TRANSLATION: Interview with HYDE and K.A.Z for the WOWOW ZEPP NAMBA FINAL programme

TRANSLATION: Interview with HYDE and K.A.Z for the WOWOW ZEPP NAMBA FINAL programme

Finally managing to find some time to watch the WOWOW show, I also translated the short interview that was sandwiched between the footage from the ZEPP NAMBA live.

As always, both HYDE and K.A.Z have their usual laidback ways of talking (which sometimes leaves a lot to the imagination) so I've done my best to assume, understand and deliver the messages as accurately as possible.

ENJOY :D

(And yes I am aware that I haven't done the MCs for the NAMBA gigs, will happen sometime soon, I had a PhD to finish!)

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[What are your thoughts having finished your tour?]

H: Erm… during this tour we had many consecutive lives, so it was quite heavy at times… especially towards the end when we’d play 3 lives in a row. After we finished, I felt a bit lifeless… for a while I felt quite dead.

K: We spent 4 months touring from June... in a way it went by very quickly. It was a lot of fun. Yes.


[About the concept of the tour]

H: It was in the usual style of VAMPS gigs. Like previously, we ‘took over’ the live house and stayed there for a while.
Erm… it was almost like a more modern version of our previous stages. For our previous stage sets… we were adding more and more to the set as time went on, which meant it expanded more and more.

But I realised that there would be no end by adding more to the set, so we needed a change of direction. So we changed the stage set, the direction and all. This time we made it a bit like a club, emphasising the stage effects with the lights. I also reduced the tracks where I played the guitar by about half, so it must have left a very different impression.

K: Erm, for some of the tracks, they had a more dance-music type feel? With the lighting it made it feel more danceable, and as HYDE said, it had a club-like atmosphere, so it was fun. It was like…more excitable. Yes.

H: Personally, my style isn’t to change and replace everything completely – I like to keep what’s good and add newer, better things to it. This time… I don’t know? We did a lot of arranging within the tracks.


[Which song is most memorable for you during the FINAL?]

H: Erm, I wonder… maybe that? Erm, which track? ……….Maybe “SECRET IN MY HEART”… there’s a lot of staging and effects involved in that track, so it was one that I was always aware of.

Like how well we… erm… Not really whilst we were playing it, but… more like, up until we play it, I was aware of the staging, like the lighting, and the wind direction, and all those things. I always checked if everything was ok and to plan. I think it went well.


[About overseas lives]

H: There are plenty of places where the venues themselves have a great atmosphere. Especially in the States and Europe. Like the elaborate decorations everywhere - in the dressing rooms, and the stage. So from the moment I arrive there, it makes me happy that I can stay there for the whole day.

When I go to new countries, it makes me happy that the fans get very excited – I can really feel that everyone has been waiting to meet us for ages. For me, I want to do something about the States. We have to do something in America that we’ll be acknowledged for… or at least it’s something I want to do... which I think is maybe our final goal.


[About the closure of ZEPP SENDAI]

H: I think if it hadn’t been for the ZEPP SENDAI closing, there wouldn't have been a tour at all… We decided “If we’re doing one, we should just go on tour”. It might have been just the Laguna gig if it hadn’t been for that. But in the end I’m glad we managed to play there for the last time. We’re always playing at the ZEPP venues, so it was a place we were fond of. Especially Sendai – we had many memories of walking through the station, arriving at the venue… We have no regrets since we managed to play there before it closed.


[About ZEPP NAMBA]

H: It's obviously my hometown, and it was our first time playing there – we’d played in the ZEPP OSAKA before but not the ZEPP NAMBA. So I was looking forward to playing somewhere new, and in that sense it was a highlight of our tour. It led to the big highlight at the end.

K: The venue has many balcony seats… Probably around 400 seats more than the other venue? So it felt very different. The acoustics are better than before too, so overall it felt much more exciting because of it.

H: The FINAL was… I guess everyone felt very determined, but it really became a grand finale of the tour. The performance was great, and the staging was very artistic. We watched the switching-out on the day, and thought it was brilliant. I’m looking forward to it because I think we managed to record a fantastic live.


[About the double encore]

H: We’re not going to let you air that on WOWOW (laughing)! Sorry but that’s my intention. I think of gigs as a package. I want it to be as cool as possible. But for the final gig, I wanted to deliver… my gratitude to the fans. So the complete live package was only up until then – just before the double encore. That was the end of the show for me.

But the double encore was for the fans who had come to see us that day – to say thank you. And because of that, I don’t really like it as a performance. As part of the gig I mean. But even so, I wanted to be myself, and say ‘thank you’ so that’s why we did the double encore.

With lives, obviously…we’re just playing our music. But even so, I think it’s a form of art. So I don’t like ending that piece of artwork with something in jest. So for me, there was a separation between the two parts – the end of the gig and the double encore.


[What’s next for VAMPS?]

H: I wonder. Obviously there’s something. Regarding playing at the ZEPP, there’s obviously more to come. And I have thoughts about how we’re going to do it next. But I don’t want to tell you that just now (laughing).

In a way, I want to keep our current style but deliver something more advanced – I think we can go one step further. I obviously still like the style of the older sets we used to use for our gigs, so there’s more I want to do with that sort of concept. But I think there’s more we can do to add to this current concept we have now. So next, I want to develop that.

VAMPS has many faces… This year we even played at the beach, overlooking the sea at the Laguna. And I think VAMPS is a very versatile band which can suit many different concepts.

So in that sense there’s many directions we can take. And also, we want to make more of an impact overseas… So there’s plenty of different directions we want to take. Plenty more.


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So let's look out for what HYDE and K.A.Z have up their sleeves!!!