Link:
http://www.j-popworld.com/Interviews/CANTOY.php
[REPRINTED BELOW]
Please tell us the story of how CANTOY formed.
miri-pow: Catherine and I used to be in a band together. Around that time, we met Haga-chang.
Ken: When the band became CANTOY, that’s when I joined.
Catherine: A long time ago I was in a pop band and I learned a lot about music which helped in the creation of CANTOY.
Haga-chang: Our band name used to be in Japanese. But, since we’re a world-wide band we used the English alphabet to create our name.
Catherine: That’s right! We’re world-wide!
How would you describe your sound and look?
Catherine: A loud and heavy sound with miri-pow’s pop vocals. The gap is huge between our sound and her voice. It’s wonderful.
Ken: It’s the same as the way we look. Colorful miri-pow in the middle of all us guys wearing black.
Haga-chang: Our look and sound are the same concept. They’re one and the same.
miri-pow: I don’t believe there is a band like us anywhere in the world.
We loved the feel of “LOUD UP!!”. Can you tell us more about the song?
Catherine: It’s a song that focuses on good things.
Ken: When we made this song, CANTOY was born.
Catherine: When LOUD UP!! was created, it helped us find our musical path.
Haga-chang: We made a PV for this one. You’ve probably seen it on YouTube. We filmed it during one of our live shows in Tokyo.
miri-pow: It’s one of our favorite songs! It gets crazy when we play it live.
Rumor has it that some drinking occurs while on tour. Is this true, miri-pow?
miri-pow: It’s true. Every time after a live, there is a party. We always get wasted. Even on our free days the four of us often go drinking.
Catherine: Hmm. Drinking helps create a bond between us. If we don’t drink, there will be a lot of fighting on tour. HAHAHA!
Do you each have a favorite memory of playing (or partying) together?
Catherine: The show where the neck of my guitar broke.
Ken: During a live, Catherine’s 7-string guitar broke against a speaker and he had to play with a 4-string.
Catherine: We had a show the very next day. So I had to play all this heavy rock with a 4-string guitar!
Haga-chang: This story is funny because my bass is a 5-string and I was playing with more strings than Catherine. HAHAHAHA!
miri-pow: Actually, that was probably the best we ever sounded! HAHAHA! (Picking on Catherine)
How did you each find your way into punk music?
Haga-chang: I consider myself different. I’m a comical character. If you see our live, you’ll see that I’m not a normal person.
Ken: The drums are the hardest to see from the audience. However, when we perform, I feel in my heart that all eyes are on me.
Catherine: I’ve always thought of myself as punk rock. That’s always been my definition. It helps get the girls, too. HAHAHA!
miri-pow: I don’t really know. My life just led me here. I think I’m only putting out what’s been in my mind all along.
Please describe what it’s like when you are performing and everything is going great?
Haga-chang: Well, first of all, I’m always drunk at that time.
Ken: It’s an extremely good feeling (performing). When I see our fans during a live, I get an even better feeling.
miri-pow: It always makes me feel better regardless of how I felt before.
Catherine: There’s something magical about it. That kind of moment creates its own melody. Maybe CANTOY’s music can bring good feelings to everybody.
What do your family and friends think about you being musicians?
Catherine: They think I’m an embarrassment to Japan. HAHA!
Haga-chang: However, there are people who think we’re great.
Ken: My parents told me not to come home.
miri-pow: We have a lot of friends! But we need more people to cheer for us.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Catherine: We will release a new album this summer!
Haga-chang: For the time being, we’re working on some great new songs! We’re recording them now. Please wait for it!
miri-pow: Of course, after that we’ll be touring in Japan. We’d like to go to America this year, too. Please lend us your support.
Do you have a final message to all your fans?
Catherine: CANTOY has never been to America so we want to meet you soon! We love you.
Ken: We think about America a lot. We want to show you our music. Please invite us.
Haga-chang: Enough talk! You got a taste of us on YouTube, right? Support us!
miri-pow: We just talked about this, but CANTOY is working on new music. I think it’s completely crazy, so please look forward to it!
