It was a hot day for November and it was the time of year when hotter than average days felt good.  At about 4pm, I was scheduled to interview Tetsu Fukagawa, the lead vocalist of the hardcore group, Envy, at Club Upset in Nagoya, Japan, a city of over two million people.

To get to the club from Nagoya Station, one has to take the subway to a little station called Ikeshita station.  Ikeshita station is a small subway station that contains a large bus station.  That day, it looked kind of dumpy, littered with cigarettes, Styrofoam noodle cups, and rustling brown leaves.  Pigeons waddled freely across the bricks, feeding on random morsels of refuse.  There is a large mural that is visible upon exiting the subway gates.  It is a highly textured, black and brown piece that appears to depict two long-necked birds facing each other.

I walked around the surrounding area looking for the club.  During my walk, I saw many cheap restaurants selling low quality chicken and cheap beer.  There was also an abundance of adult video arcades and openly publicized brothels. Suited men stood in front of the walls, which were plastered with large numbered photos of the young women working.  The defining features of the women’s faces were blurred out.

I eventually found Club Upset, which was located upstairs in a brick building, five floors above a pizza kitchen.  Once inside the door I came to a small lobby.  The walls were plastered with posters of shows past; almost exclusively Japanese acts.  There was also a small ticket booth, but nobody was in it, so I opened the thick black door opposite the unmanned station.  There was a small hallway that led to another thick black door; a sound proofing technique used by smaller clubs in Japan to avoid noise complaints.

The club was of modest size with a two-level, black and blue checkered board.  Envy’s two guitar players were on stage with their instruments.  The people in the room were surprised to see me and nobody seemed to know what I was talking about when I said that I was there for an interview.  Finally, after some discussion amongst various folks, the singer, Tetsu came out and said, “Hey.”  Then, in Japanese, he explained that he had to do a soundcheck, which might take about an hour, but that I could watch if I wanted, so that’s what I did.

It was nice to get to see the soundcheck.   Both guitar players and the bassist used many effects, primarily strumming their chords.  The drummer had about five microphones on his kit and, when he hit certain drums, it would make some of the lights above him shake.  Tetsu had his set-up in the middle of the stage, which consisted of one free standing microphone and another one that was positioned behind a small midi unite with a small keyboard.  During the more ambient parts of the songs, he played the keyboard and, primarily, spoke softly with his back to the floor.  As the songs picked up in volume and intensity, he would turn to face the floor and scream, while occasionally bending over to his left.  It was an effective technique; a simple staging that enhanced the arrangements of the music.

The entire sound check lasted about an hour.  After they were finished, they put their gear off to the side and the opening act, Nice View, began setting up for their sound check.  Somebody associated with the group informed me that Tetsu would be unable to do the interview, after all, but that guitarist, Nobukata Kawai would be available to take his place.  I told them that would be okay, although the questions that I had prepared for the interview were primarily about song writing and the use of both English and Japanese in Envy’s recordings.  Not only was it my first band interview, but it was my first interview done in Japanese, so I was a little bit nervous from the start.  Nobu had medium length hair and was dressed rather simply. Other than his hair, his appearance did not look particularly “rock”, or “hardcore”, or “scream”, or “emo”… or anything like that.  We began the interview in the main hall, sitting on a low standing area to the left of the stage.

D.W.Patton: Are you the lead guitarist?

Nobu: Yes I am

How long has Envy been together?

Envy started in 1995

Have you had any line up changes?

Back in 95, it was the singer Tetsu, the bassist Nakagawa(?)  And a drummer, who ended up quitting.  Then, in 97, a second guitar player, Masahiro joined.  And, since 1997, we’ve had the same lineup.

How did you decide on the name “Envy”?

From the start, it was a tough decision.  And we took a long time coming up with something.  Then, at last, we looked at a dictionary, and saw the word ‘envy,’ and thought,*pointing a finger to an air dictionary* “This is it!”  The meaning was not exactly good and a little bit negative.

Do you think that Envy’s music is negative?

Hmmm.   10 years ago, there were more negative parts, but in the years that followed, we’ve met many people and had many experiences and our way of thinking about music has changed.

So there was never any other band names before Envy?

From 1992, the bass player, Nakagawa, and Tetsu had a hardcore band for three years before starting Envy.  But, Envy is Envy.

Who writes the songs for Envy?

At first, I write all the music, then everybody arranges it together.  Every song is written like that.

Who writes the lyrics?

Tetsu writes all the lyrics.

Do Envy members have any side projects?

Not now.

Who is Metal Park?

He’s a friend who makes amazing music with only a sequencer, not a computer, just a sequencer and makes amazing music.

And he helped with the new album?

Yes, he helped a little with the new album.  Just with the ambient sounds.

Where was your first show in America?

Oh, where was it?  Our first tour…

*asking out to the other members who are doing things like checking their equipment and talking to the staff, roadies, and friends* Hey where was our first show in America!?

Tetsu: D.C.

Oh yea, it was in D.C., maybe.  With Malady.

How was the response?

oh…
[In English:. ..So fucking Crazy.]

Is the response to Envy in America different than that in Japan?

Yeah. *noticing that Nice View is about to do their soundcheck*
It’s going to get loud here, so let’s go upstairs.

[We head upstairs and continue the interview.]

We were talking about the difference between the response to ENVY in America and Japan.

It’s totally different.  As expected, American people are more direct. If the show is good, then they give a great response. But if there’s a bad show, *sighs, and looks disappointed* [in English: fuck.].  Fuck Envy.  So it’s always either, [English: “Envy is amazing,” or “Envy is fuck.”]  But, you know, America is a music country and an entertainment country, so there is always a response and the crowd knows what they want.

Which do you like more, playing live or recording.

Of course, live.  Recording is, well- I want to make a good recording, but live is the best.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you have a favorite place to play in Japan?

My favorite… hmm… Japan… can I answer about the past?

Sure

A long time ago, there was a good one.  Now there aren’t any, but Shinjuku (area of Tokyo) Loft was good. Before they changed the location, it was the best.  There was history to it.

Like CBGB?

Yeah, it was that kind of club with a lot of history.

What are your favorite places to play over seas?  Country or City.

Country?  America is fun.  The West is good.   We went from Seattle to L.A. and that was really fun.  Everyone enjoyed the shows and many people turned out.  I also like playing Germany.

Oh, Germany?

German people are really intelligent.  During the songs, they are really quiet and thinking about the music.  Then, at the end, they cheer loudly.  And lots of people come to our shows.   Opposite of that, Spain is also good and they are loud throughout the shows.

How about Japanese?

Hmm.  Well, Japanese crowds are always quiet.  Very Quiet.  But, it’s a good quiet.  And, in my music, these days, there are more and more quiet parts, so, when the people in the crowd are quiet, they are enjoying the music.

Where did you play in Seattle?

I can’t remember the name of the place, but it was where the singer from undertow worked (El Corazon).

Do you meet many fans who can speak Japanese when you’re playing abroad?

Only a few.   But, we’re in English speaking countries for a long time and we can’t speak much English, so when people sometimes speak Japanese to us, we are very happy.

What are you plans for future tours?

Next May, we want to go to Europe.  We’re not sure yet, but if we do that, then we want to take a break after that tour, then do some recording.

Do you tour every year?

After the Europe tour, we have no plans and want to spend some time in Tokyo.

Is Tokyo your home town?

No.  I’m from Fukuoka (largest city on Kyushuu Island).  None of us are originally from Tokyo.  Now we all live in Tokyo.

When did you move to Tokyo?

Over fifteen years ago.

Did you move there to start a band?

No, I just moved there because of my dad.

Well, thank you for your time.  This was my first interview in Japanese, and I’m afraid I’ve run out of questions.

A couple of hours later, the show started and, after a kick-ass set by Nice View, it was time to see Envy’s performance. The sound was not much different than the sound check, but the musicians played their music with more exaggerated body movements and the addition of head banging.   The show was good and the crowd was as quiet and relatively non-responsive as Nobu had said that Japanese crowds were, but there was an overall vibe that people were really enjoying themselves.

Envy’s music is not exactly melodic, nor is it exactly noise.   It’s a lot like a sea or windy day, in the respect that there are quiet parts and loud parts, but seldom, if ever, a moment of silence.  During the set, the bassist and guitar players spend most of their time looking at their strings, which adds to the introverted aesthetic and can be a lesson to young musicians to focus on their instruments over their poses (or, at least, to integrate looking at their instruments into their poses).  Tetsu wore a baseball ca with the bill tilted low over his bent down face, further adding to that introverted feel of the band.   When he sang, he would face upward and expose his face, as if his words flew in an arc from his mouth, landing from above into the ears of the audience.  His movements also seemed deliberately self-conscious; always bending over to the left.

The crowd was really into the show, though there was a lack of any kind of slam dancing.  Most people stood and stared calmly, not trying to show too much emotion.   Halfway through the set, Tetsu addressed the crowd in a very soft voice, explaining that the band had just toured the States and was happy to be back in Japan, while thanking everyone for coming to the show.   It was not a short address, but it wasn’t too long, either.  While Tetsu’s spoke, I couldn’t help but observe the audience members listening quietly and attentively to his words.  It was exactly what Nobu had been talking about when he had described Japanese crowds as being “quiet” and it seemed like a moment of genuine communication from the stage to audience.

If Envy’s music can be described as a storm of sound, then the speech was a quiet moment right between when the rain seems like it’s about to stop and when it really begins to pour.  And, like a storm, there were captivating moments during Envy’s set and there were monotonous ones.  There was an element of danger, as well as of surprise, and there were calm spaces that provided shelter from the most intense elements.  I left the show unable to recall one song standing out from another, but simply contemplating the atmosphere of sound that I had just finished experiencing.   Trying to find the words to describe the music that I had just witnessed, I couldn’t help but think back to Nobu’s words from the interview, “EnvyはＥｎｖｙ.” (“Envy is Envy”).

-D.W. Patton

The first time that I had an opportunity to see Buckethead live was on June 11, 2004 during the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.  While many chose to attend a lackluster performance by Paige Mcconnell’s (Phish) band Vida Blue, I strolled over to a small tent on the other side of the field instead.  Buckethead rounded up the lineup for Praxis, a “super-group” that included Brain (Primus, El Stew) on drums, Bernie Worrell (Talking Heads, Parliament Funkadelic, Woo Warriors) on keys, and the prolific producer/bassist Bill Laswell.  I was completely sober but, that Praxis performance was still one of the most psychedelic and visually disorienting shows that I have ever seen and my mind was swiftly blown like a tenth of molly.  Bill Laswell kicked into the bass-line of “Salt Shaker” by the Ying Yang Twins as Buckethead pop-locked holding an animatronic decapitated head that scanned the audience with its eyes and rapped the lyrics.  Anyone who can’t find entertainment in a spectacle such as that, I don’t think I would want to be friends with.  I witnessed Buckethead perform again at the festival with Material, another Laswell project, and later that year in Seattle with Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, which mirrors the Praxis lineup, with the exception of Les Claypool on bass.  In 2006, I went to another show in Seattle where Buckethead fronted a trio which featured his old Deli Creeps drummer Pinchface, and had a much heavier and more straight-up rock sound.  He’s released a dark dub album called “Devil Dub” with his group Ben Wa, gone in more electronic directions with DJ Extrakd on albums like “Bermuda Triangle“, and even appeared on albums with actor Viggo Mortenson and recorded under the acronym Death Cube “K“.  His eclectic musical resume is beyond impressive but, it still forced me to worry that I may be rolling the dice by attending Buckethead’s 2009 New Years performance.  A few advertisements aired for the show on local television which featured a track with vocals by Serj Tankian (System of a Down), who’s label he is currently signed to.  It made me fear that I would be spending my night with what I feel to be some of his less appealing work.  Unlike many of his fans, I don’t attend G3 Tour performances and have dreams of “surfing with an alien” so, I was actually a bit skeptical about if a mute guitarist with a cardboard chicken bucket on his head could maintain the audience’s interest all by himself.  One thing that I knew I could be sure about is that, at some point in the show, I would witness something so incredible and awe-inspiring that it would make up for any cliched hair metal antics that I may have to endure.

Buckethead

Moore Theatre

Seattle, Wa

12/31/08

We got downtown and hopped off of the metro at around 9pm.   The bus, which reeked of 151 and weed, was packed full of paper-horn blowing assholes with plans to start their new years off “drunconscious” in tacky bile-stained Ed Hardy dress shirts that have embroidered eagles and shit sewn onto the backs.  I hadn’t expected the show to actually start at 8 sharp but, when we arrived at The Moore Theatre, there wasn’t anyone else in line.  I had expressed concern to the promoter that I may have trouble bringing a Digital SLR into the venue however, after 2 checkpoints without issue, I was escorted to my seats 4 rows back from center stage.  We had already clearly missed the opening act, PCP (The Portland Cello Project), and Buckethead was already on stage when we walked in.  He stood alone in front of a Marshall stack and a plethora of pedals and effects racks that provided his rythm section.  His set started off that evening with “Night of the Slunk” (Monsters and Robots 1999) which is very heavy on the kill-switch usage.  What I mean is that Buckethead’s Gibson is equipped with buttons that he presses rapidly to cut out the sound in choppy intervals, like a DJ with a fader.  Halfway through he went into some one-handed guitar work, as he moved around robotically like an anthropomorphic character from Chuck-E-Cheese or Showbiz Pizza.  By his second track, “Crash Test Dummy” (aka: “Crash Victim” from Praxis’ Transmutation),  he was already making use of his trademark elastic guitar strap to stretch his instrument out towards the audience and fuck with everyone’s perception.  His blank mask gives him such a stoic quality that every movement looks even more exaggerated and, combined with his gestures and rapid fire solos, it increases his appearance as being something more than human.  Switching it up, Buckethead pulls the pseudo-ballad “Ghost Host” (“Decoding the tomb of Bansheebot” 2007), out of his repertoire before shifting to the raunchy guitar chops of the “Gory Head Stump” intro, where he momentarily wore a rubber head on his hand.  Mid-way through, he thumps his guitar like a slap bass and takes it into an all out funk jam, before returning back to it’s much grimier start.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8AiJD19KOY

I was already up front and snapping photos by the time he went into “King James” (Crime Slunk Scene 2006), an ode to basketball star Lebron James.  While he was playing, the wireless device that he had been using up until that point, began to fizzle out and his dreadlocked music tech P-Sticks came out mid-song.  His huge goatee stuck out through the bottom of a surgical mask as he connected the guitar through a direct line and promptly exited back behind the equipment.  In continuance of his rock-ballad/Lebron James/basketball theme, Carroll casually jammed that song into “Redeem Team” from his recent release Albino Slug.  I think that was about the time that I was yanked the fuck out by security and taken into the lobby to explain myself.

I dropped some names and got sifted through a hierarchy of security.  There were about 3 different men and each one was less receptive and more condescending than the last.  The first two guys were actually pretty cool about everything, but the last one made me call the promoter from a noisy lobby.  This was even after I stated that I wanted to step outside where it was quieter.  “Can’t you call him from right here?” he asked.  “Sure, I’ll call him from here“.  I had already sent him a text and I didn’t want to interrupt whatever New Years festivities he may be engaging in himself.  When he answered the phone, neither of us could hardly hear anything on each others end.  He was extremely helpful and I heard him say, “Someone’s on their way“.  I thanked him and, right as I hung up my phone, someone was already approaching and asking if I was the “photographer“.  He walked me back in and down to the front where he informed another security guard of my authorization and instructed him not to harass me further.  I started shooting again and, when the original guard re-approached me, he was waved off instantly.  I’m used to this treatment and it wouldn’t be me or Monster Fresh, if I didn’t encounter some sort of issue.  I actually prefer things this way for two reasons: 1) I still feel a connection to the makeshift ghetto roots roots of sneaking into shows that birthed this site and 2) I had only been shooting from obstructed angles off to the side before this all went down.  Once you go through all of the drama of being scanned through upper management and they do eventually approve what you’re there to do officially, nobody below them fucks with you at all.  You’re usually able to get away with a lot more than you might have, if that never happened.  The risk of being removed has decreased so much; the staff has orders to leave you alone.

The crowd, more or less, remained seated as Buckethead went through tracks like the funk-metal “Fountains of the Forgotten” (Cuckoo Clocks of Hell 2004) and the highly popular “Soothsayer” (Crime Slunk Scene). Then it was time for the patented nunchaku and robot routine.  As usual, the guitarist put on a recording of the space-funk “Minute to Forever” by the artist Freekbass and grabbed his nunchucks.  He skillfully wielded them around before tossing them aside for a pair of giant blue foam fingers.  The foam couldn’t quite cover the palms of his giant hands, while he did the robot and glided across the stage.  He was really pulling out his bag of tricks at that point and now it was time for him to grab his bag of toys.  When he walked over to a giant plastic shopping bag, the audience rushed to the front of the stage and I instantly found myself surrounded by a crowd.  Buckethead reached into the bag and handed out random toys to his fans.  Many were prepared with out-stretched buckets of their own to collect the free prizes and others even brought gifts for the performer himself.  Among the gifts that Brian Carroll received were a “Star Wars” vinyl LP and a handmade replica of the Buckethead doll featured on his “Secret Recipe” DVD, complete with the detailed packaging.  I personally was handed a Playmobil Dragon Kinights playset with projectile balliste.  Some of the crowd walked away with Disney related toys representing Carroll’s fascination with the theme park that he grew up close too.  One kid left the Moore Theatre that night with a large box containing an Disney acoustic Hannah Montana guitar.  The interaction between Bucket Clause and the crowd was reminiscent of the classic Frankenstein scene between the monster and the little girl.  He appeared like a kind hearted monster as he curiously, gently, and appreciatively inspected toys and gifts given to him by the crowd.  Someone offered him a plastic hand with a plaid blood-stained sleeve.  Carroll pulled it over his own arm and then did a short routine with it, which involved some more posing, slow-motion, and charging across the stage.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeFLN3y2KLM

After the martial-arts/hip-hop/toy intermission, the audience was treated to a rendition of “Jordan“, a song which was named after Michael and has gained popularity with the kids as an unlockable bonus track from Guitar Hero II.  By the time the toys had been passed out, I had feared that Carroll had exhausted every trick that he had up his extra-long sleeves but, the rest of the show worked as evidence to the contrary.  There was a moment when the lanky musician froze in his typical mannequin-like fashion.  A man dressed like a mad scientist came out to simulate electrical maintenance on Carroll’s back, while mechanical computer sounds pumped through the speakers.  Once when  Brian left to take a brief break, a stocky character entered the other side of the empty stage.  He was wearing an old man mask like one my sister had when we were children.  He picked up an electric mandolin and did a jig while plucking the strings off key.  Eventually, the guitar shredder returned and they performed a little circus tune together.  Later, during another break, the same man came out and placed two singing and dancing robotic chicken toys on a stool with a mic in front of them.  Buckethead had various samples and audio clips that were featured throughout the show.  At one point he mimicked vocals with his hand-puppet “Herbie” and, when he played “The Battery Cage Brawls“, (Bucketheadland 2) P-Sticks re-entered the stage in a mask and top hat to lip-sync the “ghost of Abraham Lincoln’s” dialog, “I didnt understand ya there young fella, would you repeat that again?“  The man in the mask and P-Sticks subsequently came out to perform with  Buckethead together.  The man played the mandolin again but P-Sticks was holding a contraption that looked like a hybrid flashlight/theramin.  Back in 2000 a man approached me in a Phish lot at Mountainview, Ca when heard us listening to Monsters and Robots.  “Oh,  are you guys listening to Brian?” he asked, and then proceeded to tell us how he was friends with him.  Apparently, another of their friends invents crazy electronic instruments which he brings to Carroll, who plays them effortlessly.  I’m unsure if P-Sticks was the inventor that he was referring to but, I’m assuming that he was performing with one of the instruments.  At the end of the show, another character, resembling a space-age version of Devo’s Boojie Boy, rocked out on stage in a silver costume and a purple boombox.

Among originals like “The Revenge of Double-man” (Monsters and Robots) and “Botnus” (Enter the Chicken 2005), the bucket-clad rockstar weaved a few cover songs into the second half of his New Years Eve show.  He incorporated the Hendrix classic “Foxy Lady” and even “Pure Imagination” from the original Willy Wonka soundtrack.  Futuristic robotic sounds were manipulated from his white Gibson guitar and eventually melded into songs from John Williams’ monumental “Star Wars” work.  Buckethead managed to reproduce blaster and R2d2 sounds with his guitar and jammed the medley into a phased-out version of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider“.  Before the show was over, a professionally dressed woman entered the stage with a clipboard.  She referenced the fictional “abusement park” that the Bucketheadland.com website is titled and modeled after.  She thanked us for coming to the park and claimed that teh dead bodies had been cleared from specific rides.  Buckethead finished the night off with “Welcome to Bucketheadland” (Giant Robot 1994) and ended the show abruptly before 11pm.

I was surprised that the show ended so early because I’m used to New Years shows that run through midnight with balloons dropping and the whole shabang.  This was the last show of his tour and, based on what I have read, the show didn’t differ much from the previous set-lists on this run.  I walked out of the Moore and a man was out front trying to hustle blank white buckets to people on the street.  The crowd was very young and the energy was extremely positive, unlike what one may expect from a performer that often draws fans of metal and heavy guitar rock.  I enjoyed the early dismissal, which allowed me the opportunity to get back to my area of town and have a quiet drink before the ball dropped.  I have no regrets in my decision to spend my New Years at the Moore Theatre and wonder why I ever questioned it in the first place.  Buckethead is a multi faceted artist and, although the show contained lots of heavy guitar noodling and sentimental ballads like those found on Colma, the tribute album for his sick mom, the guitarist made sure to incorporate enough elements from his eclectic career to please his fans of any level or genre.  I encourage everyone who has ever had any interest in checking out one of his performances to do so.  I’ve seen him 5 times now and, at every single one of those shows, I found something new and enthralling to come away with.  There is a story about Buckethead unsuccessfully trying out for “The Red Hot Chili Peppers“, much like Les Claypool had for “Metallica“.  Today, both of the men continue to be innovative in their crafts and consistently get better over time, while the groups that rejected them plateaued ages ago.  Brian Carroll’s career and the versatility that he has shown as a performer should be more than just inspiration for aspiring guitarist.  His shows aren’t just concerts; they are elaborate productions, utilized to display a genuine appreciation for those who have come out to support him.

-Dead C

We’d like to thank Swolfy & Kerry, the 2 friends who flew out from the East Coast just for the show.  Swolfy provided us with a quick photo of the set list that she was able to snap while at the show (featured in Gallery below) and Kerry helped us out with the first video featured.  Please take a look at Swolfy’s deviant art page to view her photographs from the show.  We also reccommend checking out the rest of Kerry’s videos from her youtube page.  They are really good quality and she was able to catch tons of footage.

(CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE & VIEW)