AnN To start off, would you please introduce yourselves, tell us your name and your position in the band. Maki- Vocal Shin- Guitar Reito- Bass Setsua- Drums
AnN.Your bandname’s meaning is like “All is dead”. Why did you chose this particular name? because we find "life" most attractive when all is dead. so it means creating something from ZERO, dead.
AnN.How was the band created and how did all of you meet? everyone except bassist was playing as DICE&JOKER but after that we met Reito and reformed the band as Visusal Kei.
AnN.Please describe the band in five words. whatever happens we will survive
AnN.How would you describe yourselves as a person? it's probably different from what you are asking really, but we always want to stay as a band who always make fans excited. we are people who are always looking for something better and higher quality.
AnN.This year you had a show at the American Anime-convention A-Kon. Did you like the concert and what do you think how did the audience like your performance? it was GREAT! back then we were still incomplete and nervous but we surely did our best there. the audience accepted us with such a great reaction and we definitely want to go back to that stage someday when we are bigger and better
AnN.The year 2009 is coming to an end soon and what we’sd like to know is what has happened to you during the year and what is most memorable to you? the most memorable will be concerts in the U.S. we never even thought about going abroad to perform, TWICE a year! also upcoming one-man show will be our turning point, so we also want to make that event very much memorable!
AnN.What are your plans for 2010? Is there a chance you will come on a European tour? next year we will be expected to have much progress. we should definitely make that progress happen and we can't be regretting one thing about our works. we've had an offer of european tour already, but it can't be confirmed just yet. we need to plan everything right, between japan and other countries. but if the timing is right, we definitely want to make it to let fans enjoy raw ALSDEAD
AnN.Maki: You and Shin are responsible for writing the songs, as far as I know. What inspires the both of you to write songs? everything around me. but i get so much inspiration from observing people. human beings are so sensitive and complicated so.
AnN.Are there special subjects that you include in the songs, messages that you want to share? "desperate to live". i mean i think people must live and be alive.
AnN.You new single PARADOX has the theme of loneliness. Why did you pick this particular theme, is there a special reason for it? there's no special reason for it. we just think people are always connected with loneliness. Loneliness also has many faces and meanings too
AnN. A lot of fans would like to know if you read all the fanmail that you receive. And also if you would accept selfmade presents from fans? we read everything from fans and we try to reply to them. differences in our languages are hard to get rid of, but we can always guess what they want to say and those messages always cheer us up. and of course we welcome any gifts from fans!
AnN.Reito, we’ve heard that you are a fan of Anime. Would you tell us your favourite Anime? every anime has a good part so it's hard to label number one, but the one which made me start watching anime was "gandam" series.
AnN.Shin, we’ve heard that you love to cook. Is that true? Is there a certain dish that you love to cook? If yes, would you tell us the recipe? I love to cook. i used to work at my family's restaurant. an easy one would be japanese style pasta. it'll taste really good just with soy sauce, butter and fish powder, so try that
AnN. Where do you see the band in 3 years? Is there a certain goal you want to achieve? we can't even imagine how we will be but as long as we follow our musical instincs the result will follow us. it might be a long way to achieve our goal, but we want more people to listen to our music, for now.
AnN.Your style is pretty extravagant. Who makes your stage-outfits? we have our own designer who visualize our image. we are always trying to make everything with better quality. of course it might not matter what we wear if the music is great, but we believe we can pull out our different characters when we wear costume. we are looking for genuine entertainment
AnN. How did you develop your current style? music wise, the root is definitely foreign music. of course we've been listening to Japanese music too, so eventually everything got blended and reached our style now. we like to innovate any kind of music, even classic or hip hop
AnN. Is there a certain outfit that you’d like to wear on stage? it gets really hot on the stage so we'd love to wear something cooler! Lol
AnN. What are your thoughts if you hear that your fans camp outside the venues to see you in concert? it's such a grateful thing to us. we feel nothing but their love when they were waiting for us for so long outside when it's cold. but it feels sad when there were not so many of them, so we will always remember to appreciate to fans for their sweetness
AnN. Would you like to do an Meet&Greet (handshake event) with your fans? Of course! we'd love to do anything to connect with fans!
AnN. What are your thoughts on Visual Kei and what does it mean to you? It's now a part of Japanese culture, and it's a way of expression. but if the music is good, it should not really matter how we look. to ALSDEAD, our look right now will be our root
AnN. Is there an artist or a band that you would like to work with? there're too many!! we were inspired by so many artists from all over the world, so we'll work hard to get that opportunity!
AnN. What project are you working on currently? we are wanting to make an album next year. if we do, that'll be one crazy album! we really want to show our progress in new album too
AnN. When your performing abroad (outside Japan), do you have any time to do sightseeing? in Dallas, most of the time we stayed at the hotel because our schedule was so tight. instead, we enjoyed Vegas big time! it's impossible to even think about drinking at casino for the whole night in japan. Setsua got so out of control too
AnN. Are there Musicians or artists that have inspired you? Do you have any idols? of course there are many of them. besides, Setsua's name originated from Brian Setzer. but as a band we always want to be original
AnN. The concept of your band id “death and decay”, as far as I’ve heard. Why did you pick this particular theme? actually our concept is "Vitality." we believe there're so much to overcome while we are alive. so, many of our lyrics is about those hidden parts of human mentality. in our new single, we are singing out women's point of view
AnN. Is there a city in Europe that you would really love to visit one day? we wanna go around corner to corner as long as we have time! european architecture is awfully great and it's inevitable to get so much musical inspiration by just walking around. we really hope to feel European life and culture
AnN.Are there places in the world that you’ve always wanted to see? Maki: Kölner Dom, Shin: I wanna see real aurora before i die, Reito: Louvre, and I wanna look around european architecture and art works,
Setsua: i'd really love to visit Europe but I definitely wanna go to LA, Mecca of rock 'n roll
AnN. If you were an animal, which animal would that be? Maki: I wanna be a cat, Shin:Tuna. I'd die without thrusting lol, Reito: golden retriever, Setsua: a dog?
AnN.Do you have pets? noone has a pet.. we are often out of town touring, so none of us can. but we all are dog persons except maki. maki loves cats
AnN.Would you please give us a message for your European fans and the readers of AnN? Our image is visual kei but we are not only about the look, but we are always trying to make music which will be loved globally. if all of our fans in europe get together to make this work, we could possibly directly bring our music to you soon so let's look forward to that! also beginning of next year, we'll release our new single so don't forget to check that out!
4th single 「Distrust」 2010.1.13 ON SALE! JAHCD-007/￥1.260（tax in） 1.Dustrust 2.Vanity (limited edition includes a bonus track, KIZU ~Acoustic Ver.~)
