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 vol.180 interview with vocalists from Plastic Tree, Mucc, and AnCafe (p.45-57)
translated by: Noriko 'Non-Non' Takeuchi

This time, we invited the vocalists as representatives of each band playing in the 2^nd part of [Over the Edge '07] held in C.C. Lemmon Hall at the end of this year. (They are Plastic Tree, MUCC and An Cafe.)

Tatsuro: Hey, do you have only one live on that day?(He turns to Miku and asks him.)

Miku: Ah, yes. We have only this live.

Tatsuro: So you will be able to stay from the beginning to the end, won’t you? I’ll go there from the beginning on the day, so let’s go together.

Miku: Eh? What do you mean from the beginning?

Tatsuro: Well, there is also the first part, so I’m going to see that.

Miku: Ah, OK. Let’s go together, cool.

Tatsuro: On that day, there will be a green room where anybody can stay. Let’s play ‘Mon Han’ there!  

Miku: That’s a good idea.(laugh)

Ryutarou: I see. That’s what you were talking about during the shooting.

Um…, what is ‘Mon Han’?

Ryutarou: It seems that it is a game of some sort.

Tatsuro: Monster Hunter.(laugh)

Is it PSP?(laugh)

Tatsuro: Yes, yes.

Ryutarou: How do I do….I can’t get into that.

Tatsuro: No problem. We don’t play only games. In that room, there is going to be a lot of alcohol, so I think we will be able to enjoy either way, even if you don’t like computer games.

So if that is true, we can imagine that a few of you may be in quite a state by the time you get on the stage, right?

Tatsuro: It might happen.(laugh) Well, It’s the end of the year, so no one cares. Anyway, I’ll go there in the morning and bring a big box of mandarins.

Ryutarou: Really!?(laugh)

Miku: So we’ll eat mandarins and drink alcohol?

Tatsuro: Anything is welcome. So please bring something, like a bottle of shou-bin alcohol.

Miku: I see, Uh~n, so I’ll bring rice cakes.(laugh)

Taturo: That’s good! Rice cakes are best!(laugh)

Ryutarou, what will you bring?

Ryutarou: Eh? So, I’ll bring Kotatsu.(laugh)

Tatsuro: There will be one prepared for us.

A Kotatsu in a dressing room… that is very at home.(laugh)

Ryutarou: I see. So what should I bring? Uh~n….

How about the cooking materials to bake rice cakes which Miku will bring?

Tatsuro: No. We’ll do that. Hey, man. (He calls his manager) Miku will bring rice cakes on December 31^st, so please prepare something like an oven toaster!

Manager: All right. We have MUCC oven toasters, so I’ll bring one.

Hey, I don’t want to spend all our time talking about rice cakes.(laugh)

Tatsuro: No, we have to decide these kinds of things quickly. Miku, please bring rice cakes and think about the number of bands and people, okay?

Miku: That is going to be quite a few.(laugh)

How many bands will appear on that day?

Tatsuro: 11 bands have been announced to appear, but it might be 12 bands? More guests might be determined on the day or just before that day.

You have to multiply that number by 4 or 5, so it’s going to be a lot.

Miku: I’ll do my best.(laugh)

Then, what will Ryutarou will bring?

Ryutarou: Uh~n, it’s Near Year’s Eve…so how about buckwheat noodles?

Tatsuro: Buckwheat noodles! On New Year’s Eve!!

Ryutarou: Ah, but that would be very difficult...

How about cup noodles, such as Don@Be?

Ryutarou: Ah, that’s it. I can bring them. How many should I bring….?

….well you guys I am sure that this is all very important, but let’s get back to the main subject. How was this event made in the first place?

Miku: I heard that Tatsuro started this event.

Tatsuro: That seems right. Before, MUCC used to play a live in Mito in New Year’s Eve. That was very fun to gather and play with our friends together. However, La Vie En Rose disbanded, so it’s not good to play in Mito, which was the trigger. I often said it’s boring staying at home on New Year’s Eve, and we could do something like an event to have fun in Tokyo together, then this kind of event was realized actually.

Now I understand.

Tatsuro: So I think this event is totally different from so-called general events. We don’t get all tensed up trying to win more fans, nor do we worry about what order we play, we simply enjoy New Year’s Eve together. We stay in a dressing room and have fun, and when the band’s turn comes, we say like “Well, we’ll play for a little bit.”, “Hey, can you play as you are so drunk?”. If they like, band men who don’t appear in the event may drink together at the Kotatsu.(laugh), I want to make this event have a very casual mood.

It’s like a big end of year party & new-year-party combined.

Tatsuro: Yes, yes. There will also be a count down. So it means we make a fun event together and it doesn’t mean I take the lead but I just created the opportunity. And by the way it wasn’t me who made the title for this event [Over the Edge].

Is that true? So how was it decided?

Tatsuro: We, each band, gave some names, and decided by a majority. The meaning is ‘beyond our limits’ and it just fell into shape.

Ryutarou, how do you feel after hearing the event has such a meaning?

Ryutarou: I think it’s good. This year, when I appeared in the event in NHK Hall with MUCC, I was asked by Miya at first “What do you do in the end of the year?”. And I said “Well, we are vacant in New Year’s Eve. Honestly speaking, we want to do lives.”, then he said “Why don’t you do an event with us?”, and I said “That sounds good.”, then Miya called Tatsuro, and they said to their staff “Good, Plastic Tree will join!”.(laugh) They were so quick, it amazed me.

So you didn’t go through management first?

Ryutarou: No. We used to play lives in New Year’s Eve every year, and when we worked part-time in a live house, various bands gathered on New Year’s Eve annually, and everyone has a whole lot of fun drinking and playing, a really great time. I wanted to do that kind of year-end event again, so I was really happy to be invited.

Tatsuro: There are many events, pushed by magazines, but this time the keystone is purely for the bands to have fun. So it is not really an event pushed by anyone in particular. (He looks at Miku.)

Miku: Ah, I see.

Tatsuro: Well, where has An Cafe been playing their end of year lives until now?

Miku: Places like Takatababa AREA….so it’s the first time to be able to appear in such a big event like this. So when we were invited, we were really pleased.

Have MUCC and An Cafe ever played together in the same live event?

Miku: We have twice.

Tatsuro: In Omiya Sonic and in Zepp Tokyo, right?

Have you ever played with Plastic Tree?

Miku: I haven’t. This is the first time. Ryutarou, we are very proud to play with you.

Ryutarou: Oh, no, we are also very happy to play with you.

Tatsuro: Well, Plastic Tree are our seniors, so An Cafe which is such a young band, can’t usually play with them.(laugh)

Ryutarou: Hey, don’t say such things.(laugh)

Miku: Tatsuro is right. I saw Ryutarou only in magazines. Ah, I remember I had a chance to see your live event once before. It was several years ago.

Ryutarou: Ah, really?

What was your impression of him at that time?

Miku: I thought he had a pure air about him. And I felt they had a clear mysteriousness about them and their sound.

Ryutarou: Oh, my god, what should I do.(laugh)

Then Ryutarou, what impressions did you have about An Cafe and Miku until now?

Ryutarou: I thought he is very innocent, more than anything. Now that I have met him like this, I think that I was right.

Tatsuro: However, he says awful things quite a lot, even though he looks innocent.

I remember when you three were talking during an interval of the shooting, you were excited about something which I can’t write here. I wasn’t trying to hear your conversation, I just overheard it.

Ryutarou: I thought his gap between his image and the way he talks was interesting.(laugh)

Tatsuro: Anyway, Miku, you are an idiot.

Hey! What a thing to say! (laugh)

Tatsuro: Miku, do your fans know you have this gap?

Miku: Ah, I think they know. I say various things on stage, very carelessly. I talk dirty quite a lot. I do my‘pants illusion’, for example.

Eh? What’s that? That illusion sounds so strange. (laugh)

Miku: Well…. It’s a real technique to be able to take off underwear like that so quickly.

Tatsuro: What? You do that?

Miku: Yes.

Tatsuro: But it’s not a dirty talk at all! It’s just funny.(laugh)

Ryutarou: Ahahaha!(laugh)

Miku: I know but it’s my special talent. I respect Esper Ito and started to do it. Besides that, I did ‘Gekinetsu Takoyaki Nikonikogui’(=He eats very hot octopus fritters while smiling.), then I got his autograph from Esper Ito a few days ago. I’m vary happy about that.(laugh)

Ryutarou: You must be so happy-.

Miku: It was written ‘To Miku’-!

Tatsuro: Well, you are really an idiot, after all.(laugh)

By the way, the photographs of you three together will appear this time. When I think about it, this combination seems quite fresh and original.

Miku: I think so. I think this event is good in this kind of way. Usually, the same kinds of bands would play together in most of events, but it’s great to play with our senior bands and bands that have different colors from what we usually play with. I’m looking forward to playing in front of an audience who is different from our usual fans.

The audience….. It must be different. Plastic Tree and MUCC have played together several times directly or indirectly until now, but it’s very fresh and surprising that An Cafe will join them.

Miku: I’m surprised too.(laugh)

Tatsuro: As Miku said, it’s not good to play with same kinds of bands all the time. I think it’s more fun to play with various bands.

Ryutarou: Well, it’s a special end-year event. I really hope the event will be fun for the audience too.

For An Cafe, how are you planning to play in this live?

Miku: I think we can bring our good points to the live, as we usually do. Now we are in the middle of our tour, so we can do a live in which the audience can feel the heat from our tour. I want people who will see An Cafe for the first time see the goodness of An Cafe.

How about Plastic Tree? You seem also busy doing quite a lot lives in the end of this year.

Ryutarou: Yes. We get in better condition when we do lives continuously, so I think it’s good for us to be able to play in this live. We had many lives in later half of this year, so we want show everyone what we have learnt.

How about MUCC?

Tatsuro: This time, I’ll be in relax mode. While we are talking about various things, I aim to enjoy the event most of all. So I ‘m not really interested in how we do it. It’s OK even if we have some mistakes and trouble. In the end, I think it would be good to able to say “It was fun,” really.

So, about the selection of songs, you think your choice will be different from usual?

Tatsuro: I don’t know. I haven’t determined the details yet. But it would be different out of necessity and perhaps naturally, you know, just as it comes. And although this has nothing to do with lives, I haven’t stayed in Tokyo for the end of year for a long time, and I don’t remember when I last did, so I’m looking forward to it too.

Ryuratou: Ah, it’s fun.

Tatsuro: After the event, when we go out for drinking, I wonder what Shinjuku will be like.

The event finishes at midnight. So I think it would be quite noisy everywhere until early morning. However, after the break of day, the streets will become suddenly quiet, I think. Even the Kabuki-chou or Center-gai will be empty I think.

Ryutarou: Yes, that’s true.

Tatsuro: I want to see that-. It is usually so crowed there.

About drinking, all members of An Cafe have no problems with alcohol?

Miku: No, I’m not a big fan. Only drummer; Teruki drinks alcohol.

Tatsuro: That’s not true. It is jus that you are short, so you don’t have any space to put alcohol in your body.(laugh)

Miku: Ah, all members of our band are short, almost the same height as me.

Ryutarou:I don’t think that is the reason…..

Tatsuro: He seems to be about half the height of me?

No way!

Tatsuro: He looks like he’s only 110 centimeters tall!?

That’s way over the top! He’s bigger than that! (laugh)

Miku: I’m 163 centimeters in height. We are almost all the same height, so usually I don’t feel so small. Today when we had the shoot together, I thought “Something is different?”.(laugh)

You seemed little between Ryutarou and Tatsuro.(laugh)

Miku: Yes.

If you did drink alcohol, I wonder what would happen?

Miku: I’d feel dizzy and probably fall over.(laugh)

How about Plastic Tree?

Ryutarou: Akira and Bucchi(Sasabuchi) drink in our lives. I sometimes drink in our fan club trips. If we do a live after drinking, there is always something different about it, and it’s usually very interesting.(laugh)

Tatsuro: However, if vocalists drink alcohol, it affects quite a lot. Don’t you become not to be able to make voices?

Ryutarou: Really? I could make my voice better. At the moment I feel like my throat would open.

Your blood circulation gets better.

Tatsuro: My throat gets hoarse easily.

Ryutarou: I understand that. I can make voice better soon after drinking, but then I get a hoarse throat too. I heard from a doctor that it’s not bad to do that sometimes, but if I keep singing in such a condition, it’s not good for your throat.

Then I hope the people who drink alcohol take care how much they drink before they go on stage.

Tatsuro: However, besides drinking, if you go to a venue early in the morning and you talk too much your voice becomes hoarse anyway.(laugh)

Ryutarou: Yeah, that’s right.(laugh)

How long will each band have for their performance?

Tatsuro: Maybe, in the first part, one band has about 30 minutes. And in the second part, it will be 45 minutes per band. And this time there is ‘a New Years Gift Special Project’. I think they will do something special too.

That will be interesting. So moving on, as the representatives of 3 very popular bands, I would like to ask you more about this year and what you have planned for next year. Are you ready?

Tatsuro: OK, go for it.

Especially this year, the general media and foreign media have often picked up words such as ‘Neo Visualism’ or Visual-kei’. What do you think about that?

Tatsuro: Well, the scene is getting bigger, I can really I feel that. Various bands work hard in their own ways. We just ride the wave.

You are in the center of the scene, not riding on the wave, are you?

Tatsuro: Maybe so. I think it’s good that this scene is becoming popular overseas, and that more of the general population is paying attention to such topics. It means people who didn’t care before are looking at us, right? I think that with the more attention we get the more we have to think about our image and other stuff.

Among them all, An Cafe is a new generation band in this scene, and is making new waves recently. Miku, what are you especially conscious of?

Miku: I’m not really conscious of making any waves, but you know like anyone else I want to be a part of something new. If people around us feel that way then I’m very happy.

What An Cafe threw into the scene was quite big, because you did a style that was the total opposite from the dark decadent image which was main stream before, and really swept the scene.

Tatsuro: I think so. An Cafe is amazing.

Miku: Well, recently we wonder whether we have gone too far.. But we like fancy things, so we are becoming like that more and more.(laugh)

Tatsuro: Well, people are not so much talking about how fancy An Cafe is, but more about when the keyboardist joined the band. It was super-sensational.

Ryutarou: Yes. That was enormous.(laugh)

Miku: Ahahaha.(laugh)

Tatsuro: You totally ignored the theory of Visual kei. I thought “What’s this!”.

Ryutarou: When I took a look at a magazine with Tadashi in our office, I was amazed.(laugh)

Tatsuro: I thought “Is he DJ OZMA in the Visual kei scene!?”(laugh)

That was really ‘Visual shock’.

Tatsuro: I gathered members and said while I hid the photograph “I’ll show you what I have, but you act surprised you lose.”. Then I showed them like “Here you are!”, and they were so surprised “Eh-----!”.(laugh)

Miku, how do you and your members feel about these reactions from around you? Do you feel bad?

Miku: No, not at all. I rather like to make people laugh or amazed. I wanted to do something different from others, so it was good.

Tatsuro: However, it’s harder than we thought. Recently, we noticed that most band men are guys who want to do something different from the crowd.

Yes.

Tatsuro: When those kinds of people gather, they gradually grow to look like those around them. They tried to do different things, but in the end their direction was the same. Such a phenomenon happens sometimes.

Ryutarou: Really? It seems ironic.

Tatsuro: In such a way, the presence of An Cafe is overwhelming.

Not only An Cafe, but Plastic Tree and MUCC have an overwhelming firm presence respectively.

Tatsuro: Ah, that’s true. We each have a world of our own-.

With Plastic Tree, you are a different generation to MUCC and An Cafe. What do you think about yourselves in this present scene?

Ryutarou: U~m….I don’t really know. But I saw various scenes until now, like Biwa Houshi.

You know the bubble age of Visual kei about 10 years ago (When there were Visual Gosanke and the whole scene became active.), don’t you?

Ryutarou: For us, we didn’t care about it so much, and just did our own thing.

It’s because you have been doing your own thing that the present Plastic Tree exists.

Ryutarou: However I feel the mood of this scene is changing recently.

Actually Plastic Tree went on overseas tours this year and last year.

Ryutarou: Yes. There were things that I could see and feel there, you know various types of people listen to our music. And there are many bands showing their originality too, which I think is very good.

Your supporters, followers, and fellows are increasing, which is nice.

Ryutarou: I like music, and I like being in band, so I want to work hard to keep our position.

Even so, Japanese bands are getting more and more attention overseas and of course in Japan, which 10 years ago, would seem like a dream.

Ryutarou: I feel good that each band does their best. For example, when I went to overseas and saw people who wore T shirts of our friend’s bands such as MUCC, I don’t know why but I couldn’t help looking at them. I said “Ah, he is a MUCCer!”, and crumbled.(laugh)

When I went to a certain country to report on a certain band, I found a flier of Plastic Tree and I brought it as a souvenir.(laugh)

Ryutarou: It’s mysterious because it is a very unique culture. Originally it was established in just a small corner of the Far East, and now it’s accepted in other places. Even each country’s musical culture is different, I think this culture is interesting, and I like this.

About 10 years ago, the Visual Kei bubble burst, and there was a depression period for several years. So I think that it’s great that it has recovered like this especially as someone who in the scene itself.

Tatsuro: I think so too. You know that once there were almost no Major artists who could do Budoukan lives.

The time when An Cafe started its activities was unexpectedly in the depressed period, wasn’t it?

Miku: Ah, yeah you may be right. We were working hard right at the bottom of the scene.

Tatsuro: Say, what is the smallest audience you have ever had?

Miku: About 30, when we first started An Cafe and did our first live.

Tatsuro: Really? That’s good-!

Miku: Eh? Was it good?

I think it was quite good.

Tatsuro: Yes. We had only 3 people in Route (Motoyawata Route 14)

It was less than the number of members in the band.(laugh)

Ryutarou: Well that means that I win. We had only 2 people once….

Tatsuro: I know it’s hard. Even I thought “Let’s work hard to get as many fans of other bands!” and then went on stage, but there were almost no one to get there.(laugh)

Ryutarou: Yeah, I know.

Tatsurou: Your minimum was 30 people, right? So you haven’t paid the hall fee to live houses so often, have you?

Miku: Yes, I have paid. But about 5,000 yen, or something like that.

Tatsuro: Eh!? Why?

Ryutarou: If you get 30 people, usually you don’t have to pay.

Miku: Is that true?

Miku, maybe you got ripped off?

Miku: Eh-? I don’t know, I didn’t manage the band. The guitarist of our former band managed the live house. But I didn’t have many troubles with those kinds of things.

Tatsuro: So you have never gone into the red with your tours?

Miku: No, never.

Ryutarou: Really? We even lost our hotel budget once.

What did you do then?

Ryutarou: We went to a Karaoke Box. We stayed there, trying not touching to each other, and slept close to the wall.

Miku: Ah! We have slept in a Manga Kissa.

Tatsuro: Manga Kissa-. There weren’t any Manga Kissa when we first started. Present bands are different from us after all.(laugh)

We can’t help feeling the generation gap.

Tatsuro: That means that you didn’t send DM(direct mail) but were already sending Marumaga (mail magazine), right?

Miku: I don’t know whether Merumaga was present or not, but we have never sent DM.

Tatsuro: That’s awesome-.

Then, you made fliers using a PC?

Miku: Oh, no. I often make them by hand. If they weren’t prepared and got stuck we wrote on old paper by hand using felt-tip pens and copied them and then handed them out.

Tasturo: I see. I make our questionnaires by myself even now.

Really? I didn’t know that.

Tatsuro: Generally, I think about and write it 1 week before our live or tour. Recently when we did our live in Mito, It took me 4 hours. I worked hard and I even drew pictures. However, we only got 25 answered surveys. What do you think about that?

Ryutarou & Miku: Ahahaha.(laugh)

That’s so sad. That day, tickets were sold out, and there was more than 1000 in the audience.

Tatsuro: What I wanted to say was what was that 4-5 hours for? (smile)

Ladies and Gentleman who are reading this article. Please fill in the questionnaires in their next live!

Tatsuro: Yes, please. I think An Cafe has never given out leaflets, have you?

Miku: Yes we have-!

Tatsuro: I see. I’ll tell you about one of my members; YUKKE who forgot where we were meeting, and went to Tokyo Dome where globe was playing.  

Ryutaou: It’s interesting……(laugh).

Tatsuro: Well, he ended up buying tickets from a scalper, saw the live of glove and came back.(laugh)

Miku: Ahahaha.(laugh)

Ryutarou: Well, YUKKE has many interesting stories.(laugh)

Well, let’s go back to talking about [Over the Edge ‘07]. Before, you talked about how your bands will face this event, but now I would like ask each of you how will you perform as a vocalist, and what is your strongest point.

Tatsuro: It’s hard. It’s not the matter of winning or losing, I think. Of course, I always think whenever I stand on stage I don’t want to be beaten by anybody. I have been told before that I have to think I’m best whenever I stand on stage even with big names, or anybody whom I respect.

There is a point in those words.

Tatsuro: Yes. I still think that it’s true, and I like these words very much. When I stand on stage I think I have to feel like I’m unbeaten. So this time too I would like to sing like that.

I see. Miku, what do you think?

Miku: My strongest point…..my character, or my appearance, or cheerfulness, something like that. And my cuteness.(laugh)

Tatsuro: Hey, about cuteness, bassist (His name is seek) of Mix Speaker's, Inc.(They will appear in the 1^st stage in the event.) is very cute.(laugh)

Ryutarou: The sort of cuteness is a little bit different.(laugh)

Tatsuro: But can you beat his cuteness? It’s awesome. He is so cute that I can’t help giving him water.

I can imagine that.(laugh)

So Miku, you want to fascinate people by your own cuteness, don’t you?

Miku: Yes, I do. I really like moving around on stage, so I want to use the stage of C.C.Lemmon Hall to the utmost limit and do a really energetic live.

How about Ryutarou?

Ryutarou: Well, I feel like I have surely something which only I can release these days. Every vocalist is different and they have their own special thing about theme respectively. I want to do the live in which people can feel what only I can release. If I can do that, I’m happy.

Tatsuro: Yeah, I really think so. I want you to see that just once.

What do you want him to see?

Tatsuro: In Plastic Tree’s live, when SE sounds and Ryutarou appears on stage, how the air changes? I really want Ryutarou to see that.

Ryutarou: He-h. Does it change so much?

It’s impossible for him to see himself physically.

Tatsuro: It changes so much. You’ll see the air of the venue changes in an instant.

Ryutarou: I’m honestly very happy to be told that.

Tatsuro: We can’t copy that at all. I’m going to see that near to him this time.

Ryutarou: Thank you, but I’m not so much. I really hope we, each of us will do good lives and will make the event better together.

Miku: I’ll do my best!

After this issue will be released, there still be some times until the event, and honestly speaking, we don’t know whether [Over the Edge '07] will be successful or not yet.

Tatsuro: Well, you’ll see when we’ll do actually.

On the other hand, this event has such a nice clear purpose, so I think it would be great to make it a regular in future. Is there any comments you can say about that now? For example, “If this event is successful, I’ll do it again next year.”.

Tatauro: What are you saying? I’ll do it every time, no matter how successful it is or not!

What a man! (laugh)

Tatsuro: Well, even if it fails, I’ll do it anyway.(laugh) even without MUCC.

It would be awful without MUCC, but it’s very good that Tatsuro has such a fighting spirit.

Tatsuro: Even if we don’t appear, I shall go to the dressing room to have fun drinking and eating.

I didn’t think about that.

Tatsuro: I hope [Over the Edge] will become something that will be held regularly. . And it doesn’t just have to be held at the end of the year, I think.

That is a new idea.

Tatsuro: Yes. Each band has their own schedule, so timing may be different, so this event may be held when all of them are available at the same time.

So, this time we have to enjoy the mood of New Year’s Eve thoroughly!

Tatsuro: Miku, don’t forget to bring rice cakes?

Miku: Yes, Sir!

Ryutarou: Uhn? What am I supposed to bring?

Buckwheat noodles.

Ryutarou: Ah, I see, I’ll bring buckwheat noodles. I have to remember……

Tatsuro: And I’ll bring mandarins. We’ll have Sake, Kotatsu, and good friends. In addition, if we could do good lives, nothing would be better than that. Then let’s welcome a happy new year together!