Motto Shiritai...Jousama!! Part 3
Interview with LAREINE in VICIOUS (May 1999).
Interview by:Mami Akagi, Photography by: Kenji Tsukagoshi
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--This month, we get to hear MAYU, EMIRU, and MACHI's images of KAMIJO. First I'd like to hear what your first impressions of him were.

EMIRU: My very first impression was that he seemed like a nice guy.

MAYU: My impression was that he was really manly. Kind of, I don't know, wild?

KAMIJO: Wild.., my romantic image is going to be destroyed! *laughs*

MACHI: To me he seemed really friendly *laughs*. He always talked with me about many different things.

--So you all had a first impression. Are there things that you learned about him as you got to know him better that made you think "oh, he's really this kind of person" or things about him that have changed since you met him?

MAYU: Well, he can have some terrible mood swings! He's always thinking of a lot of different things, but there are times when suddenly something'll make him really negative. Then he's like "it's all over!"

EMIRU: Yeah. When he's in a good mood, I can't keep up with him. I'm like "how can you be confident and so sure of yourself!?" But when he's on a down swing, I'm like "whoa, wait a sec, we can't be so bad can we!?" *laughs*

MAYU: He gets into a negative mood about 2 to 3 times a year, and when that happens it's really hard on the three of us.

--*laughs* How is he as a vocalist?

EMIRU: Well, I think he's amazing in how he can create his own world view (his own world through words--niji).

--Besides the world of romantic rock itself, he doesn't tread into many other realms, right?

EMIRU: Well, yes, just that during the lives, there are sometimes when I get kind of uneasy. During his MC time, he'll say some pretty awful things. *laughs* It's like I'm too afraid to even look to see what kind of faces the audience is looking at him with as he's saying it. *laughs*

--wahahah!! That's a good one. *laughs*

EMIRU: I don't know if I'd say good... I may seriously faint when that happens. *laughs*

MAYU: Recently, we've gotten used to his MC though. In the beginning though, we'd always be like "er.." amongst ourselves. *laughs* ... but besides that, I think he's really amazing.

MACHI: Also, I'm playing the drums which are in the back, so I probably see KAMIJO the best. There are many moments when I see him and I simply think, "oh, he's so cool."

--He's really has a lot of splendor, doesn't he?

MACHI: yeah, I think that is one of the things that reallys makes him suited to being a vocalist.

KAMIJO: ...(in a lonely voice) no one's saying anything about my singing...

All: *burst out laughing*

--By the way, do you have any simple questions for KAMIJO?

EMIRU: Well, at one of our earlier lives, there was a time when he once said "sa, sa, sa, samma!" all of a sudden during the his MC. *laughs* What on earth was that? *laughs*

KAMIJO: Let me explain that. At my middle school, we used to call each other by nicknames like "cabbage" and "pickle." It's not really my nature to pay heed to trends/fashions, but because that was a trend we made ourselves..... well, so I thought that I'd make some new kind of inside joke. So I took that dream from my youth, put it on the brand called LAREINE, and delivered it to everyone.

--But, it seems like no one will probably understand it. *laughs* What else? *laughs*

MACHI: I've wondered about this for quite some time, KAMIJO's lyrics often employ love as a motif. Is the base of that love real experience? Or is it all imagination? Because he's with us all the time, I've always wondered where all that's coming from! *laughs*

KAMIJO: Let me answer. If I use one of our works as an example, "Blue Romance ~yasashii hanatachi no kyousou~"...... that expresses love, but actually it's a song I made about the band activity that runs inside of me (he's describing his band activity as his love--niji). And so MACHI-kun, really, it's you who I love.

--Oh! A KAMIJO-like statement. *laughs* Alright, now let's have a word from each of the members to this wonderful KAMIJO.

MAYU: Next time I'm coming over to your house to hang out. *laughs*

MACHI: Let's go to see a Paul Mauriat concert together again.

KAMIJO: He won't come to Japan anymore!

EMIRU: I, well, next time I'd like to see KAMIJO's guitar playing form. What's that you may ask? Put simply, his guitar style is really cool.

KAMIJO: Wait a sec. Let's say that when I hold the guitar, I may have a certain great style. *laughs* But if you call that "cool," when everyone finally sees what you're talking about they are going to question your sense of style.

EMIRU: Yeah, they'll laugh a bunch. *laughs*

KAMIJO: When I hold the guitar, I unfortunately become a rockin' roller. *laughs*

EMIRU: I actually have a picture as proof of this that I think I'll reveal at a later time. *laughs* It's so interesting that I can't express it (in words). *laughs*

KAMIJO: N-no... *cries*

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