Rock and Read vol. 43 Interview (Kai the GazettE)

Kai (The GazettE) Rock and Read Vol. 43

The pace of five people

 

The GazettE has released the long awaited new album “DIVISION” on the same day this issue has been released, on the 29th of August. Celebrating their tenth year since their formation, even though it was launched as a shocking production, what was the road like for Kai up until now? When they were in critical situations, how has he overcome them, and how they have been continuing to better the extremes. Kai investigated the GazettE’s future while reviewing this from his point of view.

Profile
Born on October 28. Blood type B. Became a member of the GazettE in February 2003 , which was formed in 2002. The other members are RUKI (vo), Uruha (g), Aoi (g), and REITA (b). Released their new album “DIVISION” on the 29th of August. The limited edition is composed of a CD and DVD named FRAGMENT [VEIN] and FRAGMENT [ARTERY]. Their live tour, “GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01” begins at the Yokosuka Fine Arts Arena on the 8th of October (Monday) (Ticket sales will start on the 8th of September).

--This year is the GazettE’s tenth year, and it has been nine years since you have become a member. When you first became a member of the GazettE, did you expect to be one for this long?
- I did not think that. There were so many things I had to do that was right in front of me, so I was focused on clearing them. There was no time to think about it, and before I knew it, I came all the way here.

--I understand that you have a stoic attitude when in action. Though I’m sure that many things have happened in these ten years, is there anything that you look back on that left an impression?
-Even though It’s something that I can laugh about now, there were times when the band fell in critical situations. Of course these events would leave something in my memory.

--Eh? It’s quite surprising that the GazettE had experiences like that.
-Yes, we did have those moments. The source is opposition against a band member’s opinion. This applies to all the members of the band; whenever we argue our views, we don’t back down. Even if it’s settled, the result is that both people don’t give in. Instead of one of them giving in and settling the argument peacefully, it’s more like both calm down without submitting (laughs). Our clashes within the band are usually like that. There are many instances where both arguments sound just when looking at the dispute from the sidelines. You also realize that the other party isn’t wrong. But never does the distance of the topic narrow, and never does one side back down with an “Ok, I got it.” There were many times where the situation was really bad.

--And what did you do during those situations?
-Sometimes we discuss the problem in time and it’s settled, there are also times when we can’t do anything about it. That’s when we have a third party suggest something with “Then, how about this?” , or find a way that satisfies both people all together. That’s how we overcome these things. But because no one backs down, there are no sad feelings left over. Also, in the end, we all love the band. It’s part of ourselves, so it’s alright. If we happen to lose the feeling of completing things, we have nothing to help us. But no matter what happens, the feeling of wanting to continue the band is inside everyone, so nothing devastating ever happened.

--This tells us that the members respect each other and accept the other party. You have to think, “I’m pissed, but what he’s saying is right” or you wouldn’t be able to move on.
-That’s right. Also, we have to have the same basic values, or that wouldn’t be true. I feel like the band is blessed with that.

--Also, you can say that arguments prove that the band is healthy. Especially since there are other bands that don’t bother to face the other members.
--There is nothing like that in the GazettE’s case. We’re very open with each other, and we properly state our own opinions. But in exchange, we never back down (laughs). In any case, I’m the one that yields (laughs).

--No, I think that your helpful* existence is very big for the band.
-I wonder if that’s so. I don’t know myself (laughs). Whenever I try to understand my opponent’s view, I almost always think one or two steps ahead of my guess. Because of that, I can understand what he’s saying, or I can regard it with an idea like “Well, if it’s like that, it’s more like this”  and instead of backing down, I think “I get it now”. So rather than giving in, I accept my opponent’s opinion.

--You can say that that stance is the image of a unique leader. Instead of pulling the band with a strong arm, you’re the type that would create harmony within the band.
-I’m told that by many people. I don’t know about it myself though (laughs). Well, the GazettE will be fine with a leader like me. Now, it came to the point where we wouldn’t believe it if someone retired from the band, and we continue with something like “Then we will be the GazettE with these four members”, or just accepting  “the GazettE will be of four people” is not like us. If someone did leave, then the GazettE would be done for good. Because we all understand that, I don’t think we would do anything rash.

*The actual translation for the word, 潤滑油 (jyunnkatsuyu), is “lubricating oil”, meaning it has something to do helping things go smoothly. I just used helpful. I’m sorry for my word choice, but I couldn’t figure any other word that would fit ;A;

--I really do want you to continue for 15, and even 20 years. On the other hand, was there a moment you remember where you thought “Alright!” since the GazettE’s formation?
-That has happened many times. Though I don’t remember the first time we felt that (laughs). Something like getting a reaction from fans when I changed my play style left an impression. Also, when we decided to have our first performance at Budokan, we felt that way the moment the members, the company, producers, and everyone involved agreed to it, and thought “Alright!” when we were in good shape to meet it. There are a lot, now that I look back on it.

-- This also includes Budokan, but the GazettE is always looking for a challenge. That itself feels like it’s bigger than the happy feeling you get when you’ve accomplished something.
-That’s right. Only, that approach developed from the huge support from the company. Because, at any rate, at the beginning we were all “We can’t do it, we can’t do it.” What changed that was our first live at Shibuya AX. When we were told that we were going to perform at AX, we thought, “Why are we being taken along to a place like that all of a sudden?” But that AX live was a success. That’s probably when we were inspired (laughs). Shibuya AX became our chance, and we discovered the fun in being challenged. After that, and until our Budokan live, we experienced more and more thrills. Even though that feeling has changed a bit since then, the fact that we continue to aim higher still hasn’t changed.

--By continuing to challenge yourselves, approximately when did you definitely feel a response?
- Response? What do you mean by a response?

--The time the GazettE felt that they finally became the level that you wanted to be when you first started.
-...I’ve never thought about it before, so this is difficult. But, I may have felt that a bit when we were making “TOXIC”.

--Eh? Was it that recent?
-It was personally. Because, by listening to the sounds we produced, I felt that we had the dignity of a band during “TOXIC”. Up until then, what we did was just work. Like I want to do this more, and do that more. It could have been the influence of fate, or the sense of the engineers, but when everything came together nicely and “TOXIC” came out with a BANG!, I felt that our existence as a band was truly showing.

--It’s very much like you to feel a response through the features of your sound, rather than saying “Alright!” to the number of people that attends your concerts.
-No, I think that applies to everyone. Of course, the other members may feel responses to other things, but we’re all very strict when it comes to music.

--I always feel that in interviews. The other members really take their music seriously.
-Yes, everyone is extremely stoic. In order to get better, whenever we discover a technique we have never used before, we definitely try it out. Because we wouldn’t believe it unless we actually do it, listen to it, and feel it. I think that it’s because we made “TOXIC” like this, that I felt a response when listening to it.

--Was your obsession with the sound like that in your early days?
-No, there was absolutely nothing like that at the beginning. I wonder when we started to do that...There was one time that we did a terrible recording, and it was a huge failure. Until then, we didn’t know what a preprocessor was (laughs). You see, when you do a recording, it doesn’t just end there. We didn’t know that there was work to do prior to recording to ensure that the product was good. We discovered preprocessors by listening to the conversations of senior bands (laughs). So, in order for us not to repeat what we did with the failed recordings, we decided to start preprocessing our songs. We would create the perfect form of the song we were going to record before we started recording. From then on we started to change, whether it was the tune or the arrangement, we started obsessing over our sound, and that applies to our play as well.

--While listening to you talk, I thought that all of you being on the same page would be considered a trait of the GazettE. For example, even if one person was obsessed over your sound, if the other four thought “Just leave the sound to the engineers,” do you think you would have made it this far?
-That’s quite right. But, I was the one that was pulled into it. Ruki, Uruha, and Aoi were the ones that started becoming obsessed with sound first. Seeing that, one part of me felt that, “I’m no good as I am now.” I feel that instead of taking the initiative on my own, I was being led by everyone.

--But, because of that, all of you now feel the same way about the importance and fun in obsessing over your sound.
-Yes. When I started to take in interest in our sound, I began to see how my knowledge regarding my drums was pitiful. Whenever I went to record that time, I thought that at this rate, it’s no good. So I began to study a lot about the sound of the drums and started researching on my own. At the beginning it felt like it was studying, but as I started understanding more and more, it became more interesting. In that sense, I don’t have the impression that I was forced to be on the same level as everyone else.

--Everyone is rising higher together. How do you feel about the transition of the GazettE’s musicianship?
-I have the impression that we’re all on the same page when it comes to musicianship. In other words, that means that we are a group of people who can match paces. I sense that we have that as a base, in addition to our good relationship, and how we don’t want to get in the way of the band’s success. I feel that we definitely have excuses to try new things and change. Ruki’s sudden comments, for example. Since we are all on the same page, at those times it’s natural for everyone to think, “Oh, that’s not bad!”, and if a new path is created, we would, of course, walk it together. So, it’s normal for our musicianship to change and broaden, we’ve never hesitated once. In a sense, it’s the ideal condition for us as a band.

--Really. The GazettE that steadily became bigger eventually stood on the stage of Tokyo Dome in December 2010.
-That’s right.

--Tokyo Dome is the place you aspired for when you just started the drums. Nonetheless, didn’t you think that there was no way that the day would come where you would perform there?
-No, I thought that I would eventually (laughs).

--Oh, is that so?
-Well, at first. I had this weird confidence when I started playing the drums, since I didn’t know anything then (laughs). Before I was in the band, I felt that I could do it if I gave it my all. After that though, I would open my eyes to reality and that confidence would gradually fade. I was all “I bet I can do it” at the beginning. I was so stupid (laughs).

--No, no (laughs). In that case, when did you decide to take on Tokyo Dome, which used to be a fantasy, as a reality?
-I wonder? For a long time, whenever we conversed, it would come up, but when we decided to take it on...we performed at Budokan, and then we performed at Yokosuka Arena...the venues kept getting bigger like that. When we arrived at Saitama Super Arena, there was something like an implicit understanding between us. Like we were saying, "What's next?" The only thing was, a chance never came, so we were sort of waiting for one. But in actuality, the idea of "Tokyo Dome" came from the staff, and the members were divided between those who said, "It's now or never," and those who said, "no,no, no..." We really divided into two.

--Conversely, we can tell that Tokyo Dome has held much meaning to all the members. In that case, which of those did you choose?
-I was one of those that said not yet, not yet...But, even then, I understood both sides.

--It was the first time in the GazettE’s history when you divided like that, right?
-Yes. We were divided perfectly in half, we would have been held back at that rate, so we decided to fortify this with just the members. So we all gathered and went to a bar, but we started out talking about old times...Even though we were supposed to talk about Tokyo Dome, we ended up having a conversation like something like this happened, something like that happened, the whole time. As we were doing that, we started talking about our first performance at Budokan. As I was listening to our conversation, I thought, “The feeling of all of us facing it as one at that time was awesome.” At that moment, my feelings changed completely, and I felt, “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it.” Once Budokan was brought up, it seemed like everyone’s switch was turned on. Our conclusion was “...why not.”

--What a nice story. It’s good that you’re still gathering the members only like when you were still amateurs, and that the hearts of you who inquires subtleties can still start with something completely off topic.
-There was something unique about the atmosphere that time. Everyone knows this, but no one can talk about it (laughs). Even though it wasn’t a serious conversation at all (laughs). It’s wonderful that the band made it so far to the point that Tokyo Dome wasn’t a fantasy anymore and the staff saying, “Let’s do it” was also great. Even though no one thought negatively about it, we didn’t want to talk about it in a severe, business-like way. At that time, I really felt that we were a good band.

--I think that it’s great how you deepened the bonds among the members before facing Tokyo Dome. But, were there many more troubles even after confirming the Dome performance?
-That’s right. I can only say this now, but it may have felt different from our Budokan times. Though I think that it’s mainly because the scales of Tokyo Dome and Budokan are different. The company and record label like factors that surrounded us were big compared to Budokan as well. I thought that if everyone involved with the GazettE that faced Tokyo Dome became one, the experience there would be very good. Frankly, we weren’t able to grasp that.

--Before when I asked, “Wasn’t it troublesome?” I meant that the GazettE in 2010 was extremely busy...when you say you weren’t content, what things were related to that?
-When we decided to perform at Tokyo Dome, it was about one year before the actual performance. I had the impression that everything from the year and then on went really fast. The members minds work as one, but the surrounding ones, like the staff's, did not. LIke I said before, the project was so big that everyone just couldn’t grasp the situation. That included us too. Simply put, the things that the company and record label could do were really fast. Everyone understood that everything that was going on was done with the utmost effort just for Tokyo Dome, but it wasn’t working out very well. Like there was a difference between what was needed from the band and what was thought. We did everything in that state.What I wasn’t happy with didn’t have anything to do with mobilization. I didn’t care about that since we decided to perform. Instead of that, we wanted the reality of everyone lumping into one and facing it together and it’s result. But we weren’t able to obtain it. There is some regret in that sense.

(credit : yuma-tama)