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R&R Newsmaker February 2007 Reference pictures at the gallery. [insert text here] means translator's note. Akira Birthday: March 8th Blood Type: A Height: about 175 cm (laugh) Weight about 55kg Eyesight: Terrible, uses contacts T: For me, Akira is stoic, he is a reliable music partner. But is it true that your 175 cm? (laughs) S: True guitarist K: Delicate musician, but he can be snotty. N: He's very forward, but there are bad things, too. A: I don't think there are any bad things about me... (laughs) Backstage I: During the tour, what do you do backstage? T: Meditate N: I do my best to relax. A: I eat the sweets at the catering table. S: As long as I have manga, I'm OK. Sometimes I read until three minutes before we perform. And then after the performance, I finish reading. K: I'm into being prepared: I change quickly and then get ready so I can leave right after the performance. I don't like leaving things to the last minute. Computer K: I have fifteen certificates, and Computer Programming is one of them. As for handling music software, Takuya and Akira are the best. T: For me, the computer is an instrument to make music. I don't use it for anything else. Without the computer, my music would be different. I would probably only be able to write one piece every two months. A: I'm used to writing music with the computer. But I also do Internet shopping. (laughs) Debut I: What is the biggest difference for you guys between the time you had your debut and now? T: At the time of the debut, everything in my head was about self satisfaction. There was no love. Now that I think about it, the debut taught me not to create music only for myself. K: I worked hard: I was hungry to improve. The 'us' back then created the 'us' now: we should never forget that. Exciting I: What are you excited about right now? T: I'm excited to write songs. I wrote on yesterday. When I start to write, it's like a fire is lit, and I can't put it out. So I came to this interview without any sleep. (smile) A: To play the guitar. I get so into it, even when I'm practicing a new song by myself. K: I have so much fun when I practice with the band and I sweat. N: Of course there's music for me, but I love to step into fields outside of music as well. S: Baseball. I'm on a team. The other day, my team members gave me a new glove as a birthday present. I can't wait to use it. The only problem is that I don't have anybody to play catch with. (laughs) I'm the only one here that sounds like an elementary school student. (laughs) Four LDK -4LDK [this is referring to the style of apartment UVERworld lives in] I: Describe the UVERpalace you live in now, since you came to Tokyo. N: All of the rooms are about the same size. We did Jan-Ken-Po [Rock-Paper-Scissors] in the first year to decide who does which chores. We still do that. S: Right now, I sleep in the living room. We used to have a dividing curtain, but it has gotten shorter. Everything can be seen from the bottom, and there is no privacy. T: On December 27, we have our next drawing. By the time this magazine is released, we will have new sleeping arrangements. The current rooms were decided by a game of darts. The next time we will decide either by fishing [for pets, during festivals] or by left handed bowling. Please interview us again after we compete! (laughs) Genius T: Unfortunately, there are no geniuses in UVERworld. We've hit a difficult wall. K: From my point of view, everyone is a genius, not only music-wise, but in their way of thinking. But no one here will agree with me. Hometown I: Your hometown is the Shiga Prefecture. K: I like how there is nothing there. S: The air is clean, the water is delicious. T: I don't get homesick anymore, because I now know what I want to do. To do that, I have to be in Tokyo. But when I go back to Shiga, I can relax, and the air is completely different. It's not too rural, it's not too urban, everything is just right. iPod I: How do you guys like iPods? T: All of us have Sony's Network Walkmen. But I like CDs. I always have about 30 CDs in my bag with me. N: I put my favorite songs on my Sony Network Walkman,. K: I even put songs I don't like on mine. Depending on my mood, I listen to new things randomly, and find new songs that I like. S: I listen to the S.N.W. during transportation, but after five minutes, I fall asleep. A: To tell you the truth, I lost mine. (laughs) Jam T: We haven't made any music by 'jamming', but I am interested in it. K: I think that the feeling of the moment will show clearly. N: Somebody once said "Music that's made by jamming will last forever." I guess the band's characteristics will show strongly. I wonder what kind of music we would make if we tried jamming? Katsuya Birthday: February 22 Blood Type: O Height: 160cm Weight: 53kg Eyesight: <0.1 T: He is serious about music, serious about UVERworld. He is a great leader that can do many things that I can't. A: He's sweet. Whenever we need advice, we can go to Katsuya. S: He is a true leader. N: When this face is nearby, I feel like I'm in my hometown. K: I'm in the category of human beings that are very imperfect. That's why I always do my best to get better. Fan Letters T: These days, we receive many. I do my best to read all of them. K: I sometimes write replies to the letters written personally to me. If we start getting a lot more after this article, and I don't have enough time to write back, I'll have to think of what to do. (laughs) Mixture T: I used to not like it when people called our music mixture. Or should I say, I disliked the genre itself. It's true that our music is a mixture of a lot of different music. But I really think that its a music of us five musicians. Nobuto Birthday: February 14 Blood Type : A Height: 171cm Weight: 65kg Eyesight: 1.5 (used to be 2.0!) A: Passionate performer. S: Very clumsy. T: Super clumsy. He's bad at hula hoop. (laughs) K: I like his clumsiness. Because he's clumsy, he's good at communicating. He might get frustrated with himself, but it makes him a trustworthy person. N: Clumsy, clumsy. How horrible: Katsuya said it four times. But I'm a little happy, because I'm a human being... This is a clumsy answer. (laughs) One and Only K: I think we have been one and only since we formed our group. We are different from everybody else. I think that we don't belong to a certain genre; that's our style. N: Our band is unique. Like Takuya ∞ said earlier, we are a miracle band. Usually, if people lived together like we do, they would fight. T: That itself is a miracle. Usually, members would start disliking each other. I always want our band to be one and only. Piano S: I used to take lessons. but I can't play anymore. N: In the Bugright Limited Edition, Shintaro plays the song "The Cat Gets Stepped On",[Famous tune, can't think of the English name] but frankly, he's worse then me. But it's the only one I play, too. (laughs) Takuya practices so much every day. T: Piano is a good instrument to create music. Some melodies are easy to write because I'm on the piano. But I started because I wanted to be able to sing and play. In the future I hope to perform live. Quarrel T: Even though we get along so well, we do argue about music. To some people, it might look like we are always fighting at home. Nobuto gets upset a lot. He is the most emotional. K: I get mad when Nobuto is mad. But then Takuya∞ or Akira will say 'Calm down' N: I do get angry a lot. (laughs) There are a lot of times when I'm wrong, but I have to be convinced. Rock Can you replace the word rock with anything else? N: The way we live. T: It is 'one and only.' Rock is to have something totally unique to that person. For example, a person who sings only ballad can have their own lyrics. I think that kind of person is rock. Shintaro Birthday: November 5th Blood Type: O Height: 175cm Weight: 65kg Eyesight: 1.5 for both T: He had a soft head [He is flexible, absorbs a lot of things] A: His drumming is very good. N: He is very laid-back. But whenever the two of us start practicing, we get very into it. K: He is the most charismatic. Maybe he's just insensitive. (laughs) This shows in his drum playing. He's younger, but he supports the band. When we first appeared on Music Station, he was the only one who relaxed, crossed his arms, and sat. (laughs) S: I thought the strength in my personality was my insensitivity... Now that they talk about it, maybe its not so good. (laughs) Takuya Birthday: December 21 Blood Type: Unknown Height: 168cm Weight: 55kg Eyesight: 2.0 for both A: He is not easily swayed by others. S: Very stoic. K: He is very strict with himself, and very detail oriented. N: He has things that I don't have; both good and bad. T: I want to be someone who is 'rock' and 'one and only. UVERworld What would it say if UVERworld gets into the dictionary? N: Maybe the meaning will be 'a new generation' S: More then anything, I hope it says that it was a band. K: There is no other word like it. I think it will always mean us. The other day, a friend of mine got a new cellphone, and started typing "UVER," and UVERworld popped up, with both upper and lower cases. That made me happy. It's a made up word, but it's already recognized. Voice Who sings other then Takuya? N: The way I live is in the album's special DVD K: In this album, the chorus is sung by all of us. In Timeless, I was the only one that didn't sing because the quality of my voice is so different. I was so lonely. (laughs) Once, Takuya wrote a song for my voice. T: It was a weak song. But that was the good part. (laughs) A long time ago, we had a band and I played the drums while Katsuya sang. When we are at karaoke, Shintaro sings a lot. (laughs) When I sing in my falsetto, he tries to sing with his chest voice. Akira is shy. At karaoke, he wears sunglasses while he sings. A: That karaoke shop was small, so I stood on a sofa and wore sunglasses. (laughs) I sang Chage and Asuka. Worry I: Current worries? A: I'm afraid I might get sick. S: Injuries and illness. K: I have too many worries. I'm worried about myself, anyway. N: Sometimes I worry that I won't be able to play bass forever. T: I wonder if I'll be able to marry? (laughs) X I: Infinity T: UVERworld's future has infinite possibilities. We haven't discovered everything about ourselves. We might think that until yesterday, we did our best this way, but today and tomorrow we can do our best a different way. We don't see any limits. Yearbook I: What did you put in your graduation yearbook as your future dream? A: Nnnnnnn I don't remember. T: Journalist. It's a superman job. I wanted to be superman. S: Baseball player. In elementary school, I was serious about becoming one. N: Either a bus driver or a pilot. K: A cook, or soccer player. I never wrote musician. But when I look back at the paths I've chosen, I realize that there's nothing except music. Zeal K: Our zeal is crystallized in Bugright. People who've seen our live shows can see our zeal, but people who haven't will be able to hear it in each song on the album. Page 2 here - long interview
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