interviu

- First, please tell us when and why you started playing the bass.
I started the bass in my third year of middle school. At first I had played guitar in my second year. And it was acoustic (laugh). I started because I thought it would be cool if I knew how to play guitar. There wasn't anyone I knew who did, so I bought one as soon as I could. But after that, I saw LUNA SEA on TV. It really affected me, and I thought "I have to join a band, this isn't the time to be buying an acoustic guitar!" (laugh) So then I bought an electric guitar.

- But you switched to the bass soon after, right?
Yes. I started playing bass after I got frustrated with the guitar (laugh). Since I didn't know anyone who played guitar, so I couldn't improve. Then everyone started buying guitars, including Uruha. Then Uruha said he was going to perform at the arts festival, and wanted to borrow my amplifier. At the time I lent it to him, the electric guitar had already become boring. I couldn't do more than make that raw "pekepeke" noise (laugh). I wasn't getting better, and it was boring...so I stopped. But I wanted to be in a band. At that time, even when I listened to CDs and stuff I couldn't pick out the sound of the bass, so I didn't know which part I wanted to play. Then I thought, "I can do this even if I don't practice!" and decided on bass (laugh). My reason for starting to play the bass is pretty impure (laugh).

- No, I think it's fine (laugh). Did you start a band right after that?
At first it was me, Uruha, and one other friend who played guitar. We would play a CD, turn our amps up really loud, and record onto a casette tape (laugh). I also had a friend who was pretty good at singing, so after we started using him as a vocalist we did the same thing, playing CDs and recording onto casette tapes...it was fun anyway, and we did that until high school (laugh). At that time we also found a drummer, and by our first year of high school we were able to play at a live house. That band broke up before we graduated, but after that Uruha and I would still always play together. There was also a time when we didn't have a drummer, so we played live with a rhythm machine. Just recently, I went over to my friend's house and he had a DVD from that time. We watched it, but it was pretty painful (laugh). First off, no one was there (laugh). There weren't any more than 5 people, and even they were talking and stuff (laugh). Even so, the point was that we were performing as best we could. So much that it created my view of the world even more than recently (laugh). At that time, I met Ruki...he was a drummer then, but we decided to be in a band together. When that band had a live, about 80 people would show up on a good day. But a lot happened, and we broke up. And for the next band Ruki had gotten good at singing, so he became the vocalist, and we found a new drummer. And that drummer brought Aoi with him. That was at the beginning of 2002.

- The birth of Gazette, huh. What kind of band were you at the time?
Pretty different from now, we kept with a very Japanese image. Everyone loved to use kanji for everything and things like that. But as we kept doing lives, we wanted a different, more manly kind of mood...so we started thinking that, and gradually changed. Then about a year later our drummer said he was quitting. But Ruki had made friends with Kai-kun by that point, so once he joined it became the 5 members we have now.

- At that time, what kind part did you think a bassist had?
I thought they should stand out (laugh). I thought I should move around a lot when I played my phrase. I wanted people to think, "Wow, this bassist moves a lot"...like that. Nothing about wanting to support the band (laugh). I wanted people to say, "He's like a guitarist, huh". But at that time, everyone was like that. No one thought that someone should be more in the background for the sake of the band (laugh). It was just like, "Go for it all at once!" (laugh).

- There's a lot of bands who were like that at first (laugh). In 2003 Gazette began to stand out more, so what are your thoughts on that time?
We had joined a label and started appearing in magazines, while having lives at the same time, so more people found out about us. In the spring of 2003, we also had a coupling tour. On the first day, March 9th at Takadanobaba Area, there were about 90 people, but on the May 6th final (Shibuya O-West), about 280 people came. Also, on the day of the final we talked about a oneman performance on January 16th, 2004 at Shibuya AX. Our manager at the time said, "At the rate people are coming, by January you'll have 1,800 people at Shibuya AX." I got goosebumps when I heard that, but I didn't feel like it was real. I thought, "Yeah, that probably won't happen." (laugh). At that point I thought 280 people would be a miracle (laugh).

- Even if it's not a miracle, 1,800 people is almost six times that amount, after all.
Yeah. After we started talking about that, we didn't have any oneman lives. We would have two-band lives or perform at events. We began to travel the region a little more. Then, during the summer we decided to really do Shibuya AX. We actually didn't think it would be filled up or anything, but when I peeked out from behind the curtain it was totally full. I think I was more nervous that day than I've ever been in my life. My legs were shaking and everything. But I did understand the feeling of playing at a larger area, and how good it feels (laugh). I thought that maybe we'll try to change the world a little. But at that time there was a feeling that we had been brought there, not that we had gotten there ourselves. Because of that a kind of fire had been lit in the band, but in the end it worked out well. After that, starting from April 2004 we had our first oneman tour, and we were able to create more sound. It was also at that time when I started realizing what a bassist should be like. The first place on the tour was Fukuoka, but our manager at the time had gotten mad at us. After the live he was like, "Isn't something different?". I don't remember what he told the other members, but he told me "You're too far forward!". At first I was like, "What?", but after a while I got it. I had never been told that before, so I didn't know. After that I decided to stand back a little. It was at that time when I started thinking about where I should stand.

- I guess you had recieved some good advice at a good time. If there was one song at that time that became a turning point for you, what would it be?
Probably [DIS]. When we started aiming for a better mood, that was the first song we brought out. I think it was October of 2003, but that was when more and more people started raising their fists and things like that. Perfoming that song live also began to influence our sound afterwards. So because of that I think it was a turning point. We also gradually stopped messing around so much. We did that a lot at first. I can't belive it now, but in the middle of our oneman live there was a small break, and during that we'd play a comment video we had taken beforehand. And it was filled with us just messing around, doing impressions and stuff. We always played those during the break (laugh). We really did dumb stuff like that then. But eventually our feelings of "It's fine as long as it's fun" changed to "It should be cool". The visual part also changed, and we started to use harder things like studs and things like that.

- I think that the album NIL released in 2006 was when you changed the most.
That's true. Since then we've used more B tuning. But the reason was way before that. We joined PS Company and released consecutive CDs for about three months after May 2003. The day before we started recording for "Akuyuukai", which was released in June, we all gathered at Uruha's house. The conversation turned to, "Why don't we bring all of our strings down a note?", or "For tomorrow's recording, should we do this?" kinda thing...all of a sudden (laugh). Things started changing after that. I think the increase in our tuning variations created the present Gazette.

- Your sound became heavier, the visual style became more manly, but I think the fact that you left a luxurious feeling became charactaristic of the GazettE.
Yeah, I guess because we're not too guyish. Cool has a lot of different meanings, so we want to show a lot of different forms of cool. Because we've always done whatever we wanted to at the time. We've never said things like, "This song doesn't sound like Gazette", we just do whatever we think sounds good. That also expanded after we started using different tuning. I think in the future we'll continue to show a lot of different faces as well. How should I say it...there are rails that our senpais put up, right? If there are kouhais that go above those, I think there are also kouhais that digress from them and put up a different rail. For us, even if we digress we don't want to go in a completely different direction, but we want to continue the rail that our senpais put up...a really thick rail.

- I'm looking forward to it. After getting more and more popular, Gazette then performed at Budokan on May 7th, 2006.
That's right. When we started talking about Budokan I thought, "It's finally here, huh".

- When you heard about Budokan, did you think that as a band and as a bassist, now would be a good time?
Well, we discussed it a lot. While on the ferry during our tour (laugh). Plus the water was really rough, so I got seasick too (laugh). But we thought that if we were going to do it, we would have to decide now. Then we got the staff together and talked about it. About 4,500 people had come to the International Forum, but there were people who pointed out that 10,000 people was a lot different than one or two thousand. But we were able to do Shibuya AX, which we didn't think was possible, as well as Yaon and Shibuya 2 Days. I thought, "We should go for it." Plus I was getting really seasick and I felt like throwing up (laugh). Anyway, I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep, so I was just like "Let's do it!" (laugh). And then it was decided (laugh).

- So that rough ocean also helped push the GazettE forward (laugh). How was it when you were onstage at Budokan?
Before Budokan we had been on a long tour of 34 places, and a lot had happened on it. There was something regarding the encores that we wanted to show, and there were about 2 times when we didn't do one. It's becoming as if encores are a given thing, isn't it. So there were a few times when we thought, "What is this? It doesn't sound like an encore." For us, we just want to get things energized during the main part. Then afterwards, go even higher with the encore...we felt that strongly. In order for that to be understood, we decided not to do one. I'm pretty sure it was at Kumamoto. Of course, I know there were some people who were seriously calling for an encore. But we think that if it doesn't become one big wave, it doesn't feel like our live. So as much as it hurt, we didn't do it. And the surveys that we read afterwards were amazing. Like, "Don't be so full of it, bastards", "Who do you think you are?", or "Don't treat us like that!" kinda thing. But I still think not doing an encore was the right choice. It was different after that, though. Since it was that kind of tour, Budokan was really important. For the fans too, it wasn't all fun. Because of what we did, there was sadness and anger as well. So it was a final at the end of those experiences. I think it really made an impression on everyone.

- At the end all the members started crying, didn't they.
We did. It was really suprising. Going along with the end of the live, the impact of it just spilled out, and none of us knew that kind of thing would happen. I was crying at that point. I just saw the faces of the staff members and started crying in a second. Because I had talked. In a lot of ways, Budokan made the greatest impression on me. I was the most nervous at Shibuya AX, and Budokan made the biggest impression. For Budokan I felt that we had made it there ourselves. We weren't taken there, we had done it. So I wanted to become closer to the fans, and to understand each other better. Those feelings became even stronger.

- It's because of that attitude that I think Gazette has great fans. Then in 2007, it progressed into a monster band. Can you tell us what Gazette means to you?
Well...99% of me is Gazette. If it wasn't, I think even my personality would be different. I guess if there was no Gazette, the present me wouldn't exist either. I really love it...it's the band I want to continue with my whole life. It's my work, fun, and interests. All of me is in it. So for me, Gazette is a way of life. I think it's the most blessed band in the world. Our members, fans, and staff all make me think that. Basically, there aren't any bad people around us, only really great ones. I think we've grown up in that amazing kind of environment. Because of that, we need people to think "I'm definitely gonna follow these guys!". We have to become something that can pull along the fans and staff....is what I think. So I want the fans and staff to understand us even better.

- I think you have those feelings of wanting the fans and staff to understand you better because everyone is at an equal position. Because you aren't looking down on anyone, you feel a deep affection for the fans and staff.
That's true. But if it was out of 100, I would want them to understand about 50 (laugh). I don't want all 100 to be understood. 50 is plenty. The remaining 50 doesn't need to be known, and actually I think it's better that it's not (laugh). From the fans' point of view, there are a lot of people who would want to know everything. Everything about what Gazette does and what we think. But I don't think that's right. Saying everything you think and telling your lover every single day "I love you" is something Westerners do (laugh). Japanese people don't talk about things like that in the same way. And things are hard to convey with words. You can't feel with words, so it's fine. I just don't want to be misunderstood. Whenever I am, I want to say "That's not what I meant!", but I'm not good at putting things to words, and I can't say it well. So our real intent is in our recent activities, our music, lives, and what we talk about in magazines. Out of that, it'd be great if we could have half of us understood....is what I think.

- I think that's fine. So six years after forming the band, what is your image now of the perfect bassist?
Now, I think the bass is an all-purpose instrument. It creates a rhythm, but can also play the melody. A bassist can have a frontman position or be more towards the back. I think it's the most versatile position. If it was soccer, it would be the libero [sweeper]. They can do defense, offense, and midfield...kinda thing. When I think about it like that, I found out on this recent tour that there are even more things I can do.

- So completely different than at first when it was "How much you stand out".
That's true. Though I think it's fine if you stand out from the back. So there's not much point in being in front. I want to be able to say, "Even if I'm standing in the back, I'm in front!". I don't want to feel an actual distance. That's also why I leave the stage first after a live. I'm leaving my feelings behind. If I didn't, I would want to stay there forever. If I don't leave right after the song ends, who knows how many days I'll spend there...that's the extreme (laugh).

- You're an "unspoken aesthetics" kind of person, aren't you. You want to be understood and not misunderstood, but you don't want to explain everything from 1 to 100. The "Just understand from my actions" type, huh.
Yes. If I try to explain it, it won't end...or rather, depending on what I say there would be more people who would misunderstand, and it would keep looping like that. So in the end, what I wanted to say became even harder to understand (laugh). I know there are people who think, "Just say it", but I'll only say what's necessary.

- I see. You have had a lot of dreams come true with Gazette, but what is your dream now?
My dream....if I start explaining it won't end, but I guess if it's a dream for the near future, my goal is Tokyo Dome. That's as far as performance areas go, anyway. For that I want to gain even more friends. Rather than selling 100,000 CDs and having 10,000 people come to a live, I would want to sell 50,000 CDs and have those 50,000 people come. I want to become that kind of band. So there's no need for Gazette to be a band that everyone knows about. Whenever I peek out from behind the curtain, to see so many comrades....I want to be like that.

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ok, i have to say. if i went to a recent gazeconcert and they played clips of themselves acting like total retards backstage, i think i would die of happy. whats wrong with doing that D:

and yeah, i'll probably do the kai one too, lol. i actually haven't even looked at the interview, i just finished going "is that kai? how is that kai?? what happened to him?! what is this sexyness al;skdfja;sldkfja;sdf" for like twenty minutes, soo...might as well ^^