Sep 5
PAIFUKU Interview
A while back, while enjoying some drinks and Nagoya-style chicken wings at Yama-chan in Shinjuku, I chatted with PAIFUKU about their band, how they met, their song-writing process, and a lot more. This is the first part of the interview, with more to come soon!
Kevin: First, please introduce yourselves.
Sayaka: I’m Sayaka. I do guitar and vocals in the band.
Kurumi: I’m Kurumi. I do bass and vocals.
Toyo: I’m Toyo, taking care of drums and a bit of vocals.
(K): How did you all come to meet and bring the band together?
Sayaka: Well, Kurumi and I went to the same high school and we thought we’d give it a go and make a band. Then after graduation we both went to a vocational school for music and met Toyo.
(K): Really? When did you first put on a live show?
Sayaka: During high school. We played our high school’s cultural festival but our first real show was at Kichijoji Warp when we were in 11th grade.
(K): How did it go that day in Kichijoji? Do you remember?
Kurumi: I remember being nervous!
Sayaka: Haha, yeah I remember making a lot of mistakes!
(K): What did you play at that show? Original songs? Covers?
Sayaka: Covers. Lots of different stuff…Pornograffiti, Shiina Ringo, Judy and Mary, Yen Town Band, Yuzu, a little bit of everything!
(K): Who took care of drums back then?
Sayaka: Our friend from school.
(K): Ah, ok. Then after that Sayaka and Kurumi went to the same vocational school?
Sayaka: That’s right.
(K): So Toyo, how did you come to join these girls?
Toyo: Well, these two went to the same school, and at that time they were just using a support drummer while looking for a person who could join permanently. The support drummer happened to be my friend, and because he was my friend I kind of got to know the songs by hanging around with him. Then, during summer vacation when the girls would practice in the studio I tagged along for fun and eventually joined. Actually, at that time there was one more person who said they wanted to join, but…
(K): But?
Sayaka: But they weren’t very good! (Laughs)
(K): Ah, shhh!!! (Everyone laughs) Haha, so that person and Toyo had a kind of battle for who could join Paifuku?
Sayaka: There was no need for that! (Laughs)
(K): So, did you call yourselves “Paifuku” from the very start?
Sayaka: Well, we actually went by another name for the first month or so…
(K): What was the name?
Sayaka: Haha, “Blackberry.”
Kurumi: Oh, that’s right!
Sayaka: Yeah we went by “Blackberry” for about a month or so, and then my sister suggested we call ourselves “Paifuku.”
(K): How did you choose “Paifuku” as the name? The first time I heard of your band, I checked in my dictionary for the meaning, but nothing was there! (Everyone laughs) What exactly does the name mean?
Sayaka: ”Fuku wo kubaru” (To give out/distribute happiness/luck).
(K): Ahh, nice meaning isn’t it!
Sayaka: Haha, yeah!
(K): So would you say that you’re a pretty cheerful and forward thinking band? I noticed that a lot of your songs have an underlying theme of “Doing one’s best” and stuff like that.
Sayaka: That’s right!
(K): So you formed Paifuku back in high school, but when was the first time you started playing instruments?
Sayaka: For me, I went to piano class when I was young and then during 9th grade I picked up the guitar.
(K): Why did you decide to start playing guitar?
Sayaka: All of my piano practice dealt with classical music and I didn’t really know anything about chords or any of that stuff. At the time, I thought that the only instrument that had chords was a guitar! (Laughs) I wanted to play some more modern music and here I am!t
(K): Kurumi, how about you? Have you always played the bass?
Kurumi: Well, from kindergarten through junior high school…
(K): From kindergarten?!
Kurumi: Yes, I practiced the piano from kindergarten up until junior high school.
(K): Oh! I thought you had been playing the bass since kindergarten! I was imagining this really cool 5-year-old kid playing bass in class while everyone else was taking a nap!
Kurumi: Haha, no no! Then, in junior high school I played a bit in a copy band, covering stuff like GLAY.
(K): GLAY? If it’s GLAY then it’s all about “Yuuwaku”, right! (Sings the first line of Yuuwaku with Toyo joining in on the “Because I love you!” part)
Kurumi: Yeah! I really liked Jiro from GLAY, so I ended up buying a bass.
(K): Jiro’s the blonde guy, right?
Kurumi: Haha, that’s right. Why do you know that?!
(K): Haha, he’s pretty cool isn’t he?
Toyo: Boooooooooo!
(Everyone laughs)
(K): So Toyo, when did you start the drums?
Toyo: Before going to vocational school. Probably right about at the end of 12th grade. There’s more to the story than that, but…
(K): What? Spit it out! Is it an interesting story?
Kurumi: Yeah, it is!
Sayaka: Yeah! Say it!
Toyo: It’s not something I really want to talk about, haha!
(K): Haha, too bad! From now on it’s Toyo’s “Why I started the drums” storytime!
Sayaka: and Kurumi: Yay!!!
Toyo: Well…I wanted to start playing music at the end of 12th grade, right? But what I actually started as was…a vocalist.
(K): Vocals?! I can’t believe it!
Toyo: Haha, yeah! Then during breaks during my previous band’s practices, our drummer told me that if I just copy what he was doing I could pick up the drums pretty quickly. So I started just messing around and came to think it was pretty fun!
(K): Yeah, my friends have told me that once you start playing the drums you really never want to stop.
Toyo: That’s about right!
(K): Me…I don’t think I can ever play the drums. Maybe I don’t have any rhythm! If I start beating on them, I eventually start hitting everything all at the same time. I can’t keep my individual hands and feet separate! It all ends up looking like one of those drum-beating monkey toys! (Everyone laughs)
(K): Now, I assume that everyone’s liked music for a long time, right? If you can remember, what was the first CD, tape, record, etc. that you ever bought or your first favorite artist?
Sayaka: For me, it was Dreams Come True.
(K): Ahh, Miwa-chan!
Sayaka: Haha, yeah!
Kurumi: I bought TRF!
(K): Wow, TRF!! With Komuro right?
Kurumi: Haha, the “Komuro Family!”
Toyo: If we’re talking about Japanese artists, I liked Makihari.
(K): Noriyuki Makihara?
Toyo: Yes! As for western music, the first CD I bought was The Beatles’ best album…the red one.
Sayaka: That’s “1s.”
Toyo: Ah, yeah! That’s it.
(K): What about live shows or concerts? Were you going to shows before forming the band?
Sayaka: Back in junior high school, I liked this indies band called “Little Mermaid,” and I went to their show.
(K): Little Mermaid?
Sayaka: Don’t worry if you don’t know of them…nobody knows! (Laughs)
(K): Kurumi?
Kurumi: I didn’t go to any shows before joining Paifuku.
(K): Toyo?
Toyo: I didn’t go to any shows either…wait! There was one! Some indies band called “G-Freak Factory!” They’re from Gunma.
(K): From Gunma? Are they still around?
Toyo: Yes.
(K): Really? I lived up near Gunma for about 2.5 years but I’ve never really heard of them, other than maybe seeing them name on a flyer at some point.
(K): What other artists do you respect and admire?
Sayaka: Judy and Mary.
Kurumi: Recently I’ve been really into Spitz.
Toyo: I really like this group called “Tower of Power.” Also The Police.
(K): The Police? Sweet! What about your CD? Your first self-titled album was released back in August by Einstein Records. How did that come about, and how did you come to know Mr. Nakamura (from Einstein Records)?
Sayaka: We basically just sent him our CD.
Kurumi: Yeah, we sent out our CD to a number of different labels, and Mr. Nakamura called us back.
(K): So he got in touch with you and eventually put out your CD?
Sayaka: That’s right.
(K): What would you say the theme of the album is, in one or two words?
Sayaka: Paifuku! (Laughs)
Kurumi: Paifuku!
Toyo: I have no idea…
(K): How about “Paifuku”?
Toyo: OK, that works for me too! (Laughs)
(K): What’s your own personal favorite song on the album?
Sayaka: 222.
Kurumi: Minna de Utaou.
Toyo: Arata naru Tabidachi. (Sayaka and Kurumi laugh)
(K): Haha, why is it your favorite? Sayaka and Kurumi are laughing over here.
Toyo: I like it because it’s the track where I get to sing! (Everyone laughs)
(K): What’s your songwriting process?
Sayaka: We all basically create the songs together.
(K): What do you usually write first? The lyrics? The music?
Sayaka: I usually write the music first and then come up with lyrics that fit, but there have also been times where I write lyrics and then music.
(K): What kind of instruments do you use now?
Sayaka: I use a Gibson.
(K): What color?
Sayaka: Blue! (Laughs) I wanted a Les Paul, but everyone has a black one. I wanted one in a color that wasn’t so common so I picked blue.
(K): How about pink? Is there a pink Les Paul? That might be pretty unique!
Sayaka: Haha, they don’t have a pink one.
(K): You’ll just have to get a custom-made one then!
Sayaka: Haha, OK. That’ll be my next one!
Kurumi: I use a Fender (Japan) Jazz Bass.
Toyo: My set is a Yamaha. I’ve got three snares, all Yamaha. The cymbals are Zildjan. My pedals are Yamaha and DW. Recently I’ve also been using a cowbell.
More to come in the second part of the interview!
PAIFUKU’s next live show will be at Kumagaya Heaven’s Rock on 9/28. After that, they’ll be at Yoyogi ZHER THE ZOO on 10/5, in Kobe at Kobe Bless on 10/21, and then back at Yoyogi ZHER THE ZOO on 11/2 for their own event “PAIFUKU PARTY vol. 1″. If you’ve got the time and the chance, come check them out!
More information can be found at their homepage (mostly Japanese) at:
http://members3.jcom.home.ne.jp/paifuku/