Interview - Arena32 (February 2009)

Issue: February, 2009

Translation: Oritsu_luv

It’s been a month since we talked last. How have you been keeping yourself?

What’s with that opening? (LOL) Lately? What have I been doing lately? Well, I’m still keeping up with my strength training. I’ve always gone to the gym, but lately I’ve been making an effort to work out at home too, like working out in between playing the guitar. I’ve also been making an effort to really go meet and hang out with people, and I’ve been getting into the studio whenever I have a little time. Oh yeah, the other day I had some time before my plans so I went into the studio, and in the studio next to me was this huge black percussionist. So he came and talked to me like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ and when I said ‘It’s going great.’ he was like, ‘For real?’

Did he come talk to you because he knew you were Miyavi?

Nope. He didn’t know. He was more like ‘You gonna be okay? Can you actually rock?’ (LOL) Like he was kind of making fun of me.’

Oh, I see.

So it kind of pissed me off, so I started playing guitar louder than usual. (LOL) Like, really hard so you could hear it outside of the studio. And then through the glass I saw that guy looking into the studio with this really surprised look on his face. (LOL) So I stopped playing and called him into the room and we started talking, and we became friendly. He started asking me all these questions like,’Is that a guitar or a bass? What do you call that style of playing? Where do you play?’ He was a little excited about it, so I told him, and then he looked me up on myspace then and there, and he was like ‘Whoa, why are there all these girls?’ (LOL) It was only after he heard me play that he started really looking at me and talking to me as a musician.

It’s just what you were talking about last month about wanting to prove yourself with your guitar skills to people who acted like you didn’t have any substance. You really did it. (LOL)

People will always judge people on how they look at first. And I’ve talked about this before, but that’s why people feel the need to put on a certain face and kind of front of things. But when you have something that you’re really confident about, you don’t need to front anymore.

That’s true. Like, it’s normal for people who look capable to be capable, but it’s really cool when someone who doesn’t look the type is actually better than someone who does.

That’s true. Like, my look right now, it’s not totally a ‘talented hawk thing’ (NOTE: Miyavi is referring to a Japanese proverb "a hawk with talent conceals his claws" which means that the more talented someone is, the less they try to make a show of it. Sort of like ‘Those who know don’t speak; those who speak don’t know’) but I do think it’s because I gained a lot of confidence on my world tour. I think I was able to find things that only I can do, as a guitarist, a singer, and a performer, and I was able to really make something of that.

That’s true. I see where you’re coming from.

Also, lately I’ve been really into getting my nails done. Today the theme of my nails is ‘NEO TOKYO SAMURAI BLACK’. (The photoshoot and interview were on different days.)

They’re not shiny.

Right? (very satisfied tone.)

They’re like…cloudy.

…ooh, don’t put it like that. (LOL)

How should I put it then? (LOL)

How about like, ‘matte.’(LOL)

(LOL) So let’s move on to the theme part of this interview.

That came out of nowhere. (LOL) Well, life and music and articles and interviews all need a tempo. (LOL) So, a while ago we did ‘M’, so today’s letter is ‘Y’.

Yesterday: What did you do yesterday?

When to the gym, then to the studio. I go into the studio pretty much every day. I played guitar and sang for about three or four hours. Going in the studio changes what I get out, and it’s a very different feeling than writing music at home.

Okay, so one more: What did you dream about yesterday?

I don’t remember. I never remember my dreams. (LOL) I know I dreamed about something, but I forget. (LOL) I think I have more sad dreams than happy ones. Sometimes I wake up crying. I think it’s probably stress. Like, before a show I’ll dream about messing up. I don’t actually feel stressed out or worried, but I guess it’s there in my deep subconscious.

You: What are you made of?

…water?

Well yes, they do say humans are made up up mostly water. Once you said your were made up of ‘a bunch of tiny ‘me’s’

Right now, I’m made of dreams. It’s all evolved from a dream: I don’t want to lose, I want to grow, to create, to evolve and get better, and with those desires, I also have want to grow with people, to see wonderful things together and go about my relationships with other people with kindness. Recently I saw a concert of Christina Aguilera and I thought it was amazing. There was also an interview with her [on the DVD] and she talked about something very similar. and I was really stuck by her desire to improve herself. You could really feel that in her live show. Even after she’s married and had a child, she still wants to improve as an artist, and I thought those feelings and the way she worked to actual accomplish that was wonderful. And I think it’s amazing how her work evolves every time. I’d never seen [a show of her's] before but I was deeply impressed and moved.

Young: Youth
If your elementary school or middle school age self could see you now, what would he say?

‘Great!’

Hahahaha. He’d give you the thumbs up?

Yeah. But I really think I have grown up. I really think I’m a grown up now. (LOL)

You really like little kids, don’t you?

But they cry. They always start crying.

Oh? (LOL)

Yeah. (LOL) Maybe they don’t cry as much as they used to. In the past, they were sort of like animals to me, I didn’t know how to interact with them. But around since I started doing Dokusou, I started to really think they were adorable. I wonder why? I think it was partly because they became closer, since Tyko-kun had a baby, and so did my makeup artist.

But you’re really good with kids. During the interview between the PS band guitarists, the make artist brought her kid, and everyone treated the kid a little differently, and I was shocked at how playfully and innocently you played with the kid. (LOL) I was like, wow I didn’t know Miyavi loved kids so much. (LOL) You were amazing.

Hahahaha. But I used to be scared of babies. I was too scared to touch them. But babies are just happy, you know? So I decided I should just go back to zero and interact with them that way so that we’d be looking at things from the same perspective.

Yet: Not yet —
What are you not yet?

I guess this would be my dreams also. I think I’m about 30% or 40% there. Finally. I want to be an artist who could easily shoot for some kind of internationally recognized award like the Grammys. I think it’s all about hard work.

Year: Your goal for 2009

I want to blow people away, and go crazy. (LOL) Think of it like there’s a tiny alien inside my body going crazy. (LOL)

You mean like, you’re blowing yourself away inside yourself. (LOL)

Right. (LOL) I want to really blast passion and heat out.

Like you’re driven?

Yeah. I want it to be like light is flowing out from inside me. Like it’s spilling out and you can see it from the outside. But I want to keep moving on in that way not just this year, but always. And I want to show a beautiful view to everyone who’s supporting me. Not just show them, I want us to see it together. It’d be amazing if I could share it with them and bring them joy. I want to make an environment where we can share everything. Also, I’ll be playing the Hibiya outdoor music fest on April 5th.

Is that another venue you want to take another shot at?

I guess. So the title is ‘NEO TOKYO SAMURAI BLACK – Continuation: Nariagari 2009′. Because I’m confident than I can do things that I wasn’t really able to do back then.

When you performed there with the Ichihara Gundan Adult as your back up, it felt like you were just sort of rehashing things, and I could really tell what you wanted to do, but you weren’t quite up to it yet.

That’s right. Not at all. So I want to make the show something that completely surpasses the show I did then. Because I feel like we can do that now. I feel like I’m going over the path I’ve walked until now and walking it again. Like I’m walking it again so that I can really make it into something strong again. That’s the image I’m working with. So I promise you I’ll take my second shot at it with my skills a lot higher.