69: Please introduce the person sitting next to you by name and part and tell us a fun fact about that person.
TSUKASA: The person next to me is our guitarist SHUN. and he falls down a lot.
SHUN.: It’s true, even if there is nothing around, I still fall. [All laugh]
69: Your legs get entangled?
TSUKASA: Exactly, he just suddenly trips. Recently, we all follow him in a chain reaction! [Laughs]
SHUN.: Let’s move on. The person sitting next to me is our drummer TSUKASA. Because of his dialect, his intonation is unusual. Being from Yamagata prefecture, he has a wonderfully strong accent yet he is very graceful about it and doesn’t try to get rid of it. I like that about him. I am from Gifu and somehow, after coming to Tokyo, I lost my accent but TSUKASA kept his, following his own path and I think that is great.
69: Do you realize you are speaking with a Yamagata accent?
TSUKASA: Not really. For me, it’s just the standard accent. The members say I do it on purpose cause it sounds good but I’m just talking normally.
69: Can you tell us an unusual habit of the other members of your band?
TSUKASA: ZERO has a very hard time waking up!
SHUN.: He just doesn’t wake up! And he is often late. [Laughs]
TSUKASA: There have been quite a few big delays. Just a few days ago, when we headed to Nagoya, ZERO was supposed to pick everyone up but we all had to get in a taxi and pick him up at home.
SHUN.: Yes, we had to ALL go to ZERO’s house to get him. [All laugh]
TSUKASA: The departure was delayed by about one hour.
SHUN.: Our vocalist Ricky…
TSUKASA: Every word he says is a gag.
SHUN.: That’s true. It’s a pain cause 70% are like old man gags!
69: Even during emcees?
SHUN.: Not for emcees but in every-day conversation. I’m always wondering if it’s really ok to come in after that. We often get stuck for conversation afterwards. [Laughs]
TSUKASA: kazuya is an extremely sincere person.
SHUN.: He is our band’s mediator and the one with the most common sense.
69: Yet at your live at Shinjuku BLAZE, during one of the emcees he mentioned something about not knowing how to use the ATM.
SHUN.: Yes, it was a while back but he had no idea how to use it. We were in the same band before and one day he asked me where he could buy toilet paper. While I had been living on my own since Junior high school and knew about the real world, he had never lived by himself before coming to Tokyo. It was quite long ago but one day he told me he had cooked for the first time and I asked him what he had cooked. He replied “an omelet.” I wondered to myself if making an omelet could be considered cooking. When I asked him how he had made it, he explained that he had held the egg with one hand and pierced the shell with his index finger to break it. [Mimics the action] [All laugh]
69: Imagine you woke up tomorrow and had switched bodies with someone from your band. Who would you like to switch bodies with and what would you do while in that body?
TSUKASA: I would like to switch to SHUN.’s body so that I could intimidate people. [SHUN. Laughs]
69: Is SHUN. usually intimidating?
TSUKASA: The first impression people get when they meet him is that he is intimidating. That’s what I thought. I would like to try and have that same impact on people—to go out and walk through, for example, Shibuya’s Sentagai (main pedestrian street in Shibuya) and just take up the center of the street.
69: So you usually avoid calling attention to yourself when you walk through Sentagai? [Laughs]
TSUKASA: I usually take the sides and am barely noticed.
SHUN.: I would pick Ricky. He has been in many bands and I would like to know what that feels like, to be in another band that’s not THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S. Also, I’m not very good at singing and would like to sing with his great voice.
69: What would you sing if you had his voice?
SHUN: I would sing our songs!
69: Speaking of singing, TSUKASA, you often sing enka (a Japanese genre) at lives. Is it one of your hobbies?
TSUKASA: Yes, it has been a hobby since I was a child.
69: Why enka?
TSUKASA: Well, when I was a child, I sang it due to my father’s influence.
69: You sang at a live a while back and it was quite good.
TSUKASA: Surprisingly, people tell me I don’t sound so good with accompaniment but I have been practicing! It is only a hobby, though!
SHUN.: TSUKASA, ZERO and I often participate in DJ events and TSUKASA always sings.
69: Is your enka repertoire big?
TSUKASA: Yes, you could say that. About 30 songs!
69: Wow, that many?
TSUKASA: Wait, maybe 20! [All laugh]
SHUN.: I think you can stick to the 30.
TSUKASA: Ok, 30 then! [All laugh]
69: When you go to karaoke, do you sing mainly enka or also western songs?
TSUKASA: Recently, it’s mainly enka. If I sing western songs it’s usually the one from the movie “Armageddon.” [SHUN. laughs]
69: Aerosmith is difficult to sing, though!
TSUKASA: When I sing, I transform into that person so I feel my voice becomes just like Steven Tyler’s. [SHUN. laughs] The truth is, I only know the chorus.
69: How about you, SHUN.? What do you usually sing?
SHUN.: I don’t often go to karaoke but when I do, I tend to sing a duet called “Sannenme no Uwaki,” or enka singer Takashi Hosokawa’s “Kitasakaba.” They are both songs my father used to listen to in the car when I was a child. I also sing Akira Terao’s “Ruby no Yubiwa.” Mainly old songs.
69: Do you have any hobbies apart from music?
SHUN.: I’m like a lot of things a little although there are also some things that interest me more deeply but hobby wise I like traveling. I’ve been to India four times and I have even made some friends there. If I have time this year, I want to go again. If I had to choose a favorite country, India would be in the top three.
69: India is an unusual choice. Do you communicate in English when you go there?
SHUN.: It’s mostly body language. Sometimes I do use a few English words. I used to travel a lot as a backpacker so I really enjoy traveling. I also like outdoor activities like sports or mountain climbing. I climb Mt. Fuji every year. I plan on climbing it this year. I also like soccer. Sometimes I play with ZERO and other bandmen.
69: Do you have a favorite player?
SHUN.: I used to cheer for the Netherlands and liked Nistelrooy. Nowadays, I follow the fads and like Messi and Neymar. I’m an FC Barcelona fan. I guess if I had to pick my all time favorite it would have to be Batistuta or Roberto Baggio. The list is endless.
69: How about you, TSUKASA? Do you have an interest in sports?
TSUKASA: None whatsoever. I do watch big games like when the Japanese National Football Team plays. I like to cheer in front of the TV while drinking beer.
SHUN.: Recently, we watched a game together at his place. We had to go to work half-way through, though.
69: What are your other hobbies TSUKASA?
TSUKASA: I like to draw. I even have my own characters, ones I created. I like to draw those and also landscapes, people, and even our staff’s faces, in 3D in pencil.
SHUN.: He also draws THE MICRO HEAD 4’NS original character MONTARO which features in some of our goods.
69: If you had the opportunity to share the stage with any other musician, who would you like it to be?
TSUKASA: I would have to say YOSHIKI from X-JAPAN, Kiyoshi Hikawa and Takashi Hosokawa.
69: Would you like to sing with Kiyoshi Hikawa and Takashi Hosokawa or would you like to play drums for them?
TSUKASA: Anything would be fine!
SHUN.: I would pick the tap-dancer HIDEBOH. He directed the tap-dancing in Zatoichi (movie by Takeshi Kitano) and recently also appeared on a TV show. I have already had the chance to work with him and for a while now have been interested in mixing guitar and tap-dance.
69: So now that we’ve learned a bit about you, please tell us about the concept behind THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S.
SHUN.: As you know, when we got together to from the band, we had all lost our previous bands. At that time, we decided to do what we wanted, to bring together the things we loved and the interests we had. I think you can say THE MICRO HEAD4’NS equals enjoying music!
69: After your first album, A beginning from the end, oneman shows in Japan, and even a European Tour, you are about to release your second album Reverberations and close to celebrating your second anniversary. What has changed since your first live at O-East in 2011?
SHUN.: We have become indisputably closer to each other. To me, this was particularly clear during the European Tour. I didn’t think about it at the time but when I look back, I realize how close we became. It was a great tour but the schedule was tough so band and staff had to come together to overcome all kinds of hardships. It was a good opportunity to really get to know everyone—not only onstage but also off. The bond was definitely deepened.
69: What can you tell us about the new album? Is there a main theme?
SHUN.: The title Reverberations means “echo” or “response.” Our first album A beginning from the end implies, like the title suggests, a new beginning after something ends. It represented what had happened to us. Our previous projects had come to an end and we had to restart. Since then, we’ve consolidated as THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S. From now on, we want to continue to send out our message through songs and performances and want to hear the fans’ response, like an echo that not only repeats but also adds something to the original message, adding strength to it. That’s what we want to convey with the album.
69: How did you come up with the title? It’s a difficult word [Laughs]
SHUN.: ZERO came up with it. We had no idea what the word meant at first.
TSUKASA: In music, we have the term “reverb” and it kind of gave us a clue as to what the word meant. In karaoke terms, it would be the echo. [All laugh]
69: Can you introduce and tell us a bit about your personal favorite songs from the new album?
TSUKASA: I’m tempted to say the ones I wrote. If I exclude those, I will have to say “Raimei.” If I exclude that, then… [All laugh] The one SHUN. wrote. [To SHUN.] What’s the name again? I forgot…
SHUN.: What was it again? Hmm, I can’t remember, either… and I wrote it. Oh, I got it! “BREAKING & SHUT OUT!!!!!”
TSUKASA: Yes, it’s the one that starts with a drum solo…
SHUN.: What? Really? Which one? Is it? Oh… maybe live it does… It’s that one, right?
TSUKASA: Yes!
SHUN.: It starts with a drum solo when we do it live.
TSUKASA: Doesn’t it start the same way on the CD?
SHUN.: Yes, yes! It starts the same way! [All laugh]
TSUKASA: It has a very electronic feeling to it. It’s digi-rock! The music is great. Right after we finished mixing, I listened to it and thought it was a very cool song. It is indeed a cool song!
69: That song makes for a very cool live performance. What are your favorites, SHUN.?
SHUN.: The album’s main theme is “Raimei” so I’m also tempted to say that one. [Laughs] Personally, I also like “I’m like a bird in a cage & U too” because it’s a very intense song. Of course, the fact that I wrote the song and lyrics might have something to do with me liking it so much. The truth is that we have been playing it at lives for a while now and the song didn’t even have lyrics at first. Ricky sang it in nonsensical English but I thought, after that, it was too late to change it back to Japanese. Since our English is not that good, we asked a foreign friend for help with the lyrics. The improvised title for the song was “Youtsu” [which means lower back pain in Japanese] and since it sounds a lot like “U too” so we came up with the new title. [All laugh] Every time I write a song, I come up with an appropriate temporary title. Since I suffered from lower back pain when I was writing it, the choice seemed obvious. The fans heard about the story and the title stuck so we needed something close. [All laugh] The process of writing the lyrics was different from usual, like a game where we had to fill in the blanks; the puzzle pieces coming together, one by one. That’s why that song has special meaning for me.
TSUKASA: I remembered another song I particularly like. May I? [SHUN. laughs] It’s a song I wrote called “Calling.” It was actually the first song of THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S which I wrote the lyrics for. I had been wanting to make this kind of song since the band was formed. As you know, we came together after our bands disbanded and the disbanding of a band makes fans sad, right? I wrote this song for those people, to give them strength to carry through the sad periods.
69: You had your first European Tour as THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S earlier this year. How was it?
TSUKASA: It was great. ZERO and I had been to Europe before with our previous band so it was great to put a new band together and be able to go again. The fans waited for us to return and received us very warmly.
69: Was there a country or live that particularly touched you or left a strong impression?
TSUKASA: When I went to Russia with D’espairsRay, the crowd yelled out, thank you in Japanese at the end of the show and it moved me. Now, I returned with a new band and they did it again. That made me extremely happy.
SHUN.: The tour conditions were hard and although I felt a lot of support from the people around us there were also many tough situations. Overall, the lives were a lot of fun. The thing that left the strongest impression on me was the last show in Munich. I generally don’t use makeup for lives but since it was the last show, I decided to do so. It was actually the first time I wore makeup for a THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S live. The staff knew about this and everyone decided to join me and put on makeup! To top it all, everyone came onstage at the end of the show—with makeup on! It was really funny. As we all held hands and raised them together for the finale, I felt a sense of togetherness and thought, “This is a great band!” The fans seemed honestly please as they looked at us and I remember thinking they were all great fans.
Another episode that I remember was in Hamburg, Germany. The PA was a really scary guy. We heard the Japanese staff say he was scary but the truth is, since he only spoke in English, we didn’t really understand a word he said. At some point, we found out he was the PA for the band Halloween! We were really surprised. As expected, the rehearsal went super smoothly. It was impressive. He got everything right the first time. I thought, “Wow, he is good!” Even though we were still a bit scared of him, we asked him for a photo. [Exemplifies posing] Everyone was very excited to take a picture with him! [Laughs]
69: Are there any other funny (or scary) episodes that you would like to share with us?
SHUN.: It was winter when we went and I don’t remember a day when the temperature was above one degree. It was always below freezing point! The thing is, whenever I’m on the move, I hate to wear anything but sandals. Even if it’s snowing. [Laughs] I hate shutting my feet up when traveling by car so there was no other option! Even when we stopped at the service area, I would go out in sandals and I can tell you, it was indeed cold. [To TSUKASA] Can you think of anything else?
TSUKASA: The farewell party on the last day.
SHUN.: Yes, that was great!
TSUKASA: It happened after the emotional last show we talked about earlier. It lasted until 3 am and we didn’t sleep since we had to leave the hotel the next morning at around 4 or 5 am to head to the airport. At that time, one of the foreign staff sang the theme for Dragon Ball! [SHUN. laughs] It was the French version since that person was French and it was completely different. It seemed like a different song. There were no sounds of punches (like in the Japanese version) which made the song extremely friendly. I decided to show them the original version and to my surprise, he knew it and we ended up singing the song together.
SHUN.: It was chaos. There were beer cans and bottles everywhere. No-one used cups and everyone drank directly from the bottles. It was very rock-and-roll. I can still see it; there were hundreds of bottles around. At that time, everyone was into Jägermeister, which ZERO likes, and the mini bottles were lined up everywhere. We downed them in one gulp and then the available alcohol was passed around from one person to the next.
69: And you were able to get on the plane like that?
TSUKASA: We had to, but with no sleep.
SHUN.: It was tight. We had to run at full speed to catch the plane.
69: Were you OK after all that drinking?
SHUN.: The truth is, I don’t drink, but since it was the last day of the tour…
TSUKASA: It was rock’n’roll!
SHUN.: Rock’n’roll indeed.
69: Did you manage to board?
SHUN.: The moment we got to the airplane, we crashed asleep. There were a few other incidents. ZERO dropped his camera and broke the lense. He likes taking photos and his camera is quite good. Also, as you know, we have to show our passport when we leave a country. On one of those occasions, they wouldn’t let me go through, saying it was not me in the photo. You see, we were heading to a live so I had my hair braided. The person kept saying it wasn’t me in the photo. [All laugh] I kept saying, “Onaji! Same!” but they kept saying it wasn’t. There is always trouble when you are in a hurry!
69: Is there a particular letter, message or present you have received from a foreign fan that left a strong impression? Would you like to share it with us?
TSUKASA: I’d have to say a matryoshka. [Russion doll]
SHUN.: Oh, yeah… [Laughs]
TSUKASA: Also, even though we haven’t been to Australia or anything, someone gave me a toy koala. [All laugh]
69: When you have handshake events, do fans talk to you in Japanese? Are there any interesting episodes?
TSUKASA: Well, someone licked my tongue.
SHUN.: WHAT?
TSUKASA: My mistake, someone licked my ear with their tongue. [All laugh]
SHUN.: You scared me!
TSUKASA: The person hugged me and I don’t know if it was out of enthusiasm or what, but it was a very aggressive hug and she licked my ear. [All laugh]
SHUN.: Since there is not much hugging culture in Japan, I was quite embarrassed about hugs, myself! I’m actually very shy. I kept thinking, “Is it really OK to get this close to a woman?” [Laughs] I was nervous about the hug itself to start with. Let me explain. Many people asked us for hugs, so the handshake event soon became a hug event. I remember thinking, “Is this for real?” Well, as a guy, I was happy. [Laughs]
TSUKASA: Hugs are nice, aren’t they? [All laugh]
SHUN.: Yes, but I can’t avoid feeling embarrassed since I am Japanese. Another thing that left a strong impression was some of the letters I got. I like receiving letters from Japanese fans, of course, but it made me really happy to see foreign fans trying hard to write to us in Japanese, even if their Japanese was not so good.
TSUKASA: The grammar and kanji might be wrong but that just testifies to their zeal and how hard they tried to write it.
69: Have you ever written a fan letter to anyone? If you wrote one, who would you write it to and what would you write?
SHUN.: I have written a fan letter once, actually—to the Japanese idol Shizuka Kudo. I also sent in to her radio show. I wrote many post-cards and she even read one once. I was really happy. If I were to write a letter now, since I love anime, I would write to Mari from EVANGELION Q.
69: What would you write?
SHUN.: Please, marry me! [All laugh]
TSUKASA: I have never written a fan letter. If I did, I would write to Kiyoshi Yamashita from the TV drama “Hadaka no Taishou.”
SHUN.: Why??
TSUKASA: I want him [Kiyoshi Yamashita] to teach me how to make collages.
69: To end with a fun question: If you had a super power, what would you like it to be and why?
SHUN.: I often watch the American TV series “HERO” and they have a character who can teleport. I would like to be able to do that and visit many counties and always be on time, even if I overslept.
69: Is there a particular country you would like to visit?
SHUN.: I want to go to Peru to visit Machupichu. I like to visit world heritage sites. Ideally, I would go to Peru next year and on the way, I would stop by Brazil to see the world cup. [Laughs]
TSUKASA: I want to be able to fly! Like “Bukuujutsu!
SHUN.: That’s from Dragon Ball! “I can fly!” [Laughs]
69: So you want to be like a Sayajin? Aren’t you afraid of heights?
TSUKASA: I’m not at all afraid of heights… Well, maybe not completely unafraid but better than most people. I’ve done sky-diving but it implies falling and in this case, I want to go up instead of down. If I could fly, I would visit many countries although I’m not that into world heritage sites.
SHUN.: I see.
TSUKASA: Although I could be shot for illegal immigration. [All burst laughing] Until I turned 25, I often dreamed about flying.
SHUN.: You fly, don’t you?
TSUKASA: I think I do. [All laugh]
SHUN.: It’s a fantasy!
69: Where would you go?
TSUKASA: I would like to see the pyramids and see the Aurora Borealis. I’ve been to Finland two or three times now but was never able to see it.
69: Lastly, could you give a message to our readers, please?
TSUKASA: I want us to aim for an international audience and wish many people throughout many countries will get to know THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S. I want to try many delicious treats from around the world and hope you will keep supporting us.
SHUN.: Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit some of the countries initially scheduled for the European Tour; like the UK, The Netherlands and France. We loved the countries we did visit but next time we want to be able to visit many more and reach many more people with our songs. We want to introduce THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S to more and more people, so please keep supporting us!
69: Shall we try that in English?
TSUKASA: We can fly! [All laugh]
SHUN.: Why is your Japanese accent bad and your English accent good? [Laughs]
TSUKASA: Thank you!
SHUN.: I’ll go with “See you!”
69: Thank you!
credit to: rokkyuu
