Interview ~ MUCC: February 22, 2008
Rockstar Taste of Chaos
MUCC made their first appearance in America for Otakon 2006, and a second at JRock Revolution in Los Angeles, CA in May 2007. Now they're looking at a full US tour as a part of the Rockstar Taste of Chaos. Before heading out on this tour, Tatsuro took the time to answer a few of our questions.
For those of our readers who may not be familiar with you yet, please introduce yourself.
I am from the rock band called MUCC. Tasturou, on vocals.
Best of MUCC is about to be released in America. This will be your first American release, and contains your more popular songs, and for some people, it will be their first taste of MUCC. Do you think that this album will give them an accurate impression of you, or do you think another album would do a better job?
You can start from this album. If you like any songs from this album, then you can go pick up the original album. That’s the way you can enjoy it the most.
The song FUZZ is in the movie Cloverfield. How did you get involved with this?
We had a great chance through our record label.
Would you like to have more of your music in movies? If so, is there another genre of movie you’d like to do music for, aside from horror?
We love to watch movies; we watch them a lot. If there were an opportunity, I would love them to use our songs for any movie genre.
You will be releasing a new album this March. What can we expect from that?
The new album is very interesting. We experimented with the sound. I hope you have a chance to listen.
In your own words, how do you think your music has changed since you first started?
It’s becoming deeper, wider and has more free spirit.
Do you have any goals for this year, either personal goals or goals as a band?
Whatever I do, it should become MUCC. I would love to have more free spirit.
More and more, the internet is becoming a tool for bands to gain fans. Especially for bands that have an international following, the internet is crucial. Do you think that you are using the internet to its full potential? Please explain.
I still do not make full use of it; I really want to use it more often and communicate with international fans.
Speaking of using the internet, you guys now have an official blog (http://ameblo.jp/mucc--69). As for the caricature at the top of the blog, who drew it?
I did it. I love drawing.
Taste of Chaos will be your first time doing an entire tour of America, but it won’t be your first time performing here. In 2006, you played two shows at the Ram’s Head for Otakon, and last May, you played at the Wiltern for JRock Revolution. What sort of impressions did these shows leave on you?
Yeah, everyone rocked !! I felt like everyone really enjoyed the show and rocked the house out.
One thing that Japanese bands often say when they’ve played in America is that there’s a big difference between Japanese audiences and American audiences. What’s your take on this?
Everybody seemed to enjoy it their own way. There are no rules about how to enjoy a show. If they enjoy the show, they will show it directly.
Besides the audience’s reaction to the live show itself, there are many cultural differences between Americans and Japanese in general. For example, Japanese give gifts to band members more often than Americans. But there are still American fans that bring gifts. What’s the strangest gift you’ve ever gotten?
I don’t remember any strange gifts. But I am very happy to see hand-made gifts. That’s something special from international fans.
Is there anything in particular you’d like to receive as a gift from your American fans?
Your warm heart !!
Turning the tables a bit, if you could give any gift to your fans OTHER than your music, what would it be?
My warm heart !!
What hopes or expectations do you have for the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour?
I look forward to it being a very stimulating experience.
How do you feel about having the chance to do a tour like this?
I love it. I just want to play hard and enjoy every moment.
How do you feel about playing with American bands?
We look different from everybody else. We will try our best and enjoy performing with them.
Are you looking forward to doing anything in particular on this tour?
Disneyland !! I want to go if we have time.
Finally, do you have a message for your fans?
We will enjoy every minute of RTOC. I hope you enjoy us, too.
interview by Melony; thanks to Kara for editing; photo courtesy of TOC
Thank you to Tatsuro for taking the time to answer our questions, and thank you to Rockstar Taste of Chaos for arranging the interview.
links
MUCC Official Website
MUCC Official MySpace
Rockstar Taste of Chaos
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