☆ SHOXX vol. 185

Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 4:51 PM.

Ruki

↓p48
Including the Yoyogi lives from a few days ago, you began every live thanking the audience for the time you share at the concert.

Yes, I did do that. I forget from when I started to say that, but maybe about a year ago….? When we answer calls for an encore, I say that every time because I never want to take that for granted.

That’s nice.

Even if my condition is bad, or I am not satisfied with the live itself, I always want to be thankful for encores. I don’t want to take it for granted..

When you look back on the tour, were there any difficult times?

Ah-. I think it’s around [01] to [02]. That was really hard, I think, but when we entered [03], I didn’t feel it anymore.

What that your throat?

My throat was part of it, but the inner sounds (pronounced Naka-oto in Japanese=the sounds condition of inside the stage including monitors) were also part of it. I was wondering why things were not working. Then I realized that the problem was the monitor, so from [03] I changed to ear monitors. Then it got much better. I had confidence from then on.

But if you put in an ear monitor, you can hear the sound clearly, but you would decrease the feeling of being at a live performance. How were you with that?

It didn’t matter at all. I could hear the audience cheering over the ear monitors.

I see. There are not many people that use ear monitors and can do that.

It depends on who arranges the monitor. I think for the time being, it’s important how close we can get the Naka-oto and Soto-oto (the sound heard through the monitor and the sound heard in the venue by everyone) to be the same. If the balance is wrong, it’s very hard to stay in tune. I argued with the monitor staff about that a lot.(smile)

To do a good performance, you need a good environment.

Yes. So if all my energies were focused on that problem, rehearsal would have a waste of time. You know I want to try other things as well. But honestly speaking, it was trial and error up until the final Osaka live and the 1st day of the Yoyogi live.

So you were able to resolve the problem by the 2nd day of Yoyogi?

Yes. Eventually it improved because staff changed. It worked really well in the 2nd day of Yoyogi, I could really hear how the sounds changed when someone else was arranging things.

About the sound, I had the impression that the sound changed from［Pulse Wriggling To Black 04］a lot.

That may have been the result of rehearsals and the like. We still have problems, but overall I think that it was good. I wasn’t nervous like “This is final!”. I think we were able to do a usual live, in a good way.

By the way, with the 2nd day of Yoyogi, special images were projected at the beginning of the concert, and I heard it was your idea Ruki?

Do you know the movie of 『JFK』?

It’s a movie about Kennedy’s assassination, right?

From a while ago…..when we played in Yokohama Arena, I wanted to shoot and use images like that movie. The atmosphere is monotone and connects to the tour title, I think.

It was quite tasteful and cool.

I wanted to show the feeling of ‘a group’, not each member appearing respectively. It was like the GazettE equals one team. I wanted to show it clearly and directly from the start. So I thought about the SE a lot.

In your set list, there was 「R.C.E」. Was that song an original just for that day?

At first, I thought I would use the sound which we use in our official site. But when we put it on our images, it didn’t match at all. So I thought we had to make something else, and it took time so we were still making the sound up until just before the live in Osakajo hall.

Was the title of SE「R.C.E」maybe…..

Yes, it was just the abbreviation of ［REPEATED COUNTLESS ERROR］.(laugh)

I see.(laugh) I think that including 「R.C.E」 we were able to see the culmination of your various efforts in the Yoyogi concert.

Yeah, I think that various things that we had been working throughout the tour really took shape in that concert.

With your performances, including stage directions generally, what have you been seeking to do throughout the tour, Ruki?

I tried not to get into a rut. I was conscious of trying to have a fresh mind all the time.

Yes, I noticed that. In the song of [ Ganges ni akai bara] you changed how you performed to the audience as you sang the song.

With that, the interaction with our lighting staff was big. We didn’t dare determine the timing, so we really have to work together! We didn’t need any explanations at all. We had so many scenes during this tour that not only we 5 members, but also people around us really had to correspond well with each other almost without talking. All of us worked really hard.

So this tour really evolved as it went, with sound as well as visuals becoming so perfect. What’s more, they became more showy somehow.

That was one of our goals from [04] up until the final. We wanted to make our visuals be ‘persuasive’ (laugh), and to change our image totally. For example, we changed our image from black to white.

And in that white set, the vivid lighting looked so great.

We totally changed our image which was thick and black up until now, to something different, but still had that heavy thick feel about it.

Your idea was very successful.

But I really want to praise our fans for what they did during this tour and that final. I never imagined that they would become like that. (laugh).

As Ruki said, they become totally crazy.(laugh)

But I suppose with the scale of our live concerts changing, it brings a new audience or people who don’t know us very well, so I really felt the need to make our concerts and our album very hard rock.

So you have decided to continue with your musical style?

Yes. But this time I honestly felt that our audiences were really cool. I think that the band will grow because of it too. I think that the final live was a part of that, as I personally have some things that I want to improve on for next time.

Well then, I am sure that we can expect a lot from you in your summer live ［GAZEROCK FESTIVAL IN SUMMER 08［BURST INTO A BLAZE］］.

Yes I am looking forward to it. I think that it will be more of a festival than a live. There is no theme, so I think that we can do what we want. I think that we will get a lot out of it too. I don’t want to worry about the small details, just have fun and do something totally crazy, that I can only do then and there. (laugh)

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Uruha

↓p49
In the tour final of Yokohama Arena last year, you were not feeling so well (laugh), but this time, you looked in very good condition.

Well, I was in top shape.(laugh) During the tour as a whole, I had been in good shape, and in the last 3 lives, I was in top shape, which surprised me.

In this tour, every time I saw you I could see you were getting better as a band and an individual.

I think my playing was getting better, and as for my feelings, I felt like my mind was getting ‘clearer’.

What do you think made this change?

Perhaps it was a big thing for for me to be able to complete the album （『STACKED RUBBISH』）to be a good shape. Then in [01] and [02], we didn’t have enough potential, and we couldn’t do lives as we wanted to do, but when [03] started after some interval, we changed your mindset totally. I think that we used to have a mental weakness for pressure, I think. We didn’t have it that anymore, so we didn’t lose our condition so much anymore, I think.

Certainly, the GazettE had grown up a lot by [03].

As we had time, we thought a lot between [02] and [03]. After that, [03] was like a revenge, and we could do more ideal lives doing the songs of the same album again and again in the tour, I think.

After that, and including [04], we could see clearly that the songs had become sharper.

The tour went for such a long time that I didn’t want to show the same songs in the same way. As we are now professionals, we have to do things better than before. I felt challenged as a guitarist too, so it was a good growing time I think as well. What I want to do and my knowledge increased during this tour.

That’s great.

Usually if you compare a CD and live concerts, the latter often seems not so good. I wanted to change that somehow. I thought about how to prevent that, got various advice, and did various things. Then we were able to go near to our ideal sound. I feel thankful for this tour as I can see that we learnt a lot from it now it is over.

You became so bright as a guitarist and an artist.

I think that I became stronger in mind and body, in that I am not beaten by pressure even after a long time. (laugh) And what really effected my strength was to stop smoking. That was kind of unexpected. I have not smoked for about one year now.

What was your prompt to stop?

I wanted to be healthy.(laugh) My condition was not so good, I had bad circulation, so I thought I couldn’t get over everything if I stayed like that, then I stopped. And then my blood circulation got better immediately.

(ME: yeah :D! that's a good news to hear~ maybe you should cut down on sake :])

But around you, there are many people who smoke cigarettes, band members too. You must be very strong willed.

Yes, I think so. (smile). But that, for me is unexpected. Now I hate even the smell of cigarettes.

So moving on, the tour covered about two years, was there anything that you refused to give in to others, Uruha?

I think our sound. While the sounds change depending on the venue, I thought about how to improve it all the time. So I listened to our sound from the direct line, rather than what was heard in the venue, and played.

Actually, when you did in Ichikawa Bunkakaikan in [01], the balance wasnot as good as it could have been, I think. But I saw you in Yoyogi, your sound was much clearer.

That’s right.I don’t think that it is so much a question of venue, but I think that our sound did become clearer. You know the sound did not whirl etc…

Yes. In that venue, under the auditorium there is a big cavity that is usually a pool. And the shape is a big oval, so the sound kind of whirls when people play there. I have seen many lives there, but the sound of the GazettE this time was the best of all.

Yeah~, that was good.(laugh)

Do you feel like a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders after you finished 71 lives?

Yes, finally!.

What were you feeling on the stage of Yoyogi which was the 71st live, Uruha?

When I did it, I concentrated on playing. Until we finished the first encore, we just did our best to do our live as usual.

And after that, when you felt the emotion and the realization that that concert was the last?

I think that in 「枯詩」(Koshi) and「未成年」(Miseinen), I finally realized “Ah, this is the final.”. I was moved at that moment. I remembered many things all at once such as “That European tour was hard.”.(smile)

You have done a great job. But your next schedule has already been determined, right? It’s a summer［GAZEROCK FESTIVAL IN SUMMER 08［BURST INTO A BLAZE］］.

Yes. As the GazettE, we brought that tour to an end in Yoyogi, and that was a relief but I don’t think feel as though it is an end. I have many things left to work on, and I feel as though I am still progressing to the next place. In the rehearsal of Yoyogi, I told staff what I wanted to do next time we played there.(laugh)

So in what direction do you want to advance in from now on?

It’s a little detailed but I want to work on my guitar sound. I want to improve the time lag between effects, and cross-fade, not just switch them. I have many things hat I want to do.

You are an enthusiast for the guitar, Uruha.(laugh)

But trying to do that in live concerts is very hard, you need lots of time and money. (laugh) I’ll think about how to do it up until summer. I was told by staff that “You can do what-ever you want.” so I think that I will.

I look forward to it.

I think the next live will be a festival. Not something that will be loud and just finish, I want to take good advantage of the preparation process in the studio and think about things as a guitarist.

I heard that you’ll have a little bit of time off from now on. What will you spend the time for?

They say ‘time off’, but we will meet soon to select songs so…(laugh)

So it’s off with homework…(laugh)

Yes, that’s right. But well, that’s okay. We’ll make many songs and do our best, as it connects to our future.

Maybe this tour has given you feed back, that can be used for new songs.

Yes, I think so. I think that there will be songs that we want and don’t want. And new things that we want to do. I really want to move up to the next plane. I think a transformation this year would be good.

I hope that through the tour the GazettE has realized more of its yet unused potential.

This band has a lot of potential. I have been feeling it since we made this band. I think that we have always believed that we had potential, even more so than other bands that are more famous, and I think that has helped us to get where we are now. Our stance has always been to never be beaten by anyone. I think we still have to grow up(laugh), but I don’t think that we will ever change..

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Aoi

↓p52
After finishing 71 serial lives, what stays with you Aoi?

Um~, I think a feeling that lives are difficult stays with me.

Don’t you feel a sense of achievement in that you completed the tour without any major troubles?

Yes I do a bit. And I think that it was a lot of fun. But if I was asked if I felt 100 percent about all the lives I think that I would have to think about it.

From a view of an outsider, I think it was a very good tour and a wonderful tour final.

Maybe so. If you only look at our performance and playing now and compare it to one of our first concerts I think that we have become better. But I think that there are still things that I have to work through, mentally. The lives themselves were OK as I was concentrating a lot on them. However, I started to notice that the encores became a little rough in feeling.

What do you mean?

I mean our sound; there were no problems between members or staff.

About the sound, I heard that members had a lot of difficulties.

Halfway though the tour, Ruki started to wear ear monitors. I know he had difficulties with that and did his best through trial and error, but our overall balance of our instruments got worse. Anyway, I couldn’t hear. I couldn’t hear MC at all. And our vocals seemed very far away.

Playing in a situation where you can’t hear the sound clearly from monitors is like walking on the edge of a cliff blindfolded.

Yes, it is. I was a quite exhausted by it.(smile)

As you were in such a situation, when did you feel that “lives are fun.”?

I think it was in concerts where I did not feel any stress. When the tour started I think that we all had things that we weren’t used to. For example lighting was set up in places where we would usually perform. So we met after each live concert and discussed these things.

In this tour, every aspect such as the menu, composition, stage direction, lighting improved more and more as I saw your lives. The audience could see that too.

Yeah, I think that when I look over the whole tour I could play freely in [04] the most. Up until then we tried lots of things, especially in [1] and [2], by [3] we had gradually consolidated things and by [4] we did not really have to think about the details anymore. And we got to the point were we started adding extra bits in here and there.

So you became more comfortable with your performances.

Maybe so.(laugh)

By the way, as you played songs from the album『STACKED RUBBISH』and single『紅蓮』(Guren) in your lives, your job as a guitarist increased much more than before, right?

Yes. My solos increased as well. You know with my solos, I had never liked the sound of 「CALM ENVY」. But I something clicked in our 69th concert. I think that I have been misusing my instrument for the last five years or so. It took me almost until the end of the tour to get it. (laugh)

Really? Well it is good that you got it.(laugh) And I was impressed that you had double neck guitar in「紅蓮」(Guren) this time.

I tried to do various things. I wanted to make the music showier as a whole. But I found that I lost something in doing that too.

Really?

Yes. I wasn’t able to turn well in the main melodies of「BURIAL APPLICANT」(laugh)

So you could not do your beautiful spins on stage… (laugh)

I couldn’t turn well and I almost bumped into Reita.(laugh)

Well that happens when you concentrate more on the sound.

But I tried to do various things. For example, I changed the sole of my shoes too.

I never thought that you would think that much…

Well you know I have to. I had many difficulties which you couldn’t see. For example, after I changed shoes, the stage was too slippery, so I asked the manager to buy another pair, but the new ones were not slick at all so I couldn’t turn even halfway around (laugh).

So was there anytime that was particularly hard for you?

Um~, it was [03], I think. At around that time, we put some of our old songs into our menu. There were songs which we had played a lot up until then, and we had new songs, but when we added some of our old songs I forgot bits of them.

Well, you hadn’t played them for a long time.

It was really hard up until I could show my playing to the audience. And that included performance as well of course.

About your old songs, you played「☆BEST FRIENDS☆」on the 1st day of Yoyogi. Was that a song that you had not played for a long time?

Yeah. I hadn’t played it for such a long time so I could barely play it. Like, “Oh, no~, I’m afraid I’ll make mistakes!?”.(smile)

However, as I listened to that song again, I found it hot and kind of new.

Yes I think so too. It seemed ‘very young’. I was embarrassed to sing the chorus. That part.(laugh)

I understand your feelings. But I think that there was a point to playing it.

Yes. I was nervous as I didn’t get used to it, and I felt embarrassed singing, but I enjoyed playing it.

The encore of the 2nd day was impressive too, so that it was really a good finale, I think.

However, we argued until the last moment that time. Ruki said in it his MC, we discussed a lot about how to do the stage directions of the 3 finales.

I only saw 2 days in Tokyo, but the way you used images and special effects were subtly different.

I was against doing that. When we thought about why we were doing a finale in Osaka, and why we were doing two lives in Tokyo, I thought we should do the three live concerts in the same way. Of course, I understand the motivation in making the final concert run higher than the other concerts. As a result, it turned out like it did, but I couldn’t yield that point until the last moment.

So you wanted to show good things to ‘everyone’, Aoi.

Perhaps, I just want to do so in my head. With everything, I want to think firstly about what fans see. About how I am seen, and how the band is seen.

I think that you are all very cool. Otherwise, the audience would not have reacted the way they did in your lives.

Yeah they were great audiences. (laugh) Honestly speaking, I think they were very cool. It was awesome.

I think that we will see something similar in［GAZEROCK FESTIVAL IN SUMMER 08［BURST INTO A BLAZE］］again.

I hope so. I hope that both the audience and the band has a great time.

I know that you have just finished a long tour, but what do you want to clear up by the summer live, Aoi?

First of all, I want to improve my sound. So I’ll change the whole system a bit. And my performances. With my spin, I want to do it better, so that when I stop I am in the same position where I started.

If you go forward to the next dimension, the mood will be like more rhythmic gymnastic, than a live performance.(laugh)

Ah, maybe. It’s quite like rhythmic gymnastic.(laugh) I want to spin around, and return to the same place, then I lean back. When I can complete it perfectly, it will feel very good.

You are true rock star.(laugh)

Ahaha.(laugh) The band should be cool in lives, and we have to show and play our performance very well. I want to work on that up until summer.

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Reita

↓p53
Compare the you before and after this long tour. What do you think has changed most?

Hmm… I am not sure. I may have changed bit by bit everyday, so I don’t really notice. But as we did 71 live concerts, playing the same songs from 『STACKED RUBBISH』every time, I think now I can play them in my sleep. (laugh)

Ahaha.(laugh)

I know that sounds funny but, I did do that once. Of course I it was not in one of our actual lives. We played concerts everyday and had many rehearsals so there were moments where I was kind of sleeping and playing bass at the same time. (smile)

As you played the same songs so often, did anything change, such as phrases etc., to when you recorded them?

Yes, they did. I think that my playing started to match the mood of lives more. When we compare it to our CD, I think our live sound has really shaped up.

By the way, Reita, you have lost weight. Is it because of the tour?

Ah… Yes I have lost weight, in comparison to before we started the tour. But before [03] tour, I actually put on weight, because of the New Years Holidays. (smile)

I see.

Then I realized it and dieted a little before the tour. I reduced rice and increased vegetables in my diet. And natto(=fermented soybeans) was good too. I used to hate it, but I first started to like it at around that time.

How did you take a food that you used to hate, and turn it into something you like a lot?

Well, at first I couldn’t eat it at all. It was smelly, awful taste, sticky, and really there was nothing good to say about it. (laugh) But I heard that it’s good for your body. So I tried to eat it before [03].

Wow. (laugh)

At first it tasted bad. But as I was patient and continued to eat it for one week, then I got used to it, and my awareness changed like “I have to eat it everyday.”.

So it was kind of like a supplement?

Hang on, but my way of thinking changed from ‘I have to eat natto’ to ‘I want to eat natto’. Now I eat it everyday, because I like it. And I think it’s delicious.(laugh)

That is great. I think that the moral to that story is not just limited to natto, but that people can change when they work at something.

Yes, we can change as much as we want. Actually as I kept eating natto, I lost a little weight. Then the tour started and I sweated a lot everyday. Then I lost more weight.

So the tour was pretty hard.

Yeah, I put my everything in to it everyday.

What did you learn most through this tour, Reita?

I think I learnt to lead the band.

As a bassist, you have an awareness to lead the band’s sound?

Yes. As we did tour, I reduced the kick sounds of drums more and more. Before that, it seemed like I played fitting to the drums, but my thinking changed so I started to play together rather than just fit in. If something ever happened and drums sounds couldn’t be heard, I thought I would be able to keep the rhythm, and I kept playing like that from around [03].

That is why I have the impression that your recent playing is more dependable and powerful.

Of course, holding the base of the rhythm is the drums, I think. But a drummer can’t stand on the front stage as he uses a drum set. So from that perspective I can do anything, I can cut the rhythm, play melodies like a guitar, and go to the front stage and perform.

That is a very attractive position but the responsibility is also big.

Yes. I felt that while I was doing the tour, and I think that my awareness changed gradually. I felt a little bit of pressure about my responsibility, but because of that it increased my sense of responsibility, I think.

What impressions did you have when you stood on the stage of Yoyogi?

It was mush easier to playing there than I thought. I thought that the sound would whirl more, but I didn’t feel that when I was playing.

It was a strange phenomenon. In the MC, we could hear the sound whirling or echoing, but once your performance started we didn’t feel it then. You beat that.(laugh)

Well, our specialty is making loud sound.(laugh)

It was really a good live.

But honestly speaking, my amp cabinet blew out in the 1st day of Yoyogi.

Really? I didn’t notice that at all.

Well, In the「Filth in the beauty」(the 14th song in the live), it had already blown out.

How did you manage?

I just played as it was. At first one of the two cabinets blew out, and then the second one blew out. It was too bad.(smile) But fortunately people didn’t notice it, so I thought it was okay. If they had noticed it, that would have been the end.

Your professional mind would not forgive something like that happening?

Not really. But staff helped out a lot, so that was really good. If I couldn’t make any sound, it would have been even worse, but as long as I could make sound, I had to do with what I had. I’m okay as long as I can make sound, no matter what happens.

I am sure the other band members appreciate that.

You know, during this tour, there were times where I had to play without a monitor. When we used to play in small live houses I never had a monitor, but it was in a small area. This time we played in big venues too, so that was a good learning experience I think, good training.

By the way, you threw your bass in 「関東土下座組合」([Kantoudogezakumiai]) in both concerts this time. When did you introduce such a stage performance?

I think at around Takamatsu. I’m told often from people around me that they are afraid of what may happen.

They are worried about you dropping the bass.

I think that tension is good. (laugh) I myself am afraid a little bit too.(laugh)

Do you enjoy the thrill, Reita?

Before, I didn’t want anything to happen in our lives. But now I feel that I expect something to happen.”. There is no ‘serious’ trouble happening, and I don’t want members and fans get injured, but I don’t want lives in which we play lazily and safely anymore. I personally feel like “I don’t mind if I’ll get a little bit injured!”. Actually in Yamagata, I got into things a little too much and fell and cut myself. Can you see my wound here?

On your forehead. Even though the wound is small, it bleeds quite a lot.

And I was excited in the live and my blood pressure was high. At first I didn’t notice that, but I was bleeding a lot. When I head banged, the blood splashed, so I got more excited and thought “This is interesting! I can be Sid Vicious finally!”.(laugh)

I am not sure whether I should laugh or not.(smile)

Well, it’s not good if I do too much. When we finished the live and I returned to normal, I could feel the pain and I was surprised. But I want to do such a powerful lives from now on too.

I’m looking forward the summer ［GAZEROCK FESTIVAL IN SUMMER 08［BURST INTO A BLAZE］］too.

Well, I want to do it crazily. I want to do a live where all the people the world will pay attention to it.

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Kai

↓p56
You know, I noticed when I looked at the big screen beside the stage at the two lives in Yoyogi, but Kai your arms are bigger than before.

Yeah, I think that it is because of the tour. Only my upper body though.(laugh)

You didn’t work out but you trained by just doing live concerts.

The muscles that I use when I play drums have grown rapidly. When I go back underground working I will loose a little, but it comes back again when I go on tour.

Around when did you feel your body change in this tour?

I think that I noticed when I looked in the mirror at about [3] just before [4]. But I still am not using them completely.

What do you mean?

Just being strong is not enough when you play the drums. You can’t play well unless you have flexibility and good movement.

Well if that is the case, you built up your muscles by playing the drums so I am sure that you have both.

Yes. Fortunately I built myself up through playing the drums, so I don’t put extra or unneeded power into my playing. I don’t think that I will do any other training. I actually stopped doing training that I used to do.

Not only your muscles, but also your form has become better, Kai.

Really? I try to be conscious of that. But I’m still far from where I want to be. When I can move more beautifully, my movement looks rounder when I’m seen from far away. To do that, I will have to work on how I hit the drums more, I think.

About your instruments, you changed the snare twice in [04]?

I changed it twice, once in the live and once in the encore. In the live, I chose and hit a snare that I thought would help me express things more easily. In 「CALM ENVY」, I wanted a sound where I could make nuances easier when I did drum rolls.

While you needed delicate expression, your live also had a certain hardnessin 「CIRCLE OF SWINDLER」and「MOB 136 BARS」, so I assume you needed strength there too.

Ah, yes. (laugh) It did not feel hard as I was playing, but in the last five songs it felt like I was played in a match with fans.

In the case of the GazettE lives, the audience can be quite tough.

Even so, we can’t be beaten by fans. A band must be champion all the time. We have to defend the belt, always.(laugh)

You win every time, and this tour was a long tour, I think. How was the final two day matches in Yoyogi?

Honestly speaking, I didn’t feel the magnitude I expected. It was kind of like “ So it’s like this.” That I think was a bit of a discovery for me.

So in a good way, it was a live where you had a bit of room.

For me, I think it’s good to be able to send that feeling to the audience too. I think that there is simply a big difference between just playing in that place and being able to play there having that room to move, I think.

I think that the audience got that. If they didn’t I don’t think that they would have enjoyed it so much.

Yeah, they seemed to enjoy it. At least from the drum set that is how it looked anyway. And I am the only one that can see that.(laugh) It was really amazing. I was so moved that I could not express it in words. It wasn’t just like they were running high in a cheerful way. How can I describe it? They seemed sharp and a little bit dangerous. Yeah, kind of like that or that kind of mood.

Anyway, even the audience as far back in the 2nd balcony rampaged so much that it seemed as though they were going to fall off. In the arena, there were people who head banged too much, passed out and were carried away by staff.

Yes, lives are dangerous places too. But I think it is okay for to be like that.

Yes, they have dangers, yet you want them to be thrill and exciting too.

Yes. But I don’t want people to come to our lives feeling like they are going to a theme park. I think that the audience are used to seeing live concerts that are ‘dangerous but very hot’. I always think of our lives like that. I heard staff talking on the radio in Yoyogi, asking for ambulances, but I think that that is all part of it really.

Of course, if it’s serious injury or something of the like, I think that is different, but fainting and things like that is really a matter of personal self control. Not only in live concerts, but basically all the time. I think that we can enjoy live concerts, going to your own personal limit but not crossing it. I think that is wonderful if you can do that.

What’s more, the venue in Yoyogi had seats and was large, so realistically things like shortage of oxygen would hardly ever happen. So I think the audience did their best in their match with us. I thought it was great. We could do such a live in such a venue,I think that it has really given us some confidence.

This was a long tour, 71 concerts. How do you think that you have changed mentally?

Well…..before we started this tour, I was a little bit worried, personally.

What about?

It is hard to express in words. It was kind of like “Are we alright doing this?” I don’t know what the worry was and it has disappeared now. No matter how much we rehearsed it never went, until a certain time.

When was that?

It was when the first live started. I remember it well, even now, that moment when the SE sounded, I could hear the audience cheering, and the live started, it blew away all those doubts. And I was able to keep doing this tour in that condition, so it was very good, I think. So, in a way, my present mind is totally different from before we started the tour, but it is the same as when I finished the 1st live.

So you were able to do the tour with more confidence.

Yes. About my playing, if I compare the 1st live and the 71st live, the 71st live was totally different from the 1st one, I think. However, my mind hasn’t changed at all.

As your mind didn’t waver, your sound became more powerful, right?

Yeah, maybe so. You might think I shouldn’t say that myself, but I think I could understand this time why the GazettE is loved so much by people.

That is interesting.

Before, to be loved by people was just my honor. However, now I am able to grasp our happy situation, and foreign fans are increasing, and we can do good lives with fans wherever we go in Japan as well. Now I can say by myself that “I can understand your feeling that you love the GazettE! Because they are cool, right?”.(laugh)

As we often say that people who can’t love themselves can’t love others either, and I think it’s very important to recognize oneself in a real way and to love oneself.

Yes. I sincerely think that what we have done is not wrong at all.

In［GAZEROCK FESTIVAL IN SUMMER 08［BURST INTO A BLAZE］］, please show us such a confident overwhelming concert there too.

By summer, I want to become more ‘a drummer’. More than just a player, I want to be a person who can hit drums well as an artist. I am going to keep that in mind from now on and move forward, working towards that goal.

Labels: the gazette