tami, the vocalist of TAMIW and owner of the music studio “Hidden Place” and a pet memorial park at a temple in Sakai, Osaka, conducts a series of discussions with the theme “Music and Work, Occasionally Buddhist Rituals.” For the third installment, her guest is Masafumi Goto of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION.
The conversation with Goto began with stories from his salaryman days and delved into the topics of “happiness” and “companionship” in the context of making music. Their dialogue expanded further to discuss Goto’s plans for running a studio for young musicians. Throughout, Goto shared his sentiments that have been consistent since “NANO-MUGEN FES.”
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Goto: I Thought a Conventional Job Could be a Bridge to the Music Dream
tami: The theme of this series is “music and work,” but you used to work as an office worker, didn’t you?
Goto: Yes, I was an office worker. I started playing in a band in college, but we didn’t get many customers while I was in school. But even after graduation, the band was the only thing I wanted to do, and I wondered what to do. I was called by the university’s employment office and asked, “Goto-san, what are you going to do? (laughs).
tami: I was in trouble (laughs).
Goto: They asked me, “What are you interested in? I said, “Music,” but he said, “I don’t have a job in music. What’s your next interest?” I said, “Fine arts,” and it just so happened that there was a job at an art publishing company, and I got it. I worked as a salesman, traveling to bookstores, stationery stores, art museums, and so on.
Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1976, Goto is the vocalist and guitarist of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. He is the editor-in-chief of THE FUTURE TIMES, a newspaper that considers the new era and future society. Presides over the independent label “only in dreams.
tami: You continued the band while working as a company employee, right?
Goto: Yes. That was almost the reason I got a job. I thought it would be easier to play in a band if I got a job. I didn’t have to worry about money, and I thought it would be easier to play music if I had fixed working hours and holidays. I thought it would be tough if I had to do it while working part-time.
At the time, I thought I would try working for a few years until I could make a decision. At that time, we did not have the option of making and distributing our own music, so we decided to give up if we could not get a label to find us after trying for a while. If we hadn’t gotten an indie release, we would have gone back to our hometown.
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tami: You Need to Know Why You Make Music in the Current Era
tami： At that time (around 2000), I think the number of people who were doing music while working other jobs was much smaller than now. Nowadays, we can do many things on our own, and it is not a situation where you have to be found quickly and make a debut to continue, so I think the number of people who do music while working has increased.
However, because there is no longer a common goal of a CD debut, I think we have entered an age in which it is necessary to have a clear idea of what is important to you in your music career. Now that it is so easy to distribute sound sources, if you don’t have a firm intention to do so, you will end up feeling like you have “done it” somehow. There are more options to consider, such as what kind of people you want to listen to and what kind of person you want to be, which may seem like a luxury, but it is also a painful part.
Formed TAMIW in 2018, toured the U.S. for 20 shows in 19 years, was selected for “FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ROOKIE A GO GO” in 21 years, and released their 3rd album “Fight for Innocence” in February 23. He runs a music studio “Hidden Place” and a pet cemetery at a temple in Sakai, Osaka.
Goto: Everyone is able to get to the point where they can somehow take shape, so it is becoming more difficult to figure out how to stand out from the crowd. So, unless you have a strong reason for why you want to do music, you may not be able to do it anymore.
tami：I think that people who are particular about their music are happier now. It is different if you want to make a lot of money with it.
Goto: Yes, that’s true. It’s hard when whether you make money or not becomes the measure of happiness or unhappiness. People who are doing music to make money end up quitting when it stops selling. If that is the case, it is hard to know if they are doing music or what they are doing. For us, music is not a means to an end, but an objective, so we can’t just stop because we can’t make money. If we can make a job out of it, I don’t think we could be happier.
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Dissolving the Labels: The Evolution of the Pro-Amateur Dichotomy in Indie Music
Goto: People who have jobs separate from their music decide to do only what they like in their music, and I think that is pure and beautiful. They have limited time to get together with their band members because of work and home obligations, so they don’t want to do anything they don’t want to do in that precious time. I sometimes feel the beauty that resides in such things. On the other hand, of course, there is also the goodness that comes from the evil intentions characteristic of pop music, such as struggling to sell well.
Young people are not quitting their jobs unnecessarily anymore, and I feel that more and more of them are grounded. As a musician, I have to think carefully about whether this is a good thing or not.
tami: In terms of “not having to make assumptions,” I feel it is a good thing. I feel that in the past, there was a strong assumption that you had to quit this in order to do this.
Goto: In the past, people used to question whether you were serious about what you were doing or whether you were doing it as a hobby. But you wouldn’t ask someone playing grassroots baseball, “Are you playing baseball if you don’t want to be a pro?” I don’t think people would ask that question. I now think that the terms “professional” and “amateur” themselves should disappear in the indie industry.
tami： That’s right. There is no point in separating them.
Goto: “It doesn’t matter. We do it because we enjoy making music. We do it because we think it enriches our lives. They wonder if it is really a success or happiness to sell out and get caught up in the politics of the music industry and survive there. Of course, there are people who say that is happiness, but I would like to say that it is okay to have a different sense of values.
Goto: Now that we live in an information society, we are able to see the lives of musicians of various styles. In the past, we only saw sensational deaths of rock stars, but now we live in an age where many people disclose their lifestyles. For example, I am sure there are many people who would like to live like Gomi of LOSTAGE. What is quitting or continuing music?) On the other hand, I also admire people like Hosomi of ELLEGARDEN, who seems to be a born rock star. There are many different styles. But in the end, I can never be Gomi or Hosomi, so I have to find my own way.
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Goto: Cultural Riches Defy the Confines of Currency
tami: Right now, you are preparing to open a studio for young musicians, aren’t you? As part of that, you came to visit my studio “Hidden Place.
Goto: Yes. I felt that the studio culture in Japan was gradually tapering off, and I wanted to do something about it. Recording in a studio, especially drums, is quite expensive, so it is difficult for indie musicians to access it. On the other hand, good studios are closing down due to economic reasons.
tami： Money would definitely be a problem if it were unavailable, but its value is ephemeral. Compared to cultural value, the value of money leaves nothing behind in the end.
Goto: That’s really true. There is a price attached to renting a studio for a day, but what you can accomplish there cannot be replaced by that money. If you ask me if I can convert today’s wonderful drumming into money, I can’t. But when we go out of business, it’s all about money. But when a studio goes out of business, it is all about the money, not the cultural value.
tami: People tend to say that studios are “expensive,” but they really don’t make any money (laughs).
Goto: They don’t make any money. However, I have been thinking about how to create a place where indie musicians can be creative and win, and I am considering operating a studio as a non-profit organization. Cultural value can never be measured in terms of money, but money is always an obstacle, so the challenge is how to remove that barrier.
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Goto: Cultivating a Rich Cultural Landscape: A Leader’s Duty for the Future
tami: Why do you go to such lengths for young people?
Goto: I don’t really know why I do what I do (laughs). (laughs) But perhaps it is because I have not been blessed with much in the way of environment to begin with. I was born and raised in a rural area with little cultural capital, and I played in a band while working as an office worker. I have managed to carve things out on my own, so I wanted to do something that would reduce the amount of time wasted by people who are struggling for the same reasons as I am.
If the cultural soil is solid, people can access songwriting and recording more quickly. I want to create a society where young people don’t have to struggle and where I don’t have to struggle as much as I used to. I think it is the duty of those who are ahead of the curve to make those areas better. Otherwise, it is obvious that we will be tapered off.
tami： Even now, the recording field is more closed than I thought. Even if you want to find an engineer, you have to go through the fog and ask someone you happen to meet, and you only know that person’s way for a long time. I think it would be great if we could also have more options in this area.
Goto: Indeed, everything is too much of a mystery. It would be better if there was some way to match people. In that sense, I think the important thing is to create a community. It would be great if the studio became a central place for such a community. It would be nice if the studio could become the center of such a community, where people could go and learn about the various options available to them. I felt that “Hidden Place” would become such a place, and I was very envious when I went to see it.
tami： This ties in with what you said about community, but you said before that “TAMIW doesn’t seem to have many friends.
Goto: I thought it would be difficult to hang out with someone because of the nature of our music.
tami: Yes, we don’t know that ourselves, and we are struggling with it. Goto: I have the impression that you have a lot of friends.
Goto: I played a three-man show with Takehisa (Gomi) and Kato (SADFRANK / NOT WONK) the other night. I felt very comfortable at that time. It’s not that we usually keep in touch with each other, but for some reason I felt at ease when we met. It is interesting that the people I feel comfortable working with can be from completely different genres of music.
When I play live with Takehisa or Kato and sip beer on the stairwells of a live music club, I feel that being present at that moment is one proof that my music is not wrong. That’s how I feel about my friends, or rather, the people with whom I am in contact.
