Interview with Kagrra, at JRock Revolution

JaME met with the members of kagrra, the day before their performance at JRock Revolution. The band was all present, and in a jovial mood. JaME found them set up in a conference room at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.


Can you please introduce yourselves for our readers who may not be familiar with your band?
Akiya: I'm Akiya, I play guitar.
Izumi: I'm Izumi, the drummer.
Isshi: I'm the vocalist, Isshi.
Nao: I'm Nao. (bass)
Shin: Shin. (guitar)

Your PVs are always visually stunning, do you have a hand in the concept and theme of each video, or do you leave it to the director?
Isshi: The basic concept belongs each song, the imagery is decided by the lyrics.

You've been known to wearing very traditional clothing at lives, what were your reasons behind that?
Isshi: The band's concept is to present the Japanese traditions and culture to the world, this is why we chose to present ourselves this way.

You've never played in the US before, are you excited about the show?
Isshi: We're very excited about it, we heard the tickets sold out already!

What would you like to see while you're in the US?
Isshi: Burger King! (everyone laughs)

Why did you decide to take part in JRock Revolution?
Isshi: We feel very lucky to get this gig. The timing was just right; there are so many people interested in Japanese culture right now, and it's the perfect time for us to present our music to the world.

Are you interested in doing a one-man tour of the US?
Isshi: We're very interested in the idea, we'd love to have our own tour.

Could you describe kagrra,'s style?
Isshi: Our music is not as "rock and roll" as other visual bands. We would like to be able to present more music for people to make their own decision about our music.

Do you feel that being a Visual Kei band gives you more freedom to express your own style and experiment?
Isshi: Yes, we like to be more free to make music that we feel, and not have to work by a set of rules laid out by someone else.

Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the time you all began to play together as Crow, do you have any special plans to celebrate?
Izumi: True, we did start as Crow, but we'd prefer to celebrate the 10th anniversary of kagrra, so we don't have any special plans.

For each of you, what is one of your biggest memories over the years together?
Isshi: My biggest memory is when I was in the hospital. I was only there for a day, but afterwards I was too sick to perform at our live, and I had to stay in the hotel.
Nao: Tomorrow will be a day for us to make huge memories together. We're really looking forward to it.
Akiya: My biggest memory is when we first began to wear our kimonos people laughed at us, but after several years people began to think "Oh, these guys are cool". At that point, we were really happy because people began to accept us and our goals. That's a great memory for me.
Izumi: There are so many memories. I think the first time we were the headliners at a show, that's my biggest memory.
Shin: My biggest memory is of our first gig. We hired a stylist to help us with our outfits, but the stylist never showed up. So we had to sit backstage at our very first gig and make our own clothes. (everyone laughs)

How do you think the music scene has changed in the time you've been a part of it?
Isshi: We don't really pay attention to the scene. It is always changing, and though we are inspired by some music, we try to keep our own spirit and not let it be tainted by the scene.

You've been on tour with alice nine and miyavi before. What's it like to be playing with them again?
Isshi: Everybody here is friends, so we're really enjoying it. And since we all know each other, it will be a sort of a competition tomorrow, we'll do our best to try and win (laughing).

Isshi, we've heard that you do vocal training with an opera singer. How long have you been working with her?
Isshi: I'm still working with her even now. It's been about 2 years since I began.

Your song "Chikai no tsuki" was used as a theme for the anime "Kinnikuman II yo ultimate muscle 2"; how did the opportunity for that tie-in come about?
Isshi: We were actually looking for the opportunity to get in to the animation industry in Japan. We really tried hard to get this anime because it's one that we grew up with. We were really happy to be able to do it.

Nao, Akiya and Izumi, you've had two side projects: Devil Christ 13 and Dragon Head. Why did you create these bands?
(all 3 laugh)
Nao: We did it just for fun, for the fanclub.

Nao, you were the vocalist for both bands, would you ever consider singing for kagrra, such as a duet with Isshi?
Isshi: HELL NO! (Everyone laughs)

Would you ever open your fanclub to international fans?
Isshi: Yes, that's definitely coming. We want to become more popular in the world wide scene.

If you ran PS Company, what would the initials PS stand for?
Akiya: Peace smile.

Many fans are afraid to send fan mail because they can't speak or write Japanese. Are you open to receiving fan mail in other languages?
Isshi: Yes, please send it. We have a translating program for email.

Do each of you have a final message for your fans?
Akiya: Many fans can't come see us in Japan, so please check out our English website, and please come see us tomorrow.
Izumi: I'd really like to tour the US and see all the fans worldwide.
Isshi: Stay close, we're going to show you Japanese traditions.
Nao: We can't come to the US very often, but please look at our blogs on our website.
Shin: Please support us, so we can come back to America again!

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JaME would like to thank the members of Kagrra, PS Company, and JRock Revolution for making this interview possible.
Photos by Bow.