Interview with Girugamesh at Sakuracon

Press Group: Nippon Project, Aftercon, Anime Secrets, Kanzen ni Jrock

Nippon Project: Recently you've been wearing black, whether it's suits or sweatshirts. Is black a strong color for you, and does it represent anything?

ShuU: Our music has so many things in it, there's hip hop elements, techno elements, heavy rock elements, and metal elements. When you have an artist's palate and all these colors, so when you mix them together, it becomes black, and that's what black means to us.

Aftercon: Now that you've come to Sakura-con, are there any other plans to tour in the US?

ShuU: Right now everything is still in the planning stages, but after Sakura-con, we've all discussed it and we all want to come back to the United States.

...

Anime Secrets: So recently the Sakura-con commercial has been circling the web frequently, what is your opinion on this commercial?

(Group laughter)

Ryo: (laughing) It's great!

Satoshi: I watched it so many times on Youtube!

Ryo: Girugamesh! (pumps fist into the air with devil horns) We also saw the remixes! (Laugh)

Japan Files Rep: Can I ask, what do your friends think about it?

Satoshi: We really don't have friends...

(Group Laughter)

ShuU: But during the Q&A, the fans really booed the commercial, but we didn't think anything bad about it at all.

Ryo: I wanna meet that guy!

(Group Laughter)

Ryo: We wanna sing with him! We want him to do guest choruses or something! Gi-gi-gi-girugamesh!

(More Laughter)

Nippon Project: I think he's actually a voice actor.

Ryo: That's why he has such a great voice! (Laugh) I still want to meet him.

Kanzen ni Jrock: This is your second time in America since Jrock Revolution in 2007, how do you feel now that you're back in the USA?

ShuU: There are so many bands that we love here in America, so to be able to come to America and play where the bands that we love are, it makes us very happy to be able to do that. We are also very happy to meet the American fans again!

Nippon Project: Satoshi, in a few band comments you've made a weezy old man voice, what is that inspired from?

Satoshi: (weezy old man voice) You mean this voice? (Laughs)

ShuU: (weezy old man voice) You shouldn't do that voice now!

(Big Group laughter)

Satoshi: This is Kitano Takeshi, a very famous Japanese comedian, and he's also a movie director. That's who I'm impersonating.

Kanzen ni Jrock: Ah! Battle Royal?

Satoshi: That's who I'm imitating! (Laugh)

Aftercon: So you've been to LA, and now Seattle, is there anywhere else in the US you would like to perform at?

Ryo: I would say New York, but I would really like to see all of America. The entire world even! (Laugh)

Anime Secrets: Did you have a chance to go sightseeing here in Seattle?

Ryo: Of course! It's really pretty here, everyone agrees.

Satoshi: The meat is great! (Laugh)

Ryo: And the view from the tower (Space Needle) was great!

Kanzen ni Jrock: How do you think the performance on Friday went?

Ryo:...hm, I really don't remember it, but the live was fun! (Laugh) So I think it maybe went well!

Satoshi: You know, we're really so excited when we're doing it, that we really don't remember much after it, so it's all a blur (Laugh).

ShuU: We did the long tour in Japan, and then we did the European tour, but in America we came and did just one show in one city. So we did the same type of a set list we did for CRAZY TOUR, and in the end we all had fun!

Nii: The first time we came to America, we were so nervous. We didn't think we did so well, that maybe we were very excited, but we didn't perform well on stage. But this time around we were able to relax before the show, and I think it went really well!

Nippon Project: Nii, what's your favorite Youtube video?

Nii: Ah, I like live stuff from Limp Biscuit and Linkin Park. I love watching all the live videos on YouTube.

Kanzen ni Jrock: So, do you watch Nico Nico Douga (Japanese Youtube)?

Satoshi: I do watch them, especially our own stuff and I also look at what people say about them. But everyone else doesn't.

Ryo: It's really not so good to watch Nico Nico Douga, because I'd be watching it and all of a sudden a really bad comment would go across the screen, and it just depresses you! (Laugh) It's like "Ahhh man!" Cause' I don't know where to direct my anger!

(Group Laughter)

Satoshi: Why don't you just write a comment? (Laugh)

(More Laughter)

Aftercon: Would you like to live in a place like Seattle with rainy weather, a beach, or a desert setting like Arizona?

ShuU: I would really like to live in a place with lots of water.

Ryo: I wanna check out a desert! (Laugh)

Satoshi: The dry air is really bad for my throat, so I want somewhere that is very wet.

Nii: I like it when the sun is always shining outside. That's where I'd like to be.

ShuU: Seattle has a lot of rain right? That's why it's called the "Rainy City".

Ryo: We should make a song called Rainy City!

(Group Laughter)

Anime Secrets: Out of all your songs, what's your favorite to perform?

Ryo: Every song is fun! (Laugh)

ShuU: I like evolution, because of the chorus and all the different sounds in it, it's really fun for me to play...even though I get tired! (Laugh)

Nii: Me too, I like evolution because I can dance! (laugh)

Satoshi: For me it's SMASH!!, because there's a call and response with the fans, and I love to do that.

Kanzen ni Jrock: Do each of you have a specific routine to get yourselves pumped up before shows?

Ryo: Firstly, I need to control my breath, and take a whole hand full of spearmint frisk and chew them all! (Makes chewing noises) Then I hit myself (actually hits himself), and I'm ready to go!

(Group Laughter)

ShuU: I do lots of stretches, and I imagine the performance going well.

Nii: I stretch and pace around the green room a lot.

Satoshi: I have a steam humidifier to clear my nose and throat, I take deep breaths, I have my manager give me a massage, and I do vocal exercises.

Nippon Project: ShuU, do you have any hidden talents?

ShuU: It won't be a secret anymore if I tell! (crosses arms)

(Group laughter)

ShuU: I have an amazing talent for being late (Laugh), and I can sleep anywhere. Oh! And recently I've started doing magic!

(More Laughter as ShuU picks up two rubber bands and twines them together)

ShuU: Okay, so they're connected right?-- Oh wait, hold on a second (Turns his back to the press as he attempts to fix his "magic trick" )

(laughter continues)

ShuU: So they are connected right? (Shows the rubber bands connected in an "X" shape) Now I rub them together here....(pulls rubber bands in opposite directions and they "magically" come apart)

Press and Staff: Oooohhhhhh!! (Applause)

ShuU: You're all so nice! I love you! (Laughing very hard)

(Explosion of Laughter)

ShuU: I'll study more and come back to America with more magic tricks! (Laugh)

Satoshi: Why'd you screw it up?! (Laugh)

Aftercon: What are some of the best cosplays that you've seen here at Sakura-con?

Ryo: Naruto, and I want to do it too! (Laugh)

ShuU: I was really shocked by the guy dressed up as me! So, if I get tired at my next show, I'm just gonna use him! (Laugh)

Nii: Yeah, me too, the ShuU cosplay was really great!

Satoshi: The Kawanashi (No Face) from Sento Chihiro (Spirited Away).

Anime Secrets: Expanding off of what KnJ said before, what do you do after the concerts to wind down?

Ryo: I like to drink beer.

ShuU: I just like to sit, zone out, and smoke.

Nii: I just sit in a chair and zone out.

Satoshi: Before the live, I don't drink any water, so after it's over, I drink a lot of water! (Laugh)

Kanzen ni Jrock: In your last album, MUSIC, your sound seemed to morph into a more industrial type of metal, do you plan to stick with this new style, or will your music continue to evolve into different styles?

Ryo: Right now it's really still changing with the new stuff we're working on currently, but I promise you that the next thing we do will we do will be really cool, so please expect it!

Nippon Project: Ryo, you once mentioned that if you weren't in music that you would be in a motorcycle gang, what would the name of the gang be?

(Group Laughter)

Ryo: (Laughing hard) Gyotoku #1! The place where I'm from! And there's actually a gang called Gyotoku #1, and they go around spray painting their name everywhere. I'd like to enter that group (Laugh). But because of the band, thankfully, I have not had to join. Thank you band!

(Group Laughter)

Anime Secrets: What kind of motorcycle would you have Ryo? (Laugh)

Ryo: The older style, the really loud one! (Makes motorcycle noises)

(Group Laughter)

Ryo: And I'd have the Japanese headband wrapped around my head.....so uncool (Laugh)

Kanzen ni Jrock: What impression of girugamesh do you want first-time concert goers to walk away with?

ShuU: I want them to think we're crazy, and "Wow they're really fun!" But the good meaning of crazy, not the bad meaning (Laugh)

Ryo: Yeah, we want them to come away thing it was fun and had a good time.

Nippon Project: What's one question you want people to ask or you want people to talk about?

ShuU: I'm pretty sure the fans want to know what's happening in the background when we're not on stage.

Ryo: It's gonna come out anyway, it may as well be interesting (Laugh).

ShuU: We really talk about anything, I mean if they ask me about girls maybe I get a little shy, but we talk about stupid things and shy things.

Aftercon: Besides the magic trick, do each of you have something you wanna just learn for fun?

Satoshi: Impressions! I have a really good monkey impression! (makes monkey sounds, then proceeds to pick imaginary bugs from Nii's hair like a monkey)

(Explosion of Laughter)

Nii: He has a lot of impressions!

Satoshi: We were doing Donald Duck versus Donald Duck in my room today! (Laughs)

(Nii and Satoshi have a Donald Duck impersonation fight)

Nii: (Laugh) That's not how you do it, that's just you normally!

(Group Laughter)

Ryo: I really don't have anything else I'm trying to do, I really am boring.

(More Laughter)

ShuU: I'm really jealous of him though, because his hobby is music.

Ryo: But that's boring! (Laugh)

ShuU:.....yeah, I guess that's true (Laugh)

(Laughter continues)

ShuU: I really have too many hobbies, but I guess I'd better focus more on music for now I guess (Laugh)

Ryo: But I loose so much money with music as my hobby, because of buying equipment and stuff like that. (Laugh)

Kanzen ni Jrock: Do you have any favorite English words or phrases you like to use?

Satoshi: In the bed!

(Group Laughter)

*For those who don't know, "In the Bed" or more so "In Bed" is used after reading a fortune from a fortune cookie. For example "Your luck will change in the coming months - IN BED." It's a very amusing way to liven up your cookie after a Chinese meal!*

Satoshi: George (the Translator) taught me that! (Laugh)

Kanzen ni Jrock: Please put that in your lyrics! (Laugh)

Ryo: Oh yes! We'll put it as "Rainy City" for one and "IN THE BED!" for another!

(Explosion of Laughter)

ShuU: We now have two new songs! (Laugh)

Nii: When we did the 47 prefecture Tour, I always liked to say "Are you ready?!"

ShuU: Um, this might be a bad word, but I have this t-shirt that says "SHUT THE FUCK UP" And for a while I was saying it all the time! Without even being mad at people I would just shout "shut the fuck up" while pointing at them.(Laughs and demonstrates his point to the press)

(Group Laughter)

Ryo: Just normal for me, I like the word Crazy, but again, the good kind of crazy! (Laugh)

ShuU: I like the word "Rock" too. Eventually I wanna put a tattoo on my hand that says rock.

Nippon Project: And "Roll" on the other hand? (Laugh)

ShuU: Rock and Roll? How about "Rock in the bed?

(Group Laughter)

ShuU: ....Sorry.....I like to say "Sorry" too (Laugh)

JapanFiles: Okay, now they can give a statement to their readers!

Nii: Girugamesh is going to continue to make good music, continue to do great live shows, and we do want to come back to the States, so please look forward to that!

Ryo: I will put it simply, we'll do our best, so please support us!

ShuU: Save the magazine that's talking about us, or bookmark the page that's talking about us. We're going to get bigger, so you can always look back and see what we were, that we in the past said these stupid things! (Laugh)

 Satoshi: We wanna go to a lot of different countries, so if the fans call us, we wanna go, so please call us!

Thank you so much for reading! And a big thank you to JapanFiles.com, George Trombley the Translator, other press attending the coference and Sakura-Con for making this interview possible!