Yuma's Villa

What the members think about Masamune?


What's your first impression?
Tetsuya: A gloomy guy. (laugh)
Tamura: I didn't think so, but some mania about something..... 
I think we now call this "eccentric", but somehow it's different.
Masamune: Yes, it's eccentric.
Tamura: Masamune had the look of an art student. 
Although I didn't know anyone who was an art student when I went to university, 
I though so the first time I met him. "Oh, I see. 
This' what an art student looks like." I thought. (laugh)

I see.

Tamura: But he is sloppy. 
Let's say he had an 8:00 a.m. class, and no matter what happened he had to go to this class. 
Although the alarm was on and yelling, "Wake up! Kusano!" he was still sleeping. 
He often ended up skipping the lessons due to this reason. (laugh)
Tetsuya: You talked a lot!
Tamura: To him, sleeping is always prior to anything.
Masamune: If I am sleepy, I go to sleep first even though I am hungry.

When did Tetsuya and Masamune start playing in the same band?

Masamune: At first there were only 3 people - a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. 
Later Tetsuya joined the band.
Tamura: At that time I knew that Tetsuya was also playing in other bands, 
but I didn't introduce him to Masamune as I thought they wouldn't get along with each other.

Is this a personality problem?

Tamura: How should I put that? Both of them are the leadership-type.
Masamune: But the first day I met Tetsuya, 
he welcomed us at the entrence of the cultural fashion college. 
He was waving his hand and saying, "I am here!" I thought, "What a nice guy!" (laugh)

Do you guys have any songs which you have played since the early stages?

Tamura: No. We would laugh hard if we thought about it. 
The first copied song we played was "Jumping Jack Flash". (laugh)

What kind of a person do yo think Masamune is?

Sakiyama: An awkward person.
Tamura: A person who surprises you and is well-educated.
Tetsuya: But he is arrogant.
Tamura: He's like a general of a monkey hill. (laugh)
Sakiyama: He becomes a bad guy when he drives.
Tamura: He gets mad at cars surrounding his and at traffic lights. 
The person sitting next to him often has a hard time.
Tetsuya: He sucks on making sudden judgements. (laugh)

Questions to Masamune: 

Q: How was the band formed?
M: When the band was formed, it was a kind of punk band. 
There is also a meaning like "It is very noisy, but we are being fed by it".
Q: Where did your name come from?
M: In our family, the boys have been named "MasaXXXX" for generations.
Q: What was your nickname when you were a child?
M: Makun.
Q: What do the members usually call you?
M: Masamune.
Q: What are your hobbies?
M: Wandering around and reading maps.
Q: Do you have any special skills?
M: No.
Q: Do you have anything that you really want now?
M: A CD shelf.
Q: What do you think about your blood type and personality?
M: My blood type is O type, but I don't think that there is anything to do with my personality.
Q: Do you have any habbits?
M: Humming.
Q: What and when was the first record you bought?
M: It was Abba's "Dancing Queen". I was in grade 5.
Q: What and when was the first concert your saw?
M: It was Loudness's concert when I was in grade 8.
Q: What kind of a girl do you like?
M: A tough one who is good to chat with.
Q: What is your favorite book?
M: The one I am reading now which is called "Yo no kanashimi".
Q: What is your favorite movie?
M: "Chance".
Q: What magazines do you usually buy?
M: "Big Comic Spirit" and "Rockin' On".
Q: What is your favorite phrase?
M: Live and learn.
Q: What are your favorite sports?
M: I like watching boxing and tennis games.
Q: Where do you want to visit?
M: The northern part.
Q: Do you have pets? If you don't, what would you like to have?
M: No, I don't have one. I would like to have a dog (such as Akida's).
Q: What is your favorite album?
M: "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonics" from Spirit.
Q: Have you ever asked a celebrity for an autograph?
M: Yes. I asked Minamino Yoko for an autograph when I was in high school.
Q: Do you have a musican with whom you would like to perform?
M: No.
Q: Do you have any rivals?
M: No.
Q: In your opinion, what kind of a person cannot be forgiven?
M: A person who says bad things about me while I am here.
Q: Have you ever cried because of love?
M: Yes.
Q: Do you have any happy things recently that you want to share?
M: A friend of mine gave birth to a baby girl.
Q: Do you have any sad things recently that you want to share?
M: I can't tell you.
Q: What do you do in holidays?
M: Do nothing.
Q: If you hadn't become a musican, what do you think you would be doing now?
M: Probably working in Fukuoka.
Q: How do you feel about music?
M: It's an "entertainment" that I can't live without.
Q: What do you think music in the 90s will become?
M: It just keeps repeating itself.
Q: What is the most important news for you this year?
M: The Spitz debut.
Q: Last message.
M: See you again.


Majo tabi ni deru （魔女旅に出る）

Spitz's new single "Majo tabi ni deru" will be released on October 25. 
Besides, (same as the background of the song)now it's fall. 
The food of this season is good and the wind is refreshing. 
So let's listen to "Majotabi ni deru" and go travel!
Any response about this song is fine to me. 
I am just keen on the name "Majo" (a witch). 
Also, somehow I think it is cuter to name the song "Majo" rather than "Majo no ko". (laugh) 
I really like words with "Mo (or Ma)". Mo.....what a powerful word! (laugh)



First album


It has been 1 year since our first album "Hibari no kokoro" was released. 
I've also turned 23. When we formed the band we were teenagers, (laugh) 
but now we are adults of 23. 
Although we are not turning into "adult-teens".... (laugh) 
After all, we worked really hard. 
Since this is our debut, we have a strong desire not to lose, and we don't allow any mistakes. 
I think we did our best. Even though including back-ups we made 12 songs in total, 
we ended up putting all the songs into the album instead. (laugh)
We have thought of many names but we believed "Spitz" was the best. 
This is our first album, and we made it without having developed any concept. 
Humn...this is what the first time is like. (laugh) 
Since we want to introduce "Spitz" to everyone, it is ok to simply use the name "Spitz". 
Although half of the songs were new when we were recording, 
we ran out of the new songs as we kept playing them in the concerts. (laugh) 
The old songs are still good songs, but I get tired of playing the same songs in the concerts. (laugh)




Masamune's lyrics
I am often asked, "What's the world of Masamune's lyric like?"
I never think about it deeply. It is just the way I wrote the songs. Thus, there is no such thing such as "Since I think of it this way, others probably also think it of this way" and "this is a hot message to somone". There may be some meaning in my lyrics, or there may not be. If you look into the details, there is probably some meaning. I think that's just it.
One more thing is that I never put English in the lyrics. I want to avoid using familiar phrases such as "I love you".(laugh) I want my band to be the band that pursues an objective that - lyrics, rythum and melody - these three elements should be considered as one. I think I won't be able to write good songs if I put a message that I want to deliver into a song in which the melody doesn't match the lyrics.

Tokyo:
I don't want to live in Tokyo forever. 
Someday I will go back to Kyushu. 
It would also be nice if we could move to Europe or North America, 
and we came back to Japan only when we wanted to work on our music. 
I really can't stand living in an area where there is no sea nearby.  

Unfortunately, some members like Tokyo very much. 
I think that is not going to happen. (laugh)



Money:
I am the kind of person who only spends the cash I have on hand. 
I can't borrow money from someone and then spend it. Am I stingy? Maybe. 
When I see someone who borrowed a long-term loan and bought an apartment, 
I will worry about him and think, "Why did you do something like that?" (laugh)

Desire:
Instead of having a strong desire to own something, 
I think I have a stronger desire to satisfy my curiosity.


Dreaming of Africa:
I was planning to go to Africa this year. 
However, I ended up not going, since the plan didn't fit into my work schedule.
Even though I travel, 
I never care which tourist areas are good to go to or 
what kinds of things I should buy. 
On the other hand, 
I am interested in the details such as the kinds of food people live on and 
the kind of communication they use.

Africa is a country where I can't imagine what it is like. 
Thus, I would like to visit that place.



Something that bugs me: 
The following is a conversation between Masamune and a Peruvian:
Peruvian: How many days are you planning to stay here (Peru)?
Masamune: About ten days.
Peruvian: Then you are going to Turkey and Egypt, right?
Masamune: No, I am going back to Japan.
Peruvian: What? Do Japanese really have to work that hard?

In fact, the Peruvian had already travelled for almost two years at that time.



Living things:
I liked observing living things very much when I was a child.
When I went to the sea, I often observed living things in the sea. 
You can tell from the songs I wrote.



Curosity:
I liked going to dark places, such as a house that no one has lived and a cave. 
I often wanted to go to places where no one dare go.
I've known very well where a baby comes from since my early age. (laugh) 
Since I liked observing living things, 
I always believed human beings came in a same way as others.

インディーズで歌手としてやっていくことを決意した
Darren Hayesは、ラジオやテレビより、
ネットを中心して活動してる。
それはもちろん大きなレコード会社と契約するアーティストと
違って、大きな予算はないからです。

日本にいる私は彼のアルバムを買いたくても、
ＣＤショップではなく、
ネットで注文する方法しかありません。

今の時代でしたら、こういう方法で商売しても
おかしくないが、
やっぱりパソコンを持ってない人や
またネットを頼って生活してない人には、
彼の歌をなかなか聴くチャンスはないでしょう。

ＰＶも予算は限られてるから、
Darrenは「ダンナさん」Richardを
頼るしかありません。
幸いRichardはアニメーターであり、
DarrenのＰＶ製作はもうアニメーションを
使いまくってるね。

これからも道は厳しいと思うけど、
頑張ってほしいですね。

この写真を見ると
特に胸が痛くなる。
二人とも仲がよかった頃でしたね。

二人はただの誤解で別れたと思います。
でもSGの解散はDarrenにはあまりにも
失うものが多すぎる気がします。