Posted by: on: February 22 2009 • Categorized in: Tetsuyaku
In this segment, they will begin by looking back on their various activities from 2008, discuss the present state of the music world, covering the differences between solo and band work, even detailing Nishikawa’s recent move, graciously providing the contents of this interview. They both held many lives in 2008. But then, what does 2009 hold in store for them?
[We saw a lot of each other in private, too.]
-Nishikawa
[I’m still sort of a consultant, when it comes to moving.]
-tetsu
Released November 21, 2007, the 11th album, KISS, led L’Arc~en~Ciel into TOUR 2007-2008 THEATER OF KISS, which was swiftly followed by a first-ever concert in Paris as part of of TOUR 2008 L’7 ～Trans ASIA via PARIS　～. At the same time, abingdon boys school held a single tour and participated in an event tour, while Nishikawa Takanori had a tour of his own as T.M.Revolution.
It can then be said that 2008 was a year mostly composed of lives for both of our participants. Yet we must ask how they have been able to face this long and tiring year.
To them, who are well acquainted with not only band activities but also solo projects, how do the differences come across?
Furthermore, in this era where delivery soars ever higher in importance above and beyond CD sales, how do artists, those who deliver the musical product, feel about their position? In the midst of their extremely busy work load, what kind of stimulation did they obtain in their private lives? In this segment, they will examine the year 2008 from multiple angles! And then, what could their goals for 2009 be?!
—
– How was 2008, for you? tetsu [2008 was a year of tours. I even went overseas for a tour. It was really great. It’s always fun, any time I get to go overseas. I’m the kind of person who can sleep anywhere, so long trips don’t even bother me. It was lots of fun, really. And the lives were great, too.]
– That setup you had a Tokyo Dome, did you bring it with you to all the lives? tetsu [Of course it’s not possible to take that entire thing all over the place, but we took as much as we could. We worked pretty hard, didn’t we? We had to work really hard to get some of that stuff taken over, but we got it moved anyway.] Nishikawa [When we go overseas, we just rent all the equipment we need once we get there. We just carry the essentials (i.e. guitars) over with us.] tetsu [Well yeah, if you don’t take those with you, you’ve got problems. The truth is, we really wanted to take the entire set with us and have the overseas lives be the same as the ones in Japan, but of course that’s not possible, is it? But you know, we really took a lot of that stuff over with us, it was pretty crazy (laughs).] Nishikawa [That’s awesome! But, don’t you run into problems when stuff that’s common sense in Japan just isn’t, over there? In Japan, they’d automatically set up punch carpet, that really course stuff, on the stage, but apparently it’s not common, and when I went to New York, I was all like “Why did they put this fluffy stuff all over the stage?” It was white, shaggy, and fluffy (laughs). Aw man, that stuff is so hard to move around on! That’s pretty much what happened (laughs).] tetsu [Sounds like it was one gigantic carpet. (laughs)] Nishikawa [‘Cause it was! (laughs) I was totally shocked (laughs).]
– It made you wish you had brought your own carpet, did it? (laughs) tetsu [When we go on tour overseas, even the drinks we have backstage were brought over from Japan. We bring over everything we can.]
– Though since you need motivation to do the show, it’s important not to let anything stress you, right? tetsu [Guess so. But you know, that’s not good enough a reason, we need to sit down with a calculator and calculate all the costs, too. I think it’s important.]
– It shows that you’re the leader! Now, Nishikawa-san, you also spent almost all of 2008 on tour, correct? Nishikawa [The first half of the year was band stuff, and the second half was solo stuff, yeah.] tetsu [To think you’re still in the middle of a tour, right now. That’s amazing. You do so much. You have to do tour stuff every weekend right? Your live last night was great.] Nishikawa [You were there last night?! (laughs)] tetsu [In Oomiya, right? Two days? Of course I know～　I was there in spirit.] Nishikawa [“Your feelings go out to me!” Hey! How about that! (laughs) But yeah, 2008 was really a year of tours. I only had one live overseas, but I did go overseas a bunch of times for other work-related things, and by the way I was in a movie for the first time ever, a lot of stuff happened. Since I like moving around, though, it was a pretty fun year.]
– Do you actually go to each other’s lives? Nishikawa [I go to L’Arc lives every time I get the chance.] tetsu [I’ve been to his lives, too.] Nishikawa [But about three songs in you came down with a fever and had to go home! (laughs)] tetsu [I couldn’t help it! (laughs) I went straight to the hospital, actually (laughs). It just shows how hot your lives are. It’s pretty amazing.] Nishikawa [What kind of an excuse is that? (laughs)]
– (laughs). As for your personal lives, what kind of year did it turn out to be? Nishikawa [I’d say it was quite fulfilling.] tetsu [We saw a lot of each other in private, too.] Nishikawa [Yes we did～ Since he still does some consulting when it comes to moving, we saw a lot of each other in secret. (laughs)]
– tetsu-san, you enjoy moving, right? tetsu [That’s right (laughs). So yeah. I’d send him mails saying “Hey this is a good place.”] Nishikawa [He knows so many things! If I sent him a mail saying “I found this place, what do you think?” he’d always answer “Oh that place, yeah I know it!” My real estate agent even told me “That tetsu-san has been over here to have a look, too” while I was out looking (laughs).] tetsu [You should take that place, though! The one with the glass around the bath (laughs).] Nishikawa [No, no. (laughs) That place has a glassed-in bath right next to the entrance, so if company came over while I was in the bath, I’d be like, peeking through the glass, going “Oh hi. Come on in.” That’s totally what would happen. (laughs)] tetsu [You’ve danced around naked, so I’m telling you, you gotta live in a place that has at least that much impact (laughs).] Nishikawa [I don’t wanna. I wanna live someplace normal. (laughs).]
– Ahahaha. I can see you have a great relationship, but it has happened for you to send an email and have it bounce back, hasn’t it, Nishikawa-san? Nishikawa [Yes! That was last year, right? I sent tetchan a mail, and just got an error message like “Please check the recipient’s address.” What the – He changed his address!!! (laughs)] tetsu [That was, well, I told you all about it, and I had meant to give you my new details but I just forgot. And you know, even I only found out about that thing from the sports newspaper (laughs). Oh? Didn’t I tell him? (laughs) So then I rushed to get in touch with you. But man, getting in touch through a sports newspaper is a pretty revolutionary way of using the newspaper (laughs).] Nishikawa [And yet I couldn’t get them to write up the good stuff (laughs) Even though it’s so revolutionary! Guess I discovered something new (laughs)]
– Indeed (laughs). In 2008, several rock bands from the 80s such as Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe released new music and even came to Japan; it was an excellent year for rock. What are your thoughts about that? Nishikawa [Oh yeah, even Madonna came to Japan, it was a year full of powerful performances by all kinds of 80s artists. I can’t say it had any kind of direct influence on me though, but I have to say it was stimulating. Obviously. But on the other hand, it also made me wonder why there aren’t any artists around to surpass those old acts, it makes me think we ought to be trying harder.] tetsu [That’s harsh.] Nishikawa [No no, I mean, well, we do need to try our best. Back in the day, we couldn’t even imagine what we’d be like in our 30s and 40s, much less figure that the bands we had around would still be active when we got to that age. But now, while I’m grateful that it’s still possible for them to still have lives and tours, I really do feel that we ought to be working hard to improve our skills.]
[I guess that just might be my one weakness (laughs).]
-tetsu
– I see. Recently, the music market has changed so that while download sales are soaring, CD sales are plummeting. Could I ask you both for your opinions on this trend? Nishikawa [The actual number of people listening to music hasn’t gone down, though. And yet, when people get to thinking that it’s enough if they can just sing the songs at karaoke, to be honest I find it pretty sad. Oh, and also the people can find a song that’s on their minds by searching a video site. “Oh hey, there’s that song! Yeah, it’s a good song,” and that’s the end of it.] tetsu [Yeah. That’s no good. It’s really too bad, because if the sound quality isn’t high enough, they’ll never get to experience the music properly.]
– That’s a good point. I’m sure that both of you have your own preoccupations with the art form, but personally that each packaged product has merit as a whole, and as downloading becomes mainstream, it’s becoming a sadder world lacking that aspect. Now, changing the subject, both of you are active in bands and in solo projects, so I’d like to ask your thoughts about each of those activity styles. Nishikawa [Oh yeah, I think it’s much harder to work in a band. For example, if you were going to build something together, you start by saying “Okay! Let’s build something like this!” and then when you draw up the blueprints together, it’s like “Eh? Why are we putting toilet over here?!” and even if you think along the lines of lifestyle convenience it’s still a mystery, why put a toilet there??? “But why do you want to put a toilet by the living room instead of the entrance?!”] tetsu [No no no, it’s better that way.] Nishikawa [Ahahaha. Oh really? (laughs) But it’s way better to have the toilet by the entrance! But anyway, even when I get around to explaining “Yeah, I think the toilet ought to be by the entrance, not by the living room”, the others still go “Oh, really?” and everyone has their own opinion, you know. But yeah, I guess when you finally combine everyone’s ideas together, you can end up with something that makes you go “Oh yeah, I guess it is more interesting this way.” and make some new discoveries. That’s the fun part of being in a band. And hey, my band right now is full of grumpy old men.] tetsu [Grumpy old men? (laughs) If yours is, then so is mine (laughs).] Nishikawa [Ahahahaha! Well, then we’re even (laughs). But because the band is full of old men, even when there’s a clash of opinions, once you’ve gotten all snippy and “What the hell (ï½€^´)” you can just take a bit of time to cool off, and then go back saying “Okay so how about we do this instead?” and actually build something new out of your diverging opinions, that takes a bit of distance, and it seems like something a band can only have when it’s composed of adults, which is interesting.]
– Indeed. When you’re young, no matter how much you may respect each other, it feels much more important to assert yourself, after all. Nishikawa [When you put it that way, it makes me extremely jealous of how L’Arc has been able to last so many years together, like that. I’m sure that there have been a lot of conflicts along the way, but the band managed to surpass all of that and is still going strong; I think that’s so incredibly wonderful.]
–
[I am gentler than Bufferin (laughs).]
-Nishikawa
– I see. tetsu-san, did you make any discoveries while working solo? tetsu [Solo means I’m on my own, so everything moves faster. If I give the OK, then the decision is made, and that’s much easier on me so in that sense I could say that it’s fun. That’s probably why people who have been doing solo work all along end up wanting to start bands somewhere down the road (laughs).] Nishikawa [Oh, you mean me? (laughs) Well yeah. But in my band, the other three members are a real musican’s musicians, so when it comes time to decide things like what we’ll wear on stage for a live, or what the album jacket will look like, they just go “Whatever, we don’t care about that stuff,” and they leave it all up to me, which is pretty sweet. If every member had a strong opinion about that sort of thing, I’d probably give up in frustration, “Whatever! I don’t give a damn! Fuck off (ï½€^´)!” and throw a table at them or something (laughs). I guess it’s precisely because they let me control all the non-musical stuff that things are going so well.] tetsu [I see. I figured you were putting lots of effort into making them all wear those outfits.] Nishikawa [Hey…. They do talk back sometimes (laughs). “Is this outfit really okay?” and stuff (laughs) I answer “It’s okay! Really! Just keep wearing it and you’ll get used to it eventually!” (laughs)] tetsu [Ahahahaha! Figures (laughs)] Nishikawa [It’s kind of like when you’re in a taxi and the driver farts, but it’s cold outside so you can’t open the window, but then after a little while your nose gets used to it, you know! It’s the same thing; humans are an adaptable species.] tetsu [I don’t understand your explanation (laughs).]
– Indeed, it is rather strange (laughs). Nishikawa [How come! (laughs) That kinda thing happens! Even though you can smell the fart clearly, you know you have to be in the same car with that driver for another 30, 40 minutes, so instead of causing another stink, you don’t open the window and just endure it; you know you can stand it because you know you’ll get used to it (laughs).] tetsu [Endure it?! I’m so shocked～ If it was me, I’d say something like “Could you cut that out!” (laughs) It’s an enclosed space, right? I couldn’t stand it. (laughs) I guess that just might be my one weakness (laughs).]
– Medicine does get less effective as one builds a resistance to it, though (laughs). When it comes to enduring things, you are total opposites (laughs). Are your personalities otherwise similar, tetsu-san? Nishikawa-san? tetsu [Personalities, eh?] Nishikawa [I wonder myself.] tetsu [Well, we do like the same things, and wear the same stuff (laughs). Sometimes I think “Oh? That’s so something Nishikawa-kun would wear!” (laughs).]
– Earlier, you mentioned that you like to go to the same select shop. Nishikawa [That’s right. First of all, it’s a MANIAC shop, and I like to wear stuff that nobody else would ever wear (laughs). I go to the hardcore zones in the hardcore shops (makes a hand motion as if flipping something over); I guess we both like to find hardcore stuff.] tetsu [Nishikawa-kun, you could probably name all the brands I wear, couldn’t you?] Nishikawa [Yes of course (laughs). That’s how much our tastes are similar, you know (laughs).]
– That much, really (laughs). Now, can I ask your goals for 2009? tetsu [2009, eh. I think I will work hard. How much longer is your tour going to last, dear?] Nishikawa [Until March. You gonna come? Not just in spirit, I want you to come for real (laughs). L’Arc has some releases lined up, right?] tetsu [Yep, we do. I think that in 2009, we’ll keep right on stimulating each other, and I hope we can keep this open relationship going.: Nishikawa [I want the same thing. Next time you change your contact info, let me know what’s going on with you before the sports magazines do, okay～ (laughs).]
Interviewer not identified.
Translated by Natalie Arnold
Posted by: on: February 4 2009 • Categorized in: Tetsuyaku
For this 21st Anniversary New Year’s Special Edition, we naturally wished to have these two appear! tetsu, author of this publication’s longest-running monthly column, and Nishikawa Takanori! These two, ridiculously well-known for being remarkably close, kindly divulged all the deep details of their story, from their meeting and reunion to the present day! They also combined their columns into one special creation! This laughter-filled discussion is not to be missed!
—
1 – about first meeting
Both born in Kansai just one year apart – the two youths, both devoted to music, had been fated to meet over twenty years ago! However, tetsu and Nishikawa did not begin to deepen their private relationship until only six years ago. At present, they share a trusting relationship in which they can express their naked selves. Meeting and Reunion. What dramatic story do these words signal?
[I said “This guy betrayed me”]
– tetsu
[I’m telling you, I never betrayed you! (laughs) You’re wrong.]
– Nishikawa
—
tetsu and Nishikawa were both born in the same part of Kansai, and they are very close in age. It is also clear that they are very close in their private lives, but it is also a fact that their first meeting took place over twenty years ago.
However, the truth is that the two of them did not begin seeing so much of each other in private until far more recently, after they had already achieved their present respective positions.
Humans. A relationship constructed in the wake of position and achievement is a rather discreet one.
“Does he really love me and spend time with me because of who I am as a human being, not only for personal profit?” Such questions can make a person sick.
Furthermore, since tetsu and Takanori are both humans standing in the admirable position of Artist, there is no doubt that the number of people who can ever truly be allowed into their hearts is harshly limited, above and beyond any limit we ordinary people may face.
In spite of that, when the plan to create this interview was finally realized, their faces clearly portrayed the trust that they share, even as the session filled with their mutual smiles and laughter.
While the two of them do share a relationship of mutual respect as artists, they also have a bond in which they can show the non-artist portions of themselves with each other. In which they are not obliged to smile. The expressions they are putting on display today; are these their true human faces? Upon wondering this, I remembered the stoicity which they are both prone to display when it comes to their music, reaffirming my respect for them.
It is mid-November, at a certain place downtown. They completed the pair photo session first, then Nishikawa did his solo cuts first. After that, he waited in this room until tetsu came in.
tetsu [Oh? Have you been in here this whole time?] Nishikawa [Oh. You came～ That’s right, I’ve been right here. (laughs)]
With that laughter exchanged in the place of a greeting begins the transformation of the room into a space where they can let themselves be for a day. During the photo shoot, a cameraman had asked them to “Get about as close as you would need to be to hold hands”, upon hearing this, tetsu took hold of Nishikawa’s hand.
Nishikawa [Hold on! He didn’t tell us to actually hold hands! (laughs) Just to get close enough to. Don’t actually grab me! (laughs) We’re gonna get outed!] tetsu [Ehh? What? Doesn’t everyone already know? Isn’t it about time we had a coming out party? The truth is, we are ………. yeah (laughs).]
His laughter enticed all the staff members present to join in.
As appropriate for this new year’s special, the cover page photos are gorgeous and auspicious, shot before a prepared sheet of velveteen. When shown the test shots that the cameraman had taken earlier,
[Wow! That looks so new years-ish!]
came the gleeful reply from both tetsu and Nishikawa.
How is it? Such a gorgeous cover page! Surely it is among the most appropriate of all cover pages for the new years season?!
Additionally, the two of them happen to hold two of the longest running columns in CD-Data’s history! Incidentally, tetsu’s monthly feature {tetsu’s press} has appeared 88 times, and Nishikawa’s feature {Abareru! Kokka Touitsu Kurabu Z} has appeared 55 times. And plus! Let us celebrate this 21st anniversary issue of the magazine with new decorations! The festivities begin with this very interview. These gravia of the special anniversary issue will of course reveal all the details of their meeting and reunion, proceeding all the way to the present, retracing the steps that have led them to this moment. Let the talk begin in earnest.
—
– May I start by asking about the way you first met? Nishikawa [We met in Shinjuku, around 2-chome right?](1) tetsu [Wrong. It was at that beach in Kobe.] Nishikawa [What? Really?] tetsu [Yep. D’you forget?] Nishikawa [Ahahaha. Really? That was it? (laughs)] tetsu [Yeah. What was do they call that spot again? For cruising? You know, that beach in Kobe.] Nishikawa [Ahahaha. Reaaaly～ (laughs) Whatever could you be talking about? You are such a strange person (laughs).]
– Where exactly was it that the two of you happened to meet? Nishikawa [Where exactly was it, anyway? Without mentioning the beach in Kobe, please.] tetsu [Hahahaha. OK, the first time we met must have actually been in Osaka, right? Yeah, yeah, that’s it! In Umeda! At EST1 in Umeda, I went “Irasshaimase” at you.] (2) Nishikawa [Oh wow, that sure brings back memories! EST1 in Umeda! Next to the thing next to Walt’s Dou, right? tetsu [Right (laughs). By the way, I used to work at Walt’s Dou too, way back when. (laughs).] Nishikawa [Oh, really? (laughs)]
– What is Walt’s Dou? tetsu [Well you see, Walt’s Dou is a music shop. But when we met, I was working somewhere else, in an accessory shop that engraved DOG tags and stuff (laughs).] Nishikawa [Back then, everybody who was anybody in any kind of heavy metal band worked in a shop like that! It’s so typical.] tetsu [Yep. In all the shops, all the guy staffs were band guys, well musicians anyway, and all the girl staffs were dating band guys.] Nishikawa [That’s how it was, back in the day. In Osaka, in Kyoto, all over Kansai really, if you were a band man then you had that kind of job. At Kawaramachi in Kyoto, you could walk into any shop and the staff would all be band guys. Me, I had a job in a shoe store, but I only got the job because a friend of mine, a band man working in a name tag shop like yours, helped me get it (laughs). Oh yeah! It was CRAZY DANGER NANCY KEN chan from Kamaitachi, he had that kind of job at a place on Shinkyougoku. (3) tetsu [Yeah yeah yeah that’s right (laughs).]
– Kamaitachi! That brings back memories! Now if I remember right, back then, the music scene, the band scene, was much hotter in Kansai than in Tokyo. I’m from Nagoya, myself, but I admired the Osaka scene a lot more than the Tokyo one, honestly. LOUDNESS, 44MAGNUM, Earth Shaker, it was truly the golden age of Japanese Heavy Metal. (4) tetsu [Yes indeed, it certainly was. The band scene is Kansai was so hot, back then.] Nishikawa [Oh yeah. Yes, yes you might be right. I wonder how the Kansai rock scene is, nowadays?] tetsu [Yeah, I wonder. Guess it’s gone down?] Nishikawa [Guess so? You sure don’t see as many kids carrying guitars around, that’s for sure. Or maybe it’s just ’cause we don’t ride around in trains much, so we don’t see ’em? (laughs) But there’s an impressive number of DJs and dancers around, compared to back then, you know? Nowadays.] tetsu [Guess so (laughs).]
– Nishikawa-san, you have said that you made a.b.s. – abingdon boys school – the way it is because you thought it was sad that the young musician population was decreasing and “wanted to create a cool guitar sound that guitarist kids would want to copy,” correct? tetsu [No way～ Hold on a second! Nobody can copy those complicated songs of yours! (laughs)] Nishikawa [Ahahahaha. You think? Yeah well, a.b.s. is a band for adults who take their goofing off very seriously (laughs). But I really did think that way about things when I first started up the band～. You know how these days, there are all these video sites where you can watch stuff? I like to go on there and watch videos of L’Arc copy bands; it makes me happy. Sometimes they upload vids that make me go “Wow, what country are these guys from!?”, it makes me so happy to see how much effort these people put into copying L’Arc songs. Of course I like to see that happen with my songs, too. So anyway, I started a.b.s. because I thought it would be cool to have a band like that.] tetsu [Yeah, I see. Obviously, it makes me very happy too.]
– I’m sure it does. Now if I may bring the topic back around to your first meeting? tetsu [Back then, this guy was in Luis Mary, calling himself HAINE (laughs). He’s HAINE! (laughs).] Nishikawa [Hey～! (laughs) Why did your voice get so loud all of a sudden? (laughs)! Talk more quietly (laughs).]
– (laughs) Back then, it was “LUNA SEA in the east, Luis Mary in the west”, as they said. tetsu [Did people really say that? (laughs)] Nishikawa [Um, yeah, back then we were sorta rival bands, so yeah I kinda think people did say that. Livehouses in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kansai would all fight to schedule one of us, so our tours ended up being at the same time. We spent a lot of time together back then. Their band name wasn’t even LUNA SEA like Moon and Ocean yet, it was still LUNACY as in crazy. Oh man, I sound like a walking encyclopedia right now, don’t I? (laughs) So yeah well, anyway, back then, I got introduced to tetchan through a mutual friend. That was exactly around the time that Luis-Mary was talking about going major and having our debut, but at the same time I was feeling really uneasy about it, my own band, and I wondered, “Is this really OK?”, I kinda wanted to start everything over from scratch, and if I could have just found members that wanted to start from scratch with me, I really would have gone back to zero. And yeah, that mutual friend of ours was a guitarist, and I had talked with him about how it would be nice if we could do that together, and he went “Hey I know this good bassist, actually,” and he had his eye on this guy so he suggested that I come along to meet him and so we went to EST1 and it turned out that it was tetchan.] tetsu [Back then, that guy was pretty well known around Osaka, for being the guitarist of his band. The drummer of that band had been a friend of mine since high school, and I’d been in a band with him before, actually.] Nishikawa [Oh, that’s right. Small world, eh?] tetsu [At the time Luis-Mary was super well-known all over Kansai, so that day, I was all like “Oh wow, it’s HAINE from Luis-Mary!” Really, I was. I seriously thought “Wow, if I start a band with this guy, I could debut right now!”.]
– I take it you never got together as a band? Nishikawa [Right. Even though I really wanted to make it with you.] tetsu [What are you suggesting! (laughs) One day, randomly, I was just watching TV when I heard that Luis-Mary had their debut already, and I went “What the…. He already had his debut all lined up! He went and moved to Tokyo! Meehh～” (deep sigh)]
[But you know… Oh man, I’m letting on way too much (laughs)]
-tetsu
– I see, Nishikawa-san, you’re a traitor, after all. Nishikawa [Nonononono. (laughs) I am not!] tetsu [But you know what, it could be because of this that I was able to work so hard. I thought “Dammit～ I wanna get there too!” and worked harder for it.] Nishikawa [I wanted to get in touch with you for so long, but then I lost track of that guitarist friend, and so I couldn’t get in touch with you, tetchan, and you slipped away. But hey, it wasn’t much longer until tetchan started up L’Arc, and you guys were playing at Namba Rockets, right? (5) When I went back home I dropped by Rockets and saw those flyers posted, and I went “Woah! I know that guy!”] tetsu [Considering how much makeup I on for those flyers, how could you tell it was me? (laughs).] Nishikawa [Hahahaha. I just knew. It was still the original lineup, and I could just tell it was you, tetchan.]
– When did you finally reunite? tetsu [Reunite? When did we meet again? What song was it again? It must have been around the time I released my solo album, so sometime in 2002. I was going on a TV show and was waiting around backstage. That was it.] Nishikawa [So that means it’s been about six years, already, since we met again. Wow, time sure flies. So that time, I was talking with a mutual friend about how we’d met years and years ago, but I was so sure that you’d have forgotten all about me so I didn’t have the guts to talk to you directly.] tetsu [No way, I was thinking the same thing. “There’s no way Nishikawa-kun could remember me.” ‘Cause, yeah, Nishikawa-kun had been in Luis-Mary and debuted, and then became T.M. Revolution, I knew all that from TV and magazines, but I thought that to him I was just this random band man that he’d met a couple of times in Osaka; I figured you wouldn’t have put together that tetsu from L’Arc was that guy, was me. That’s why, even though we’d been on lots of programs together, I’d never spoken to you.]
– You both thought that way? Nishikawa [Yes, yes. I was so worried about saying something weird to him that I never even said hi.] tetsu [But then one day, one of our mutual friends told me that Nishikawa-kun had been talking about how we knew each other from way back when. That’s how I knew, “Wow, he remembers me!” and so about six years ago when we were on that program together, that was the first time we actually talked so that was our reunion. And it just so happened that we had some other chances to meet up, and on Music Station we even got to go on together and talk about the fact. I said “This guy betrayed me,” to Tamori-san (laughs).] Nishikawa [I’m telling you, I never betrayed you! (laughs) You’re wrong. (laughs) How many times do I have to tell you before you’ll believe me? (laughs)]
– It did take a long time for you to meet again (laughs). tetsu [Yeah. It really was an awfully long time (laughs). You know what, there’s a select clothing shop that we both like to go to during our private time, and we’ve even run into each other there.]
– Ah, I can see why. You both have very similar tastes, you wear a lot of the same things. Nishikawa [Yeah, yeah. I like MANIAC’s stuff a lot too, I wear it a lot (laughs) Their select shops are pretty big and they carry all the main brands I like; you could say we like the same stuff (laughs).] (6) tetsu [But you know, this one time the store’s lighting was was kinda dark, so I couldn’t make out faces clearly, and I thought there was this guy staring at me the whole time I was in there but it was just Nishikawa-kun. (laughs)] Nishikawa [Yeah, yeah (laughs). But I really had been thinking about you that whole time, tetchan. Just when my band started sucking and I quit, that was when L’Arc debuted and took off, and this is kinda repeating what you said before, but it made me go “Wow, I’ve gotta work harder” and really stimulated me.] tetsu [I see. So then you got to regret the way you dumped me and ran off to Tokyo, at least a little bit.] Nishikawa [Like I said, you’re wrong (laughs). I never meant to dump you, or betray you (laughs).]
– But time passed, and the way you were able to meet again shows that you have some kind of destiny together, right? Nishikawa [Yes. Having a photo shoot together and reminiscing like this, it feels kind of strange but it’s fun; it really does seem like destiny.]
[Ah, this is bad, we might get outed!]
-Nishikawa
– One rarely hears of people who became such close friends well after reaching adulthood. Not to mention that in this business, everyone has to put up their boundaries, it can be very difficult to meet anyone with whom to relax and be natural, correct? tetsu [You can’t show your true colours much. But you know… Oh man, I’m letting on way too much (laughs).] Nishikawa [But you know, I think that for both of us, no matter how close a relationship we might have with other people, we still couldn’t show our true colours the same way we can to each other. Isn’t that wonderful? (laughs) It is.] tetsu [Yeah (laughs). Because there’s something nobody else knows about us, and we know each other that way (laughs).]
– But, indeed, from the moment you walked into the room, tetsu-san, and the two of you started to talk, the entire space seem to shift, heartwarmingly; I can feel it on my skin. Nishikawa [Really? (laughs) Ah, this is bad, we might get outed!] tetsu [You mean, as in the true nature of our relationship? (laughs)] Nishikawa [Yeah (laughs). Back during the photo shoot you just took my hand without even thinking, didn’t you? (laughs).]
– Alright, alright (laughs). It’s simply that every time I hold a music-related interview, I naturally see the artist side of you, which means I meet the stoic, professional side of you, but this time, while of course you are here as artists, I feel that your true characters are being better represented, even down to the expressions on your faces. Nishikawa [Yeah. when tetchan is around, I can relax. It’s kind of like what you said before, about how in adulthood, you have a much harder time trusting people, but with tetchan around I feel at ease. And he makes me want to show a little bit more of my true colours to everyone else. But it’s not like… It’s not like I would never do it otherwise (laughs). It really feels like I’m about to reveal everything, now (laughs). Oh, and it feels like I’m going back to how I was back when we first met.] tetsu [I guess I feel the same way. It’s true, when we’re together I feel so grateful that I’ve been able to find someone that I can really be myself around. But sometimes, I think “Okay hold on, you don’t need to be THAT natural around me!” (laughs).]
– I’m jealous. I wish I had someone like that. tetsu [I’m sure you do. I really want to treasure this destiny bond.]
Interviewer not identified.
Translated by Natalie Arnold