Random Translation 1: Tokyo Galaxy at Nippon Budoukan Pamphlet 2011
In the midst of moving and packing. and so decided to flip through my stash of magazines and translate short articles that interest me.
Tokyo Galaxy Pamphlet Mini solo interviews (2010/2011)
Shou
Being part of a rock band, I believe that performing in Nippon Budoukan is something that we should be aiming for, so when it was decided that we will do a live there, I think we braced ourselves for it. When we first formed, we publicly stated our goal: "We'll do a one-man at Shibuya AX within one year". However, after that goal was realized, it took us too much effort to just clear whatever that was in front of us that time, and so gradually we stopped forming new goals. A year ago, the big goal to perform at Budoukan came to place and with that specific goal in mind, we piled up on experiences together . I think we spent a fulfilling period of time.
Last year, in preparation for the Budoukan live, we did 30 shows, and repeatedly went through various trial-and-errors earnestly. We brought out 60 songs or so, including our older songs, performed in our lives and started searching for "what Alice Nine is". At the beginning, we changed our setlist everyday, and that gathered various opinions from the members as well as the staff. But thanks to that, we managed to brush up on our skills as a band.
But with regards to the live itself in Budoukan, I didn't put too much thought in it. The posture i was aiming for during that live is not anything different from that during last year's performance at Shinagawa Stellar Ball in August. But I felt that this Budoukan live will be a good form of repayment for all the people that have supported us all this time. Personally, I wanted the live to be a materialization of all the experience that we had gathered during the tour. Of course, the area being a larger one, there are costumes to be made, and it is also necessary to change some of our performances, I wanted to do that live with the same train of thought.
In any case, I want to leave something behind. If the audience who came to watch our live can leave in happiness and warmth after, we will be contented. To be able to express that, of course we will have to enjoy our own performances as well.
Tora
Last year, it became a year where if anyone starts talking, it'll be about Budoukan. From the start, we are a band with unbased confidence, so when so much was expected of us, it became a form of pressure instead. Expectations of us were high, our friends are coming to watch us as well. Doing a live there, rather than the performing side, i think it's a bigger think for those who are watching. Budoukan is afterall a famous location. I felt that I need to improve myself to become someone who will not lose to the fame of Budoukan. Because just by performing at Budoukan, we'll become known as a "Budoukan artist" or "the Alice Nine who had performed at Budoukan" and so on.
Last year it had been a busy year with the tour and recordings, but everything was for the Budoukan live that's at the end of this all. For myself, I have been doing image trainings, and secretly preparing for the Budoukan. In any case, I wanted the live to be one that can stay in people's memories. However, I want us not to be just the Alice Nine who have performed in Budoukan, but the Alice Nine who can leave a mark in the hearts of people who came to see us. I want to create a space that the audience can enjoy, so I thought about not just the music playing but also the overall performance. For that, we have been making various preparations and advanced with this goal in mind.
But then again, the people who are reading this have already came to watch the Budoukan live right? Whatever I'm saying here, some way or other, that live would already have ended (laughs). That's why, what I can say right now is probably just "praying for this live to be a success". I'd want to ask "How was the live?" However, having lived a life of entertaining people, whether it be through the music or the talk, the desire to bring about something fun for the audience has not changed. If I can bring about something that people can enjoy in a large venue like Budoukan, I'll be happy as well.
Hiroto
Right about one year earlier where this Budoukan live has been decided upon, I was extremely happy, thinking "Finally!" Since it's a Budoukan live, I want to do many lives right before that, and raise ourselves to a higher level before standing on that stage. After talking with the members about that, it was how last year's tour came to be. I want to create a drama with the fans until then and stand on that stage with everyone.
In a certain sense, Budoukan is like a compilation of all that we had worked on, and also our turning point and chance, and so I want to create our best stage there. Hence we brought out our older songs, and searched for what is us in the first half of this battle during the lives. We had been improving ourselves, reaffirming our grounds, performing different trials, but in general we didn't really have a plan (laughs). Our menu was different everyday, and it was difficult performing different songs at a level that we can show to the audience everyday, so it was a lot of pressure. It was not just tough on the members but also on the staff but thanks to that, we have formed a great team. After that first half of the lives, we reaffirmed the good of Alice Nine songs and lives once more and clear our initial goal of understanding ourselves better. In the later half of our battle, the goal is to form a image on how we want the live in Budoukan to be, and with that accomplished, I think we are heading to Budoukan in good shape.
If the Budoukan live is a success, i think we will have obtained a good power-uped engine for our future plans. With that, I want to speed up on what's next. An album is due for release in February, so there are things to look forward to after Budoukan. Fans may feel that we are getting too far ahead of ourselves, but right now, I am feeling a similar emotion to when I first started out in bands. Having been working in an environment with great members, there is a sense of security in that, but with the Budoukan live, I felt a resurrection of the daredevil and recklessness in me. Im really looking forward to what's after Budoukan.
Nao
I've probably mentioned this in other magazines or something, but I was the only one who opposed to doing a Budoukan live at this timing. It's just my own personal view but regardless of our songs or skills, I thought that we still do not have enough of the professional conscious that we should be having. Hence I always thought at our current state, we would not be able to stand on the stage of Budoukan. While I was happy when the announcement came that we are going to do a live at Budoukan, I was also braced for the fact that it is going to be a trying time. "Congratulations on your Budoukan" was what I've been hearing but I wasn't able to be happy about it from the bottom of my heart. After that I had been doing my best rather wearily, but concluding that it is a good thing that we have at least a goal, I'm finally able to look forward to being on that stage.
When Budoukan was made to be our final stop, the tour came to be to decide on how we want the live to be. It was tough. While searching for what we want to portray as a band, we have to maintain the quality of our live performances. That battle, was a continuous one for the band, as well as for myself. For the lives, I felt i was giving just the minimum line of acceptable quality and it wasn't an easy time.
But the fact that everyone was fighting their own battles, worrying about their own things, I think it was a good result. Personally, there are various areas I wanted to upgrade myself so during the time gap between when the tour ended and the Budoukan live, I trained my body as much as i could and did various individual rehearsals. On the Budoukan stage, I wonder if I can feel the power of the cosmos (laughs). Even as a band, I have the confidence that we can produce the live that we did in last year's tour. Hence I am not really worried about it. I want to show the people who came to our lives strength, hope and love. If people can feel the excitement of our 6-year growth and gain new stimulus from our performance, I am sure we'd be contented as well.
Saga
In the first place, Budoukan was a place where we want to express ourselves. Vandalize was created with the image of performing it in a wide area, and so when the Budoukan live was decided upon, I was happy and excited that I am finally able to do what I've been wanting to do. One year after that, I felt the need to reaffirm Alice Nine as a band, and so we decided to do as many lives as we could.
First of all, I want to improve on us as a band, so in the first half of the tour, we've been improvising much with different things everyday perform our other repertoire. In conclusion, good songs are that which will be able to keep up with us anyway. Even if we didn't pull our older songs, good songs will always accompany the band. After realizing that, live performances became much easier. I clearly understood what Alice Nine is looking at and how we have been presenting ourselves to people. Except that, to reach that point, there were various points of arguments from the members and the staff, so it had been a trying time. For me I just want to challenge everything so I was often annoyed. But in any case, I want to properly create the stage for Alice Nine and perform a live that is convincing for anyone who came to watch us. If we don't involve the fans and staff into this, I feel that this huge wave is not going to come, so even in the backstage, I've been persuading various people.
After Vandalize, Alice Nine have clearly changed. But in Budoukan, I want to receive everyone's acknowledge, whether they are older fans or more recent fans. By putting everything that we've gathered onto that stage, I believe that we can show everyone what the future could be. The next album is going to be released in February so our mode is already geared towards the next step. I want to get everyone who came to our Budoukan live to anticipate Alice Nine's next step.
Tokyo Galaxy Pamphlet Mini solo interviews (2010/2011)
Shou
Being part of a rock band, I believe that performing in Nippon Budoukan is something that we should be aiming for, so when it was decided that we will do a live there, I think we braced ourselves for it. When we first formed, we publicly stated our goal: "We'll do a one-man at Shibuya AX within one year". However, after that goal was realized, it took us too much effort to just clear whatever that was in front of us that time, and so gradually we stopped forming new goals. A year ago, the big goal to perform at Budoukan came to place and with that specific goal in mind, we piled up on experiences together . I think we spent a fulfilling period of time.
Last year, in preparation for the Budoukan live, we did 30 shows, and repeatedly went through various trial-and-errors earnestly. We brought out 60 songs or so, including our older songs, performed in our lives and started searching for "what Alice Nine is". At the beginning, we changed our setlist everyday, and that gathered various opinions from the members as well as the staff. But thanks to that, we managed to brush up on our skills as a band.
But with regards to the live itself in Budoukan, I didn't put too much thought in it. The posture i was aiming for during that live is not anything different from that during last year's performance at Shinagawa Stellar Ball in August. But I felt that this Budoukan live will be a good form of repayment for all the people that have supported us all this time. Personally, I wanted the live to be a materialization of all the experience that we had gathered during the tour. Of course, the area being a larger one, there are costumes to be made, and it is also necessary to change some of our performances, I wanted to do that live with the same train of thought.
In any case, I want to leave something behind. If the audience who came to watch our live can leave in happiness and warmth after, we will be contented. To be able to express that, of course we will have to enjoy our own performances as well.
Tora
Last year, it became a year where if anyone starts talking, it'll be about Budoukan. From the start, we are a band with unbased confidence, so when so much was expected of us, it became a form of pressure instead. Expectations of us were high, our friends are coming to watch us as well. Doing a live there, rather than the performing side, i think it's a bigger think for those who are watching. Budoukan is afterall a famous location. I felt that I need to improve myself to become someone who will not lose to the fame of Budoukan. Because just by performing at Budoukan, we'll become known as a "Budoukan artist" or "the Alice Nine who had performed at Budoukan" and so on.
Last year it had been a busy year with the tour and recordings, but everything was for the Budoukan live that's at the end of this all. For myself, I have been doing image trainings, and secretly preparing for the Budoukan. In any case, I wanted the live to be one that can stay in people's memories. However, I want us not to be just the Alice Nine who have performed in Budoukan, but the Alice Nine who can leave a mark in the hearts of people who came to see us. I want to create a space that the audience can enjoy, so I thought about not just the music playing but also the overall performance. For that, we have been making various preparations and advanced with this goal in mind.
But then again, the people who are reading this have already came to watch the Budoukan live right? Whatever I'm saying here, some way or other, that live would already have ended (laughs). That's why, what I can say right now is probably just "praying for this live to be a success". I'd want to ask "How was the live?" However, having lived a life of entertaining people, whether it be through the music or the talk, the desire to bring about something fun for the audience has not changed. If I can bring about something that people can enjoy in a large venue like Budoukan, I'll be happy as well.
Hiroto
Right about one year earlier where this Budoukan live has been decided upon, I was extremely happy, thinking "Finally!" Since it's a Budoukan live, I want to do many lives right before that, and raise ourselves to a higher level before standing on that stage. After talking with the members about that, it was how last year's tour came to be. I want to create a drama with the fans until then and stand on that stage with everyone.
In a certain sense, Budoukan is like a compilation of all that we had worked on, and also our turning point and chance, and so I want to create our best stage there. Hence we brought out our older songs, and searched for what is us in the first half of this battle during the lives. We had been improving ourselves, reaffirming our grounds, performing different trials, but in general we didn't really have a plan (laughs). Our menu was different everyday, and it was difficult performing different songs at a level that we can show to the audience everyday, so it was a lot of pressure. It was not just tough on the members but also on the staff but thanks to that, we have formed a great team. After that first half of the lives, we reaffirmed the good of Alice Nine songs and lives once more and clear our initial goal of understanding ourselves better. In the later half of our battle, the goal is to form a image on how we want the live in Budoukan to be, and with that accomplished, I think we are heading to Budoukan in good shape.
If the Budoukan live is a success, i think we will have obtained a good power-uped engine for our future plans. With that, I want to speed up on what's next. An album is due for release in February, so there are things to look forward to after Budoukan. Fans may feel that we are getting too far ahead of ourselves, but right now, I am feeling a similar emotion to when I first started out in bands. Having been working in an environment with great members, there is a sense of security in that, but with the Budoukan live, I felt a resurrection of the daredevil and recklessness in me. Im really looking forward to what's after Budoukan.
Nao
I've probably mentioned this in other magazines or something, but I was the only one who opposed to doing a Budoukan live at this timing. It's just my own personal view but regardless of our songs or skills, I thought that we still do not have enough of the professional conscious that we should be having. Hence I always thought at our current state, we would not be able to stand on the stage of Budoukan. While I was happy when the announcement came that we are going to do a live at Budoukan, I was also braced for the fact that it is going to be a trying time. "Congratulations on your Budoukan" was what I've been hearing but I wasn't able to be happy about it from the bottom of my heart. After that I had been doing my best rather wearily, but concluding that it is a good thing that we have at least a goal, I'm finally able to look forward to being on that stage.
When Budoukan was made to be our final stop, the tour came to be to decide on how we want the live to be. It was tough. While searching for what we want to portray as a band, we have to maintain the quality of our live performances. That battle, was a continuous one for the band, as well as for myself. For the lives, I felt i was giving just the minimum line of acceptable quality and it wasn't an easy time.
But the fact that everyone was fighting their own battles, worrying about their own things, I think it was a good result. Personally, there are various areas I wanted to upgrade myself so during the time gap between when the tour ended and the Budoukan live, I trained my body as much as i could and did various individual rehearsals. On the Budoukan stage, I wonder if I can feel the power of the cosmos (laughs). Even as a band, I have the confidence that we can produce the live that we did in last year's tour. Hence I am not really worried about it. I want to show the people who came to our lives strength, hope and love. If people can feel the excitement of our 6-year growth and gain new stimulus from our performance, I am sure we'd be contented as well.
Saga
In the first place, Budoukan was a place where we want to express ourselves. Vandalize was created with the image of performing it in a wide area, and so when the Budoukan live was decided upon, I was happy and excited that I am finally able to do what I've been wanting to do. One year after that, I felt the need to reaffirm Alice Nine as a band, and so we decided to do as many lives as we could.
First of all, I want to improve on us as a band, so in the first half of the tour, we've been improvising much with different things everyday perform our other repertoire. In conclusion, good songs are that which will be able to keep up with us anyway. Even if we didn't pull our older songs, good songs will always accompany the band. After realizing that, live performances became much easier. I clearly understood what Alice Nine is looking at and how we have been presenting ourselves to people. Except that, to reach that point, there were various points of arguments from the members and the staff, so it had been a trying time. For me I just want to challenge everything so I was often annoyed. But in any case, I want to properly create the stage for Alice Nine and perform a live that is convincing for anyone who came to watch us. If we don't involve the fans and staff into this, I feel that this huge wave is not going to come, so even in the backstage, I've been persuading various people.
After Vandalize, Alice Nine have clearly changed. But in Budoukan, I want to receive everyone's acknowledge, whether they are older fans or more recent fans. By putting everything that we've gathered onto that stage, I believe that we can show everyone what the future could be. The next album is going to be released in February so our mode is already geared towards the next step. I want to get everyone who came to our Budoukan live to anticipate Alice Nine's next step.