[TRANS] “Feel da CITY” concert pamphlet
Feel da CITY
JESSE
The album “CITY” encapsulates our desire for people to enjoy music throughout the whole day from morning to night. We chose the songs we liked from the demos, and from how it’d slot into the time of the day. When we first received the demos, we had separated the songs into genres like chill for morning and intense for night, but removed that limitation since we lost sight of our direction and simply listened to them as songs. All the songs were fantastic which made things hard. There were songs that sounded Johnnys-like, and ones that didn’t; ones that are popular overseas and ones that looked like fun to perform at concerts; and then there were ones that felt like a treat for the ears. The staff-san included lots of genres of songs that they’d like SixTONES to sing. There were songs that they prepared for us too after we told them about the sorts of music we’d like to try. We only received one original song when we were Juniors in “Shounentachi”, so being able to worry about “which song should we choose out of these?!” is an incredible luxury.
My favourite is the gospel song “Good Times”. It can express the beginning of something, but I also like that ending-like feel to it. It’s not a type of song that SixTONES’ have done before right? For the unit track with Shintarou, everyone was saying that a dance song was the way to go, so we went with the genre new jack swing. The MV has a 80s atmosphere too and feels a little nostalgic, I think it kinda has a Bruno Mars vibe to it. We were dancing intensely the whole time during filming, and Shintarou’s accessories went flying 2, 3 times (laughs). For the concert, I think we’re going to use lighting that will accentuate the nostalgia, but I plan to show the two of our slick moves without getting caught up about the specifics. Along with Shintarou, we’re the 2 who can dance particularly well out of SixTONES, so we want to convey “let’s do our best as the dance reps of the group!” (laughs).
Just using “CITY” as the tour title might’ve been enough, but after many discussions, we chose “Feel da CITY” because we wanted people to experience our city. We’re currently deciding on the general framework for the tour, and in the midst of sharing our opinions about what songs to include and what feeling we want the opening to be like. My ideal is to involve every audience member into SixTONES’ music. They still can’t cheer vocally, but they can clap in songs like “S.I.X” and enjoy the concert versions of our other songs too.
We all gave in our own input, saying that making the penlight into a streetlight shape would be cute. It’s nice that you can use it as an interior decoration right? The font for the hoodie was taken from the image of CITIES like Hong Kong and Shanghai and interpreted as kanji, and we deliberately chose a colour other than black and white for the bag. Shintarou and I thought it would be nice to have it in a neon colour, but we abandoned that idea since it was too flashy (laughs). In the original photo set where I took shots of Taiga, I purposely looked around the studio for messy spots. It highlights Taiga’s beauty and I’m sure that even a tangle of cords would work well if it’s a picture with such a beautiful person! (laughs).
What I felt from “on eST” last time was that “SixTONES’ really love concerts”. Needless to say when we’re in the middle of the concert, but also after we’re finished and checking on the footage, we had fun over things like seeing Kouchi do a peace sign and making a ruckus over with “he’s being an idol~!” (laughs). Something that left an impression on me were the words “it felt like I went to a club” from Kanjyani∞’s Maruyama (Ryuuhei)-kun who came to watch. We had lots of songs that people could vibe to, and if everyone can enjoy the music, then that would make us the happiest.
TAIGA
Our previous album “1ST” reached many music fanatics as well, so it raised the bar early on for our second album. When the time came to discuss “what album do you want to create next?”, we chose to challenge ourselves and not run away, and designated a big concept that contradicted “1ST” completely. Our first album was a buffet of music that we loved, so we wanted to take that a step further with our second album and thought about creating something as grand as a movie… That being said, after the concept “CITY” was decided, we struggled choosing songs because of that. Since we had the concept of expressing a day through the entire album, for example, even if we thought “this song is nice”, we’d think “we have to look for a more morning-like piece since we have lots of night-like ones already”. I got a taste of the difficulties in choosing tracks to a concept. But I liked that. There are interludes included in this album, and personally, talking of albums spaced with interludes, Mr. Children-san’s “Shinkai” (1996) comes to mind. I loved to listen to that album from start to end, and being able to challenge that structure in my own group’s music made me happy.
I paired up with Juri for the unit song, and at first, I thought loud rock would be nice for the two of us. We’d been talking about it for a long time too. But that’d be too predictable and boring… so we asked for a refreshing number. We both have completely different music tastes, but we’re similar in how we can both take a step back to assess ourselves. So out of the potential candidates, we decided on “With The Flow” which seemed the most unexpected for the two of us. On top of that, we talked about contributing on the creative side too, so Juri wrote the rap and I played the guitar acoustically instead of using the demo’s guitar recording. I said I would play them, but the chords were quite complex and I practised intensively every day when I was rehearsing for “Newsies” (bitter laughs). In regards to Juri’s rap… at first, he sent me a voice recording in the middle of the night, and it was unsurprising in a good way. I trust that he’s someone who can conjure great lines according to the time and situation. So I thought, “well, Juri will be able to create something great as expected”. But… could we perform this at the concert? Huhu (laughs).
And so, our tour “Feel da CITY” begins. The image I arbitrarily held about this tour was of “a city that’s constantly on the move”. Rather than SixTONES going to a certain city, it’s more like the city that SixTONES’ has created is going there as a whole. The venue itself is the city and everyone is a citizen… something like that. It’s a vague idea, but I hope to create the concert with that in mind. Our tour schedule became irregular (due to corona) in 2021, but because of that, we went into planning this tour relatively quickly without having too much time away [from concerts]. Our bodies and minds still remember the concert experience, so I feel like my members are seeing things a little more composed than before. We have more of our own songs too, so people might get to experience a more composed SixTONES. All in all, what I do think about every time, is “to not make it the same tour as last time”. Especially with the opening and the ending, that’s something I’m focused on during our discussions.
Lastly, as a part of the concert merchandise, the photo of Hokuto that I took. The concept was “the concert merchandise cameraman Matsumura Hokuto-san”, and I had him act out ‘a smile shown unexpectedly when a camera is pointed to him; a staff member’ (laughs). I wanted to capture Hokuto when he wasn’t the subject.
HOKUTO
The album “CITY” started with deciding on the theme. SixTONES’ have released 1 album and 5 singles so far. When we were thinking about how to take advantage of the genre-less-ness and almost incohesive quality garnered from those songs, while also summarising all of that in our next album, the staff-san came up with the concept of “city”. “A place that gathers many different things in one place is like a city isn’t it?”. From there, we chose tracks based on the “city” theme.
The difference to our previous album was that there were a lot of medium tempo pieces among the candidates. We express the flow of a day through the album this time round, so in trying to illustrate “daily life” or “time ticking”, there were naturally more peaceful songs. Out of the album, “Cassette Tape” is my favourite. It’s the most acoustic-like and I thought it would enhance the album greatly from its inclusion. For the unit song “Makka na Uso”, I talked with Kouchi and the staff-san about “wouldn’t a song in Japanese be interesting for the two of us?”, and since we were at it, why not split the lyrics into 2 and include two contradicting perspectives towards the one story. It sounds like a conversation between a positive person and a negative person, or even the angel and devil arguing in one’s mind… alongside such a theme, the keyword “wa-mero pop” [Japanese-melody influenced pop] came to mind. So, we put out a request to the songwriter Wanuka-san. Then, although we only received the first chorus, it was so brilliant that I thought “if we have this one chorus, then it’ll be the best no matter what comes next”. There were catchy Japanese phrases that perfectly captured the meaning of “cherishing the Japanese language”; how Kouchi’s part starts immediately, almost without pause after my part finishes, really felt like we were conversing and that was really refreshing. We haven’t decided on how to perform it yet at the concert, but I’ve thrown out a truckload of ideas. I have lots of different images about it in my head. The MV on the other hand, I have no idea how it will turn out. Since we asked a creator-san who’d be challenging shooting 3D video for the first time. They took both videos and stills, but whether that material will be treated as 2D, or linked between 2D and 3D… I too look forward to how it will turn out.
About the tour’s content, we are going through discussions swimmingly. Up till now, there were lots of moments in SixTONES’ concerts where we just left things up to the heat of the moment, and I think that worked fantastically, but personally, I want to constrict that a little this time and turn it into a sharper weapon. I want to properly show how we’ve settled in, coming into our second year and getting a better grasp of things. What I’m particularly focused on is the opening. I want it to be different to “on eST”, but I feel like it’s missing the mark if we try too hard to make it different, so that’s something I’m troubled about. The image overall, is a fictional city that only appears during the concert. The goods were also designed on that theme, and the hoodie is super cute! We worked really hard so that it’d be something that we want to wear and also something that everyone else would want to wear - something that the inhabitants of the city would love. By the way, the photo of Kouchi that I produced (in the original photo set), had the theme “off-the-leash”. Rather than Kouchi’s usual smile, I thought the moment where he relaxes, thinking “I’m off the leash. I dunno, ayy!”, was the best, so the photo is a representation of that exact moment (laughs).
YUGO
“CITY” is an album created with the goal of keeping up with the listener’s mood throughout a day. From chill songs to full-blown rock and gospel, there are a plethora of genres brought together and I think it’s an album that’s comforting when you listen to it as a whole. It a work that depicts the breadth of the group SixTONES’ and our free attitude towards enjoying music. My favourite is “Ordinary Hero”. The lyrics that say “anyone can become a hero” warms my heart, and it’s also a song that conveys the warmth that SixTONES possess.
The song that I thought “it’s perfect and I love it!” when I heard the demo, was my unit song with Hokuto, “Makka na Uso” produced by Wanuka-san. To be honest, I thought that mine and Hokuto’s voice didn’t work well together. But they matched perfectly when we sang it and I discovered our compatibility towards duets like this. Lyrics-wise, the concept is that Hokuto is negative while I’m positive, so I didn’t overstretch myself during the recording and just stayed my normal self. And I finished in no time - I was a little shocked that I was able to produce such a beautiful sound (laughs). The MV where we each interpret and act out the same situation separately should turn out interestingly too. It was fun to face a male cameraman and act out a “I’m making dinner right now so wait a minute~” feel to it (laughs). I’ve been together with Hokuto for the longest time out of the members, so I hope we can show the fans our growth through this song. I think it’ll fail if we overdo it, so it’s like let’s both work hard at our own pace without overstretching ourselves.
The tour title straightforwardly incorporates the idea of entering our city and enjoying our music together. I thought this when I was watching the “on eST” DVD at home. That all 6 of us really love doing concerts. The progression of “S.I.X” to “Special Order” to “Call me”, I wondered if it would be okay since there is such an extreme up and down in mood, but it was beautiful to see on screen. I want to include such pacing in this concert too and hope to structure it so that there are ups and downs.
It’s a great thing that we have more of our own songs including the ones from our Junior days, so there are ones that are like hidden gems that we have yet to show but want to perform. Just like how your old clothes from last year look new when you bring them out again for the change in season, I think new fans and old fans alike will enjoy it if we unearth a song from the troves and perform it?
The penlight’s streetlight motif was created off everyone’s ideas. It’s cute how the colours gradate gradually in time to the progression of a day too. For our other goods too, we’ve had a lot of black so far, so we decided to use more colour this time. For the bag’s colour, all of us went for a short walk with it in our normal clothes too, and ended up with a majority vote on an orange that wasn’t too flashy. The concept for the photo that I took of Shintarou for the original photo set, is “the other side of a part-timer”. It’s the moment a cool young lad who usually works in the kitchen or out in the dining hall leaves from the back exit. I took the photo casually, saying “look over here~”, so there’s this candid “I’m tired from work~” coolness to it right? (laughs)
Once a year, the tour where we can meet fans is a very important thing to me, so I want to make it a priceless experience. There are moments where I stand on stage and see my own weaknesses and get frustrated, but correcting them and evolving is also what’s great about going on tour. You definitely won’t regret it if you visit this city even once, so please move to this city! That’s the energy I’m keeping to enjoy the music with everyone.
SHINTARO
We started the song selection process in hopes of expressing “an original SixTONES’ city” in the album “CITY”. We call it a “CITY” simply, but there are cities that are orderly and peaceful, and cities that are boisterous and lively; it can own many different faces. We separated that into morning, afternoon & night… packing all of those atmospheres in so [the listener] can imagine a fictional city that has our likeness. I think it was one of the member’s idea to express the day through the order of the songs. It’d be interesting if the listener can visualise their own day’s scenery from listening to the full album in that particular order.
The unit song “LOUDER” with Jesse, I think it’ll definitely be tiring if we performed it at the concert! (laughs). Cos we dance heaps! It contains new jack swing elements too, so the choreography also incorporated that period’s (late 1980s~early 1990s) dance moves, and our outfits for the MV were influenced by that too. I hope we can integrate that into the concert too, but… we’re seriously dancing the whole time (laughs). The choreo is cool but I think it’ll be super obvious when we get tired and look worn out (laughs). It’s tough. We might collapse depending on what song comes before and after it (laughs).
The tour title “Feel da CITY” is exactly that, we named it for people to feel the city [we created]. It didn’t get chosen, but the title “NO NAME” was also proposed by us at the beginning. That’s how much we wanted people to not go in with any preconceived notions, or rather, we wanted it to be a name that didn’t have too much of a fixed idea. Just like I said before, I believe the music has the power to evoke an image in each person’s mind.
In the original photo set, part of the tour merchandise, there’s a picture of Juri that I shot. You say that Juri’s too far away? No, in my opinion, I wanted to zoom out even more (laughs). I wanted to get a super long shot of Juri holding something and standing imposingly at the very end of the corridor, and, when you take a clo~ser look, he’s actually smiling really widely. That’s the bizarre shot I wanted to get (laughs). But we also talked about getting a closer shot to make Juri’s face more visible and how the fans would prefer that. With the merchandise, it’s the same every time, but we especially put in a lot of time and effort into it this time, so I think our likes are properly reflected in them. The 6 of us thought hard from the perspective of “I want to wear this/have this” (shy laughs). I think the penlight is particularly brilliant! It expresses the changes of colour in a day through a gradation, and we’re just in the midst of thinking about including it in a song for the concert.
Tour-wise, this is already our third one after debuting. The first one had the marker of being “our first tour that spans across our debut!”, while our second one was “lead by our 1st album!”, so there was this… I think all of us had an emotional stake in it. And not just us but the fans too. But I’m not like that in the first place, I’m “someone who enjoy concerts” without thinking about those things. Both last time and last last time, enjoying myself without getting nervous was the most important thing for me, so this time too, rather than showing “our growth for the third round”, I want to simply have fun as usual. I don’t want to go around in circles exactly because it’s an important place to me. I’m looking forward to completing our cityscape with the audience at the concert venue.
JURI
To talk about the origins of this album, we’ll have to backtrack to around March 2021. For us, whether it’s a single or an album, we have the staff-san make a visual document when we make a song. They’re pictures based on the song’s image, plus rough ideas about the song. In the material for “Mascara”, there was a picture of a lady with a beautiful high-rise nightscape behind her, and we talked about how “a song with an image of the streets at night would be interesting too”. That idea persisted and we continued talks on “creating a SixTONES’ city”, which became our second album.
For “CITY”, I think it’s an album lined with songs of top-tier quality. But, it was a difficult selection process. We’re expressing the flow of a day through the one disk, but as we selected the songs to suit morning, afternoon and night respectively, we couldn’t help but go with bright for afternoon and darker for night, so arranging it so that there’s “coolness within the brightness” and “idol-like qualities in the darkness” was difficult. Also, the order of the songs are different in the regular edition and the limited editions, and there were different opinions like “won’t it feel like it’s sung by a fresh group if it starts from a bright song?” and “will it sound like a dark album if it starts from the night?”. For the unit song “With The Flow”, it was completed after we had a chat about me writing the rap lyrics and Kyomo playing the guitar. The lyrics were made from me listening to the song in the car and randomly rapping along to it, I wrote them out afterwards. I wanted to make it a song where it felt like you were on a drive with your friends and you just made up some random rap when the song plays.
In regards to the tour, we currently in the stage where we’re making tons of changes after the basic workings have been outlined; it’s even harder than making the album (laughs). There are songs that we definitely wanted to include, and songs that we wanted to perform but haven’t done so at a concert before… it’s a luxury to have this dilemma since we have more of our own songs now. Also, there are struggles too because of our change in approach towards the song selection for the album. In the past, we chose songs based on the performance factor, thinking “I want to sing this song at a concert!”, but after debuting, I truly feel that there are a lot more ‘people who listen to SixTONES music but don’t go to our concerts’. And so we decided to choose songs in “CITY” to be ones that you can listen to day to day, but now we have the difficulty of considering how to interpret these songs for the stage when they weren’t chosen for that specific purpose. It’s a task we haven’t had to tackle before so it’s complicated.
But on the other hand, we also thought it might not be bad to stage a song without focusing on the performance. This is an extreme example, but people probably don’t watch the DJ when they’re dancing at a club. You don’t need to watch the person to create an out-of-the-ordinary experience. Needless to say, I want the people to like to see us to watch us, but I don’t want to demand how they enjoy it. The neckstrap in the merchandise was created so that it doesn’t become a concert where you have to hold the penlight in your hand. I want them to dance if they feel like dancing, and I want them to clap along if they want to. I think it’ll be great if there’s more variety. By the way, as another tidbit about the merch, is the photo of Jesse that I took for the original photo set. I took the photo casually. It’s lively exactly because it was taken casually, it feels like the usual (laughs).
I think it’s fine for our concerts to be like that. Casual, without any deep meaning. Rather than “I look forward to doing the concert”, it’s more simply “I look forward to my friends coming over to hang out”, so I hope everyone can too feel “it’s been a while mate” [when they come]. We can show a fantastic stage when the audience is like that. Such a relationship, and such a concert - I think that might be what SixTONES-likeness is.
Shintaro
I mean, go wild! I want them to enjoy it freely in their own ways! It’d be great if they cooperate at the times we ask “please cooperate with us for this song”, but there are no other rules at our concerts. You don’t need to think “everyone else is waving their hands so I need to too”, just feeling and moving to the music is the best. In reality, when I see someone dancing enthusiastically to the music, we have fun talking about it backstage, saying “there was someone who looked like they were at a club!” “that person probably wasn’t watching us (laughs)”. To have a Johnnys concert completed with such varied moods is probably something unique to SixTONES. Don’t forget to be considerate to the ones around you however, but please enjoy the music with your whole body in your own style!
Q1. A favourite · memorable city?
I went to Belgium for work when I was in elementary 6th grade. I think it was Brussels? I thought those European streets only existed in movies, games and animes, so I remember being awestruck by them. I even remember the smell of the waffles. Even the refined poise of the adults walking on the streets too, I admired them since I was a little precocious brat (laughs). It’s a city I want to visit again!
Q2. If you were to make your own city?
I’d like the lavishness of a place like Dubai! The buildings in Japan are generally square, and since the grass is greener on the other side, I’m attracted to unusual shapes and lines in buildings and things like an immaculately decorated palace. And, I also want to perfect the aerial view of the city from a plan. Like a perfect circle. The city’s name? Hmm~ …Something similar to the sea and with 2 kanji characters would be nice… (after thinking for a long time) “Minato-ku”! (laughs)
Q3. This is great about my hometown!
Kanazawa, the city I was born in, is filled with things I can boast about. There are a lot of tourist spots, the food is delicious, and the streets are clean. But in my opinion, the best thing about it is the lateral relationship between the inhabitants. No one locks their doors, so an old lady in the area would slide open the sliding door and say “I picked some fresh mushrooms~” or something. I love that atmosphere where everyone trusts everyone.
Jesse
Even though everyone wasn’t allowed to cheer out loud at our previous tour, I feel like I heard all their cheers, and it was fun to see their faces go “wah!” when we waved at them or stood in front of them. They waved their penlights a lot and it made me wonder “what’s going to happen when they can cheer out loud?!”. The merchandise is designed with purpose so that it can be used during the concerts, but also during normal life too, so I hope they can have fun and coordinate them as they wish. I challenge myself during the encore to give fanservice and respond to as many uchiwas as possible, so I’m going to do my best as well this time (laughs). The tour that we get to do once a year, is a place for us to show our growth. Please look forward to the powered-up songs!
Q1. A favourite · memorable city?
Probably Las Vegas that I visited every year back when I was a kid. My father wrote a letter to Johnny-san saying “he will go to Las Vegas during the summer holidays so please let him take a break from work”. I’d play games or go in the pool at my grandma’s or my relative’s house. I had lots of fun when I went for “Sekai kurabetemitara” too, so I’d like to go one day with my members.
Q2. If you were to make your own city?
A bright and extravagant city that always has music playing. A fun city where people from lots of different countries live and you can learn about many cultures just from walking about. I want there to be restaurants where you can enjoy cuisine from each country, stylish bars with live piano, and even a theatre when you can watch shows of foreign artists. The name of the city should be “JeCITY” right?!
Q3. This is great about my hometown!
Tachikawa is growing more and more prosperous, so there really is everything you need without having to travel to the city centre. You can cycle and have a barbeque at the Showa Memorial Park, and it’s a place where you can enjoy the pools in summer and I recommend the kouyou [autumn leaves] in autumn too. I often went mini golfing with my grandma too. There are convenient places to shop and watch a movie too, and the beautiful nature is something that I’m proud about too.
Taiga
We put more time and effort into the merchandise than ever before. In particular, I love the colour combinations of the hoodie + bag, and hoodie + neckstrap. Please use them as a set at the concert (laughs), and please use them in your daily life too. Although the tour last time was held under the conditions where the audience couldn’t cheer out loud, personally, I still got really excited and the difference in excitement between us and the audience wasn’t as stark as I worried it would be. That’s why I won’t worry more than necessary and push on in SixTONES style this time too! I think everyone is still frustrated, but I’ll be happy if you could treat it casually and think about it like going to an amusement park. I’ll definitely make it a concert that’ll make you think “I can work hard tomorrow too”!
Q1. A favourite · memorable city?
If I were to deliberately pick a city that I haven’t mentioned much in interviews, it’s Kamakura. Once every few years, I’d go there on a whim. I simply go around to the temples and shrines, and eat kama’age shirasu-don [boiled whitebait ricebowl]… but that quiet, holy atmosphere where time stops in a good way, gives me peace. The moment when the sun sets and the lighthouse lights up is lovely as well.
Q2. If you were to make your own city?
A city where it clearly exhibits the four seasons in Japan, like the sakura or kouyou. And not that it’s not developed, but [a place that] still keeps the tranquil charm [of the past], and has delicious restaurants too! …Ah, that’s exactly what Kamakura is like isn’t it? (laughs) That’s truly my ideal. With my prayers, the name will be “Heiwa machi” [peaceful city]. If possible, I want it to be a so serene that there aren’t even any car accidents.
Q3. This is great about my hometown!
A fantastic thing about Tokyo must be the transport network right? In the regional areas, it’s common that the buses and trains only come once an hour if you’re not careful. Once, when we were going around to the regions for “Shounentachi LIVE” (2017), I went with Iwamocchan [Iwamoto Hikaru] to a temple in the morning, but we panicked since there were no taxis to take us back. We had no other choice so we ran back to the theatre in the end and made it just in time for the afternoon show! (laughs)
Juri
All of SixTONES’ fans have very distinct personalities. And forreal, there are more cuter people. It’s not that the population of cute people increased, but the people who were already there are becoming cuter and cuter. That makes me happy and I look forward to seeing them at the concerts too. I look at everyone’s faces quite a lot during the concert. So, I want you to be prepared to be looked at when you attend. Put your heart in it and work hard on your make up and clothes! (laughs) And also, it’s hard to listen to music blasted on a loud volume without having to worry about people around you right? Exactly because it’s a time where it’s difficult to listen to the same music at the same time, I want everyone to enjoy the music [when they’re at the concert].
Q1. A favourite · memorable city?
Shibuya. Shibuya has always been the place where I hung out and ate, and all of my acquaintances go to shops in Shibuya too. I don’t get sick of it at all and it’s fun. For it to attract so many people, it must mean that everyone can find what they need there. I think that SixTONES’ also has many connections with Shibuya. Like the huge billboards when we debuted, and for our first album too, and I also see our “Joa” CM playing at the scramble crossing often too.
Q2. If you were to make your own city?
A phantom-like city that only appears from Friday nights to Sunday morning. It’s like a busy street, but one that’s made for the night-time only. It’s quiet in the afternoon and only bustles at night; if anything, the residents don’t even move or something (laughs). The clubs will all be on the first floor, or like it’ll be fun to just walk around. The name of the city… “Shibuta”. A city blending Shibuya and Tanaka together (laughs). It’s perfect!
Q3. This is great about my hometown!
A great thing about my hometown? There aren’t any (laughs). It’s really nice near the station, but there’s nothing if you drive out for a mere 10 minutes, and, it’s not as if it’s relaxed like Shizuoka, Hokuto’s hometown. But now that I think about it, I think it’s those 2 things. I’ll hang out with my friends around the station, but we can easily see any shooting stars too. I go back to my family home once a month even now.
Hokuto
This might sound strange, but there are times where I get the impression that our fans want to be a member of SixTONES. Deciphering the fashion tastes of the member they like and incorporating that in their own clothes, or imitating the way they talk. Though that love might make them want to be that member’s princess instead, I think when asked “would you want to become them if you had a chance to?, there would be a fair few who’d answer “yes!”. I feel that strange admiration sometimes (laughs). I don’t think that we’re something to look up to, but if we are something that someone looks up to, I want to take responsibility and be a dazzling idol on stage during the concert. If that gives hope to the audience, then there’s nothing greater than that.
Q1. A favourite · memorable city?
My hometown. It’s hard to say but it’s very rural (laughs), so there are fields, [river]banks, grasslands and factories and such, and there’s a watermill near my place. It’s much taller than me and made from wood. I’ve never seen a watermill other than that one, but I was really mesmerised by it for some reason and watched it spin for hours. I strangely love that place.
Q2. If you were to make your own city?
The name would be ‘o’ from ‘oshi’ [fan of], plus ‘shi’ [city] to make ‘Oshi’. I want it to be like a city where stanning something is part of the deal. It’ll be filled with stores where each store stocks one artist, and if you go there, you’d be able to do everything, like listen to SixTONES’ CDs and watch concert DVDs. I think it’ll be a rather culture-rich city. A must is a personal theatre that can be rented.
Q3. This is great about my hometown!
It’s a place where I can’t explain its greatness to other people… (laughs). It’s a nice place that’s like a best friend to me though. If I had to say, it’s that there’s too much excess land. Different to the city, there is a lot of plantation for all the excess, and there are paths that aren’t manmade, but rather formed from years of people walking, and you get to experience the change in season clearly. Sometimes I really want to go back and pull up my maps app (laughs).
Yugo
It’s my ideal to make it a concert that allows someone to forget about their hardships in life and just think about SixTONES. It’d be the best if they think “I want go come back to this city again!”. I’m praised for my smile often, but it’s not something that I do consciously, and I think I smile naturally because the fans are smiling too. It’s a win-win relationship. The goods too, we chose them on what we’d like to carry around with us, and what we think would suit the fans, so I hope you can enjoy them in your own way. I will make it a concert where you can have fun no matter where you’re sitting, front or back; I hope they can create this stage together with us.
Q1. A favourite · memorable city?
I’m not sure how good of an answer it is since it’s also the place that I’m living in right now, but Tokyo. If I didn’t join this industry, I probably wouldn’t have left my hometown. When I came for the first time with my parents when I was a child, I was shocked by the number of people and by the clothes people wore (laughs). I think because of the Olympics too, but it’s an interesting place that’s continuing to evolve.
Q2. If you were to make your own city?
I love things like vintage cars, so something a little retro, like during the economic bubble, might be nice. Using public telephones, having a friendly bike shop, and children would be spending their playtime at the park playing beigoma [traditional spinning top toy]. The city’s name will be “ALWAYS Roku-choume no Asahi” [lit. ALWAYS District Six’s morning sun] (laughs).
Q3. This is great about my hometown!
Say Tokyo is a city that has continued to change, then what I like about my hometown Yokohama is that it hasn’t changed much from when I was a kid. Of course, places around Minatomirai have developed, but you’ll get into the countryside if you drive 20 minutes away from the city centre. There are busy streets, but also the beach and places where you can connect with nature, so I think what’s great about my hometown is that you can get to experience both.