Fronted by former
Morning Musume。 member
Reina Tanaka, all-female rock band
LoVendoЯ will be performing overseas for the first time at
J-POP Summit in San Francisco on July 27th. Read on to find out more about the four band members and what they have to offer to listeners.
Thank you very much for accepting our interview. First of all, we would like to ask you to introduce yourself and your fellow three band members by describing your personalities.
Reina Tanaka: I am
Reina Tanaka. I am the type who will not talk to someone I don't know on a whim. But I love funny things!
Marina Okada: I am
Marina Okada, the vocalist. My hobbies are fly-fishing. I am a bit bitter. During my student life, I played basketball. I am not really shy and my character is quite lively.
Yuki Uozumi: I am
Yuki Uozumi, 22 years old. I started playing the guitar when I was 15. I am always full of emotions, but I clearly know what I like or dislike. People are used to relying on me because I take care of them. Sometimes, unexpectedly, I can be quite anxious.
Marin Miyazawa: I am
Marin Miyazawa, guitarist, 20 years old and my blood type is A. I was born on April 10th. I like anime, especially "Pokémon," and video games. Concerning the other members,
Reina Tanaka is like a cute cat. You can rely on
Yuki Uozumi and she is really like an older sister. Finally,
Marina Okada is playful, and she really is an interesting woman.
The three band members that joined you were selected in an audition. What was it like to meet your fellow band members for the first time? Did you experience a "click," both musically and personally?
Reina Tanaka:
Marina Okada is obedient and is a good daughter.
Yuki Uozumi is really attractive when she plays the guitar.
Marin Miyazawa is the female version of
YamaP!
LoVendoЯ’s style, rock, is quite different from your previous group Morning Musume。. How do you feel about this change in style and did you have to conquer any challenges with the earliest practices?
Reina Tanaka: In fact, inside of me, nothing has really changed! On the contrary, I think the
Reina Tanaka from
Morning Musume。 didn’t have to change! But of course during the live performances, it's is not the same thing and it's more difficult.
LoVendoЯ’s name is a combination of the words “love” and “vendor.” What is your personal connection with these two words?
Marina Okada: I associate "love" with how I am on good terms with my family, (laughs) "Vendor" is associated with how I sold my smile to the customers when I had my part-time job! (laughs)
Yuki Uozumi: My image of "love" is ♡. My image of Vendor is ￥. Then you obtain the image of mixed symbols I wrote (♡￥).
Marin Miyazawa: Of course "love" is "ai" ("ai" means "love" in Japanese). When I hear "vendor," I think about the vending machine.
In May you released the cover mini-album LoVendoЯ Cover the Rock
. What did you pay attention to when giving your own interpretation to these songs?
Reina Tanaka: I think the songs we covered are quite difficult and I was thinking about how it was possible for me to sing them, but I finally decided to sing them in my own way, with my own character.
Marina Okada: The lyrics of those songs were written before our birth. So we finally sang them thinking about the meaning of those lyrics when they were written. But we did not sing all those famous songs in the same way; we also put our true character inside them.
Yuki Uozumi: I really paid attention to the nuances of the guitar solo. For example, during
Rakuyou, I worked on moderating the wah-wah pedal. For
Kokki hatameku motoni, I worked on the nuances of the twin guitars. It was important to create appropriate nuances for all the songs. For the songs are quite punchy, I plucked the strings really fast and I united the guitar phrases quite firmly and so forth.
Marin Miyazawa: To fix various countenances in proportion to the songs, I paid quite a bit attention of the nuances. I played staccato for the songs with power and matched the corresponding guitar phrases, and so forth.
Can we expect original releases from LoVendoЯ in the near future? What kind of musical style can we expect for any future releases?
Marina Okada: We have not decided which way we're going to go in the future yet.
As a musician and entertainer, who and what inspires you in your career?
Marina Okada: I have really been influenced by
Ayaka.
Yuki Uozumi: When I started the guitar I was attracted by
HISASHI of
GLAY. I listen often to
Maroon5 and also to the guitarist of
Extreme,
Nuno Bettencourt.
Marin Miyazawa: I am inspired by
Paul Gilbert, formerly of
MR.BIG, and
Ritchie Blackmore.
You will be having your US debut at J-POP Summit
in San Francisco soon. How do you feel about this opportunity?
Reina Tanaka: We made our debut just recently and I am so happy to be able to go overseas! As
LoVendoЯ we will give our best for everyone in San Francisco.
Marina Okada: My heart beats fast thinking it will be our first time performing overseas, but it will be great! I am so thankful to have this opportunity to go overseas. This is a good chance to make lots of people discover who
LoVendoЯ is, so I will do my best!
Yuki Uozumi: I have already been to America two times and I was dreaming of performing here. I am so happy of being able to go there. This is a dream come true. I am very excited to perform at
J-POP Summit for the PES (Peace Eco Smile) Project presented by TOYOTA x STUDIO 4˚C.
Marin Miyazawa: This is my first time having my heart beat this fast. This is our first step venturing overseas, and I am really happy to be able to go outside Japan.
Lastly, please give us a message to our readers.
Reina Tanaka: We have received many fan letters from lots of countries, so I would like to perform in many countries! As a member of
LoVendoЯ but also as
Reina Tanaka, I will definitely try my best. Thank you everyone in advance!
Marina Okada: We, as
LoVendoЯ, soon after our band's debut, are already to perform on many stages. It will make us grow and we count on your support! So please come to both of
LoVendoЯ's lives at 5:00pm at Peace Plaza on July 27th and at 2:30pm at Union Square on July 28th. There will be also a signing session at TOYOTA x STUDIO 4°C meets ANA Tent!
Marin Miyazawa: Nice to meet you. I am
LoVendoЯ's guitarist,
Marin Miyazawa. As an all-female band we will expand our activities, so please support us in the future.
LoVendoЯ - PES (Peace Eco Smile) Music Video
LoVendoЯ - Live
JaME would like to thank MediaLab for making this interview possible.
