Translated from original text by Chie Tagami, originally appearing in Shoxx vol. 119, January 2003.
First of all, even though you've wanted to make it all the way to the Budokan, it seems that there have been some pros and cons to doing that live.
Yes, that's true. We got fan letters and such that said something to that effect. To us, when you say that it was our 100th one-man live, it doesn't present to us the feeling of being "memorial" in any way. When we thought about it, we said to ourselves, "wouldn't it be great if this live was a lot of fun". We've been perfecting ourselves since we've started rehearsing, and it's always been a very important thing to us that all of the members have fun while doing lives. However, there's the fans, who get to hear the sound of our music, too. But, as for my performing music forever, I think, "How can I keep doing this? How in the world, and how long, can I keep performing?" Certainly, if I'm making music, I may get excited about it, but as far as being in a band is concerned, I think there's really something different in meaning behind it because you are in a band and doing what you do.
Certainly, as a band, you want to create songs that allow you to surpass that, but you're also doing it because it's impossible not to make music for you, right? Moving on, after your encore, despite the fact that the fans were still out there screaming your names, you didn't go back out on stage, did you?
At the Budokan, once you cut the house electricity, it's impossible to go back out on the stage. After the curtain falls, the lights are cut on the stage itself, too, so we couldn't make it back out there. Of course, we absolutely wanted to go back out.
So, do you have any memories of that live which really leave an impression in your mind?
Out of the 10,000 people there, I heard just one person yell out "shuji!" (Laughs) And then, no one did so after that, so...the fact that it was really only one person was really amusing to me.
Ah, that's some memory. (Laughs.)
When the lights came on at the strongest note of the opening of the first song, that was when I could see everyone in the hall for the first time. Even before that, I had seen so many staff members, and I was so happy. "So many people still come out to see us."
You appeared three times on the stage of the Budokan during your indies period, so, are you used to it by now?
No, I'm not quite used to it yet, you know~ The first time I appeared at the Budokan (our first one-man show), I was so nervous, I didn't even know that my throat was dry while I was singing...since I was so worried, thinking things like "If you don't appear nicely on stage..." or "If you don't put on a good show..." Because of that, even though I was thinking, "Oh, no, oh no, am I disappointing everyone?", I didn't hold back at all. This time, I was nervous, as I expected I would be, but I held out until the first MC segment. I was totally thinking, "This is so hard..." I finally understood when they let me watch the video, it really was that hard on me~ (Laughs) Eh, but after the first time, I was really able to open up more, though, with the thought that "Since it's my second time around, it's okay if I mess up. Even if my voice cracks, it's okay." So, it didn't really feel as tense at all. That's something that's really different about this show, even though I was at the venue before during our indies
period. Even though we never said to anyone, "It's just like before, isn't it?" naturally we all felt that way. That time when we didn't know, we had no clue what would happen, it became fun for us somehow, I think.
In that case, it might have been a good thing to be unaware of the "memorial" meaning of this show.
Yeah, maybe so. That way we weren't using the idea as a crutch, so to speak.
After you finish with a show, what's the first thing you think?
Ah, I should do more lives. It's something that I always am thinking, but the thing that you absolutely have to do while you're in a band is do more shows. I suppose I think that way because over the last two years or so we haven't really toured at all.
So, let's change topic to your new single. It's a song you wrote, yasu, but, you still think it's better if you write a very small number of songs?
When it comes to songs I've written, I really hated it when people would say that they were "Janne Da Arc-like" or "Principally Janne Da Arc". Of course, I know the people who say that don't mean it badly, but I think that it's a good idea to let some of the other members write, just for the sake of getting some new blood into the mix. At those times, you can really write for the musicians you have. Since we like to have so-called "competitions" amongst ourselves, a bunch of people write songs, and then we play along with them from there and see which ones we can actually use. That's when I can say, "It's okay if someone says this is Janne Da Arc-esque." It puts me under a lot of pressure, though. After all, I'm the one who goes out there as the poster boy of Janne Da Arc, do I not? If I write a good song, I'm going out there and I'm saying to those musicians who have heard other songs, "This is the kind of song I choose to perform." If I do that, then my songs are balanced. Taking advantage of that, I ca
n think, it's okay for people to not think that this song is Janne Da Arc-esque, right?
Of course. One of the songs that you were able to put together on your album, "Maria no Tsumeato" really came out with a bang, and it's a good song, too. The melody is quick, but is arranged without being too hard sounding. After all, at this point, you've been releasing songs more on the pop side of the musical spectrum.
When we released "Shining ray", there was a lot of opposition to it. Since it was after "GAIA", all the more. But, it was also true that with that song, we gained new fans, too. Having our debut, and gaining staff members, there's no way just the members of the band can decide what songs go on singles, right? But, I still think that it's a good thing that we can still make good music, even if that standard of quality is decided by what is accepted (by our record label). Even if you have a band, in that way, if you don't go through with the melody and arrangement stage, there's still no way you can release a single without a label. I think I released it with that part of myself that thought, "I, as a member of Janne Da Arc, think this is a good one."
Though you-san has said "The core of a band is the album"?
I think so too, though. After all, I don't think it's really necessary to release singles at all. (Laughs.)
So, with "Maria no Tsumeato", you wrote it thinking that you had to write a song that absolutely had to be on the next album?
That's right. I wrote the lyrics thinking about the album, as well.
However, I would suppose that you discussed it with the band thinking that you should release a single, too. Did it ever occur to you that you should try and write a melody that just gets stuck in your head over and over again, even to the point of annoyance?
No, we didn't have that kind of motive at all. When I was writing it, I even thought it would be okay as a metal song. The version I had on the demo tape I made had much more of a metal feel to it. Even though the introduction had acoustic guitar similar to the final product, the beginning was just distorted, giving it a more metallic sound.
Meeting with the other members to decide which songs went on this album, did you decide just on harder songs?
I have six songs on this album, but they are several different types. There are the types of songs like "Maria no Tsumeato", ballads, and pop-like songs. I think they're really easy to understand looking at them from a compositional standpoint, though.
Was "Maria no Tsumeato" your first choice to be released?
No, I actually had another song in mind for that. As an individual, that was the one I had chosen.
What kind of song was that?
It will probably appear on the next album, but...metal. Very metal.
By the way, are all the vocal parts your voice, yasu?
Yes, all of them are my voice, but the higher parts ka-yu and I sing together. We thought it would be better if the upper harmonies had a little more depth to them. Initially, it was just my voice, but one of our producers, Hajime-san, said, "I'd like ka-yu to sing. His lower registers are fuller than yours are, even though he's not as good of a vocalist." The complete product wasn't that good, though (Laughs.) He sang a lot, and gave it his best.
So, I'd like to ask you about the subject of your lyrics, that is, "A man who meets a woman, tattooed with the image of the Virgin Mary, for a single night that repeats over and over again, and by that feels true love".
Initially, the song had entirely different lyrics.
That's right, when I talked to you-san last month, he gave me a tape where you were singing the original lyrics. When I was gathering information, of course you were in the middle of getting the vocals put together, weren't you, yasu?
The lyrics on the demo tape he let you hear were the ones that I was just using at home while I was writing the real ones. When he heard them, Hajime-san told me, "I won't stand for having "Maria" in the song!" I thought, "Eh?!" (Bitter laugh.) It seemed as if something in Hajime-san hated the name "Maria", and he told me, "It's okay if you use a Japanese girl's name. Anyway, I just can't allow you to use "Maria"." Then, as if Hajime-san had some sort of connection to that name, he said, "With erotic lyrics like those, I just can't go along with this. It's vulgar." He was really pissed off at points during the last album, too, but he gave me the okay anyway, with "Fine, fine, it's fine this way." (Laughs.) I really didn't have any intention of writing such an erotic representation, or writing something that felt dirty. I suppose you could call that an "aesthetic". But, this time, since I was told that I couldn't use "Maria", I had written in a lot of corrections as I wondered what I should do. But, in the
end, Hajime-san also told me, "Okay, I get it, it's okay even if you use "Maria"..." and so I went on writing with that name after all. It wasn't that I was really concerned about it or anything, but there are those songs where all you have to say about them are "Oh, it's that song that goes "Ma-ri-aaa~"" "Oh, right, right." aren't there? For example, it's nice to have lyrics like that one Kome Kome Club song, "Tatoeba~", right? So, I thought, wouldn't it be great if people could have a conversation like, "What's that Janne Da Arc song that starts with "Maria~"?" There are a lot of songs that use the name Maria, way too many of them, and maybe I'm just letting myself off easy, but I thought, it's okay if I use language with a lot of drama like that. It's okay if it's still erotic, too. (Laughs.)
Though you didn't write "Maria" specifically for this purpose, a very definite feminine image ended up coming to the surface, didn't it?
Nothing in lyrics like those, for me, were particularly novel. However, when I tried showing them to Hajime-san, it seemed as if they were something unconventional, and I just ended up putting in the erotic parts.
Despite the fact that you've said that you had been under restrictions regarding eroticism. From here on, don't you want to say, "It's not just erotic?" (Laughs.)
Right, they've already told me, "Geez, yasu, let's just make you into a sex symbol, now." Though it's different when Hajime-san says that something is vulgar...it's almost as if he's saying, "I just told you this a year ago, and you don't remember a thing, do you?!"
The man in these lyrics, if we were to speak badly of him, he seems to be effeminate, but we can also say that he's very much a romantic. Does this part also apply to you, yasu?
Well...there are a lot of reasons to say that one-night stands are more fun, after all...you don't have to take any risks, and, now and then, it's something to be done just to look back on and say "Ah...that was nice...", right?
Aaah, I can't write that!
Oh, no, it's okay if you don't write anything about that. It's okay, really, it's totally okay!
But, as for that man, that one-night stand was the whole reason he started looking for true love in the first place.
Right.
Well, yasu, having had those yourself, you want that too, though.
That's right, I do. Of course I do! (Laughs.)
We talked about this previously, but would you be so kind as to go into a little more detail in regards to the aesthetics in your lyrics?
I really sense the aesthetics of the words I sing, when it comes to vulgar or offensive words. If I can write lyrics with the thought, "Do I really say these things?", then it's a good thing. Things like "I like you" or "I'll love you until I die," even if you try to look for that, we never really say them, do we? For example, things like "Even though I'm telling you this with my lips, I actually think this way in my heart", or "Women, I think they're all just pigs in the end," setting those things apart as either good or bad. When I write lyrics and sing them, can I say that I don't do that exactly? Rather, I think I've become somewhat limited in that regard. I don't think there are any other categories of lyrics other than "I'm lonely since my heart is broken" or "I can't help but love you, love you so much."
So, there's no motif, or new theme that they want you to try writing in, in the interest of continuing with "company-friendly" lyrics?
Yeah, there's not.
Among the lyrics you've written to this point, which are you satisfied with?
I like "7-seven-". "Even if I kick you, resist. But, fawn on me." it's a really nice thought, isn't it? Though I make you lonely, pretend all the more for me, or something. The part of the human psyche that wants everything for themselves, it's like that, is it not? Though I think someone who would say to someone else, "Say this," is completely deplorable, there's a part of me somewhere that gets caught up in that too. I don't think I sympathize with that kind of person, though. Since humans carry greed in a part of themselves, I thought, wouldn't it be a good thing to write lyrics that play into that greed?
Before, you wrote for the sake of self-satisfaction, then for the sake of allowing a lot of people to see your work, and third, because you felt that it put you in a position where you couldn't profit from people being aware of you. Are there parts of your awareness that has changed since then, as far as your lyrics are concerned?
Yes, there are. I don't really put much thought into my lyrics, and even though that has not changed since back then...when I listen to my songs, I want to make people think that my songs are good ones, of course, and I want to make people be moved by my music. So, during those times when I'm thinking about what would be the best way to go about increasing those feelings, I'm not just thinking about the melody anymore, I'm also thinking about the role of the lyrics, and the entertainment aspect of my songs.
So, compared to before, has writing lyrics taken up more of your time?
Yes, it does take time, as you would expect. My writing technique for lyrics has yet to be perfected. My vocabulary is limited, too. I've noticed that there are songs out there with the ability to move people simply by using nouns. Hiroshi Itsuki has a song that goes, "Yokohama twilight, a small hotel room", right? In that song, with just the choice of those nouns, he explains something much deeper than them, does he not? So, there are things that you can explain with not very many words at all. But, that can be done because they have wonderful technique when it comes to lyric writing. But, people look at my lyrics and think, "wow", so from that, I think that I've made just a little progress.
So, this time, challenge yourself.
If I'm actually able to write lyrics using a bunch of nouns, please think, "Oh, yeah, it's Hiroshi Itsuki, from that one time..." (Laughs.)
The B-side of this single, "QUEEN", has lyrics written by kiyo, but do you have any advice that you want to give him to make his lyrics better, yasu?
No, not at all.
Oh, really? The atmospheres presented in lyrics that kiyo has written and the ones that you have written are really similar.
I really want to get more involved in the world that guy lives in. There's no way I could write that. It seems like I wrote it, though, doesn't it? However, I think that he wants to address entirely different topics. I tell the other members, "If you have something you want to write about, taking the time to do so is okay with me. After all, I'm really not all that concerned with lyrics to hold you back." If it's a song I wrote, there's some sort of world that I had in mind in it, right? But, I think it's a bad thing if I go against that and correct the interpretation into something different, so that's why I let them write if they want to.
I would suppose that in the case of other members writing lyrics, they're aware that you're going to be singing their lyrics, so when they write, there's the assumption in mind that "if yasu were to sing this, here's what he would say", even just a little bit, though.
Of course, that may be involved as well, in part. They've told me that they've tried writing it in my style [with yasu's beloved nouns] in those songs, though. It looks like they've even written lyrics about intending to keep a dog, but having the dog keep them instead...
With those songs, there's no determined tempo, and the melody is really hard to perfect, isn't it?
That's right. The songs themselves are unexpectedly hard. Getting the tone right is really difficult. As for that one, I wasn't there, but during pre-production, kiyo put those lyrics in.
Were you able to sing them with a straight face? (Laughs)
No, I wasn't able to sing them with a straight face at all. (Laughs.) Even though they told me "We want to hear it this way," they also said "But the real sound is like this". It's a song that really features the keyboard, isn't it. Though piano melodies are pretty, when they become full songs, they present a very delicate feeling. But, the version in the song is considerably faster, though.
So, lastly. You answered in the "A to Z" interview, "I want to decide with the other members the direction our band will go in", but, if you were Janne Da Arc's manager, what would you ask of the other members?
Hmm...as far as what I'm able to do, it would be nice if I could make it so that everyone could feel calm and composed, wouldn't it? I don't think it's necessary to discuss what the individual members cannot do, though. I think it's always best to point out what the good points of people are.
So, according to you, yasu, what would the "good points" of the other members be?
you and kiyo, they're not great just because they're wonderful composers. But, as far as arrangement and sampling is concerned, they're so fantastic. So, they've allowed us to do things that wouldn't be possible if we were any other band. However, they're absolutely more particular about details than the average person, too. Unmistakably, I'd like to try and do things that way myself.
And ka-yu?
That guy really likes to sing, right? However, he really has a poet's spirit. His songs are clearly written by someone who really knows something about writing. ka-yu really wants to try his hand at writing songs, gradually. I'd really like to see him awaken as a composer for the band, too. shuji, he's an amazingly good drummer. He has a very unique drumming technique, but it's not just because he's thinking of the way things go together, it's because, as a drummer, he's a real individual. He's a person who thinks, "It'd be great if I never lost a thing when it comes to my drumming. If a failing grade is a 40, then if I get a 45 I'm okay." Though lately he hasn't been thinking that way, if I really think it through, he's really come into his own. Our sound engineer was really surprised with how easy it was to record his part. I suppose it's because his sound is really stable and uniform, though...oh! I've gone and praised the other members far too much! (Laughs.)