One of the (mainly Luna Sea related) things Iâm still searching for is photos from when J modeled for Jean Colonna. As far as I know, it was back in 1997 and he participated in the fall collection (not 100% sure thatâs correct tho). I need to see it with my own eyes đ am I searching in the wrong places?!? Thereâs no doubt it happened because he has said it himself, but I feel like Iâm missing some crucial context that would help me find it đđ
Wait, unless Iâve already seen the photoshoot somewhere and havenât realized itâs from then?? That couldâve happened too. Regardless, I hope I can find them soon because Iâm too determined now.
Note: I found this interview in "PERFECT BOOK hide" (2012), which once again fails to provide any sources on the articles and interviews published within. So I don't know what year this is from or where it was originally published. If you happen to know, please tell me, so I can add that information.
I decided to keep the format, including the disembodied quotes, to break up what would otherwise be one long, ongoing commentary.
This one was very difficult. I had tried translating this before and given up on it. It may not be entirely accurate everywhere. Again, I am open to corrections.
That time spend with hide
TAIJI
In the aftermath, Taiji speaks openly about their cool relationship that lasted from his first meeting with hide through his time with X.
âAt that time, I didnât even know if it was read âhi-deâ or âhaidâ.â
I first met hide when I was with [the band] Dementia. We did a band battle with hideâs Saver Tiger at the live house âKagurazaka Explosionâ. Later, when we settled the bill for the gig, we exchanged words for the first time. I got complimented on my hair by hide: âHey, the way your hair stands up is great!â That was when I was 19 years old.
We did that band battle in the first place because I had asked for it at one point. At that time, I didnât even know if his name was read âhi-deâ or âhaidâ [Note: As in, the English word âhideâ], but when I saw Saver Tigerâs leaflets, I was immediately compelled to. Hide was just too cool, his aura was different from any other band, so I asked for a reservation. So the first time I met hide was when I was sharing a stage with him.
I only saw hideâs performance from the very back while doing my make up, but I was charmed by his meaningful and appealing, really overwhelming performance. Guitarists at the time were all about how fast, how technical, how difficult their play could be, but hide was different. Her was aware of the entire picture. From the beginning, hide was focused on going in that direction, and he never really changed at all.
At that time, I heard from hide that Saver Tiger was doing a performance with MURBAS [Indie band active from 1981 â 1986 and 2005 â 2009] next, so I told him, âYou wonât lose to them.â At the time, MURBAS was the much better band.
Hide didnât talk to me about our performance at that time, but the fact that he addressed me must mean that I left some kind of impression. It was at a time when Dementia was also swiftly gaining momentum.
There were many bands that I was introduced to by hide, starting with Steppenwolf. That Iâd come to love Steppenwolfâs âBORN TO BE WILDâ is thanks to him. Itâs like I learned that from him. Iâd always listened to heavy metal and was strongly influenced by it, so I didnât get what was supposed to be so great about Steppenwolf. Now I can see what a great song that is, but then I didnât understand it at all.
In response to hideâs high praise for them, I said, âThat band is incomprehensible, it has no technique or anything.â When I listen to it now, itâs cool, but then, I didnât get it. Hide wanted to bring that goodness into his band and elevate it to the next level of coolness. He was someone who understood the importance of the show from the start. And it just became more and more important. Eventually, it turned into something amazing. The sound that hide liked already had such nuances back then. Therefore there wasnât anything I could compare it to in my own band. There were similarities in costumes and such, but it felt like we did different genres.
âAnyway, I thought it made a good sound. Definitely a sound that was indispensable for the band.â
The next time I met hide was after I joined X, when his name came up, a-propos of nothing, while we were looking for a guitarist. Since hide had left an impression with me, I remember thinking that it would be good to have him as our guitarist. So I started by drinking with him, but he didnât listen to a word I said at that time (laughs). What I think is that he must have wanted to work with TOKIHIKO, who was the bassist for Saver Tiger. Thatâs probably why he wouldnât talk. TOKIHIKO was that good, and hide was particular about his bassists. I guess he thought he couldnât accept a bassist he didnât like himself. In that case, there was no way he would accept someone like me who he had never even played with. The bass lines of Dementia and X were completely different.
In any case, I thought hideâs guitar sounded great from the moment he first entered the stage. His sound resembled Anthrax, definitely a sound that was indispensable for the band. The backing also being excellent, I thought that the guitars made the band amazing. I also thought that he put the band as an ensemble over his ego as a guitarist. I guess that is why the bassist was so essential for hide. Dementia was also a band with a good guitar sound, but when I was in the studio with hide, I was surprised there was a guitarist who produced such powerful sound. I knew that the sound of the band being so good was tied to hideâs fantastic backing. The way of thinking behind that was the same as mine.
At that time, I wanted nothing more than just to watch hide. Besides, I thought I could absolutely make him say that I was a better bassist than TOKIHIKO. Seriously. Even when it comes to playing the bass, I can say, âLook what I did, wasnât that good?â all I want, there is no guideline or correct answer. But hide gave his okay, saying, âThat right there, thatâs all you need to play.â Having originally been a guitar player, I had decided that the bass was a lame instrument and only did so much with it; it was hide who helped me approach it with the guitar mindset of âPlay freely, no matter what anyone says!â It takes courage to change the way you played all the time, and changing your concept can become embarrassing if youâre not careful. So, in my case, instead of stripping it down to the roots, I figured I could just harmonize, and said to hide, âI think we should harmonize, how do you feel about that?â With that, hide finally came to give me recognition. The bass solo before the solo in âSadistic Desireâ? It was when we were making that that he really acknowledged me. Up until then, he wouldnât even hear what I said (laughs).
But, that I had been recognized by hide I only realized just before he passed away. I read an interview in which he said, âI suppose my favorite bassist would be Taiji.â Until then, I had wondered if he would ever take notice of me, so that made me very happy.
âThe respect had nothing to do with age. Hide was like an older brother to me.â
When we came to stand on stage in the same band, it wasnât enough just to play, we also had to perform this time. You have to play the strings while moving around and being enchanting. Anyone can do it standing still. So, you have to be able to play while spinning around, while facing the audience. That, too, was hideâs influence. While moving around was somewhere on my mind as well, hide was calculating the perfect movement.
About the running around during the X era, hide said to me, âItâs a show, so we have to perform.â For entertainment. He predicted the necessity of that kind of expression.
Even in small live houses, he said, âJust spin around,â and did as much as was possible there. We practiced playing while spinning when we didnât know how. What can we do during a break to make it more lively?
He taught me more about being an entertainer than about playing. I think without those skills, I wouldnât have been able to stand out. Everyone was surprised when I changed what it meant to be a bassist and by how cool that made me. Just, performing like that for real and playing it live was terrible (laughs).
But if I didnât do that, hide wouldnât have recognized me. It was about being respected, regardless of age. Outside of music as well, there were words, and funny ideas. Hide was like an older brother to me. Even when he was trying to calm someone down, calm as he was, he would talk about different viewpoints, perspectives that others did not notice.
The way hide made arrangements was different from mine. My arrangements were made from the skeleton. I started at the foundation and made drastic changes from there. I think hide made arrangements that skillfully decorated those foundations. Iâd deliver a good foundation, sometimes even changing the cord progression, and hide worked from there. Hide was aiming to make the bass line more fun, he was always thinking about the bass. âWhy donât you try it like this?â heâd say. If I was just told something, I wouldnât understand it. But if you donât even try to understand it, you get it even less. So we would actually explore things together, say things like, âAlmost there,â and âOh, just like that!â, thatâs how we did it. While I played my notes on the bass, hide would play at the same time and create a section by harmonizing with the guitar. We did arrangements like that as well. I also gave my opinion on the guitar.
âI thought to myself, Iâll never be the kind of person who understands this (laughs).â
We started âGIVE ME THE PLEASUREâ, which we created together, from the bass, but first we had to talk about incorporating slapping. That was at a time when slapping simply did not happen in heavy metal. I wanted to break those customs, and so I discussed incorporating it with hide. Doing so created an occult-like sound. We added the melody of âGIVE ME THE PLEASUREâ, and it changed to 16-beats halfway through. Looking back, Iâd call it funk now. Hide liked that kind of music as well, so he was like, âThatâs great!â It was like playing catch ball. You throw the ball, and itâs played back to you with alterations. And then you change it and play it back again. Since that was before the digital age, it was played right in front of you. So miracles happened right in front of you. I was constantly surprised, going, âThat just happened!â
With âXCLAMATIONâ, I developed the bass phrase and hide added the melody from there, even giving it an intro. With those two songs, I made the phrase and it developed from there. Also, hideâs guitar for âDESPERATE ANGELâ, which I had composed, was perfect for it. It amazes me how, no matter how I want him to play, thatâs what he gives me. When it comes to his solo, itâs OK no matter how many takes you record. Itâs so cool. Whatever he plays is perfect, because he has always loved RockânâRoll.
When it came to recording, hide didnât just show up at the studio to record with headphones on, but rather worked at the console. He wanted to work alone so he didnât get distracted. Sometimes, Iâd pop my head in and say, âWow, amazing!â in surprise, and he looked happy. He was the type who became friends with the engineer before starting to record. On the other hand, it was hide who encouraged me when I was somewhat lacking confidence: âTAIJI, you can do more than that!â
During his solo acts at X concerts, hideâs solos went far beyond what youâd expect a guitaristâs solo to be (laughs). âWhat the hell is he going for?â Iâd wonder, and it always was amazing. I thought he was someone Iâd always struggle to understand (laughs). I guess he thought, âSo what?â, because to him simply playing the guitar all the time just because it was a guitaristâs solo wasnât cool enough.
For me, it was different. To me, playing the bass was about how close I could get it to the guitar.
Hide wasnât a person of many words, but when we recorded his song âMISCASTâ, he said to me, âThe bass makes this song sound cool.â He was the kind of person to give compliments like that.
âWords alone cannot express the appeal hide had.â
After I joined Loudness, we didnât have any contact at all. But after a while I saw on TV that hide had registered as a donor with the bone marrow bank and thought that was amazing. I did not have the time for something like that, being so focused on the band. When I started D.T.R. there was no contact either. Yet I was shocked when hide released his solo works and I listened to âROCKET DIVEâ and âPink Spiderâ. I was amazed by this amazing stuff he had made. I thought, finally, he did it. It made me happy.
While D.T.R. had a laid back style, what hide did with his solo works and hide with Spread Beaver was the exact opposite (laughs). D.T.R. was laid back and hide was extremely cyber. It was cutting edge.
The era of rock during the time of D.T.R. was ill defined, and laid back could be considered cool. It seems that in that formative era, hide went in the opposite direction with cyber.
The first thing I noticed when listening to hide with Spread Beaver was how good hideâs singing was. He had grown so much. Even compared to the time when he released his solo song âTELL MEâ it was completely different. His growth as a vocalist was amazing.
When we were doing the chorus during our X days, I used to think that hideâs and my voices were somewhat similar. Harmonizing with him on the chorus had been easy. But by the time of âROCKET DIVEâ, hide had reached an entirely new level as a vocalist. He wasnât just a great singer, he was also very expressive. I think he must have put a lot of effort into it.
I think that in his solo career before hide with Spread Beaver, hide hadnât yet fully accomplished what he had wanted to do. I feel like it wasnât the right time for him to really express what he wanted. I guess he must have felt the same way. I also canât deny that his songs felt like they were pandering to someone. But, when I listened to âROCKET DIVEâ, I felt like he had let go of that completely. It felt like he had become defiant, while bringing out all the good qualities that heâd had from the beginning. Behind the scenes, he must have worked really hard on it. Itâs music that sounds simple but requires a lot of thought. I feel like hide taught me how difficult it is to make something simple. Itâs not like by making something complicated youâre making it better.
Generally, I liked the cyber-look as well, so I felt like we were connected even though we were far apart. Itâs something we have in common. I suppose our ideas and the way we feel are similar. Itâs been the same since the first time I felt it at Kagurazaka Explosion. That common ground I saw between us never changed.
Hideâs greatest charm was â how shall I put it? â that he transcended the realm of what words can explain. He doesnât seem like a person who can be described in words. When it comes to hide, all words seem insignificant. His charm cannot be expressed with words alone.
âYOU-chan and fun palsâ
Vo. YOU (DEAD END / G.)
G. JUNYA (REACTION / Vo.)
G. MORRIE (DEAD END / Vo.)
Ba. TATSU (GASTUNK / G.)
Dr. DAXX (DEVILS / Dr.)
1.Donât Cainge That Song
2. Sweet O âMine
3. Welcome To The Jungle
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