}廾 PiNK SPiDER

J : When did I first meet you?
hide : When you guys were still called "LUNACY" and were playing in Rokumei-kan. But when I went, the hall was already absolutely full.

That's when you became their fan, right?

hide : Yep.

What did you like about them?

hide : The fact that the hall was full of people! LOL
J : LOL

What was your first impression?

J : It hasn't changed.
hide : No, no. Coz I met them when they were always 'fully-armed'. LOL They had this rule book or something that they followed whenever they were on-stage and off-stage. LOL Like, even when they weren't on stage, they had to wear this particular hat, or have that particular hairstyle, etc. LOL They looked exactly the same off-stage as they did on-stage! LOL
J : Yeah, that's true! LOL
hide : Even SUGIZO looked exactly the same normally as he did on-stage. He really could've walked right off the street and directly onto stage like that! LOL Well, one can say he was more professional back then compared to now, in how he lived up to the fans' expectations. LOL

What did you guys talk about then?

J : Well, it was our first-meeting, so we didn't really talk about much... But because there weren't many people around us in Kanagawa (where all our members are from) who held strongly to their 'professionalism', I felt more comfortable than I normally would talking to hide-nii.

It's a famous story that the guys with the most guts in Kanagawa came together to form LUNA SEA.

J : Yeah, so I was relieved when I first met hide-nii--
hide : LOL
J : Because I was assured that we were doing things right. (What the..??)
hide : LOL

What's wrong?

hide : The guy with the most guts in Machida is INORAN!!! LOL
_{[Machida is the town where LUNA SEA started]}

LOL

J : Yeah, that's true. He doesn't really look it, but he's got the most guts! LOL He's like the blue bit of a flame, you know? The hottest bit.
hide : Hey, that was really good! LOL

Did you guys get on well right away?

hide : At first, I just went to their gigs every now and then and maybe appeared at an after-show party, or something like that. We started to get along well probably around the time MASS was formed.

'MASS' being a unit of hide, J, and INORAN, right? You did one track of "DANCE 2 NOISE" called "FROZEN BUG". When was that?

J : It was around the time we made our debut. A little before that, we started talking about music and found out we liked the same kinds.
hide : I think that was a bit before "Two Unlimited" was out. We liked 'orchestra-hit', dance-type music. We drank so much, didn't we?
J : Yeah, that was abnormal!! That June was fatal!! LOL
hide : Even if I had a photo-shoot or something, I still ended up in the park the next morning with J. LOL
J : I remember now! That was a nightmare!! LOL

Why were you guys in a park?! LOL

J : Because all the bars closed [in LA] and we had nowhere else to go! So we just bought beer and drank in the park. LOL And then while we were drinking, all these old people started showing up. We just sat there watching with wonder, then they all started exercising together! LOL
hide : And we used to play basketball beside them. LOL We used to play around so much together. We used to REALLY play around. LOL
J : We were literally 'playing' too. We used to play 'tag'. LOL
hide : But we'd still be 'fully-armed', with extensions in our hair and everything. LOL

That picture is just way too weird to imagine! LOL
MASS worked separately, in Los Angeles and Tokyo, right?

hide : Yeah. Because I went to LA before deciding on anything.
J : Our demo tape made about two return-trips between Tokyo and LA. When hide first sent us the tape, the song was already in some sort of shape. But then INORAN said "Do you think hide'll get angry if we totally broke this song apart?". So I answered "No, no it doesn't matter! Let's do it anyways!" LOL And when we did, he really liked it.
hide : That's why I sang for the first time in my life! LOL If J didn't break the song apart, I wouldn't have ever sang at all. So thanks to J, I'm now able to sing in front of people!
J : LOL

What do you two talk about now?

J : We drink as we talk, so we don't talk about much. LOL
hide : I'm always drunk, so I don't even remember! LOL
J : But when we first met, I remember hide saying 'ROSIER' was really good. LUNA SEA didn't have very many people (older musician "brothers") around who'd say things like that, so I remember that made me happy.
hide : LUNA SEA is maybe one of the few bands that didn't get caught up in all the "vertical relationships" of the visual-band world.
J : Yeah, maybe. Or we can also say that it's coz we purposely displaced ourselves from all of that. LOL
hide : It's probably coz you were all very "flat". You weren't stuck up and you weren't too modest about yourselves either. From an "older brother's" view, you need some sort of passion from your younger ones, but then if that gets to be too much, you get really annoyed with them. If you have any of these, you probably end up getting caught up in the vertical relationship. But I think J has this firm belief, "I am only what I am". That's why he's so "flat". That's why I thought about doing MASS with him.
J : I'm really flattered that he'd say that. Because for me, hide-nii is one of the few musicians that I can really, really respect. He's one of the few people who have what I don't have, so I'm like a servant dog to people like him... LOL
hide : I just got goose bumps all over me! LOL

I can see that you think of hide like he's your older brother from the way you call and refer to him as "hide-nii".

J : Yep. I might sound arrogant, but to me, just the fact that this guy is alive is a wonderful thing.
hide : Shit! Goose bumps part II!!! LOL
J : That's why I can really feel like I have to work hard. This is the first time I've told hide-nii this, but I sometimes feel like I've run into a wall, right? On days like that, I always think of calling hide-nii. But then when I pick up the phone, I think of his face, right? And then I think "No, I've gotta do this. I've gotta solve this on my own." I dunno how many times that's happened and I've put the phone down... LOL
hide : You sound like some girl who's in love with me! LOL
J : LOL

What do you think of hide's solo activities?

J : I think it's really cool. Very "hide-world". It's like something taken directly out of a child's toy-box. I like how he doesn't just show you his living-room, but the inside of his closet too. There are few who do that.
hide : I love how he says things this way. The way he talks like "although it's someone else's garden". There are some people who say "that bit was good, but that bit wasn't". I just love the way he's always got an introduction saying "it's someone else's garden...". It's a good stance.

hide, you say things that way as well. Not as a "producer" but also as a "receiver".

J : But when I went to see his gig at Yoyogi, he didn't play the song I wanted to hear. :(
hide : What was it?
J : 'DAMAGE'.
hide : Yeah, I did it on the 2nd day, but you only came on the 1st day. J often comes to our gigs, you see. You know in this world, even though you say things like, "Hey, you can come and visit us anytime!" it rarely happens coz many people just get intimidated, right? But J just pops in anytime. That's why our members are always saying, "J's so cute!" LOL
J : Well, I only go to act as a 'stopper' for hide-nii & KIYOSHI! LOL

Yeah, I heard you guys (hide and KIYOSHI) used to fight whenever you both got drunk together!

hide : It's really weird, coz the two who were always fighting are now playing together! LOL
J : I can't remember how many times I had to stop them... LOL

So you were the arbitrator then? LOL

J : Yeah, whenever us three sat together, I got stuck in the middle! LOL
hide : KIYOSHI and I knew that J'd stop us if we got too out of hand! LOL
J : LOL

I really think you guys are similar.

J : We have the same blood type; AB.
hide : No way! LOL We're not even saying one piece of truth! LOL All these words are purely for promotion! LOL

"No way"?! LOL Don't you think you guys are a bit similar?

hide : Well, one characteristic of an AB-type person is that they think they're the "one and only" deep down inside. LOL So we don't like to think that we're similar to anybody! LOL
J : Yeah, that's true actually. Oh, but that bit's similar then! LOL

Good thing you two have a 'tidy' relationship to one another.

hide : Yeah, inside me, it's really un-tidy, but I like to look good on the outside; so even though my 'house' is un-tidy, my 'garden' is tidy.
J : Uh-huh.

Do you feel like that as well?

J : Yeah, I do. I put effort into being like that. That's why I try to listen and see a lot of things to take in.
hide : The good thing is, it's not just effort that we're putting in. If you like what you're doing, it doesn't feel like you're putting in 'effort', does it? Kind of like when you admire a girl, and you're trying to get with her. It's not hard-work; it's fun! I think if we have a job like this, we should never forget that. J knows how to balance well between 'fun' and 'work'. He knows that having fun is the primary factor, but he always has something in common with someone else's 'garden'; something to share with the fans.

The gigs that you two play in are exactly so, aren't they? The primary thing is to have fun yourselves, to dig deep inside you to the core, but then on the other hand, that core has a sort of 'pop'ness that everybody else can appreciate and enjoy. I think that's why so many people support you two.

hide : Yeah, J and I aren't the types of guys that make something, who then go out and break it apart without showing anyone. We tend to break it apart when everyone's watching. LOL
J : Yeah, that's true! LOL

By the way, J, you're going to play at the Shinjuku Liquid Room on March 2nd with the vocalist and guitarist of Anarchy (Shigeru Nakano and Shinichi Fujinuma), DJ KRUSH and also Jun Sawada, a modern art writer (?), in a band called GaZa. Is this the first of your solo activities?

J : Um, it's a bit different, coz I wasn't really planning on this or anything; so it's not really related to my solo career. Just a "for fun" type of thing.

So how did this band form?

J : I was having a drink with KRUSH, and he said "I'm bringing my turn table to a radio program, so why don't you bring your bass, and we can play together?" Shigeru and Jun were there as well, so we decided to play together. When we did it was really fun, so we decided to have a gig.
hide : Seems fun!
J : But we're drum-less! I was always used to being one part of the rhythm team, so I dunno how this is gonna turn out. But we've got amazing members, so I know it's gonna turn out brilliantly.

According to what I've heard, apparently Jun Sawada is playing "junk"? What is that and what does this mean?

J : Well basically, he's just gonna throw or drum or do all sorts of things with junk. It's like "Einsturzende Neubauten" on his own! LOL
hide : LOL
J : In LUNA SEA, I'm always longing for perfection. So it's really new and exciting for me to have this border-less, clean, white canvas with everybody pouring on different colors at the same time.
hide : Oh, I really wanna hear and see this! I mean, you really don't know what's gonna happen! LOL Yeah, I really wanna see this.

Hey, maybe you'll get to join in with them too! Won't you hide?!

J : Definitely.
hide : What?! How is anyone supposed to join in with these guys?! LOL

Is the day hide and J stand on one stage again far away?

hide : I dunno. MASS hasn't split up yet or anything, so I don't think so.
J : I wanna do it again!