-REST ROOMS-

PARADE TOUR DOCUMENT

Partial transcript
translated by Kuroe

How was the start of the tour?

Sakurai: I actually felt quite relaxed.

ZEPP YOKOHAMA

The band goes through a pile of re-released old albums and

reminisces.

Yutaka: (looking at the cover of Hurry Up Mode) This was 20 years

ago. My elbow looks so square, it’s just jutting out like that…

Onstage in Yokohama
Sakurai MC: Okay everyone, here’s a new song we’re going to play
for you, I wonder if it will be on our new album? (The band tries to
play ‘Spider,’ but there is technical trouble) “Oh, looks like it’s not
finished yet!” (The crowd laughs and the band goes offstage while the
staff try to solve the technical problems. Once the problems are
solved, the band return)
Sakurai MC: Hm, I wonder if it’s finished now?

ZEPP SENDAI –FOCUS ON HOSHINO HIDEHIKO–

So tell us about Hoshino Hidehiko.

Yutaka: Oh you want me to talk about Hide? Well, he’s very punctual.
He’s modest, and serious, and he’s got a big build. He’s a good guy.
Toll: Hide? Well, he was a classmate of my brother’s, and that’s how
we met…yeah, he’s a pretty mellow person, I think. He’s the member
who’s the least loud and boisterous, I think, including Acchan…I think
that my brother and I are the loudest members, actually…(laughs)

J is the special guest in Sendai, and addresses the audience.

J MC: BUCK-TICK’s been going at it for 20 years! You guys weren’t
born yet, were you!

How did you feel about the tour, Hide?

Hide: Well, we haven’t had this chance to play with lots of different
people for a long time, so I think it was a really precious experience
for us.

What were some memorable songs that you played?

Hide: We haven’t released the album yet, but I definitely think that
the new songs, ‘Montage’ and ‘Spider’
Steve, J’s Drummer, to Hide [in English]: “Your birthday?”
Hide: “Eh?”
J, to Hide [in Japanese]: “Is today your birthday?”
Hide [in English]: “Oh, yes! Thank you.”

Do you have a birthday message for Hide?

Sakurai: Happy birthday, Hide. Now you’re older than I am. Have a
good year. (long pause) Okay, okay that’s enough, I’m embarrassed…
Yutaka: We were classmates, but he’s gotten older before me. But,
I’ll be catching up soon, so, please wait for me Hide!
Hide: Uh, well, yeah, everyone wished me well, so it was a good
birthday. I’m 42.

ZEPP FUKUOKA–FOCUS ON IMAI HISASHI–

Imai: Oh, right, it’s my special tonight!

Hide: Haha, ‘It’s my special tonight!’ ‘Oh, RIGHT!’

So tell us about Imai.

Yutaka: He’s a very quiet guy, really.

Imai, how did you feel about the start of the tour?
Imai: Hah…I think I forgot it! Well, let me see. This time we were
touring with other bands, so there was a different kind of tension for
us, and it was kind of thrilling. I thought it was going to be a fun tour.

Could you tell us more about Imai, Toll?

Toll: Imai? Well, at the beginning, he was really the one who acted
like the leader, and he was also the one who named the band. And
when we started out, he was really the one who had the vision for the
band, and imagined the band’s future. Also, by the way, he started it
out as a copy band of The Stalin, which was the band of Mr. Michirou
who’s playing with us tonight.

Endou Michirou: Well, when they asked me if I’d participate in their

tribute album, I thought that it would be an amusing experience and it
looked like it would be a lot of fun.

The band arrives at Zepp Fukuoka.

Sakurai: Thank you. I’m late.
Imai: I still feel drunk, and damn it feels good…
Yutaka: (narrating) Imai was really drunk yesterday.

The sound check progresses.

Sakurai: (sound check) Thank you. AH! (reading off the back of a
roadie’s t-shirt) If it’s under 25%, IT’S NOT ALCOHOL!”
Can you tell us more about Imai?
Hide: I wonder what I should say? He’s hilarious. No, he wasn’t
hilarious...
Sakurai: He’s really a dynamo.

What are Imai’s good qualities?

Yutaka: Hm……well, he really doesn’t talk much. He doesn’t talk
much at all.
Toll: Basically, he doesn’t talk at all. The first time he ever talked to
me was a year after I met him. I would always say, ‘Hey, Imai, hey,
Imai!’ but when he finally called back ‘Hey, Anii!’ I though ‘Oh! He
actually talked to me!’ I was so surprised.

What is Imai like as a guitar player?

Hide: Hm, I don’t know. I feel awkward answering that.
Yutaka: He’s always bringing in fresh air through BUCK-TICK.

Tell us about today’s special guest, Endou Michirou.

Imai: Well, in the session we had this afternoon, I really played hard.
Endou Michirou: There are going to be a lot of people in the
audience who aren’t my fans. I think it will be kind of exciting.

Afterward, Imai looks back on playing with Endou Michirou.

Imai: Well, I really felt nervous all of a sudden, but it was a good kind
of nervous. Yeah, it was fun. It felt really good.

What did you think were some memorable songs on the tour, Imai?
Imai: What do I say? It’s the Parade! But the fans really enjoyed the
new songs, and that made me happy. Also, I think maybe we really hit
the mark with ‘Rendezvous.’

Imai and the others chug beer at the wrap party after the show.

What do you have to say about the end of this live, Imai?
Imai: (as he gets into the tour van) Oh, we’re gonna keep this thing
going!

ZEPP OSAKA–FOCUS ON YAGAMI TOLL–

What was your impression of the tour?

Toll: Well, it was really long. It was connected to the Tenshi no
Revolver tour, so it felt really long.

Can you tell us about Toll?

Yutaka: Anii’s the oldest one of us, so I think he’s really hanging in
there.
Hide: He lives the life of an older brother.
Yutaka: Well of course I feel that way but he’s my brother, after all…
Sakurai: Hm…Well the two of them have been in the band for 20
years as brothers, and they’ve been together for so many decades as
brothers, so they have to put up with each other, but they really
respect each other…there are times when you don’t know who’s the
younger brother, though! (giggles)
Imai: Wherever he goes, Anii is an older brother.
Sakurai: Well, everyone has some idea of what Anii’s like after they
spend a little time with him, but, that’s what he’s really like. Isn’t he
cute?
Hide: I think he’s the ‘boke’ of the group. He’s a really fun person.

[The ‘boke’ is the name of the stupid-man role in the traditional

smart-man/stupid-man Japanese comedy routine. The ‘boke’
misunderstand situations and asks stupid questions, and the smart
man (the ‘tsukkomi’) corrects him and makes fun of him.]

Toll: The Osaka tour t-shirt is yellow because of the Hanshin Tigers.
Roadie: Oh, is that why? (laughs) Because of Hanshin?
[The Hanshin Tigers are the highly popular Osaka baseball team]

So tell us about today’s special guest, Balzac.

Sakurai: For Osaka, we have Balzac, who did ‘Moonlight’ for our
tribute album.

Toll reminisces about the Osaka show.

Toll: Well, honestly, I remember the wrap party better than the show.
The Balzac members were funny.

What were some memorable songs that you played?

Toll: I think our most recent single, ‘Rendezvous,’ was really the best
one.

How did it feel to sing a duet with Hirosuke, Sakurai?

Sakurai: I wanted to give him a chance to taste how it feels to be us
on stage.

How about you, Hirosuke?

Hirosuke: I was waaay too nervous, but it was so much fun! It was
amazing.
Hirosuke receives a copy of the Hurry Up Mode LP signed by all 5
band members.
This is awesome! Look, ‘Hiro-chan’!! [Sakurai wrote this on the front
of the album]

How do you feel about the year 2007?

Toll: God, it’s 2007, we’ve been doing this for so long…we’ve just
been recording and touring non stop, it feels like. If it’s 2007, I guess
we’ve worked a bit by now then, haven’t we? (giggles)
ZEPP NAGOYA–FOCUS ON HIGUCHI YUTAKA–

How was the Parade Tour for you, Yutaka?

Yutaka: I’m very glad that we were able to have this experience.
We’ve done events before, of course, but I’m very glad we were able
to go the whole way this time.

So tell us about Yutaka.

Imai: He’s been like my older brother (laughs).
Toll: He’s my younger brother (laughs) I mean, of course that’s an
important thing. And we’re in the same band but we can also
remember our childhoods together…I think our communication is very
good. And my brother, he’s very meticulous…The two of us make up
the rhythm section, so we always go into rehearsal first, and sort out
the rhythm, and then the other members join in. It’s fun doing it, just
the two of us. I think it’s a rare thing, though. I think most bands just
have everyone go in at once.
Hide: Among the band members, he’s the one I’ve known the
longest.
Yutaka: Hide and I have known each other since we both entered
high school.

Yutaka practices playing bass using a metronome.

Imai: Every single day, there he is, going tick-tick-tick-tick…Is there
really a point, I wonder?
Yutaka: I do it so that I feel secure. I mean each of us has a different
rhythm to follow. And you know it just depends on the day…even
when I listen to the CDs and I think, ‘oh no, I got drunk and now the
tempo on the CD’s a little too fast.’ I try to prevent that sort of thing
from happening. See, there, I’ve got all the songs on the tour in order
and I practice in order so I can practice things like going from fast to
slow very quickly.

Tell us more about Yutaka.

Sakurai: Well….Yuta’s just…Yuta, as always. He never changes. If

you’re asking if he acts like a kid, well, everyone acts like a kid, but
considering that, yeah, he’s a lot like a kid. Everyone feels like he’s
very friendly to them…he’s very considerate.
Imai: Yeah, he’s like that. He’s a friendly idiot like that.

How did you feel about the Nagoya show?

Yutaka: Hm, Nagoya. That was the first time I ever spoke to
Kiyoharu. I didn’t realize he was such a good guy.

Tell us about Kiyoharu.

Sakurai: Well, I haven’t actually met him that many times, but I still
feel quite close to him.
So what are some of Yutaka’s great qualities?
Imai: Great qualities? (to roadies) Hey, what are his great qualities?
Roadie: (long pause) Um, he’s dedicated?
Imai: Oh yeah? (very long pause) He’s dedicated (laughs)
Hide: Yeah, he is dedicated.
Sakurai: Yes, it’s amazing how different his serious and silly sides
are!

What were some memorable song you played on the tour?

Yutaka: Well, if you’re talking about something that’s new and
different, we made some new songs. ‘Montage’ has a really rock or
‘band’ sound to it. If you look at the whole thing, I think it was great
timing; we played really well and we got to introduce the next tour.
Also we played a lot of songs that the fans who came to see us really
wanted to hear, and I was really glad we could do that.

ZEPP TOKYO–FOCUS ON SAKURAI ATSUSHI–

Sakurai: It feels real, now that we’re playing in Tokyo.

What were your feelings about the Parade Tour?

Sakurai: Well, we got to play with a different artist at each venue, so
each show differed with the feeling of each band, and for us, the
tension just kept building up.

So tell us about Sakurai.

Hide: What kind of person is he, I wonder? He’s just…that kind of guy.
Well, yeah…I think he’s actually much more sociable than he appears
to be.
Yutaka: I think he’s a great vocalist, yep.
Toll: Before the band was the five of us, you know, Acchan was the
drummer. I used to give him drum lessons!

What are Sakurai’s great qualities?

Imai: …He’s amazing. Really. And he’s very secretive.
Hide: He’s very charismatic.
Toll: When he was a drummer, he really didn’t fit the part very well.
He’s a very visual, appealing, sexy person so it didn’t really suit him
to be in the back. But then, when he switched to vocals, and I joined
the band on drums, and we were performing for the first time, and he
was singing, halfway through, he turned around to me and his look
and his attitude was just so different from when he’d been the
drummer…he looked like a fish that had been starved for water. I
think he was finally feeling the right tension as the vocalist.
Yutaka: His great qualities? He’s really a very gentle person.

How about Tsuchiya Masami?

Sakurai: Well, he wanted me to do the vocals for the song that he
and his band did for our tribute album, so we’ll be standing on stage
together, and I’m really happy that we’re going to get to do that.

In retrospect, how was the Tokyo live?

Sakurai: It was a really special thing for me to be able to perform a
song on the same stage with Tsuchiya Masami and his band
members…it was a very happy moment. And yes, during the
performance, my costume…well, my pants, ripped…but that was all
fine, it was all just funny.

Sakurai’s pants rip during “Baby, I Want You,” and he ties his coat
around his waist. When the song ends, he addresses the audience.
Sakurai MC: During the first song it looks like my pants ripped! But
I’m hiding it, so everything’s all right.

So what were some memorable songs on the tour?

Sakurai: Well, we played a lot of really fun songs, like ‘Speed,’ so we
showed off our ‘orthodox’ style a lot I guess, and that was fun.

At the wrap party after the show, Sakurai is asked about his
experience once again.
Sakurai: Yeah, well…from the first song the crotch of my pants
ripped, but oh well, it’s a great memory…
How was it performing onstage with Tsuchiya Masami?
Sakurai: I think we were more nervous than he was…but I’m so glad
we could do it after all these years.

OKINAWA NAMURA HALL –POSTPONED DUE TO A TYPHOON–

PARADE FESTIVAL

How was the Parade Festival?

Sakurai: Well it was outside in the daytime, and all in all it was just
an amazing day.
Hide: It was a good way to commemorate 20 years.
Imai: God I was so drunk…I don’t even remember (laughs). No, it was
fun.
Toll: Well so many different people came, and it really made us think
about being together for 20 years. Also I think everyone had a little
too much fun…it was hard to return to normal afterward.
Yutaka: I’m still really grateful to the staff. They put so many bands
on and off in so little time, and it must have been very difficult for
them…I’d really like to thank the staff and the fans.
Imai: I think somehow…we managed to succeed.
Sakurai: Well, it’s over now, and we’re done with our first 20 years,
and I think we spent them well, but in that one day, I got to start out
at the beginning with Kiyoharu…I had a great time but there were
some bits that were a little strained…but at the end, I just felt this
mysterious, strange sort of tiredness…
Yutaka: Aw, it’s over…it went by so much more quickly than I
thought it would…it ended really quickly. But it was great fun.
Hide: I was really moved. It was a day that was a dream come true
for me.

OKINAWA NAMURA HALL

So how was the tour, all in all?

Sakurai: People were really warm to each other…I felt like people
were just overflowing with happiness and kindness.
Imai: We had a lot of really great, fun times.
Yutaka: We got to play with artists that we were influenced by, and
artists who were influence by us, and it was such an honor to be able
to do that. I really appreciated that. I felt like the whole tour was a
sort of ‘thank you.’
Toll: Yeah, it was too bad that the typhoon got in the way. It was a
little hard for everyone to remember the tour feeling after a half a
year…but we were trying to make up for ending on such an
unresolved note before.

Sakurai addresses the crowd at the end of the Okinawa concert.

Sakurai MC: Thank you very much! Now, the Parade is over. Let’s
meet again somewhere. Thank you so much to the staff and everyone
who came to today, and also AGE OF PUNK! Thank you very much!

What will you be doing now?

Toll: If it all goes well, I hope we’ll be recording again soon.
Imai: I think we’re going to make another really great-feeling album.
Yutaka: I think everyone’s really excited to keep making great
sounds.
Imai: I think we’ve got a lot of drive to make music now and I think
the influence from the tour will probably come out in what we do next.
Sakurai: We did our festival to celebrate our 20 years, so we don’t
really need to do more for that, but from last year to now, we’ve been
focusing on a straight, rock-band sound, and I think there are a lot
more things we want to do incorporating that idea in the near future.

END