【Interview】NIPPONGAKUTV#3 Sho Kiryuin (Golden Bomber) – Transcription
Hello everyone! We are here with Sho from Golden Bomber.
Hi! I’m Kiryuin from Golden Bomber, the one from “Memeshikute.” Nice to meet you.
First of all, could you introduce yourself?
I’m Sho Kiryuin, vocalist of the Japanese band Golden Bomber, a band that pretends to play its instruments. Nice to meet you.
For those who are not familiar with Golden Bomber, could you explain what kind of band it is?
Golden Bomber is essentially a visual kei band. We incorporate a lot of comedy into our live performances. We are always fooling around and putting our lives on the line to make people laugh. That is the kind of band we are.
Please give us a try!
It has been fifteen years since your last performance in France. That is a long time. How does it feel to finally be back?
I really wanted to come back to France.
The concert we gave here fifteen years ago stayed in my mind all this time. I wasn’t able to give a performance that I was satisfied with back then, so I was left feeling a little frustrated.
Since then, I’ve become much better at performing live, and I thought it might finally be time to come back and make up for that experience. That is why I returned to perform in France for the first time in fifteen years.
You are performing today and tomorrow. Would you like to say something to your French fans?
There are still very few people in France who know about us.
I hope that the people who happen to see us at Japan Expo will discover how much fun our live performances are.
We are also performing on Sunday, so please come and see us. More than anything, I just want people to watch our performance.
What has changed between the Sho Kiryuin of fifteen years ago and the Sho Kiryuin of today?
Fifteen years ago, I had no experience performing overseas at all.
Since then, I’ve gained experience performing live abroad, so I think the person I am now can definitely entertain the audience in France.
I’ve levelled up.
Recently, I watched a Japanese television programme in which you ate a huge amount of garlic.
Yes. I ate too much and ended up with a terrible stomach ache!
Have you been eating less garlic since then?
Yes, I’ve reduced the amount I eat.
On that television programme, I pushed myself to eat a lot because I wanted to be funny and get a reaction from people.
Afterwards, my stomach hurt so badly that I had to go to the hospital.
Since then, I’ve been more careful. I’ve reduced the amount, but garlic is still delicious, so I haven’t completely cut it out. I still eat it.
You seem to be all right now.
I’m fine. I’m okay.
Everyone, don’t eat too much. Please be careful.
Apart from garlic, are there any other foods you particularly like?
I love bread.
People told me that French bread was delicious, so ever since I arrived, I’ve been going to bakeries as often as possible.
Everything is really delicious.
I didn’t used to like hard bread very much, but now I’ve finally understood how delicious it can be. When it comes to French bread, even the harder varieties are delicious.
I’m planning to eat a lot more today too.
France is also famous for its cakes and pastries. Have you tried any yet?
Cake? I haven’t had any yet.
I recommend trying some.
Then I will. I’ll have some cake!
You have been to France before, of course. This is your second time here. Have you visited any other European countries?
I went to Ireland four years ago. It’s a slightly unusual destination, but I went to Ireland.
My first trip overseas was actually a personal trip. The first countries I visited were Austria and Germany.
Europe has always been somewhere I admired and really liked.
On other occasions, I’ve also visited Belgium and the Netherlands. I think that’s about it.
I really like Europe.
You have visited quite a few places in Europe. When you create music, what is the first thing you work on?
The first thing is always the melody of the chorus. The melody is the most important part to me, so it always comes first.
If the melody of the chorus isn’t good, then no matter how good the other elements are, I don’t think the song will truly reach people’s hearts.
For me, I create the melody first and then add the other parts.
What instruments can you play? Can you play the drums?
Yes. I like drums, and I play them.
It’s only a hobby, so I’m not particularly good, but I can play the drums and the guitar.
Those are about the only instruments I can really play.
With other instruments, I might understand how they work after trying them for a while, but I can’t really play them.
Since you like drums, could you play “Memeshikute” perfectly on taiko drums?
“Memeshikute” is pretty simple.
At the beginning, there is a five-note rhythm on the snare.
Ta-ka-ta-ka-ta-ka-ta-ka-ta, toon, cheen.
I think it would be fun to play it on the drums.
“Memeshikute” is a dance number, and it uses digital drums.
There are actually quite a lot of people in Japan who cover the song and perform it live with their own bands, so I’d love for you to try it too.
Foreign visitors to Japanese arcades often play “Memeshikute” in Taiko no Tatsujin, don’t they?
Yes. The song appears quite a lot in Taiko no Tatsujin.
I wonder whether people in Europe play it too. Is Taiko no Tatsujin available in Europe?
I don’t think it is very widespread, but it would be fun if it were.
Please help spread Taiko no Tatsujin throughout Europe too. It’s a fun game.
If you had the opportunity to appear in a film or theatre production, what kind of film or production would you like to be part of?
I try not to do anything apart from music and live performances.
Films, acting and things like that aren’t for me, because I can’t compete with the people who genuinely do those things professionally.
I don’t want to appear in films either. I’ve decided to focus exclusively on being a musician.
I have a lot of respect for true professionals, and I know I can’t compete with them in their field.
I plan to continue working only as a musician.
How did the members of Golden Bomber first meet?
We were classmates, or perhaps you could say we were old friends. How should I put it?
The guitarist and I were classmates in high school.
The bassist was originally someone who came to watch our live performances. He was a member of the audience.
Later, the other members joined one by one at different times.
The guitarist is the only member who was my high school classmate.
So the guitarist is a longtime friend. You have known each other for many years.
Yes.
It would have been nice if we could have brought the guitarist here today too, but he has acting work in Japan.
He acts, although I don’t.
What kind of films does he appear in?
The guitarist appears in Japanese yakuza films. Japanese mafia films.
If you could collaborate with another artist, who would you like to work with?
Yesterday, I was watching the live performances here at Japan Expo.
We have worked together before, but I was thinking about Shoko Nakagawa, who is also performing here today.
She is a very good singer. While I was watching her performance, I thought it would be nice if we could perform or create something together someday.
It was just something I found myself imagining.
However, I’m not really the kind of person who asks other artists to collaborate with me, so I don’t know whether it will ever happen.
Still, Nakagawa-san was wonderful.
The T-shirt you are wearing is from Tamiya, isn’t it?
Yes. Tamiya is a plastic model brand.
Do you know Mini 4WD? They are small racing cars powered by motors.
I’m from the generation that grew up with Mini 4WD, so I really like them.
I’m a big fan of plastic models.
What kind of model kits do you like? Do you also like Gundam?
I like Gundam too, but for me it’s mainly Mini 4WD, those miniature racing cars.
They are small cars powered by motors, and you race them against each other. I really like them.
I think there was also an anime about them a long time ago.
Yes. There is a Japanese Mini 4WD anime called “Bakusou Kyoudai Let’s & Go!!”
The Tamiya logo appears frequently in it.
Everyone, please try building plastic models. They’re fun.
We are a Spanish media outlet. Have you ever visited Spain?
I’d love to go to Spain.
A lot of people recommend Spain to me and tell me that it’s a great place, so I definitely intend to go.
I’ve always wanted to visit Spain someday. It really is a great place, isn’t it?
Yes. The weather is good, and we have paella.
Everyone knows paella.
There is also a lot of delicious food. I’d love to try it.
I’ve also heard that the cost of living isn’t too high.
The exchange rate is favourable at the moment too. In any case, please come and visit us.
Thank you.
We have been interviewing many Japanese artists recently. Is there a question you would recommend asking the next artist we interview?
They’ll be in France, right? And they’ll be Japanese?
I would ask them whether they have eaten any French food that they think would particularly appeal to Japanese people.
Ask them to recommend something delicious they have eaten in France.
I really want to know what they would say.
That’s a very good question. Do you like alcoholic drinks such as beer?
I love beer.
What differences have you noticed between Japanese and European beer?
They are different.
European beer has a stronger, deeper flavour.
Japanese beer is lighter and goes down very easily.
It isn’t a question of one being better or worse than the other.
However, if you really want to savour the flavour of the beer itself, I think European beer is the better choice because it has a stronger taste.
Japanese beer is lighter, so in Japan people tend to drink quite a lot of it quickly.
In Europe, people seem to drink more slowly and take their time to savour it.
When you drink beer, is there any particular food you like to have with it?
In Japan, I like yakitori.
Yakitori and beer. I love that combination.
Is yakitori available here?
There are Asian and Japanese restaurants, so it probably is.
I really like yakitori. Japanese people love yakitori.
It goes really well with beer.
We only have two or three questions left. Which do you prefer, ramen or tsukemen?
Ramen.
What kind of ramen do you like? What flavour?
I like tonkotsu ramen.
Tonkotsu is made using pork bones. The bones are boiled and simmered for a long time, creating a strong umami flavour.
I love rich, strongly flavoured tonkotsu ramen.
How do you like your noodles?
I like them very firm and thick.
That’s how I like them. I especially like them firm.
Everyone has different preferences, of course, but I like mine really firm.
Ramen is delicious. There probably isn’t anyone who dislikes it.
Another question we ask everyone is about two famous Japanese sweets: Takenoko no Sato and Kinoko no Yama. Which side are you on?
Takenoko. I’m on the Takenoko side.
Both are delicious, and Kinoko is good too, but I prefer Takenoko.
Most people seem to choose Takenoko. So far, only one person has chosen Kinoko. Why do you prefer Takenoko? Is it because it has more chocolate?
It isn’t because of the chocolate.
Takenoko has more of a cookie-like texture, so I prefer it.
Finally, would you like to leave a message for everyone coming to see you at Japan Expo today and tomorrow?
I’m Sho Kiryuin.
I’ll be performing at Japan Expo Paris on Saturday and Sunday at noon on the Tsubame Stage.
Please come to the Tsubame Stage. Thank you very much.
Everyone, please come and enjoy the performances today and tomorrow. Thank you.
Thank you.
