original interview published January 2012.
original text / Koji Yoshida
translation / Emma
The “Fifth” of lynch.
lynch.’s youngest, having officially joined at the end of 2010.
Approximate 2 years ago, after impacted by them after playing together at a multi-band event, Akinori faced the biggest turning point in his career in bands.
Joining a senpai band with an entirely different age range and experience.
While usually gentle in demeanor, his ability to advance when his eye is on the prize and his fearless courage are outstanding.
We probe into the personality of Akinori, the one who got people to say that lynch. became complete as a quintet.
What got you added to lynch. was, in a word, fishing, right?
That’s right, it was entirely kicked off by fishing.
In lynch., Hazuki and Asanao quite like fishing as well, and the three of you aren’t just on the level of casual hobbyists, you’re all pretty legit. There are a surprisingly large number of bandmen who like fishing, but even among them you rise to the forefront.
Well, probably; I don’t feel like we’ll be beaten. (laugh)
Could it be that you prefer bass even more than bass? (laugh)
No, not at all, I like them both. (laugh)
What is the allure of fishing?
I wonder. Well, I’ve liked playing outside since I was little. And the greatest game for a boy playing outside is fishing. (laugh) Or rather, in elementary and middle school, when I said I was going fishing, I wouldn’t get in trouble even if I left the house in the evening. It was fun when we’d all pedal our bikes at night and go to the nearby rivers. In elementary we’d even sleep outside like that.
Sleeping outside as an elementary student is wild. I want to follow up on your upbringing. Were you born in Nagoya?
I was born in Kyoto. My mom’s family home was in Kyoto. At the time my parents worked in Tokyo, so I was in Tokyo until I was about 3 years old.
Hm? You were born in Kyoto but your parents worked in Tokyo?
Both of my parents worked in Tokyo, but my mom’s family was in Kyoto. Probably she went back to Kyoto because she was about to give birth, and I was born there. Then we went back to Tokyo.
I see. So then you’re originally from Tokyo, right?
I guess so. I was in Nishiogi in Tokyo until I was three.
Oh, so strictly speaking, you’re not from Nagoya.
Speaking strictly, probably nobody in lynch. is from the city of Nagoya. (laugh)
A Nagoya band with no Nagoyans, if we’re being precise. (laugh) Do you have siblings?
I have two younger brothers. One 2 years younger and one 9 years younger
You’re the eldest. What kind of kid were you? Since you liked playing outside, were you the type who didn’t study much?
I didn’t study much. But, if I might say so myself, I did pretty okay. Until year 2 of middle school.
Does that mean something happened then?
In short, I entered middle school and we had our culture and arts festivals. And only the third year bands that were picked could play the festival. So me and my pals in the first year were like, we’re definitely going to play the festival when we’re third years. From around year 2, everyone bought guitars and basses.
In that case, wouldn’t it have been good to start from your first year? (laugh)
When we were first years we were all talk, we just say we wanted to do it and didn’t take to action. (laugh) Then in our second year, ‘cause we got our New Year’s gift money, everyone was like, guess we should get started soon. I bought my first bass in year 2 of middle school.
Why bass?
No idea. One thing just led to another. Without me even really understanding what kind of instrument the bass was. I thought that basses made a sound like the guitar. (laugh) I was really ill-informed about music as a kid. I only knew the stuff on popular music shows, or rather, the stuff on “Music Station”.
If I may, you weren’t particularly wanting to do music, bur rather stand out in the culture festival while having fun with your friends.
Yes. (laugh) But although that was the vibe when we started forming bands, long story short, about three of them appeared. Among them was one that was a little talented. Then I was disappointed they were outdoing us, so I thought I should practice a bit, but the members of the band I formed had no motivation, for real. They were guys who didn’t practice a thing. I was like, this ain’t good, I’ll just get good on my own, and I just kept looking at the flyers in music stores recruiting bass players… In the end, I thought I’d make a band with people who weren’t my middle school classmates.
You were pretty proactive. And competitive.
I did have drive then, somehow.
What did you do back then? Covers?
At the time I was doing a Judy and Mary copy band. Outside of school.
And at school?
At school I was doing a Brahman and hide copy band.
Brahman and hide is quite the combination. (laugh)
Well, not unlikely with middle schoolers. (laugh)
Were you able to perform in the festival in your third year, in the end?
We were. And then I got super well-known. I was the only one who could play. Everyone else was a mess. I think I was the only one who could play right of all the bands who were in the festival.
So everyone was like damn, that guy’s good.
I worked hard because I wanted people to say that. (laugh) Then I continued with another female vocal-led band – bands got interesting to me from the time I did the festival. I did the entrance exam and entered high school, but I figured I’d enroll just to enjoy the high schooler life and what I was gonna do was play in a band. When I enrolled, from the start my home room teacher would ask me what I’d do about my path after graduating, and I’d say, “nothing much”. When a senpai band asked me if I’d play the bass, I’d do it for a bit. All I did was join a variety of bands.
When did you start playing in real-deal bands and not just at a student level? In your life as a musician, surely you’ve had turning points before lynch., right?
I did, but lynch. was a very extreme turning point.
Indeed, but what do you consider your first real band? ASS’n’ARRow? Meth.? Or Fakestar before that?
Ah, Fakestar wasn’t a proper band.
Fakestar clearly had Kuroyume in mind, right?
Yes. Initially we were doing a Kuroyume cover band as a vocal and bass duo. The rest was programming.
What turned you on to Kuroyume?
Rather than Kuroyume it was SADS at first. “Boukyaku no sora” was used in “Ikebukuro West Gate Park” when I was in high school. Then I bought the CD. From there I poked around and made my way back to Kuroyume.
But at the time of Fakestar, you hadn’t had any bands that were turning points for you in your musical career.
I didn’t. Thinking on it now, I had a faint first connection to lynch. from the time of Fakestar. I formed Fakestar with a classmate in high school, but the high school I went to is the same as Hazuki-san’s. Although our school years didn’t overlap.
Huh? Hazuki was your senpai in high school?
Yes. I found that out way after the fact, though. Then, the first visual kei band I did was Fakestar, but I had no idea what I should do for my first band. I worried about it and eventually figured I would roadie for a bit, with my bandmate. We thought we’d learn some things while working as roadies. And then my vocalist became lynch.’s roadie. I was DEATHGAZE*’s roadie. Well, Fakestar disbanded like that.
[*Just to make the connection even more complicated, Hazuki is the ex. vocalist of DEATHGAZE, but obviously AK was a roadie for them after his departure.]
So then you must have had some connection with lynch. from that time too, right?
No, I didn’t. Reo-san came to a Fakestar show once and that was about it. We came close to having interaction but didn’t.
But even indirectly, your fate was beginning its course. Why did Fakestar disband?
Well, we were both doing roadie work, and the vocalist who was lynch.’s roadie… We’d really just started, so Fakestar only had like five fans. To go from a band like that to a roadie, then seeing lynch., he was like I can’t possibly do that!
So he was discouraged. (laugh)
Seeing reality. (laugh) He said this isn’t going to happen for me and quit.
Next was ASS’n’ARRow, how did that start?
I was invited to ASS’n’ARRow after Fakestar disbanded. They were like hey, there’s this kid who can play bass pretty all right. And I really liked ASS’n’ARRow’s drummer. He did grindcore bands, he was kinda like the don of Nagoya’s hardcore bands. So he was a really interesting person who did hardcore but dressed like a girl in ASS’n’ARRow. I knew his hardcore bands, so I was like this is going to be sick if this guy’s on drums, but…
But in the end ASS’n’ARRow disbanded too.
In short, I joined ASS’n’ARRow because of the image I had of the drummer who was doing hardcore music, but it was a super cutesy hyper band. Everyone wore cat ears and stuff. That was fun in its own way because I was still 20ish, but gradually I started to think, no, this is not it.
Putting it another way, you also had an era of wearing cat ears?
I did. I was super visual kei at the time. (laugh)
And super cutesy, hyper visual kei at that.
Real cutesy. (laugh)
Did you dance and all that? (laugh)
I did. So I was like, this is fun for now, but I can’t do it forever, and I talked about that with the members. I was like I don’t think I can do this forever, I want to quit.
You withdrew from the band yourself.
Well, we disbanded because of my withdrawal.
You broke the band.
I’m a band crusher. (laugh)
How did that lead you to meth.?
When I was going to quit ASS’n’ARRow, I went to consult with the senpai of DEATHGAZE. Since I was their roadie at the time. When I asked if there was a good band out there, a member of meth. happened to be doing support at the time, so right then and there he said okay, I’ll ask them, then let them know he found a decent bassist. Then meth. was like damn, we really want you to join, and so I was like, sure, meth. it is.
It was a instant decision on the spot.
We did it instantly via phone.
And then while in meth, you met lynch. in a multi-band event you did with them, “NAME OF NAGOYA”.
Yes. Up until that time I’d never really connected with them. Then, seeing lynch. at “NAME OF NAGOYA” I was like meth. has to work really hard, but why don’t I make friends with lynch.-senpai right here. Then, knowing Hazuki-san fishes, I suddenly asked him “Hazuki-san, do you fish?” at the after party, he was like, “who are you?”. (laugh)
He told you to introduce yourself first.
Right, exactly. He fully said “introduce yourself, first”.
You should introduce yourself. (laugh) But you sure are proactive. You played with lynch., thought they were cool and that you wanted to get closer to them, and immediately went to talk to him. In reality, the gears were set into motion from that point, weren’t they? We touched on this in the beginning, but you had fun talking about fishing and then ended up playing support for lynch.. To cut a long story short. (laugh)
That’s right. (laugh) We had a lively discussion about fishing, and talked about going together some time. Then when we went and chatted, our places were really near each other. Hazuki-san really lived close in the neighborhood.
Is that when you found out that you actually went to the same high school?
I found out around then. So our places were close and we went to the same high school, we started going fishing together, going to eat, going to drink, all that. Then, I went to Hazuki-san’s house to hang and we were talking like hey, you like Kuroyume, right? So we were like, let’s play some Kuroyume songs. Hazuki-san played guitar and I played bass, and we started to just hang out by single-mindedly playing Kuroyume together. Then he was like, you can play pretty well.
From there things started to move substantially.
That’s right. I think Hazuki-san probably brought it to lynch. around then, it seems like he talked to everyone about it. While we were just hanging out as usual, one day he suddenly was like, “let’s go have some yakiniku, my treat”.
When Reo was trying to persuade Hazuki, he took him for yakiniku too, apparently. A custom handed down between generations. (laugh)
Hahaha. The vibe was somehow different than usual. Hazuki-san picked me up in his car, even though I usually would go to meet him. (laugh)
And then you were persuaded to play support for them.
Well, he asked me if I’d give it a try.
What was your state of mind at the time?
I was like, “is this for real?!”
But you responded instantly even though you were surprised, right?
I did. It was immediate.
And then from their last indies tour you started to accompany them as a support member. What did you see and think while on that tour?
I was nervous, and I thought that what I’d been doing up to that point was really just child’s play. I was overwhelmed, even looking at things unrelated to bands.
Hazuki-san withdrew from that tour midway because of a throat illness*. They say adversity builds character, but when I think of that situation now, it might have been good seeing as it heightened your unity.
Right. I think that was good. I was trained by force because of it. I really think it was a fateful event.
[*Hazuki had stopped touring due to simultaneous pharyngitis and laryngitis. Ouch! The remaining members and Akinori played the shows he missed without vocals.]
You were in a situation where the four of you without your vocalist had to make something out of the remaining shows. That would solidify the unity of the non-vocal members.
And I also had the complication of being in the position of support member. But even so, Hazuki-san said “why not try to get used to it while you’re on support?”. Because I was support I didn’t have to overextend and do anything weird, too. It created a space for me where I could be support in order to get experience.
Then, at the O-EAST tour final your addition as an official member was announced. How was the scene you saw that day?
Damn, I was insanely stressed then. It was my first time in a venue that big. So big and with so many people… The number of staff at a one man show is wild too, and there were cameras. I was nervous before the live, from the second I entered the place. More than the announcement, I was nervous about doing a show at such a big venue.
I see. So rather, you weren’t disoriented about joining lynch.?
I wasn’t, but up until the announcement, you never know when they’re just going to be like, actually, never mind. (laugh). I felt that kind of pressure, or rather a sense of tension.
I think the image of lynch. = a quartet was strong. Did you not have any hesitation about joining that sort of band?
None at all. ‘Cause it was the best. I was like, I’m gonna play in lynch.!
Hazuki played bass for lynch., and he’s talented, isn’t he? Was there any difficult in playing with them on that front?
Tons. But, on the contrary, that pressure is fine. There’s always different kinds of pressure.
When you’d joined, what did you think you wanted to do with lynch.?
At the time, the only choice was to just go for it. I was frantic to keep up at first.
After joining lynch., your first recorded music was suddenly the band’s first major release [I BELIEVE IN ME], and a full album, at that. How did you feel when faced with that?
That time was really wild. That too was a source of pressure. Well, now, I’m saying this having finished it, but… I was bombarded with pressure and tension, and while I did it thinking it everyone would be intense in their way of thinking about work, I noticed that everyone seemed to be having a surprising amount of fun while doing it. I noticed after finishing, I mean. I didn’t have time to be thinking about that in the middle of doing it. Looking back after finishing it, calmly, everyone was having fun. Even Reo-san would be fiddling with knobs while saying “this is the ultimate form of playing around for an adult”. (laugh) It’s adults playing around in earnest.
In November your 2nd release since joining came out, the single “MIRRORS”. Were you a bit more calm for it?
I think a little, same for the other members. And I don’t know if the members guessed that I was stressed the previous time or what, but Hazuki-san would be like “well, AK, let’s do this and have fun”. With a pat on the back before recording or whatever. (laugh)
To what degree does Hazuki give you specifications about the bass lines?
Hazuki-san gives it a quick play on his own and records it. But, maybe it’s weird for me to say since I don’t know the earlier demos, but recently it seems the demo Hazuki-san makes are super rough. Even with the bass he’ll just play the route like “dururu”. The guitars and stuff are super simple too. Somehow they seem like they’ve gotten real simple since the previous album. He doesn’t wholly delegate it to the other members, but his style has seemingly turned into one where he lets us do as we please.
Since becoming a quintet, or rather since you joined, lynch. has changed.
I’m not sure since I don’t know what it was like until recently, but Yusuke-san said the demos were really rough. Probably he’s leaving us to do the arrangement, or rather, trusting us with it.
lynch. really has become a band since turning into a quintet. Already he has expectations of you, or rather has faith in you.
I hope so.
Reo and Yusuke have also said that lynch. has become its “complete form” and “perfect” since you joined.
That makes me really happy.
In 2010, you were truly standing at the crossroads of your life, and I think the two or so years since have really been packed.
Super packed. It was a sublime 2years. I worried so much about lots and thought about lots. It’s been a 2 year battle with myself. In a variety of ways.
Compared to the past two years, how do you want to take the next two? What do you want to do in lynch.?
I want to find that out. My job in lynch. is to play the bass, in the end… Well, that’s a job, but Reo-san is the leader, Hazuki-san makes songs, Asanao-san designs stuff. I wonder what I can do as a job, or rather as a role. Now I’m not doing much except taking Hazuki-san and Asanao-san to fishing spots. (laugh)
Hahaha. But Yusuke said the same thing. Finding your role in lynch. seems to be a common point between those of you who joined later on.
Well then, I guess I should make songs with Yusuke-san. (laugh)
That’d be great. The songs are 100% by Hazuki, but how do you feel about that? Do you want to make songs?
I’m not sure, but if there’s ever a situation where Hazuki-san gets stuck and says he can’t make songs and I can offer demos of 10 or so songs, I think it could work. Having them as stock. So I think I’ll try making them. I have no idea if they’ll go anywhere, though.
Well, you’ll have to have a “shoot your shot” mentality for that too. (laugh)
Yes. That’ll be my role.
Akinori, you give off mild mannered vibes, but you’re actually pretty voracious. (laugh) You have an ambition to rise, or rather, you’re really proactive when your eyes are on the prize. (laugh)
All of that probably comes from fishing. (laugh)
Oh, I see. (laugh) Lastly, this volume will be coming out at the end of the year, so why don’t we close things off with your resolution for 2012.
I want to catch a big fish!
Is that what you’re going with?! (laugh)
I want to catch a 60cm black bass. (laugh)