NIGHTMARE guitarist Hitsugi started the solo unit GREMLINS and he handles guitar and vocals as Hits. It seems like the opportunity was a string of random coincidences; and with partner KNZ at the top the list and Mizuki and Chiyu as support, Hitsugi enjoys the music and his buddies (drinking buddies?) with whom he can share his mind; a project style that should be overflowing with excitement like when they first came together to start the band. From details about GREMLINS origin, up thru the execution of the project, I made a direct hit on ringleader Hits/Hitsugi.

—Nice to meet you. This time you are appearing in the magazine as Hits, the mastermind of the new unit GREMLINS, not as Hitsugi of Nightmare.  First of all, please tell us, when did the concept of this project start?

No no no! It wasn’t like that.  Let’s just say “from about when” because I hadn’t thought of such a thing at all, especially in the beginning. So, it was just a little bit before I had made the song for [Nameko].

—Nameko, do you mean [Nameko CD] made from the smart phone game app [Nameko growing kit]?

Yeah. I often used to say “I love Nameko” on Twitter; one day an offer came from the other end “Why don’t you make a song,” and I participated in the making of a piece called [No. 20].  After that, this year I also received the news of hide-san’s tribute and was given the opportunity to participate in [D.O.D.[ DRINK OR DIE].

—The vocals were recorded as Hitsugi from Nightmare, right!

But that didn’t necessarily mean I wanted to do the vocals! I say these kinds of things to myself; but in regards to that, the main office told me, “Since you have such a good voice, sing it yourself.”  At least I had a chance to sing in a 3-piece group called “My rhythm + me”, when we did the part change at Nightmare’s fan club live. In general, I don’t really like my voice. So at first I really thought “What about this, I wonder if it’s okay.” Since I finished hide-san’s tribute, next when it became talk of doing a solo, I thought “None of the fans will want to listen to my song.”  Also in terms of timing, there was “I wonder if now is a good time?”

—What do you mean by that?

After all, this year is the 10 year anniversary of Nightmare’s major (label) debut, isn’t it? So if I said something about solo activity, surely the fans would become worried.

—As usual, you are so kind thinking of the fans.  I just want to ask, various things (details) aside, do you genuinely like to sing, or do you hate it? Tell us the truth, which is it?

Eh.  Singing, do I like it or hate it…?   I think maybe in a general sense I like it. When I go to karaoke with everyone, I usually sing when my turn comes up…well I try. But I don’t go and (practice for hours) all by myself.

—I see. Indeed, for those of us who were expecting to meet the vocalist existing within Hits of GREMLINS, that was an unexpected twist.

It is, isn’t it! (laugh)

—In Nightmare, quite often the distortion effect is applied, even when recording the chorus.

Plus, I’m usually just shouting, aren’t I.  Nowadays, recording as GREMLINS, I still can’t capture the feelings like a reputable vocalist… to be honest. Be that as it may, when I was finished doing hide-san’s tribute, there was a completed form somehow my own “landing point” had appeared.

—In the sense that there is a role model, it might be so.

But when it comes to the original, this was very difficult.  Even though the guitar recording went well, when it came to vocal recording, it was panic from Melody A, you know. “What? I wonder where I should be going with this (musically)…” (bitter smile).

—It turns out then, choosing a partner for GREMLINS was a pretty important decision for you, since you’re still an inexperienced, newcomer vocalist.

In GREMLINS, I am making songs with KNZ.

—KNZ, KENZO (previously from AYABIE) and you have already been friends for quite a long time?

It’s already been about 10 years I think!  I’d known him since before doing AYABIE; there had been the news that “he’d decided to join AYABIE at that time.”  But over and over, he was always saying “Someday I want to do something together.”  There was this one time, when we were both really drunk, that we went in for a rehearsal in the middle of the night!

—The 2 of you?

Yeah, 3 people including Aki from SiD. We drank, from there we went to Aki’s house, and we borrowed a bass and a guitar that Aki had.  Just like that we went into the studio in the middle of the night, and we copied LunaSea and hide-san.  But everyone was drunk (laugh).

—I would have wanted to see that (laugh).

Well… at that time, I thought “KENZO is a really loud drummer.”  Until then, the only band I played with was Nightmare; Ruka is probably a more subtle (technical?) type. Conversely, KENZO is a power drummer, in any case the raw sound is huge. So, whenever I put out my usual level of sound like I do when I’m with the band, for some reason the sound of my guitar ends up feeling small. I had thought, “Well that’s a little strange.”

—And so, when starting up GREMLINS at this time with him, around that time you apparently found an ally it seems. Kenzo had left AYABIE in July of this summer.

Ah, you’re right. Like I’d said earlier, as to whether or not the timing was good, there was some uncertainty; but in that sense, it might BE “now.”  It made me so happy that first time I greeted KENZO and he answered with “Tell you what, if you do the solo project, I’ll be drums!” (laugh).

—In addition, with respect to GREMLINS, Hits and KNZ are full members, but for recording and lives Chiyu(SuG) and Mizuki(Sadie) are participating as support.

About that… to me it feels like Chiyu and Mizuki are members rather than the support. It is a “solo unit” in name only, I think of GREMLINS as a band.  Of course it’s completely different from Nightmare, but this is its own band after all!

—By the way, I would also like to know why you, the original guitarist, issued an offer to Mizuki.

Mizuki is likeable as a guitarist. But also imagining my time standing on stage made me think “I want to have a proper lead guitarist or else they will look at me standing center stage;” if I had to ask someone, it would be him.

—About how long have you been friends with Mizuki?

Maybe it’s been 5 or 6 years. Long ago when I went to Osaka on tour, Mizuki was out drinking at (the same) place where I had been invited by Tatsu (Tatsurou from MUCC); we first met there.  Prior to that, I wonder was it around 2004?….  Mao-kun had met him previously, at that time I heard the news that Mao-kun was joining a band called Sadie.  So, it turns out we met 2 or 3 years after that, I think. When we first met, I didn’t think we would become such good friends; but even seeing him live he’s an attractive guitarist, not JUST a cool guy; I really like that.  Doesn’t it feel like he’s ranting on and on to the fans from upon stage? It’s great!

—That there is sex appeal as a guitarist.

As for musicians… there are people who can be sensual on stage; and then there are people who can’t. Mizuki is a person who can do it. Tsurugi-kun is also a really great player and cool, but he is a manly type of guitarist. And Mizuki is a little androgynous at times, but Tsurugi-kun… again is completely different, you know! I like a person’s character to have sex appeal. However, in Sadie Mizuki is the “lesser” guitarist. Isn’t he the “lesser” guitarist even in Karasu? So this time, for my band I said “Good luck, do your best as lead guitar” (laugh).

—Words like that put on considerable amount of pressure.

Well, but this kind of experience will surely lead to good results when he returned to Sadie, won’t it?  For example, if he starts to understand Tsurugi-kun’s feelings. For me, being lead guitar from the center is a new experience, and being a new kind of stimulus for each other is a good thing I think!

—Did Mizuki accept immediately?

Yeah, he was saying “Me…am I good enough?   So I replied “You are GOOD!!!”  Mizuki is cute, isn’t he!

…to be continued

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Hits (Hitsugi/NIGHTMARE) and KNZ (BVCCI HAYNES) from the unit GREMLINS. So far they’ve released two singles, [the Carnival] and [故]. It has been one and a half years from start-up to the launch of their 1st album [MAD THEATER] on February 18. Let’s tell the whole picture here.

 

 

 

 

 

****Hits-san as Hitsugi of NIGHTMARE, KNZ-san as BVCCI HAYNES. May we think of GREMLINS as extracurricular activities since there is a “home group” for each of you?

Hits(Vo & Gt): Participating as support members are guitarist Mizuki of Sadie, and bassist Chiyu a member of SuG; so all the members participating in GREMLINS have (another) band that is the main group.  If you liken it to school, (if the main bands are like the classes) it feels like after-school extracurricular activities. However, since everybody gets together to try to play seriously, making the most of their (limited) time, GREMLINS is just like the main bands. Without a doubt GREMLINS is, for the 4 of us, a place for significant expression.

**** GREMLINS, which began in June 2013, released its 1st single [The Carnival] in October of the same year and its 2nd single [Yue] in March 2014, has finally released its 1st album [MAD THEATER] one and a half years after the band’s formation. In this work, many different characters are revealed. Is the content (of the album) constructed as unfolding stories of various people?

Hits: They are expressed by the theme given to each song. If you think of it as a movie, the images would be like short scenes (Theater) which have “emotionally disturbed” (Mad) adults in them.

**** The heroes who appeared in the music, they all have their feelings stretched to the edge of madness.

Hits: I think everyone has “sickness” and “darkness” in their heart; but people can not successfully control it so eventually they are going to breakdown. That being said, it’s not all negative stories; there’s some music that conveys the feelings of “love” and a song done with the theme of alcohol; so there are bright songs too, they’re not all devoted to one particular type.

KNZ (Dr): Regarding the album [MAD THEATER], I went back to features more like the time of the 1st single [The Carnival]  which first defined the GREMLINS likeness. In addition to that, even while depicting the world-view after that, I finished the work of compiling the history of GREMLINS up to now.

**** Certainly, lively personalities and their stories have been protrayed. [Bacchus] which was also recorded as PV on the [A Type], the surrounding liquor… it’s a song that depicts a sensation of being drunk isn’t it?

Hits: Exactly, it is a song in which “liquor” was the theme. The PV was shot in a club-like atmosphere, the four band members performing surrounded by a bunch of people, fans and models who were mixed together and acting rowdy. When you watch this rambunctious video, it makes you want to join the crowd over there, I wonder if it seems like that.

**** In [Bacchus], you depict an excessively indulgent state of mind; then in [Mourou suspense], it’s a man on the verge of madness who could X(kill) at any moment.

Hits: Because the hero went to X(kill) a person. As for the suspense part, exploring someone who is a criminal is a real thrill I think; but even writing “X” and “?” on the lyrics card for this song is a play on that riddle.

**** [Cinderella] is full of cleverly written imagery that’s quite erotic.

Hits: It is, both live and in-store. The fans who come to meet the members are always making themselves look attractive. I’m a Hide fan too, so I KNOW that psychology. I wondered, can we write that “fan psychology” from a woman’s perspective. As for the erotic imagery, it is because I feel like “I have fans like that too!” In terms of fan psychology [Hidden + a] is a song which I wrote honestly about my feelings for Hide, who I hold in my heart as a yearning; but in the sense that the “hide” in [Hidden], in here I’m even hiding Hide’s name.

**** Oh, what do you mean?

Hits: If you take out the “dn” of Hidden it becomes Hide! Also the “+ A” added to the title, if you connect it to the leftovers it becomes “dna”. In other words, it was attached because I felt like “I want to connect to Hide’s legacy”; likewise the lyrics reminisce back to the time when Hide died, from the place where the story had begun.

**** I thought it was about thoughts/feelings for another person who I could’t meet.

Hits: That is because it was written to be taken as thoughts/feelings for someone special who died.

KNZ: He likes to make an underlying theme (hidden meaning) to the lyrics. It seems like a typical story at face value, but the black point of view comes out when a different interpretation is taken and you say “it’s saying such a cool thing.”

Hits: [Bereavement], which is about thinking of important people who died, has a hidden theme of “masturbation?”  [INSANE] is the song of XXX, because the lyrics line up to make a hidden mnemonic. In the songs we recorded, an underlying theme may or may not always be present. Since music will change meanings and feelings depending on how it’s perceived, I’ll be happy if each one of you get it in your own way and have fun.

**** On the “B Type” you have also recorded Hide’s [50% and 50%].

Hits:  It was assumed we would, since we had recorded covers of Hide’s music for 2 singles；all 13 songs recorded for the album are a whole GREMLINS’s work, not a single one can be excluded. This time when making [A/B Type], I didn’t want do a Bonus Track by cutting 1 song from there. Therefore, [50% and 50%] which had been set aside to use on the next single, was used as the Bonus Track for B Type.

**** This album explores that which can be explored, it is likely that various feelings that were buried will come bleeding out.

KNZ: Sometimes there will be bright lyrics in dark song, sometimes vice versa.  So it is work that you can enjoy to how exploring hidden feelings, including the hidden themes that were put in the lyrics. If the [MAD THEATER] album itself, becomes a culminating work based on what we’ve expressed this past year and a half, and that it created for you this album, it will be more interesting how we can show the GREMLINS worldview in our first one-man tour, starting from here on out, by all means, we should make it together with everyone.

Hits: We are going to present a view of the [MAD THEATER] world, not tied to the album, to do a live where you are able to enjoy the current GREMLINS; so now it’s just trial and error, of course I want you to look forward to what will happen, but since our juggling of schedules is terrible, plan on seeing GREMLINS live now, because I don’t know when will be the next time you can see. Don’t miss this chance, I want you to come and experience a live that is alive!

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Although there are many different “sounds,” they were all put together in a single genre called GREMLINS on their 1st Album [MAD THEATER]. This is carried over to GREMLINS’s first one-man tour [MAD SHOW] which has reached the tour final at the Shinjuku ReNY performance on March 5. Since this day is also the birthday of vocalist Hits, excitement swelled and the venue was wrapped in more enthusiasm than usual.

March 5, the tour final of GREMLINS’s first one-man tour [MAD SHOW] as well as being a commemorative for Hits’s birthday. I thought it would be a fun playground with such intensity, it became a LIVE that left a deep vivid impression.

Each and every song was dramatic indeed, in a manner of speaking the current tour carries the [MAD THEATER] album like a (book)collection of short stories. Suddenly the hall went dark and the volume came up, background music made as the intro for the album’s first song [Film], also enhanced the feeling of anticipation. A large cheer greeted the members as they appeared one after another, as soon as they entered they played [Film] with KNZ’s powerful drumming… was it not a tremendous overwhelming feeling!? It was truly amazing. Not getting buried in the thunderous roar, Hits’s voice also projected well.

During [The Carnival] Mizuki and Chiyu stood at the edge of the stage, which rapidly increased enthusiasm. Hits and KNZ together had said, “We definitely wanted to tour (around) with 4 people, which included Mizuki and Chiyu.” There’s a magnificent power balance that has grown during the tour. That can also be said for the MC, the merciless bantering from the Kansai people (Mizuki and Chiyu) on the left and the right whenever Hits said something, and watching affectionately!? was KNZ. The exchange was very funny.

Approaching the drums, Mizuki and Chiyu synchronized breathing with KNZ [Yue]. Hits exchanged glances with KNZ [Trigger]. In the intro Hits, Mizuki, and Chiyu had gathered at KNZ’s drum set [Mourou Suspense]. Each song’s ingenious view of the world really made the live shine; of course the members’ performances excited us and things like raising a fist, yelling in a loud voice, “full-body” headbanging, even the rather serious way the floor shook, made it even better.

While playing, Mizuki and Chiyu consulted and also (stirred things up) by sandwiching Hits on the left and right [INSANE]. The expressiveness of a woman’s perspective that Hits performed made us feel “doki” [Cinderella]. Then, while mezmerised by the variety of colorful music, something unexpected happened. Hits announced “A song that has not been done yet in the current tour …” and as he tried to lead into [50%&50%], the three other guys began playing Nightmare’s [The World]. This, to celebrate Hits’s birthday!? they had cleverly planned a surprise. Hits gave a blank look, not understanding what was going on. The rehearsal of the surprise was a huge success, much to the delight of the other three. KNZ’s amusement?? when watching over the son’s majestic figure, it was his way of saying “just because NicoNico is allowed to broadcast an exclusive live, that’s no reason for pranksters to behave.”

On top of that, Chiyu’s slap (bass) and Hits’s guitar solo also got us excited [Fellow Traveler]. Piercing into catchy pop doing GREMLINS to the extreme, the floor was a mixed up mess [Bacchus]. Then doing a complete 180, they concluded the main part in melancholy color [LOVE YOU]. The power of Hits’s vocals didn’t wane until the end, I remembered the passion/emotion.

It was “With sake!” instead of “Encore!” that voices called out to the 4 guys who had appeared once again; the members and the audience sang the Birthday Song to Hits and… Hits reacted to the message engraved on the cake (on the plate) that had been carried out. In addition, a sash with the words “I am ARU chuu(an alcoholic)” was draped (across Hits) by the staff; on the spur of the moment, pictures of members on Hits’ beloved IPAD (were shared); as well as various members “playing” with toy snakes and cockroaches, and getting “schooled” about carrots; the marks for standing position (on the stage) had been graffitied… but members and staff did not stop the mischievous encounters of chaos there. In the momentum, [DOD] was longer than usual and the alcohol was 35 proof! The 4 guys gulped Jagermeister. Precisely the idea behind DRINK OR DIE. Soon after this concert, there was a SuG autographing event for Chiyu to attend; he rocks (as in “he’s so cool” I think).

It didn’t stop at all. In response to the call “Bring sake!”… a double icon call. The song was [Bacchus] which is indeed perfectly suited (for the call). There in that place, everyone could unleash their smiles. “I want to play while watching the dream” the words (from Bacchus) had became reality. GREMLINS, their thoroughly free playfulness was the wonder drug that repainted a mundane everyday existence.

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