Vicious, August 2001
Interviewer: Kyoko Yazawa

- Have you ever thought "I…am dirty"?

Keita: When I was in elementary through high school there was a book store nearby that sold stuff like korokoro comics, and they had porn magazines. I dunno why but wanted to see it so one time I stuck my hand in and tore out a page.

- That's an age where you really don't get to see much of that stuff.

Keita: Well, when I did that it was just a picture of…a woman's rear end. A real catch would have been a frontal, don't you think? (laughs) Just remembering how that was all I got on the only page I ever tore out…even now it still haunts me (laughs).

- Well, honestly. That's what you get for being bad (laughs) What about Eiji?

In ordinary life don't you think there's a mix of a lot and all little that balances everything out? Maybe being able to see those connections is becoming impure.

- Around what time did realize you had learned to do that?

Eiji: It just becomes a part of life so there was no special time that I realized it... Oh, it's thinking things like "if I don't get a girlfriend before my birthday then she won't get me a present" and things like that.(laughs)

- So you start thinking "Oh no, what should I do?" when Christmas and other events come around, ne? (laughs)

Yu-jin: For me, I've done bad things but I don't know if that's impurity or not...

- (everyone else) Of course they are!

- What things?

Yu-jin: Mainly, long ago I shoplifted and stuff (laughs).

Takeshi: He's really amazing! At the music store he took this huuuge efector case (?) off the shelf and just walked out with it like it was nothing! If it were a guitar pick or something small I could understand it, but that was kinda imposing (laughs)

Yu-jin: No, no, the register was really crowded and the cashier seemed so busy. I didn't think it would be right to disturb him by talking to him (laughs). It was kindness from the bottom of my heart, so it couldn't have been impure! (laughs)

- I wonder about that...(laughs)

Koju: But you thought you were doing something wrong the first time you shoplifted, right?

Keita: ...the first time you shoplifted it was something like wine or cigarettes (?), wasn't it? We all know how you love red wine!

everyone: ahahahahahaha (big laughs)

Koju: (laughs) But after I shoplifted and got away with it once I didn't want to do it again...it's scary.

Takeshi: Then you should stop (big laugh)

Koju: Well, of course I don't do it now! (laughs)

- That would make sense (laughs)

Takeshi: I have a impure story I didn't want to tell anyone too. Once, a long time ago, when I went to borrow a video from the owner of a video rental store...

Keita: Porn video?

Takeshi: Not that kind of story (laughs). When I went to pay for the video I gave him 1000 yen and got 9600 yen back*. I was on my own back then and I thought "wow, now I can buy food!" And with that kind of face I left the store (laughs)...but I don't always do that. I'm the kind of person who would return a wallet if I found it on the ground, really! (laughs)
* he paid about $8 and got $75 back. Simple change mix up.

- (laughs) So do you prefer to think of yourself as inherently pure?

I think the meaning of purity changes if you think of it as meaning "honest", or "logical". If you think of it as logical, then I live by something my teacher said a long time ago in elementary school- "Do the things you can to make others happy. Not things that make them upset." I'm still clinging on to that. Besides, I think being impure is part of being human.

- I see. So rather than in yourself, you feel a kind of unforgivable impurity in response to the world?

Koju: I feel that way about politics... I've never though of doing anything about it though (laughs). Even if we get a new prime minister, thing's aren't gonna change and Japan'll continue to have a depressing image.

- everyone, listening attentively (hm, hm)

Koju: It seems like nowadays there's only bad news and stuff about the depression. When I see that, I want more people to write good songs and be able to sympathize with it. We want contribute to that and give people courage with our music!

- everyone (uh-huh, uh-huh)

Koju: ...that means I want all of you to listen to "Sekirara," which came out July 14th (laughs)

- everyone, confused by the sudden switch from politics to their cd (huh?)

the editor: because now...you've done something great, right? (laughs)

Koju: No...it's just now that the single's come out, I want everyone to go get it with this in mind...*
* I had a hard time translating this because I don't know what "shime" means

- everyone starts laughing a lot again