Interview ~ MUCC: March 20, 2008
Rockstar Taste of Chaos
Project: JRock Events USA got a chance to sit down with the members of MUCC before their performance on the Nassau Coliseum show date on the Taste of Chaos 2008 tour. Sound checks were going on in the background and strangely enough, we had Christina Aguilera drifting into the press room.
Can you please introduce yourselves to the fans new to your music?
Tatsuro: Tatsuro, vocalist.
Miya: Miya, guitarist.
Yukke: Yukke, bassist.
SATOchi: SATOchi, drummer.
This will be your third time in America and it’s been different from your other performances in America. How is this tour different from your other performances?
Tatsuro: Actually the last two times we performed in front of the Jrock fans, a very particular group. This time you see the line up and there are American bands; there aren’t necessarily Jrock fans. So the situation is very much different but that’s because they are a different audience and we have so much fun.
I’m sure you’ve had the chance to see Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold perform. How are Japanese performances different from American performances?
Miya: Atreyu has so much energy on the stage and you can see it. They move around and we’ve gotten so much energy from the bands that this is it. They know what they’re doing, definitely. It’s totally entertainment and they totally know what their band’s strongest points are and what they are and every band is different.
Have you guys made friends with the bands on this tour?
Tatsuro: Well Idiot Pilot is on the side stage right before us and we always listen to and see their stage. And we like their songs. We started to communicate with them over the stage and with the other bands, too.
I’ve heard about Yukke playing on stage with Atreyu. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Yukke: Actually the two shows before it even happened, the guys (in Atreyu) talked to me and said, “Why don’t you come out on stage with us?” I thought it was the chorus that I had to do. The day of the show, Matt (vocalist of Atreyu) came to me and he imitated the fingers (Yukke demonstrates by playing a little air bass) and I said, “Oh my God, are you talking about bass?” Matt said, “Yeah!” and Matt told me how to play and I just jumped in during the show. (laughs)
How did the Atreyu fans react?
Yukke: Nobody really knew who I was so I just jumped in. But those guys just introduced me as “Yukke from MUCC.” So it was easy to just join the band. It was so much fun.
Would you want to do it again?
Yukke: Probably the first time was the best.
About a couple of weeks before the Taste of Chaos tour dates launched, more dates were added to the tour. How do you feel about that?
Tatsuro: America? There were tour dates added? We didn’t know about that.
Oh…
(everyone laughs)
Tatsuro: I know now.
Okay, that’s good.
Tatsuro: Probably...we’ve consistently done two days on and one day off.
How have your tour days been? Have you had the chance to sightsee or explore?
Tatsuro: Well we go there (to the venue area) and find a mall. There are too many malls.
Did you guys buy a scooter like D’espairsRay did?
Tatsuro: I bought the first one and D’espairsRay imitated me. They bought a lot but it was only me and I really didn’t like it because I started it. They mimicked me, but I started it. I bought it first.
Okay, got it. (laughs)
You guys have been on the road for a while now. Are there any crazy road trip stories that you can tell us about?
Tatsuro: Every day is a crazy day. They love to party every day, so it’s so hard to follow them.
The American bands or the Jrock bands?
Tatsuro: American band. American band and staff (in English). They’re so kind. They always invite us and they always try to include us.
So do you guys go often?
Tatsuro: We try our best.
Very tired the next day, right?
Tatsuro: Yeah. Usually we have a party the night before we get a day off.
I’ve been following your blog a little bit and every single time it seems like the cold weather is your worst enemy. (laughs)
Tatsuro: Well we heard that Japan is getting warmer and it’s very cold here. And we kind of feel jealous about the Japanese weather now.
You guys talk about being really excited on this tour but is there anything you miss about Japan right now?
Tatsuro: I’d like to see my pet.
You guys have done a lot of Meet n’ Greets already. What is the craziest thing that happened?
Tatsuro: Well everyday is crazy. The fans are very warm and they come and see us and that’s a happy thing. But the craziest thing is the crew from the Rockstar booth. They are totally crazy. So communicating with them is the craziest thing.
In what way are they crazy?
Tatsuro: Well they are distributing the energy drink (Rockstar). And they have so much energy (the other members laugh). They have so much energy all the time.
This question is for Yukke. We noticed for certain songs like Fuzz you have the upright bass. So we’d like to know where you go the idea to use it and why you use it for those songs?
Yukke: When we recorded Fuzz for the first time, we used the electric bass first. Then we wanted to add something else and we chose the wood bass and the electric bass. It sounds more attractive that way so I picked the upright bass.
I noticed that when you’re onstage playing the upright bass you get so much energy.
Yukke: Yes, exactly.
This question is for Tatsuro: I noticed that you really like the HunterxHunter manga series. If you could be any HunterxHunter character, who would you be?
Tatsuro: (answers immediately) Jin.
Why?
Tatsuro: Because he’s so free and cool.
We’ve heard a little about MUCC’s simultaneous album release in America, Japan, and Europe. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Tatsuro: In Japan, we have a new album called Shion and it’s going to be released March 26th. Hopefully you can pick that up in the United States soon. This album we really focused on an international release. For the booklet we put the translation of the lyrics.
That’s very nice. Will it have both Japanese and English?
Tatsuro: Yes, but before that we had a US release The Best of MUCC, which was released February 26th. It was our first US release.
I recall.
Out of all the JRock bands, I noticed that MUCC was the one that blogged the most along with the Taste of Chaos tour and Ameblo. Do you like blogging?
Tatsuro: (chuckles) Well some of our members really like writing blogs.
(other band members laugh)
Last question: For a couple of these tour dates, some fans showed up as early as the day before the show. Even today some fans were here since last night. How do you feel about that?
Tatsuro: It was raining!
Yes, it was.
Tatsuro: How did you know it was Jrock fans?
I talked to the line before heading in here.
Tatsuro: I’m happy, but we worry about the fans...we don't want them to get sick or anything.
Do you have any last messages for the fans?
Tatsuro: This tour is so much fun and we've had so many experiences. But next time we’re going to do a solo tour hopefully. We’re going to come back soon so make sure you come back.
Miya: Well this is the first tour that is this long. But there’s no stress and no resistance. It’s just so free and we can relax. Next time we’re just going to come back freely and enjoy the live show. That’s what we’d like to do.
Yukke: Everyday, the time goes by, it gets more fun. The only other thing we have to do is versus in Mario Cart with the Nintendo DS. That’s the only thing we have to do until the tour ends.
SATOchi: We had so much happening even before we started the tour. We didn’t have the right gear, and the people who were supposed to come didn’t come and so we had to do everything on our own. We were so worried, but the result is that those moments made our band stronger and tougher. So we thank God that those moments happened because it was a really good experience for us.
Well, I hope you guys get to go to Disneyland (the band members smile at each other) and good luck with the rest of the tour. Thank you very much.
interview by Sophia; translation by Yaz; photos (c) MUCC
Thank you to MUCC for taking the time to answer our questions. Thank you to Heather Overstreet of Taste of Chaos 2008 (and other Taste of Chaos 2008 staff) and to MUCC management for arranging this interview.
links
MUCC Official Website
MUCC Official MySpace
Rockstar Taste of Chaos
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