Questions from Fans
Barks+plus 2007.04, pg. 102
Original text: 道明利友
English Translation: Janique
You are the interviewer!
The artists personally answer questions collected from fans on the BARKS site!
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Q1. NUMBER SIX. was a song addressed to the fans, but what sorts of things did you think about while creating JEWELS?
Show: I think that the fact that lines like “would you let me sing by your side?” came to me naturally was precisely because I had strong feelings about wanting my voice to reach everyone. I’d say I had the same sorts of feelings when we made NUMBER SIX.
Saga: In a phrase… “bestowing love”. Like, in an “I’m gonna give it to you!” sense (laughs). In terms of listening to the song, I guess it probably feels like “love”.
Q2. You’ve mentioned before that jelly fish was a song whose concept grew out of looking at a painting, but what sort of situation gave birth to JEWELS?
Saga: The situation was a bit different… It was kind of a desire to let the people next door listen to it (laughs). I really want to let those close to me listen to the song. Like, I want people in my neighbourhood to listen to it right away.
Show: It’s as if you had leftover curry so you came to share it with them (laughs)
Saga: Like, “would you give it a listen for me?” (laughs)
Q3. What colour would you give to JEWELS?
Saga: Platinum?
Show: It has an image of light, so… I’d go with something like white.
Q4. What was your most embarrassing failure on a tour up until now?
Show: In Okayama, Hiroto-kun was running on stage and disappeared all of a sudden! Just when I thought “where did he go?”, I realized he’d fallen into a gutter (laughs). During our first tour, we did the cleaning up ourselves after each live, so on one of those stages, in front of the fans, he performed an illusion (laughs).
Saga: Hiroto-kun himself must have been extremely embarrassed. In order to hide it, he came back as if nothing had happened (laughs).
Q5. It’ll be my first time going to a live, this tour, so I have some worries… What might I do in order to have the best possible experience with alice nine. and all the other fans?
Show: I’d say, don’t think too much!
Saga: Other than to maintain good manners, that is. Also… don’t worry about your appearance (laughs).
Show: Because when we look into the audience after aggressive songs, we notice some fans fixing their makeup (laughs).
Saga: There’s no point in making yourself feel feminine at a time like that (laughs). Instead, have fun! Don’t worry about anything other than having fun!
Q6. Do you get uncomfortable when fans call out your name in a “death voice” during lives?
Saga: No, not at all. Although, breaking into a smile after using death voice is something I don’t know what to make of (laughs). You don’t just scream and then let out a snicker (laughs)
Q7. How can we get your attention during lives?
Show: I’ll see you if you’re wearing an incredibly happy smile. I look at the expressions on the fans’ faces more than you’d expect. If you’re just plain enjoying yourself, I’m able to enjoy myself as well, so you really don’t need to come dressed in kigurumi (laughs) ¹
Q8. I’ll be doing my first live as part of a band soon. What memories do you have of the first live you ever played?
Saga: I… had an image of what it would be like—for instance, spreading both arms wide at Tokyo Dome, and going “Yeeeeah!” while bathed in light or something. But the reality of my first live was… standing bolt upright, looking down towards my feet and grasping onto my frets for dear life (laughs).
Show: I also honestly couldn’t look at the faces of the people attending the live. So… my failure was just a precursor to success! Go out and fail with all your heart!
Q9. I’ve started playing the guitar. My friend said “you need to give your guitar a name!” and it’s troubling me.
Show: There’s a namer within our band too (laughs). Hiroto has a Korina-wood guitar that he calls “Koriiina-chaaan” while he plays it (laughs). But… I just want you to know, it’s not actually that common to name instruments (laughs).
Saga: It’d be completely fine if you had an instrument you loved enough to want to name, though (laughs).
Show: Please name it after the girl that you like!
Q10. Spring brings love to mind. What’s something that’s made your heart skip a beat recently?
Show: My daily life doesn’t have romance in it lately…
Saga: Please make my heart skip a beat (laughs)
Q11. As a child, did you have a nickname?
Saga: On Sports Day, I was called “the ultimate weapon” (laugh). I was doing something, and on my first try, out of pure luck, I caused a miracle. For about one year after that, I was called “the ultimate weapon” (laugh).
Show: A while back there was this manga called “Hell Teacher Nuube”. For some reason, there was a period of time during which people called me “Nuube” (laugh).
Q12. Did you have a best subject in school?
Show: Japanese.
Saga: Art, I guess? (laugh)
Q13. What is your favourite word in English?
Show: (With super-accurate pronunciation (laughs)) Apple! Because I like Macintosh.
Saga: Well then… Windows (laughs)
Q14. When taking a bath, where do you wash first?
Show: You lil’ perv (laughs)!
Q15. What’s your favourite type of ice cream?
Show: Häaaaagen-Dazs! It’s high quality. I like rum-raisin.
Saga: I like Häagen-Dazs too and it’s cheesecake-type flavours for me.
Q16. What do you think you were in your previous existence? Are you able to see ghosts?
Show: A cat. I think it would have been great to be a cat. I don’t see ghosts.
Saga: I dunno what I would have been… (laugh). I don’t see ghosts either.
Q17. What’s a song you sing often at karaoke?
Show: Tamashii wo daite kure by Kyosuke Himuro! My mom loves Himuro-san so she asks me to sing it a lot. You sing our songs, don’t you, Saga-kun?
Saga: Songs like Corona (laughs). I also sing Kanpai by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (laughs).
Q18. When was the first time you kissed someone?
Show: Kindergarten (laughs).
Saga: For me… I became conscious of what a woman was for real when I was in sixth grade.
Show: So early (laughs)!
Q19. What type of swim are you best at?
Show: I’m extremely fast at the backstroke (laughs)
Saga: The crawl, I guess…
Q20. What colour is your special occasion underwear? ²
Show: Nao-san’s are of Winnie the Pooh (laughs).
Q21. Please tell me what type of girl you like!!
Show: ……… You. (laughs)
Saga: Japanese girls, as you might expect (laughs).
Q22. Everyone’s skin is really beautiful; do you have a secret method of maintaining it?
Show: Vitamin C and B2 supplements.
Saga: I take supplements as well. Taking Colloid and Vitamin C supplements together is something my mom taught me. My mom’s a nurse. A nurse as a married woman… (laughs)
Q23. It seems like all of you often go for ramen together, so what flavour do you like?
Show: Tonkotsu shoyu—not much oil, firm noodles
Saga: Same for me!
Q24. Please tell me how you feel towards your parents (like gratitude) （´∀`）!!
Show: Lately I’ve really realized how important my parents are; living your life separate from them will do that.
Saga: When you’re close to them, it’s just the opposite.
Show: I think it’s the same for all the members, but when we became alice nine. and everyone came to our lives, the distance between us shrank, I guess. Although, it probably seemed like we didn’t know what kind of band we were or what music we were making, so they were like, “what’re you guys doing?”. As you’d expect, when we were able to show just how hard we were trying to make it… When you can understand that, the distance between you shrinks that way.
Q25. I don’t have any dreams for what I want to do in the future. What sorts of dreams did the both of you have around the time you were in high school?
Show: In my third year of middle school, I wanted to go to a horse-racing school, but they told me that I wouldn’t be able to because I was too tall, so that dream fizzled out. But you don’t need dreams, you know? You just need an objective.
Saga: Ah… yeah. I didn’t have any particular sort of dream either. However… I did think that because I had an instrument I wanted to be the best at it, so that ties into what I do now, I guess.
Q26. What sort of man do you aim to be?
Show: I aim to become a man that makes everyone happy when I’m around!
Saga: In my case… While staying behind on the home platform, I’d like to be able to see a steam powered train off in an austere way…
Show: There aren’t even any steam-powered trains running these days (laughs)!
Saga: I’d like to be an austere old man seeing the train off, like, “I can’t do a damn thing about this…” (laughs)
Q27. Please tell what you want the fans to do and what you don’t want them to do.
Show: We don’t want to be forceful (about participation guidelines). Because we always think, we want you feel that you’ve heard the music as-is. So for that, there are things we want you to do and also that we want you not to do. For instance, you’d probably be nervous coming to a live for the first time, but that probably might not change even for people that come multiple times. Like, they’d be wondering what sorts of fans are around them. But that’s because music is something that connects people. I’d be glad if you didn’t think my reasoning strange.
Q28. If you were to prank one of the other members, who would it be, and what sort of thing would you do to them?
Show: I’d probably prank Saga-kun. He wouldn’t really get angry, and I’d get a proper reaction out of him (laughs). In the style of an entertainer (laughs).
Q29. What the funniest or most surprising incident or behaviour from another member that has left an impression on you?
Saga: When we went on our last tour, Tora… Well, it made me laugh when he got drunk, ate some grass, and said “it’s delicious!” (laughs).
Q30. For this upcoming tour, please tell us one aspect of yourselves you want us to pay attention to.
Show: The singing!
Saga: The groove!
Q31. What do you wish for at the moment?
Show: I want my cell phone to automatically correct “arisunain” to “alice nine.” when I type it in (laugh). ³
Saga: Lately… When it comes to wishes, even if I wished for something, I’d feel unsettled.
Show: Ahhh. You don’t want to make a pact with a deity.
Saga: Yeah. Lately, that’s what I’ve started thinking. With my own hand…
Show: You’ll open up a path!
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