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Interview with YAMAMOTO HIROKO (HEADWAX staff in charge of promotion at LEMONed ‘96) - Translation

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Note: Yes, this is a long one, and yes, it is a full translation, not a "summary". There were some parts that I struggled with, and I'm sure you'll be able to tell where. If anyone has corrections to offer, I'm open to them.

Please tell us about your first meeting with hide.

“In ‘96, the label LEMONed was founded, and higher ups in the company wanted me to help them set it up. Until then, I had only listened to western music, so even X I only knew by name, nor did I know anything beyond that this was the label of the personal office of X’s guitarist hide-san. But, when I listened to the demo tape of the compilation LEMONed was planning to release, the songs on it were all incredibly cool. I thought, if the label is like that, working for it might be fun as well, and decided to join them. When I came to the office the first time, hide-san was in the conference room. When I entered the room, we had a really short introduction of me going, “I’m the new one, Yamamoto. Thank you for having me,” and him replying, “I’m hide. Nice to meet you,” as he had to leave for LA the next day. He was wearing a hat low over his eyes, his voice was quiet, and he just gave the impression of being a quiet person. I didn’t know X at all at that time and to be honest wasn’t very familiar with hide-san’s face either, so my first impression really was him being quiet and docile.”

After that, you didn’t see him for a while?

“Yes. It wasn’t a time when everyone had their own PC, and business was done on the phone rather than by mail. The LEMONed compilation was released on the 22nd of May, and before “MISERY” came out in June, I was alone in the office one night. That was when hide-san called from LA. I think he was maybe a little drunk. The video for the compilation was ranking 1st on the ORICON charts, the CD was ranking 2nd, still he said, “You know, the debut CD of my label didn’t make it to 1st place, so is it really okay for me to release another solo single here?” Hearing this, I couldn’t help but say, “As someone who is a big fan of Elvis Costello and doesn’t know X at all, I thought “MISERY” is really cool. So you have to release it.” And, “What are you talking about? The CD is ranking 2nd and the video 1st. It’s an amazing CD, so please release your single. Me, I will sell it.” This was me giving just a quick greeting – in the end, he laughed and ended the call with, “I get it, I get it. I will release it.” Thinking about it now, I think he was fearless, and yet he listened to me without getting angry. Just, frankly, that phone call was unexpected. It goes without saying that the first place is better than the second, but I think he was also serious about business. He was serious about music and about business both. In that moment, I thought, “I will sell him!” (laughs) I think it was that late night phone call that made me feel that way.”

Didn’t it take courage to say those words?

“I was desperate at that time, so I didn’t think about that. Later, I realized how fearless I had been (laughs). After that, when “FLAME” was recorded, Yanagida-kun of ZEPPET STORE joined in on drums, so I took him to LA. That was the time when we met and had a proper conversation for the first time.”

How long after your first meeting was that?

“I don’t remember it clearly, but I think it was about three months.”

What was your impression that time?

“We had only met once before, so I thought, “We only exchanged a greeting, he probably doesn’t remember me,” and I remember being very nervous as I talked about the promotion plan in the studio. Anyway, since I was so nervous, I spoke like a waterfall, and he listened carefully to it all. At that time, he also had X, he also had zilch, it was really hard. He only had five days to stay in Japan, and in that time he had an insane schedule of magazine, TV, and radio appearances. But he usually just said, “It’s fine,” and we went to his favorite izakaya afterwards. Since it was my first time, he was really considerate and introduced me to the others, like engineer Eric [Westphal]. Really, he was so kind. I didn’t see him drunk either, so I had an impression of him being a very earnest, serious person, that first time (laughs).”

That late-night phone call didn’t come up?

“I never spoke about that call with hide-san again. But when I had mentioned that I liked Elvis Costello, he said, “Well, you’ll certainly like this,” and told me about an artists called James Hall. When I then bought a CD at Tower in LA and showed it to him saying, “hide-san, it’s this one, right?”, he looked happy. At that point I thought that he must know I had been the one he had talked to that night. But when I listened to that CD, I thought, amused, that I had listened to Elvis Costello as a vocalist while hide-san had listened to him as a guitarist. I still treasure that CD, even now.”

He had a lot of different recommendations for everyone, didn’t he?

“That’s how LEMONed came to be. That’s also why he was very concerned with ZEPPET STORE and told me many times, “You have to sell them.” “What are you doing for the promotion of the next singe?” “Where are they appearing?” He worried about them a lot. Work was tough. When it came to his own solo works, he also said things like, “I need to get on TV here,” and so on. But no matter how hard his schedule was, he never complained. He’d rent two neighboring studios, have one set up while he was taking the pictures for the front cover in the other, then switch places when he was done with that… That’s how he always did it. “Once an interview starts, I talk like a machine gun and say the same things over and over, so add an interview in there,” he’d tell me, and I now realized that just when I thought about how hard the promotion schedule was, more work was added to it. But he never complained and he never asked for a break. Also, whether it were magazines, TV, radio, campaigns, he really did it all. He was someone who understood that “if you do something, you need to reach as many people as possible”, so he put up with whatever hard schedule he had to. I was grateful. He was like the model of an artist. Even if there was only a five to ten minute break to eat a sandwich or an onigiri, he was completely fine with it.”

I suppose he had an identity as both an artist and as a businessman.

“I wonder if there has ever been an artist, before or after, who took both entertainment and business into consideration like he did; he thought it through so well. Strangely, regarding money, it wasn’t about that. I think he genuinely wanted to let people listen to what he was releasing. Also, he often said, “I want to change the charts.” In the ORICON charts, there’s idols, there’s western music, there’s me, there’s Mo-Musu, there are all sorts of people; it’s fun in that sense, he often said, “I want to break down the barrier between western music and Japanese music,”, and “I want to change the charts.” He had respectable opinions and was earnest, and he always treated music with sincerity, so I learned a lot, working with him.”

I heard there is a story about your birthday.

“In ‘97, there was an all-night event, circling through five clubs that we had booked. That was on a Friday, on the following Saturday, he held a convention with all the groups of that time in the Hiten-Hall of the Tanakawa Prince Hotel and called dealers and media from the entire country to it. On the next day, which was all interviews, the people from the recording company said, “The final day of this midsummer-triple is not only the hardest of it but also Yamamoto-san’s birthday,” and then threw a birthday party for me. At that time, once the interviews were over, hide-san said, “Thank you for your hard work,” [Otsukaresama, a common greeting during or after work.] and went home like always. Except that after stopping at a shop, hide-san suddenly showed up again, bringing a massive bouquet of flowers. So big hide-san almost disappeared behind it. I later heard that he said “Please stop here,” in the car and went to the flower shop to get the flowers himself. And then he stayed until very late.”

Initially, he pretended to go home, right?

“Right. When I said to him in the parking lot, “Thank you for letting me celebrate such a great birthday with everyone and for those amazing flowers,” he replied, “You’re welcome, congratulations!” I was really delighted because the last three days had been so hard than not only me but all the staff had worked tirelessly without sleep. That he quietly came to bring me flowers really turned that into a memorable birthday for me.”

Did you go on tour [with him]?

“I didn’t go anywhere except LA. In LA, the advance arrangements of the promotion took place, so I went there a few times. Hide-san also held the title of director of HEADWAX. I was, of course, an employee there, and so – although this is normal for any company, I think – I would clash with the opinions of superiors or deal with other unpleasant things at work. One time, after a meeting, he said to me, “You look like you just died, what’s going on?”, and when I said, “It’s nothing,” he said, “Can’t be helped, we’re having a complaining battle,” and took me drinking. “Everyone may think that I am an idiotic director, but the director of HEADWAX I am. If anything is wrong, please let me know,” he told me. What troubled me at that time had to do with how to sell ZEPPET STORE. When I told him that, he said, “This isn’t the problem of someone who came in later and has to think of a promotion without knowing ZEPPET’s music, this is me asking you as someone who knows ZEPPET, so sell them the way you think is best. I’ll have your back.” He was really observant, so when I was booing, he’d casually watch me with a grim expression. Since he was both an artist and my director, I never said myself, “It’s hard, let’s go for a drink,” but he watched me diligently. Then he would call out for me, and several times the topic of going for a drink came up. But when it got too late, he would say, “Well, it’s time for women and children to leave. From now on, it’s just the bastards,” and send the female staff members home. I think that, too, showed a lot of forethought. It’s why I have never seen hide-san go on a rampage. He’s been drunk and fooling around, but I never witnessed him lose it completely.”

Regarding promotion, he was really thorough, wasn’t he?

“On the day the “ROCKET DIVE” PV was filmed, he performed on “Mezumashi TV” in the morning. The first time that came up, I thought he wouldn’t be able to do it, because it was at 5 a.m.. When I told him, “There’s been an offer for you to be a live guest at “Mezumashi TV”, but you’re going to turn that down, right?”, he said, “I’ll do it,” which surprised me. That day, he went to Fuji TV after staying up all night so he wouldn’t be late in the morning, then, once the broadcast was over, moved straight on to the studio in Yokohama to film the PV. What’s more, the filming was very hard and he started feeling ill from being suspended in mid-air and spinning around, so he threw up. I think that came from the sleep deprivation, but he never once complained. To add to that, the filming of that PV was even covered by a TV program.”

He hated roller coasters and wasn’t good at being suspended off the ground.

“He hated it, but once he decided to shoot that kind of scene, he did it with a professional mindset. If it was to create something good, or if it was his job, he didn’t hesitate, even if it was something he didn’t like.”

He was also like that when it came to strange ideas for photo shootings.

“He had a lot of those. For example, there were a lot of covers of music magazines lined up in bookstores, right? To stand out among those, he had strong opinions on what to do where. The same goes for CD jackets and PVs. But he said it like, “I want to do it like this, what do you think?” and never forced it. I think he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do, especially when it came to the polish of the visuals. It was really fun, because I was given the chance to expand on my ideas and voice my opinions. In between recording four weeks worth of content of “Rocket Punch” in the CX studio, on 1 May (the day before he passed away), he also recorded dozens of comments for music broadcasts across the country, and commentary on the radio. He didn’t complain at that time either, and instead seemed to ask for more and more. Just that month, he was preparing for the release of the two songs “Pink Spider” and “ever free”. The catchphrase of that time was “I came twice in one month”, but when the people from the record company and I send hide-san all the options we had thought of, he said, “This one is best.” Then, “For the advertisements, put both jackets on one add for all of them,” and I was told, “If you release twice, you also need to be on TV twice.” So on the 1st, he asked me, “What about the TV appearances?” and when I said, “”Pink Spider” is a go, but “ever free” needs a little more time”, he got angry in the dressing room, saying, “In that case, there is no point to releasing two songs in one month. You bring out songs twice in one month so you can appear twice in one month.” So I said, “I’m sorry, I’ll definitely get it done, just give me a little more time,” and went straight to the after party. At that time, that he got angry at me came as a shock, and it definitely got me thinking that I needed to work harder. It happened before that he said things like “Hey, why aren’t we in that magazine?” to me, but him getting mad at me was a first. Of course, he didn’t yell at me, but I got the feeling that he really was angry. For me, that was the last time I ever spoke to hide-san about work.”

On the other hand, did you ever get angry, Yamamoto-san?

“At the time of shooting the pictures for the “ROCKET DIVE” booklet, I wanted to get angry when I heard that he had broken his foot, but as soon as he arrived at the studio, he apologized, saying, “I’m sorry.” That was the only time he ever apologized to me. But, he wasn’t the kind of person to be weird and selfish, and he did what he could for us. When he didn’t like something, he properly explained why, and that was the only time I ever wanted to get mad at him. He wasn’t late either. Five or ten minutes here or there, but he never made everyone wait forever, and I think he was an excellent student. He was very earnest. At other musicians I did get very angry, but never at hide-san.”

He was always punctual.

“He probably understood that he didn’t have a lot of time.”

With a tight schedule like that, being even a little late would affect all the plans for later.

“That’s right. I think he understood that very well. In contrast, we were walking on a tight rope. With it being haphazardly put together, we wondered if it would be okay. I don’t think that kind of promotion exists anymore. I don’t think anyone still deals with such a large number of things, with TV, radio, magazines, all in one week. There are also a lot of band men who don’t like going on TV, don’t like live appearances, don’t like that magazine, don’t like radio and so on. But he wasn’t like that at all. “Music Station” was a program that aired at eight in the evening, but since the make up for the band took time, the first ones arrived at ten in the morning. In the dressing room, they all would often laugh about it, saying, “Why do we have to hang out in the dressing room since noon if the program doesn’t start until eight PM?” On top of that, he also did interviews and shootings for magazines in the breaks for those rehearsals. But, I think it’s because of how fun it was that no one complained even though the band members were also busy with other band as well. I think with all the ideas like flying around in a harness at “Music Station”, letting it rain ink, bringing in lasers, or “Let’s film in mini skirts from below”, everyone in the band had fun, even though the rehearsals took time. No one ever complained about it taking too long, or that it was terrible. I had the impression that everyone was enjoying themselves.”

Did you hear about the conception of LEMONed from the man himself?

“The concept of LEMONed was “kowaii”, from a combination of “kawaii” [cute] and “kowai” [scary], and things that were “kowaii” could be music, hairstyles, clothes, really anything. I’m a collector, not a producer, so I bring in things I find interesting. I want to make it a label where anything goes, like an upside down toy box – that’s what he often said. I think it was going in a somewhat different direction from the all-caps HIDE of X JAPAN. For example, X JAPAN’s color was black, while here it was pop with pink and fluorescent colors. Hide-san came up with Psychobear, and t.o.L. created the character of a bear with a lemon stuffed inside. With lower-case hide he wanted to create visuals that were a little different from X JAPAN, I think. I also find it very interesting that LEMON is slang for “defective product”, and by adding -ed, he put it in the past tense, the name of the label meaning something that was “originally a defective product”. I don’t think you found that way of thinking a lot in Japan. He thought about the collaboration between visuals and music a lot even then and I think he was way ahead of everyone else in this regard.”

Yamamoto-san, you left the company once after hide-san passed away, didn’t you?

“Yes. I couldn’t quite process it, since the last time we met, the night before he died, we parted as usual with “Thank you for your hard work.” But because it was a matter of public interest, I had to deal with the media. I couldn’t believe it myself, so I kept being chased by thoughts like, “How do we go about “All Night Nippon”?” or “What do we do with the magazine after the interview is over?” My last impression had been of him being angry at me: “I told you to take care of the TV thing, so what about it?!” so I kept thinking along those lines. It was only when hide’s special in “ARENA 37º came out and I read the addendum to it that it hit me that “He’s gone”, and the tears came. With the two years before having been so amazing, I couldn’t continue after that. So I left at that time, I absolutely wouldn’t continue. Be it the tour that happened without hide, or the release of the new album, I even avoided looking at magazines. When he came on TV, I changed the channel. After the film gig of the international forum for the 6th anniversary of his death, they asked me, “It’s a milestone, so please come,” and I went to see the footage of the tour’s final in Yoyogi, which I had attended. Obviously, when I saw him sing, laugh, run, and play the guitar at that time, like nothing had changed, I thought, “I have to pass this on.” It’s not nice to say this, but there was also the thought of, “Why are we doing business after he is gone?” Frankly, I wondered, “Would hide be happy that we are releasing works after his death?” I hated that, so I ran and avoided it all. But when I watched that film gig, my feelings changed completely and I felt, “That concert is so amazing even seeing it six years after his death; I have to let people know about this.” Just when I felt that it was right to pass it on and that I had been the one who was in the wrong, talk came up of whether I would like to return to the company. Only, I couldn’t decide it it would be okay for me to return after I had consciously avoided it for so long. But I wanted to be true to how I felt when I saw the film gig, so I chose to go back.”

Is there anything you would like to say to hide-san now?

“I wonder what he would be doing if he were here now. This year marks the 10th anniversary, there was the “hide memorial summit” and several releases, and I think I am glad I was able to join the company for this. Opportunities like this give me a lot of chances to remember things from the past, so I’m really glad I got to be with the company for this milestone, and in clumsy words, I feel like hide-san called me once again. What will happen from here on out I don’t know, but there was a promise to hide-san I was not able to keep, so for now, I don’t think I will run away from music again.”

What is that promise you couldn’t keep?

“It was my task to “make sure to sell ZEPPET STORE”, but the truth is I abandoned them after hide-san died, and I also couldn’t keep my promise to get him on TV twice. So when RIZE made a cover for “Pink Spider”, I felt I had to work extra hard to promote them. I’m doing my best, thinking I should do what I couldn’t when hide-san was around. Having said that, I won’t give up on mucic anymore. I want to seriously participate in it. To be honest, there were times when I wondered if I shouldn’t retire from the music industry, but then I thought I can’t give up on myself and returned to this company. I think hide-san was an amazing person who seriously considered the coexistence of business and entertainment, and didn’t just think about himself but about the music industry as a whole, about the staff, about his senior and junior bands. I think that I got to spend time with such an artist is an asset, and it’s become an important experience and memory for me. To me, it’s like a protective charm that says, “Be sincere about music”. This year, he started appearing in my dreams. Probably because I was exhausted from all the noise surrounding the X JAPAN concert at that time. He appeared with pink hair and the clothes he was wearing during the PSYENCE era.”

Did he say anything?

“It was a dream, so the situation wasn’t realistic (laughs). The person in charge of the record company at that time had plans to go somewhere with hide-san, and they were quickly turned down. When hide-san said, “I can’t go, go on your own,” I said, “It’s fine, I’ll go,” at which point he said, “You can go? Let’s go!” “Wait a moment, I want to change,” I said, and he said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, go as you are,” and I said, “No, this doesn’t suit me at all,” it really was a non-sensical dream.” [Translation note: It’s actually impossible to tell who was talking where in this exchange, as no names or pronouns were provided, so this is merely my best guess.]

But, that really does sound like hide-san, doesn’t it?

“When he appeared in my dream for the first time after ten years, I was surprised, but happy. Even though I am only starting now, I hope I can convey the things he has created to as many people as possible.”

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