interview with girugamesh

Interview with girugamesh

JRR: Please introduce yourselves.

ShuU: I’m ShuU, bassist of GIRUGAMESH.

Nii: Nii on guitar.

Satoshi: I’m Satoshi on vocals.

Яyo: Яyo on drums.

JRR: How did you meet each other?

ShuU: ShuU and Nii have been friends since elementary school, and we were pretty close. We ran into each other at the train station during junior high, we asked each other what we were up to, and found out that he’s been playing the guitar and I’d been playing the bass, and so we decided to start a band. So we started looking for other members, and recruited Яyo, who was playing at the same rehearsal studio as us. Originally we had a different vocalist, and we played for a couple of years until the vocalist decided to quit. At that time Satoshi was with another band and he was also leaving that band, so we invited him to join our band. Hence, we got together officially in spring of 2004.

JRR: What was your first impression of each other?

ShuU: Nii and I didn’t really have an impression of each other [since we met at an young age], but we were both in the baseball team.

JRR: What other sports did you play?

Satoshi: I did gymnastics and ice hockey.

JRR: Do you hang out together on your off days?

ShuU: Yeah, when we have a longer vacation, like when we finish recording or a tour, we’d go somewhere together, about once a year. We’d go to the beach.

Яyo: We’ve gone to the mountains too.

ShuU: Did we?

Яyo: Yeah, after we went to the beach, on the way back we went to the mountains too.

ShuU: Oh yeah. We like nature.

JRR: You do BBQ at the beach?

Яyo: Yeah.

JRR: I’ve read that in your blog.

Яyo: Oh~ (laughs)

JRR: Where is your home town?

ShuU: We are all from Chiba, except for Satoshi, he’s from Osaka.

Satoshi: I was born and raised in Osaka until the age of three, but I actually grew up in Chiba.

JRR: On your blog you talked about “Naritake” a few times; could you tell us what it is?

Satoshi: (laughs)

Nii: Explain to her! (laughs)

Satoshi: In our home town there’s a ramen place called “Naritake,” which sells tonkotsu (pork bone soup base) ramen, and the soup is really, really thick with fat.

JRR: So you like ramen that has a heavier/richer taste?

Satoshi:: It’s more than just having a “rich” taste…

Nii: It’s like the swamp.

Satoshi:: Yes it’s like the swamp. Very greasy but we like it.

Яyo: We go there about once every three days.

Nii: One time Яyo and I went there six days consecutively.

JRR: That’s like everyday!

Nii: Yeah.

JRR: What ramen do they have?

Яyo: They have miso and shouyu (soy sauce base) ramen. I like shouyu.

Satoshi: Me, too.

Nii: I like miso.

ShuU: I like miso too. We’re split into two groups. (laughs) After lives, we sweat a lot so we intake the salt from the ramen. We usually go there after lives.

JRR: Is the restaurant only in Chiba?

Satoshi: Yeah, there are three stores in Chiba.

JRR: So if your overseas fans decide to visit Chiba, you’d recommend Naritake to them?

Яyo: Most definitely. More like, they must go. (laughs)

JRR: What are your hobbies? In your blog you mentioned the game MONSTER HUNTER…

Яyo: Oh yeah… but since I’m hentai, I don’t like to play it the way it is. For example I’d modify the PSP to play the games. I’m pretty good with computer stuff so I like to modify/reconstruct things.

Satoshi:: I like watching movies, reading, and going to karaoke.

JRR: What are B-grade movies?

Satoshi:: (laughs) Ermm… those are the movies that usually people think are boring or way too out there.

ShuU: Like some movies when you see the package you’d be able to tell it isn’t gonna be too good.

Satoshi: Sometimes it’d be a rip off of a famous movie like The Pirates of Caribbean, etc, movies that people usually don’t like to watch. But I like those.

JRR: Are those usually foreign or Japanese films?

Satoshi: Foreign.

JRR: Is there one you’d recommend?

Satoshi: “DEATH BURGER.” (DRIVE-THRU) (laughs) The package of the movie shows a clown holding a hamburger that’s on fire. (laughs)

JRR: Is it a horror film?

Satoshi: Yeah, a splatter horror. The clown goes around killing people, and that’s pretty much it.

Nii: My hobbies are playing the guitar and drinking alcohol.

JRR: What alcohol do you like?

Nii: Beer.

JRR: Any one in particular?

Nii: Asahi beer. When we went to Germany we had a lot of German beer there, but when we came back here I still thought that Japanese beer tastes better. I don’t really drink wine or sake though.

JRR: Can you drink a lot?

Nii: I can drink up to 3 liters.

JRR: Are you the biggest drinker amongst the four of you?

Nii: Well…

ShuU: He can drink a lot at once, then he just falls asleep.

JRR: So his drinking behavior is…?

Satoshi: Bad.

Nii: Not at all! Am I really?? (asks ShuU)

ShuU: Pretty bad; you become hard to take care of.

Nii: Really??

ShuU: You get too excited.

Nii: I guess.

ShuU: My hobbies are playing the bass, and to relieve stress I go shopping.

JRR: You sleep late a lot. Do you have trouble sleeping?

ShuU: Yeah, I have insomnia. Now I try to go to sleep with the help of alcohol. But when I went to the doctor’s [for a check up] the doctor said I shouldn’t do it because I might get alcohol poisoning so I should stop drinking. So now I try to exercise during the day.

JRR: Such as baseball?

ShuU: (laughs) Yeah, badminton, and soccer, get tired and fall asleep.

JRR: Do you have any special or hidden skills or abilities?

ShuU: Hmm… mine is hadouken (from STREET FIGHTER).

(Group laughter)

Nii: Mine is kamehameha (DRAGON BALL)

(Group laughter)

ShuU: (Pointing to SATOSHI) Yours should be teleportation. And yours (ЯYO), isn’t it the gomu-gomu something… (ONE PIECE)

Nii: …I think you’ve overdone it (laughs)

ShuU: You’re good at drinking (laughs)

Яyo: Hmm…

Satoshi: You’re good with computers and mechanical stuff.

Яyo: Yeah but that’s no fun.

Satoshi: But that’s what you’re good at.

Яyo: Yeah I guess. SATOSHI is good with cooking.

Satoshi: Yeah I can cook, and I can fall asleep right away anywhere I want, for example I could sleep right here right now (pointing to the floor).

JRR: (Looks at the floor) Then…

Satoshi: (laughs)

JRR: Never mind~ What’s a dish you’re most confident with?

Satoshi: Curry. I pay a lot of attention when I make it.

JRR: You put in lots of love.

Satoshi: Yes. (laughs)

ShuU: What’s the use? You eat it by yourself.

JRR: Don’t you share it with the others?

ShuU: I haven’t had it yet.

Яyo: I’ve had it once.

Satoshi: I like curry so much I can probably eat it for a whole week. I enjoy making it as well.

JRR: Do you start from scratch?

Satoshi: No (laughs), I use the store-bought rue and start there. I slice up about four onions and stir-fry them in the frying pan, and put in tomatoes…

ShuU: You put tomatoes in there?

Satoshi: Yeah. It tastes good. And I also put in yogurt.

ALL: Yogurt?!?

Satoshi: Yes, it puts a delicate spin on the curry.

ShuU: Can I say something? So far you’ve talked about Naritake and curry, all food-related, maybe you shouldn’t be in a band! (laughs)

(Group laughter)

Satoshi: It’s just a hobby! I’m good at it.

Nii: What am I good at? I don’t know myself… I need others to tell me. You got any ideas?

ShuU: Hmm… he can play the guitar non-stop. He loves the guitar. After playing the guitar non-stop for a week when we do recording, I’d be sick of playing the bass for a while…

Яyo: Yeah and I’d be sick of playing drums.

Nii: I feel the same, like I don’t want to play for a while, but the next day I’d pick the guitar up and start playing again.

JRR: So the guitar is like your girlfriend?

Nii: Ermm… just a good friend (laughs). Great partner.

ShuU: My special skills are hadouken and shouryuken… (laughs). Hmm… oh I’m good at cracking up jokes.

Nii: Oh yeah that’s right.

JRR: Are you good at telling jokes or being funny?

ShuU: Rather, I’m comedian-compatible. I try to get everyone involved.

Nii: He’s probably the funniest of us all.

JRR: Could you tell a joke right on the spot?

ShuU: Erm… no sorry (laughs). My funniness comes out naturally.

JRR: From your photos, it seems that none of you have eyebrows; is there a reason why the make up is done that way?

Satoshi: I think ЯYO shaves his.

Яyo: Well, I shave it when it gets too long. Then at the lives I just draw it in if needed. I don’t draw too much in though. As long as there’s just a little bit of it.

JRR: You prefer not to have eyebrows?

Яyo: No… it’s just that sometimes it gets in the way.

ShuU: How does it get in the way?

Яyo: When I had all my eyebrows, the people from the management office said they made me look too young so I should shave them. They said I look like a kid with my eyebrows untouched so I started to shave them. But then to have no eyebrows at all is a bit extreme for daily life so I grew a little back.

JRR: What types of girls do you like?

Яyo: I like the quiet types. I don’t like the ones that talk too much or too loud.

JRR: Any female artists that you like?

Яyo: Hmm… I haven’t watched much TV lately.

Satoshi: Yamada Hanako.

Яyo: Ok.

ShuU: Don’t say that!

JRR: You mean the female comedian Yamada Hanako?

Яyo: Yeah.

Satoshi: She’s super noisy though!

Яyo: Yeah… I can’t stand that.

Satoshi: I like TSUCHIYA ANNA.

JRR: So like a mix?

Satoshi:: Face-wise, yeah, and someone that seems to have been a former yankee*.
(*A common term used to describe teenage delinquents, which originated from the late 70s and is still used sometimes nowadays to describe flamboyant delinquents. They usually have bleached blonde hair, or are dressed loudly)

(Group laughter)

Girls who have their own thinking, and stick to what they believe.

Nii: I don’t quite have a type… the type of girl I like would be the one I fall in love with.

ShuU: Who? (laughs)

Nii: I don’t know.

ShuU: But I think I know what type you’d like. You like the very traditional Japanese women, the type that follows you one step behind.

(Group laughter)

Nii: I’ll probably grow to be a stubborn old man (laughs).

Satoshi: You also like the quiet and obedient type.

Nii: I don’t know (laughs).

Satoshi: It’s true.

Nii: If you guys say so then so be it.

ShuU: I like a girl that I can have a fun conversation with, but she must have common sense too. She can’t just be noisy and talkative; she should know when to be quiet.

JRR: What about Yamada Hanako?

Satoshi: (Laughs)

ShuU: Erm, her, well I think she does know a lot.

Nii: She’s not K.Y.*! She’s aware of what goes on around her!

(*K.Y. stands for kuuki yomenai, someone who cannot read the “air,” meaning someone who has trouble following what’s going on around them, or doesn’t know how to respond correctly)

SHUU: Yeah but she overreacts when she gets drunk.

JRR: Have you ever confessed your feelings to a girl, or have a girl confess to you?

Яyo: Oh, like when we were students? I’ve never done it, but I’ve had girls confess to me a couple of times, when I was in junior high; I felt the youthfulness back in those days.

Satoshi: I did when I was in junior high… or was it elementary school?

(Group laughter)

Elementary school…

Nii: You dated an elementary school kid??

(Group laughter)

Satoshi: No! I was the most popular during elementary school days and beginning of my high school years.

JRR: What about now?

Satoshi: No, not now. (laughs)

Яyo: We don’t really get to meet girls.

Satoshi: No, not at all. We either do lives or lie half dead at home (laughs). Yeah we don’t get to meet girls.

ShuU: When you were in elementary school, what did you tell the girl you liked?

Satoshi: Suki!

(Group laughter)

______(name of girl) suki! (I like you _____ )

(Group laughter)

Nii: I’ve never had a confession either way. I went to an all boys’ school, so I really didn’t get to meet girls. In junior high, before I started playing music, I usually just stayed home.

ShuU: He’d just stay home and play video games.

Nii: Unfortunately I don’t have any experiences with girls.

ShuU: I’ve had both, but I feel that since I’m a guy I should be the one that speaks up. But I’m usually passive in a relationship, although I am a man when I need to be, I usually put the girl before me…

Satoshi: Lady first (giggles).

ShuU: Yes, lady first.

JRR: So you’re a gentleman.

ShuU: Yes, “I am gentleman” (speaks in English). And then I release hadouken.

(Group laughter)

Gentleman! (then gestures for Hadouken) Gentleman! (gestures again for Hadouken) when the enemy shows up.

JRR: Would you date yourself if you were a girl?

ShuU: I think about it sometimes but I think the girl would be unhappy.

JRR: How come?

SHUU: With this line of job, you really don’t know when something might come up, when there’s something you must do. If you miss the chance you don’t know when the next one would come up, so as a band we have to take whatever we can get. So the girl has to be able to understand our situation. But regular girls won’t be able to handle that.

Nii: Hmm… I don’t know; I’d have to be a girl first to know. I don’t think I’d date myself.

Яyo: Meaning you wouldn’t date a gamer.

Nii: (Laughs) I’m not a gamer!

ShuU: I think he’s dateable, but he’d probably shy away at the critical moments. For example, when he confesses his feelings, he probably won’t be able to get the words out.

ALL but NII: Chicken!

Nii: It’s fine, I like myself the way I am.

Satoshi: I wouldn’t be able to date a guy like myself, because I’m very selfish and have to have my way. (laughs) And I don’t like troublesome stuff, so I don’t think I can handle myself.

Яyo: I’d have no problem dating myself. I spend all my time working so I can be fine even if there’s no communication for a month, so a relationship that demands minimal attention is best for me. I don’t like girls who are clingy or keeps on wanting to meet up. The girl I’d date, for example, like I’d be busy with work, and she’d be busy with her own work too, I think that’s the best. We just need to talk a little once in a while. I like someone who spends most of her time working. But yeah, I’d definitely date myself.

JRR: What is the concept for your new album [GIRUGAMESH, released December 26]?

ShuU: Our concept for the new album is, we have extracted the most out of ourselves, did all the things that are possible within our capabilities at this moment. We do want as many people as possible to listen to our music, but we don't want to put the focus on simply selling the CDs. We made the album just thinking that we want it to be the best we can do, something that we can be proud of.

JRR: How many tracks are there in the new album?

ShuU: 13. All new songs.

Яyo: We did a lot while touring, so it was pretty tough, physically. But at the same time we were able to extend all the experiences from the lives and use them on making the album.

JRR: What is unique about this album?

ShuU: So far all we’ve been doing is touring, recording, touring, recording and here we are now, so I think we have successfully packed the groove of our lives in this CD. Also, Satoshi wrote the lyrics while touring, too, so I think this is a CD that makes you feel like you are at a concert when you listen to it.

JRR: In regarding to the lyrics, what was the main theme for you this time?

Satoshi:: My theme was to show as much as possible the rawness of human nature, and write lyrics that show real human emotions. I dug within myself and wanted to expose the most honest feelings within me.

JRR: What is the biggest difference between the new album and the last album, if any, and how have you grown since the first album “13’s REBORN?”

ShuU: Each of us have become more dedicated to making good sounds and pickier about the results, and since we’ve been touring so much, we’ve really been able to incorporate the way we play at lives into recording for the album, instrumentally and such.

JRR: Recently you have done several lives in Europe. When you performed there, did you get to do sight-seeing?

ShuU: The only day we had off, we had to do photo shooting. (Shows the picture of the four of them standing on a building roof) We got to walk around this area (laughs).

Яyo: We got to write our names on the Berlin wall.

Satoshi: Yeah we signed on the wall.

JRR: So if people go there they can find your autograph on the wall?

Satoshi: I think it’d still be there.

Nii: But it was tiny (laughs).

JRR: What did you think of the food there?

ShuU: It was pretty bad… I don’t know, Satoshi seemed to like it.

Satoshi: I liked the pork dishes. I thought the food was decent.

ShuU: The rest of us had bought some food from Japan and we were fighting over the food.

JRR: What did you bring?

ShuU: Cup ramen, instant miso soup, soy sauce, etc.

JRR: What about natto?

ShuU: I thought about it but thought it’d probably go bad.

Satoshi:: It’s already fermented.

(Group laughter)

SHUU: When we went to America, I couldn’t stand not eating Japanese food anymore so I asked the manager to buy me natto and rice and sushi.

Nii: You did?!

ShuU: Yeah you wouldn’t wake up.

Nii: The soba we had on the plane on the way back brought tears to my eyes.

Яyo: That wasn’t when we flew back from America.

ShuU: No, we flew Korean Air that time. They had bimbimbap. On the way to Germany [with another airplane company] they had some food that I wasn’t sure where it was from, but on the way back they had soba and we were all glad to have it. But the portion was very little and we finished in one gulp.

Nii: Being in Germany made me miss Japanese food.

JRR: In your mini album “REASONS FOR CRYING” you had the theme of wanting to destroy the part of yourself that you don’t like; were you able to achieve that?

Satoshi: I think I was able to expose myself in this new album because I was able to destroy parts of me that I don’t like.

JRR: If you weren’t in a band, what do you think you’d be doing now?

ShuU: Prime Minister or working for a clothing store.

JRR: … Those are completely different.

(Group laughter)

ShuU: I was just kidding with the first answer.

JRR: Do you like designing clothes?

ShuU: I like to design and I also like to do fashion coordination, and to look at fashion trends.

Nii: I think I’d probably have became a salary man. I’d work ordinarily, live ordinarily…

ALL: Die ordinarily. (Laughter)

Nii: I think that’s how it would have gone, if I didn’t start playing music.

Satoshi: I’d probably work for Naritake. (laughs)

JRR: As the restaurant manager?

Яyo: That’s possible.

Satoshi: I think I’d be making ramen there. Or something food-related.

Яyo: I’d probably be a bousouzoku (loud bike riders, usually roaming the streets in large groups and try to be as noisy as they can, sometimes destroying things in the way), be in a gang, or something of the sort. Or a yakuza. Or a hacker.

Satoshi: (laughs)

JRR: … Those are all bad!

(Group laughter)

Яyo: That’s true… it’d give me a bad image. Oh well.

JRR: What were your dreams when you were little?

Яyo: Ultraman. I wanted to become one. Something like that.

Satoshi: Me too. (laughs)

NII: I can vaguely recall that, I wanted to be a ninja.

(Group laughter)

ShuU: Why?

Nii: I don’t know! I just vaguely recall thinking about it when I was little, that I wanted to become a ninja when I grew up.

Satoshi: Go ahead and be one.

Nii: Ok I will! (laughs)

ShuU: I wanted to be a baseball player.

JRR: You’re the most normal out of the four.

ShuU: I think it’s just the age we were referring to; they all talked about what they wanted to be when they were still little and didn’t understand what was going on. As you get older you know what’s possible and what’s not, right? So eventually you find out, Gee I can’t be Ultraman! There’s a person in there! Otherwise I’d wanted to become an airplane; I wanted to be able to fly in the sky.

JRR: You could have become a pilot.

ShuU: When I was that young I didn’t understand the concept of a pilot. I thought there’s a job called the airplane. (Laughs) So I wanted to be an airplane, then a baseball player, then a musician.

JRR: Not the baseball bat?

(Group laughter)

ShuU: No I’d rather be the ball (laughs). I want to be stricken.

JRR: Really? Are you M?

(Group laughter)

ShuU: Umm… ermm... it depends on the girl; I can go both ways (laughs).

JRR: How old are you all?

ShuU: Яyo is 21, and the rest of us are 23.

JRR: Do you get along well with the older bands in your company?

Яyo: Yeah.

JRR: Do they ever bully you?

ShuU: This guy (pointing to Satoshi) gets bullied sometimes, but that’s just their way of showing that they care about him.

Satoshi: The band we get along with the best is MUCC.

Яyo: TATSUROU messes with him a lot.

JRR: TATSUROU is a bully character, isn’t he?

ShuU: He’s extremely S.

Nii: Extremely S.

JRR: Extremely S.

(Group laughter)

Do you ever do any activities with the other bands?

ShuU: MIYA of MUCC is the sound producer for our new album. Also Nii and Яyo are doing a jam session with MUCC at the JACK IN THE BOX live.

JRR: GIRUGAMESH generally gives a cool, quiet image, but sometimes you show your interesting selves in videos. What are the members of GIRUGAMESH really like?

Satoshi: (Suppressed laughter)

ShuU: I think we are just your typical 22~23 year olds with an abundance of energy, but we become serious when we do lives, since we can’t just be like whatever on stage. So we have fun when we’re playing around, and become cool and serious when we’re performing; we distinguish the two.

JRR: Will you continue with the same image?

ShuU: In a way, yes, but since we started with nothing, when we were all young, a band is like a child, a person that grows and changes as time passes. We might become wilder, or go in a different direction, we don’t know for sure either. But in regards to music, we would like to keep the same passion.

JRR: Please tell us about something that happened to you recently that was embarrassing.

Яyo: I have something but it’s really embarrassing.

(Group laughter)

About a week ago, I was really sick and was puking and had constant diarrhea, so I accidentally shit my pants.

(Group laughter)

Satoshi: Is that ok to say?!?

JRR: …Where did this take place?

Яyo: At home. I was puking into the toilet bowl, was concentrating on puking and then lost control of my bottom.

ShuU: Then it just came out and said “Good morning!”

(Group laughter)

Satoshi: You needed two toilet bowls.

Яyo: Yeah… it’s been a long time since the last time I shit my pants; I’m 21 now so it’s been… 15 years.

Satoshi: (laughs)

Яyo: This is rock, man.

Satoshi: Last year I was questioned by the cops twice, because the underage are not supposed to be roaming on the streets after the curfew time. I am 23 now so I was 22 at the time, but I guess the cops thought I looked like underage so they questioned me and tried to give me a lesson. It was embarrassing.
JRR: So you had to show your ID to prove that you are not underage?

Satoshi: Yeah.

JRR: When you went to America you also had to show your ID for alcohol right?

Nii: Yeah. When we went to Germany, I wanted to buy a coke at the airport and the guy at the counter wanted to see my ID! For buying coke!

Яyo: Yeah we were going to pay for it then the guy at the counter asked for our ID or something, we couldn’t make out what else he was saying, but after he saw our IDs he was like ok, and let us buy the drinks.

JRR: Maybe it wasn’t really coke…

Nii: Maybe it had alcohol in it.

JRR: It was a coke flavored beer.

(Group laughter)

Nii: I haven’t had anything embarrassing lately. I can’t think of any.

ShuU: Yeah… I haven’t heard anything recently. He’s a good kid.

JRR: So you tell each other everything?

ShuU: Pretty much. We’re all open with each other; there’s nothing to hide. (To Satoshi) The only thing that gets hidden is your thing. (Laughter)

JRR: What do you mean?

ShuU: He hides his thing from us. We’d go to public bath together sometimes, that’s how close we are. Everyone is “open,” (spreads his legs) but Satoshi hides his private parts (puts his legs together and turns slightly away). He has a “secret zone.” So we tell him that he’s not open with us.

JRR: So that’s why Satoshi gets bullied.

(Group laughter)

ShuU: That’s true, he does have things that we can pick on him for. When he goes to rinse himself…

Satoshi: Let’s not talk about that anymore! (Laughs)

ShuU: Right, back to the question… Recently, I got so drunk that I fell asleep at a station. I slept for about three hours, felt cold and woke up, and it took me about two to three hours to walk home.

JRR: The last train had already left?

ShuU: Yeah, I was desperate.

JRR: How was that embarrassing?

ShuU: When I woke up, there was nobody around. It was really quiet.

JRR: The station workers didn’t see you?

ShuU: No, I found a place beneath the crossing bridge, under the stairway, somewhere warm to sleep.

(Group laughter)

Nii: You were like a homeless guy.

JRR: What were you like as students?

ShuU: I was an average student through elementary school and junior high. When I got into high school, a lot of people around me started to play music so I started too. I gave up studying right about high school. I studied through junior high, but near the end I felt that it wasn’t going to work out; so when I got into high school I just turned away from studying.

Nii: I was average, similar to ShuU.

Satoshi: He was an honor student who was dumb.

Nii: Oh yeah.

(Group laughter)

I was never late for school, I wasn’t too bright and my grades were mediocre.

Satoshi: Like a good but dumb student.

Nii: I also played video games with friends. As far as studying go, I only did that through junior high.

JRR: Are there any subjects that you were good at?

Nii: Physical education. I like to move around. I wasn’t into music yet at that time.

ShuU: You were playing games a lot.

JRR: So you got to exercise your thumbs.

Nii: (Laughs) Yeah.

Satoshi: I was a worthless student. I didn’t study well, and I skipped school a lot.

ShuU: (Laughs) And quite dumb.

Satoshi: I was like that through junior high, and then I woke up to music during the cultural festival that took place in high school. I was saved by music. (Giggles)

ShuU: You should thank the God of Music.

Satoshi: Oh, (looks up) thank you!

(Group laughter)

Яyo: I started playing in a band since junior high, and I was quite the yankee (delinquent).

JRR: You rode the bike?

Яyo: Yeah, roaming around illegally.

JRR: Is that ok to say?

Яyo: Yeah, it’s good material.

Яyo: I did a lot of bad things.

JRR: Do you still ride the bike?

Яyo: No, it’s too cold now, I don’t really feel like it. I don’t have time to either.

JRR: How do you get around?

Яyo: We move by car, we get driven together [by management staff].

JRR: Can you drive?

Яyo: Yeah we all can, except Satoshi. He doesn’t have a driver’s license.

JRR: Do you not plan on getting one?

Satoshi: I have one for riding bikes.

Nii: Powered scooters, basically.

ShuU: 50cc max.

(Group laughter)

Nii: And the bike he rides is actually mine! I lent it to him and he rides it like it’s his own.

Satoshi: Oh come on… let’s move on to something else.

JRR: You were the youngest band to perform at JRR Festival 1, but you gave a great performance that was as brilliant as the older bands. What do you have to say to bands that are younger than you?

ShuU: It’d be great if you guys listen to our CD and play our songs, record them and send them to us. Just like we’d cover songs from the bands we like, we’d also like people to do that with us. Also, no matter how dumb you are, as long as you like music and try hard at it, you can be like us and play in the world arena.

JRR: (To Satoshi) Up till recently you were really big on eating pineapple and pineapple-related foods; is there any food you are big on right now?

Satoshi: Hmm… cheese okaki (rice cracker). And also hotaruika okizuke (soy sauce-pickled squid). It’s similar to ika shiokara (salt-pickled squid).

ShuU: It’s a fisherman’s food.

Satoshi: The fisherman would pickle the squid tentacles.

JRR: Yeah I’ve tried that before.

Satoshi: Yeah, it goes well with alcohol. I like the foods that go well with drinking, even though I don’t drink.

JRR: You don’t drink or you can’t drink?

Satoshi: I can’t drink.

JRR: Why is that?

Satoshi: Um…

ShuU: He’s still a kid.

Satoshi: I don’t like the flavor, and I get drunk really easily, so I don’t drink.

JRR: You don’t smoke either, right?

Satoshi: Yeah, I can’t stand the smell.

Яyo: It’s a fragrant smell.

ShuU: For him, out of “sex, drugs, rock’n’roll,” he can’t do any of those.

(Group laughter)

Nii: Oh that’s so true!!

ShuU: If we consider tobacco as a drug, that is.

Satoshi: Cigarettes, alcohol, women, none of those… wait I don’t know about women.
(Group laughter)

Well no comment on that for now. I don’t smoke or drink.

JRR: In your blog, you mentioned about practicing singing lately; could you tell us about that?

Яyo: Oh that. MIYA from MUCC had a vocal booth at his place, you can go in there and sing and record as well. He said it was taking up too much space so he told me to bring it to my place. So since it’s coming this way I thought I might as well use it.

JRR: Are you good at singing?

Яyo: No I suck at it.

JRR: What songs do you sing?

Яyo: Well I listen to mostly English songs, not much Japanese songs so I don’t know. I don’t go to the karaoke either.

JRR: So you’d sing English songs?

Яyo: Erm if I went to a karaoke, I still can’t sing the English songs. (Laughs)

JRR: You have visited Europe, especially Germany, several times already; do you plan on learning Deutsch?

Яyo: I’m not too smart so I can’t remember anything. I can remember the easy words like hello, but I can’t carry on a basic conversation.

JRR: Last September at D’ERLANGER’s live at Shinkiba Studio Coast (opened by MERRY and MUCC), you were there at the live (as an audience). Do you go to other bands’ lives often?

ShuU: Oh yeah, quite frequently, when I have time. I try to see as much as I can. My goal for 2007 was to watch as many videos, live footage, or attend lives as I can. You can practice playing instruments at home, but you have to learn how to perform by seeing the others. So I’ve been learning a lot. I watch videos on YouTube as well.

Nii: YouTube is really a treasure grove. (Laughs) I get to watch all the bands I like. I’d pick three bands for the day, sit down with a beer and watch away. It’s really great.

JRR: 3 liters of beer?

Nii: (Laughs) No, not that much… maybe about three cans of beer. For the bands that I think aren’t any good I’d give them a batsu (an “X”).

(Group laughter)

Really!! I’d pick a few bands out, listen to or watch about 3 or 4 songs, then give them a mark; if they’re mediocre I’d give a triangle mark, and if they’re bad I’d just give them a big “X.”.

JRR: Do you watch mostly Japanese or foreign artists?

Nii: I don’t really have much interest in many Japanese artists so I don’t know them well; the ones that I watch are mostly foreign bands that I’ve never listened to before. If I listen to it and it’s death metal I’d just say, “no good.”

JRR: What bands do you like?

Nii: LIMP BIZKIT, LINKIN PARK, etc.

JRR: Do Satoshi and Яyo go to other bands’ lives too?

Яyo: I don’t go at all… unless it’s our senpai’s lives. Or when some foreign bands come to Japan to perform.

Satoshi: Me, too, I’d go to our senpai’s lives, or friends’ lives. I don’t go often, just whenever I have the opportunity.

JRR: ShuU appears to be the one that enjoys reading the most. Have you ever tried writing a book yourself?

ShuU: I can’t bring myself to write book; it’d be too long.

JRR: What about short essays?

ShuU: I’d write those. Reading is like watching movies, it’s just that instead of images you see, you read them as text and you invent the images in your head. That’s the only difference for me. I like to watch movies as well.

JRR: Going back again to earlier this year, after the JRR Festival One, you had a party at YOSHIKI’s house, and you all jumped into the pool. What was the party like?

ShuU: Oh it was chaotic. We all jumped into the pool with our clothes on.

Яyo: YOSHIKI-san was the first to jump into the pool with his clothes on, so we thought we should jump in fully clothed too, so about almost twenty of us were in there.

ShuU: There was MUCC, MERRY, D’ESPAIRSRAY, and GIRUGAMESH, and the staff went in as well. We all drank and talked.

Satoshi: We drank right inside the pool.

ShuU: 30 minutes after the party ended, we had to go catch the flight.

(Group laughter)

JRR: Was it a red-eye flight?

ShuU: No, we drank till morning, about 6 o’clock.

Яyo: It was alright bright when we finished. We went back to the hotel, changed our clothes and packed, and headed for the airport. On the flight back, well by the time we noticed we had already arrived in Japan.

ShuU: YUKKE-san was sleeping at the airport. Everyone was worn out like rags.

JRR: What country would you like to go next?

ShuU: We’d like to go to America again.

JRR: Anywhere in particular?

ShuU: We don’t know that many places there, but definitely NY, and LA again, etc.

JRR: Last time when you went to LA, did you have any time to do sightseeing?

ShuU: We did get to go to Melrose Avenue to do shopping, and we also stopped by a music instrument store. We also went to the Mann’s Chinese Theater. There was a premiere for Pirates of the Caribbean, and a lot of people were dressed up for it. We took a picture with one of the guys, and afterwards he said, “one dollar.”

(Group laughter)

I was surprised that they charged people for pictures! But we did have fun.

JRR: Are there any places that you might want to go next time, such as Disneyland?

Nii: Oh the real Disneyland.

ShuU: I’d like to see the Hollywood sign in person, and the stone heads at Mount Rushmore.

JRR: What about Las Vegas?

ShuU: Oh yeah, we’d like to go, if we have the money.

(Group laughter)

JRR: There are slot machines that you can just feed dimes or quarters.

ShuU: Oh yeah? Maybe next time we should do a tour there.

JRR: You’ll probably get your IDs checked at the casino though.

ShuU: How old do you have to be?

JRR: 21, so you’ll be ok.

ShuU: Ok, then next time we should have a competition at the casino.

JRR: Sure.

(Group laughter)

JRR: Lastly, please introduce your new album to the readers.

ShuU: Albums, CDs, are like records of our growth. We have given our maximum strength on making this album, and we’d really like you to listen to the GIRUGAMESH now. There are some songs that have rock based melodies but we also tried to incorporate different elements in there, so for those of you who don’t really like visual-kei or heavier rock sounds, we’d still like you to give it a try. We’d like people from all over the world to listen to our music.