This is a talk show series “sponsored” by SOUL’S MATE (Sugizo’s FC) where Sugizo talks about a lot of topics with professionals from various fields (mostly music). Yomi and Sakito were invited for vol 15. The 1st episode is on Sugizo’s youtube, the 2nd will be on his FC website from 30th June.
Sugizo was super friendly. They talked about Luna Sea and Nightmare’s similarities, including Yomi and Ryuichi’s past voice problem, Sugizo and Sakito’s music inspiration and their experience in music school.
Translation
After Sugizo briefly introduced his series, he started with a preview of Nightmare’s history.
Sugizo: You guys formed in 2000? So young!
Sakito: Not really.
Sugizo: 2000…Same year when Luna Sea paused our activity? Yomi, you often go out with Ryu(ichi), right? (I’m not sure if he’s talking about Ryuichi). I and Sakito, we have known each other for a long time, more than 10 years?
Sakito: It was since the guitarist party? So more than 10 years?
Sugizo: I feel like we are very close colleagues. But when we are talking like this, I feel fresh. Like, since we are really close, I can’t think of anything to talk about. I think it’s the right timing (for this talk) since you are celebrating 25th anniversary and you are on a tour. If you are going to release anything, I would like to hear about it. So, where should we start? (Then he read about Nightmare’s activity history). No change in member, major debut after 3 years of being active, all members from Miyagi. You are so similar to Luna Sea! We are also all from Kanagawa, debuted after 3 years. When I hadn’t known about Nightmare, I did listen to your song in Death Note on TV. Also, you guys were in hiatus for 4 years??
Yomi: Yes, because I had functional dysphonia.
Sugizo: Ryuichi also suffered from a voice problem. Yours and Ryuichi’s are not the same, right?
Yomi: No, but the symptoms are similar.
Sugizo: Did you know about the cause? Was it because of the nervous system or the brain or…?
Yomi: No, we couldn’t figure out the cause. At that time the doctor advised that I should continue singing while undergoing rehab.
Sugizo: Right, because it’s like exercise, you need to keep training your muscles to be able to sing. Wow so we are really alike. And it is written in here that you were influenced by Ryuichi and Toshi? Didn’t you write it info here just because of this talk??
Yomi: No no, it’s real. When I was in my 2nd year in secondary school, I first got to know Luna Sea through Style and Forever and Ever. So I started doing music to see how we can get closer to senpai’s position.
Sugizo: Wow I didn’t know about it. Then, it says that you stopped growing at the 3rd year of secondary school.
Yomi: YES! Hm? (Yomi be like wtf why did i said yes). But yes! HAHA (turn to sakito and almost slap him)
Sakito: (defense with his arm)
Yomi: Yes, ‘stop growing’ in many ways but mostly height. (Yomi referring to an inside joke that he’s never mentally grown up)
Sugizo: Yes yes we are talking about your height. Why are you writing this info here? Oh wait is this from wiki?
Sakito: Yomi’s height is noted as?
Sugizo: 156cm
Sakito: You see this guy always say he’s 158cm
Yomi: PLEASE hear me out. When I measure in the morning I’m 158cm but at night it’s 156
Sakito: (whisper) you get smaller right
Sugizo: So you are just around 15xcm? Why are all vocalists like this? Anyway it helps create an impression which is really good. Hyde is also small, and also Kyo chan. There are many cases of vocalists only this short but they are all so cool.
Sakito: When I first met Hitsugi and we tried to find a member, maybe at that time Hitsugi had already had that stereotypical image, so he said ‘we should find a small vocalist’.
Sugizo: Because he thought it would be so cool?
Sakito: Yes maybe
Sugizo: Toshi is also small~. The info written on wiki is super funny 'Yomi had always been the small kid in his childhood, and his height stopped at 156cm when he was in the 3rd year of secondary school".
Sakito: I wonder who wrote this!
Sugizo: I thought you guys wrote this by yourself and I thought ‘these guys are so funny’. And here it is written that Sakito loves and took influence from SUGIZO and Nuno Bettencourt. You intentionally put this in, right???
Sakito: NO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??
Sugizo: Oh you like Vai? I don’t know much about Nuno Bettencourt. I listened to ‘EXTREME’ but his music is not my type.
Sakito: I see I see, he’s a little different from Sugizo’s taste.
Sugizo: but I like Steve Vai, but like 1 or 2 songs
Sakito: Actually I haven’t listened to all of his songs, but I had a period in high school when I was really into him.
Sugizo (turn to Yomi): Do you know Vai?
Yomi: ?
Sugizo: In the 80s hard rock and metal scene, he was known for being one of the best technical guitarists. I’m also influenced by him. Actually, I’m not into hard rock or metal that much.
Sakito: Yeah yeah Sugizo san’s taste is softer.
Sugizo: Yes while I felt guitar is so cool, I didn’t have the thought like music is so cool or anything. So I only know a little bit of Steve Vai. I’m more into loud and punk.
Sakito: You like US punk?
Sugizo: I started with US punk. I listened to Distortion a lot. My first exposure to hard rock was US punk. For metal, I approached it as a learning material
Sakito: A~ but I was also kind of similar. It was like ‘anw let’s try this’ then I got hooked up to Vai.
Sugizo: I did think Vai’s guitar was cool, but very few songs of his are my favorite. Because of Steve Vai, I started to like Zappa, and they are still my most favorite artist now.
Sakito: Sometimes you wear their Tshirt.
Sugizo: Yeah yeah. And I like another one, Missing Persons. Do you know them?
Sakito and Yomi: ?
Sugizo: You should listen to them. So, when Zappa broke up, some of them got together and formed Missing Persons. They were super technical, but at the same time, they were creating very pop and eccentric music. They are really cool. I like their guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. You heard of him, right? Warren Cuccurullo is like a senior disciple of Vai. I liked Warren, then I enjoyed Vai, so I thought I should listen to their ‘master’, which led me to listen to Zappa. That’s when I was 2 or 3rd year of high school. Wait, I should not talk about myself, let’s talk about yours. (To Sakito) You listen to jazz?
Sakito: I was reading your interview in a magazine and there was a corner where you shared your recent music, and I found Miles Davis. That’s where I started. When I was in vocational school, my lecturer was a jazz person…
Sugizo: You went to vocational school?
Sakito: Just 1 year, in a music vocational school, I was in Musician study. It was at the same time when we started Nightmare, so I always brought a bunch of Absence Admission with me.
Sugizo: What is Absence Admission?
Sakito: It’s like a document to officially confirm that you are taking a break and you can come back to school when you can. It’s because we were busy with our activity.
Sugizo: You were focused on band activity while going to school?!
Sakito: Yes, I had to ask for stamps (on Absence Admission) from many live house owners.
Sugizo (to Yomi): You don’t seem like you have gone to any school, even music, right?
Yomi: Yes, I wasn’t having a good relationship with studying lol.
Sugizo: You don’t have the image of being academically trained lol.
Yomi: Yes yes. I was in the spirit of ‘just do it’.
Sugizo: I was the Sakito type. I went to vocational school before Luna Sea was formed, but it didn’t fit me so I dropped out. I went for more than 6 months? I wanted to learn about the theory of jazz, just the theory, but in the end, I had to choose 1 major so I went for Jazz guitar. I didn’t have the patience to just sit there picking the guitar nonstop like everyone else, following exactly what the lecturer said. I wanted to practice this and that, so I stopped going to school.
(then they go into Tenka Daiboso tour promotion)
Sugizo: The tour final is going to be on November 9th at Budokan. Same date as Lunatic Fes?
Yomi and Sakito: Yeah…
Yomi: We went to Luna Sea’s live in Tokyo Dome. When Lunatic Fes was announced, I was praying ‘please please please any day but 9th November’. When the date was shown, fans were like YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, and we were like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sugizo: Oh…next time, okay?
Yomi and Sakito: We are looking forward to it
Sugizo: Let’s see, for this tour…you have 20 shows left? It’s a critical period when you enter the second half of a tour. I wish for your success. SOUL’S MATE Presents「S.M.CoreTalk」Vol.15, Episode 1 ends here. Please look forward to Episode 2
when i saw them at the end of the Tokyo Dome show. I thought they were just in a hurry to leave, turns out it was disappointment lol
and by interesting I mean wtf was that setlist honestly - anime themes which cool and expected for an anime con but then they threw in like some track from Nox:lux I was clearly vibing to more than others and a bit of gianism towards the end (that I recognized vaguely but don’t quote me bc gianizm not my vibe) but it felt like Nope No Old Songs Here Their energy is unparalleled though
not sure how we’ll get old fisherman to fly here again especially with how weird the energy was today but we need part 2 also I was like ENCORE and people were like no encore its anime con duh 
and I felt so confused and need a bit to process everything including the fact that my eyes were glued to Yomi and his insane stage presence and only really to Hitsugi when he was enjoying himself with the harder songs . And uncalled of me to say this but the Ruka aura and tism rizz is real 
thanks for coming to my very clear and thoughtful review
face trying to mouth it like OHH okay 
heard this before ! Twelve years ago just once never more and yeah maybe that was an attempt at not having Brazilians loudly singing along 
failed but there was an Attempt !
I was pleased but also a bit whaaat yknow
sorry I was afraid of looking too ridiculous it was not personal I looked ridiculous but dressed so fine
then they were like omg I want to yell Ni~ya is that too weird ! sis . bro . fella
