Tak's Interview Part II
- Being the Leader -
Q So anyway, from "Taiyou No Komachi Angel", B'z popularity shot to the
top so suddenly. Do you think of it as one of the 'peak' time no matter what
happen in the future after that?
T Hmm, as I said earlier that we planned to get our 'big break' within
3 albums. "Bad Communication" was highly irregular (B'z 1st mini-album,
released after 1st and 2nd album in 1989). It was actually just a stepping
stone so that we can produce a successful 3rd album. One of the version is 7
minutes, right? Therefore we really didn't expect it to become such a hit. Also,
at that time, mini-albums were quite cool.
Q Experimental ne.
T Sou sou, very experimental. It was so... The result was "Bad~"
sold better than our 3rd album. Very irregular.
Q It exceeded its role as a mere stepping stone .
T Also that after "Bad~" was released, it stayed in the chart for more
than 100 weeks (163 weeks to be exact). That was also
quite unexpected.
Q Within your first 5 years, you did the Nagisa-en live, I think that
is also considered as one 'peak'.
T It is definitely. But when I think about it, at that time we didn't
feel like we have just been together as a band for 5 years, it felt much longer
than 5 years already.
Q You're saying that because you have done so much together in 5 years
that the relationship felt much stronger?
T I think it felt very strong already then, hontou ni. Yes, that
was one turning point for us.
Q Nee~. I think it's also a point that bound you even stronger
together. I see it, you see it, I think everyone else who belongs in a band
would also understand. The band was on its way to become huge and this was the
making of their first biggest turning point. Did you think much about the future
at that moment?
T Regarding the future, first of all, in my own vision up to that point,
Nagisa-en didn't even exist. A venue that holds 100,000 people in 2 days...
that's like the final show of a band. I never envisioned my own band's ending.
Everything seems kinda happening vaguely, for instance, CD debut at no.1, or
some album sold more than 3 million copies. We ourselves always thought sugoi
naaa. Ah, but have we already gone million at that time though?
Q Un. You sold very well.
T It really is a world that goes beyond your imagination.
Q So you said 'I don't have to go back and be a session musician anymore'.
T Iya. I didn't think that far. Because then, I never thought
about the band continuing to it's 10th year. I never thought about 'How many
years will this last?', zen zen. Now, 10 years after that, so called
that we have in front of us the already digested lessons. I thought it was all
very interesting. Now, if you say, 'What will you be like in 10 years?' I do
imagine a bit, but then at that time...
Q What will be will be ne.
T Sou desu ne. Also, we've come along way while all the time saying
'We can still continue, we can still continue'. After all, it wasn't really
the era of competition for us, hontou (laugh).
Q But really there were lots of things going on in the music world, right?
Karaoke boom, visual kei, nowadays the indies and hip-hop genre. How do you
adapt to this?
T Even then, we never tried to compete, so we looked at our surrounding
and already we understood the way to adapt to things, hontou ni.
Q How?
T With ways.
Q How you write your music is perhaps everything?
T Un. Well, I wouldn't say everything. There's promotion and such.
But there was a tendency of this band, 'If they release their works, no matter
how, they won't fail', right? Although I don't know about now (laugh).
Q Hahaha.
T Yeah, I don't know about now. But there was a time when it was like
that.
Q You must felt like the almighty band.
T Un.
Q But even when you never tried to compete, B'z never ran out of gas,
neglected.
T Nope. Because we put all our strength into it, hontou ni. Nowadays,
more than before, whether Inaba or me, we have become quite objective regarding
everything that we produce. We are now able to ask professional/specialist's
assistance. Before, we had to think of many things ourselves, which we did seriously.
Q You thought 'I must really do everything myself'.
T Un, to say everything, maa, sou da ne... I even attended
promotion meetings held by our record companies.
Q Eeee, when was this?
T Around BMG era.
Q Aa sou desu ka. So did you say 'I want you to promote us this
or that way'?
T Un, I said, 'Since they are charging us for the advertising,
promote it this way' (bitter laugh), hontou ni.
Q Hahaha, 細かい!
T I was very 細かい, hontou ni.
Q But in another meaning, you were a pro.
T I was really a pro. Compare to now, zen zen (laugh). Now I completely
let go.
Q Like 'I'll leave it to you' (laugh).
T Like 'Yoroshiku onegaishimasuuu' (laugh). Well because everyone
including managers are specialists in what they do. We are surrounded by these
people. For example, I sometimes tend to ignore what the managers have to say
(laugh), but definitely, I can't have everything my way ne. They are
the professionals. They'd think about things for us that we never thought of
ourselves. But for sure, before was like 'we must think of everything ourselves'.
TO BE CONTINUED
from: Ultra Chronicle/ Personal Interview with Tak Matsumoto,
2003 Summer
Tak's interview Part I
| Tak's interview Part II
| Tak's interview Part III
| Tak's interview Part IV
Ok, I'm experiencing 'brain dead' aka sleepy. How to translate 細かい? My
mind is scrambling for the correct English word. Help. But Tak says hontou
ni a lot!!
