The Rhythm Section of DIR EN GREY (GiGS Bass & Drums, 2010)
I finally got around to summarizing the 2010 interview with Shinya and Toshiya in the GiGs Bass & Drums book, and honestly, it's one of the most charming DIR EN GREY interviews I've ever read.
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Before DIR EN GREY existed, Toshiya's band was falling apart. He heard that Kyo's band was also close to breaking up, so he went to see them at a taiban and suddenly asked Kyo if they should start a band together.
According to Toshiya, he's extremely shy. He and Kyo exchanged phone numbers, while Kaoru stood nearby witnessing this unexpected proposal.
At the time, Toshiya had only really spoken to Kyo. One day Kyo told him to come to Tokyo. When he arrived, Die was there too and introduced himself in Kansai dialect.
Toshiya originally thought they were forming an entirely new band. He didn't realize that most of Kyo's existing bandmates would stay and that he'd simply be joining as the new bassist.
Their first meeting was arranged at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Osaka.
But only Shinya and Toshiya showed up. They have never spoken to each other before.
Kyo had warned Toshiya beforehand that Shinya didn't talk much, so Toshiya would have to carry the conversation.
Under immense pressure to think of a topic, Toshiya settled on... driver's licenses.
He had recently gotten one because he thought it was a bad idea for only one band member (Die) to be able to drive during tours.
To Toshiya's surprise, Shinya became completely invested in the subject.
They spent the entire meeting talking about how to get a driver's license.
Neither of them remembers discussing music.
Shinya eventually got his license.
Their first rehearsal together was scheduled in Nagano in January 1997. Toshiya waited for the others in a snowy parking lot. Eventually they arrived in a van.
On normal tires. In the middle of winter. In Nagano.
Toshiya's immediate thought was basically:
Instead, he politely said:
He remembers thinking they were completely anarchic.
The van struggled through the snow all the way to his parents' house, where they spent the night before rehearsing and playing a live show the next day.
That night Shinya saw Toshiya perform live for the first time. Toshiya was playing support guitar in another band.
According to Shinya, even though Toshiya was only a support member, he stood out more than anyone else on stage.
"Wow. I'm going to be in a band with this guy."
Over the years, Shinya and Toshiya ended up spending a huge amount of time together working on songs.
Toshiya would come up with ideas intuitively.
Shinya would carefully write everything down.
Toshiya was impressed by this, although he refuses to call Shinya a genius because he was also one of the people who drove to snowy Nagano on regular tires.
It was often just the two of them refining songs in the studio. Shinya remembers that Toshiya would constantly react to new ideas with an enthusiastic "Omoshire!" ("This is fun!" / "Interesting!"), something Toshiya immediately admits he really did say all the time.
As musicians, they describe their relationship as surprisingly uncomplicated.
They say they rarely talk about music outside of actually making it.
Even when DIR EN GREY formed, they never sat down and discussed a grand artistic direction.
Toshiya jokingly says it all started with Shinya's "tsutatsutatsuta" drumming.
When asked about Shinya's role in the band, Toshiya says that whenever things become tense, everyone teases Shinya and somehow the atmosphere improves.
He compares him to a healing item in a video game.
DIR EN GREY is probably still continuing because Shinya is there. Whenever something goes wrong, everyone relies on him.
Shinya, meanwhile, describes Toshiya as extremely reliable and hardworking, someone who practices constantly and somehow manages to draw attention even as the bassist standing next to two guitarists.
The interviewer points out that Toshiya seemed to make a lot of friends overseas (apart from Die), giving the impression that he was one of the more sociable members of the band.
According to him, Shinya is actually much more sociable.
Because Toshiya was not confident in his English, Shinya would often help him understand conversations, explain what people had said, and tell him what he should say in response. Toshiya says that Shinya always made an effort to speak English and communicate with people overseas, and considers him the most sociable member of DIR EN GREY.
The interview ends with the two of them talking about their rhythm section.
Rather than competing, they try to support each other's strengths. Shinya describes bass and drums creating "waves" together. Toshiya says he wants to alternate between being a rhythmic foundation and stepping forward melodically depending on what the song needs.
The interviewer jokingly suggests that if they develop this chemistry even further, they should perform a bass-and-drums solo together live.
Toshiya immediately responds:
"What are you talking about?"
When the interviewer insists that these ideas shouldn't stay hidden in the studio, Toshiya laughs and says it's only fun because it's just the two of them doing it privately. Besides, both he and Shinya get nervous easily.
Shinya agrees, though he points out that he'd still prefer that over being asked to do a drum solo by himself.
Toshiya then says he'd actually like to see Shinya do another drum solo someday.
For two people whose first conversation was about driver's licenses at KFC, they've built a pretty remarkable musical partnership.
