On-site interviews at Fuji Rock. The music performed by three acts and the lingering atmosphere of the festival, as captured amid the heat of Naeba.

Elizabeth, the lead singer, must be the goddess of sunshine. As soon as the live show began, the torrential rain gave way to gradually clearing skies. This unpredictable weather seems to mirror their songs in some ways… The Beth, who made a strong impression at the RED MARQUEE, sat down for an interview with all band members present.

Ben: I ate it at the hotel buffet. But, as my blog readers probably know, I have a strict rule: I never write about that day’s breakfast on the same day. Actually, it’s a little trick to make sure everyone comes back to read my blog the next day, too.

Ben: Yeah, yeah. I ate at the hotel buffet. But as you know, if you’re a reader of this blog, there’s a very strict rule that I don’t talk about breakfast on the day I have it. So, you know, it’s just a way to get people to come back and read the blog the next day.

Ben: I ate some triangular rice. That's right, rice balls!

Ben: I had a rice triangle. Yeah, an onigiri.

Elizabeth Stokes (hereinafter referred to as Elizabeth): To be honest, I was pretty nervous. I mean, behind the scenes, everyone had put in so much work, and it felt like all of that was condensed into just one hour on stage. But I really enjoyed it, and the audience was so warm. How did you all feel about it?

Elizabeth Stokes: Well, to be honest, um, I was pretty nervous just because it feels like there’s a lot of work involved and everyone behind the scenes is putting in a lot of effort, and then it all comes down to just one hour on stage. But it was honestly a lot of fun, and the audience was very warm. How did you guys feel?

Tristan Deck (hereinafter referred to as Tristan): I really love it when the audience claps along or cheers. It gives me a lot of positive energy, and they patiently wait for the next song. This time, I was able to walk around the venue beforehand and saw that kind of scene with other bands, so I understood what was going on—but if it had been my first time seeing it, I might have been a little confused. Still, I honestly had a great time.

Tristan Deck: Uh, I really like the way everyone claps—it gives you so much positive energy—and then waits patiently for the next song. I think if I hadn’t seen that with some other bands, I might be a little bit confused by it. But since I’ve seen it, uh, I really enjoy it.

Tristan: Something like "Asian Kung-Fu Generation," for example.

Tristan: Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

Elizabeth: I’d actually heard about that kind of reaction before. You know, what Tristan was just talking about—clapping and then waiting. But actually, it’s similar in New Zealand, too; we clap the same way, and then we just wait. I guess you could say we’re the “shy at home, bold abroad” type of people. Even when we feel something very strongly, we don’t necessarily show it.

Elizabeth: I guess we’d heard about that behavior—the kind Tristan described, where you kind of clap and then wait. But the thing is, it’s actually not that different in New Zealand. In New Zealand, people also—they’ll clap and then kind of wait. But I feel like we’re a pretty reserved people. So you can feel something very strongly, but you don’t necessarily express it.

Jonathan Pierce (hereinafter referred to as Jonathan): When we play at festivals, it reminds me of when we first started out. Back then, our goal was basically just to put our most high-energy side out there.

Jonathan Pearce: When we play a festival, it reminds me a little bit of what we used to do back when we were, uh, just starting out. And, you know, the goal was just to put our most infectious, high-energy side out there, or something like that. 

Elizabeth: From creating the album to finally releasing it to the world, there are so many steps involved... When we start receiving feedback from listeners, there are moments when we realize that people are connecting with what we're doing. For me, those moments are incredibly special when it comes to making music.

Elizabeth: That includes making the album and all the work that goes into putting something out into the world that… Yeah, it does happen, and you start to hear from people that they’re connecting with what you’re doing. And that’s very special.

Tristan: I feel like sometimes it’s easier to get a message across through music than through words. When penguins are on land, they waddle around on the ice and seem a little clumsy, don’t they? But the moment they get into the water, they become incredibly elegant, right? It’s kind of like that.

Tristan: Sometimes I find it’s almost easier to communicate through a musical performance than by talking to someone. You know, like when a penguin is on land and it’s kind of waddling around on the ice, looking a little clumsy, and then it gets into the water and becomes so elegant.

Elizabeth: What an elegant drummer he is (lol).

Elizabeth: You're an elegant, beautiful drummer.