In times like these , focus on the fun side.
. - The third edition of the A.M.C. was also great. I enjoyed it very much.
Kobayashi: That was good, really , really good. Hama-chan was great. It was much better than I had imagined. As I was listening to the live performance, I was thinking how glad I was that I had asked Hama-chan.
. I was overwhelmed by Mr. Hamasaki's voice and guitar, which I heard in that small space.
Kobayashi: I knew that Hama-chan was doing a nationwide storytelling tour, but you didn't dare to go anywhere. Even though I had asked her to perform (laughs). I wanted to be with the audience and hear what kind of songs she would play and how she would sing them, without any preliminaries. It was just as I expected, no, it was more than I expected.
Do you see Mr. Hamasaki in private?
Kobayashi: Yes, we do. We see each other from time to time, and we had dinner a few times when I decided to ask him to do this. My wife has known Hama-chan longer than I have, and whenever I meet him, I can talk with him in a normal way.
Every time I go to A.M.C., I think the atmosphere that A.M.C. has is different from any other event, and it is comfortable.
Kobayashi: Right now, all the news that's coming down from the world is just bad news, isn't it? And it's getting really hard to have fun. So, in a place where there is no "0" prohibition, people who normally don't get to see each other get together just once a year and have a good time. That's probably what you mean by the atmosphere.
. While many of the participants were well acquainted with Mr. Kobayashi, I felt the atmosphere was like a reunion.
Kobayashi: That's a good feeling, isn't it? After all, we all need an excuse to get together, don't we, when we grow up (laughs).
. However, as Mr. Kobayashi said, the mood in the world has been gloomy for a long time.
Kobayashi: If you want to keep living in a state of BE GOOD, you should focus on places where there is not so much negative energy swirling around. . If you only think about the bad things, you will be mentally damaged.
Kobayashi: In the city, you know, there are no more places where you can escape without being bothered. For example, even if you go to a commercial establishment and have fun, if you make too much noise, you will probably be scolded. Of course, it's only natural for people who live nearby, but all I could talk about was that. What was supposed to be an enjoyable interaction with people turned into an annoying conversation. . So I guess we had no choice but to create a place where we could enjoy ourselves.
The place is "Suigen no Mori Camp Land" and A.M.C. .
Kobayashi: Yes . Because I can't ask everyone to come to the woods in Nagano, where I have been going for many years (laughs). (laughs) Moreover, unless we have a clear direction of camping, people won't come, right? It would be nice to have a place where people who share a love of nature and the fun of spending time in tents, in short, people who love the mountains, can get together.
. It is truly "HOLIDAY IN THE MOUNTAIN".
Kobayashi: Yes, that's what I mean .
. Hamasaki-san also said that he was "charged up" during the live performance.
Kobayashi: Yeah, you said that (laughs). He was having a great time doing it, he was having a great time doing it, first camp after the gig.
I feel that A.M.C. has remained the same in a good sense, but have you thought about expanding the scale of your business?
Kobayashi: Everyone nowadays is under the compulsion to "spread the word," right? But we used to value information that we had to retrieve on our own more than information that was spread out to us. It is not the power to be given information, but the power to use one's nose to get information from information that is not available.
Even in this day and age, fun stories may not be so visible.
Kobayashi: Right? You talk about spreading and sharing, but I've always believed that it's more important to set up a fun situation before thinking about it, and I don't care if it's not about spreading the story to someone else, as long as it's a proper fun one.
I think it's fair to say that many people are obsessed with the spreading and sharing of information.
Kobayashi: If we have a very closed circuit like A.M.C., it is easier for people to understand what we are doing, and there is no excessive "I'm sorry" to someone they don't know. . Best of all, there are no prohibitions. . So there is no corporate advertising, and I don't want to take a penny of that.
I see.
Kobayashi: However, the big question is whether we can create something that everyone can enjoy in this closed circuit. To be honest, it is not profitable, but profitability is not the most important issue in this festival. To digress a bit, "COW BOOKS" also has a strong desire to be a bookstore in the city, so I want to keep it going even if ...... used bookstores are an inefficient business. . It all started with the idea that "a town without bookstores is a lousy town.
I asked you about COW BOOKS, but the Nakameguro area, which you have watched over for many years, has undergone a lot of changes. What are your thoughts on that?
Kobayashi: It's getting poppier. It is interesting to see the number of people who have a different balance from ours increasing. The faces of the streets change with the times, you know. The middle-class stores I used to like are all gone, but you have to look at the changes in the city with interest. To begin with, we have been around for a long time, but in reality, we are just one of the many grains of sand, aren't we! (laughs). (laugh) . So, it's no big deal.
Thank you very much. Back to the topic at hand........
Kobayashi: Yes, that's the extreme for me. In a world where things are spreading even if you don't want them to, you don't have to assume that the story will spread. You will definitely tell other people what you found interesting, so whether or not there are social networking sites, the speed at which the information is conveyed is only slightly different. In the first place, it is our starting point to make things interesting ourselves.
I think it is the same with live band concerts. Of course, it is important to be excited to see your favorite artist, but at the same time, the moment you hear a band you don't know, it is important to be able to turn on all your knowledge and open your body to the music.
Thank you again . I look forward to seeing you again next year , too.
Kobayashi: Come again, I'll be waiting for you .
