Without meeting Mari, I don't think the lyrics of "Ikebana Baby" would have come down.
MIU:What was it like when you wrote the lyrics, Mr. Sato?
Mogi:Sato, you never showed us anything like that. I wish I could have seen him writing lyrics.
. In the movie, you mentioned that there was a songwriting period during which you didn't get to know each other very well, and that you only saw each other on the street once in a while.
Mogi:Yes, that's right. However, there were two times when I felt that Sato had changed. If the early period around "Just Thing" was the first time I saw Shinji Sato's style, then after that he met a girl named Mari (*MariMari). I think that meeting Mari was a tremendously significant event for me.
When did you meet MariMari?
Mogi:After the completion of our second album, "King Master George," when we were taking artist photos, I borrowed a dog named Patrash that Mari had. We became good friends through that, and without that encounter with Mari, I don't think the lyrics to "Crazy Baby" would have come down to me.
MIU:Lovely .
Mogi:I'm incredibly grateful from a member's point of view, and I'm sure that Mari's presence was a great source of inspiration for the lyrics. She was at the preview the other day, and it was fun chatting with Mari. When Sato talked to Mari, she must have found it very interesting.
. I was also impressed by the fact that you were talking with ZAK behind the scenes during the live performance.
Mogi:That's right (laughs). Sato's lyrics are very sharp and clear, with a very limited number of words. However, I feel that the encounter with Mari was a tremendous factor in the infinite range of possibilities that come to mind for each person who hears them. I think I have been with Mari all the time, except when I was working with the band.
Women do change men, don't they?
MIU:I'll do my best (laughs).
Mogi:Another important timing was that Sato bought a car at the same time his record company changed. I think that was also a big factor. I think it gave him a new perspective to travel around by car. When I first got my license, I used to practice parking in my car in the middle of the night, but the car stalled many times. But that time was a lot of fun, too (laughs).
. I have the image of Mr. Sato as a car enthusiast.
Mogi:Yes, I bought my first car, a Volkswagen Golf. I think it was a light blue 1980 model. I changed it in no time, though. I think I gave it to a friend after I made a mistake in parking the car and smashed the left side of the door.
MIU:Eh! I think the one in the movie was light blue .
Mogi:As I recall, that was Sato's first car, followed by a " Renault," I think. I drove it for about a year. The next one was a "Mini" Clubman.
. It's very boyish of you to change your values with cars and women. Speaking of movies, when did you hear about the "Fishmans" movie?
MIU:I found out about it at the site of the "Fighting Spirit" show I did with cero in 2019. . I still have the postcard-sized movie flyer I got outside the concert venue hanging in my bathroom.
The first time you released information was at the "Fighting Spirit" event at Zepp DiverCity, wasn't it? I remember I was so excited to hear that "Fishmans is going to make a movie! You saw the movie at the preview screening, how did you like it?
MIU:I like documentary films about musicians to begin with, and this film gave me a good opportunity to see the music I encountered physically in the theater later. I heard Mr. Sato's manager say in the film, "I don't think people will understand the music I am playing, but I think I am playing music that can change someone's life," and I thought it was music but not music. I was given something that could change someone's life.
. Music calls for magic, indeed.
MIU:Yes, I know. I can't really put it into words. ......
Mogi:. It's the same for me, too, that music has changed my life. This may be off topic, but I wonder if my life would have been so much more exciting if I had not encountered the music I listened to in my teens. I went back to the music of the 60's and discovered the life force of sound, and I was really excited by it, and I thought it made my life brighter. I was lucky enough to become a musician, and now I want to create a chance for my life to be changed by music, even if just a little.
