Fish Tank 69
Interview with Hoshino Hidehiko
Reported by Kaneko Mayumi and Oguma Hisako
Translation by Lola
What have you been up to lately?
I've been amusing myself with song titles *smiles*.
Ha ha ha. In the previous issue, you had said that you thought that once things had calmed after the movie you would spend time thinking about ideas for the next album.
Hm, I have been getting ideas bit by bit. Currently we're in the meetings phase......which reminds me, I think we've only had about one so far.
Have you and Imai-san been discussing your ideas together?
No, no, I wouldn't say that we really come together in that sense *smiles*. While we don't really discuss content, what we do is more of a working review.
Which songs have you completed?
None as yet, though there is one that is almost done. I'm at the point where I can easily put the fragments together. As of now, it's a fairly up tempo song.
In the midst of all that, I guess you don't really get to go on vacation to unwind or anything right?
Well I won't go far since I'm already completely submerged in song writing. Ah, but I did go to a festival in the neighborhood. So I could savor the taste of summer.
Did you eat anything?
I had oden (1).
Oden? In summer?
Well yeah, I'm telling you it's so good. My friend recommended it to me, saying if you eat oden when it's super hot and drink beer with it, it's delicious. That's my friend for you (2). Oden in summer.
Have you been doing anything to try to keep in shape?
No, I haven't *smiles*. I think I'm fairly disciplined in my daily life but you know, when it comes to food, it's not like I'm about to start dieting. I've been packing in the sweets recently too.
We also had the rainy season end abruptly only to have to endure some intense heat so how have you been handling it?
I'm surviving *smiles*. But it is hard to regulate your body temperature this time of year. Like when I'm going to bed at night I end up wondering all these things like should I leave the AC on or put it on a timer? Or maybe put on a fan? Or should I just open a window? *smiles*
Ha ha ha ha ha. By the way, have you seen your film, "BUCK-TICK The movie ~ The Buck-Tick Phenomenon~"?
Yeah. The thing is, for me watching it and it being a documentary you know it's just ok, what's the big deal here it's so ordinary, the same stuff we always do but from the fans perspective, it offers them something different than what they usually see when watching lives and I guess for them, being able to see those ordinary things is entertaining.
We received a lot of messages from fan club members saying that they cried.
Let's say the appeal of having "LOVE PARADE" be at the end......is that when it plays, you'll cry *smiles*.
Is there a scene that left an impression on you?
My heart definitely beat a little faster at the old footage. It was a first for me, seeing things like the scene of us recording "HURRY UP MODE" during our Indies days. I don't think any of us had seen that before, had we?
Scenes like when you're shown deciding on song choice for lives seemed hard but is that something that you guys puzzle over so much every time?
It's a little different when we're touring with an album but, lives like "THE DAY IN QUESTION" are quite difficult when it comes to choosing songs because you have to consider the visuals that go with the songs. So because of that, you have to consider which songs will go best together in that sense.
Do some of you declare, "I absolutely want to do this song. Period."?
Sometimes but you know there are five of us so the bigger number wins *smiles*. Even when we're split three to two. Well, it is often actually four to one but when that happens, the person agrees without much fuss. I'm saying it's agreed on but really, the minority that just gets shut down *laughs*.
And which side are you on, Hoshino-san?
I usually just say it's all good *smiles*.
When Sakurai-san had the camera and was going around filming all the members, you looked shy during your close-up, were you embarrassed?
Well, yeah. I just felt like oh god here he comes......I hope he gets this over with quickly for my sake *smiles*.
Ha ha ha! But I got the impression you didn't really say much during the film, Hoshino-san. Even backstage, I'd say you appeared distant and a little aloof.
Usually Yuuta's at the centre of things backstage and I'm often on the periphery.
Fan club members were saying, "The best part was hearing him sing on the demo tape. It sounded like he was humming words but he actually wasn't. It was so precious!".
Yeah but isn't the only demo of mine you see in the movie "My Baby Japanese"? That song already had lyrics for it so, it wasn't just me singing random crappy English *smiles*.
Yes but it's a precious scene because usually we only hear you singing back up during the chorus of songs. We also received a message saying, "My son who is in his first year of junior high, told me that he thought you looked so cool practicing playing the guitar without a word and you know, hearing that renewed my love for you all over again."
That makes me happy to hear. Though I'd say that wasn't so much practice as not really knowing what to do with myself.
A lot of people also said, "The two main themes really illustrate the difference in personality between the two guitarists but I loved both songs. I hope they come out on CD."
Mm, you know I think they just might.
Please tell me a bit about your new song.
Early on I was asked to please write a theme song for the movie, and then when I asked more about it I was told they wanted me to write something to be used for the end credits. So I guess I was aware of that when writing it. And I'm really glad I did the ending for part I. For the ending for part II, I feel like since Imai's song is so up tempo, it's good because it feels as though the songs are linked this way.
Yes. Then on June 1st, in the city of Fujioka, you had the premier screening of your film and as a surprise, all of the members of Buck-Tick made an appearance so how did that end up coming about?
Because the mayor asked us to. He said something like, won't you come and celebrate the city's 60th anniversary? So that's why we felt like ok, we gotta go.
How did the audience react to your appearance?
They seemed to be happy about it. It was supposed to be a secret but I guess everyone had expected it in some way *smiles*.
It has also been announced that on September 14th, you will taking part in the 2013 Kishidan Expo.
Because they came out for us for our fest and they took part in our tribute album too. They said, "Won't you come out for us this time?" and we absolutely had to *smiles*.
After that it's been decided that you'll be performing in "The SOLAR BUDOKAN 2013 in Nakatsugawa" as well.
I think it's bound to be fun since there will be so many bands performing.
Regarding the end of the year lives, have any concrete ideas come forth? Like are there any songs you would like to do, Hoshino-san?
There aren't actually......well I say there aren't but what I should say is that actually I haven't thought about it *smiles*. On the other hand, I can say there are some I would like to hear though.
We've also been requesting songs from the fan club members.
Then once I've seen the requests, I will think about it some more *smiles*.
Finally, would you say a word to all the fan club members?
From here on we'll be working once again on a new album, which I'm sure will be great.......
That's basically the exact same thing you said last time in closing *smiles*.
What? *laughs* Ok then, we're slowly refining the concept for our new album. So stay tuned. But before that, I hope we can meet at a live. Either at an event or at the end of the year lives.
Notes: (1) Oden is typically considered a winter dish because it is served hot. Basically it consists of boiling a variety of ingredients, depending on the region, and stewing them in a soy based broth with fish stock.
(2) The line here is, "これはアリです". However, I wasn't sure how to romanize his friend's name because it can be read as Ari, Ali or Harry. So rather than write the wrong name, I went with just writing, "my friend".