting, like being a character in a song and conveying that char- acter's feelings. I simply feel that we speak different languages, and I thought, if you are a singer, you would understand that you could also act. So, I started acting as a way to express myself. Thus, expanding my repertoire. I'm building my expression skills one by one, and also discovering a new way to act.
• Page 19FUSION: You have a new film that is coming out soon in Japan. Can you talk about this and how you got involved in this film? I think many viewers are big fans of the work that you've done in the voice over world. What proper training do you get when doing voice over? This level of experience requires a lot of attention to detail, so how do you stay fo- cused through it all? GACKT: The new film is based on an anime, and there were many reasons behind why I decided to play a role in this film. The biggest reason was that I was a fan of this anime and I am also a big fan of the author. This author selected me for the role, and if he was willing to work with me, I replied back to him, “Let's do it.” Then I dove into the work on the movie. Of course, I do some training to stay in shape, because I want to keep my body strong enough to withstand the whole live concert, and also express my music on stage rather than training to maintain my vocals. The most important thing for me is to make sure I do my training at a certain level evryd y,im d r to epm ypical stret H flb yp actice sig æ d my muscle strength starts to decline, I may find that it's like, 'the tail wagging the dog,' my body wouldn't be strong enough to express my skills. So, I think the most important thing in my daily training is how I strengthen my body so that it will serve as a great foundation for my performance.
• Page 20FUSION: In America, when someone has experience in the entertainment industry in all different levels such as music, acting, theater and voice over work, we call them "the jack of all trades." Was this something you thought about from the very beginning or did this just happen by chance? GACKT: In the first place, singing is a form of self-expression, and other forms of expression also come from within me, so there aren't really any boundaries to me between singing and acting. It might be that I started to do various things to show my fans what it means to take on a chal- lenge.
• Page 21GACKT: I think it's a good event to deliver my songs and those songs touch people's hearts, and actu- ally the audience reminds me of the meanings of those songs, and that comes back to me directly. The graduation ceremonies are a place that makes me feel how important it is to lift people up. There are also children who are not my fans, and by de- livering a surprise performance and bringing ex- citement to them, I hope to give them courage, lift them up, and give them a sense of what it means to take on challenges.
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• Page 23FUSION: What's next for you, what can viewers expect from you that you will be working on? GACKT: This is the same as live performances, but I'm also working on another movie, and I think I'll be able to deliver excitement as an actor in other movie. I can't tell you the title yet but please look forward to it!
• Page 24PHOTOGRAPHY: Brian Bowen
• DOGSTARTHE BAND IS BACK! NEW ALBUM PLUS MORE AUTHOR JERRY CORIA | LIVE PHOTOS JERRY CORIA | LIVE PHOTOS ALLAN ABANI
• Page 26E-45ML ogstar is a Los Angeles alternative rock band that shot to fame in the mid-1990s, with actor Keanu Reeves who plays bass and Bret Domrosewho plays gutair and Vocals and finally with Robert Mailhousewho plays Drums for the group. The band routinely took their post-grunge/alt-pop hybrid on the road, playing to sold-out crowds across Asia, Europe, and North America. Before breaking up in 2002, the band recorded two albums, 1996's Our Little Visionary and 2000's Happy Ending. Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees was Dogstar's third studio album, released in 2023 after the band reunited after a twenty-year hiatus. They recently came back with a big tour across the United States and Japan, and we were given the opportunity to speak with the band in an exclusive interview in which they discussed their latest album, music, and pure rock and roll.
• Photos by: Ross HalfinEMERGENCY EXIT
• Page 28DOGSTAR:Keanu (Ba.): Creating new memories and we're playing our album that's coming out in October and bringing new music. You know, I think it's nice sharing the evolution of the band through the music that we're making. DOGSTAR: Robert (Dr.) : I think this is the first time we have played most of the new album overseas, and I think Japan is the perfect place to do that.
• Page 29Photography: Allan Abani
• Page 30PHOTO BY: Jerry Coria
• PHOTO BY: Allan BaniPHOTO BY: Jerry Coria
• Photography: Ross HalfinI FEEL OUR MUSIC DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME SONG SYNDROME WE HAVE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES 1
• Page 33DOGSTAR: Keanu (Ba.): Well, we started in the States and then we came to Japan and now we're going back. We're really kind of committing to being a FN**** touring rock band. DOGSTAR: Bret (Vol./Gt.): Yeah, we go where they invite us.
• PHOTO BY: Branno KentPHOTO BY: Branno Kent PHOTO BY: Branno Kent
• Page 35REMO PHOTO BY: Jerry Coria
• Page 36FUSION: Finally for all the readers what message do you want to say and what would you like them to know ay last com- ments? DOGSTAR: Keanu: Thanks for spending some time with us and we love to have you listen to our new music that is out now in OCT and we love to come back to Japan and perform again!
• Page 37It's been so long since Dogstar's first album that it seems like a life- time ago. It all started in the early 1990s, when bands began playing on the Sunset Strip, which is a stretch of Sunset Blvd that passes through the city of West Hollywood. There used to be a lot of different kinds of events on the Sunset Strip, including venues like the Viper Room, Whiskey A Go Go, House of Blues, Key Club, and the Roxy, which gives me a lot of good memories. Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees is a good post-grunge album that they released to make up for lost time. Witnessing Dogstar live will bring back fond memories of the classic rock 'n' roll era and will undoubtedly arouse feelings of appreciation for quality music. The division of labor between drummer Mailhouse, guitar- ist/vocalist Domrose, and bassist Reeves is largely responsible for the band's post-grunge, alt-rock sound.
• DOWN THE MEMORY LANEChoruses like "Everything Turns Around” are brilliant and filled with so many positive vibes that you can't help but keep listening. They leave you with a sense of wanting more, or if you are like me, you will want to hear these songs on repeat. Still, you can hear the post- grunge influence in tracks like "Overhang." A strong reverberation from a garage recording can be heard; it gives the roots back to their 2004 album Happy Ending. We must not forget that the deep connection between the bands dates back over four decades. The album's midsection is solid rock. throwback that demonstrates the band's development. Dogstar does a wonderful job of delivering on their promise of a nice breeze, leaving listeners satisfied with their music tunes.
• Page 39PHOTOGRAPHY: Allan Bani
• Page 40FUSION: How does it feel to be at the world premiere for Argylle? Dua Lipa: I'm so happy to be here and so happy to see you. I mean, what an incredible cast we have here in Argyle.
• LIA TOBY/GETTY/GETTY IMAGESLIA TOBY/GETTY GETTY IMAGES @HENRY NICHOLLS
• Page 42SNOOP DOGG
• Page 43GE sent a lot of kids to the NFL we got rose scholars lawyers firemen police chiefs like we've done a lot of great work in the community from a Football League that started you know over 15 years ago now we're in the great space and then like three or four years ago we started the Snoop youth special stars where we deal with kids with disabilities and special needs so now we're complementing all of the kids we're not missing and we're not leaving no kid behind so we got the kids that are athletic and then we got the special needs kids and just the culmination of who I am as far as like I love to give back and I love to be a part of these kids life because i'm the biggest in the room EADGGES
• Page 44Fusion: This movie must mean a lot to you specially since you coach team's be- fore and not just on the big screen Snoop: Yeah, I believe the other dogs are like a team that I coach. Once upon a time, I've coached a lot of teams that were just great and they were superlative and they just outmatched everybody and then recently I coached a couple of un- derdog teams that weren't expected to do much kids never knew how to play football this was their first year and then we grew over a time period of me be- coming a better coach than becoming better players I'm learning from them learning from me and then eventually these kids end up winning the championship.
• Page 45Fusion: what was it like working with the Child actors on this film Snoop: this is like some real deal what I love dealing with like kids who experience wanting to be grown but the adult gives them enough room to hang themselves and then he puts them back in their place that's the way I grew up like I couldn't cuss around my mother but my uncles I can cuss like around them you know I'm saying so was like certain things I can get away with and I feel like this movie is so perfect for that because it enables these kids to be real
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