Interview ~ [geist] April 28, 2008
[geist] is a JRock inspired band based in Maryland that's been around since 2006. It was a light-hearted chat full of jokes when we sat down and interviewed the members of [geist] via instant messenger.
Please introduce yourselves and what part you play for those who may not know you.
Kazuya: I'm Kazuya, I play guitar.
Kane: I'm Kane; I do vocals.
Hiro: オレはベースのヒロ. Bass, Hiro.
Sai: I'm Sai, I play the drums.
Kei: Kei, guitar.
Ok. Now, how did you all meet?
Kane: Teh internetz.
Hiro: Exactly.
Kei: (laugh)
Hiro: With the exception of Kei...
Sai: I met Hiro in the bathroom.
Kane: Late at night.
Hiro: ....shhh....
Any particular sites?
Kane: Actually I saw that [geist] was looking for a vocalist on Myspace, and then contacted Kazuya. I talked with Kazuya for a few months before coming to Maryland to audition, and then I moved up here and met Hiro and Kei.
Sai, you're the newest member, right?
Sai: Yes ma'am.
I know [geist] was looking for a drummer for quite a while; how did you feel when you finally found someone?
Kane: Very relieved! (laughs)
Sai: Awwww Kane!
Hiro: (nods)
Kazuya: Ditto.
And there's a nice balance when you guys work together? When you're playing and such?
Kane: When we're playing, definitely, we all kind of feed off of each other's energy when doing a show. It's a really great chemistry.
Sai: Well, I'm still learning the ropes with all the other members, but so far, so good.
Ok, can you guys describe your music in your own words?
Kane: Ridiculously awesome? No, I don't have that much ego....
Kazuya: Boring...
Kane: Man, don't tell people that! (laugh)
Sai: The style of epic-i-tude!
Kane: I'm going to leave that one to Kazuya, he writes most of the instrumental parts.
Could we say it's American VK, or American JRock, or JRock-inspired...?
Kane: Definitely JRock inspired, we use a lot of the same melodic tools and structures that you'd find in JRock, versus what you'd find in American music.
Kazuya: Well, I usually bring most of my inspiration from bands I listen to, but there is also a bit of western metal that sneaks through.
Kane: Yeah.
Kazuya: I try to just write as I feel.
Kane: Visual Kei...we're aiming for it, but I wouldn't put us in the same visual category as say...oh, I don't know...
Kazuya: Bjork....
Kane: Bjork visual is like my trippiest dreams. But visually we aim for a darker theme, definitely.
Like maybe...MUCC, girgugamesh, DéspairsRay...?
Kane: Yeah, definitely closer to those bands.
Sai: (nod)
Kazuya: Although we do wish to have a more visual style later, when we can afford to.
Hiro: Right.
I see.
Kazuya: Right now we are limited to what resources we currently have in our grasp.
Sai: (rubs fingers together)
Kane: It's an expensive, expensive style. (laugh)
Kazuya: Hai
Hiro: So that ends up being a more MUCC/girugamesh/D'espa visual style...
Kane: My hair alone has cost around $200 before.
Kazuya: Clothing, good clothing, just for a set, can be like 1,000 if you get it from Japan.
Yikes!
Kazuya: Harajuku isnt cheap.
Kane: And if you get cheap stuff....it's obvious.
Kazuya: Indeed.
Kane: So splurging on the good quality is necessary, unfortunately for my wallet. (laugh)
Kazuya: No one wants cheap-looking rockers
Sai: Good thing I'm in the back!
(laugh)
Kazuya: (grins)
Kane: You just have to have good hair so they can see it over the cymbals! (laughs)
Kazuya: Don't forget good make up! Even though we sweat it off...
Kane: Good makeup....I wonder if we could get like....a Shiseido or MAC sponsorship...(laugh) That would be awesome.
Are there any bands in particular that influence your music?
Kei: MUCC.
Kane: Yes. HANNAH MONTANA!
(everyone laughs)
Kei: SHE'S MY IDOL~~~!!!
Kazuya: Britne-um...alice nine., Dir en grey
Kane: (laughs)
Hiro: Most definately MUCC, Dir en grey, X.
Kazuya: But there are other smaller bands like lynch, scar, Ayabie, ScreW...
Kane: But seriously...MUCC, Diru, X Japan, girugamesh, D'espairsRay...ScreW, yes. (laugh)
Sai: And girugamesh is obvious considering our cover of owari to mirai.
Gonna go see X in September?
Hiro: Hahaha....no....
Kei: Hell yeah.
Kane: Of course! It's X Japan!
Kazuya: Yea I know im going to see them again. I have to.
Hiro: Wait...that's in New York right?
Kazuya: Hai.
Kei: Yep!
Hiro: Oh...
(everyone laughs)
Hiro: Then yes.
Kazuya: Madison Square!
Hiro: Man...how'd I forget that?
(everyone laughs)
What about getting gigs? How do you usually go about getting them, and what sort of problems do you usually run into when looking for gigs?
Kazuya: Well...
Sai: "Well" is right....
Kazuya: We usually get show offers. If not that, then we usually look for a venue we think would be good for whatever show we want to put on, and then see what bands would like to play. Booking a VK show on the east coast can be hard and time consuming but we would definately like to put the east coast on the map. West coast has all the fun.
Sai: (shakes fist westward)
That's true!
so are you mainly targeting the JRock fandom, or do you have other people you'd like to have as fans?
Kazuya: Well, we'd really like to not alienate our fans, but its hard when JRock and Visual Kei is such a small scene relative to other scenes in our country. We do pull in non JRock fans, but its usually due to their own curiosity as to why we dress the way we do, and sing in another language. But one thing is pretty universal in any language, and thats music. Oh yea and mosh pits...
Hiro: (laugh)
Kane: Obviously we do target the JRock fandom, as that's our niche, but I think part of the overall goal is to help make this more acceptable in general.
Hiro: It is one of our goals to help broaden the VK scene in the US.
Kane: Unfortunately though, a lot of people here don't feel that way... (laugh)
Kazuya: Don't feel what way?
Kane: That music is universal no matter what the language.
Kazuya: Ah yeah. Well it's because people like singing. And no one likes learning a new language to sing their favorite song.
Kane: It's unfortunate, but a lot of people will refuse to listen to something just based on the language.
Sai: I don't. I like hitting things!
Kane: (laugh)
Kei: And that's why you're a drummer!
(laugh) Now, anime conventions: what anime conventions have you guys played at in the past?
Kazuya: Well, we've played Otakon's Band Night. That was our first show with Kane, it was fun, had a few problems but over all we had a blast.
You guys were at Anime USA last year, too, right?
Kane: Yep.
Kazuya: Hai, we played a small panel room in a last minute concert. It wasn't really planned but we had many people show up.
Kane: We also did a little guerilla performance at Katsucon...
Kazuya: Both Katsucon and Anime USA were like that.
Do you prefer any one convention over the other?
Kazuya: Anime USA and Otakon are my favorites. I don't know about anyone else. Although T-mode is a new uprising con, I haven't been there yet. But we play there this year so we shall see...
Kane: I'd say Otakon, minus the staffers.
Hiro: I've had a bunch of fun at most of the local conventions.
Since you guys are inspired by Japanese bands...how many of you have actually been to Japan?
Kane: Two out of five?
Hiro: Me.
Kazuya: Me.
Sai: Not I, said the Sai.
Kane: I've been to Asia, but sadly not Japan yet. Hopefully sometime this year.
Sai: Yeah, I'm saving up for this year.
So only Kazuya and Hiro, eh? What kind of experiences did you have there? I know Kazuya, you got to see X Japan's reunion concert, right?
Kazuya: Yes, the last time I went, I saw X-Japan. It was an amazing concert, for the amount we were given. We only had 8-10 songs. But I'll leave it at that.
Hiro: I spent four and a half months traveling and going to a Japanese language school there.
Kazuya: The first time I went, it was to see the hide museum closing but someone up there hates me.
Oh no!
Kazuya: So we missed it, but we still had a blast for it being our first time in Japan.
That's good.
Where did the name [geist] come from, and what does it mean to each of you?
Kazuya: [geist] means ghost in German.
Hiro: It was Kazuya's decision.
(everyone nods)
Kazuya: I named the band [geist] because it was my favorite word in German. I was born in Germany, so growing up, I always had a fascination with the German language. So it was only fitting to name the band that. Also, it goes with our appearances.
Kei: There originally was a back story behind the name, but...
Kazuya: Yea, the band was originally backed by a concept and a story but when we found Kane we decided to give her a break.....for now...
(Kazuya and Kei laugh evilly)
Kane: So do I get to do the metal cheese later? "MIGHTY DRAGONFLAME....." etc? I'd like to to give that a shot at some point!
(everyone laughs)
So Kazuya, you're the main songwriter and the one who named the band, so does that make you the leader?
Kazuya: Yes, I guess you would say that I am the band leader.
Do you also write the lyrics?
Kazuya: No.
Kane: I write the lyrics.
Kazuya: I leave that up to Kane, I just give her ideas once in a while.
How do you come up with ideas for lyrics?
Kane: Well, a lot of times Kazuya will hand me the finished music already titled, and so I can draw inspiration from the titles. If it's a bit more open, I'll just see how the music feels to me, dark, or hopeful, etc, and go from there. I probably need more happy music, most of it is kind of depressing. (laugh) I draw inspiration from a lot of things in my life, I like to work out my problems via my lyrics. Putting the things that bother me into song helps me work through them and understand them better.
That makes sense.
Kane: So that's part of why a lot of the songs tend to be darker. Some of them are very personal to me (laugh)
So do you feel like you're really opening yourself up to your audience?
Kane: Definitely. And the things that I deal with are things a lot of other people go through as well, so I feel like it's kind of...making that connection with the fans through the lyrics. How many of our fans speak Japanese well remains to be seen, however. (laugh)
What do you hope to acheive as a band?
Kane: World Domination?
You should get missiles for that...
Kane: We actually put in for the missiles, but they're on back order.
Hiro: うちゅうへ行きたい。 (I want to go to space)
Kazuya: I actually would really like people to feel what we are writing about and or playing.
Kane: I agree with Kazuya, I definitely want us to be able to connect with our fans and for them to really enjoy what we're doing.
Hiro: I would like to be able to help people.
Kane: Also, we'd definitely like to be able to play shows around the world eventually.
Kazuya: Especially JAPAN!
Sai: No, we're gonna skip that country.
Kane: Yes, it is my life's goal to play Tokyo Dome eventually. If it kills me, we will play Tokyo Dome (laugh)
Sai: So we will play it without Kane, because she will be dead.
Hiro: Budokan is my goal.
Kane: You have to sing my parts then, Sai.
Sai: I'm ok with that!
Tokyo Dome is a big goal! What size of audience are you playing for right now?
Kazuya: Usually about 50 people. As long as the room is packed and everyone's enjoying it, I think we are happy with that.
Hiro: Yeah.
Kane: Smaller concerts are a lot of fun, it's nice being able to interact with all the fans.
Sai: It's a lot more intimate.
Kazuya: Now, Tokyo Dome is a childhood dream for most of us, and we hope to reach that goal in the future.
Kane: If you're going to aim, might as well aim for the top, yeah? (laugh)
(everyone agrees)
Kazuya: Well the top would be....MADISON SQUARE GARDEN! According to X anyway.
Do any of you guys have any other bands or side projects you do?
Kazuya: I do, two really, well one and a half. I do double duty in a band called The Given and also do my own hide-inspired music on the side.
Kane: I write some stuff on my own, I guess you could call that a solo project. I write a lot of lyrics and melodies, and not all of them are great for [geist]. So I just save them for solo work. Oh also, most of my solo stuff is in English. and more of a punk/indie pop feel.
Kei: I'm currently working on a side project, though it hasn't gotten very far. (laughs)
Sai: I'm Kazuya's bitch for all of his side projects.
Kazuya: Yep. But I don't plan on doing anything really with my solo project except record a CD. If shows come, they come but nothing major.
Hiro: I want to start writing stuff but I have to wait until my desktop is working.
Kazuya: The Given is more of a metalcore group, we do alot of screaming, breakdowns, speed metal, and melodic metal. You can hear some of that in [geist] as well. Small pieces, but it's still there in the guitar work.
Kane: Screaming is fun.
Sai: Yes it is. Especially screaming "o".
Kane: (laughs) I'm glad you guys made me learn.
That's right, until [geist], Kane, you didn't know how to scream properly, ne?
Kane: Oh, not at all. I'd never screamed at all before joining.
Kazuya: Except at her hair in the morning for not having MORE volume.
Kane: In fact, I hadn't even been singing for very long, but what I had been taught had been more of a classical nature. And yeah, I have caucasian hair. It's just flat. But so yes, it's been a long journey learning to scream (laugh)
How long have each of you been doing each of your parts?
Kazuya: I've been playing guitar for almost 8 years now.
Kane: I've been singing for only a year, really. I'm actually a failed guitarist....(laugh)
Hiro: I've been playing bass for a little over a year now.
Kane: I started learning vocals when I saw that [geist] was looking for a vocalist.
Kazuya: Most of us are multi-instrumentalists.
Sai: I've been playing drums for about 13 years.
Kei: Officially been playing guitar since [geist] formed. Kazuya pretty much taught me most of what I know now. If it weren't for him I'd still be a n00b. (laughs)
Kazuya: Kei plays bass as well, Hiro plays guitar as well, as well as Kane. I play bass and drums as well. I sing some but it has been a while, so I suck.
Sai: I play bass and piano. I suck at both.
Aww. (laughs)
Sai: But I figured my life needed a little melody.
Kazuya: I didn't know that, Sai!
Hiro: I've also practiced koto and piano. I'm decent with the piano.
Kei: Piano also for me.
Kazuya: REALLY!?
Kane: A little piano.
Kazuya: Looks like I have to bring a piano to practice.
Kane: I used to be really good, but then I stopped for many years.
If you could be anyone else in the band, who would you be, and why?
Sai: That's a wierd question....
Kazuya: Ipaado-san, because he is perfect in every way!
Hiro: (laugh)
Kane: Unless you stomp on him, or your batteries die... That's a hard one.
Hiro: I'd be Kazuya.
Kazuya: I'd say I'd want to be Hiro.
Hiro: (laugh)
Kazuya: you beat me to it (laugh)
Sai: Doppleganger!
Hiro: No, shadow clones.
Kane: I'm torn. I'd say I want to be Sai so I can beat the hell out of the drums all the time... But I like the spotlight.
Kazuya: Hiro's a pretty cool guy, He plays bass, picks his nose, and isn't afraid of anything.
Hiro: Making fun of my 'Engrish' now, huh?
Sai: I wouldn't be anybody, specifically. I just don't want to be the drummer.
Random question of the day: If you were an ice cream flavor, what kind would you be and why?
Kei: Coffee. I like coffee.... A lot.
Sai: This sounds like a question on elimi-date.
Hiro: Bass? Wait.. salmon.
Kazuya: Pistachio... I mean Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough because it has multiple personalities.
Sai: (laughs)
Kane: Phish Food. I don't know why. Just Phish Food.
Kazuya: Wait! Ben and Jerry's Half Baked. It's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Brownies.
Hiro: Wait...salmon and wasabi combo.
Kei: Wait..... COFFEE! (laugh)
Sai: I'd be umbrella-flavored.
Umbrella-flavored? Does it taste like rain?
Kazuya: Chocolate rain.
Kei: I knew it.
OK, last question. Any messages for our readers?
Kei: Yes. GIVE ME MANGOS!!!!
Kane: I WANT A LOBSTER.
Kazuya: I would like to say that I hope to meet all of our fans, and hope they enjoy themselves at all of our shows. and we'll try to do our best at every one of them.
Kane: On a serious note, keep checking for updates, and keep an ear out for our upcoming CD release, Grotesque.
Kei: Make sure they are ♂ without a doubt
Hiro: Shoot for your dreams. 人の為に生きて!
Kazuya: I want to see people moshing!
Kane: Yes, moshing. We like violence.
Kei: Lots of it.
Kane: But seriously. About that lobster... If someone brings me lobster.....I will kiss them.
Kazuya: Hey, they didn't say demand list! Because if that's the case... I WANT YOUR SOULS!!!!!
Sai: Souls?
Kane: And I will regret saying that.
Kei: ....mangos.
Hiro: ピッザくれ！
Interview by Melony
Thank you to the members of [geist] for taking the time to answer our questions.
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