JaME caught up with all-girl trio
STEREOPONY at
Sakura-Con 2012 where they held their first Seattle concert. After
STEREOPONY's performance on Friday (the previous night), the three will head down to California and perform on a short US tour at four locations, including an in-store event at music store Amoeba, in San Francisco.
Welcome to the US, and to Seattle. First, can you introduce yourselves?
Aimi: I’m
Aimi on vocals and guitar.
Nohana: I’m Nohana on bass.
Shiho: I’m
Shiho on drums.
This is your fourth time here in the US, correct?
Aimi: Yes, this is our fourth time here.
Have you gone sightseeing yet?
Aimi: Not yet, not in Seattle.
Are you excited for the US tour after Sakura-Con
? Do you have any expectations?
Aimi: We’re going to be visiting many live houses and new places, so I’m looking forward to meeting new people and to visiting lots of new places.
At last night’s concert, there was a Latex cat sitting on top of the amp. Was it placed there on purpose, or it a sort of ritual for you guys?
Nohana: (laughs before answering) (more laughs) For this tour, I thought it would be a good theme. It also helped gather good luck like a
maneki neko.
Because as the music was playing, the cat was nodding along…
All: (laugh)
STEREOPONY’s new single stand by me
will be released next month on the 30th and is being used as the theme for "Eureka Seven AO"! Can you tell us a little about it?
Aimi: The melody for
stand by me, we’ve had that for a little while now. But for "Eureka Seven AO," I really think that it shows how to cooperate, how to band together with friends and to do great things.
Serial TV Drama helped write and produce stand by me.
How was it working with them on this release?
Aimi: Yes, they helped write it. They respect music so much, so I’d like to continue working with them.
What artist would you like to work with with the most?
Shiho: Rather than collaborating with an artist, I’d like to try doing twin vocals, twin guitar or twin bass, something like that.
STEREOPONY has contributed to many anime opening themes. Have you watched some of the series that your work has featured in?
Aimi: Yes! When we watched it, it was very moving. Actually when watching, we screamed seeing it in "Bleach."
Aimi, you did voice acting, correct? What makes a skilled voice actor in your opinion?
Aimi: I’m surprised you know that because I think even people in Japan don’t know about that.
Really? Do you go under a different name for that role?
Aimi: No, I didn’t. I was really just practicing so voice acting is something I’d like to do more of. I like using my voice and in anime, you can portray characters that don’t exist in real life. So you can express yourself in many ways. I’m really excited about having a chance to do that.
Back in the days, STEREOPONY started as an Avril Lavigne cover band.
Aimi: Well, it really wasn’t a cover band per se but when we didn’t have many songs, we covered
Sk8er Boi.
You also covered Green Day’s American Idiot
. Do you have a favourite Green Day song?
Aimi: Yeah, they are a three-piece band too and are very catchy. We did
American Idiot live last year, so that would be our favourite.
What made you want to debut with original content?
Aimi: I think that starting from nothing and delivering something to people is a wonderful thing.
You’ll be heading off to Japan again, on your More!More!!More!!!
tour very soon. What can fans expect?
Nohana: After our live tours in America, we’ll be heading back to Japan. I really want to take the power we’ve gotten here and bring it back to Japan.
What is the best thing about being young?
Shiho: People should be able to do want they want to do as things change when you grow older, so do what you like.
Lastly, a message to your fans.
Aimi:
STEREOPONY will perform not just in Japan but in various places. I hope that we can communicate through not just words but with music. So please come see us, we would love to see you.
Good luck!
All: Thank you!
