Interview with camino at A-Kon 20

During their third appearance at A-Kon in Dallas, Texas, camino took some time to speak with us about returning to A-Kon, their music, influences and more.


First, please introduce yourselves to the fans who will be reading this interview.

HAYATO: I am the vocalist, HAYATO.
TAKA: I am the bassist, TAKA.
REHIT: Drummer, REHIT.
RYOSUKE: I am the keyboard player, RYOSUKE.
KIKU: And I am the guitarist, KIKU, but I am also the leader.

camino has performed at A-Kon twice in the past. What were your reactions upon being invited back again, this time for A-Kon’s 20th anniversary?

KIKU: We were extremely happy. We were at A-Kon 14 and 15, so we were really happy to be able to come back for this anniversary of A-Kon.
TAKA: We consider it a real honor that we were invited in such an auspicious year for A-Kon.

HAYATO, this is your first time performing at A-Kon. What were your expectations or hopes leading up to arriving here in Dallas?

HAYATO: It’s not my first time in Dallas, but it is my first time playing at A-Kon. I was just really worried about whether the fans would accept me.

And how do you feel now that your performance is over?

HAYATO: I’m really relaxed and feel very happy.

For the rest of the members, is there anything you remembered and liked about Texas from before and would like to experience again?

TAKA: Before anything else, certainly the live concert. In 2003, we actually got to play at a club outside of A-Kon and that was a real experience for us. That’s something we would definitely like to do again.

In April you released your first album since going major. Can each of you tell us what your favorite song on New Life is and also tell us a little bit about that song?

REHIT: I like Story; it’s my favorite. It’s our first major label single, so that’s really why. Also, it’s the theme song for “Tomica Hero Rescue Force.” That’s why I like it.
TAKA: Story leaves a great impression on me as well. But as the bass player, I really like the very first song on the album, piece of blue. The reason is that because it is the first track on the album, it is the most impressive track for most people, the first thing they hear.
HAYATO: camino has a lot of really great ballads that are good to sing, so I really like the song Remember. It is a song we all created together, the arrangement and the lyrics. It is a piece where we all got to match our talents together.
RYOSUKE: I like the song Freedom. As the keyboard player, I really like the keyboard piece that I managed to put together for that song. That’s why I really like it.
KIKU: This is the first time that all of us, this particular group of five together, have put together an album. Because of that, I like all the songs on the album. Each song has its own particular flavor and color to it and each song has its own specific feeling and I really like that.

Since the words “Life,” “Nostalgia,” “Remember,” and “Story” have all been featured on your releases, tell us what story you are trying to tell or message you are trying to send with your music.

KIKU: Well, HAYATO wrote a lot of these lyrics and because this was going to be used in the “Tomica Hero Rescue Force” anime, we looked at the images of the anime and wanted to create songs with images that matched well. The themes we really wanted to express are very general but important themes of life and our own feelings of nostalgia, our own stories. Also, human nature, human love, human empathy and passion are the kinds of themes we really wanted to express. We wanted to express the interior lives of human beings, the interior psychology.

On that same note, what memories and feelings do you hope your fans walk away with after seeing and hearing you perform?

TAKA: I also wrote some of the lyrics and I believe every song has its own story. Each one of them has a way to help, a way to aid in human life. Everyone may go through life with the feelings that they have enemies or obstacles to confront, but we should not give up. Those are my feelings.
KIKU: The future should be something you think of as bright.

What is one goal you would like to accomplish as a band this year?

KIKU: Right now we are thinking about a Japan tour, so we are making some new songs and getting new material together. We would also like to produce a really good new release this year.

We wish you a lot of luck with that.

ALL: Thank you!

More Japanese bands have started performing in places around the world. camino has been to the USA and to Canada, but where are some other places you would like to one day perform?

KIKU: Our biggest goal is to tour America. We were raised on the basis of American music, so of course we’d really like to make a go of touring in America. We would like to copy our idols, Van Halen.

What methods do you use when writing and arranging lyrics and music? Do you all contribute at every step or are your separate efforts combined to create the finished work?

KIKU: First, we make our music on a computer. We will send the piece around over the internet and everyone will get a turn working on the piece. It goes around about three times (everyone laughs) and each person can re-do their part while listening to the parts the others have added.
REHIT: Then we’ll take that computer data to the studio and add the drum track.
TAKA: Then we’ll add the bass track and then the guitar and keyboards. At the very end, HAYATO will add the vocal track.
KIKU: But in a certain sense, we’ve already got something before we even go to the studio, this sort of demo tape that we’ve already made. It’s a very modern way of making music.

How do you feel about the way American fans react to your performances versus how Japanese fans react? Are there big differences?

REHIT: Americans are more straightforward in their reactions to the music. If they’re happy they will immediately show that they are enjoying it, whereas the Japanese fans are all sort of imitating the reactions of the other people around them. They are waiting for someone else to take the lead in the audience reactions. I believe that Americans are, in a sense, more honest. They have a more honest reaction.

It has been mentioned that you are all fans of American music as well. If you could perform with any American band you wanted to, which band would you choose?

RYOSUKE: It’s not a band, but I really like Madonna.
REHIT: Hoobastank is my favorite and who I would like to perform with.
TAKA: I am a total fan of Ozzy Osbourne.
HAYATO: Metallica.
KIKU: Van Halen.

There are some Japanese music fans outside of Japan who listen to only Japanese music. Do you all listen to a variety of music or do you usually stick to a certain genre?

REHIT: We all listen to all kinds of things…
KIKU From jazz to Iron Maiden, we all listen to all of it.

With that in mind, are there any Japanese artists you particularly like or are influenced by?

KIKU: I’m really into Seikimatsu and LOUDNESS.
RYOSUKE: I have to think about it. (laughs)
HAYATO: The classic female enka singer Misora Hibari.
TAKA: I’m into LOUDNESS and DEAD END.
REHIT: X JAPAN.
RYOSUKE: I’m into Every Little Thing.

Can each of you please tell us something funny or interesting about one of the other band members?

TAKA: REHIT likes toys. (laughs) No, this is a real story; it’s true. When you call REHIT on the phone, he doesn’t answer and he doesn’t call back either. It’s really hard to get a hold of him; he’s an awful guy. Even when I have something really important to say to him, I can’t get a hold of him. Then REHIT will forget it once he’s heard it. He’s that kind of guy.
REHIT: When HAYATO gets drunk he cries. (everyone laughs) He’s a crying drunk. Then, he laughs. Then, he gets naked.

It’s okay; I have a friend who is like that! (All laugh)

RYOSUKE: I’m going to tell a story about HAYATO. He’s a really nasty drunk. When I realize that he’s drunk, I take off. I get out of there so I won’t get involved.
KIKU: RYOSUKE is very dangerous when he’s driving. He has the kindest face of the bunch, but he is absolutely the fastest driver. (laughs)

Finally, what message would you like to send out to all of your fans who will read this?

KIKU: Thank you for reading this article. Please come to a camino live concert. We really want you to come! And check out our MySpace page and Facebook.


JaME would like to thank camino for taking the time to answer our questions and avex and A-Kon for making this interview possible.