Intro

This time, Gen from 04 THE LIMITED SAZABYS hosts The King’s Place with Tatsuya Maki (often referred to as ‘Maki’ ) of J-rock group, go!go!vanillas!

Read more to learn about go!go!vanilla’s roots, growing pains, and how their sound has evolved over their 14 years together.

★ The following is a translation of the radio program THE KING’S PLACE. Much of the information has been paraphrased to create a coherent flow. Dialogue shouldn’t be taken as exact quotes.

Table of Contents

1. Maki and Gen’s songlist
2. Who are go!go!vanillas?
   1. More on the members 
3. THE KING’S PLACE 
   1. Opening
   2. -Listener’s messages- 
4. –  ‘THE ULTIMATE YON-TAC’-
5. – Gen’s Room –
   1. go!go!vanillas in London
   2. go!go!vanillas on their days off
6. -Listener’s messages-
   1. Maki’s songwriting process
   2. “Live, learn, and follow your dreams”
7. Conclusion: Follow go!go!vanillas! 🎵

Maki and Gen’s songlist

1. “平安 (Hei-ahn)”- go!go!vanillas. Their new single that pairs modern J-rock/funk  with traditional Japanese visuals.
   
2. “安里屋ゆんた” (Ah-sah-doh-yah yoon-tah)”- Atsuko Hiyajo and Yuko Sato. Gen chose this song after hearing it after having a drink while in Okinawa. 
   
3. “Connect”- Vampire Weekend. A new song released by the band. Maki heard it recently and fell in love with it, after which Gen says “Yeah, it sound like something you’d like”. As someone who’s seen a few of Maki’s earlier interviews, he certainly does seem to lean towards alternative music.
   
4. “ランプ (Lamp)”- BUMP OF CHICKEN. ★ This is the song that Maki chose as being most influential to him. He’s been a big fan of this legendary, long-standing J-rock band since he was in Jr. High School. While in high school (I think), he and the current bassist, Pretty, ended up sharing their love for BUMP OF CHICKEN over a basketball game. Maki claims that had it not been for that interaction, they may not have ever formed a band. 
   
5. “RE-SQUALL”- 04 Limited Sazabys. An unplugged version of the pop-punk song, SQUALL.

Who are go!go!vanillas?

Go!go!vanillas formed in 2010 and had their major debut in 2014 with their album “Magic Number”, which features their popular song “エマ (Eh-ma)”. 

Moving from their debut 2013 album “SHAKE” to their most recent 2022 album “Flowers”, their focus has shifted from revival rock to using more pop and funk elements. However, even in “Flowers”, you can hear remnants of the “old” go!go!vanillas in songs like “The Marking Song”.

Therefore, rather than change their sound, I say they’ve simply added more to it, which has made it more challenging to classify them. In fact, when you look at their current profile, things like country, rock, RnB and jazz are listed! However, I think this is their greatest strength. Not many artists are able to incorporate so many genres and still maintain a fundamental sound.

Some of my favorite songs include:

•  “MAGIC” from their album “Magic Number”. It’s a fast-paced, upbeat song with an Irish-vibe to it. ★ This Youtube video may not be available outside Japan, but you can watch on Apple Music or Spotify.
  
• “Hey, My Bro.” from their album “The World”. I think this is when the band started to step into the country scene. During this album tour, they often referred to fans as ‘bro’. It’s simply a fun country rock song. 
  
• “Kagami 鏡” from their album “PANDORA”. This album’s visuals and theme are dark and mischievous, incorporating a variety of genres like rock, funk, and ska. “Kagami” is a danceable rock song with funk and country elements that tells a story of love and betrayal. 
  
• “SHAKE”,  a single released in January 2024. The video was filmed in London and marries funk and jazz to create a fun, colorful song you can enjoy under the city lights. 

More on the members 

The members are Tatsuya Maki (main vox/guitar), Shintaro Yanagisawa (vox/ lead guitar), Pretty Hasegawa (bass), and Jett Seiya (drummer). They’re extremely active on social media and post a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, as well as host their own radio show for their fan club. Some things I’ve learned and experienced over the years as a fan are: 

Maki is a big fan of The Strokes and had a chance to take a picture with the guitarist, Albert Hammond Jr., claiming that he was his HERO. He also has/had a cute Pomerianian dog which he used to post pics and videos of for the fan club.  

Shintaro had been suffering at a day job before joining go!go!vanillas, and he quickly realized that music was what he was meant to be doing. He’s written and sung several songs like “Stranger”, “I Don’t Wanna Be You”,  and “My Favorite Things”. He can sing in a very high pitch, which he demonstrates in “HIGHER”. 

Pretty Hasegawa is actually the sweetest person on the planet. Just when I became a fan, he’d gotten in an accident and couldn’t play bass for a while. Therefore, he wrote postcards for the concert attendees expressing his appreciation. He also has a great sense of humor. 

Jett Seiya is a punk-rocker at heart. He often dresses in leather jackets and sunglasses to bring home this fact. He also loves comics and would  post about what he was reading at the time for the fan club. 

THE KING’S PLACE 

A Tokyo-based radio station where bands host programs daily. Monday’s segment is covered by 04 Limited Sazabys’ vocalist, Gen. 

Opening

In celebration of Children’s Day on May 5th, Gen poses the question: 

“What would you want to do if you were a kid again?”

Gen: I would get up really early in the morning and ride my bike around. Like fishing or catching stag beetles…since it’s really early, I want to be able to do a lot with my friends. 

Maki: Cops and Robbers. It’s pretty simple, but…

Gen: Haha, yeah! But actually we did YONFES frequently, right? There was this group of junior high schoolers on like this field trip or something. There were these boys who were chasing each other and I was like “why did I stop doing that?” because it looked so fun. But then I kept watching and thought “…what’s fun about it, though?”

Maki: Haha, yeah that happens when you get older 

Gen: But compared to the girls, the boys were really rowdy. It made me think about how I was back in those days, too.

 Anyway, we have Maki here from go! go! vanillas today who came in during the holiday.  We’ve already played together twice this year since last January. Thank you very much~

Maki: Thank you for also  inviting us to YONFES and other events.

Gen: No problem. And there was also…DREAMLAND?

Maki: What?? Hahaha, that sounds like DREAM Shin-chan or something .

Gen: What was it?

Maki: Make a Dream

Gen: Oh. Haha, well we’ll talk more about that, too. Also yesterday, the two of us took a trip together.

Maki: Yeah, and there was a dog on the bullet train

Gen: Yeah I was so shocked! Suddenly I heard ‘Excuse me’ and ‘it’s okay’, and  then suddenly she passed a DOG to you! I was so surprised!  I didn’t notice that dog at all!

-Listener’s messages- 

Radio name : Yayasukebo

“How do you come up with songs?”

Maki: Well it often comes to me while I’m in the bath. Like the refrain. Is it the same for Gen?

Gen: Well not IN the bath, but while I’m in the bathroom it’ll come to me. And I’ll hear the chords and stuff, but end up coming up with a completely different melody. 

Radio name : Rina-chan

“Recently you went traveling together, right? Can you tell us more about it, or if there was some interesting moment?”

Maki: Well, it’d been a while, so I thought that I wanted to just chill with you.  We went to the sauna in Niigata with our friends, and we were in  there for a long time.

Gen: Yeah hahaha!

Maki: I wondered if my body would still have any minerals left. We kept going in and out of the sauna . Like how many times did I go in? Hahaha! And there was lots of nature in Niigata, too.

Gen: It’s was SO countryside. Even saying it, like…there was NO ONE. And it was near the ocean and the convenience stores were like thirty minutes apart. While entertainment in the country is increasing…there still wasn’t much in that regard haha

Maki: We talked about space, too~

Gen: And enlightenment~ It was really fun. It wasn’t nearly long enough, though.  

–  ‘THE ULTIMATE YON-TAC’-

A question is posed and the listeners guess how the hosts would answer. After discussing the question and deciding the answer, they reveal whether the listener was correct or not. If correct, that listener gets a signed gift.

Question:

Radio name:  Ayari

“If you could become one of these four people, who would you choose?”

1. Sorimachi Takashi 
2. Takenochi Yutaka 
3. Nishishima Hidetoshi 
4. Fujiki Naohito

Before looking at the answer, who do you think they chose??

– Gen’s Room –

The corner where Gen asks his own questions to the guests.

Gen: how long has it been since your major debut? 

Maki: 10 years. 

Gen: oh! Congratulations! And how about since formation? 

Maki: about 14 years. 

Gen: oh wow! You debuted really soon! Just after four years! So how are go!go!vanillas now?? 

Maki: well between producing songs and calling out a lot of bands to join our big event (Make a Dream Tour), we’ve just been really busy.

go!go!vanillas in London

Gen: You also recorded in London last year. What differences did you find between Japan and London?

Maki: We recorded (“SHAKE”) in the street and everyone said “hi” to me. Everyone was really friendly. I thought there’d be prejudice but they were nice. Apparently anime is really popular there too. 

There was also this African  woman who suddenly noticed me and asked “are you Japanese?!” And I said “yeah” and she bolted towards me to show me her Hunter x Hunter tattoo. I was like “oh wow!” Haha!

go!go!vanillas on their days off

Gen: What are you doing on your days off, usually?

Maki: We often invite young bands to hang out with us and we just chat about music. We discuss our favorite genres without any judgment. 

Shockingly, these days it’s easy to differentiate between genres. Like it’s purely that genre. I’ve come to want to support that. 

-Listener’s messages-

Radio name: Chima 

“Golden week  is coming to an end and I’ve been laying around at my parents house. Is there anything you look forward to when you go home for the holidays?  I’m thinking about what to do to enjoy the rest of the holiday.”

Gen: there was an person here who also wanted to know good places in Oita, so maybe we can answer both questions (Maki is from Oita) 

Maki: well Oita is famous for onsen. Asahi onsen is great. While I was in school, I’d go there with my clubmates after meetings. 

Gen: wow! Going to the onsen after club meetings?? That sounds like it’d be typical for Oita! 

Maki: yeah, all the memories come flooding back whenever I go, and I get really emotional. 

Gen: there’s apparently a city that’s really good for onsen..like an onsen ALLEY?

Maki: In Beppu. There’s this alley that has a Showa period feeling. Really folksy. I recommend it 

Maki’s songwriting process

Radio name: Harumaki

“Maki’s lyrics are really stylish and warm. If there’s a favorite book or specific roots  that inspired them, can you tell us?”

Maki: well I like to play with words, but I don’t really read books. When I write lyrics, it’s kind of like a movie in my head. I think about  the character’s situation and actions, and from that I form metaphors. I think in terms of pictures. 

For example, when expressing “I love you”, instead of through words, I think about how that’d look.

Gen: Oh, that’s how you go about it. I always thought your lyrics were really interesting. Do you write the lyrics at home?

Maki: yeah but they’ve just come to me naturally recently. “Heian” was like that, too. 

Gen: same here. It comes to me in parts. 

“Live, learn, and follow your dreams”

Radio name: Koto

“I recently turned 20 and am thinking about what I want to do in the future. However, no matter how hard I try, I don’t have an answer. When you were my age, is there something you placed importance on when thinking about the future?”

Gen: when did you think about starting a band?

Maki: from university.

Gen: was it more like ‘it’d be cool if I could do this, but I have to get a job’ or did you decide you’d actually go for it? 

Maki: I thought there was no other way other than to do music. Like it was obvious. I actually had a part-time job at that time and it was really tough physically and mentally. I couldn’t even communicate. There really was no other path for me.  

Gen: but this is a common perspective. People often feel they want to do something but are too afraid to go through with it. I can only speak for myself but I think people are scared to take risks. It’s just like riding your bike, though; you fall and pick yourself up again. Yet people are afraid of slipping. I think you should try and go for the thing that you won’t give up on. 

As for me, I’ve made a living on music, but it’s not like I have this amazing talent. I just chose this path and kept on with it

Maki: definitely, if there’s something calling to you, you should go for it. For example, when you become a third year in uni, you usually  start preparing for job hunting and filling out that entry sheet, right? When I was a third year, it’s not like I wasn’t worried, since I hadn’t done anything. But my friends were like:  “well you’re doing a band, right?” 

And I thought , if everyone goes the business route, I figured this music thing would be more attractive and have less competition. I thought about a lot of stuff, so ultimately, it really is best to do what you like.

I often think about life as if it were a movie, and I wouldn’t want my movie to be boring. I want to have lived a life that would’ve made an interesting movie.

Gen: yes, that’s a good way to put it. Well whatever you do, there’s no use worrying about mistakes. Live, learn and get stronger. 

Conclusion: Follow go!go!vanillas! 🎵

So, what’d you think? Did you get tingly feels at the end of the radio show like I did? While the advice to follow your dreams being regurgitated by successful people often feels less genuine, I appreciated the sentiment coming from people in a culture where the vast majority would prefer to be secure than happy.

It was also really cool to hear about go!go!vanilla’s experience in London! I hope that they’re able to go overseas more and interact with international fans. They seem to be very open-minded people, so I wonder where their next trip abroad will be!

When I saw go!go!vanillas in concert some odd years ago, they not only showcased their impressive musicianship, but also their warm nature. I was happy that this interview was able to capture those qualities of Maki and go!go!vanillas, as well as touch on their clear passion for music.  I hope you can get a chance to see them  live when they’re in your area! 

Click the links below for tour updates and videos! 

• Official Site
• Youtube
• Spotify 
• Apple Music