tokyo pinsalocks

Interviewer, writer: Kamikazen
Translated by: George Trombley of JapanFiles.com
Band Members: Naoko (Vocals, Keyboards), Hisayo (Bass, Chorus), Reiko (Drums, Programming)
Questions Answered by: Naoko, Hisayo, Reiko






First off, on behalf of everyone at J-Music Ignited, I’d like to thank you all for the opportunity for the interview. Could you introduce yourselves for those who don’t know about tokyo pinsalocks yet?

Naoko: I am the vocalist, Naoko.

Hisayo: I am the bass player, Hisayo.

Reiko [in English]: And I’m the drummer, Reiko.

How did you come up with the name tokyo pinsalocks?

Hisayo: Do you really wanna know?

*all laugh*

Hisayo: We came up with the name when we were in college. We liked the word "pinksalon", so we wanted to incorporate a name with that phrase. We didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded really cute so we wanted to use it in our name.

How did you all meet originally?

Naoko: In college.

What would you say are your biggest musical influences?

Hisayo: Not now, but before, when we originally started the band, we were heavily influenced by the band SUPER JUNKY MONKEY and were basically a copy band for them. But, right now, we’re totally different from what we were initially. Currently, we’re influenced by bands like Kraftwerk and Bjork.

Naoko: Actually, we went to the Nippon Budokan to see Bjork just recently.

Do you have anything you’re listening to currently?

Naoko: French pop.

Hisayo: The Brazilian band CSS who will become competition in the future.

Reiko: You mean friends.

*all laugh*

Reiko: I’ve actually been watching a Led Zeppelin video over and over again on my iPod.

*all laugh*

Your newest album "Planet Rita" was just released by JapanFiles.com and will be released in Japan soon. What would you say that fans have to look forward to when picking up this album?

Naoko: It’s an unreal experience. It’s like going into outer space.

Do you have a favorite track off of the new album?

Reiko: All of them.

Naoko: All of them.

Hisayo: It’s a tough choice. All of them.

Could you possibly describe your process of making music?

Hisayo: First Naoko writes the lyrics.

Reiko: And then Hisayo and I fight over which songs to write music for. Naoko will make 20 pages of lyrics and make copies for both Hisayo and I. Then, we’ll fight to see who comes out with music for the songs first. Whoever makes it faster wins.

Hisayo: Sometimes, by the stroke of luck, we’ll come out with music at the exact same time. Naoko will then decide over which music to use for the song. But, then she’ll write lyrics for the other music as well.

After your original guitarist left, what would you say went into the decision of not getting another guitarist?

tokyo pinsalocks: Our music was changing, and we were using less and less guitar. The year before the guitarist quit, Naoko had bought a keyboard. Because we were using less and less guitar in our songs, when the guitarist quit, there wasn’t that much of a need to bring in another one. But, when Naoko realized she had to play more keyboard, she was stressed out, because she had to learn to play a lot more keyboard.

How would you describe the atmosphere of your live shows?

Reiko: It’s not like a punk band where the audience and the band are together and jamming. It’s more like we’re in our own little world and there’s sort of a barrier in between. For the audience, it’s sort of like watching a movie.

Hisayo: When we’re on stage, sometimes we get in our own world. It’s like the music is just for us and it’s a very private thing. Sometimes we’re into the audience, but sometimes it really feels like we are in a studio.

Reiko [in English]: There is a song called "Ajito Rita" on the fourth track of the new album, and "Ajito" means like a secret place or hidden place that only we know and no one can get into. And, we have little experiments, trying to make our own world in the hidden place and enjoying that. That’s something we want to play on the stage as well and for people to watch. But, it’s a world in a way.

Who has been your favorite band to play with?

tokyo pinsalocks: There’s a Japanese band called Oak that we really enjoy playing with. There’s also a band we are going to play with in Japan called Gang Gang Dance. They’re from New York and we played with them last year. We also enjoy playing with them a lot.

I heard you toured the UK for the first time last year. What did you think of that experience?

Naoko: That was interesting, really interesting.

Hisayo: I thought London was very much like Tokyo. The outer areas really look like Japan and the people that were coming to the lives were very much like the Japanese people [who come to our lives]. It was like the same type of customers as in Japan in the outer lying regions.

Reiko: The city areas were very much like Tokyo.

Hisayo: So, even though it was our first time going overseas, it really didn’t feel like we were overseas.

Naoko: But, in England, because the voltage was really high, the bass was really kicking.

*all laugh*

Are there any funny or memorable stories from your times in England?

tokyo pinsalocks: There was a lot.

Reiko [in English]: We went to England twice and we got a work permit for half a year. The first time everyone brought their work permit. The second time when we went in August, Hisayo brought a copy of it. And, at the airport, when we were going onto the plane, she got stuck at the check-in counter. And she had to sign a paper saying she would pay like a million yen if she could not get in. I was on a different plane, but Naoko and Hisayo nearly missed their plane. They had to run through the whole airport. And while they were flying for like 10 hours, all she could only think about was the excuses she would make. I think that she was worried the entire flight.

Hisako: I was looking in my electronic dictionary and thinking "I’m gonna say this, this, and this."

Naoko: The only question afterwards was "Is this a copy?" "Yes." "Okay, go ahead."

*all laugh*

What do you think of your experience in Boston so far?

Naoko: It’s been fun, but we’ve only been at Anime Boston so far.

Hisayo: It’s really interesting that this is the way that America is perceiving Japanese anime and we’re really fascinated that they’re so into it. It was really interesting when they were showing some anime at the opening ceremonies with English dubbing. It would probably be the same thing if Americans were watching a dubbed American movie in Japanese.

Was this your first time playing at an anime convention?

tokyo pinsalocks: Yes.

What is your favorite thing to do when you are not touring or recording?

Naoko: I like knitting. I’m always knitting stuff.

Reiko: I always go driving. Everywhere.

Hisayo: I read manga and play with my cat.

Naoko: That’s really dark.

*all laugh*

Hisayo: So, all of my clothing has cat hair on them.

Reiko [in English]: I’m allergic to cats. So, whenever I borrow clothes [from Hisayo], sometimes I sneeze a lot.

Hisayo: There was this one time when we needed some masking tape, so I brought some from my house. Reiko held up the tape and immediately started sneezing.

*all laugh*

What do fans of tokyo pinsalocks have to look forward to in the future?

Naoko: Whenever we make an album, even ourselves, we’re looking forward to how we’re going to change with this album. It’s an art. And art gets affected by many things and that art changes as we go. If you are doing music as a business, you make what the fans are expecting you to make. But, we’re not doing that. For us, it’s an art. So, we’re making what we want to make. And, even us, we’re looking forward to how we change with every album.

Thank you again for the interview and good luck in your upcoming show in New York. Do you have a final message to give to your fans reading this interview?

tokyo pinsalocks: We’re planning on coming again [to America] in October. We would love to do more cities, so, when we do, please come see us.

Additional Information

Official Site
Check out tokyo pinsalock's Official Site for more information on their history, discography, live events, and more!

tokyo pinsalocks Official Myspace

tokyo pinsalocks at JapanFiles.com

JMIgnited.com is not affiliated with the artists presented on this website or their representatives. All images are the property of their respective copyright owners. Images are displayed for educational and decorative purposes only under the "fair use" clause.

All music samples are property of their respective owners. All music featured are samples only! If you enjoy a particular band, please help endorse them and buy their music! No copyright infringement is intended.