Koshi's Interview: Quit teaching, the beginning (1)
My connection is being a total bitch all day *crei* So I can hardly
open any page without being told 'cannot find server'... I hope this
gets posted. Oh well, anyway I'm saving this in notepad too, just in
case.
Koshi's Interview Part I
Q
A while ago, you did a NHK special program and you said that 'The
biggest decision I've ever made in life was to NOT become a teacher'.
At that time, after that decision, did you have a vision of becoming a
musician or a rockstar, like I still have this to do?
K At that time? Not at all, zenzen.
It's probably not the best for my future then, but I actually made that
decision without any doubt. I think it's the most doubtless decision
I've ever made in my life. Well because the starting of B'z was decided
by everyone.
Q Why did you have such strong determination to quit teaching?
K It's momentary decision, at that moment, at that place. Nobody can imagine what it was like.
Q Did you surprise yourself?
K Iya, zenzen (laugh).
Q You must have passion that made you decided so. But didn't the thought of 'quiting' scare you?
K A little bit when I said it... but afterwards I felt heiki, so mostly I wasn't concerned.
Q 'Becoming a teacher' was your dream. Did your parents tell you to become one?
K Iya. They never told me to do such thing. Maa, it was my own ambition, not like a dream or anything. In short, I wanted to see how it is to be a teacher, like a short dream.
Q Was that during high school?
K Maybe... I didn't really give all into realizing this ambition.
Q But soon you were to choose your place in the society, so you thought 'this might be my position', is that right?
K Sou desu ne. I thought 'this is probably it'.
Q During high school weren't you also dreaming about becoming a rockstar too?
K Not at all (laugh). I didn't even understand what a rockstar is all about.
Q How about music?
K I've always been listening to music. Un, sou desu ne...
I was a bit in my own world at all time. It was a world that is very
far away from any rock-scene. So I didn't have that far of an
imagination. But I listened to it and went to concerts sometimes... I
didn't even go to too many concerts, only pretty much listened to
records. I wanted to be in band though. When I quit teaching, I was
already in a band. Just when I quit, even though I still hadn't reached
the place where I wanted to go, but at least I was doing music with a
band.
Q Did you have a determination to be a professional?
K
Professional, I'd say reasonably... I did go to vocal school and things
like that. As soon as I quit the school, I had job offer to do some
backing vocals. Maa, it wasn't a world of 'you can live by just doing that'... But even then I never said I'm gonna quit singing.
Q So, you quit teaching and kept singing.
K Yes, I already quit then, only band activity. The vocal school would hold various performance nights. But I never really went, chotto.... I got asked often, 'Why don't you ever come?'
Q You hated being dragged along by others?
K Hated being dragged along? I wasn't that kakkoii (laugh). I just thought that it's troublesome (laugh).
Q Were you not a social person?
K Perhaps (laugh). I completely didn't want to go.
Q How did you hear about Matsumoto-san's band looking for a vocal?
K Eeeto...
when could this be? I heard it from someone working in our company, he
said 'There's this guitarist...' (laugh). I have graduated from
university then, doing some baito like vocal chorus and other part time jobs. And I was already doing some demo-tapes myself. Yes, maybe around that time.
Q So, did you say 'Ok, I'll let him listen to my tapes'?
K Maybe at that time they already heard my tapes. I don't know.
Q You sang Billy Joel's "Honesty" ne?
K Probably. I did copy of many different singers ne, from rock to pop, all different kind of singing styles. I copied Billy Joel, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant (laugh). So many...
Q Was it easy for you to handle all these different singing styles?
K As long as I quite like the tunes, that I don't hate the melodies too much.
Q I heard from Matsumoto-san that you two didn't actually exchange any word of conformation that you're starting a band together.
K Sou desu ne. Not even a word at that time. When I realized it, we were already recording a song.
Q So it was like suddenly you were swarmed with works. What did you think?
K Iya.
I didn't have much time to think about anything (laugh). In short,
there wasn't any free time. We didn't even say 'We're gonna debut, yooshii...' So it was more like 'What will become of this?' Hontou ni
(laugh). It was my first real recording then, so during work, I kept
stumbling here and there. Lyrics writing was like that too, mou taihen deshita ne (laugh). Because the band didn't really have any 'se... no'
moment. Matsumoto-san at that time was already working with a big band
like TM Network. But he's different from those young people who belong
just in a rock band. A different type of a professional, he was already
working with many high position people involving many huge projects.
The way he looked at things was totally different with mine. So in that
respect, I had so much to try and see for myself. He would explain to
me 'If we do this, this will come as a result'. But as predicted, I
couldn't understand a thing. I think Matsumoto-san thought of so many
routes to success all by himself.
Q You're saying that you had no idea what Matsumoto-san was talking about? (laugh)
K Hahaha. Nope, not even when it was explained to me (laugh).
Q So did you come along by 'if I do as he says, I'd understand'?
K Un... I think we came along this way doing every song but one. I kept thinking 'Gosh, let this be over soon' (laugh).
Q Hahaha.
K Hontou ni. The recording of 1st album felt like it'd never end. It didn't go too well.
Q Writing lyrics must be quite hard when you just started.
K Sou desu ne. Well, it was in a way. I just wrote it and if I thought it was yokatta then it's okay, maybe. It was more like the 2nd album, after I wrote lyrics, so many people had to check it, and THAT was tough alright.
Q Didn't you ever write lyrics during your high school time?
K Even when I was in the so-called rock band, we would write music and lyrics ourselves. When the riff was agreed, the band go 'Se-no'
and while playing we also wrote the lyrics. But I never wrote anything
real. So compared to the young people setting to debut these days, they
are waaaay much more 'finished' than I ever was when I debut. I was
very amateurish in every way. In the beginning, I was extremely
embarassed about writing my own lyrics and singing them myself, and
there was recording as well, mou dame desu yo ne (laugh).
Q Was this something you didn't really want to do? A vocalist cum lyricist?
K Eeee... I didn't really wish for it.
Q Just wanted to be the singer, right?
K Un. In the beginning I was like that. I thought 'Writing lyrics is so troublesome'.
Q Why did you like singing so much?
K
When I was in a band, I had so much fun performing then, probably just
like any amateur band nowadays. Gathering together, playing some songs,
listening to our own recording, and then performing in front of some
people. And they would say 'Iiii na', right? I had so much fun doing that, everytime.
Q So when you sing, you don't have to sing your own lyrics?
K It never matters to me. Lyrics never matters, hontou ni, zenzen.
Q Zenzen? (laugh)
K Un. Anything goes.
Q Hahaha.
K Maji de, maji de (laugh).
Q Even English lyrics that make no sense?
K
Completely okay, isn't it? For instance, when we did other people's
songs, it's already a finished product, right? We'd match lyrics with
new melodies, if it felt okay, then I thought it's all fine.
TO BE CONTINUED
from: Ultra Chronicle/ Personal Interview with Koshi Inaba, 2003 Summer
Goodness,
I'm so glad Koshi writes such amazing stuffs despite 'not caring' about
song lyrics Moouuu, some people are so talented no matter what ^___^;;
I
find it easier to translate Tak sometimes. Koshi is a bit 'Maybe...
perhaps...' Not that he's not certain about stuffs, it's just his
style. While Tak is very resolute about almost anything, yes, the
sacchou!
PS: Kate, thanks for the cd. I wanted to
say in e-mail but I can't at the moment. Every single song is lovely
and soothing. I never thought that I'd like hearing Rod Stewart singing
ballads =p But he's got something going on with these songs! I've
listened 3x in a row and written down some of the lyrics already <3
<3
