Okay BAND-MAID fans… I finally listened to you and checked out KANAMI! 😂

This was only my first introduction to her, so now I need you to guide me down the rabbit hole. If you could show me ONE BAND-MAID performance that really demonstrates what Kanami can do as a guitarist, which one should I watch?

Drop it below 👇 s.

And here is the link to the Prs Interview as promised!

https://prsguitars.com/electrics/model/kanami_limited_edition_2025

Welcome. As a fellow (former) blues/rock musician and fan, this is going to be a fun and surprising journey to discover Kanami and Band Maid. Happy. Sincere.
Awesome, diverse catalog of music.

“from now on” was the instrumental track that changed my entire outlook on the band.

In time, you’ll hear why Kanami gets praised from the insiders as much as the fanbase. Her approach to the instrument is quite different from most guitarists. She is a composer first.

She doesn’t just write a riff and build a song around it. She hears a composed piece of rock orchestra in her mind and builds little pieces for each member to play.
She will do more work in one song than some guitarists do on an entire album…playing small, complementary bits, flourishes and lots of octave work, in service to the song. “Puzzle” is one great example.

She won’t baffle you with whammy wizardry or pummel you with a thousand soulless notes. But she will inspire you to look at guitar playing in a different way. And remind you that playing in a band is supposed to be a blast

Kanami is a very likeable person. She is actually very shy and humble. Totally for real. And then she has written 100+ killer rock songs for the band. And shreds! Her alter ego when shredding is called Mincho. She is also the tutor of the backup singer Miku's guitar playing. She could originally not play guitar but is now actually very good. Therefore the band members sometimes calls Kanami Sensai, which means teacher.

Kanami is unique. Yes, she is an awesome guitarist, but that's only a means to an end for her. Her real skills are in writing, composing, arranging, and mentoring. In fact, she often cites mentoring and pleasing her fans as her proudest accomplishments.

Her actual guitar playing is highly orchestral. She plays fantastic melodic solos that always fit the song, but if you want to understand her real musical skill, you need to pay attention to what she does when she's not soloing.

Her orchestral sensibilities are just incredible. Many times you can hear Kanami in the background playing an orchestral riff. She uses effect switches and her guitar's capabilities to take on the texture of a whole string section, playing sweeping arpeggios or staccato musical phrasing that fits in so well, it makes you feel something entirely different.

You see a 5-piece rock band and hear rock music, but even though you might not immediately recognize what they are playing as a well-arranged symphony, you feel that symphonic phrasing underlying the entire rock/metal sound. If a symphony orchestra wanted to play a Band-Maid song, their arrangements could almost be taken verbatim.

And that's just Kanami. While she is my personal hero in Band-Maid, I'm probably in the minority, as the other members are just as popular, and maybe even more so. If there were a poll taken for the fan favorite, I suspect Kanami would not get the top spot. That's simply because the other musicians are also so incredible on their instruments—and because Kanami specifically writes and arranges in ways that let the others in the band shine through in every song.

That said, Japan has a lot to offer anyone looking to explore new genres of music; it's a whole different world over there. The entire music culture is something else. They have 50 or 60 years, maybe more, of Idol music. It is not for everyone (I am personally not a big fan, though in general, I find it more tolerable than Western pop), but that culture, along with anime and theater, spawned a lot of great musicians. After all, someone had to play the music for the idol girls! It produced talented entertainers who are skilled in all aspects of the music business—not just good musicians, but people who understand and love the business of being entertainers. This, blended with their unique culture, makes everything so dang interesting.

BTW Band-Maid allows the playing of their videos for reaction purposes without copyright issues.

being a great guitarist, writer, composer, arranger, mentor, ...  Kanami is so humble and down-to-earth, fun & shy a person,  ... but when she plays, she seems transcend to a different realm ...
i love watching her whether talking or performing ... and listening her playing

A live Band-Maid concert is a bucket list item.
I have seen many world class artists over the last 30 years not one compares.

Nice of you to check out Kanami, It's often said she has two personalities, the sweet, shy, soft spoken spacey princess, but when she starts to play she turns into an outwardly, donkey kicking, out of body, in a different world, shredding guitar genius Kanami

So, I actually just bought a Kanami PRS and it arrived today 🎉🎉🎉

I missed out on the original release due to being in the process of buying my home and have spent the last 18 months trying find one on resale markets.

Looks incredible in person, thank you and sorry to whichever maidiac sold it.

I love Kanami, but have wanted this model/config for a very long time.

Even more than her guitar skills I'm a fan of Kanami as a composer. One of the greatest rock composers of all time imo. Diverse, creative & prolific.

Kanami of Band-Maid is a humble genius and a musical prodigy!  Kanami is a classically trained pianist and started guitar to look cool in front of the other girls in her school!  She is also a composer per excellence!

The rhythm guitarists has 2 signature guitars you might be interested in.

We are lucky to live in the Age of the Maid

Kanami is a treasure. Her signature guitar sold out worldwide in one day. Band-Maid enjoy watching reactions to their music, so they don’t copyright strike reaction videos. An absolute masterpiece instrumental showcasing Kanami’s guitar work is in the official music video for “from now on”. Band-Maid are in Dallas at the House of Blues on Friday October 9. Hope to see you there!
When performing live, they usually line up left to right:
Misa (bass) 💜😎
Miku (rhythm guitar/vocals) ❤️🕊️
Akane (drums) 💛🥁
Saiki (lead vocals/keyboard) 💙💃🏻
Kanami (lead guitar) 💚🎸

PRS offered to put Kanami's name on the truss rod cover, that's all.  Lots of artist guitars have that.  Instead Kanami had them put the ribbon that is the Band-Maid trademark.

Pretty sure Ryan Mear said Kanami has a blues  soul with pop sensibilities.

Kanami is my favorite guitarist and songwriter.  Not a day goes by that I don't listen to something she's composed.  It's been about 6 years now I think, after discovering her band by accident over the Internet.  The quantity, quality and diversity of original music Kanami has composed over the last decade will shock you.  She's a musical unicorn, and reminds me of singer/songwriter Aurora - but in the rock/hard rock space.

Which BAND-MAID song to check out? I'm partial to all of them. 🤟🖖🤟

KANAMI morphs into MINCHO mode .. she then makes the impossible - possible ( well in my eyes she does ) . I went to see them in Japan twice this year and in London incredible and emotional experience . The Japanese and Asian scene is one deep Rabbit hole once you go down it you never want to go back . Band-Maid are the top of a very deep iceberg . Enjoy your journey

"Alone" is the first Kanami composed song their management let them put on an album. It's a great composition and has a hot lead solo. "From Now On" is an instrumental where you can hear Kanami's abilities. "Ready To Rock" is a more recent song that shows just how far they've come in their 13 years as a cohesive band. "Daydreaming" has one of my favorite Kanami solos. "Shambles" live showcases what a rock star Kanami is.

It's great that you get a sense of her personality before you check out her band's music. She's an exceptional human being. Her band mates have described her as having the air of a princess in a fairy land, but then she has so much swagger when she's on stage with a guitar in her hands. Her most outstanding talent though is musical composition.

One thing I wish she would/could do is improvising on the guitar. I'm a long-time blues fan myself and enjoy an extended improvised solo, which you won't get with her. But still, Band-Maid is my absolute favorite band in decades. The compositions and playing are so good -- catchy melodies and riffs, but also complex enough that you don't get bored.