Feeling lethargic and bored? Let visual kei band Vivarush invigorate you with their energetic and fun songs. Get to know the band in this interview!
Thank you for accepting our interview request! Please introduce yourselves to our readers.
Ruimaru: I'm the vocalist, Ruimaru! A bundle of energy! Belle: If you look at the stage, I'm the guitarist on the right, Belle. Yukimura: I'm the guitarist, Yukimura! I'm always powerful and cute onstage! Qs: Nice to meet you! I'm the bassist, Qs! Please think kindly of me! Pamy: Well done, Pamy! Good morning, Pamy! Oh, Pamy, Pamy! I'm Vivarush's drummer, Pamy! Yay, yay, yay, puff, puff, puff!!〜♪
Who came up with your band's name? What does it mean?
Ruimaru: We all threw around many words and settled on it together! Viva = the times you throw up your hands in excitement or when you're having fun. Rush = like rush hour when you get a huge gathering of people all of a sudden. Then we just merged the two.
Why visual kei, and in particular, why kirakira pop kei?
Ruimaru: When I was a school student, there was a time when I was really down. Then, my friend invited me to a concert in my home town. The band I saw was visual kei. Originally, I only went to distract myself, but I ended up receiving a lot of motivation from it. That depressed me totally disappeared. The band that pulled that energy out to the forefront for me was a kirakira pop visual kei band, so I also thought that I wanted to make people happy and decided to do a band with the same style. Belle: Because I loved visual kei. But I never really had plans to do a kirakira band, both in looks and within. Yukimura: Originally, I was pretty resistant to visual kei, and I didn't really like it. But one day I met our vocalist, Ruimaru, lost to his passionate entreaties, and ended up doing visual kei (laughs). I'm really glad I decided to do visual kei. It's not just with the sound, but also with the costumes and the make-up that you can express yourself, so I really think it's a wonderful genre! Pamy: It was kind of accidental that I ended up doing visual kei! I was invited into it, so I decided to give it a go, and before I knew it I was having a lot of fun because I could really shine and I got to wear make-up even as a guy~! Visual kei is amazing! ♪
Where does your inspiration come from?
Ruimaru: I'm in charge of all of the lyrics, and I think most of them come from embracing the doubts in everyday life. I try to embody that in my lyrics, but movies also inspire me! Belle: I get a lot of inspiration from when I'm drinking alcohol and relaxing. Yukimura: If I just dabble on the guitar, sometimes I come up with a cool riff and then make it into a song. Pamy: God sends me melodies. Then I gratefully take them and make them into songs!
Please tell us about the theme or concept of your latest single Odora sareta jinsei and why you chose that concept or theme.
Ruimaru: The concept is “craze”. There are loads of things in this world that spread as fads, but who is causing that to happen? That’s something I've wondered from the very beginning. At the same time, do people really like the thing itself? Is it because everyone has it that people like it? Which is it? That’s a doubt that I had. So, if people like being made to dance to the tune of those crazes, then what if Vivarush starts our own craze and makes people dance to our tune? That’s the feeling I had when I made the song.
What do the statues and masked dancers in the music video for Odora sareta jinsei represent?
Ruimaru: The dancers are people that have been made to dance to the tune of the crazes. We filmed in a place that had a lot of statues and buildings with architecture worthy of historical value, because I felt that the frontline of spreading crazes is in pieces of art that no one can understand. From that image, art becomes an art museum, which becomes historical architecture, which becomes a world heritage ... That’s the type of thought process I had when we were deciding on the place to film.
What are the other two songs on Odora sareta jinsei about?
Ruimaru: Natural Bicycle is about our band. It's not that we're riding a motorbike, or even a mountain bike. We're riding a normal bike and proceeding on step by step towards our destination. Bandmen also drink a lot of Red Bull, so our gasoline is Red Bull! Thanks to this song, we've been receiving a lot of Red Bull presents from our fans! (laughs)
Itoshi no thermae☆tamashii is about the soul of Japan. When I was writing these lyrics, I was incredibly busy and couldn't take a bath. I was so dirty! (laughs) So the thing I wanted to do the most was to take a bath! This song is pretty much about how much I wanted to take a bath. Pamy: Natural Bicycle wasn't originally going to be the coupling song, and we'd actually made another for this release. But when it was time to record, we suddenly recalled Natural Bicycle and recorded it! (laughs) When we finished, I was incredibly excited because it was going to be so fun to perform live as the greatest idiot song ever! (laughs)
What are your thoughts as you approach your second anniversary?
Ruimaru: We're holding a tour of 14 places in Japan for our 2nd anniversary. Loads of bands are coming with us! I'm really looking forward to it. Qs: The title is Kizuna Power 2018 (“Bonds of Power”). Last year we held concerts in seven big cities, and Kizuna Power was such a great success that this time we're doubling that power! Pamy: Regardless of whether it's our second, third or fourth anniversary, every day is special to me!
Please tell us about the most memorable thing that has happened to you as a Vivarush band member so far.
Ruimaru: The first stage we played as Vivarush. Our first one-man. Our first tour. There are so many, I don't know! It's always fun, but our firsts were so exciting, it was insane. Belle: I think it would be our one-man tour. It was just us backstage and it was so quiet, it was weird. Yukimura: Whenever we reveal new things to our fans, I can't help but be excited. New songs, new costumes, new make-up ... when our fans see those kind of things, it's the greatest seeing their faces. Pamy: Whenever we play on a big stage! It's a challenge to us, but we're standing there thanks to our cheering fans, their support and all the people around us! There's a lot of emotion in that one time, and it's such a wonderful time to spend! Thank you so much, everyone!
How are you preparing your mind and body for your second anniversary 14-major city tour that begins in May?
Ruimaru: For tours and songs, physical strength is pretty important. In order to get that athlete level of strength, I'm going to put a lot of fighting energy into my body. When you exercise, I think your mind becomes strong as well. Belle: I’m not going to get worked up, I’ll just be the way I always am. Qs: I'm not going to do anything different. Pamy: To become the strongest I can, I'm doing image training! There are troubles of the body and mind, but to become the strongest, everything else has to become strong as well! Yes! I'm Pamy!
Which countries would you like to perform in if you had the opportunity to do a world tour?
Ruimaru: America. Even in Japan, America is famous, so because I feel that it's the very heart of the world, I want to go and see it. On a personal level, I'd love to see Egypt. I love old relics. Belle: Brazil. I love soccer. Yukimaru: America! I want to be able to brag that I've gone to America! Qs: It's always been my dream to have a concert in America, so I'd say America. Pamy: Everywhere! Of course, I want to travel around the world! It's my dream to spread Vivarush across the globe~
Now for a few fun questions! If you could be another member for a day, who would you be and why?
Ruimaru: I want to be Pamy. He eats SO much! I'm pretty small, so even though I want to eat lots of my favourite food, I can't. If I became Pamy, I could try to eat loads in one go. Like 100 hamburgers! Pamy: I want to be Yukimura! If I became him, I'd do a lot of bad things all day and then when I returned to myself I'd go and capture him! (laughs) Fufufu, it's a complete crime! The perfect human is Pamy! Yes! I'm perfect! Fooooooo!!!!
If you could have one super power, what would it be? What would you do with that power?
Ruimaru: I want to be able to warp to other places. It wouldn't cost anything and it wouldn't take any time, so I'd be really happy to be able to go to all the places I want to travel to. I'd be so excited! Belle: The power to stop time. You'd be able to do so much. Yukimura: I'd want to be able to speak all languages and to speak to loads of different people across the globe! Qs: I'd want to be able to control minds. If you can control the minds of living things, then you can create a world that is great for you. Pamy: I'd want to be able to turn invisible and go into a women's bath—Oh, someone's coming, excuse me!
If it were your last day on earth, what would you do?
Ruimaru: I'd eat pizza whilst taking a walk naked. Belle: I'd want to die before the world ended. Yukimura: I'd spend it with my family! Qs: Murder spree. Pamy: Dress to impress for the other place! Wherever I end up, bring it on! Come on!!
Thank you for your answers! To wrap up our interview, please leave a message for JaME’s readers.
Ruimaru: Thanks for reading! We'll definitely come to your country and do a concert someday! When that happens, come and meet us! Belle: Thanks for being with us. Visual kei will spread across the world ... isn't what I'm going to say, but if we can spread visual kei even a little bit, that would be great. Please think kindly of Vivarush! Yukimura: Thanks for reading this far! There's loads of people overseas that don't know Vivarush, so try and spread our name if you can! And I want you to come and see us live one day! Qs: You found us, so I hope we can meet one day. Pamy: Everyone! Thank-pamy for reading! Please wait like good kids until you can meet Pamy! If you wait, maybe one day I'll pop up at your bedside ... ? Or something. (laughs) I love you all! I was the best and the strongest, super smiley pretty cutie cool drummer, Pamy!
JaME would like to thank Vivarush for this interview opportunity.
