– I imagine you must have to go to various places for work, but do you enjoy travelling?
[Travelling, well, it’s fun once I get going, but sometimes I’d rather stay home. If someone else handles the arrangements perfectly so that all I have to do is go, then I’m happy to. I’m not the type to decide where I want to go and actively travel on my own.]
– And so, you must not take many trips on your private time.
[Guess not. I’ve rarely ever taken any private trips, either within the country or overseas. But in this line of work, I travel around the whole country for tours and campaigns, so there’s that. And then once in a while, I’ll go to an onsen (1). The only place I’ve travelled to on my own time is New York. I’ve been there several times for work too (laughs), but well, to a certain extent it’s because I wanted to go. But that was about four years ago, now. Even though it was a private trip, I had the manager buy my tickets for me.]
– Don’t you think you’d like to try planning a trip of your own?
[No way. It’s such a pain (laughs). See, ever since I was in my early twenties I’ve had a manager in my life. There are some normal things normal people can do alone that I can’t do. I have no idea how to reserve a hotel room or how to buy air plane tickets.]
– What about when you were a child? Did your parents ever take you on any trips?
[No, they didn’t. We hardly had any family trips. Even when we did, it was mostly just day trips.]
– Then, what about field trips? Did you like going on trips and school events?
[Hmm, not really. I didn’t really like them, but I didn’t hate them either.]
– Then you’ve never thought deeply about travel, have you?
[Hmm, well, you know, I get tired. From moving. Though I like being overseas. I don’t hate air planes. I rather like seeing so many movies on air planes. As for packing…… Well, getting ready is a pain, isn’t it?]
– Is New York the place abroad where you’ve been the most often?
[Yeah, I’ve been to New York over ten times. Generally, I always go to the same places when I’m there.]
– What kinds of places?
[There’s a cafe I like. It’s got quite a jumbled up feel to it. Sort of an old downtown feel. It’s open 24 hours, and they serve decent meals, too. And they say the innermost table on the right side is haunted (laughs).]
– Eeh! Everyone says that?
[Yeah, the employees say it. But it’s not that scary, it’s nothing to worry about.]
– Do you ever feel a strange presence there?
[No, I’ve never felt anything like that.]
– I see. Is there something you always order from that cafe?
[Hmm, all sorts of stuff. More than the food, I like that place, and I always go so it’s like I might as well keep on going there. Oh, and I go to a store that sells movie posters. I liked one of the guys who worked there. He gave me extra stuff. He asked me “Do you play music or something?” and I answered “Yeah, I do,” so he said “Then let me hear some.” I was going back to Japan the next day or something, so I said “I’ll be back in New York in about two or three weeks, I’ll bring some for you then.” Then when I went to that store again, I gave him a CD. I think it must have been HEAVEN’S DRIVE. I haven’t gone back since then, though.]
– Were you speaking English in that store?
[Nah, it was Japanese. I can’t speak English at all. I said “‘scuze me~” or something like that.]
– And you were answered in Japanese?
[He answered me in Japanese. When you say “‘scuze me” like that, a staff member goes over to you.]
– (laughs) That cafe you spoke of earlier, it must be different from the ones you go to in Japan, tetsu-san.
[It is different. If it was in Japan, you’d expect to find this kind of place in Shimokitazawa or something. When I’m in Japan, I like spots like Daikanyama (2) with that little touch of refinement. I prefer cafes that are simple, with modern or mid-century furniture to the ones that are just scrambled up, though.]
– Why do you go somewhere that reminds you of Shimokitazawa when you’re in New York?
[Nah, I don’t actually dislike the scrambled sort of places. When there’s no one around who knows me, it’s peaceful. In Tokyo, I have to wear a hat and sunglasses or else I can’t really go out. So yeah, I dress so that no one will recognize me. Overseas, I can walk around peacefully without a care. In that sense, it’s nice to go abroad.]
Speaking of shopping, you list it as one of your interests, don’t you, tetsu-san?
[Not so much recently. But I used to, in the past. Um, this might be a bad way of saying it, but lately there hasn’t been anything I want (laughs). Maybe I already have it all. Anyway, I have too much stuff, I want to cut back. Since I keep moving into bigger and bigger places, the amount of luggage I have keeps going up. There was a time when I’d have wondered how it’d be possible to have so much stuff. If I calmly looked at every item one at a time, I’d find it’s all stuff I don’t really want. Stuff I don’t use, stuff that’s still sitting carelessly in the paper bag I bought it in, I’ve got tons of stuff like that. I never opened it. I don’t even want it anymore. I want things to be simpler. But, it’s been more than I year since I started thinking this way, and I’ve still got all that stuff, and even more stuff, too (laughs). I’m not properly organised yet. I’ve still got lots to get rid of.]
– But, going back to how you used to say it was a good hobby, did you enjoy shopping?
[Yeah, until about three years ago, I loved shopping. Especially when I went overseas. I got to go overseas for work, and I’d come back with twice as much luggage as I’d left with (laughs). I let out my stress that way. After all, I can’t walk around in foreign countries the same way I do at home, or shop the same way, so when I went abroad for work, I got wrapped up in my shopping. Then, since I don’t go shopping much when I’m in Tokyo, I’d buy something thinking “They don’t sell this in Japan,” then I’d get back and hear “They sell that in Shibuya.” And if I was thinking “It’s cheaper overseas, isn’t it?” the price wouldn’t be any different. The hard part was bringing everything back with me (laughs).]
– Were you greedy when you were little?
[I guess so, back when I was little. Like for Gundam models. I wanted to get the whole set of Gundams, but they made too many so I gave up half way. But, if I were to go back to my parents’ home, there would still be some there. Ancient models from back when Bandai was still using the Banzai mark. Ones they don’t make anymore. They must be rare by now, right? Other than that…… not really. Maybe for remote-controlled cars. They started making those when I was in my third year of elementary school. The finished RC cars were so slow, weren’t they? That’s why they could never satisfy me. I got the ones from a kit instead.]
– You didn’t play with the pre-assembled ones but got the ones that come as a kit? In elementary school? That’s rather early.
[Everyone around me built kits. My only close friends were two, three years older than me, though. Those senpai all had “Tamiya” model cars. But for some reason, all of mine were from the maker “Ootaki”, see, even back then I liked being different (laughs). Like, “I don’t like Tamiya. Everyone’s got Tamiya.” Everyone had Sanwa propos, but I had a Futaba one. (1)]
– I see. Now that brings back memories. Now, moving on, you must have gradually started spending more and more money on clothing.
[I think I started spending money on clothes around the time I started getting into rock. Around year two or three of middle school. Wearing slim pants, bleaching my jeans, stuff like that. I bleached them in the bathtub. Scraping them with little rocks (laughs).]
– If you started listening to rock in your second year of middle school, I imagine instruments must have been next?
[That’s right. I bought some instruments. But, mostly it was stuff people I knew had and were selling off. Mainly that. Cause I didn’t have any money.]
– I see. Then you buy rather more instruments now.
[I buy tons of them now. Incredibly many.]
– When you buy instruments, I’m sure you must take sound quality into consideration, but do they also have value for you as a collector?
[Yes they do. Well, I buy ones that sound good as well as rare ones for my collection, I keep a balance between both kinds. I have some that sound incredibly good, and I also have some collector’s items that are rare in the world.]
– So, how many do you have now?
[Putting basses and guitars together, I have over 100.]
– Do you also use the ones you bought as collector’s items?
[Yeah. I use them for recording, the vintage ones. I don’t want to use them on stage though. When I want to change the tone of a song, I fly through my instruments, trying out different basses. But, of course, I have a basic set of main basses and I usually use one of those ten or so. They’re my primary weapons, but I’m always thinking of looking for a new addition to the line. That’s what I was thinking of doing before heading into the recording this time, but I didn’t find any that really worked. Then, I found a new one and bought it midway through recording. Now, there’s only a limited number of basses in Japan. They don’t bring that many into the country. The goods aren’t coming in. Anyway, I went around talking to people at all sorts of agencies, but they didn’t have any in stock, so they let me play everything they had on display in the store, and even let me bring them to the studio. I picked out what I bought from those.]
– They allowed you to take what you wanted.
[Of course they did.]
– I see. Well, I suppose buying instruments doesn’t feel like real shopping, does it? It’s an important part of your work.
[Travelling, well, it’s fun once I get going, but sometimes I’d rather stay home. If someone else handles the arrangements perfectly so that all I have to do is go, then I’m happy to. I’m not the type to decide where I want to go and actively travel on my own.]
– And so, you must not take many trips on your private time.
[Guess not. I’ve rarely ever taken any private trips, either within the country or overseas. But in this line of work, I travel around the whole country for tours and campaigns, so there’s that. And then once in a while, I’ll go to an onsen (1). The only place I’ve travelled to on my own time is New York. I’ve been there several times for work too (laughs), but well, to a certain extent it’s because I wanted to go. But that was about four years ago, now. Even though it was a private trip, I had the manager buy my tickets for me.]
– Don’t you think you’d like to try planning a trip of your own?
[No way. It’s such a pain (laughs). See, ever since I was in my early twenties I’ve had a manager in my life. There are some normal things normal people can do alone that I can’t do. I have no idea how to reserve a hotel room or how to buy air plane tickets.]
– What about when you were a child? Did your parents ever take you on any trips?
[No, they didn’t. We hardly had any family trips. Even when we did, it was mostly just day trips.]
– Then, what about field trips? Did you like going on trips and school events?
[Hmm, not really. I didn’t really like them, but I didn’t hate them either.]
– Then you’ve never thought deeply about travel, have you?
[Hmm, well, you know, I get tired. From moving. Though I like being overseas. I don’t hate air planes. I rather like seeing so many movies on air planes. As for packing…… Well, getting ready is a pain, isn’t it?]
– Is New York the place abroad where you’ve been the most often?
[Yeah, I’ve been to New York over ten times. Generally, I always go to the same places when I’m there.]
– What kinds of places?
[There’s a cafe I like. It’s got quite a jumbled up feel to it. Sort of an old downtown feel. It’s open 24 hours, and they serve decent meals, too. And they say the innermost table on the right side is haunted (laughs).]
– Eeh! Everyone says that?
[Yeah, the employees say it. But it’s not that scary, it’s nothing to worry about.]
– Do you ever feel a strange presence there?
[No, I’ve never felt anything like that.]
– I see. Is there something you always order from that cafe?
[Hmm, all sorts of stuff. More than the food, I like that place, and I always go so it’s like I might as well keep on going there. Oh, and I go to a store that sells movie posters. I liked one of the guys who worked there. He gave me extra stuff. He asked me “Do you play music or something?” and I answered “Yeah, I do,” so he said “Then let me hear some.” I was going back to Japan the next day or something, so I said “I’ll be back in New York in about two or three weeks, I’ll bring some for you then.” Then when I went to that store again, I gave him a CD. I think it must have been HEAVEN’S DRIVE. I haven’t gone back since then, though.]
– Were you speaking English in that store?
[Nah, it was Japanese. I can’t speak English at all. I said “‘scuze me~” or something like that.]
– And you were answered in Japanese?
[He answered me in Japanese. When you say “‘scuze me” like that, a staff member goes over to you.]
– (laughs) That cafe you spoke of earlier, it must be different from the ones you go to in Japan, tetsu-san.
[It is different. If it was in Japan, you’d expect to find this kind of place in Shimokitazawa or something. When I’m in Japan, I like spots like Daikanyama (2) with that little touch of refinement. I prefer cafes that are simple, with modern or mid-century furniture to the ones that are just scrambled up, though.]
– Why do you go somewhere that reminds you of Shimokitazawa when you’re in New York?
[Nah, I don’t actually dislike the scrambled sort of places. When there’s no one around who knows me, it’s peaceful. In Tokyo, I have to wear a hat and sunglasses or else I can’t really go out. So yeah, I dress so that no one will recognize me. Overseas, I can walk around peacefully without a care. In that sense, it’s nice to go abroad.]
Speaking of shopping, you list it as one of your interests, don’t you, tetsu-san?
[Not so much recently. But I used to, in the past. Um, this might be a bad way of saying it, but lately there hasn’t been anything I want (laughs). Maybe I already have it all. Anyway, I have too much stuff, I want to cut back. Since I keep moving into bigger and bigger places, the amount of luggage I have keeps going up. There was a time when I’d have wondered how it’d be possible to have so much stuff. If I calmly looked at every item one at a time, I’d find it’s all stuff I don’t really want. Stuff I don’t use, stuff that’s still sitting carelessly in the paper bag I bought it in, I’ve got tons of stuff like that. I never opened it. I don’t even want it anymore. I want things to be simpler. But, it’s been more than I year since I started thinking this way, and I’ve still got all that stuff, and even more stuff, too (laughs). I’m not properly organised yet. I’ve still got lots to get rid of.]
– But, going back to how you used to say it was a good hobby, did you enjoy shopping?
[Yeah, until about three years ago, I loved shopping. Especially when I went overseas. I got to go overseas for work, and I’d come back with twice as much luggage as I’d left with (laughs). I let out my stress that way. After all, I can’t walk around in foreign countries the same way I do at home, or shop the same way, so when I went abroad for work, I got wrapped up in my shopping. Then, since I don’t go shopping much when I’m in Tokyo, I’d buy something thinking “They don’t sell this in Japan,” then I’d get back and hear “They sell that in Shibuya.” And if I was thinking “It’s cheaper overseas, isn’t it?” the price wouldn’t be any different. The hard part was bringing everything back with me (laughs).]
– Were you greedy when you were little?
[I guess so, back when I was little. Like for Gundam models. I wanted to get the whole set of Gundams, but they made too many so I gave up half way. But, if I were to go back to my parents’ home, there would still be some there. Ancient models from back when Bandai was still using the Banzai mark. Ones they don’t make anymore. They must be rare by now, right? Other than that…… not really. Maybe for remote-controlled cars. They started making those when I was in my third year of elementary school. The finished RC cars were so slow, weren’t they? That’s why they could never satisfy me. I got the ones from a kit instead.]
– You didn’t play with the pre-assembled ones but got the ones that come as a kit? In elementary school? That’s rather early.
[Everyone around me built kits. My only close friends were two, three years older than me, though. Those senpai all had “Tamiya” model cars. But for some reason, all of mine were from the maker “Ootaki”, see, even back then I liked being different (laughs). Like, “I don’t like Tamiya. Everyone’s got Tamiya.” Everyone had Sanwa propos, but I had a Futaba one. (1)]
– I see. Now that brings back memories. Now, moving on, you must have gradually started spending more and more money on clothing.
[I think I started spending money on clothes around the time I started getting into rock. Around year two or three of middle school. Wearing slim pants, bleaching my jeans, stuff like that. I bleached them in the bathtub. Scraping them with little rocks (laughs).]
– If you started listening to rock in your second year of middle school, I imagine instruments must have been next?
[That’s right. I bought some instruments. But, mostly it was stuff people I knew had and were selling off. Mainly that. Cause I didn’t have any money.]
– I see. Then you buy rather more instruments now.
[I buy tons of them now. Incredibly many.]
– When you buy instruments, I’m sure you must take sound quality into consideration, but do they also have value for you as a collector?
[Yes they do. Well, I buy ones that sound good as well as rare ones for my collection, I keep a balance between both kinds. I have some that sound incredibly good, and I also have some collector’s items that are rare in the world.]
– So, how many do you have now?
[Putting basses and guitars together, I have over 100.]
– Do you also use the ones you bought as collector’s items?
[Yeah. I use them for recording, the vintage ones. I don’t want to use them on stage though. When I want to change the tone of a song, I fly through my instruments, trying out different basses. But, of course, I have a basic set of main basses and I usually use one of those ten or so. They’re my primary weapons, but I’m always thinking of looking for a new addition to the line. That’s what I was thinking of doing before heading into the recording this time, but I didn’t find any that really worked. Then, I found a new one and bought it midway through recording. Now, there’s only a limited number of basses in Japan. They don’t bring that many into the country. The goods aren’t coming in. Anyway, I went around talking to people at all sorts of agencies, but they didn’t have any in stock, so they let me play everything they had on display in the store, and even let me bring them to the studio. I picked out what I bought from those.]
– They allowed you to take what you wanted.
[Of course they did.]
– I see. Well, I suppose buying instruments doesn’t feel like real shopping, does it? It’s an important part of your work.
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