寿記 27.08.2010 The Truth

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I got this email from a fan.

I'm just going to post the original text.

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"I've been a fan since middle school.

I think I read it in a magazine or something a while back, that you didn't like doing 'guitar karaoke' when you were playing live on TV, so during the performance you didn't touch the guitar strings.

Like, during the solo part, you just took both your hands off the guitar...is what I heard.

Actually, that's one big reason why I became a fan of Buck-Tick, but now when I ask people if it's a true story, they either don't believe me or they say they don't know.

There's no way I'd stop being a fan, so I wonder, could you tell me if that story is true?

I guess it's a really rude question to ask but I've just been so curious for so long...

I'm guessing you're probably way too busy to take time answering questions like these, but if you can, please tell me..."

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Wow, was there really some rumor that I hated 'guitar karaoke'?

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It's not true.

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It is true that I took my hands off the guitar strings.

It's also true that I raised both hands over my head during my guitar solo.

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And other stuff...

Tuning during solos...

Performing with no guitar strap, holding the guitar in my hands and dancing around...

Going on stage with a sitar instead of a guitar (Hide did the same thing!)

...yeah we did a lot of funny stuff...

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But, it wasn't because we hated doing guitar-lip-synching performances on TV.

Nothing like that.

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Hide and I had problems when we performed on TV. The guitar sound wasn't working. It happened three times in a row.

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It was actually our fault.

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We weren't used to playing on television.

But it just caused trouble for the other people who were playing on the shows.

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So we consulted with the other band members,

And we decided to do guitar karaoke the next time we played on TV.

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We were the ones who chose the "television guitar karaoke" thing.

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So why did we act ridiculous about it, then?

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Basically, because we thought it was funny.

I mean, we were doing guitar karaoke, so we decided it would be much more fun to make it a different experience from an actual live performance.

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I guess you could say it was like a live action music video.

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Guitar karaoke on television

No, I don't hate it.

Actually, I had a lot of fun.

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Once, when we were playing on TV, we ended up performing on the same program as J, by complete coincidence.

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So then J came to hang out in the dressing room.

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J said, "Hey Imai, you want to switch your guitar and my bass?"

So I said, "Oh that's a great idea. Let's do it!"

But then we realized...the programs we were performing on would be aired on different days, so people wouldn't get the joke...

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So in the end, we didn't do it.

Because, we're grownups.

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IMAI 10:00