Interview with Ryutaro and Tadashi

In July 2006, Plastic Tree succeeded in their first European tour and in 2007 the band will be celebrating their 10th anniversary of their major debut. Because of their original world view, steady and correct technique, variety of styles, and the natural, unrestrained character of each member, Plastic Tree's fanbase continues to grow. Finishing out 2006 with the live [Fuyugoya Erekiteru] at the CC Lemon Hall, previously known as the Shibuya Kokaido, on December 26th, Ryutaro and Tadashi spoke to us about their impressions of their overseas performances, aspirations for their 10th anniversary, and their new single Spica.

About the European tour

Did you have a chance to explore Germany, France and Finland when you visited? If so, what were some experiences you would like to share?

Ryutaro: Each country impressed me so much. I was also talking about it yesterday and I felt like I was in a dream because I didn't imagine that so many people would come to see our lives overseas. Of course I was especially impressed at our shows, but the scenery and everything blew me away because I had never been to those countries before. We went sightseeing to spots that impressed me the most, but the scenery of towns simply amazed me, especially in Paris.

Tadashi: I felt that the cultures were totally different; from their past histories, each country has its own culture that still remains in the towns. We think it's very cool to see so much history and signs of culture that has lasted for so long in person, to see those sights, to breathe the air.

We saw your photographic collection and found you went to many places.

Ryutaro: Yes. We arrived in Germany, went to a church and a museum, ate food, did a live, went to Paris, all of us went shopping, and then went to the Louvre and Montmartre. Then we went to Finland and we all went to a port, a market and to an island. We played around quite a bit even though we stayed for a short time.

Did you like the food?

Ryutaro & Tadashi: Yes, it tasted good. We ate so much!(laugh)

In Paris, were there air conditioners?

Tadashi: Well, I think so.

Ryutaro: I didn't really care about them because I opened the window a lot in Paris. I wasn't in our room that much, but when I was, I stayed close to the window so I could see outside.

You went there in the Summer, wasn't it hot?

Tadashi: I think it wasn't as hot as in Japan because it wasn't humid.

Ryutaro: And because we were cheerful and lively.(laugh)

Tadashi: But in Germany it was hot.

At that time, the Soccer World Cup was being held there.

Tadashi: Yes, they just kept fighting on! Then, when we went to Paris, it was the final!

You went there during such an awesome time.

Tadashi: And the final was France vs Italy, which was on the same day as we did our live in Paris, so we delayed the start of our live because of the finals! (laugh) We thought 'The Soccer World Cup is such a big event, so everyone will watch the match.' (laugh)

During your visit, did anything in the culture surprise you?

Ryutaro: I was surprised at everything, but especially the Gothic style because our band, particularly Tadashi and I, like it. In Japan there is a Gothic style that originally comes from overseas, but has a distinct Japanese flair. This was a pure European Gothic style, so when we went to a shrine I was so overpowered by it!

Tadashi: It was really overpowering.

Do you mean by the structure?

Ryutarou: Yes, but not only the structure. I was most impressed when I was wandering about alone at midnight in Germany.

Wow! Were you alright?

Ryutaro: Tadashi and I stayed in the same room, but Tadashi fell asleep before me and I couldn't go to sleep easily, so I was walking around to see the town. I finally arrived at a graveyard and I felt it was beautiful rather than scary with all the crosses. Japanese graveyards are scarier and I thought 'The graveyards seem different from ours!'

That wasn't the atmosphere which vampires would appear. (laugh)

Ryutaro: Well, if anything, it seemed like zombies would appear. (laugh)

Was the security of the town alright?

Ryutaro & Tadashi: Yes, it was fine.

Were there any unfortunate experiences while you were overseas?

Tadashi: We didn't have any unfortunate experiences.

Was the equipment at the lives alright?

Tadashi: There were no problems.

Ryutaro: Well, we couldn't do it in the same way as in Japan, but I enjoyed it anyway. Something did happen though: one of our instruments disappeared when we returned.

Really!? So did you find it?

Ryutaro: Yes, we found it eventually. It was because we forgot to check it in Finland. (laugh) Besides that, we didn't have any trouble.

What was your best experience?

Ryutaro: I know each live is different and I found something new and discovered something each time, although our band's history is quite long and we have done many lives. This time, we could use a small amount of instruments and materials and the audience wasn't our usual fans. We had a very good experience like we could continue our band from now on, experiencing our early impulse from when we had just started our band and did our lives for an audience who didn't know us.

At your German live you played the instrumental song "Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me" by The Cure. What gave you this idea?

Tadashi: Originally, we really like The Cure, which is the artist of our roots, and we haven't had many chances to cover the songs of our favorite artists in our lives.

Ryutaro: During our lives overseas I wore a kimono during the encores, so I said 'Please give me time to put on the kimono,' then we decided to play something. We like various artists and listen to different music, but The Cure, as a band as well as their songs, have made a big impression on us, so we decided to play their song.

Did you play an instrumental song during all three performances [in Germany, France, and Finland]?

Ryutaro & Tadashi: Yes. We did in all places.

Ryutaro, your kimono drew a lot of attention. And we heard you spoke foreign languages during the MC.

Ryutaro: Well I just said greetings, but I'm not sure they understood... (laugh), because I'm not good at foreign languages at all.

Did you prepare a little bit?

Ryutaro: Yes! I wanted to say 'Hello' and 'Thank you' properly.

You've played in Europe now. Can we look forward to seeing you in the Americas as well?

Ryutaro & Tadashi: We really want to go!

Ryutaro: I have never been to America, so if I could, I want to do lives there as a band.

America is large and, as for the USA, the cultures of the east part and west part are quite different. There are many fans in the USA, so please come!

Ryutaro: Really!? Are you sure!? (He asked again and again.)(burst out laughing) I really want to go~~~~! Please invite us!

About 10th anniversary of their major debut

Being together for 10 years is quite an accomplishment; how do you feel about Plastic Tree's success within those years?

Tadashi: My honest impression is that I just found that 10 years had passed already, like we started the band and continued to create music and do lives and I found it had become the 10th year. I'm really happy I could continue doing what I like and be supported for 10 years.

Ryutaro: Before I started this band, I felt like I didn't belong anywhere, nor could I see the meaning of my existence to live, but I feel that I can make myself more important by making songs and doing lives in this band. The most difficult thing in a band is to actually continue the band, besides creating music as an artist. In my band, we also had several experiences where we almost couldn't continue anymore. But I could and I really thank the members, the fans, and the staff.

When we saw your live [on December 26th], we saw males, females and people of various ages in the audience. We felt that your fans are wide ranged. What do you think about this?

Ryutaro: I'm simply happy about that. At first, almost all our fans were females during a certain time, but as time went on, fans became older too and came to see our lives. On the other hand, new fans who wrote in questionnaires 'I came here for the first time,' were abundant, and there were male fans who wrote 'At first I hesitated to come here because there are so many female fans, but once I came here I became addicted.' I'm very happy about that.

Concerning your music style, young fans become interested in your music easily. There are older fans who are continuously supporting you and new young fans who listen to your music. You also have heavy guitar music, so males become addicted to your music as well.

Tadashi: We don't limit our fans at all and we welcome anyone.

We're surprised that you have such an extreme ballad song [Tsumetai Hikari] and a hard rock song [Ghost].

Ryutaro & Tadashi: Thank you.

What kind of celebration do you plan on having for your 10th anniversary?

Tadashi: As Ryutaro said before, I feel very thankful to the fans so I want to do something to make them happy.

Is it for fans all over the world?

Ryutaro: I hope so, including America. We learned a lot from the world tour in 2006 and we understood there are fans waiting for us overseas. We have to resolve various problems, but this year is our 10th anniversary so we want to do something both in Japan and overseas.

Since Plastic Tree first started, are your methods of composition still the same? Or do you take a different approach when you create songs, both music and lyrics?

Tadashi: Basically, I don't think anything has changed, but before we had a standard in which I wrote music and Ryutaro wrote lyrics. Recently, each member writes lyrics and music, which is the difference, I think. Now we make it important as a band, myself included, to make music and lyrics that make us all feel 'Oh, this is so good.'

Do you usually write music together?

Tadashi: No. Each of us create demo tapes and we arrange them with the band members together.

Ryutaro, you write lyrics in the bath or in bed, don't you?

Ryutaro: I don't write in the bath so often. I usually write in bed. Well, simply speaking, I just relax. When I sit on a chair, I get hip pains and feel bad, so I gradually end up like this (Ryutaro slips down from the chair), and start writing like this. (laugh) But whenever I get sudden inspiration, I write them down into my cell phone like this.

Many musicians use their cell phones these days.

Ryutaro: Recently, yes, because it's useful as a tool for notes. But when I write lyrics properly, I write them in my notebook like 'Gaaaaah~~~!'

When you start making songs, is it like 'Next, I'll make a ballad,' or 'I'll make hard rock?'

Tadashi: No, I don't say types of songs, but I often make songs that I think our band needs to play, including in our lives.

Do you remember anything about your first live as Plastic Tree?

Tadashi: I guess it was in Route14 in Chiba. At first, our band's name hadn't been determined yet and we started lives, but I think it was Route14 where we did our first live as Plastic Tree.

Ryutaro: We lacked songs (laugh). Because we needed 6-7 songs and we only had about 4 (laugh), so we played some cover songs.

What kind of cover songs did you play?

Ryutaro: I think we played songs from Nirvana and David Bowie (laugh).

How did it feel to go on stage for the first time together as a band? How does it feel now, fifteen years later?

Tadashi: Even now I'm nervous before the lives. Of course, when I did the first live, I had butterflies in my stomach.(laugh)

Do you do anything to relax before lives?

Tadashi: Well, we all shout together. When I stay in our dressing room I'm tensed up, but once I go onto the stage and hear the audience cheering, I'm better and ready to go.

What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment as a band?

Ryutaro: I think it's our songs. If I would make songs by myself, the songs wouldn't be like these, and the other members would feel almost the same as me. It's the biggest accomplishment that we made a lot of original songs that other bands couldn't make. And since we started playing in live houses, we could be the band that others can't replace. One of our goals had been that 'There are so many bands beyond this genre, but we want to be the band that no one can replace.' When we look back now, I think we made it happen.

Tadashi: Of course, we have many artists including The Cure, as I said before, who we modeled the band after in part. But we aimed finally for the band having a style that no one had ever had, so we had times of trial and error and worried about that. I'm really lucky for us to be able to continue. And if it results in us becoming such a band, that is the biggest accomplishment, I think.

You seem to be relaxing and express yourselves in a natural way, and still you have strong characters, which is very good.

Ryutaro & Tadashi: Thank you very much.

Are there any events in the past you wish you could go back and change?

Ryutaro: Uhhh~~~~ (He drops into deep thought.)... Ah! I want to learn English! (burst out laughing) Well, it's not impossible to study now, but I wanted to study abroad (laugh), because I can't learn English unless I do that. I shouldn't have isolated myself to only Japan! Now we have no time to show off the Samurai spirit!

It's not too late at all to start studying English now. (laugh)

Ryutaro & Tadashi: Aaaaa~~~h, …yes, you are right! (burst out laughing)

Tadashi: There were many things I should reflect on, but as for the band, there is nothing. Including things that went bad or good, everything lead to the present.

What advice were you given when you first started out? Has it been true?

Ryutaro: Everyone said a lot of things, but I'm a man who doesn't understand unless I actually experience something, so honestly speaking, there is nothing advised that was true. Well, if I try to understand like 'That would be true,' or 'That would be a lie,' everything would change, but to be honest, there is nothing like 'That advice really helped me.' Almost all of them were good to listen to for one view, whether they were true or not.

By contrary, do you have some advice?

Ryutaro: No, I don't, because you can't understand unless you do it yourself.

Tadashi: If you play in a band, it's not enough to practice playing your instruments better. For example, as I look at musicians around me, it's more important to get inspiration from movies and books, and to think about 'I want to express this.' Not by actual words, but by watching, I sometimes think 'I have to be a musician like him.'

When you started Plastic Tree, was it difficult to keep your motivation up?

Ryutaro: Originally, we started with four members, but as the band's scale and desires became greater, more people were needed to achieve something, and we came to work with others, aside from our four band members. I would say this, at first we worked hard as a band when we were just starting out, but as our world became bigger and bigger, it became difficult to make it as I wanted to. Then I thought 'I can't continue like this anymore,' and my motivation went down. However, I came to think that when we start to plan for our ideas, we can't do it by ourselves and need someone's help to achieve them, so we have to cooperate too, which seems the same as we do in our lives. Then I feel like everything is hard when we start, but it also brings us big advantages.

Tadashi: Even though I have difficulties thinking 'Uwaaaah~~~!' when I create good music and do good lives, it makes me feel better. Actually, there were times when I dropped into depression thinking about stuff, but I did a live and it went fine so so I thought I must work hard again.(laugh)

About the new single [Spica]

Your new single "Spica" will be released in January 2007. Does it represent anything toward your 10-year anniversary?

Ryutaro: My band has various types of songs and when I thought about which kind of song would be better, not only I, but also the other members, wanted to express the melodies strongly because we treasure melodies. And I think this song represents the current us, it's not just for our 10th anniversary.

Winter constellation seems to match with this cold season. ['Spica' is brightest star in the constellation Virgo written in the lyrics of the song.] Masanao Kitamura did the arranging of the strings on this song. Did you intend to put so much strings into the song?

Ryutaro: The arrangement of this song changed a few times and finally became the style it is because I thought it would be good if there was something else besides what our band can simply express in this song.

What are some of your future plans beyond 2007?

Tadashi: As I said before, this year is a turning point, so I hope we can do something both we and the fans can enjoy. First of all, as a band I want to create good music and perform good lives, then I hope to add something during our activities.

Do you have any special desires?

Tadashi: Well, the 10th anniversary means the 10th year since we debuted on a major label. Actually, the 10th anniversary of our band's formation had passed before I noticed (laugh), seeming like someone mentioned it and then I said 'Really?'(laugh) But the 10th anniversary of our major debut means that since we decided to release our music widely, 10 years have passed. What we kept doing was creating good music and performnig good lives, so basically, I want to keep doing that.

Ryutaro: Usually our band doesn't care about a turning point very much, but 2007 is the 10th anniversary of our major debut, so I want to do something for our exterior as our turning point. Perhaps I was worrying more when I was asked about my decision to continue this band on a major label than when I made this band. So I want to celebrate by doing something for those around us, for the band, and for me. Of course, the most important thing for us is to make music and do lives, and we'll do that as well.

What is your future goal?

Ryutaro: Uhhhh~~~n (He drops into deep thought)... well, I'll just die! (burst out laughing)

Tadashi: ... ... That's the very end! (burst out laughing)

Ryutaro, before you said you want to go travel to see 100 World Heritage Sites.

Ryutaro: Yes. This is one of the reasons why I'm in the band.

Are you interested in an American tour?

Ryutaro: Yes, of course! Not only America, but I want to do lives in many countries. Even in Japan there are places we have never been, for example some prefectures which we have never seen. I want to go to those places to do lives.

During your live of [Fuyugoya Erekiteru] on December 26th 2006, you did a new trial that the audience put on 3D glasses and watched the live three-dimensionally, and this was a great success. Where did this idea come from?

Ryutaro: Well, this idea came from when we drank alcohol! (burst out laughing) First, the title of this live is [Fuyugoya Erekiteru] so we thought we wanted to do something experimental or something strange.(laugh) Since we did normal, serious live tours before that live, and we didn't have a long gap in between, we didn't want to do a normal live, but something experimental instead. Many ideas came out, then finally this idea was determined.

Was it hard to prepare for that?

Ryutaro: This was quickly determined, so the staff worked very hard. It was still difficult for us to think about how to project, during which song, and the order of songs etc., but it happened because of our excellent staff.

For the 10th anniversary, do you have a plan to make your fanclub (FC) international?

Ryutaro: (He looks at the perplexed face of the manager.) I want to make it! (laugh)

The manager: We are discussing a registrant mail magazine, although there are still problems about cost and system. And we want to make an English version of our Homepage since we only have a Japanese version now.

Even though some payment is needed and it is only written in Japanese, many fans still want to access the fanclub from overseas.

Ryutaro: I get fan letters from overseas and whenever I see them, I think it's nice they play their part somehow.

There are many people who became fans, listening to your music even if they don't understand Japanese.

Ryutaro: Once before, I saw images on the internet in which Americans played a cover of our song [Melancholic]!(laugh)

Among Plastic Tree's songs, there are many that are popular in America. There are fan communities for Plastic Tree on internet sites and many foreign fans are discussing your band.

Ryutaro: Next year we want to release overseas, including our fanclub and CDs.

Tadashi: Please invite us!(laugh)


Many thanks for Ryutaro and Tadashi for taking the time to be interviewed and to J-ROCK for making the interview possible.