Translated from FOOL'S MATE, 2007.08
Original Text: Yohsuke Hayakawa.
The Awakening Soul--The first long interview with Janne Da Arc vocalist yasu since beginning his solo project!
Rumors spread around the Internet this May: "Janne Da Arc's yasu is appearing in live houses nationwide!"
Amongst questions from the fans as to if this could really be true, to their great happiness everything was revealed in the following month.
yasu's solo project is Acid Black Cherry.
Following that, the first single, "SPELL MAGIC" and the identities of the other members of the band were slowly revealed...
He has been so kind as to answer the questions on the minds of a lot of the fans honestly and allowing us a deeper understanding of his image.
Now, once again, as an artist who has awakened his soul as a musician, he gives us his thoughts in this uncut long interview!
It's been such a long time since we've done an interview with you. What have you been waiting so long to say?
Thank you so much, for having me. (Laughs)
You didn't really have any desire to open yourself up to doing something solo like the rest of Janne Da Arc, after all (Laughs). So, being able to finally decide what you're going to do with yourself during this time, what are your feelings now, having found something you want to do?
As for how I felt, it was something like, "Do I want to go back and feel like I did a long time ago once more? I felt like I needed to bring out that hungry feeling that I had since forgotten. I also thought, "Aren't I in a fantastic position to really bring myself out spiritually as well as circumstantially? When Janne Da Arc was at its most popular, I remember feeling that the pressure to actually write songs, while actually writing them, affected me for a very short period...but somehow, I think it really had nothing to do with the amount of time it took me to write at all. (Laughs) I thought, even more than going back to that particular time, I really want to rediscover the true, important feelings that I have.
Thinking of it that way, it may have been a very important time for you, this last year where you haven't been releasing anything...at least in terms of bringing yasu as a musician to the forefront.
That's right. Though it's been a long time without any deadlines, though...(Laughs)
So were you just lazing around then? (Laughs) So, we'll be continuing with "collecting data" here at FOOL'S MATE.
Ha ha ha (Laughs) Thank you very much.
Sorry for forcing you to become so busy...(Bitter Laugh) When you were really active in Janne Da Arc, moreso than wondering if you'll have time or not to do things, what weighed the heaviest on your emotions at that time was the question of how far you could actually take things as a musician, wasn't it?
Yes. I got to the point where I can write songs for Janne Da Arc forever, but as expected, every time we chose which ones we would release, that would be what I would be writing songs for—to be released. So, when I would have times where I myself would wonder, "Was I really able to write this song as well as I wanted?" there would also be those times where I would gradually become dissatisfied with what I had done. For example, I'd be thinking something like, "I really want to write an amazing band song", I'd never actually be able to do it in the end, not even close. No matter how I felt about it, I made it impossible for myself. So, along those lines, I'm not someone who can say that they can accomplish anything they'd like to. Though, in that, I was able to write the songs from within, with all of myself. However, as I expected, I started to feel that it was a bit of a problem when it came time to consider what I could do in terms of being something that I could always do. When it truly came time for
me to start doing solo work, I started thinking deeply about "If I'm doing things by myself, what's the best approach to take?" and such, and maybe it's in that that I was able to change those feelings.
Is there something that really came out of you changing your current stance in this fashion?
For example, if I say something about the current single ([SPELL MAGIC]), it's a song that up until now doesn't really seem like I'd put it on a single, in terms of it being so upbeat. I might say something like, "Why haven't I done something like this until now?" but, it was something that I couldn't do then, not at that time. It's a difficult question, really.
Of course.
Thinking that I'm doing things on my own now, that's the kind of thing that came out of thinking in this way, of changing myself so that I could work on my own. So, as far as the fans are concerned, they may think that Janne Da Arc singles are all pop singles, and yasu on his own releases singles like this, but it's not quite like that. I used to get that in letters and stuff all the time, too, the fans telling me that it seemed I couldn't release anything except what Avex would let me release. But, it's entirely different. I wasn't writing with the intent of following the content of my label. No matter what song it is, it's still something that the artist themselves put together. So, probably, if I were to say something about this song, it would be that it's one that Janne Da Arc just couldn't do at this time. It may reach a point where we could, but I don't want to compare these projects like that, or think of them as opposites to one another. However, in terms of what I want to do with this solo project...I absolutely don't want to have it change Janne Da Arc at all. So, what I can say now is that, there's Janne Da Arc, there's my solo work, and the things that have arisen in me due to that are things that really aren't largely different from what I've always been at all.
In terms of your music, you're saying that you're not doing solo work because your style is different between your solo work and your work with the band. What resulted from that, those songs like "SPELL MAGIC", it's not that they are consciously different, rather, they're the reflection of that change of feeling as well as circumstances.
I think so, yes.
It might just be something that you've managed to do entirely unconsciously, as well. Also, if you speak about the influence your label has on you directly, it's also fairly common to do things that way. When you're a new artist, having a song that makes a good single is a really strong selling point, and it isn't that what you do is somehow talked about as something outside of society, though in Janne Da Arc's case with your debut singles being "RED ZONE" and "Lunatic Gate", it seems like people were asking, "What kind of band would do something like this?" (Laughs) So, what we've been talking about lately is the result of some kind of misunderstanding, really.
I've been saying this a lot in interviews, I think, but I think that even more than saying that we're "single artists" (in terms of a pop or band-like style), it's more that we really wanted to see ourselves as album artists. Though, I think that the fans really understand that about us.
So, after your tenth anniversary, there was a time of silence from you, and then you announced that you would be pursuing solo projects concurrent with your band work...until that point, everyone was passing the time wondering, "When are they going to release something next? They should be working on something right now. Now? Or maybe now?" (Laughs) With that announcement, we got the impression that you felt it was time for your members to pursue things fitting with their own personalities, and at their own pace.
Yeah (Laughs). I was a little troubled by the idea that the announcement would be perceived wrongly, people would think that with the start of everyone's solo projects, it would be the end of the band...I have the strongest of hopes that this is not the case. So, because of that, I also felt like, "If we get the chance, shouldn't we rephrase this?" In short, if we have the vision, we'll just snap right back into it.
So, that hope is why you waited until two months after your appearance at Saitama Super Arena to start "work" again. I don't know if you can say that's just typical of Janne Da Arc, or if it's just the idea that it's important to have some time between releases.
That's right.
For some reason or another, there were a lot of people saying that doing this kind of work came along quite suddenly for you. So, it's reasonable to say that the current solo projects, as mentioned in the public announcement, are for the sake of revitalizing Janne Da Arc.
Yeah. If we pursue projects individually, that also opens up the door to pursue things outside of music as well, doesn't it? I can't really see that as a particularly bad thing, but if I were to completely absorb myself in that, I thought, would that cause me to close myself off from the impression I get from the band...?
You're also saying that you don't want Janne Da Arc, as a band you've been involved in for over ten years, to be misinterpreted as having lost that impression you have of it of being a rock band at its heart.
That's right. I don't really have the intention of living the same way, and in regards to things compared to the band, I think I'd really like to start enjoying life a little bit more. Eh, if I get to the point where I start pursuing things outside of music, maybe I'll just start spending all my time playing "Monster Hunter" or something...(Laughs) Though, there are some things that I might be promoting as a soloist at the same time that I'm also promoting with the band.
A long time ago, yasu, you mentioned in a magazine article, while laughing, that all you really wanted was to see the kind of meal you could buy if you managed to go a long time doing what you do, and that your stomach was really anticipating that (Laughs), but also that even if you kept the band going for ten years, you didn't want the feeling that it's just expected of you to increase at all, which isn't strange for a band at all. But, listening to what you've been saying, in the last year, your motivation to do solo work has really come out, and at the same time, the want to revitalize Janne Da Arc—and if you did that, you felt, Janne Da Arc would be even healthier. With that, I really think that you've calmed the hearts of your fans.
That's right. I said before that even if I did solo work, musically, the band wouldn't change that much, didn't I? Listening to the people who have been so kind to be listening to Janne Da Arc since the start, there are people who think, of course, "He could've done this with the band!". In with that, as well, is that I've said that I really had no desire to pursue solo work myself. For example, if I had an interest in an entirely different style of music, that would cause me to want to do solo work, but for me, it's not like that at all. Everything that I want to do, I've become able to do with all of the band members present. However, it's just that the songs I've decided to try out solo, I got the feeling that I might not be able to do them at all, if I didn't do them soon. So, because of that, I don't really think it's that much of a change at all. If people ask me, "Is something different?", the only thing I can't say is that I can't change anything at all. After all, this is still something that's coming from inside of me. Though I think now that I'm doing solo work, even more than just doing solo work to do it, I want to try and see how many different styles I can experiment with, and that being able to offer that is absolutely a good thing.
So, the meaning of solo work to you isn't that you want to stand on your own, but rather that it's a way for you to inspire yourself, and revitalize your band in a very important way, then.
There's a feeling you get when you just start out in music, right? When Janne Da Arc was starting out, we thought things like "Wow, we want to be a band like that". At that time, a lot of things were really fresh and new to us, and there were a lot of things that we really wanted to try out. But, as expected, if you're doing that kind of stuff for ten years...gradually...to put it nicely, knowing that everyone's come this far like this, things move along quite smoothly, but the bad thing about that is that you get used to it, and that sort of novelty, and motivation, just leaves you. I could see that happening to us. But, when I started doing things on my own, I was able to find that intensity, that novelty that I had forgotten up until now, and that feeling came back up from inside of me where I felt like, "This is so natural to me."
It seems like there might be some things you feel that you need to refine in yourself, too.
Yeah, I felt really nervous about all of this, too. From that, though, I found that songs like "SPELL MAGIC", and having a band that plays that kind of music, was just natural for me as well.
So, more than anything, what you're doing currently is just unconscious and spontaneous on your part, then...something like the forgotten "yasu" has been resurrected? (Laughs)
Ha ha ha, something like that, yeah. (Laughs)
So, now that you're pursuing a solo project, thinking about your approach was a very important part...like "what was something that yasu-san wanted to do"?
I only wanted to do one thing. To have a band sound. I don't have any aims to become a one-man superstar or anything like that at all. In my case, my music doesn't start from my singing; it begins with the band. As expected, it gets to where there's really nothing that I can extract from that, any more than what it is. Moreso than having the silhouette of a rock star just by myself, I really love having my band standing there with me in that, too. There's nothing more than that, to me.
You're a "soloist looking for a band sound". In this case, I think it's easy to motivate yourself, though don't you still have that voice that says even though you have a band, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do something that brings what you have to offer out as well?
Yes, that's true.
But, drawing the meaning from what you've been saying to this point, yasu, you have the impression of bringing together a band that is searching for a band sound, but it by no means is meant to replace Janne Da Arc in any way.
That's exactly right. So, because of that, I thought that of course I wanted to produce a sound with this project that "Janne Da Arc" can't, absolutely. Of course, all the members of Janne bring their own strength to the band, but then that begs the question of, where do I start in that, and how far does my part really go? But, if you talk about what I'm doing now, all the arrangements and everything are still left to me, too. I thought, is it really that big of a difference? In my solo work, I'm really involved in everything, down to the smallest detail, after all.
As a result, you've started your work under the name "Acid Black Cherry", but would it be better to say that's simply a project name?
Yes, I think so. Since the band members are temporary.
As a popular alias, you go by "ABC"...it's like you're interviewing as a new artist (Laughs). So, we want to hear how you came up with that name.
Really, I was just messing around with words. (Laughs) At first, I thought, I should come up with a name that doesn't put me on the chopping block, so to speak, and that's when I thought that I should call myself something that falls into the erotic theme that I've been using. Somehow, the members of a band called "Black Cherry", with that sexual energy, would complete the vision, or something (Laughs)
Haha, it just came out of nowhere, then (Laughs). So, "c" and "d" are a representation of "cherry", did you mean it that way?
Yes. (Laughs) And then, there are words like "Acid" that we have, right? "Acid Black Cherry"... "ABC"...it sounds good in your head, doesn't it? Ah, yeah, that's good, I thought. (Laughs) The process was lighthearted like that. ABC, it's nice to keep it simple, right?
It's easy to explain, too (Laughs). So, ABC went around the nation in secret...really, really in secret.
Yes, we did!
Oh...well, no one ever told me! (Laughs) Though, word did spread on the Internet and stuff like that, people saying "It looks like yasu is out there doing shows again". Surely, it was you traveling around to gain skill, so to speak, right?
That's right. When I started going solo, I thought that I really wanted to take hold once again of my original intentions from when I started doing music in the first place. It was like, people were telling me, "There's no way people will just show up, so will you really be able to do a show?" and then I said, "Well, let's go try it and see, then." There were some who were cool while we were in the midst of it, and then there were bands who couldn't even draw a crowd, too.
So, then, you were what they call a "hometown band"?
That's right. After all, we did a lot of high school events and stuff like that.
That's a really common backing (Laughs).
Yeah, just the usual backing. The ticket prices were 500 yen apiece (Laughs). When we went to the high school event shows, there were even bands there that were Janne Da Arc copy bands.
Ha ha ha ha!! (Laughs) That's so fortuitous!!
It was cool...and so interesting to watch. Out of about 14 bands, there was just the one. It really made me remember the old days.
What was the audience's reaction?
The audience's reaction, huh...(Laughs) Well, depending on the venue, there were places where there was no one there at all. You couldn't see anyone there other than the members of the other bands in the show. It was unexpectedly maudlin, really. It felt extremely solitary there. But, since you didn't have an MC segment or really much of an intro there either, even though you'd cry out and try to get people involved, no matter what you said, you couldn't even get so much of a "Noooo!" out of them. It's like a silence just fell over the room, and the band members just stood there and laughed bitterly or something. (Laughs.)
Eh...but even so, you had big plans for these appearances, though, didn't you?
My primary reason for doing it was, when I started out ten years ago, there were of course no one coming to see us, either. So, if all of us, going back to that same sort of state now, and still have that impression of ourselves that this is still so awesome to do, then I could keep doing this forever. I really think that should just occur to you, a thought like that. Just using live performances and songs that no one has ever heard before, performing them for people who have never even heard of us before, can I still get them fired up about what I do, I wondered? Would the people at the back of the room try to force themselves to the front, you know, that kind of thing. Many of Janne Da Arc's fans will look forward to seeing our solo projects too, right? I thought, I just have to ask that of them. So, because of that, if I was performing in front of people who have never heard of me, or in front of those who really don't like "vocal rock", and I couldn't make them think that I was really cool, then solo
work would be absolutely impossible, I thought...so that's what made me want to go out and give something like this a try.
Even so, only charging 500 yen, that's amazing. Your band members for that show were the same ones that you worked with during the other lives too, right?
Yeah. YUKI of DUSTAR-3 and AKIHIDE, formerly of FAIRY FORE and now in NEVER~LAND were on guitar, and SHUSE-san was on bass. And, for the drummer, we had auditions, and it turned out to be MAKOTO, who also played for KAZUMA-san (Kazuma Toohiza)'s solo work. After this, though, the members will be changing again for both the live shows and for release recordings, too.
Having five people together, being in vans and stuff like that, it must be hard to get some rest...
From the start, I told all of them that I didn't mind checking into a hotel, or even falling asleep in the sauna. I almost did fall asleep in the sauna once, but I thought that I couldn't make the other members think that this work was really hard, so...but, around then, the staff was really worried about me. But, I think it was probably a good thing that I didn't fall asleep in the sauna after all (Laughs).
It's probably a good thing you didn't fall asleep in the van, either.
Well, if you put it like that, it was probably good for me that I didn't, yeah. (Laughs.)
Oh, but you've had tours where you've had to go on feeling so fatigued?
Yes, I have. Though, it wasn't like that when I was on the indies, right?
But, you looked really shocked, when you dunked your head in the water at that park...
It was like, "Ah, cold!!" (Laughs.)
Then, after the conclusion of your tour, "SPELL MAGIC" was announced as your first single, released on July 18. Though, you mentioned while we were asking you earlier about the release at the show that the title sounds as if a female writer is to blame for her own shyness in this case, though (Laugh). Recently, you've also mentioned bringing out your erotic side, as well.
Saying something about it, well, I thought that since this had the feel of a debut single, I might as well put the meaning of ABC as it relates to Acid Black Cherry in the lyrics. That is, "a spell's magic".
Ah, so it's a triple meaning!! (Laughs.)
Ah, so you saw it then. People who take it that way are really erotically minded. (Laughs loudly.) [1] The song itself, well, I didn't write it because I'm personally like that at all. The reason why it's ABC, in other words, is because it combines the meaning of "a spell as cast by a witch" as well as the meaning of "the magic inherent in being bound by a spell".
My apologies. (Laughs)
Well, that's an oversight that everyone makes. (Laughs.) Though at first I thought about that completely consuming feeling in the song. Everyone just seems to take it that direction on their own.
Well, it's the truth, whatever the case may be. (Laughs.) Either by the lyrics or the title, I think that both are very important. This is a song you wrote entirely for your solo project, isn't it?
Entirely, yes. Since I wrote both the lyrics and the song itself after I had decided on the name "Acid Black Cherry".
Hasn't it been a long time since you've written lyrics from a female perspective?
Eh, yes it has. Though it would have been fine from a male perspective, as well. It's fine with me if I make people say "How blunt he is!!" (Laughs.)
Ha ha ha. (Laughs.) Taking it that way is a little bit more potent, too, and makes you think that one viewpoint is taken in a bit more of a general fashion, as well...?
I was looking at myself retrospectively, with several different meanings in mind, and thought that since it's my current self doing something like this, what I can come up with now as a brand new work is a good thing, suddenly. I'm still putting in the flavor of music that I've enjoyed forever, a little bit at a time.
With this freshness and intensity, we can say that what you're presenting as the soloist yasu is something that truly comes from within yourself.
Yeah. This time, I can say that in regard to this song, I feel very strongly that it's good that I'm able to release it as a single. It's as if I'm considering releasing a single again for the very first time.
Ah, was it really?
Well, for the time being, when I was thinking about it at first, it was like, "I can make this a single, can't I?" and then after that, "Eh, what the hell, right?" (Laughs.)
The words and sound are band-rendered, after all. (Laughs.) It's not that you want to make something pretty with a band sound, rather, from a structural and emotional standpoint, you're creating pieces that really pop out at you, right?
That's right. I did this when I was discussing things along with my engineer, and when I played him the demo tape that I had made, he was extremely pleased with it; like "I just want to send this to distribution right now!". So, just like in the old days, I wanted to try and stick to that sort of "completely heavy" style. This time, even the staff I'm working with are new as well. So, I feel like I was able to really present what kind of tastes I want to have with this demo tape, especially with them taking it the way they did.
In regards to bands, there are a lot of bands out there in Japan who also exhibit a deep influence from the "heavy rock" style, but in the making of your sound, yasu, somehow you manage not to make it sound like the traditional Japanese take on the style, instead preserving your own individual tastes; it gave me the impression, therefore, that it's what would be written by an actual Japanese person rather than just someone influenced entirely by that kind of music.
Of course, the sound of Western music is really cool too, isn't it? But, as expected, I can't write anything other than what I can sing myself, and so even with a band, it also becomes even more important to have that kind of structured melody. In that aspect, it feels as if I'm preserving the same kind of musical aspect that I've always used, but really I didn't make it so melodious that it sounds out of place.
Did you deliberately leave the impression in the melody that you had really been involved in making it work in a very minute and calculated way?
Yes. I also added a sound where the melody is very sharp. I think, really, "Janne Da Arc can't really do melodies like this, can we?", as well.
Of course. So, the members of your band who helped you create that sound, as I have on the write-up here, are Sugizo-san on guitar, SHUSE-san on bass, and Suganuma Kozo on drums.
This is the first time I've been able to gather so many musicians that I like in one place. For them to contribute to a piece that I've written...no matter what they do, they're amazingly skilled. To be able to do that, and to have them at my disposal to produce a sound as I wanted them to...it was an honor. I've thought since high school that I wanted to go see Suganuma-san, too. I thought that he may refuse to work with me, so I thought it would be best to ask the rest of the members if it was even worth asking him, first. Though SHUSE-san just said, "I trust you~!" (Laughs.) Since the arrangement, riffs and so on had been decided when I was writing the piece, I didn't think of that as a problem, but I thought that some might come up when it actually came to doing the piece on stage. But, with everyone together, we were all on the same page after all.
The demo tape was also entirely your interpretation, so did you feel like you were competing with anyone at all?
Not really, they cooperated with me for the demo as well.
Seeing SUGIZO-san participate was rather unexpected, though.
Really? Certainly, I didn't choose him because I listen to a lot of LUNA SEA or anything, I just thought that he seemed like a really nice guy; I've always thought that about him.
And SHUSE-san, being SHUSE-san, really does play furiously too.
He still is energetic. (Laughs.) He really did give it all he had. But, I didn't get the feeling from him that he was somehow telling me, "I'm just going to play this however I feel like playing it", or anything like that.
Though he's a real individual himself, I would suppose that he felt that in the end, he's participating in yasu's project, after all.
He really put a lot of consideration into it, and made the bassline even better and cooler. Of course, in that way, everyone gave everything to their own respective parts, though. Eh, but, it was really hard to say to them, "Could you try playing it this way for me?", because everyone has been in the business so much longer than I have. (Laughs.)
I know exactly how you feel. (Laughs.)
But, I did ask that of them, though. Even though it was more like "Um..." (Laughs.)
So, on this release, you have one original song (the other song is a LOOK cover, "Shinin' On, Kimi ga Kanashii"), but seeing what you do live, you have written more songs, haven't you?
That's right, I have several. I really am working hard, aren't I?
Yeah (Laughs). It's not that you're hiding them from us because you think they're no good though, right?
That's right! Be sure to get that part written in the article! (Laughs.)
Got it. Since we know that you're also exploring your roots, I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of songs the other ones will be.
I don't just have the heavier rock pace that I follow, I also have pop songs and upbeat songs, parade-like songs, and those that are in the middle, as well as ones that change pace throughout. I'm really growing, using that kind of abundant style. Though, I do feel like that's really all I can do. (Laughs.)
No, no, it's very exciting. (Laughs.) On that thought, are there any songs that you've made from your love of Dead End?
Of course. If there was no Dead End, there would be no me. For that, I have some songs that I can see their influence in, and with that thought, I also say to myself, "wouldn't it be nice if I could make the people I appreciate look forward to this song, too?"
You're doing solo work now, and so is he, and it would be nice if someday you don't just get to talk about him in print, but get to actually interview MORRIE-san for this magazine, wouldn't it?
I'd probably be so nervous, I couldn't even talk to him, I don't think. (Laughs.)
Ha, ha, ha, let's look forward to seeing that. Have you given any thought to how you'll progress from this release?
For the time being, just as a rough estimate, I think I want to keep this going as far as releasing an album. So, I'll keep releasing singles until I make the album, then bam! I'll go on tour. I really do think I want to take it that far, after all.
Do you plan to do that by the end of the year?
I'm thinking that I'd like to aim for releasing the album around the beginning of next year.
Then, you're showing much more of a visual image, and not only is it different from the one you show in Janne Da Arc, but the image you're presenting in the photography included with Acid Black Cherry's work is also very different. Is it that you want to do all this, and present an entirely different sound that you haven't been able to work with in the past, as a solo artist?
That's right. There's a lot of meaning behind something that you hold so dear to you and try to put in to your work, but it also makes you somewhat cold and stagnant. Really, I'm doing what I'm doing now looking at myself as a brand new artist on the scene. So, the feeling of wanting to pursue this with incredible voraciousness is very strong in me.
I suppose that the fans are really surprised to see a yasu they've never seen before.
I'm keeping that sort of rock aspect to my image. Even with that in mind, moreso than just being a singer, I really want to bring forward my abilities as a rock musician, as a real rock artist, once again. There might be those people who say, "Well, then, what have you been doing so far?", but to me I've been asking myself the question of what exactly "rock" is all over again.
With your songs as powerful as they are, and your lyrics being so erotic...it's not that important to have so much charm as a vocalist.
If I can make people feel that way, I would be very happy, I think.
So, lastly. In our last issue, we asked this of you-san as well, but were the members of Janne Da Arc in any way concerned when it came to starting solo work?
Yes, we were. We're like brothers, all of us. "Can we really do this, and be happy?", we thought. Though we're not really like parents to one another, we have a relationship that comes very close to that.
Like a family.
Yeah. But, even more than us going on our own way doing solo work, wouldn't that in a way make us rivals, too? Though I suppose it's strange to say it like that.
Truly, you want to perfect yourself with the help of other musicians.
Right. So, even more than saying, "I'm pretty awful still", I think there's worth in it if I can say, even just a little bit, that by doing this I was able to produce something that turned out pretty cool.
In Janne Da Arc's case, if you say something so harsh, it tends to make you sound a little foolish, though...(Laughs.) It makes it sound like you think that you haven't done anything cool musically at all so far.
Ha, ha, ha (Laughs.) If we kept going thinking like that, maybe we would be much better in the distant future after all.
Even just thinking like that, I'm sure your fans have a lot of hopes and are really looking forward to these solo projects.
I think so.
Since you didn't go solo due to some sort of negative image or something like that.
Eh...I guess that's because there's a lot that could be said about them. Like, "Solo? What's going on with that?" or something. (Laughs bitterly.)
Since you've told us about it so clearly, yasu, I don't think there's any problem there. I personally feel much more relieved about what these solo projects mean to you. After this, I'll be looking forward to seeing what else you do.
Thank you very much.
Here, he had spent a lot of time with us, and I brought the interview section to an end. He had several other magazines to do interviews and photoshoots for that day, and those were continuing for several days afterward, so he was considerably busy at the time. Though yasu wanted to do a lot of promotional shootings for his current project, I felt that he was very kind to give "FOOL'S MATE" this interview where he showed his truly unchanged self through exchanging so many words with us. Then, two days after the inteview was over, I attended his guerrilla live in Shinjuku. There, I watched him do things like, without even looking tired at all, jumping on to the very dangerous edge of the scaffolding to sing and look out over the crowd. From that, I really felt his soul as a rock artist, even though he was only scheduled to be on stage for about ten minutes. I'll keep following yasu's return to the scene, right here in this magazine.
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[1] "ABC" is also a slightly filthy phrase in Japan, corresponding to a rough equivalent of the "three bases" in American romantic culture-- where "A" stands for kissing, "B" is heavy petting, and "C" is sex.