──Chicago seems to have a difficult crowd to rock
HYDE：Yeah, probably the most difficult during this tour.
──You’ve been to Chicago before as VAMPS yes?
HYDE：Wasn’t it when I wrote “Umi-made-sanpo-ni-itta-hanashi (海まで散歩に行った話 : Story of the time I went to the ocean) on my blog?
──I think you went in 2015 for your “SIXX：A.M. The Modern Vintage Tour” LOL. 2016 was when you signed with the American artist management agency “10th Street Entertainment” and blow started your music activities overseas, at the same time, it seemed like a year of new challenges, having producer Howard Benson joining in composing and writing of single “INSIDE OF ME feat. Chris Motionless of Motionless In White”.
HYDE：Yes. That’s something that is totally different. Perhaps that’ll be the foundation to our overseas activities in 2017. That’s what the whole co-writing is about. We want to be closer to a local standpoint as much as possible.
──Some artist don’t like others to interfere with their production right?
HYDE：True. There will be other opinions jumping in from the production step. But if we start talking about that, I think it’s better off doing solo and self-producing everything on your own. There are usually many factors to deal with when you make a song in a band. The biggest difference here is how we work with the producer. Japanese producers don’t jump into the song itself. They won’t change melodies or won’t change the overall picture of the song, but foreign producers will.
──They get involved in the actual making of the song
HYDE：They’ll make it a better song or change the song drastically, and that’s what I’m happy about. We wanto to make a better song, so why leave the good ideas outside? Even if it’s your song, it doesn’t mean that you yourself can write a 100% loved song. Actually, even if it’s your song, you can make an ideal song by borrowing other people’s talents.
──I see.
HYDE：Teaming up with a producer to take the song towards the better is always a good tactic. If the direction of the song seems wrong, you can always discuss it. But when you discuss about the direction of a song with a band member, it always ends up to the “well, what are we gonna do about it?” talk LOL. In a band, that kind of opinion will eventually be catagorized as “there’s nothing we can do about it”, but with a producer it’s more flexible. A producer’s opinion is strong, but they respect the artist’s feelings as well, so we’re able to come to a conclusion like “in that case, let’s not do this”.
──It’s not protecting the holyness of the music production, but rather having someone open a new door.
HYDE：Yeah, it’s simply funner.
──This is a part that the fans will feel a bit nervous about.
HYDE：Yeah, I know. It’s a whole new experiment for me as well, so there will be new experience. If I think the direction is wrong, how will I change it, how much of a producer will I be able to become? Those are things that’ll be clearer as we proceed with production.
──In 2017, what can we expect with your overseas activities?
HYDE：It’s still the beginning of our project, but I’m guessing we’ll start like overseas artists does. Performing at festivals and such.
──Will there be a national America tour?
HYDE：Hmm, I don’t know.
──I bet your Japanese fans are frustrated because VAMPS’ tour overseas is a rare show.
HYDE：We’ll be releasing a new album next year so there will definitely be a show in Japan as well. We will do something in Japan too. Something! LOL
──We look forward LOL. Lastly, will there be anouther “HALLOWEEN PARTY” a year from now?
HYDE：I’m not so sure…of course there will be LOL! I feel that we’ve made the event too big in scale so I want to bring it back to a size that’s easier for me to control. Hoping to find the right balance for this.
VAMPS North American Tour 2016 With Special guest Citizen Zero
11/06 (Sun) San Francisco, CA Social Hall SF
11/07 (Mon) Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theater
11/10 (Thu) Mexico City, Mexico Teatro Metropolitan
11/13 (Sun) New York, NY Irving Plaza
11/14 (Mon) Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
11/15 (Tue) Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
Official website: http://vampsxxx.com
Facebook http://facebook.com/VAMPS.UniversalInternational.DeliciousDeliRecords
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VAMPS_JPN
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/VamproseChannel
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