“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve done an interview that wasn’t for a promo.”
He murmured these words just after our interview’s end. The sound nearly drowned in the squeaking of the pipe chairs on the floor, yet it was unmistakably a murmur from him, from tetsu-kun. The words he pronounces can, on occasion, drive themselves like a wedge deep into the ground, long remaining within me. Why – It was precisely what I had understood myself, without being able to put it into words. “Interviews like this one are precious, aren’t they!?”
– That day, I understood the words, but I am still awaiting their meaning.
—
All notes in {<- } format are from the interviewer/editor and were present in the original Japanese.
– How have you been, lately?
tetsu [Hahaha. (laughs) Is that the theme?!]
– Yes, it is.
tetsu [Lately… Lately, I’ve become a traveling performer, as you can see.]
– Because you’re in the middle of a nationwide tour. Have you gotten accustomed to the rhythm of travel yet?
tetsu [I guess so. Well I guess I can’t say that I’m not used to it… But, I just don’t always know where “here” is going to be today.]
– You mean, you don’t know where you are?
tetsu [Yeah. ….Seriously, where am I right now?! (laughs)]
– Shikoku. {↠Actually, he still isn’t sure about that.}
tetsu [(laughs) It really feels like Shikoku, I figure that part out myself. But, I mean “When did I cross the bridge today?”] (1)
– You came across from Honshu, so you’re talking about the Seto Ohashi Bridge.
tetsu [You’d think so, but… (Turns to his manager) Was it pretty? The scenery.]
Manager [Yes, it was.]
tetsu [Waahhh. Man, somebody should have woken me up.]
– Hahahaha. (laughs) You’re shouting.
tetsu [You know, I’m stuck in warp mode. This morning, I was in a hotel in Okayama, but then I realized I was in front of a hotel over here. …You know what, I got into pretty good shape for the sake of this tour, so I’m really healthy lately, actually.]
– More than when you’re living in Tokyo?
tetsu [Yeah. I think I’m even getting more sleep than I do in Tokyo. Well, I’m going to bed pretty late, compared to normal people. But I get lots of sleep. Yesterday I was working on my back stomach and back muscles, by doing push-ups in my hotel room.]
– You’re on fire.
tetsu [I am on fire!]
– Were previous tours also like this?
tetsu [Before, I used to goof off a bit more. By goof off, I mean that I’d go out and enjoy the towns we went to. I’d go out on the town and walk around. Go shopping and stuff. Back then, I had that kind of free time. This time around I don’t have anywhere near that much free time. We get to the venue on the day of the live, play the show, then head to the next place right away, so we spend the whole next day traveling. By the time we get to the next place, every single shop is already closed. Yesterday we had a show in Kurashiki, but I hardly set foot in Kurashiki city. And on top of that, we’ve been driving around in a car with curtains over the windows, so I don’t even get to see the streets, or any kind of scenery at all.]
– Hmmm, I see. You visit these places, without seeing them..
tetsu [It’s pretty sad, isn’t it.]
– What do you normally do to pass the time in your hotel room, or while you’re on the road?
tetsu [I sleep, you know, in the car. …In the hotels, I watch movies.]
– The movie channels on the hotel TV, right?
tetsu [That’s right. But not porn, though.]
– I didn’t ask. I didn’t ask (laughs).
tetsu [(laughs) But, somehow, the manager seems to have misunderstood me, thinking I must be watching porn because I watch the pay channels!]
– So, you should point out the mistake. Right here. Loudly.
tetsu [That’s right. You’re WRONG!]
– You’re shouting.
tetsu [Why would I watch videos? I’d rather do the real thing…]
– Is that why you train your back and stomach with those push-ups?!
tetsu [That’s right. (laughs) …But, really, that’s pretty much all I do, watch movies. Jurassic Park, Bad Boy, Liar Liar… Those were all interesting ones.]
– Do you watch a lot of movies, then?
tetsu [I do. They’re all on video though. The last movie I saw in a cinema was probably Titanic.]
– How was that?
tetsu [Hm, it wasn’t really that good.]
– Oh, is that so.
tetsu [Yeah. You know, it seems that whenever there’s a movie that everyone else says is great, I end up not liking it. About a year ago, there was a movie, and a friend told me “It was so touching! You should definitely go see it,” but when I saw it I thought it was awful, to the point that I got more and more upset while I was watching it. “What’s supposed to be so great about it? It sucks it sucks it sucks it sucks.” And then, I even got mad at the friend who recommended that movie. “What were you thinking when you told me to go see that?” Which is what I was thinking the whole time, in the cinema. Titanic was like that, too. Everyone kept saying “You should definitely go see it with someone you like,” and I was all “Ehhhhh?!”. There were some emotional moments here and there, but it wasn’t as great as everyone was making it out to be.]
– But, I think it’s great that you actually go to see these movies, even though recommended movies don’t usually work out well for you.
tetsu [I do go see them. I like to stay on top of what’s popular. And I have to see things for myself. That way, I’m learning about marketing.]
– Do you enjoy that sort of thing? The marketing?
tetsu [Enjoy… Obviously, whether it’s making music or going on tour, it’s important to know how to link it all to the way the world really works, or else everything fails. I don’t want to fall behind the times, but I don’t want to just chase the latest trends either. I do think marketing is important. But you know… In my case, things are a little bit different.]
– Well then, could you say, when it comes to movies for example, that it’s not just a little bit different but rather that your tastes are completely different from the mainstream?
tetsu [Yes. (laughs) I’m obviously different from the average person.]
– So do you have any thoughts related to your nationwide sold out tour?
tetsu [Hmmmm…. It’s beautiful.]
– Anything else?
tetsu […..Hm? ….No.]
– I see.
tetsu [Well you know… I don’t think too much about the present. It’s not good to focus on what’s right in front of your eyes. It’s better to look about five steps ahead.]
– That’s common advice in shogi and other board games, isn’t it? (2)
tetsu [Yeah, yeah. Yesterday, I went to some kind of bar, and they had an othello game, so I played othello. If you don’t think ahead, you always lose the game. People who can’t play the game, lose the game.]
– How did your game end?
tetsu [My game? I won. I managed to capture all four corners. (laughs)]
– It sounds like you have a knack for planning ahead.
tetsu [My opponent was constantly making moves that could be reversed right away. Watching him, I was thinking “Okay so he can see that this move will get him the most pieces right now, but a few turns from now I’ll just capture them all back. I wonder if he can see that.” It’s the same kind of thing. Right now, (the band) is a major success and we’ve got sold out shows all around the country, but that’s exactly why we need to take extra care. We need to think about how the world will change around us. …In war, you constantly need to be looking at least two or three steps ahead, or you’ll lose. That was something Char said. (3)]
– If that’s what Char says, then…
tetsu [Yeah. You know, I’ve always taken things at my own pace, I’m very down to earth that way, and I just want to go on doing that. I’ve always worked as hard as I can, and I still do. It’s just that before, no one would turn around and notice what I was doing, and now they do. So when someone says “Wow, you’ve really worked hard and done all these cool things,” I think “What took you so long to notice?”]
– You could think of it as a simple case of having different people around you.
tetsu [Ah… Yeah, I suppose that could be it.]
– Now, let’s move on to a completely different topic. I’d like to ask how your private life has been, lately.
tetsu [I’m recharging.]
– What does “recharging” mean, in your case, tetsu-kun?
tetsu [It’s life support… It makes me happy… Lately, people have been telling me that my expression seems a lot more friendly. Even the cameraman at a photo shoot said that to me. …Actually, I’m a very straightforward person. You could call me childish, or clumsy. I’ll just start smiling again right away.]
– Indeed. And what do you think of yourself being that way?
tetsu [I’m a bit too obvious, I think I’m a bit of a moron (laughs). But you know, I used to be bad at laughing. When I was a kid, I hardly ever laughed at all. And I was being cool, so no matter what happened or what I saw, I hardly reacted. I thought everything through and always came up with the downside of things right away. When I started doing this job, I didn’t laugh much either.]
– It seems that a lot of bands appear cooler when they don’t laugh or smile.
tetsu [There is that, yes. Well, you sure don’t see any punk bands standing around grinning. But we aren’t a punk band, so isn’t it kind of disturbing? Well, it’s not like we have to smile and laugh. I don’t like my smile. That’s why, even if they take smiling pictures, I never let them use them (in magazines), never ever. I’ve never liked to see my own smiling face.]
– I wonder why?
tetsu [It’s because I’m not smiling in my heart.]
– Wow, such harsh words to turn against yourself.
tetsu [Hahahahaha (bursts into laughter). But these days I laugh a lot. Yes. …I guess I could say, that I’ve learned how to smile. Anyway, I’m recharging in my private life, and I live by making music in this band of four.]
– Do you like to see yourself smile, now?
tetsu [I guess. …More than I used to. … Something like that. …It’s really just a recent thing, I’ve just barely gotten to be this way. Just barely gotten to think of myself this way.]
– Then, can you tell me what has made you laugh the most, lately?
tetsu [……….. (long, long silent pause) …. ….. What could it be!? I have no idea.]
– Could it be that there are too many things to choose from!? (laughs)
tetsu [There have definitely been a lot of things.]
– …………………. {↠Epic Fail}
tetsu [No, I really don’t now.] {â†Then, the interviewer appeared to want to attack him, or perhaps simply to challenge him.}
– When do you feel happiest?
tetsu [That would be when I’m shining.]
– As a last question, could you say something about how the other members have been doing?
tetsu [I have no idea (laughs).]
– I see, that’s where it comes from (laughs).
tetsu [I told you, I have no idea.]
– You seem strangely happy though.
tetsu [… I have no idea about that, either. (laughs)]
– You really have nothing to say about the other three?
tetsu [Not a thing (laughs). Well, how am I supposed to know how they’ve been, anyway?]
He murmured these words just after our interview’s end. The sound nearly drowned in the squeaking of the pipe chairs on the floor, yet it was unmistakably a murmur from him, from tetsu-kun. The words he pronounces can, on occasion, drive themselves like a wedge deep into the ground, long remaining within me. Why – It was precisely what I had understood myself, without being able to put it into words. “Interviews like this one are precious, aren’t they!?”
– That day, I understood the words, but I am still awaiting their meaning.
—
All notes in {<- } format are from the interviewer/editor and were present in the original Japanese.
– How have you been, lately?
tetsu [Hahaha. (laughs) Is that the theme?!]
– Yes, it is.
tetsu [Lately… Lately, I’ve become a traveling performer, as you can see.]
– Because you’re in the middle of a nationwide tour. Have you gotten accustomed to the rhythm of travel yet?
tetsu [I guess so. Well I guess I can’t say that I’m not used to it… But, I just don’t always know where “here” is going to be today.]
– You mean, you don’t know where you are?
tetsu [Yeah. ….Seriously, where am I right now?! (laughs)]
– Shikoku. {↠Actually, he still isn’t sure about that.}
tetsu [(laughs) It really feels like Shikoku, I figure that part out myself. But, I mean “When did I cross the bridge today?”] (1)
– You came across from Honshu, so you’re talking about the Seto Ohashi Bridge.
tetsu [You’d think so, but… (Turns to his manager) Was it pretty? The scenery.]
Manager [Yes, it was.]
tetsu [Waahhh. Man, somebody should have woken me up.]
– Hahahaha. (laughs) You’re shouting.
tetsu [You know, I’m stuck in warp mode. This morning, I was in a hotel in Okayama, but then I realized I was in front of a hotel over here. …You know what, I got into pretty good shape for the sake of this tour, so I’m really healthy lately, actually.]
– More than when you’re living in Tokyo?
tetsu [Yeah. I think I’m even getting more sleep than I do in Tokyo. Well, I’m going to bed pretty late, compared to normal people. But I get lots of sleep. Yesterday I was working on my back stomach and back muscles, by doing push-ups in my hotel room.]
– You’re on fire.
tetsu [I am on fire!]
– Were previous tours also like this?
tetsu [Before, I used to goof off a bit more. By goof off, I mean that I’d go out and enjoy the towns we went to. I’d go out on the town and walk around. Go shopping and stuff. Back then, I had that kind of free time. This time around I don’t have anywhere near that much free time. We get to the venue on the day of the live, play the show, then head to the next place right away, so we spend the whole next day traveling. By the time we get to the next place, every single shop is already closed. Yesterday we had a show in Kurashiki, but I hardly set foot in Kurashiki city. And on top of that, we’ve been driving around in a car with curtains over the windows, so I don’t even get to see the streets, or any kind of scenery at all.]
– Hmmm, I see. You visit these places, without seeing them..
tetsu [It’s pretty sad, isn’t it.]
– What do you normally do to pass the time in your hotel room, or while you’re on the road?
tetsu [I sleep, you know, in the car. …In the hotels, I watch movies.]
– The movie channels on the hotel TV, right?
tetsu [That’s right. But not porn, though.]
– I didn’t ask. I didn’t ask (laughs).
tetsu [(laughs) But, somehow, the manager seems to have misunderstood me, thinking I must be watching porn because I watch the pay channels!]
– So, you should point out the mistake. Right here. Loudly.
tetsu [That’s right. You’re WRONG!]
– You’re shouting.
tetsu [Why would I watch videos? I’d rather do the real thing…]
– Is that why you train your back and stomach with those push-ups?!
tetsu [That’s right. (laughs) …But, really, that’s pretty much all I do, watch movies. Jurassic Park, Bad Boy, Liar Liar… Those were all interesting ones.]
– Do you watch a lot of movies, then?
tetsu [I do. They’re all on video though. The last movie I saw in a cinema was probably Titanic.]
– How was that?
tetsu [Hm, it wasn’t really that good.]
– Oh, is that so.
tetsu [Yeah. You know, it seems that whenever there’s a movie that everyone else says is great, I end up not liking it. About a year ago, there was a movie, and a friend told me “It was so touching! You should definitely go see it,” but when I saw it I thought it was awful, to the point that I got more and more upset while I was watching it. “What’s supposed to be so great about it? It sucks it sucks it sucks it sucks.” And then, I even got mad at the friend who recommended that movie. “What were you thinking when you told me to go see that?” Which is what I was thinking the whole time, in the cinema. Titanic was like that, too. Everyone kept saying “You should definitely go see it with someone you like,” and I was all “Ehhhhh?!”. There were some emotional moments here and there, but it wasn’t as great as everyone was making it out to be.]
– But, I think it’s great that you actually go to see these movies, even though recommended movies don’t usually work out well for you.
tetsu [I do go see them. I like to stay on top of what’s popular. And I have to see things for myself. That way, I’m learning about marketing.]
– Do you enjoy that sort of thing? The marketing?
tetsu [Enjoy… Obviously, whether it’s making music or going on tour, it’s important to know how to link it all to the way the world really works, or else everything fails. I don’t want to fall behind the times, but I don’t want to just chase the latest trends either. I do think marketing is important. But you know… In my case, things are a little bit different.]
– Well then, could you say, when it comes to movies for example, that it’s not just a little bit different but rather that your tastes are completely different from the mainstream?
tetsu [Yes. (laughs) I’m obviously different from the average person.]
– So do you have any thoughts related to your nationwide sold out tour?
tetsu [Hmmmm…. It’s beautiful.]
– Anything else?
tetsu […..Hm? ….No.]
– I see.
tetsu [Well you know… I don’t think too much about the present. It’s not good to focus on what’s right in front of your eyes. It’s better to look about five steps ahead.]
– That’s common advice in shogi and other board games, isn’t it? (2)
tetsu [Yeah, yeah. Yesterday, I went to some kind of bar, and they had an othello game, so I played othello. If you don’t think ahead, you always lose the game. People who can’t play the game, lose the game.]
– How did your game end?
tetsu [My game? I won. I managed to capture all four corners. (laughs)]
– It sounds like you have a knack for planning ahead.
tetsu [My opponent was constantly making moves that could be reversed right away. Watching him, I was thinking “Okay so he can see that this move will get him the most pieces right now, but a few turns from now I’ll just capture them all back. I wonder if he can see that.” It’s the same kind of thing. Right now, (the band) is a major success and we’ve got sold out shows all around the country, but that’s exactly why we need to take extra care. We need to think about how the world will change around us. …In war, you constantly need to be looking at least two or three steps ahead, or you’ll lose. That was something Char said. (3)]
– If that’s what Char says, then…
tetsu [Yeah. You know, I’ve always taken things at my own pace, I’m very down to earth that way, and I just want to go on doing that. I’ve always worked as hard as I can, and I still do. It’s just that before, no one would turn around and notice what I was doing, and now they do. So when someone says “Wow, you’ve really worked hard and done all these cool things,” I think “What took you so long to notice?”]
– You could think of it as a simple case of having different people around you.
tetsu [Ah… Yeah, I suppose that could be it.]
– Now, let’s move on to a completely different topic. I’d like to ask how your private life has been, lately.
tetsu [I’m recharging.]
– What does “recharging” mean, in your case, tetsu-kun?
tetsu [It’s life support… It makes me happy… Lately, people have been telling me that my expression seems a lot more friendly. Even the cameraman at a photo shoot said that to me. …Actually, I’m a very straightforward person. You could call me childish, or clumsy. I’ll just start smiling again right away.]
– Indeed. And what do you think of yourself being that way?
tetsu [I’m a bit too obvious, I think I’m a bit of a moron (laughs). But you know, I used to be bad at laughing. When I was a kid, I hardly ever laughed at all. And I was being cool, so no matter what happened or what I saw, I hardly reacted. I thought everything through and always came up with the downside of things right away. When I started doing this job, I didn’t laugh much either.]
– It seems that a lot of bands appear cooler when they don’t laugh or smile.
tetsu [There is that, yes. Well, you sure don’t see any punk bands standing around grinning. But we aren’t a punk band, so isn’t it kind of disturbing? Well, it’s not like we have to smile and laugh. I don’t like my smile. That’s why, even if they take smiling pictures, I never let them use them (in magazines), never ever. I’ve never liked to see my own smiling face.]
– I wonder why?
tetsu [It’s because I’m not smiling in my heart.]
– Wow, such harsh words to turn against yourself.
tetsu [Hahahahaha (bursts into laughter). But these days I laugh a lot. Yes. …I guess I could say, that I’ve learned how to smile. Anyway, I’m recharging in my private life, and I live by making music in this band of four.]
– Do you like to see yourself smile, now?
tetsu [I guess. …More than I used to. … Something like that. …It’s really just a recent thing, I’ve just barely gotten to be this way. Just barely gotten to think of myself this way.]
– Then, can you tell me what has made you laugh the most, lately?
tetsu [……….. (long, long silent pause) …. ….. What could it be!? I have no idea.]
– Could it be that there are too many things to choose from!? (laughs)
tetsu [There have definitely been a lot of things.]
– …………………. {↠Epic Fail}
tetsu [No, I really don’t now.] {â†Then, the interviewer appeared to want to attack him, or perhaps simply to challenge him.}
– When do you feel happiest?
tetsu [That would be when I’m shining.]
– As a last question, could you say something about how the other members have been doing?
tetsu [I have no idea (laughs).]
– I see, that’s where it comes from (laughs).
tetsu [I told you, I have no idea.]
– You seem strangely happy though.
tetsu [… I have no idea about that, either. (laughs)]
– You really have nothing to say about the other three?
tetsu [Not a thing (laughs). Well, how am I supposed to know how they’ve been, anyway?]
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