Isshi forms a new band?!
Man Amongst Men
An "Isshi Band" that suddenly formed... What kind of people are the members of this band?
They seem to be people Isshi knew from a long time ago...
This time, in order to reach the truth of the "Isshi Band", we'll have a conversation with all of the members about what their activities since we met?! The subject matter is quite a rarity.......
Well then, let's go forth with our host Isshi-san.
They seem to be people Isshi knew from a long time ago...
This time, in order to reach the truth of the "Isshi Band", we'll have a conversation with all of the members about what their activities since we met?! The subject matter is quite a rarity.......
Well then, let's go forth with our host Isshi-san.
Cheeky Brat (Miyaji Yasuaki)
Serious Friend
Angry Dried Squid (Nakamura Sunao)
Buff Man
Isshi: To begin, we'll talk about "Becoming acquainted," starting with myself and Yasuaki.
Yasuaki: Was it around the time I was in a band called RONDE? We often played lives with other bands. We talked a bit for the first time at our three-man at OSAKA MUSE.
Isshi: After that, we met again through a mutual friend...
Yasuaki: I only have memories of drinking that time.
Isshi: That's right. And this year, while drinking with Yasuaki, Sunao...
Sunao: I intruded...
NAO/Isshi: The details of that are, we were wondering what to do about drums, so we called Yasuaki and said "There's someone who wants to drum for our band" and "Yes, that's it!" (laughs)
NAO: So I met up with them. The first time I met the comrades who'd be my new band, Isshi and Yasuaki were the intermediaries... So, this time I can say once again that we're connected by a thick thread.
Isshi: Myself and ARUGA go way back, right? Around 7 years?
ARUGA: We were roadie pals.
Isshi: As pals who had a lot of joys and sorrows together, and now with our activities as separate musicians, we have some kind of connection, or should I say, it's this incredibly deep connection that took form as our bands. Ahh, but I didn't have such feelings in the beginning. Well, next we'll do first impressions. First of all Yasuaki who I've known for a long time, and Sunao, and then NAO? To start, I thought Yasuaki was "strange but really good at guitar." But since he's human-like, there were a lot of parts he messed up.
Sunao: A substantial amount right?
Isshi: ...............
Yasuaki: Without following up!
Isshi: Even though I thought Sunao was a scary person in the beginning, once I talked to him, he was an extremely genuine person. In a sense I think that's his true character first and foremost. As for NAO, he's big and brawny... a warm guy, anyway. To this day I haven't even beat him at arm wrestling once. Anyway, he's a guy who's warm and has a good rhythm. (laughs) Well, next.
NAO: Well, I'll start with Isshi. My first impression was that he grins excessively. Ahh, now that I've had the chance to talk to him more recently, I think he's a warm human being. Around 10 years ago my impression was that he's a bandman who had the traits of a bandman. So, he's very much a kid who'll do the best he can even when suffering.
Isshi: A 'kid' you say. (anger)
NAO: (laughs) NEXT! Yasuaki. From the start, I liked Yasuaki's guitar. From the time an acquaintance introduced us, we became good friends and now here we are. And, when I first met Sunao, I thought my body-building looks seemed to give him a bad feeling, and on top of that, Sunao was doing Hip-Hop style at that time. It was a feeling like "I don't know you, YO♪" (laughs) Furthermore, since we met at the place where I worked as a shop assistant, it was like, "What, I get a bad feeling about this customer!" (laughs) When I talk to him now, the more we talk it's like 'dried squid'(*1) you know? The more you chew, you get to the substance of his character.
Isshi: Well, next...
Yasuaki: Me? With regards to Isshi, my first impression of Kagrra, was that they're a beautiful band, a lovely band, and for someone with such an image to become my drinking buddy... there's nothing wrong with that at all. While NAO seems to think of him as a kid, I actually think of him as more a man.
Sunao/NAO: Furthermore, if you write it in kanji, he's not a man among both genders but "a man amongst men"!(*2)
Yasuaki: My first impression was simply that he's the kind of person I like. As for Sunao, he's the older brother of the drummer from my original band, RONDE. (laughs) He hated us hanging out at his place when we were high school students.
Sunao: Because it's my house. (laughs)
Yasuaki: My first impression was... he's always angry. Like, if we were making noise in my friend's room, he'd come flying out from the next room. And I'd be trembling in fear. He was just my friend's angry older brother. Now, I think my first impression is still perfect. So, with regards to NAO, I saw him on BRAKE OUT (a morning music program) before we knew each other. Therefore I knew of NAO's existence before we were united by our band. So, now that we've had the chance to meet and be united by our band, I think "This guy is NAO who I saw on TV." (laughs)
Isshi: Well, Sunao.
Sunao: Isshi, huh, my first impression was that he's a straightforward and honestly nice guy. And once we got talking, a profound human being. Ever since we met and got talking, we'd be talking about bands, and love, and our views on life, things like that.
Isshi: On and on.
Sunao: I think this guy is deep. Really, of all the bandmen I've met up until now, he's the one I know I can say is the nicest guy.
Isshi: Ohh~~~
Sunao: Yasuaki is my younger brother's friend. Since he's my brother's friend, I'd get angry at him for being noisy in my house. (laughs) I don't really have the sense that he's my junior, more that he's a prodigy in comparison to me. But, ahh, my first impression was "cheeky brat". (laughs)
Isshi & Sunao: (laughs)
Sunao: For NAO, my first impression was bad. He was often bodybuilding, and he's strong and showy, so I felt 'what kind of guy is this?' Like that huge guy was really angry. (laughs) But, when we've talked over the years, he's actually a guy a lot like me. Our train of thought follows the same route. His way of thinking resembles mine. He's like me in that he's got an objective way of thinking with subjectivity coming through in some areas. I feel like I can compare it to an election officer. A guy with the image of being staggeringly clever.
Isshi: But intelligent right?
Sunao: Staggeringly so, and calm. Whereas Yasuaki is an idiot. To be frank. (laughs)
Isshi: Well, we'll continue with ARUGA. But I think aside from me you met everyone recently.
ARUGA: Isshi... wasn't it in the studio that we met for the first time?
Isshi: Yeah it was the studio. I was a roadie, but wearing heels, and perfectly arranged hair, and wearing a long fur coat...
NAO: That's all wrong. (laughs)
ARUGA: It was a different atmosphere than what people have said up until now. But when I talked to you, you seemed like an "older brother" kind of person. And my first impression of Yasuaki was... those two guys (Isshi & Yasuaki) were already drunk when I joined in... so it was a strange first impression. But, although I expected to get drunk, when it turned to guitar talk we started talking seriously. But midway through Isshi interrupted with "This guy is the worst." (laughs) And so I ended up as the worst. But then in the later half I had a warm talk with NAO. These guys are all pretty warm people.
NAO: Good. To put it simply, your first impression of me was good♪
Isshi: I think it wasn't so good. In the case of arm wrestling...
ARUGA: We had a warm talk, but in the end it was like "I'll kill you!"
Isshi & ARUGA: (explosive laughter)
Isshi: And then entered my saviour, Sunao.
ARUGA: I met Sunao for the first time at AX. Earlier we'd been talking about how absurdly skilled he is (at playing bass), and when we met I saw it's true that he's absurdly skillful. He gives off the aura of an artisan.
Sunao: My impression of ARUGA was that he was truly a person with a strong energy. And when he takes no notice of jokes, he has a certain kind of maturity.
NAO: He stands properly and proceeds in a logical way right?
Sunao: He takes his own position.
Isshi: So let's turn the conversation from first impressions to the secret story behind the band's formation. What kind of band will this band become? That's what I want to talk about now. It's a band gathering the energy of its members together, but I think you'll hear one more aspect of me by listening to the various people here.
Sunao: For me, Isshi has good taste from the perspective of being Kagrra's vocalist, Yasuaki has the sense of being some kind of prodigy, and me and NAO, if you mix in our sweet spots it's like you can't go wrong. That's the kind of band I want us to be.
Yasuaki: For me personally, seeing Kagrra is a good place to start. As a project that isn't Kagrra, we can look toward our own concept, starting with Isshi's requests, intentions, and things he wants to do. From Isshi's perspective, he can draw out a variety of experiences and knowledge from the 4 artists who aren't members of Kagrra. And when we actually perform, he can see our possibilities expand. Let's have fun with that.
NAO: For me, when I talk about what makes me happy, it's simply that we have more opportunity to perform lives. We've expanded our horizons and above all we genuinely like humankind. There's no downside, so I want people to take interest and hear that kind of meaning when they listen. Even though this is an Isshi project, even though it's our own activity, the biggest thing for me is that I can give pleasure to people through this band with my drums. I'll do my best for that reason. And since I'm doing my best like that I think our activities will be pleasing to more people.
ARUGA: Nothing in particular for me, so that's pretty interesting. Since I don't think there's anything I want to do, I think therefore I should just show my skills.
Isshi: Ahh, we all gathered here with our own ideals. I think how we develop from here will be shown in Kagrra's fanclub event "Kitansai".
All others: I see!!
Isshi: As Isshi of Kagrra, I think that victory and defeat can't be challenged as a single band, so we made surveys for the people who took interest when they saw this report. So please write your thoughts and impressions. But now you might call an 'Isshi band' a 'strange band'... It's sudden, but we'll take applications for a band name.
All others: Taking applications???
NAO: I'll put in an entry. (laughs)
Isshi: (laughs) Well, with those feelings, please look forward to Kitansai. And this is where we'll end the first installment of Symposium?!
Everyone: Cheers until next time!!!
Yasuaki: Was it around the time I was in a band called RONDE? We often played lives with other bands. We talked a bit for the first time at our three-man at OSAKA MUSE.
Isshi: After that, we met again through a mutual friend...
Yasuaki: I only have memories of drinking that time.
Isshi: That's right. And this year, while drinking with Yasuaki, Sunao...
Sunao: I intruded...
NAO/Isshi: The details of that are, we were wondering what to do about drums, so we called Yasuaki and said "There's someone who wants to drum for our band" and "Yes, that's it!" (laughs)
NAO: So I met up with them. The first time I met the comrades who'd be my new band, Isshi and Yasuaki were the intermediaries... So, this time I can say once again that we're connected by a thick thread.
Isshi: Myself and ARUGA go way back, right? Around 7 years?
ARUGA: We were roadie pals.
Isshi: As pals who had a lot of joys and sorrows together, and now with our activities as separate musicians, we have some kind of connection, or should I say, it's this incredibly deep connection that took form as our bands. Ahh, but I didn't have such feelings in the beginning. Well, next we'll do first impressions. First of all Yasuaki who I've known for a long time, and Sunao, and then NAO? To start, I thought Yasuaki was "strange but really good at guitar." But since he's human-like, there were a lot of parts he messed up.
Sunao: A substantial amount right?
Isshi: ...............
Yasuaki: Without following up!
Isshi: Even though I thought Sunao was a scary person in the beginning, once I talked to him, he was an extremely genuine person. In a sense I think that's his true character first and foremost. As for NAO, he's big and brawny... a warm guy, anyway. To this day I haven't even beat him at arm wrestling once. Anyway, he's a guy who's warm and has a good rhythm. (laughs) Well, next.
NAO: Well, I'll start with Isshi. My first impression was that he grins excessively. Ahh, now that I've had the chance to talk to him more recently, I think he's a warm human being. Around 10 years ago my impression was that he's a bandman who had the traits of a bandman. So, he's very much a kid who'll do the best he can even when suffering.
Isshi: A 'kid' you say. (anger)
NAO: (laughs) NEXT! Yasuaki. From the start, I liked Yasuaki's guitar. From the time an acquaintance introduced us, we became good friends and now here we are. And, when I first met Sunao, I thought my body-building looks seemed to give him a bad feeling, and on top of that, Sunao was doing Hip-Hop style at that time. It was a feeling like "I don't know you, YO♪" (laughs) Furthermore, since we met at the place where I worked as a shop assistant, it was like, "What, I get a bad feeling about this customer!" (laughs) When I talk to him now, the more we talk it's like 'dried squid'(*1) you know? The more you chew, you get to the substance of his character.
Isshi: Well, next...
Yasuaki: Me? With regards to Isshi, my first impression of Kagrra, was that they're a beautiful band, a lovely band, and for someone with such an image to become my drinking buddy... there's nothing wrong with that at all. While NAO seems to think of him as a kid, I actually think of him as more a man.
Sunao/NAO: Furthermore, if you write it in kanji, he's not a man among both genders but "a man amongst men"!(*2)
Yasuaki: My first impression was simply that he's the kind of person I like. As for Sunao, he's the older brother of the drummer from my original band, RONDE. (laughs) He hated us hanging out at his place when we were high school students.
Sunao: Because it's my house. (laughs)
Yasuaki: My first impression was... he's always angry. Like, if we were making noise in my friend's room, he'd come flying out from the next room. And I'd be trembling in fear. He was just my friend's angry older brother. Now, I think my first impression is still perfect. So, with regards to NAO, I saw him on BRAKE OUT (a morning music program) before we knew each other. Therefore I knew of NAO's existence before we were united by our band. So, now that we've had the chance to meet and be united by our band, I think "This guy is NAO who I saw on TV." (laughs)
Isshi: Well, Sunao.
Sunao: Isshi, huh, my first impression was that he's a straightforward and honestly nice guy. And once we got talking, a profound human being. Ever since we met and got talking, we'd be talking about bands, and love, and our views on life, things like that.
Isshi: On and on.
Sunao: I think this guy is deep. Really, of all the bandmen I've met up until now, he's the one I know I can say is the nicest guy.
Isshi: Ohh~~~
Sunao: Yasuaki is my younger brother's friend. Since he's my brother's friend, I'd get angry at him for being noisy in my house. (laughs) I don't really have the sense that he's my junior, more that he's a prodigy in comparison to me. But, ahh, my first impression was "cheeky brat". (laughs)
Isshi & Sunao: (laughs)
Sunao: For NAO, my first impression was bad. He was often bodybuilding, and he's strong and showy, so I felt 'what kind of guy is this?' Like that huge guy was really angry. (laughs) But, when we've talked over the years, he's actually a guy a lot like me. Our train of thought follows the same route. His way of thinking resembles mine. He's like me in that he's got an objective way of thinking with subjectivity coming through in some areas. I feel like I can compare it to an election officer. A guy with the image of being staggeringly clever.
Isshi: But intelligent right?
Sunao: Staggeringly so, and calm. Whereas Yasuaki is an idiot. To be frank. (laughs)
Isshi: Well, we'll continue with ARUGA. But I think aside from me you met everyone recently.
ARUGA: Isshi... wasn't it in the studio that we met for the first time?
Isshi: Yeah it was the studio. I was a roadie, but wearing heels, and perfectly arranged hair, and wearing a long fur coat...
NAO: That's all wrong. (laughs)
ARUGA: It was a different atmosphere than what people have said up until now. But when I talked to you, you seemed like an "older brother" kind of person. And my first impression of Yasuaki was... those two guys (Isshi & Yasuaki) were already drunk when I joined in... so it was a strange first impression. But, although I expected to get drunk, when it turned to guitar talk we started talking seriously. But midway through Isshi interrupted with "This guy is the worst." (laughs) And so I ended up as the worst. But then in the later half I had a warm talk with NAO. These guys are all pretty warm people.
NAO: Good. To put it simply, your first impression of me was good♪
Isshi: I think it wasn't so good. In the case of arm wrestling...
ARUGA: We had a warm talk, but in the end it was like "I'll kill you!"
Isshi & ARUGA: (explosive laughter)
Isshi: And then entered my saviour, Sunao.
ARUGA: I met Sunao for the first time at AX. Earlier we'd been talking about how absurdly skilled he is (at playing bass), and when we met I saw it's true that he's absurdly skillful. He gives off the aura of an artisan.
Sunao: My impression of ARUGA was that he was truly a person with a strong energy. And when he takes no notice of jokes, he has a certain kind of maturity.
NAO: He stands properly and proceeds in a logical way right?
Sunao: He takes his own position.
Isshi: So let's turn the conversation from first impressions to the secret story behind the band's formation. What kind of band will this band become? That's what I want to talk about now. It's a band gathering the energy of its members together, but I think you'll hear one more aspect of me by listening to the various people here.
Sunao: For me, Isshi has good taste from the perspective of being Kagrra's vocalist, Yasuaki has the sense of being some kind of prodigy, and me and NAO, if you mix in our sweet spots it's like you can't go wrong. That's the kind of band I want us to be.
Yasuaki: For me personally, seeing Kagrra is a good place to start. As a project that isn't Kagrra, we can look toward our own concept, starting with Isshi's requests, intentions, and things he wants to do. From Isshi's perspective, he can draw out a variety of experiences and knowledge from the 4 artists who aren't members of Kagrra. And when we actually perform, he can see our possibilities expand. Let's have fun with that.
NAO: For me, when I talk about what makes me happy, it's simply that we have more opportunity to perform lives. We've expanded our horizons and above all we genuinely like humankind. There's no downside, so I want people to take interest and hear that kind of meaning when they listen. Even though this is an Isshi project, even though it's our own activity, the biggest thing for me is that I can give pleasure to people through this band with my drums. I'll do my best for that reason. And since I'm doing my best like that I think our activities will be pleasing to more people.
ARUGA: Nothing in particular for me, so that's pretty interesting. Since I don't think there's anything I want to do, I think therefore I should just show my skills.
Isshi: Ahh, we all gathered here with our own ideals. I think how we develop from here will be shown in Kagrra's fanclub event "Kitansai".
All others: I see!!
Isshi: As Isshi of Kagrra, I think that victory and defeat can't be challenged as a single band, so we made surveys for the people who took interest when they saw this report. So please write your thoughts and impressions. But now you might call an 'Isshi band' a 'strange band'... It's sudden, but we'll take applications for a band name.
All others: Taking applications???
NAO: I'll put in an entry. (laughs)
Isshi: (laughs) Well, with those feelings, please look forward to Kitansai. And this is where we'll end the first installment of Symposium?!
Everyone: Cheers until next time!!!
Notes:
*1 - The "dried squid" thing seems to be a way of saying someone is an acquired taste, because with dried squid you have to chew and chew until you get the real flavour. Poor Sunao lol
*2 - That "man amongst men" is actually a single kanji: 漢
Btw, their nicknames under the photos are just silly things I came up with while reading and translating this interview. The interview didn't have those captions, but it looked weird to only have name captions for Yasuaki and Sunao.
*1 - The "dried squid" thing seems to be a way of saying someone is an acquired taste, because with dried squid you have to chew and chew until you get the real flavour. Poor Sunao lol
*2 - That "man amongst men" is actually a single kanji: 漢
Btw, their nicknames under the photos are just silly things I came up with while reading and translating this interview. The interview didn't have those captions, but it looked weird to only have name captions for Yasuaki and Sunao.