Lure Mag+ Hitoki Bass Fishing Tournament (Hazuki/Akinori/Asanao)

A Gathering of Popular Artists! I Rushed to Join the Bass Fishing Tournament Held by Famed Kuroyume Bassist Hitoki! [Lake Sagami] – Lure Mag+ | Naigai Publishing

2019/10/28 — Article by Makoto “Fukapong” Fukaya

Youngins, you probably don’t know. There’s no helping that. Maybe those of you in your forties and later know him? Hitoki, from the rock band Kuroyume that once took the world by storm, hosted a fishing contest that brought together musicians and other people from the scene. I’ll be reporting on the fun~.

It was rude of me to say they “once” took the world by storm. Even now, Hitoki is active at the forefront of the scene as a bassist, but his hobby is bass fishing. There’s a lot of musicians who like fishing, huh?

画像: 全員集合でパチリ。湖上のゴミを見つけたら拾うもやってきた。
A group snapshot. If they found trash on the lake, they collected it.

For now, let me introduce the participants. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m really ignorant about music. I don’t know most of them! Even the pretty famous ones are unfamiliar to me, so don’t worry! (This is so rude, why was I there?) Now, to tell you why I have this connection, long ago I went bass fishing with lynch. and Hitoki as part of a Lure Magazine serial. Hitoki and the lynch. guys (three members) have an impressive love for bass fishing!

Anyhow, here are the participants! Voila!

Hitoki
HIDEHIRO
Hazuki (lynch.)
Asanao (lynch.)
Akinori (lynch.)
IKE (SPYAIR)
Teru (MY FIRST STORY)
Kid’z (MY FIRST STORY)
Johannes (Develop One’s Faculties)
Pro Takeshi Uesugi (deps)
Ryuuta Tomura (VILLAGEDOOR)
Sukebass (ex.BLACKBILLY)
Youma (Chelsea Hotel PA)
Kousuke Miyauchi (Lilles Remains,Coyote milk store)
Akihito Morimoto (Electric Eel Shock)
ONI (SQUARE Nagoya)
Fukapong (Lure Maga+)

[…] Please check them out and if you find an artist you like, go check out their CDs, downloads, and live shows! I think there might be some songs you’ve heard before. There’s really so many of them that love fishing.

Held at Sagami Lake with the Lingering Aftereffects of the Typhoon

I’m on the same boat as lynch. vocalist Hazuki, who I’ve fished together with many times. By the by, the rules of the HITOKI cup is that everyone gets into pairs and competes using the measurements of two fish. Lake Sagami is expected to have muddy waters due to the effects of Typhoon 19.

My boat partner Hazuki is a bonafide fisherman based in Nagoya who specializes in fishing on Lake Biwa. For myself, it’s been several years since the last time I came to Lake Sagami.

We’re going to have to play dirty. I get in touch with Kiyoaki Ohtsu of Tiemco, who speeds across Lake Sagami catching fish after fish.

Ask him a vague question: “Where are the fish?” Ohtsu immediately responds, “Go against the current. Use a full size jig!”

Wowza, if we strike with these conditions satisfied, we’re sure to win! I share the information with my boat partner, Hazuki, the day before the tourney.

I was sure of our victory on Lake Sagami, but we receive some rather shocking prior information…

“Two fishing masters went out on the lake the day prior, and one came back empty handed. The other fishing legend caught one…”

Oh! If that was how it went for those two, then who on Earth could possibly catch something on Lake Sagami?

Hitoki: “Please, someone, catch something!” (said grimly)

Hitoki pleads at the opening ceremony.

画像: 神妙な顔で司会を務めるHIDEHIROさん。ドラマーなのできっとシェイクは得意だ。と思ったら、くっそでかいビッグベイトをガンガン投げてた人。
HIDEHIRO works as our MC with a meek expression. He’s a drummer, so I’m sure he specializes in flick shake. Or so I thought, but then he threw in huge big bait after huge big bait.
画像: 葉月さん。琵琶湖ラブで、デプス好き。1/fゆらぎな美声と真逆なデスボイスで魅了するlynch.のボーカル。今回、lynch.からは3名が参戦。ボーカルの葉月さん、ドラムの晁直さん、ベースの明徳さん。lynch.は本格派＆実力派のロックバンド。
Hazuki. He loves Lake Biwa and deps. He’s lynch.’s vocalist, fascinating listeners with his soothing beautiful voice and his death voice which is the exact opposite. 3 members of lynch. are participating in this tourney: vocalist Hazuki, drummer Asanao, and bassist Akinori. lynch. is an authentic and skilled rock band.

However, when we set out on the lake, it looks less like a lake and more like a cafe au lait. Even so, it’s better than the previous day, so the participants keep up their morale. The thought that squeezing out enjoyment in a situation like this is the real thrill of bass fishing is our motivation.

画像: 「これ、魚釣れるの？」「波動だ！ シルエットだ！ アラバマだ！」めげないのがバス釣り師。
“Can we catch anything like this?” “It’s a wave! A silhouette! Get the Alabama rig!” Bass fishermen don’t back down.

But everywhere we go, it’s murky. Even if we send an Alabama rig just beneath the surface, it’s only enough to just barely see it. The tourney that started at 7am has no bites as we pass noon. There are a few suspicious potential bites, but not enough to be confident that it was a fish… Even during our mid-day reports, none of the participants report any catches.

Hazuki, you can usually catch more than this at Lake Sagami, okay? Don’t turn your back on it.

Hazuki: “No worries. You can’t catch anything at Lake Biwa either, never getting a bite is commonplace.”

With that said, who cares if we can’t catch anything! Bass fishing is fun! And so the tourney continues. You gotta be stoic for bass fishing! It’s very rock and roll!

画像: いちいちカッコいいlynch.の葉月さん。「なんか歌ってよ。つれねーし」「え？ 今っすか？」「じゃあ、いまからMetabolic Artefactってバンド臨時結成すっから」「僕、太ってませんし」「昔、mince.って結成したじゃん？」「覚えてませんｗ」という会話があったかどうかは謎。
The ever-cool Hazuki of lynch. I cannot confirm that the following conversation took place: “Sing something, since we can’t catch anything.” “Huh? Right now?” “Yeah, I’m starting the band Metabolic Artefact right now.” “But I’m not chubby.” “Didn’t we form ‘mince.’ a long time ago?” “I don’t remember, haha.”
画像: 人時さんと、戸村竜太さん。戸村さんは大田区のプロショップ、VILLAGEDOOR(ヴィレッジドアー)の店長。人時さんは、我々世代にはクリーンヒットするはずの有名バンド、黒夢のベーシスト。するはずって？ あ、いや、実はお会いするまで知りませんでした。が、当時、仕事を一緒にするよって話を嫁にしたら絶叫してました。個人的には、ただの釣り好きな......いや、なんでもありません。
Hitoki and Ryuuta Tomura. Tomura runs a pro fishing shop in Ota-ku, VILLAGEDOOR. Hitoki is the bassist for the famous band Kuroyume, an apparent hit in our generation. Apparent? Ah, I didn’t actually know until I met him. But when I told my wife I was going to work with him she screamed. To me, he’s just a guy who likes fish–… nevermind.
画像: 右・lynch.きっての釣りウマ、明徳（lynch.・ベース）さんと、左・ヨハネス(Develop One's Faculties・ドラム)さん。明徳さん、ドラッギングという奥の手を使っている様子ですが、バイトありました？「なんか、あったような...くらいです」。それはそうとヨハネスさん？ ちょっと奇抜なステージ衣装でブイブイいわせてるようですね。でも、今回は黒でシャットダウン！
On the right is lynch.’s fishing prodigy, Akinori (lynch. – bass), and the right is Johannes (Develop one’s faculties – drums). Akinori seems to be using the secret technique of dragging, but did he get a bite. “I felt like there was something… kinda.” By the way, Johannes? He apparently proudly wears eccentric stage outfits. But this time he shut it all down in black!
画像: スケベース(ex.BLACKBILLY・ベース)さん。もうね、ビックベイトすら魚から見えるかどうかって話ですよね....。
Sukebass (ex. BLACKBILLY – bass). Can the fish even see that big bait…?
画像: 左　Teru(MY FIRST STORY・ギター)　右　Kid'z(MY FIRST STORY・ドラマー)。若い世代に超・人気。すまん、オッサンは知らんかった！ 勉強するしな、堪忍な！　マイファスな！ うん、覚えた！ 若い子に「マイファスと、この前、釣りしたわ」ってドヤ顔で語るけど堪忍な！
Left is Teru (MY FIRST STORY – guitar) and right is Kid’z (MY FIRST STORY – drums). V-e-r-y popular with the younger generation. Sorry, grandpa here didn’t know! I gotta study, forgive me! “Mai-fasu”! Okay, got it! I’m going to smugly tell young kids “Hey, I fished with Mai-Fasu earlier”, so forgive me!
画像: IKE(SPYAIR・ボーカル)さんと、HIDEHIRO（ドラマー）さん。SPYAIRと言えばサムライハートだよね！ ほら銀魂のエンディング！ あとオープニング！「I Wanna Be…」ってさっき調べて知ったんだけどね！ あ、ハイキューもだ！（きりがない）。 HIDEHIROさんは筋肉ドラマーで、様々な有名アーティストのサポートをこなす実力派！ 今回のHITOKI CUPの幹事を引き受けてくれた。アニキ！ありがとう！
IKE (SPYAIR – vocals) and HIDEHIRO (drummer). Spyair = Samurai Heart, right! The ending for Gintama! And the opening! I just looked up “I wanna be…” and found out! Ah, Haikyuu! too! (There’s no end.) HIDEHIRO is a buff drummer with serious skills who supports a variety of famous musicians! He accepted the duty of organizer for the HITOKI CUP. Brother! Thank you!
画像: 左・宮内告典（Lilles and Remains、Coyote milk store・ドラマー）。宮内さんはサポートドラマーとして活躍中。GACKTさん、YUIさんなどのサポートも経験。右・森本明人(Electric Eel Shock・ギターボーカル)さん。HITOKI CUPの後にオランダへ渡航し、マイケル・モンローバンドとツアーへ。
Left is Kousuke Miyauchi (Lilles and Remains, Coyote milk store – drums). Miyauchi is active as a support drummer. He’s been support for GACKT, YUI, and others. Left is Akihito Morimoto (Electric Eel Shock – guitar and vocals). After the HITOKI CUP he’s going to the Netherlands to tour with Michael Monroe’s band.
画像: 征く水平はどどめ色ぞ。我欲す、黒鱒は何処や。
Conquered waters are the color of mulberry. Whence is the black trout I seek?

Whether typically a mic, guitar, bass, or sticks, today everyone is finding the rhythm with a rod in hand instead. And they’re all smiles. Everyone sure loves bass fishing.

画像: HIDEHIRO兄貴。完璧な幹事あざーっす！
Brother HIDEHIRO. Thank you for your perfect organization!
画像: 左・ONIさん（SQUARE名古屋）はストリートファッションブランドのお人。アングラーズマーケットの代表も務める。右・晁直(lynch.・ドラム）さん。晁直さんの最近のコダワリはロッドを自作すること。琵琶湖ベースの剛竿が多いよね。
Left is ONI (SQUARE Nagoya), a figure in street fashion brands. He also works as the rep for Angler’s Market. Right is Asanao (lynch. – drums). Asanao’s latest fixation is making his own rods. Lots of sturdy rods for Lake Biwa.

So, in the End… Who Won?

Right. We took on Lake Sagami together, but we had zero results. As expected, the power of a record-breaking typhoon is mighty, and it will take time before things recover, but even so, this is a dam that holds the fine waters of Katsura River. It will no doubt make its way to recovery with an astounding speed. There were heavy rains after, but fearless fighters should go! Why? Because there will surely be spots where fish gather! *Please check the situation at the boat rental house.

Afterward, the incredible tackle from our sponsors was shared between participants via lottery, then we enjoyed a barbecue before closing the event.

画像: で、結局......。大会優勝者は？

HIDEUP, DRT, deps, Gary Yamamoto, TULALA, VILLAGEDOOR, BASSBRIGADE, and SQUARE Nagoya provided incredible sponsored prizes! To all the musicians, you’re invited whenever~. I’ll hook you up.

画像: 最後はバーベキューで、楽しいバス釣りを締めくくりっ。
At last we had a barbecue, closing off our day of fun bass fishing.
画像: そのまま、ロッジに泊まって宴会になったそうな。
Afterward, they stayed at the lodge and had a party.

Okay, Hitoki. What about next time?

Hitoki: “We have to rematch Lake Sagami!”

In that case, Round 2 (or the actual Round 1) will be held soon!