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Aired: October 21st, 2010
VAMPS — composed of HYDE, from the famous Japanese band L’Arc~en~Ciel, and K.A.Z, from the groups Oblivion Dust and HIDE with Spread Beaver — will be returning to NYC after their 2009 sold-out show at New York’s Irving Plaza. Now on their third consecutive year of touring, VAMPS is playing a 40+ show tour in Japan this summer which will extend into their VAMPS Live 2010 World Tour this fall. ~NYAF guest info
The US manager/agent for the group is hilarious. He made tons of interesting comments and moderated the panel very well. The questions were asked by the audience with quips from the manager.
(If I am uncertain as to who answered the question, the response will be ‘A:’)
Q: What was your inspiration for the concert, ‘Free World’?
A: If you know the answer, you have to tell me first.
Q: Will you go on tour in the future with Gackt?
HYDE: Maybe like a personal concert tour, but nothing in the plans though.
Q: How are you guys handling the jetlag?
K.A.Z.: I woke up 5 in the morning.
HYDE: 4am. I walked around the convention center.
Manager: If you were up so early, you’ve could’ve seen HYDE walking around.
Q: There has been some questions about Gackt so far. I was wondering how you felt about Gackt being in Kamen Rider and do you have plans to do Kamen Rider in your future?
HYDE: I think I’m getting a bit too old for a role like that.
Q: What is the best meal you’ve had in NY?
HYDE: I’m really into Korean food right now and I really enjoy the soup tofu.
K.A.Z.: Bagel.
Manager: Did you just say bagel? *audience laughs*
Q: What made you want to come to LA and break into American music? Come to America?
A: I’m sorry, we don’t know why. *audience laughs* Its not just coming to America. We like to bring our music to all sorts of countries around the world.
Q: When you take this and compare it to classical music, is there any means of putting it together?
HYDE: Kaz can do it, he can do anything. *audience cheers*
Q: You guys have been making music for many years, you have the pressure that every new album has to better than the last one.
A: We are constantly under pressure that we have to create something good for the fans.
Manager: Oh really? *audience laughs*
Q: What kind of gear [instruments] do you use on stage?
A: You know there is a guitar app for the iphone? *audience laughs* You plug your guitar into the iphone… *translator quips* Why are you all laughing? For the amp, he uses the amp called Bogner and for the pedal, he uses alot of different types. You can get more information on that on his homepage. *audience laughs*
Manager: Nice plug…that was good.
Q: You guys are such an inspiration to me. What inspires you as artists?
A: We received alot of inspiration during our concert tour last year. Alot of what we’re working on right now is based off of that as a motif. We think about ‘We really need a song like this on our concert tour’. We think about ‘we want to perform a song like this live’. That’s the inspiration for alot of our work right now.
Q: If I cosplay HYDE, can I get a prize?
HYDE: What? Cosplay as me?!? *audience laughs* Mmm…sure! But you really have to look like me. *audience laughs*
Q: If you have any inspiration for when you wrote ‘Beast’, what would that inspiration be?
A: Part of our inspiration was the last concert before that. With ‘Beast’, what we really want to communicate was awesomeness. *audience cheers*
Q: *in Japanese* This is not a question, but my mother really loves you, HYDE.
Translator: *reiterates the question in English* *audience laughs*
Q: If you have a chance to work with any other artist, who would it be and why?
A: Utada? Ozzie.
Q: What are you doing on Halloween/Mischief Night. Because if you’re not doing anything, I’d like to have a party with you.
A: We’re throwing our own Halloween party, you should come. *audience cheers*
Manager: They’re having a Halloween show this October at Makuhari Messe. It’s a huge huge convention hall just outside of Tokyo. It’s only like a 14 hour flight…you guys should come! ^_^
Q: When you’re stressed, what do you like to do? And what’s the funniest thing in your career?
HYDE: I drink.
K.A.Z.: I drink too.
Manager: What is your favorite drink then?
K.A.Z.: Milk. *audience cheers*
Manager: I have never, ever seen you drink milk.
HYDE: Wine
Q: What is your favorite Pokemon and why?
Interpreter: You’re going to say Pikachu aren’t you?
A: Is Pikachu also called Pikachu here? *audience resounds ‘yes’*
Manager: We’re going to stick to VAMP related questions now.
Q: I have a gift for VAMPS, it’s a bottle of red wine.
A: That looks good. Thank you!
Q: What is the craziest thing that you’ve ever done that is semi legal?
Interpreter: Not legal right? We can’t talk about stuff like that. *audience laughs*
HYDE: Shoplifting. I stole [mumble] LP before.
Manager: That is a joke everybody.
K.A.Z.: When I was a little boy, you know those buckets of ice cream in the super market? I stuck my head in there and ate the ice cream.
Audience: What flavor?
K.A.Z.: Every flavor from one end to the other. *audience cheers*
Manager: And that is where the ‘milk’ came from.
Q: What do you do during your free time when you’re not singing?
HYDE: Drink. Sleep. Drink or sleep.
K.A.Z.: Shopping.
Q: You guys are going to be performing tomorrow and you’ll be spending the rest of the time here. Can you sing happy birthday to my daughter, Justine? *audience awwws*
HYDE: Ohhhhhh…okay.
Q: Can you give us a message in English?
Manager: Suddenly an English test.
HYDE: I want to see you get crazy. *audience cheers*
K.A.Z.: You guys are so beautiful. *audience cheers*
Q: Do you call each other random names which are funny?
HYDE: He calls me ‘HYDE’ and I call him ‘Kazu’. *audience laughs*
K.A.Z.: ‘Hy-chan’. ‘Hy-sando’.
Manager: Any nicknames for managers? Or someone else?
HYDE: JJ…. *in a seductive/cute voice* Oh, JJ. *audience laughs* Good boy…. *more cheers*
Q: How do you feel performing a world tour, because it’s so different from your regular concerts and will you do something like that again?
HYDE: I think our staff is having a tough time. The laws are different in every country. So we have set up our concert in every country so they are going through a tough time right now. But we make our music and we think of everyone who wants to listen to our music. So if people there wants us to go there, we will go there.
Q: This is a very very important question. Kaz, how do you get your hair like that because it’s awesome.
K.A.Z.: Static electricity.
Q: At what point in the song writing process do you decide if the song will be all in English, all in Japanese or a combination of the two?
A: It’s just something to the melody of the song, the mood, atmosphere of the song. It just falls out. It just ‘it has to be in English’ or ‘it has to be in Japanese.’ And you know, we both tend to feel the same way. One of us feels this should be in English, the other usually agrees.
Manager: I have a question for you guys: what can they expect from the show tomorrow?
A: We performed for you last year, and we will be performing tomororw. But we have no more plans to perform in the US. So tomorrow, I will have the concert with no regrets. It will be the concert that I want to look back on 10 years in the future.
Manager: If some of these people (I don’t know why) they don’t have tickets yet, what will you tell them? *audience laughs*
A: So you’re all coming to the concert right? *audience cheers* Is there anybody who is not coming to the concert? *audience awwws* You’re going to regret it if you’re not coming tomorrow!
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