Spitz's Interview With Pati Pati Magazine [1994] (Part 1)
Spitz's interview with a JPOP Music Magazine promoting their album, "Sora no Tobikata".
-Spitz has created a masterpiece of an album called "Sora no Tobikata" (A way to fly into the sky) this year. Even the concert that was held on 28th November in Shibuya was sold out aside from being sold out for fifteen other important shows in Hanamaru. That is such a great success.
All: This is Spitz's year because this is the year of the dog. (Spitz is a breed of dog)
-That is no joke. Spitz has obtained success for the first time this year. A lot of people are starting to feel that this will surely become an unprecedented momentum. It seems like Spitz has an unbelievable power that was hidden away. From now on, I don't think you guys will be left behind. Really. This is a memorable year that all began thanks to the TV.
Miwa: The job on the 7th of January on Music Station marked our first appearance on TV.
-Despite appearing on multiple magazines, there are also many times when people talk about Spitz on the radio and TV this year.
Kusano: We made a few video clips this year. I think we generated a lot of interest every time we let out a single because we now have the opportunity to reach a lot of eyes. Although I really don't like to sing live on TV, I do want to make appearances in the future in various ways.
-Though you may appear on various other forms of media, live performances are the most sought out event. During your spring tour, people can feel the really high excitement that Spitz emitted. Even when you perform multiple songs in a row, you gave the impression that you'll never get tired.
Kusano: The first thing that we reminded ourselves of during that tour is that we're in Aomori (a popular tourist spot in northern Japan). After that there was a strange sense of excitement amongst us. I was thinking "how can I suddenly be so honest and expressive this time around?"
Miwa: Didn't we drive around by car a lot during this tour?
Sakiyama: Yeah. From Kanazawa to Niigita.
Kusano: It was the first time we went to see the seaside of the Sea of Japan.
Sakiyama: It was during the middle of the night, inside a storm. (laughs)
Kusano: Since we couldn't drive at high speed anymore, we decided to take the highway the entire time.
Miwa: But it was kinda fun, I remember saying 'Ahhh!' a lot during the trip.
Kusano: Don't you guys feel like we're some sort of traveling band?
Tamura: Though you guys remember the places we went to during the tour, the only thing I can remember is the taste of alcohol. (laughs)
Kusano: This is because you're an old man. I'm still young.
Tamura: It's because I'm the master of liquor. Anyways, I feel that staff we had during the tour is pretty good, that made me feel more confident to do my best. At heart, I believe that it was a tour that went well.
-Then you performed at the Shibuya Public Hall for the first time in July.
Kusano: I was really nervous during the Shibuya performance because Sasaji-san (Spitz's producer at the time) came to see us play. He didn't make me feel motivated at all. He just looked particularly at me as if he's in a daze, with empty and unimpressed eyes. After the performance though, he told me "that live performance was pretty good".(laughs) The live performance itself... I don't remember what happened at all.
-Is that so? (laughs)
Kusano: If I didn't perform so well on a day, I'll remember every single detail about the performance. Nowadays, I barely remember anything. It's actually a good thing. The thing is, if I remember the small details, I'll feel troubled instead and it will enter my mind for a long time.But now I don't remember most of my performances. Nothing at all. The only thing I remember is the atmosphere. At the live MC in Shibuya I said, "Today, I walked from the Shibuya Station until the Shibuya Public Hall, it was so hot I could die." and the audience were all so absorbed in what I said. So I wondered, "hm, why?'. After reading things like fan letters, the people standing in the crowd in the Shibuya Public Hall were all people that took the Yamanote Line (railway line connecting Tokyo's busiest areas such as Shibuya) as well, I didn't think about things like that. (laughs)
Miwa: But when the Blue Hearts (punk rock band) played live in Budokan, they didn't have to take trains. They'd just say 'let's meet here' and go to places like Shinjuku just like that.
Kusano: I think I'd want to cherish those sort of things as much as possible. It's become a gag amongst us that we're doomed to never get used to going on limousines.
-Despite the fact that you're still playing a lot of live performances, the recording process for a new album is already underway.
Sakiyama: We're so busy. Really.
Kusano: But we have trained ourselves both physically and mentally to deal with it.
-I have to say, you were really busy last year, and now you're still busy this year.
Kusano: We were busy last year for last year's sake. This was because we were doing things like the "Spring-Summer Ball" event.
Tamura: But I think judging from Kusano's vacation time... aren't you was much more busy last year?
Kusano: The time of the "Spring-Summer Ball" was really tough. Because there were a lot of live performances, the mental fatigue was really great. If we're busy doing things such as interviews and recordings, it's much less stressful. I can't concentrate if I'm doing too many things at once, and if I can't concentrate on the various things I'm doing, everything will fail. In that sense, this year I've decided to divide my work to some extent, because I want to fully devote myself to everything I do. There's not much chaos this time around.
Miwa: Rather than dividing the years '94 and '93, I think it's more like with these two years combined, a large flow is created. Each one of us had big ideas from last year that have changed throughout this year. I think these two years has become a major turning point for us. With the end of the "Spring-Summer Ball" the "Jamboree Tour" finally begins.
Tamura: I wonder if this flow will continue on into the '95.
Miwa: I wonder? It's definitely getting more complicated. (laughs) That's what I feel.
-The sales of "Sora no Tobikata" is more than all the other albums since the beginning of Spitz.
Kusano: I think it's so-so.
Miwa: It's nothing like the "Hibari no Kokoro" indies era though. (laughs)
Tamura: We were defeated by "Atomic Heart". (Mr.Children's 4th album)
-But most of Japan lost to you.
Kusano: People say that our current work is much better than our indies work. When I listen carefully to our old songs, I don't think that's the case at all. If I compare today's work with them, despite them being old works, I don't think that they're low quality at all. So, I wonder if it's the times that have changed my music instead.
Tamura: Just because it sold 10 times more does not mean it's 10 times better. We can't simply judge an piece of work by it's sales. For this tour, the reaction is great whenever we play songs from "Sora no Tobikata", but the reaction is bad when we play the songs from the old days. Somehow, I can't help to feel sorry for the old songs.
-When the steering of power occurred, I could feel it too.
Tamura: People's reaction was completely different than before.
Kusano: I did feel like this album would become something. If people could change the way they think, then maybe they could listen to the old CD's as well.
Tamura: I wonder if most of the people coming to our live performances are people who listen to only "Sora no Tobikata".
-That kind of reaction is proof that you are heard by more people than ever.
Kusano: Yeah. But I don't want to be mainstream...
Miwa: Well... Let's just steadily continue on without changing ourselves.
Sakiyama: And pluck away the bad little things. (laughs)
Kusano: I won't change my attitude, it's my music that will change as I absorb various new contents and ideas. Next, we may challenge the Samba.
-Just like THE BOOM? (laughs)
Miwa: We've done it in 'Overdrive'.
Kusano: Wasn't ours a fishy Samba? (laughs)
Miwa: What we did was pretty fishy. (laughs)
Tamura: Aren't we supposed to be supportive of our old songs? (laughs)
-"Sora no Tobikata" has brought a spiritual change to Spitz.
Kusano: I think that we've become stronger. Don't you guys think that we've gotten somewhat less afraid of things?
Tamura: I just want to say that things are getting better and better. I can finally say that aloud.
Kusano: Even if the future is filled with troubles, I'm sure I'll be able to come out of it. I've been able to cope with everything with these positive thoughts.
Miwa: Though we may fall, I think for the time being, it's alright as long as we're together.
Kusano: It's been 8 years since our formation already. Bon Jovi has been around for 10 years too.
Tamura: I find that we're not really different from Bon Jovi in terms of how our bands were formed.
Miwa: Yeah, but those guys are... (laughs)
Tamura: But Bon Jovi means 'beyond the peak'. I think we've yet to see the peak for ourselves.
Kusano: I'm not sure if we'd reach the peak even after we die.
Tamura: If 'Aoi Kuruma' was not released as an A side, I think things would've been different. Absolutely.
-Do you prefer 'Aoi Kuruma's image at the back of the album more than the front cover? (the front cover of the album was an image of a cat, alluding to the b-side's 'Neko ni Naritai')
Tamura: Oh yeah. (laughs) Originally that was the front cover, because it's the A side. Yet when the jacket was completed, everyone preferred "Neko ni Naritai"'s image to be the front cover. It was changed at the last minute actually. There was also another magazine that asked Kusano about the single "Neko ni Naritai".
-Has it become demanding to appear in a lot of different magazines?
Miwa: That kind of awareness is starting to come out.
Tamura: The part that's most troubling is when I realized that I have to look cool or else I'm ruined. Even though our music is featured, when I take the magazines that we're in and look at the pictures, I hate them.
-As such, I'm sure you've gotten used to being photographed.
Sakiyama: Somehow, I feel really relaxed now, in a good way.
Tamura: I've decided to just turn a blind eye to whatever pictures that are featured.
Miwa: Tamura and I went to the sea together and when we took a souvenir photograph, he looks really stylish and cool, like he's in a photoshoot.
Tamura: I'm not the only one. You're just the same.
-The effects of your jobs in daily life, huh? (laughs) So, lastly, what is your aspirations for 1995?
Miwa: Because it's not clearly specific yet, I won't say anything. I think when I get some time off after the "Jamboree Tour" is over, I could think about the experience and do a lot of reflecting on my own. Basically, I'd like to start making albums next year. I don't know if this really helps anything, but in my head I'm always thinking, "I want to make something even better than Sora no Tobikata". Constantly.
Tamura: Hey, won't Pati Pati create a year book about Spitz?
-You can talk to the editor if you want to make it. So, having a year book written about Spitz is one of your goals?
Miwa: I think the book will only last for one minute. (laughs) Well, let's get on with the next year.
-Yes. We hope to see you again in '95.
-Spitz has created a masterpiece of an album called "Sora no Tobikata" (A way to fly into the sky) this year. Even the concert that was held on 28th November in Shibuya was sold out aside from being sold out for fifteen other important shows in Hanamaru. That is such a great success.
All: This is Spitz's year because this is the year of the dog. (Spitz is a breed of dog)
-That is no joke. Spitz has obtained success for the first time this year. A lot of people are starting to feel that this will surely become an unprecedented momentum. It seems like Spitz has an unbelievable power that was hidden away. From now on, I don't think you guys will be left behind. Really. This is a memorable year that all began thanks to the TV.
Miwa: The job on the 7th of January on Music Station marked our first appearance on TV.
-Despite appearing on multiple magazines, there are also many times when people talk about Spitz on the radio and TV this year.
Kusano: We made a few video clips this year. I think we generated a lot of interest every time we let out a single because we now have the opportunity to reach a lot of eyes. Although I really don't like to sing live on TV, I do want to make appearances in the future in various ways.
-Though you may appear on various other forms of media, live performances are the most sought out event. During your spring tour, people can feel the really high excitement that Spitz emitted. Even when you perform multiple songs in a row, you gave the impression that you'll never get tired.
Kusano: The first thing that we reminded ourselves of during that tour is that we're in Aomori (a popular tourist spot in northern Japan). After that there was a strange sense of excitement amongst us. I was thinking "how can I suddenly be so honest and expressive this time around?"
Miwa: Didn't we drive around by car a lot during this tour?
Sakiyama: Yeah. From Kanazawa to Niigita.
Kusano: It was the first time we went to see the seaside of the Sea of Japan.
Sakiyama: It was during the middle of the night, inside a storm. (laughs)
Kusano: Since we couldn't drive at high speed anymore, we decided to take the highway the entire time.
Miwa: But it was kinda fun, I remember saying 'Ahhh!' a lot during the trip.
Kusano: Don't you guys feel like we're some sort of traveling band?
Tamura: Though you guys remember the places we went to during the tour, the only thing I can remember is the taste of alcohol. (laughs)
Kusano: This is because you're an old man. I'm still young.
Tamura: It's because I'm the master of liquor. Anyways, I feel that staff we had during the tour is pretty good, that made me feel more confident to do my best. At heart, I believe that it was a tour that went well.
-Then you performed at the Shibuya Public Hall for the first time in July.
Kusano: I was really nervous during the Shibuya performance because Sasaji-san (Spitz's producer at the time) came to see us play. He didn't make me feel motivated at all. He just looked particularly at me as if he's in a daze, with empty and unimpressed eyes. After the performance though, he told me "that live performance was pretty good".(laughs) The live performance itself... I don't remember what happened at all.
-Is that so? (laughs)
Kusano: If I didn't perform so well on a day, I'll remember every single detail about the performance. Nowadays, I barely remember anything. It's actually a good thing. The thing is, if I remember the small details, I'll feel troubled instead and it will enter my mind for a long time.But now I don't remember most of my performances. Nothing at all. The only thing I remember is the atmosphere. At the live MC in Shibuya I said, "Today, I walked from the Shibuya Station until the Shibuya Public Hall, it was so hot I could die." and the audience were all so absorbed in what I said. So I wondered, "hm, why?'. After reading things like fan letters, the people standing in the crowd in the Shibuya Public Hall were all people that took the Yamanote Line (railway line connecting Tokyo's busiest areas such as Shibuya) as well, I didn't think about things like that. (laughs)
Miwa: But when the Blue Hearts (punk rock band) played live in Budokan, they didn't have to take trains. They'd just say 'let's meet here' and go to places like Shinjuku just like that.
Kusano: I think I'd want to cherish those sort of things as much as possible. It's become a gag amongst us that we're doomed to never get used to going on limousines.
-Despite the fact that you're still playing a lot of live performances, the recording process for a new album is already underway.
Sakiyama: We're so busy. Really.
Kusano: But we have trained ourselves both physically and mentally to deal with it.
-I have to say, you were really busy last year, and now you're still busy this year.
Kusano: We were busy last year for last year's sake. This was because we were doing things like the "Spring-Summer Ball" event.
Tamura: But I think judging from Kusano's vacation time... aren't you was much more busy last year?
Kusano: The time of the "Spring-Summer Ball" was really tough. Because there were a lot of live performances, the mental fatigue was really great. If we're busy doing things such as interviews and recordings, it's much less stressful. I can't concentrate if I'm doing too many things at once, and if I can't concentrate on the various things I'm doing, everything will fail. In that sense, this year I've decided to divide my work to some extent, because I want to fully devote myself to everything I do. There's not much chaos this time around.
Miwa: Rather than dividing the years '94 and '93, I think it's more like with these two years combined, a large flow is created. Each one of us had big ideas from last year that have changed throughout this year. I think these two years has become a major turning point for us. With the end of the "Spring-Summer Ball" the "Jamboree Tour" finally begins.
Tamura: I wonder if this flow will continue on into the '95.
Miwa: I wonder? It's definitely getting more complicated. (laughs) That's what I feel.
-The sales of "Sora no Tobikata" is more than all the other albums since the beginning of Spitz.
Kusano: I think it's so-so.
Miwa: It's nothing like the "Hibari no Kokoro" indies era though. (laughs)
Tamura: We were defeated by "Atomic Heart". (Mr.Children's 4th album)
-But most of Japan lost to you.
Kusano: People say that our current work is much better than our indies work. When I listen carefully to our old songs, I don't think that's the case at all. If I compare today's work with them, despite them being old works, I don't think that they're low quality at all. So, I wonder if it's the times that have changed my music instead.
Tamura: Just because it sold 10 times more does not mean it's 10 times better. We can't simply judge an piece of work by it's sales. For this tour, the reaction is great whenever we play songs from "Sora no Tobikata", but the reaction is bad when we play the songs from the old days. Somehow, I can't help to feel sorry for the old songs.
-When the steering of power occurred, I could feel it too.
Tamura: People's reaction was completely different than before.
Kusano: I did feel like this album would become something. If people could change the way they think, then maybe they could listen to the old CD's as well.
Tamura: I wonder if most of the people coming to our live performances are people who listen to only "Sora no Tobikata".
-That kind of reaction is proof that you are heard by more people than ever.
Kusano: Yeah. But I don't want to be mainstream...
Miwa: Well... Let's just steadily continue on without changing ourselves.
Sakiyama: And pluck away the bad little things. (laughs)
Kusano: I won't change my attitude, it's my music that will change as I absorb various new contents and ideas. Next, we may challenge the Samba.
-Just like THE BOOM? (laughs)
Miwa: We've done it in 'Overdrive'.
Kusano: Wasn't ours a fishy Samba? (laughs)
Miwa: What we did was pretty fishy. (laughs)
Tamura: Aren't we supposed to be supportive of our old songs? (laughs)
-"Sora no Tobikata" has brought a spiritual change to Spitz.
Kusano: I think that we've become stronger. Don't you guys think that we've gotten somewhat less afraid of things?
Tamura: I just want to say that things are getting better and better. I can finally say that aloud.
Kusano: Even if the future is filled with troubles, I'm sure I'll be able to come out of it. I've been able to cope with everything with these positive thoughts.
Miwa: Though we may fall, I think for the time being, it's alright as long as we're together.
Kusano: It's been 8 years since our formation already. Bon Jovi has been around for 10 years too.
Tamura: I find that we're not really different from Bon Jovi in terms of how our bands were formed.
Miwa: Yeah, but those guys are... (laughs)
Tamura: But Bon Jovi means 'beyond the peak'. I think we've yet to see the peak for ourselves.
Kusano: I'm not sure if we'd reach the peak even after we die.
Tamura: If 'Aoi Kuruma' was not released as an A side, I think things would've been different. Absolutely.
-Do you prefer 'Aoi Kuruma's image at the back of the album more than the front cover? (the front cover of the album was an image of a cat, alluding to the b-side's 'Neko ni Naritai')
Tamura: Oh yeah. (laughs) Originally that was the front cover, because it's the A side. Yet when the jacket was completed, everyone preferred "Neko ni Naritai"'s image to be the front cover. It was changed at the last minute actually. There was also another magazine that asked Kusano about the single "Neko ni Naritai".
-Has it become demanding to appear in a lot of different magazines?
Miwa: That kind of awareness is starting to come out.
Tamura: The part that's most troubling is when I realized that I have to look cool or else I'm ruined. Even though our music is featured, when I take the magazines that we're in and look at the pictures, I hate them.
-As such, I'm sure you've gotten used to being photographed.
Sakiyama: Somehow, I feel really relaxed now, in a good way.
Tamura: I've decided to just turn a blind eye to whatever pictures that are featured.
Miwa: Tamura and I went to the sea together and when we took a souvenir photograph, he looks really stylish and cool, like he's in a photoshoot.
Tamura: I'm not the only one. You're just the same.
-The effects of your jobs in daily life, huh? (laughs) So, lastly, what is your aspirations for 1995?
Miwa: Because it's not clearly specific yet, I won't say anything. I think when I get some time off after the "Jamboree Tour" is over, I could think about the experience and do a lot of reflecting on my own. Basically, I'd like to start making albums next year. I don't know if this really helps anything, but in my head I'm always thinking, "I want to make something even better than Sora no Tobikata". Constantly.
Tamura: Hey, won't Pati Pati create a year book about Spitz?
-You can talk to the editor if you want to make it. So, having a year book written about Spitz is one of your goals?
Miwa: I think the book will only last for one minute. (laughs) Well, let's get on with the next year.
-Yes. We hope to see you again in '95.