CA4LA MUSIC CONNECTION vol.12
ACIDMAN
The turning point leading up to the celebration of rebirth “SAI 2022”
For artists, there is always some kind of turning point in the process of creating works and the source of their activities from time to time.
"CA4LA MUSIC CONNECTION" is a serial project in which we interview artists about what was a turning point in their activities and ask them to respond.
The 12th artist to appear is ACIDMAN.
ACIDMAN is a three-piece band that was formed in 1997 and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2022. Since forming its current lineup in 1999 and making its major debut in 2002, it has been able to portray the human view of life and death in depth, and to sound it out on a cosmic scale that is hard to imagine for the three of them. has continued to be at the forefront of the rock scene. In 2017, “SAITAMA ROCK FESTIVAL “SAI”” was held for the first time in their hometown Saitama, and even during the coronavirus pandemic, they did not stop moving, releasing the album “INNOCENCE” in 2021, and releasing the album “INNOCENCE” in November 2022. The second “SAITAMA ROCK FESTIVAL “SAI” 2022” will be held for 2 days. In addition to bands from the same generation such as Straightener, THE BACK HORN, and Dragon Ash, the lineup includes the reunited ELLEGARDEN, DOPING PANDA, back number, sumika, and even Mr. Children. It can be said that these two days once again demonstrated the strength of Japan's rock festival culture. We asked frontman Nobuo Oki about his thoughts leading up to the holding of "SAI" and also asked about collaboration items with CA4LA.
Text by Atsutake Kaneko Photo by Kana Tarumi
Interview: Nobuo Oki
“My personality is that of a typical small-to-medium company president who wants to do everything himself.”
First of all, I would like you to look back on the first "SAI" held in 2017, the year of our 20th anniversary. What significance do you think this festival had in the band's career?
Oki: I'm really glad I did it. At first, I thought it would be a festival put on by artists, so I just wanted to convey the atmosphere of Annieversary as an event, but when I opened the lid, it really became a festival filled with love. I was able to be more moved than I could have imagined. When I approached the members of the band, who were my friends but also my rivals, they all responded with two responses: ``We'll be there.'' First of all, I was happy, and tickets sold out within minutes. I was really moved by the fact that there are so many people who love not just ``us,'' but ``the rock band of our generation.'' At first, I thought, ``No one like us could hold a festival,'' so we intended it to be a one-time event, but after it ended, I started thinking, ``I want to do this again.'' It's extremely difficult to do a festival, so I can't do it every year, but I vaguely thought, ``It would be a miracle if I could do it again in five years.''From the top batter 10-FEET to the pre-season straightener, it was intentional that the lineup had a strong sense of the same generation.
Oki, of course. If I were to do a festival, I wanted all of my fellow band members, who are also my friends and who are incredibly inspired by live houses and festivals every day, to attend.You could say that they were the generation that greatly contributed to establishing the culture of "rock festivals" in Japan.
Oki: I think it just so happened that the time we debuted coincided with the time when rock festivals were booming in Japan. But in fact, we were able to perform at ``ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL'' quite often, and it's safe to say that we are who we are today because of that. I wanted to create a festival that could convey the greatness of Japanese bands.In 2013, the year after our 15th anniversary in 2012, we became an independent agency, but we had two issues: ``we can handle everything ourselves'' and ``nothing will work unless we do it ourselves.'' Yes, there is. What kind of period would you say the years between then and the first SAI in 2017 were for the band?
OkiSince I became independent, I have never felt that it was difficult, and only thought that I should have become independent sooner. Of course, I think there are people who are not suited for it, but my personality is that of a typical small-to-medium company president who wants to do everything by himself (lol). If I was selling something, I could have delegated it to someone else, but in my case, I'm selling my ideas and identity, so I can hand over the responsibility to someone else and say, ``I don't care.'' I've always felt uncomfortable with the idea that "I just need to make music." So, I wanted to take on all the positives and negatives myself, so I went independent, and from there I became extremely free musically. It wasn't like I had any restrictions to begin with, but I got tired of just playing music all the time, and I had a desire to use different parts of my brain, so I became independent and began a life where I used my right and left brains differently. It was a big turning point for me.
"If it wasn't for the coronavirus, I might have been scared and not done SAI."
What did you do after you thought, ``I want to do SAI again''?
OkiI wanted to do it as soon as possible, so I thought ``2020 would be a good time to end it.'' I had to sign up for Saitama Super Arena two years in advance, so I'd been asking about availability from time to time since 2018. But there weren't many vacancies, and it takes a lot of courage to do a festival, so I wasn't quite prepared for it, so I was like, ``I want to do it, but I don't have to do it...No, but I want to do it.'' I was thinking about it...and then the coronavirus came.But instead of giving up, we decided to hold the event instead.
OkiMaybe, if it weren't for the coronavirus, he might have been scared and not done it. But when the value of being a musician was reduced to zero due to the coronavirus, and the situation reached a point where there was no point in living, I began to think, ``Maybe we should do this now?'' So the decision was made around the end of 2020. If we didn't give the OK then, we wouldn't have been able to hold on to Saitama Super Arena in 2022. I was prepared to lose 400 million yen and decided, ``Okay, let's do it.''At the end of 2020, we still had no idea what the future would hold.
I thought I had no choice but to do it with Oki as well. It might have been a bit weird, like ``Corona's High.''I guess he instinctively thought, ``It would definitely be a bad idea to stop moving here.''
Oki That's right. I've been trying to swim and swim, and since then I've been doing all kinds of things, changing my hands and things, so my brain was open and open, and I think that's why I thought, ``Let's do it.''What's more, in 2017, the event was held for one day, but due to adverse winds, the event will be expanded to two days.
I thought that if I was going to do Oki, I would do it to the fullest. About a year later, when we decided on the specific ticket prices, we were only able to accommodate half the number of people, so I think the ticket prices were the highest of any festival in Japan. But I didn't hear many complaints about it, and everyone felt it was worth more than the price, so I'm glad I took the courage to make the decision. At worst, if we didn't make a ton of money, we wouldn't be able to survive, so that's why we priced it that way, but in the end we were able to operate at full capacity and make a profit, so we were able to try out a lot of different things. There will be LED lighting throughout, projection mapping, monuments with artist comments, and souvenir sparklers for all visitors. The restaurant was also made luxurious, and the artist area was completely covered with artificial turf. In this way, we were able to make the festival even richer.Artificial grass in the artist area?
Oki: After all, there is a culture created by festivals, and at ``ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL'' it was fun to lie on the grass and drink, but after 2020, that has been lost. right. The 2022 ``ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL'' was held at a different location, but there are fewer places like this nationwide, so I wanted people to experience that atmosphere even just a little bit in the artist area of Saitama Super Arena.The reason you decided to hold a festival amidst the coronavirus pandemic was because you wanted to ``recover the festival culture that was once lost.''
Oki: I think that feeling pushed me forward.
“We succeeded in bringing the heavenly people down to earth (lol)”
I think the reason there were so few complaints about the ticket prices was due to the band's determination to hold the festival amidst the coronavirus pandemic, and also because the lineup was gorgeous enough to justify the price. I guess.
When I decided on Oki's price, Mr. Child's appearance had not yet been decided, so I was thinking, ``15,000 yen is too expensive. I'm sorry,'' but as soon as the price was decided, I thought, ``It was too cheap!'' (lol) .Ahaha. The overall lineup retains the feeling of the same generation as the first time, but now has a wider range of both older and younger generations.
Oki: First of all, we approached all the artists who appeared last time, and RADWIMPS was the only one whose schedule didn't work out, but everyone else got their OK right away. Also, in the 5 years since the last time, there are bands from our juniors who have told us that they like us, such as Back Number and Sumika, and bands that we have always admired, like Mr. Child. It felt like I had made an offer without success.Personally, I was really impressed by the performances by ELLEGARDEN and DOPING PANDA. Both of them are bands that have been revived in the past five years, and I feel that their presence was very meaningful as it synchronized with the significance of festivals, which is to ``recover what was once lost.''
Oki: It's true that this festival has revived something that was once lost. I just love Hosomi-kun's singing voice, and I offered Hosomi-kun, ``I want him to be in any band,'' but when we saw ELLEGARDEN's live performance, we were really shocked at the time. That feeling hasn't been lost at all, and in fact, it's even more powerful. At first, I was just watching from the sidelines, but I couldn't help but run out to the front and realize what an amazing band this was. The entire lineup of DOPING PANDA was decided before they were revived. After that, I got a call that it would be revived, and I said, ``I'd like to invite them, but I can't do it anymore. I'm sorry.'' But it happened that one of the artists couldn't perform, so I immediately contacted Yutaka. Yutaka also said, ``Seriously!'' with a trembling voice, but I'm really glad I was able to call him. Of course we were happy, but I could feel that the customers were very happy.For fans who have been following bands of the same generation as ACIDMAN, I think the appearance of those two groups was special. Another thing that made the group special was the presence of Mr. Chill.
We succeeded in bringing Oki Tenjojin down to earth (lol). About a year before the event, I said, half seriously, half jokingly, ``Would it be possible for Mr. Child to appear?'' At that time, all the members and salesperson were like, ``What are you talking about?'' I still remember it. We had a bit of a connection, such as being allowed to perform at "AP Bank Fes," but I never expected Mr. Child, who doesn't often appear at festivals, to give me an okay, so I was really happy. .I think Mr. Sakurai also had the feeling that ``Japanese music culture must not be stopped.'' Furthermore, Mr.Chill is a J-Pop legend, but on the other hand, they have always been an alternative rock band, and I feel like they had an affinity with "SAI."
Oki I think so. I've loved Mr. Chill since high school, and I think back then I listened to them as a J-POP band, but after I entered university, I started listening to them as a rock band. Furthermore, when I listened to ``Deep Sea'', my impression changed even further, and I realized that they were a truly alternative and extremely artistic band, and I thought, ``I definitely want to invite them.''What was it like watching Mr.Child's live performance at your own festival?
Ohki, no, from the first "Endless Journey"... I wrote comments for each artist and had them put them in their dressing room. I also wrote something like ``I really like the new song ``Ikiro'' and that song is amazing,'' and he ended the song with that song. Of course, since it's a new song, I may have just done it at the end, but I thought it was a good idea to start with ``Endless Journey'' and end with the message ``Live'', without going overboard. I once again realized that this is a band that has continued to do something magical, creating the world of Mr. Chill with just one note.It's the same with ``Ikiro'' and the work ``Shinkai'', but Mr. Child is also a band that depicts a view of life and death, and that may be in sync with ACIDMAN.
As Oki said, I think there are some similarities between Mr. Chill and ACIDMAN, and Mr. Sakurai and Nobuo Oki. Some people might say, "It's the exact opposite!", but I think you'll understand once you read the lyrics. It's presumptuous to say it myself, but I think there are some similarities. "I felt like I was being hugged by the words of a senior who understood me and acknowledged me."
After seeing Mr.Child's live performance, how did you feel about your own live performance? It was also a big live show for two days.
Oki: ``All that's left is to do it.'' I felt surprisingly relieved. The audience, including Mr. Chill fans, never left before we saw them. It may seem obvious, but I was really happy about it, and I think I was able to do it confidently without any strange nervousness.
Of course, there were many bands that performed before Mr.Chill, and each of them was great, which created an atmosphere of ``Let's enjoy this day'' instead of ``Go see the band you want''. I guess it was.
As Oki said, the audience watched the show from beginning to end, starting with Ska Para on the first day and THE BACK HORN on the second day, and I think they were satisfied with it. At festivals these days, there may be more people who just go and see the band they want, but I think there were a lot of people who enjoyed everything for those two days.
I'm sure you could list many other famous moments from the two days, but when it comes to special moments for you, which one from whose live performance would you say?
I cried a lot during Oki BRAHMAN's TOSHI-LOW MC. Leading up to that day, I was feeling overwhelmed, so I kept thinking, ``I'll try not to cry at my live performance on the second day.'' I tend to cry a lot, but I decided that I couldn't cry at the age of 45, so I did a lot of mental training. But it was an ambush, or rather, during BRAHMAN, he was completely unguarded, and TOSHI-LOW's MC got stabbed. Something must have come loose at that point, and I burst into tears crying into my sleeve. If you cry, you'll use up your energy, so it's definitely not okay to cry before a concert. But I fell for his trick, and I couldn't contain my excitement for about an hour after the show, so I cried again in the bathroom. I thought to myself, "What did you do? Should I call you again?" (lol), but somehow I managed to get my condition back.
What kind of MC were you?
Ohki says something like, ``Ohki gathers disparate music into one festival and ties them together.It's like connecting the stars in the night sky with lines and making them into constellations.'' I thought what a good idea I had come up with, and I felt like I was being embraced by my seniors who understood me and acknowledged me that much. For me, that moment was the highlight.
About two months have passed since those two days. Looking back now, what kind of meaning do you think the second “SAI” was for the band?
Oki: It was a truly irreplaceable two days, and I think it has become one of the must-see days in ACIDMAN's career. However, as time passes, I no longer feel like I've done it. I spend my days without feeling like I'm a rock star, but for a while after that festival, I think I was somehow trying to be cool and thinking, ``I invited Mr. Chill.'' (laughs) But lately, I've been starting to get back to my usual self, wondering, ``Did someone like me really call Mr. Child?'' I thought I was going to fly to the sky, but I ended up coming down to earth again.
But I'm sure that experience will change my future creations, and I think it was an extremely important moment for the future of Japanese festival culture.
Thank you Oki.
``(For the visual art for ``SAI''), I focused on energy, and spent about two hours drawing it until it looked like it was going crazy.''
I would also like to ask you about "CA4LA x ACIDMAN FELT HAT SAI Limited," COLLABORATION with CA4LA.
大木 ありがたいことに、ライブ用のハットはずっとCA4LAさんにオリジナルのものを作っていただいていて、デビュー当時からずっとなので、もう20年近くは経ってると思います。今回は裏地を僕が描いた「SAI」のビジュアルアートの総柄にしてもらっていて、普通はなかなかできないことだと思うんですけど、すぐに対応していただいて。あとは色とかブリムの大きさのリクエストをお伝えしつつ、それ以外はいつもお願いしている秋元さん（CA4LAクリエイティブディレクター）にお任せしました。
秋元 大木くんがライブで被ってるハットはいつもアトリエで作っていて、普段はオーダーをしないと作れないんですけど、それにできるだけ近づけて作りました。
大木 僕が普段被ってるものよりも、ブリムの幅がちょっとだけ短いんです。ホントにちょっとしたバランスで、僕が普段被ってるのを他の人が被ると、ちょっと笑われちゃうかなと思うんですよね。
秋元 大げさな感じがしちゃう。
大木 そうそう。なので、一般的にはこっちの方がちょうどいいと思う。
秋元 大木くんがライブで被ってるハットはいつもアトリエで作っていて、普段はオーダーをしないと作れないんですけど、それにできるだけ近づけて作りました。
大木 僕が普段被ってるものよりも、ブリムの幅がちょっとだけ短いんです。ホントにちょっとしたバランスで、僕が普段被ってるのを他の人が被ると、ちょっと笑われちゃうかなと思うんですよね。
秋元 大げさな感じがしちゃう。
大木 そうそう。なので、一般的にはこっちの方がちょうどいいと思う。
Mr. Akimoto, who works with various artists, is Mr. Oki's commitment to hats special?
秋元 トップレベルのこだわりですよ。大木伸夫か……。
大木 LOW IQ 01さんか？
秋元 正解（笑）。ACIDMANの曲と一緒で、すごくディテールを重視していて、そこは信頼に応えたいので、こちらもすごく気を使ってます。ちょっとでもバランスが違うと気付かれちゃうから、ごまかせないんですよ（笑）。うちのアトリエには大木伸夫の型があって、毎シーズンそれに合わせて作ってます。
大木 LOW IQ 01さんか？
秋元 正解（笑）。ACIDMANの曲と一緒で、すごくディテールを重視していて、そこは信頼に応えたいので、こちらもすごく気を使ってます。ちょっとでもバランスが違うと気付かれちゃうから、ごまかせないんですよ（笑）。うちのアトリエには大木伸夫の型があって、毎シーズンそれに合わせて作ってます。
The visual art of "SAI" has been used since the first event, but how was it originally created?
Oki: At first, I asked a professional artist to draw a different one, but I thought there was something different about it. So, when I thought about what to do, I realized that I had always really liked drawing. I received 20 certificates during my 6 years in elementary school, my dream was to be a painter, and my teachers expected me to be a painter, but my talent suddenly dropped to zero in my first year of junior high school. I suddenly became bad at it, and it wasn't fun at all. So I went into music, but I've always loved drawing, and I sometimes drew the jackets of ACIDMAN's second album, ``Loop.'' So in 2017, I thought, ``Let's paint some more.'' So I bought some acrylic paint and a trowel. The title "SAI" had already been decided, so it was based on the image of Taro Okamoto's "Art is an explosion." It's a festival, it's fireworks, it's all about energy, and it's going to be crazy over about two hours. Draw up to Thanks to that, I think we were able to create something good, and I'm glad I was able to use it again this time.
It also looks like a big bang.
大木 そうそう。宇宙的なイメージもありますね。
秋元 これが裏地になってるって、贅沢ですよね。
大木 きっとできないだろうなと思って、「たぶん無理だと思うけど」みたいな感じで頼んだら、（スタッフ）「やってくれるそうです」「マジで？」ってなって。すごくかっこよくて、ホントにお願いしてよかったなと思います。
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秋元 これが裏地になってるって、贅沢ですよね。
大木 きっとできないだろうなと思って、「たぶん無理だと思うけど」みたいな感じで頼んだら、（スタッフ）「やってくれるそうです」「マジで？」ってなって。すごくかっこよくて、ホントにお願いしてよかったなと思います。
``I never thought I'd be playing rock music until I'm 45, but now that I've gotten this far, I'm determined to do it for the rest of my life.''
Lastly, please tell us about ACIDMAN in 2023.
OkiMy current mode is that I want to create. Last time, we took the energy from the festival to the tour and ran all the way to the final Budokan, but this time we focused on the festival first, and although we didn't rest, we used the energy we gained there to carefully work on production. , I would like to carefully deliver that to the world. It would be nice if the dream-like festival was over and I could just say, ``I don't have to do anything for a while,'' but I'm still human after all, and new desires will emerge, and the reality is that I need to earn money and support the members and salesperson. I have to feed it. However, I can't do it just for the money, so in order to properly match my desires and business, it's important to draw a blueprint over a three to five year period and move forward. By doing so, it will become clearer what you should do now.
There are many great bands in our generation, but no other band has progressed their career the way ACIDMAN has, and that's because, as you just mentioned, Mr. Oki is always thinking about the future of the band. I felt like it was a big deal.
Oki: I'm really scared (lol). When I drink with various artists, I feel overwhelmingly surprised. I'm always anxious, I'm scared of dying, I'm scared of getting sick, I'm scared of not being able to eat, I'm scared of my fans leaving me, so I feel like I'm always preparing.
I think it's because we don't turn our eyes away from it and look firmly at the reality that we were able to carefully and boldly move the band, and were able to hold "SAI."
Oki Maybe so. I never thought I would play rock until I was 45, but now that I've been able to do it this far, I'm determined to do it for the rest of my life. That means I have to try more from now on, and that feeling is getting stronger, so I'm really excited. Up until now, there have been parts of me that have thought, ``Who are we?'', but now I have a strong desire to aim even higher.
ACIDMAN Nobuo Oki (Vo&G), Masatoshi Sato (B), and Kazugo Urayama (Dr) create a magnificent world of poetry with the themes of “life” and “universe,” incorporating music from various genres, and combining “stillness” and “motion.” A rock band that continues to expand the possibilities of a 3-piece with a wide range of sounds that go back and forth between ``. They made their major debut with the album "So" in 2002, and since then have performed at numerous rock festivals. In 2017, as the culmination of their 20th anniversary, they held their first rock festival, “SAITAMA ROCK FESTIVAL “SAI”, at Saitama Super Arena in their hometown of Saitama Prefecture, and tickets sold out on the same day. To date, they have released 12 original albums and held six successful Nippon Budokan live performances. In 2022, as the culmination of our 25th anniversary year, we held "SAITAMA ROCK FESTIVAL "SAI" 2022" for the first time in five years. Oki is a licensed pharmacist and also serves as the representative of his agency.
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