Tak Home > Interviews > Ultra Chronicle

From Ultra Chronicle, interviewed in September 2003, last bit untranslated as the interviewer's tongue couldn't keep from licking Tak's bottom.

Tak's interview Part I

Q: So after you started the band, did B'z do alright in terms of big-break and such, according to what you had planned?
T: Un... In terms of results... At that time the record company was very strict, perhaps even more so than now. The policy of 'show result within 3 albums' feels like a very long term project when you look at it now. But in that era, we said 'wow, that's so strict', but at the same time you'd think much more of 'how to really do something within 3 albums' or 'first we must be able to sell'.
Q: For that, you sacrificed a lot.
T: Un, when you say sacrifice, well, we pretty much didn't think of anything else... the band began with a very clear goal, 'Urenakereba imi nai' (if we can't sell, there's no use) (bitter laugh).
Q: Iya, it is an important matter.
T: Un, so we started that way. We thought hard about 'how to sell more?' I don't think that it was a bad thing, because it's not as if we sold our souls to the devil like the lyrics of blues songs. Not like that at all. However it was no picnic. We had to show results. That was very clear at the beginning of B'z.
Q: Because you're not amateurs, show results.
T: Sou, well that is still the same even today. But because of that, we couldn't make the bend towards the kind of music we'd have liked to do.
Q: Aa, you actually wanted to do a different kind of music.
T: Yes, hence when I did solo albums, I always got comments like 'you're doing something that you can't do within the band, something you prefer'. I didn't want to talk about it with such people in interviews or anything. I didn't even think about answering something like that, 'this was this and that was that'. I put 100% effort to everything that I do. I've always loved what I do. So even bit by bit, I put B'z into the direction of the music that I wanted to do. From the first album to our latest work, you can see the transformation.
Q: Sou desu ne. The genre has changed so much.
T: Un. I think that's luck ne, in the case of sales figures.
Q: So that's why in the first 2, 3 years, you released many things.
T: Sou desu ne. High-pace. 2 albums in 1 year, right?
Q: Single and also a mini album.
T: Ee.
Q: There was a year when you released 8 things.
T: Aa sou desu ka. Including singles?
Q: Everything.
T: Aa hontou ni.
Q: I supposed until the year 1991, you felt that 'we must release things fast'.
T: Un. The first year however, we didn't do any concerts. We talked about releasing music first. At that time, singles didn't have much sales power. Releasing singles and albums at the same time was the most natural thing to do.
Q: Sou desu nee.
T: So for instance, we released two albums in about half a year. The first album in September and the 2nd around May the year after, I think.
Q: Yes, it was.
T: The production kept going.
Q: But in the end of 80s, there was a pattern of debut followed immediately with live shows.
T: The band boom era.
Q: Ee. Did you have different strategy by releasing music first and then live shows later?
T: Something that I said all the time then was 'we won't do any live show without first releasing at least two albums worth of music'. Another thing was 'We won't do live-houses either'. I was determined to start with at least hall concerts.
Q: Why didn't you want to do live-house shows?
T: Even if we did, there's no meaning.
Q: No meaning?
T: Mou nee... It's all different now, but at that time, I came from doing the live-house shows around Japan. Nothing came out as the result. Records still wouldn't sell. 'Do campaign rather than that'. So we did campaigns instead. The funny thing was, I was also a monitor for Yamaha then. I brought Inaba along with me, we did guitar seminars around Japan. That, in another word, was live-show ne. I did the seminar first and then he'd join me. We'd perform live, just guitar and vocal.
Q: Do you remember the audience's reaction?
T: It was always very good. Everywhere we went, it was full-house. Thanks to TM-san (laugh) (TM Network, Tetsuya Komuro's band)
Q: Hahaha.
T: All TM fans came to see us.
Q: Like they'd say 'the supporting guitarist for TM, Matsumoto-san's new band is in town and he's introducing Inaba-san'.
T: Sou sou sou. They really came to attend the seminars. The records were not selling at all, so even when we were still an unknown band, we had already gone as far as Miyasaki. We'd been to places that even Shinkansen didn't have a stop by station, hontou ni. But still the audience came to see us. Sugoi yo ne.
Q: So in those seminars, you gave lectures on how to play guitar and such?
T: Un, I did, but most of the audience were ladies, so how to play guitar to them was dou demo ii yo (couldn't care less). Most of the seminars were like that. Also because my reputation as a guitarist wasn't known then.
Q: Sou desu ka. So, it was more like 'TM's Matsumoto-san is here to give lectures on guitars'.
T: Sou. Well, the reason I went on tour with TM was because I was allowed to do these seminars.
Q: So it was always the day after the concerts.
T: Or the day before.
Q: Did you think about the fact that even when B'z had never done a live show before, you were already accumulating local fans then?
T: That obviously happened for sure. That's why I said there's no meaning doing the live-house shows. Those we did were already like live-house shows. There were Yamaha outlets all over Japan and we performed live in all of them.
Q: So there should be around 100 people.
T: In some places, we had 300 or more.
Q: Eeee?! B'z who wasn't doing live-shows had such audience even then?
T: Un, because guitar seminars were big projects. We took the opportunity to also do campaigns (laugh). We went to local music shops to ask for their support 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu'.

Tak's Interview Part II

Q So anyway, from "Taiyou No Komachi Angel", B'z popularity shot to the top so suddenly. Do you think of it as one of the 'peak' times no matter what happen in the future after that?
T Hmm, as I said earlier that we planned to get our 'big break' within 3 albums. "Bad Communication" was highly irregular (B'z 1st mini-album, released after 1st and 2nd album in 1989). It was actually just a stepping stone so that we can produce a successful 3rd album. One of the version is 7 minutes, right? Therefore we really didn't expect it to become such a hit. Also, at that time, mini-albums were quite cool.
Q Experimental ne.
T Sou sou, very experimental. It was so... The result was that "Bad~" sold better than our 3rd album. Very irregular.
Q It exceeded its role as a mere stepping stone .
T Also that after "Bad~" was released, it stayed in the chart for more than 100 weeks (163 weeks to be exact). That was also quite unexpected.
Q Within your first 5 years, you did the Nagisa-en live, I think that is also considered as another 'peak'.
T It is definitely. But when I think about it, at that time we didn't feel like we have just been together as a band for 5 years, it felt much longer than 5 years already.
Q You're saying that because you had done so much together in 5 years that the relationship felt much stronger?
T I think it felt very strong already then, hontou ni. Yes, that was one turning point for us.
Q Nee~. I think it's also a point that bound you even more strongly together. I see it, you see it, I think everyone else who belongs in a band would also understand. The band was on its way to becoming huge and this was the making of their first biggest turning point. Did you think much about the future at that moment?
T Regarding the future, first of all, in my own vision up to that point, Nagisa-en didn't even exist. A venue that holds 100,000 people in 2 days... that's like the final show of a band. I never envisioned my own band's ending. Everything seemed to be kinda happening vaguely, for instance, CD debut at no.1, or some album sold more than 3 million copies. We ourselves always thought sugoi naaa. Ah, but had we already gone over a million at that time though?
Q Un. You sold very well.
T It really is a world that goes beyond your imagination.
Q So you said 'I don't have to go back and be a session musician anymore'.
T Iya. I didn't think that far. Because then, I never thought about the band continuing to it's 10th year. I never thought about 'How many years will this last?', zen zen. Now, 10 years after that, so called that we have in front of us the already digested lessons. I thought it was all very interesting. Now, if you say, 'What will you be like in 10 years?' I do imagine a bit, but then at that time...
Q What will be will be ne.
T Sou desu ne. Also, we've come along way while all the time saying 'We can still continue, we can still continue'. After all, it wasn't really the era of competition for us, hontou (laugh).
Q But really there were lots of things going on in the music world, right? Karaoke boom, visual kei, nowadays the indies and hip-hop genre. How do you adapt to this?
T Even then, we never tried to compete, so we looked at our surroundings and already we understood the way to adapt to things, hontou ni.
Q How?
T With ways.
Q How you write your music is perhaps everything?
T Un. Well, I wouldn't say everything. There's promotion and such. But there was a tendency of this band, 'If they release their works, no matter how, they won't fail', right? Although I don't know about now (laugh).
Q Hahaha.
T Yeah, I don't know about now. But there was a time when it was like that.
Q You must felt like the almighty band.
T Un.
Q But even when you never tried to compete, B'z never ran out of gas, neglected.
T Nope. Because we put all our strength into it, hontou ni. Nowadays, more than before, whether Inaba or myself, we have become quite objective regarding everything that we produce. We are now able to ask for professional/specialist's assistance. Before, we had to think of many things ourselves, which we did seriously.
Q You thought 'I must really do everything myself'.
T Un, to say everything, maa, sou da ne... I even attended promotion meetings held by our record companies.
Q Eeee, when was this?
T Around the BMG era.
Q Aa sou desu ka. So did you say 'I want you to promote us this or that way'?
T Un, I said, 'Since they are charging us for the advertising, promote it this way' (bitter laugh), hontou ni.
Q Hahaha, meticulous!
T I was very meticulous, hontou ni.
Q But in another meaning, you were a pro.
T I was really a pro. Compare to now, zen zen (laugh). Now I completely let go.
Q Like 'I'll leave it to you' (laugh).
T Like 'Yoroshiku onegaishimasuuu' (laugh). Well because everyone including managers are specialists in what they do. We are surrounded by these people. For example, I sometimes tend to ignore what the managers have to say (laugh), but definitely, I can't have everything my way ne. They are the professionals. They'd think about things for us that we never thought of ourselves. But for sure, before was like 'we must think of everything ourselves'.

Tak's Interview Part III

Q Matsumoto-san, as a producer of B'z you have shown remarkable results, you went as far as Nagisa-en, the big turning point of B'z career. Even though we know you are a member of B'z but you also became the producer. Why didn't you go on and produce other artists?
T Boku nee... Around that time, producer 'boom' era came, right? First was Komuro-san. (Tetsuya Komuro or T.K. is a very famous producer known of helming a dozen very successful artists/groups like Namie Amuro and MOVE. He was in TM Network, a band in which Tak used to tour with as their supporter guitarist. TK and Tak are old friends)
Q Or Kobayashi Takeshi-san.
T Yes, Kobayashi-san too. So why do you think Komuro-san could become so successful? Because he retired from his own band ne. Being a producer of an artist is a job that requires serious involvement in every aspect of the artist's case, right? It's impossible while still going with my own band, so I can't do it. I think it's very difficult if I don't concentrate on doing one thing. If Komuro-san were still doing TM Network, I think he wouldn't be able to go as far.
Q Komuro-san himself said he had to be in the studio 4 out of 6 hours.
T Yes, he had to.
Q So in your case, because you think 'there's B'z' so you didn't go for it.
T Un, sou da ne. Well for example, if I really did produce someone, it'd be too bad if the artist only released one single and one album, right?
Q Yeah that's not good.
T Nee. So I thought, no it's not possible.
Q Kobayashi-san continued though, producing Mr. Children.
T Un. That's why I said that for ME, this kind of arrangement won't work while there's still B'z. So I don't.
Q Nagisa-en was one 'peak'. The next one should be 10th year anniversary's [B'z The Best "Pleasure"] [B'z The Best "Treasure"] albums. That was the point that solidified you as the number one band in term of sales.
T That maybe true in term of sales. At that time, both Inaba and I weren't very keen on the idea of best albums... We thought that best albums are something that is released by people who are retiring, right?
Q Like something to conclude everything.
T Ee. But the people around us estimated the sales and said 'it would be ok to do this'. What happened after was, it really gave us a result that was beyond our wildest imagination. So when I think about it now, that was definitely one huge turning point in our band's history, in term of numbers and in term of becoming profesionals in what we do. We really never thought that they would sell so well.
Q Really?
T Un. Because they are all songs from the past, aren't they? It was good timing too, because the best albums 'boom' came to scene. First it was GLAY who started selling their best. And then it was us. Afterwards everyone did.
Q Ee. Everyone thought 'Look, best albums can sell so well'.
T Sou desu ne.
Q So "Pleasure" and "Treasure" sold very well. Did you feel some additional pressure on your shoulders?
T Not at all. To us, those are things from the past. We said to ourselves, 'Wow did everyone really want best albums that badly?'
Q Many professionals have analysed and saw it through for you, 'It will sell if we promote it this way' or 'That way won't sell'. You really didn't have the thought of releasing the best albums even then?
T Really, to tell you the truth, Inaba and I weren't eager at all with the whole thing. 'Yeah it's okay'... We were mostly like that. But everyone around us was becoming more and more serious about the idea. Inaba even said, 'Iya iya, we'd rather put the same amount of energy and effort to our next album rather than this'. He also often said, 'We should've channelled the power used on the promotion of our best albums to the promotion of our next album' (laugh).
Q What did you think after they were released, now that they are things of the past already?
T On the sales side, the numbers were incredible. They sold more than our new stuff. So it was really... 'Nnnnn?!!'. Inaba kept saying, 'If only the new album could sell like this'.
Q Can you explain why you think they sold so well?
T I didn't give it much thought before, but now if I think about it..... We had many singles that went million-seller. One thing for sure, this kind of stuff remains in people's memory. So when they found out 'this million-seller song is included, that million-seller song is included', they bought the albums. Just like our show which you came to see too, it's like the greatest hits show. When you examine the audience, you can see so many generations there. They have good memories of the nostalgia songs. For sure, it is great having many hit singles (laugh). If we had only a few, we wouldn't have said it that way. But then again, there are people who keep coming back just for a few hit singles right?
Q Yes, there are.
T In our case, we have more than ten of those. We're lucky.
Q I think so too. You would want to go on making those hit singles, right?
T Un.
Q I would think there must be pressure to do this.
T There's no pressure, never. Since we began to produce some hits, everytime people would ask us, 'So don't you have pressure regarding the next single?' Zen zen nai yo, none of it. Not saying that we're being snobbish (bitter laugh), but in the old days, we really didn't try to compete. Although we sometimes said, 'the next one would be okay too' (laugh). But nowadays, I don't know if the next one would be okay or not okay, hontou ni mou~.
Q Hahaha.
T But as long as I keep very good communication with Inaba and we keep doing our best... Now it's not really just the two of us alone, there are many sections of staff involved. We wanna do singles and albums that bring out the best of us all.
Q I think that's your biggest weapon. Like a profesional, do your best.
T Un.
Q But I guess that makes it hard to decide between doing standard and risky stuff.
T We've always been doing some risky stuff. Mou, now it's not that difficult for us to do risky things. The way Inaba sings now though, he doesn't take as many risks as before (laugh). So that's why, when the sound is OK, once he puts in his singing, for sure it'd already be recognized as a B'z song.
Q It's definitely recognisable.
T Un, that's why we appear to be not as adventurous anymore. But we actually still doing risky business, very much so. 'This song is something that we've never done before'. But what we think as risky, other people probably don't think so (bitter laugh).
Q Hahaha.
T If anything is risky, I think it would be Inaba's solo. Everything is risky in his solo. Many people told me that my solo is still very B'z, right?
Q Right.
T And Inaba's solo is not B'z at all, right?
Q Right.
T Even when I do instrumental, I think 'I'm so B'z naaa'.
Q Aa.
T When you listen to his solo, there are some very original, very characteristic ballads.
Q Well, you are the melody maker, there's no way around it.
T Maybe. So when you read his solo lyrics, you'd probably go, 'Aa yappari Inaba-san!'
Q Sou. That's why on your solo, when you came out with the singing album, 'Aa, so this is how Matsumoto-san's world looks like' and 'So he has these words in him'. It was very refreshing. And very un-B'z.
T Aa. That's true.
Q Is there any band you put as a pattern to follow?
T Iya, there's none. But we would go and see Aerosmith or Rolling Stone shows. They certainly do things that we both would have never imagined in the first place. I think the same goes for Southern All Stars. Datte, now when I listen to "Katte Ni Sinbad", even when it's a re-release, there's still no competition to it (laugh).
Q Haha.
T Yappari kakkoii jyan. (For sure they are cool)
Q Ee, sou desu ne.
T Listen to it now, and it's still great. They just re-mastered it, right?
Q They didn't even re-master it.
T Kakkoii yo ne. That song was 25 years ago, right?
Q Exactly 25 years.
T Sugoi yo ne, yappari. Even though their genre is a bit different from us, but in Japan, I think for sure they are one of our most respectable senpai. Chage & Aska too, they still continue with their tour every year. I think that's all in the older generations. Southern All Stars, Chage & Aska, Alfee... These are the only active bands, right?
Q Sou desu ne.
T Although many solo artists from the older generation are still active now. Dreams Come True was around our time, aren't they?
Q Ee. Do you have in your mind an image of 'the band will be over when we become like this or that'?
T Iya iya, I don't imagine such thing (laugh)... but hmm, what kind of image ne...
Q There are many bands that disband soon after they got together.
T Un. I understand very well such problem. A band is formed by, no matter how you see it, pieces of ego.
Q Un un. But is it better then to not show so much ego in order to continue the band or is it worse?
T Well, that way the stress will keep piling up and that will become yet another excuse to disband. That's why with B'z, I don't know if the same thing happens or not to other band, but we try everything, the so called one's ego or more likely their ideas. At least, there are only the two of us when it comes to music. Of course when the promotion and tour begins, there are many other people involved, management and people around us will also give ideas and we'll decide together. When we do recording, we'd try every single thing that Inaba came up with. And also everything that I came up with. And then we say, 'Ok, that way is surely much better'. We don't quarrel. If there's any quarrel it would be before recording, one of us would start by saying 'Omae, that's not good', but there's never ill feeling. Basically there's none with B'z. Datte, even if the mixer-technician comes up to us and say 'The sound was something' or 'The level was something' then we would do everything again from start.
Q (laugh)
T I'd say 'Aa, iin jyanai no?'. But if the mixer-technician doesn't like it... well, because everyone wants to do their best.
Q Ee.
T And then Nomura-san, our engineer, would say 'Would you do that again please?' We'd say 'Douzo, please do'.
Q So you are very democratic in terms of music. How about other things?
T Sou desu ne. Just like when we decide T-shirt designs. For example if Inaba says, 'I think this is nice' and I say, 'No, I think that one is nice'. But we don't really get to say the final decision. The staff would start researching for us (laugh), which design will be a hit merchandise. And then we decide from there.
Q And everyone is satisfied. That's what I think the splendid side of B'z.
T Sou desu ne. I think there's no meaning if we are satisfied but the merchandises are not good at all. Therefore we never quarrel about such things, betsuni.

Tak's Interview Part IV

Q So until today, was there any point that made you say 'Inaba has changed naaa'.
T Basically human beings don't change that much. I feel that he's always the same, maybe in the later years... how to say it, I think it's the same with me too, regarding our position in B'z. He has his and I have mine. So the things that he says and does will be based on his position.
Q I suppose during earlier years, Inaba-san didn't have the urge to determine where his stand in the band was.
T Maybe not in the start. Not like now. I think with him, having position in the band is more like 'Ok, I'll let Matsumoto-san take care of this'.
Q Don't you ever feel proud that you 'have brought along' Inaba-san?
T Ano... To be in this for a long time, there are many periods of time. So there were times when I was the one who got him here, and vice versa. We are very aware of the fact that we string each other along all the time.
Q When did you feel that Inaba-san was stringing you along?
T Iya, ima demo itsudemo sou desu yo (even now, it's always been that way). It happens alot.
Q Can you explain in details?
T Un, in details... for example during two hours of concert, he would do the MC-ing, right? So in a way, he is the leader. Everyone must follows his instructions.
Q Because he's the one who gives signals, right?
T Sou sou. He's the host, the MC. The content of the concert also depends on him ne. To think about it, B'z is really quite democrat, even to the way we decide concert's setlist.
Q So whoever said 'The sequence should go like that' it became yet another thing to consider.
T For example, Masuda-san (Takanobu Masuda, keyboard) who has been with us for more than 10 years. He knows so much about our shows. He'd give many ideas and thoughts 'It's better to change this song with that song' or 'It's better to continue this way'. Even Shane (Shane Gaalaas, drummer since Livegym GREEN, 2002), he has been touring with us two times now. He often comes up with ideas too.
Q That's so interesting, that everyone has a say.
T Masuda-kun in a way is our band's leader, mouu.
Q Performance wise, he's a profesional ne.
T He really is band's master ne. He'd say 'Matsumoto, sora akan de' ('Matsumoto, you can't do that', Kansai dialect) (laugh).
Q Sou desu ne. You and him have come along way, haven't you?
T Around 20 years already. We're of the same age.
Q When he says, 'Matsumoto, you can't do that', you don't get offended?
T Not at all. We're all grown ups now, before we would have quarrelled already. We quarrelled often in the old days.
Q The way of speech is rather harsh ne. Even then the things said are not taken to heart?
T I think it's almost the same with the normal quarrel between band members anywhere. But having others find faults on your cool ideas is never nice, right?
Q Maa ne (laugh).
T My level of tolerance is very low in that case (laugh).
Q Hahaha. 'That's not so good'.
T Maa hora, before B'z, Masuda-kun has always been a support member with various bands, so he understands very well how things go.
Q Dewa, what are the good points of doing B'z all these years?
T Tanoshii yo ne. It's a very pleasurable thing for me. And that many people love listening and coming to see something that I really love doing. There's no other word to describe it but lucky. Un, tanoshii desu.
Q Are there things that you lost by doing B'z?
T Things that I lost... Demo naaa, even at the busiest time, I'm still loving what I do. Within B'z, I find that I get much much more benefit than loss. Maybe there's nothing that I lost... *thinks hard for a while* I can't think of anything. But if there is something, it'd be hora, when you sell well, people would sneer at you and say, 'Omae, you have changed'. Yep, especially us, we've gone through such times (laugh).
Q Hahaha. Did you hate it when they began to say that about you?
T We hated it. But I think anyone who sells well would get such comments anyway.
Q People would say, 'after all, it's you...' right?
T Un, there were times like that. And for sure, at that time we probably kept thinking to ourselves 'We really haven't changed at all' (laugh).
Q Aaa, 天狗?
T Un. Everyone has to go through this. I think it's good that we went through such thing too.
Q Un. So in the most definite way, for you, doing B'z has given you much more benefit.
T Sou da ne. Un.... I think in the last 15 years, my life could be considered very fulfilled, for sure. I often say this but I think, being a musician, there's no greater pleasure than this, really. Putting the sales number aside, for sure, to get here from zero, from nothing, it really felt impossible sometimes.
Q Because you're in it.
T Un. Let's say when I turned 50 and we disbanded. Then if I produced a new group, even if they sold 5 million records, the feeling wouldn't be the same as the days in B'z.