Writer: Well, this is the last
installment of this column. Let's
give it our all! If we make this
ending the best we can, it'll all be
worth it. On the other hand, if the
ending isn't great, it'll ruin EVERYTHING.
Yasuno: Hey, hey! You're the
writer, right? (Laughs) What's the
big idea, putting those thoughts in
my head?! (Laughs) Anyway, aren't
I the host for today?
Writer: Yes. All of this rests on the
host's shoulders--
Yasuno: HEY HEY HEY, come on!
(Laughs)
Nao: It's already fall, but it's
reaching 30C outside. We have the
AC on in the room, and my body...it feels....cold. (Said with conviction in monologue-style)
Writer: ..............
Nao: (Gathers his joke fell on deaf
ears) Hm? Is something wrong?
Yasuno: Somethin' wrong?! You're
the one with somethin' wrong, ha!
At this point, who's to say if we're
gonna have a normal conversation,
or be maniacs and just babble
about drumming the entire time,
we two.
Nao: True that!
Yasuno: At any rate, Nao, to whom
I'm inseparably bound to, has come in today. Nao, we met, what,
like over 15 years ago?
Nao: Is that how it's starting? I don't think it was more than 15
years, but at least 10 years ago.
Yasuno: Yeah, yeah, when I was in
the band before Kra, in Niigata.
We were just finishing up
rehearsals at Nagoya's Heartland, I
think that's when we first spoke.
Nao: Oh yeah! We played together
that night, I was in my band prior
to Alice Nine then.
Yasuno: Yeah, yeah! We talked
about how our getting into playing
the drums as a hobby was similar,
it got me all excited! That was the
first thing we talked about.
Nao: Notti (Yasuno's nickname)
helped carry my China dress in for
me. I thought, awe, he's a really
nice guy. Back then, we still didn't
know much about visual kei, so
there was still a lot of learning to
do.
Yasuno: Is that so?! Ahh, it was
that time, wasn't it. There were a
lot of bands around at that time,
we played with about 10 of 'em.
Oh, but y'know, what I remember
most is when we had just gotten
signed and did the PSC tour with
everyone in 2005.
Nao: Yay! We all traveled in one
big bus. Oh, yeah! While we were
on the bus we'd watch footage of
the day's concert. All the bands
would review each other ...Aaah,
that was awwwful!
Yasuno: Hahaha! It was kinda like
an open execution, wasn't it!
Nao: Yeah, but because of that,
our vocalist, Shou, he said to me,
"Yasuno gave me some great
advice!" And he was so grateful.
Such a sweet 'senpai,' I thought.
Yasuno: Oh wow, you remember
that talk, huh? Yeah, I feel like
because of that, we all grew a bit
closer together.
Nao: That was over 8 years ago.
Yasuno: Yeah, it was a fun time.
Mr. Pay...
Nao: Ah!! I've got a funny story
from that tour! At that time, Saga
and I shared a hotel room! And
the day after that while we were
waiting for the bus to head out,
they told us "Somebody give us the fees for the paycard, they need to settle the bill!" That was from my and Saga's room.
Writer: A paycard...that's a card
you use to pay extra to watch
naughty movies, isn't it?
Nao: Yes, yes (laughs). But they
don't have just porn, they have
regular movies too! (Laughs) Well,
it seems to have mostly an
association with porn, though. At
any rate, I got called out when
they asked for the extra cash!
Writer: AHAHAHA! If it's Saga and
Nao, Nao's the culprit, huh?
Nao: Yeah! Saga wanted to watch
some American movies, and I
actually ended up wanting to check
out some porn. Ahhh, this is an
embarrassing storyyyy (laughs). I
got the nickname "Mr. Pay" that
day! And thus began my own
personal tragedy--for about 3 years after that, everyone called me Mr. Pay!
Yasuno: Ahaha, that did happen,
didn't it! Speaking of Nao,
something happened with you
when we went on tour again with
one other band, didn't it! It was
when we were transferring buses.
Nao was supposed to sit next to me and Saga, and we were on our way to the live house in Nagoya, and just as we were about to get on the bus and head out a staff
member was verifying that we were all there. "Everyone here?" And Saga says "Yes! We're all lined up!" And I was like, "Huh? I coulda
sworn Nao was here, I guess he
changed seats." And sure enough,
we made it to maybe the first
traffic light, and we realized, "Ah,
yep, Nao isn't here." (Laughs) So
we turn around and go back, and it
turns out Nao had been pushing
other people waiting on buses out
of the way as he was desperately
trying to catch up to the bus.
(Laughs)
Writer: Saga screws you over a lot,
doesn't he, Nao? (Laughs)
Nao: It's so true though, totally!!
(Laughs)
Writer: We're gonna revive the 'Mr. Pay' nickname starting today!!
Nao: NO WAY!! (Laughs) And you
know my fans are probably like
"Nao's a little fairy, he wouldn't
watch porn!"
Writer: ....... (Dead silence in the
room)
Yasuno: What...what's up with the
atmosphere in here?! (Laughs)
Nao: AHAHAHA! (Busts a gut)
Little drummer boys...
Writer: Let's talk about even more
secrets you guys have, stuff we
don't already know.
Nao: Secrets? Hmmm.... Oh yeah!
Notti's (Yasuno's) chair for his drum set is really crazy high!!
Almost like a high chair! I can't
even get my legs up on it.
Yasuno: It's 'cause I like to hit
from a shallow stance on my chair.
Nao: Notti's super original with his
composition of his set-up, he's
really unique.
Writer: Nao's bass drum looks a lot
bigger than Notti's, though.
Yasuno: They're the same size, but
they look different due to how we
set up our drums. My setting has
them all up a bit higher, while
Nao's drums are set lower.
Nao: Yes, yes! And that's why it
looks bigger!
Yasuno: And the drums I have set
up above the bass drum are full-
sized, so that also makes mine look smaller.
Nao: That makes a lot of sense!
But hey, y'know, for drummers,
setting up the drums depends on
play style and personality! In that
respect I think Notti's a little
greedy (laughs). But I don't mean
he sets them up in a gaudy fashion, he just aligns everything
up according to his feelings. You
can set it up to accommodate any
style!
Yasuno: Yeah, that's true. I
remember getting the chance to sit at your drum set once and
thinking, Nao's drum set is really
set up for rock music! But Nao, he's a serious guy. I don't think I
know of any other musician who
practices as hard as he does. At
least in the past, he seemed to
spend more time in the studio
practicing than people who
actually worked in the studio!
Nao: Yeah, I was, I was! I'd get the
studio around lunchtime, and I
wouldn't get home until midnight,
1, 2, 3am sometimes. After that I'd watch instructional DVDs, then
work on musical scores: then I'd
sleep, then go back to the studio
and practice some more, over and
over. Inside, I felt like I got a later
start than everyone else, so I
practiced with every ounce of my
being.
Yasuno: Really? But it seemed to
come so naturally to you!
Nao: No no no, I had to work really hard at it.
Yasuno: That is amazing. With
such little free time to yourself,
having an opportunity to just sit
and chat like this would never
happen!
Writer: So you guys have never
hung out together?
Yasuno: Nope.
Nao: I don't even go out to go
shopping! I do it all online.
Yasuno: Really?!
Nao: Yep! (Laughs) This morning I
bought a mattress online! (Laughs)
And then, and then, I bought
ingredients for cooking! And, and,
and I set up an appointment, right? For the delivery guy to bring
my stuff. So the doorbell ringing
with my orders has become my
alarm clock! (Laughs)
Nao the Happy Egpplant Man...
Yasuno: AHAHAHA! Don't make the delivery guy your alarm clock!
(Laughs) So, what kind of
ingredients did you buy?
Nao: Vacuum-packed pork in broth, and some mackerel! (Laughs)
Writer: What about vegetables?
Nao: Oh, I go to a greengrocer
nearby to get those (laughs). Oh,
but for a little while, I grew my
own!
Yasuno: EH?! You grew veggies
yourself?! DO TELL.
Writer: Oh yeah, I remember you
saying you had rented part of a
field to plant things!
Yasuno: Wait, you rented a field...?
Nao: Yes (laughs). I rented a plot
of land for growing, and I
cultivated them myself! I actually
started growing on my veranda,
but transferred it to the field
(laughs).
Yasuno: Do you still do it??
Nao: Right now I don't, but I think
if I get some more time, I'd like to
do it again!
Yasuno: Well, if ya do, wouldja like
some guidance from a farmer's boy like me?
Nao: Oh, really?! Yes, please!!
Yasuno: Well, y'know, I'm from an
onion farm in Awaji, after all
(laughs).
Nao: Aaaah, that's soooo cool. But
hey, the veggies I grew were
especially delicious!
Yasuno: What did you grow?
Nao: EGGPLANT! Oh, god, they
were so tasty I couldn't believe it!
I'd harvest them and grill them
afterwards and they were SO
GOOD! I was so surprised!!
Writer: But, if you were always
practicing or going on tour,
whenever did you find the time to
grow eggplants?
Nao: Oh, that! Yeah, well, I
couldn't go during the day, so at
night I would go to fertilize the
plants, and people would think I
was up to no good, and I got
reported! (Laughs)
Yasuno: Ahahaha! What, did
someone think you were stealing
the vegetables?! (Laughs) What
else did you grow?
Nao: Hmm, I grew tomatoes! And
basil! And lettuce! I grew a lot of
different things.
Yasuno: That's so coooool! (In
admiration) But...why on earth did
you decide to grow vegetables?
Nao: Well, in a world where you
can get ahold of anything you want
so quickly and easily, I just felt like
going back to basics. I wanted to
feel the joys of life! That sort of
thing.
Yasuno: ...Waitasec. You just said
you only shop online. Aren't you
kinda contradicting yourself a bit?!
Nao: Ahahaha...yeah, a little.
(Laughs)
Let's go drinking!
Yasuno: Is there anything you've
been obsessed over lately?
Nao: Lately? Yes, yes there is!
Yasuno: What is it? Tell me!
(Laughs)
Nao: Nitamago! (boiled egg in soy
sauce marinade)
Yasuno: Nitamago?!
Nao: Yeah, yeah! (Laughs) I've
really gotten into making it myself! (Laughs) No really, it's so tasty! It takes some time to make it, but once you do, IT IS SO GOOD!
Writer: Really tasty things are the
best, aren't they!
Yasuno: The trick for good
nitamago is to soft-boil the yolk!
Nao: Yeah! To get it that amber
color!
Writer: How do you do that?
Nao: It's a secret! (Laughs) That's
a trade secret . But, I make it over
the span of several days. It takes a
lot of effort, but the fruits of one's
labor is definitely sweet!
Yasuno: Dang, Nao, you're a
strange fellow! Up on stage you're
rocking out playing the drums, but
you farm, and make nitamago...
Nao: A gap, there's a gap. (laughs)
Writer: For some people the gap
can be weak, isn't that right?
(Laughs)
Yasuno: For real (laughs). I'd really
like to chat about even more
interesting things with you, Nao!
Writer: Maybe go drinking
sometime?
Yasuno: Yeah, we've never done
that!
Nao: Definitely invite me! (Laughs)
Yasuno: Well, I have gone to a
drinking party you hosted once!
Nao: Oh yeah, you have!
Yasuno: I do believe I remember
Nao to be quite the weepy drunk.
Nao: Ahahaha! I may have even
cried! Let's definitely spend some
more time drinking together!
(Laughs)
Yasuno: Indeed! Let's keep talking
after these 30 minutes are up. And babble on about drumming like maniacs!
Nao: YES!! I can't wait!!
Cr: alisteners
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