Interview With J-Rock Band SCANDAL
/Interviewed By Elizabeth Kayser
Otakus & Geeks had the great pleasure to have a chat with J-Rock Band SCANDAL. SCANDAL is currently gearing up for their world tour here in the states. We chat to the band about music, anime and many more.
Otakus & Geeks: How would you describe Scandal’s sound? What kinds of music did you each listen to growing up?
SCANDAL: のサウンドをどう表現しますか？どういう音楽を聴いてそだったのでしょうか？
TOMOMI：We are a band, where each member can take the lead vocal. I think having four completely different types of voice, is our band’s very strong quality.
Tomomi
Otakus & Geeks: What is the thing each of you enjoy most about being in Scandal?
SCANDALでいて何が・どういうときに一番楽しいと思いますか？
HARUNA: Definitely doing a live show! When we first became a band, I never thought that we could continue for so long, but I think it happened all because it was with these members. Even during our off-time, we often go out to eat together.
Haruna
Otakus and Geeks: Can you explain your creative process as a band? How does a Scandal song form? Is it organic or is there a process?
SCANDAL: の曲作りの方法を教えてください。自然にでてくるのかそれとも独自のプロセスがあるのでしょうか？
MAMI：I think each member has different ways to create their song, but for me, I usually hum the melody and as the words pop up in my mind, I temporarily record them in my voice memo. Then I send those ideas to the members to finish it into a song.
Mami
Otakus and Geeks: What are each of your all-time favorite song(s) of Scandal and why?
SCANDAL: の曲の中でずっとこの曲は好きというのはありますか？理由も教えてください。
HARUNA：I think “DOLL”; because it was our debut song on a major label so I have strong feeling for the song, plus it’s a really good song to perform at a concert. It’s definitely one of our favorite, important songs.
Otakus and Geeks: Are there any other bands (Japanese or other) that you are fans of?
他に好きなアーティストはいたりしますか？日本人でも外人でも大丈夫です。
MAMI：I really like the Foo Fighters. I really hope that someday I can stand on the same stage with them at some music festivals.
Otakus and Geeks: What is a typical day like on this tour? What do you do on your off-days on tour?
SCANDAL 普段ツアーに出ているときはどんな一日なのでしょうか？ツアーのオフ日は何をしているのでしょうか？
RINA：We all go out to eat together. Going out to enjoy local food is one of the great parts of going on tour!!
Rina
Otakus & Geeks: You have expressed your love of anime and several Scandal songs have been featured in a number of popular series and movies. What are some of your favorite shows or properties? Are songs ever written expressly with an anime series in mind?
アニメがお好きと聞きましたが、実際SCANDALの曲はいくつかアニメタイアップがありますが、好きなアニメやキャラなどはいますか？実際にタイアップのものでも何かのアニメでも想像しながら曲を書いたことはあったりしますか？
MAMI：I really like manga and anime! Recently I’ve been reading “Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)”! I think it’s so wonderful that the Japanese culture is being loved by so many people overseas. If people get to know about SCANDAL through anime, that’s a very happy news for us too!
SCANDAL
SCANDAL has released six studio albums and twenty singles since signing with Epic Records Japan in 2008 and have become one of Japan’s most potent live rock acts. Each of the group’s albums have placed among the top five in Japan’s official album sales chart – Oricon – and 17 of the band’s 20 singles released to-date have also placed in the Top 20 on the Oricon Singles Charts. SCANDAL’s most recent full-length album, Hello World, was released on December 14, 2014.
SCANDAL formed in August, 2006 among four high school girls that attended the same vocal and dance school in Osaka, Japan. Taking their name from a shop sign that hung near the studio where they practiced in their early days, the band, which consists of Haruna (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mami (lead guitar, backing vocals), Tomomi (bass, lead vocals), and Rina(drums, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), shared a mutual love of western rock bands and artists ranging from Green Day, Foo Fighters and Paramore to the pop styling of Taylor Swift and Pink. SCANDAL’s dynamic mix of frenetic melody-driven energy mixed with smooth, pop-styled vocals have become the band’s hallmark.
SCANDAL’s music also has been featured in a host of TV shows and movies and the band are enthusiastic fans of anime and have had several songs prominently featured in popular series. The group’s singles “Harukaze” and "Shunkan Sentimental" were featured as the opening theme songs for the anime series Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and most recently SCANDAL contributed the song, “Daybreak Meteor Shower,” as the theme to the latest Pokémon feature film, Diance and the Cocoon of Destruction.
SCANDAL Tour Dates
SCANDAL North American Dates Include:
· May 16th Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Theatre
· May 20th Mexico City, Mexico at La Plaza Condeza
· May 22nd Los Angeles, CA at House of Blues Sunset Strip
· May 23rd Anaheim, CA at House of Blues Downtown Disney
Complete SCANDAL 2015 “Hello World” world tour information is available at:
www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/scandal/worldtour2015/
