Introduction Who would have thought that little trio from Okinawa would end up creating one of the highest selling indie records in Japan? In this first of a two part interview Keikaku's very own Chris, Taylor, and Hana chat face to face with Uezu Kiyosaku (bass, vocals), Gima Takashi (guitar), and Nakazato Satoshi (drums) of MONGOL800. This interview was conducted in a cafe next to the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, before their second ever show in the United States, dated 11/17/05. back to features		MONGOL800 Chris: First, just say your name and and what instrument. Nakazato Satoshi: Drums, Nakazato Satoshi. Uezu Kiyosaku: Bass and vocals Uezu Kiyosaku. Nice to meet you. Gima Takashi: Guitar, Gima Takashi. Chris: So you met in high school when you were teenagers? How did you all meet and start a band? Uezu: We were in the same class. Classmates. Hana: And that's it? Uezu: (In English) That's it. Nakazato: The guitarist and bassist just decided to start playing together. Taylor: Did you start playing covers of other bands? Band: Yes. Taylor: Of which bands? Uezu: Hi-Standard, Blue Hearts. Chris: Why did you start a band? Many in the US start a band because they want, well, girls. All: Ahhh (laughs). Uezu: Just to enjoy. Chris: Oh, for fun. How long were you playing your instrument? Since when? Uezu: Sixteen, fifteen. Chris: Where did you get the name, Mongol800? Gima: Inspiration. Chris: Is it like a thing out of the blue? Uezu: There was a voice in me. All: (laughs) Chris: Because I was thinking a mongol barbarian, invading music. All: (laughs) Chris: I guess maybe not. Hana: Tell us about your first live. Uezu: It was at a school festival. Hana: Did you do well? Uezu: Yeah, pretty well (laughs). The first three original songs came from that. Chris: Which ones? Uezu: From the first album, "Don't Worry Be Happy" and "Happy Birthday." Chris: Was that the demo CD? Uezu: Yes. Chris: (pointing at Taylor) He has it, the demo CD. Taylor: On my computer. Gima: It's hard to find. Very rare. Chris: Where do you get inspiration for writing your songs? Many of the songs are about relaxing under hard times, very common, universal themes. Where do you find inspiration for songwriting? Uezu: Daily life. Taylor: And "Dandelion," the song? The lyrics are kind of strange, so... where does that come from? Uezu: We are in Okinawa, which has an environment different from Japan. Sumiyo (tour manager): For you to understand what they are thinking about in their songs, Okinawa has a very different history from the rest of Japan. Okinawa used to be an independent country, and they struggled in their history through the end of the war. Chris: Oh yeah, and then occupied by the US during the war. Because I remember at one time they used the US dollar for currency? Band: Yeah. Sumiyo: So they wanted really to deliver the message as to what the real spirit of Okinawa is. And they talk of peace. Chris: Oh, ok. Mongols: And DNA. (laughs) Chris: How is the Okinawa punk scene? Like how many punk bands from Okinawa are there? Is there a big punk scene in Okinawa? Gima: There's a lot of camaraderie in the punk scene. It's hard to explain, but everyone is together. Dance, hip-hop, punk, everyone is one scene. In Japan there is no real "punk scene." Sumiyo: In Okinawa, music just exists. They don't care about the scene. Music is music. Chris: Because in the US, they have one big scene, but certain bands from certain areas, like Washington, DC, has (sic) the DC hardcore scene, and San Francisco Bay area, Bay Area punk, like a certain sound from certain areas. I was just wondering if Okinawa has a certain sound, or a certain flavor. Sumiyo: The Okinawa music is so unique because there is diversity in the music. That's why they don't like to categorize. Taylor: How is Okinawa hip-hop? Gima: It's there. Taylor: Is it good? Gima: Yeah, yeah, it's good (laughs). Hana: This is the first time you've come to America? Uezu: It's our first live show. But we've come here before. Hana: What do you think of America? Gima: Er.. Hana: That's it? (laughs) Gima: Seems like an easy place to live. Same as Japan. Chris: So this is the first time you've been to the States, or have you been been before? Uezu: From what I remember, it's the second time. The first time was when I was a child. Chris: For many bands like Mongol800, they have a label for the sound: melocore. What do you think of that stereotype, being called melocore, because I notice a lot of bands that are melocore have very different sounds. They're all over the place. Uezu: I don't really give a shit. (laughs) All: (laughs) Uezu: It's about the same in Japan. We don't worry about what the listeners call us, but it's up to them to say what's melocore and what isn't. Hana: Americans love genres so they like to categorize everything. Uezu: Japanese, too. Chris: Your second album Message sold 2 million copies, very big for a small band. Very little promotion. How did you feel when you found out that album sold so much, or was so successful? Higa Yumiko (manager): The album sales of Message are almost 3 million. Chris: 3 million? When we last heard it was only two million. (laughs) Higa: It was updated. Chris: What was your first reaction when you found out? Uezu: So far, 3 million, we could't have imagined. We're really happy about it (laughs). Hana: All three of us have that album. Uezu: Oh, thank you. Hana: I brought it, too. (laughs) Taylor: How much did it cost to make the album? Gima: About.. about how much was it? Higa: 2100 yen. Chris, Taylor, Hana: (laughs in disbelief) Band: Is that a lot? Chris: Wow.. oh wow. Higa: Is that expensive, or cheap, or what? Chris: That's cheap. It's expensive to record an album. Sumiyo: Wait. What was the question again? Chris: How much did it cost to actually produce the album? Higa: Oh you mean the whole thing? Like recording and everything? We thought you meant the price of the CD. Chris and Taylor: Yeah. Total. Higa: Oh that's much more than that. Uezu: Yeah. It's not just 2100 yen. Chris: Ok. I was thinking, "That's cheap!" Chris: So how much was it? Higa: We can't say! (laughs) Chris: We hear it was relatively inexpensive to record but sold well so that's really good. Higa: Just to compare, the first and second albums, compared to the others, were probably cheaper. Hana: That's a given. - Interview from 2005.11.17. Keikaku.net staff would like to thank Higa Nami, Higa Yumiko, Sumiyo, and MONGOL800 for their participation in this interview.
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