I interviewed many musicians. It’s been 20 years since he became editor of Music and People. Some people have been interviewing for a long time. However, there are many more people who will no longer see each other. In the past, even people who used to meet and collect data on a monthly basis have drifted apart over time. From the age of 50, I really wanted to meet these people. I wanted to speak now to someone who had some influence on me as an editor. This time I went to see the three members of GOING UNDER GROUND. On September 11, they performed a live reproduction of the album “Home,” and on November 6, they performed a live reproduction of the album “Oyasumi Monster” at Shindaita FEVER. With members leaving and their activity styles changing drastically, they speak candidly about their income, family, and current state of the group.
We weren’t musicians, we just liked bands.
GOING UNDER GROUND is a very memorable band. The Quintet from Okegawa City, Saitama Prefecture, unlike their melancholy blue songs, is rustic and unrefined. I love Blue Hearts and WEEZER, and I’m heavily influenced by them. I fell in love and decorated the cover twice. After that, they held a solo concert at Nippon Budokan, and from the outside, they seemed to be progressing smoothly as a group. But over time, something changes. Maybe I chased that worldview that was in the first one too much, something is getting thinner and thinner. Losing their innocence, two members withdrew. The major contract was cut and the office left. Something was obviously wrong. Motoo Matsumoto (Vocals & Guitar) “The band was over when Takehiro Kono (drums, left in 2015) quit. The second half. If I quit music and had a normal life, I could still live with it. out. But not everyone could. In In the End, we weren’t musicians, we just liked bands. They were the only ones left. Hiroki Nakazawa (guitar): Before that, Yoichi-san ( Yoichi Ito/keyboard, left in 2009) left the band, to be honest, I didn’t really understand why I was still in the band Matsumoto: Still in the name of Going I made money, so I I’m going to work to turn it into money. That’s the idea of the agency. You only think of it as a business, it’s possible, but none of the members want to do that. From there, I I started having trouble with the agency.” Satoshi Ishihara (bass) often caught in the middle with the president at the time. So when Jo told me he wanted to talk alone with the members, and when we met in a café, I thought: ‘Ah, it’s finally here.’ three of us talked about it, but Sosei said, “Let’s quit the group!” and I felt refreshed. Nakazawa: It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. At that time, my relationship with the agency was really bad. At that time, we also decided to leave the agency. not reset, we couldn’t start anything.” I remember that well. Because Going’s office was sharing the floor with the music and the people at that time. such innocent faces in interviews often have gloomy faces, and in the second half, I saw fewer faces of the members in the company. Among them, Ishihara was often scolded and used as a scapegoat for things that didn’t weren’t doing well, probably because he was also a manager. Ishihara: I often got yelled at by the president. At that time, I was really worried and had a lot of thoughts. I didn’t have a salary, but if it was a money-making job, the office would accept anything. When I had a schedule for a live show in Kyushu, I would race all day in a Hiace, and move immediately afterwards. the show.In order to do s if only a little sales, we were having a show on the way home. We move to this town and play a show the next day. However, even though we go through such a difficult process, we do not receive any money. Ishihara: In short, before I knew it, I was working part-time at the Sutadon restaurant. Shima-kun (Ryohei Shima/Dress Cause) is a regular customer.” Matsumoto “That story must have been conveyed in a fairy tale where he and I were on good terms. Arima (Kazuki)-kun said to me, “Mr. Ishihara, working part-time at Sutadon at midnight (laughs)” Ishihara “The most difficult moment was when Sosei released his solo CD. I received a email asking me to check my manuscript, but I “I work part-time, so I don’t see it. But the manager keeps calling me, so I pretend to go to the bathroom and answer the phone. I wondered what I was doing.” relatively innocently, leaving the money with the agency and having fun. I had come here feeling like I was going to be in a band, but eventually realized that this was not fun. our beginnings. Everyone was desperate not for the music or the group, but for the environment around them. Five years later, when Kono decided to leave the group, Matsumoto and Nakazawa, who loved the band so much, were exhausted and relieved to be able to quit. It’s funny. As Matsumoto said, bands usually break up here. It was Ishihara who stopped him. Matsumoto: Jo decided to stop, and me and Nakaza had already planned to say goodbye to this seedy world. There is no band or music that I like here, so I decided to disband Going and make music alone in a completely different place. Nakazawa: “I was wondering what to do. I was a little relieved, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I thought I didn’t have to continue with the current situation, and Ishihara said, “Let’s go. do some more grouping.” Waited. I started saying things that I wouldn’t (laughs)” Matsumoto “It wasn’t that those words resonated with me, but that I had a question. I don’t have the most musical talent, and I can’t grow. It’s not like we’ve been friends since we’ve been friends since we’ve been friends since I was a kid, but he worries about the group so much that he’s going bald. I also said to my wife, “I’m leaving the band today. My wife, before I became this band, I knew everyone in Okegawa since we were just friends. I lived. If it’s gone, that means I lost my pride “Nakazawa ‘You are an artist’s wife. Yes. After that, in my room, I listened to Ramones and Clash records with a bang, and I immediately called Nakaza. If I could still be in a band with that feeling I had when I was in middle school, I would still love to do it.” Nakazawa “I’m just at home. (laughs) Joe, should I quit? Sosei said he was also going to quit the band… Maybe he should quit the agency… Well, what should I do? Then I got a phone call.” Matsumoto “Nakaza, you’re super calm. I was talking very enthusiastically, but he said, ‘If you think so, you should start a band.'” Nakazawa “The next day, the three of us at a cafe in Shimokita. I talked to you. Sosei and I are worried because we don’t know anything about money or anything even if we want to do it. I don’t know what to do if I leave the office like this. It’s true. I never seemed more reliable than in those days (laughs)” Ishihara “I was a manager, so I kind of understand the flow of money. The money I put in the office, the money which I don’t need if I’m doing it with three people, I’ve calculated that kind of thing. If that happens, each of us will have a lot to do… so why not do something about it? ” Nakazawa: “If I didn’t have to do things that I wasn’t happy with, I wanted to continue unity). It’s a more minimal activity than going there, but there’s no stress there -bas.Mr. Taro and I make songs that we think are good, we play live, sell I always wondered why GOING couldn’t do such a simple thing, so I decided to continue the band, but I definitely won’t do any music or activities that I don’t want to do!” The feeling was really strong.
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