The Gazette 10th Anniversary Interview [Part 2]

So, same link as previous post. Anyways, here's part 2!

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Since it's the GazettE's 10th anniversary, you're probably doing quite a lot of interviews where you're looking back on the past, right. But we persistently asked the members about the time when the GazettE was formed and about unknown stories of that time. What episodes will we hear from the guys who dug up their old memories for us?

Being able to write "SOLD OUT" on a poster was our dream

― About when did the band gather strength and started to become self-confident? I mean as in, a time when the mobilization [of your fans] started to grow rapidly, or when it felt like "We're popular!".

RUKI: We started to become conscious of being pros when we did the twoman [tour] together with ~hanamuke.~, right?

REITA: At that time we were on tour while being in training, right.

Uruha: Because in the beginning we played just before the headliner at our first live, we were already received favourably, I guess.

REITA: But back then, when all members went to a CD shop together, we heard 2-3 girls next to us say something like "Which reminds me, where did the GazettE go?" and we all dashed out of the shop at once (bitter smile)

RUKI: Oh my, I remember this so well!

― It would have been difficult to just say "We are here!", right. When about did this happen?

RUKI: We just came back for a while, it was before Kai-kun joined.

REITA: It was about the end of the year after Gazette had formed.

― There are also memories like this...... you said that the favourable advancement happened thanks to the tour together with ~hanamuke.~.

RUKI: We went on tour but at first the fans who came were entirely there for ~hanamuke.~ and we were there more as an opening act.

Uruha: But it was so much fun.

RUKI: It was fun, right. And at the very last day, one could say the mobilization [of the fans] were reversed.

― Hooo.

RUKI: Wasn't it back then that the fire was lighted?

― Wasn't that like the ideal of how a tour should be?

REITA: At that time, we were also comepting with two bands from our company. As for us, we admired the other bands more, and the other bands admired us. But because we were on good terms with our fellow bands, everything went directly through (laugh). Even so it became a good motivation.

Aoi: I think around that time we had about 280 people who came to our lives?

RUKI: Everything went with a thud. Awesome! I thought "Oh my, we sell~" (laugh). Well, when I think about it now, it probably wasn't a number to be all happy about...

― Well yeah but wasn't that a big success! If you consider the time where you were told "where did they go"!

RUKI: It was certainly a big success! (laugh).

― Thinking about it calmly, the band has really grown a lot, I think. When you look back now, in what way did it grow?

Aoi: The band got really curageous at that time, right.

― Probably there were many fans who were drawn in by the band's energy.

Aoi: The fans also wanted a place where they could get rid of stress, ne. It was like they were only there for us.

REITA: The oneman at [Takadanobaba] Area was sold out. Being able to write "SOLD OUT" was our dream.

Uruha: On a poster, right (laugh).

RUKI: Starting at "Only a small quantity of tickets left" (laugh).

REITA: Because our first Area oneman didn't sell at all, we added a "Thank you". As in "Thank you SOLD OUT" (laugh).

― And so the SOLD OUT legend started.

REITA: But whenever we met the president she told us "please put your feet on the ground".

RUKI: Every year we were told things like "You guys, next year you will lose this energy you have now!".

Uruha: Aah, she said that, ne~ (laugh).

― In short, you were told: "don't fly too high", weren't you?

REITA: But while not knowing about how to put our feet, before we knew it, it became like this.

RUKI: And yet, we didn't have any money at that time. We couldn't fly too high even if we wanted to (laugh).

― Well, well (laugh). At that time the live houses also became bigger gradually. the GazettE has made quite a lot of personal experiences with onemans at big live halls I think, but which live hall do you think was the most impressive one? We'd like to hear from everyone of you.

Uruha: The live hall where I'd like to do a live again is Osaka-Jou Hall. We only played there once and the atmosphere there was really nice.

Kai: For me it's Yoyogi (Kokuritsu Yoyogi Kyougijou Daiichi Taiikukan).

RUKI: For me it's also Yoyogi.

Kai: The hall is built in an elliptical shape and oblong, and the distance to the fans who are at the far back is quite big but including this it's quite impressive.

RUKI: For me it's also Yoyogi but Yokohama Arena is also nice, isn't it. The atmosphere is quite similar, right. I like that kind of feeling.

REITA: I want to do an open air. We weren't blessed by the weather at Conifer (Conifer Forest) but at the open air at Big Site the weather was super good. I want to do a live during such a clear weather again.

Aoi: For me [the most impressive] was Tokyo Dome, I guess. Because I was super nervous and I couldn't sleep the day before the live. I haven't been so nervous ever before.

― As I thought, we looked back at several things, right. Well, because the GazettE's history still continues, please let's gather even more interesting experiences soon!

End