After completing the Taste of Chaos tour which hit 35 venues throughout America,
the Underneath returned to Japan to finally take the stage alone for their first one-man. Invited back to the US to play at the nation's second largest anime convention, Otakon,
the Underneath sat with us to talk about what they've recently been up to.
Hello, thank you for meeting with us again. Are you happy to be back in the US?
the Underneath: Yes!
SHOXX Magazine
recently put out a Taste of Chaos special edition called "SHOXX EX" that features a picture spread of everyone surrounded by American food. Was there a certain food you were looking forward to having again while you're here?
Tal: Mashed potatoes!
Ryo: Mashed potatoes?
Tal: Mashed Potatoes.
Taka: Oh, mashed potatoes.
Tal: I'm definitely having more of them this time.
Ryo: I had a lot of hamburgers. I still really like hamburgers.
Masato: Steak!
(Everyone laughs)
Taka: I can't say that I have a favorite (laughs) but its probably junk food, like hamburgers and cola. It's not something that I do in Japan at all, but here, I'd be having a Coke in the morning and all day long (laughs).
Tal: In Japan, its commonly believed that if you drink Coke, your teeth will dissolve and rot off.
(Everyone laughs)
Ryo: So as a child, you're usually not allowed to drink Coke.
Tal: That's right.
(Everyone laughs)
Masaki: (Thinks) Budweiser!
(Everyone laughs)
the Underneath: Of course, beer!
Have you had a chance to walk around the convention?
Tal: Unfortunately, not much at all.
Taka: Usually only when we went from one place to another, we had a very small window of opportunity.
When you were here last, you were part of the Taste of Chaos tour where at least half of the audience had never been exposed to Japanese music before. This time, you played at Otakon, a convention that's dedicated to Japanese pop culture. Did you have any expectations for this concert?
Tal: We were expecting that there would be differences.
Masato: At Taste of Chaos, there were a lot of metal fans but here, they wouldn't be here for anything particular; there would be fans that have a built in interest toward Japanese pop culture, so that was something that we were looking forward to.
Taka: Our concert today went really well and everyone was receptive, so we were really happy about that. They're both exciting in different ways.
The five of you have been together for many years. Have you developed any pre- or post-concert rituals?
Masato: Before our concert, we always put our hands together and do a prep to unite our hearts.
the Underneath: (Demonstrates and laughs)
Tal: Is that common to American bands?
Yes.
Ryo: Do they do a toast after the stage?
Tal: Like 'kanpai'?
Yes, I think a lot do.
the Underneath: Oh!
After the Taste of Chaos tour ended, what would you say is the most valuable thing you learned from that experience?
Ryo: One thing was that not just the audience but the artist, the audience, and the staff were all having a good time. That was the most impressive thing about the tour; that everyone was into it. That's not always the case at a venue in Japan, so their dedication to music was the most impressive thing.
Taka: The audience was having such a good time. In Japan you don't always see the event staff having a good time but they were during the tour, so that was one thing that really impressed us.
Last month, you held your first one-man. How did being part of the Taste of Chaos tour help prepare you for that?
Tal: The Taste of Chaos tour here gave us a lot of confidence in ourselves. In the thirteen years of our musical activities that we've had together, it was the most intense experience we've had.
Taka: It gave us a rebirth; a renewed value, intensity and passion for music that we were able to carry on and show to our Japanese audience.
Lyrically your songs are deep. Taka, where do you draw the inspiration to write these lyrics from?
Taka: The inspiration for each song is different. The visual imagery comes first; it could be a scene from a movie, or some scenery that I've seen or it might be the image of an abstract painting, but the imagery that is invoked from sound is also important, but that is where the inspiration comes from first.
MOON FLOWER
was just released in Japan last month, but the Japanese release is different from the US release. Why did you decide to include an extra song and change the mixing for the Japanese release?
the Underneath: (Chuckle as they look at each other)
Tal: For changing the mix, it was just because we had the time to work on it. We were able to put in extra effort. For the US release, because of Taste of Chaos, we definitely wanted to make it for that but for the Japanese release, we still had some time.
Taka: With our own feelings towards our music, we made some changes. It's not something that we usually do, but we went back and changed some of the mix.
Ryo: As for why there is an extra song in the Japanese release, well, a lot of Japanese fans were upset that an American release preceded the Japanese, so it's just fan service.
(Everyone laughs)
In the US release of MOON FLOWER
, the lyrics printed in the CD jacket are in English without the original Japanese. Whose choice was it to exclude the Japanese text?
Taka: That was decided behind our backs. We wanted to include both the Japanese and the English lyrics.
Recently, new images were put on your homepage of the band wearing outfits made by h.naoto. How did you decide upon this new look?
Tal: Our office also manages other bands that wear
h.naoto, so there was a good connection through that. That's how the outfits came about.
At a recent in-store event, you played an acoustic version of the song "DEEP". What kind of transition did you have to make to play this song acoustically?
the Underneath: Oh! (surprised) You know!
Tal: We wanted to use open strings and not strain our voice as much for an acoustic version.
Taka: So we changed the song to be in a lower key and to a slower tempo so that we would take a rougher song and put more life into the melody.
Is there something you think you can convey better about a song acoustically?
Masato: All of our songs have strong melodies so they are suitable for acoustic versions.
Taka: Because there are less sounds in an acoustic version, we can bring more sensitivity into the song and can have a direct input into the song that way.
At your first one-man last month, you played several new songs. Are there plans for a new release soon?
Tal: We'd love to as soon as possible, but it is probably not likely within the year, but perhaps when the new year comes around. That's what we are hoping for.
Could you describe the new songs?
Tal: We will have something like what we put into
MOON FLOWER, but it will be deeper in a more intense fashion.
Masato: and others that are stronger.
Please give a final message to your fans.
Tal: There's probably no other Japanese band that's as fond of America than us (laughs) so please, make us your beloved band!
Ryo: We're definitely coming back to the States again, so at that time, I hope we get to see you again!
Masato: This may be cliché to say, but we're really happy to see Japanese music so accepted and popular in the United States. I'm very happy that we were included in that movement, so I hope that you continue to listen to Japanese music and be a fan.
Masaki: I'm running out of things that I can say (laughs). America is a big place and just one day at Otakon isn't enough, so I hope we can do a tour again.
Taka: The internet is a great invention that makes distance irrelevant in the sense that you can get information in real time anywhere in the world; in Japan, in the States, in Britain or in China. These are good times when places like MySpace have lots of users so that we can share. We might upload a song and then everyone in the world can enjoy it, and listen to it at the same time. It's not just songs, it could be videos from a live performance or pictures, so all over the world, we can do this. So, please check our
website and our
MySpace. We would be happy if you could leave us some feedback. Find out about and enjoy us and when we come back to the states, I hope you can come to it! That way, we can get together and have fun again!
JaME would like to thank Yaz Noya, Amanda Thai, and Otakon for making this interview possible, and the Underneath for talking with us. Photographs by Kathy Chee from Fundy Photographics.
