Kanagawa Standing Drinking Culture Talk vol.2 “Drunkenness and Awakening”
2014.7.1 Text: Akiko Inoue Photo: Masamasa Nishino
Chikara FUJIWARA
Editor, critic, freelancer. Hosted by BricolaQ. Born in Kochi City in 1977. At the age of 12, he moved to Tokyo and started living alone in Tokyo. After that, he moved around a lot, and after working for a publishing company, became a freelancer. Responsible for editing magazines such as ``Expo'', Musashino Art University public relations magazine ``mauleaf'', and Setagaya Public Theater ``Caromag''. Co-edited with Riki Tsujimoto, ``Book Guide as Architecture'' (Meigetsudo Shoten). Co-authored with Kyoko Tokunaga, ``The Strongest Theory of Theater'' (Asuka Shinsha). Currently living in Yokohama. Involved in the launch of Theater Center F.
Junya NOGUCHI
Spatial modern guitar/vocal.
■ Kukangendai: Junya Noguchi (guitar/vocal) Keisuke Koyano (bass) Hideaki Yamada (drums)
Formed in 2006 by three current members. Music pieces created with ideas such as editing, duplication, repetition, and error are performed in the form of a three-piece spando. It is characterized by a humorous and stoic live performance that brings about twists and strains. In recent years, as an experiment in performance, he has been working on constructing and practicing a live performance format in which the entire time flowing during the live performance appears as a single rhythm, while moving back and forth between multiple grooves/songs running in parallel.
This is the second installment of the series, and this time we will be featuring Noguchi from the three-piece band Kukan Gendai, who is also an acquaintance of Fujiwara and is also famous for his cross-genre collaborations with Jiten, Norimizu Ameya, Kaya Ohashi, and Lolo. We welcomed Mr. Junya (GT/VO) as a guest, and we had a free chat on the theme of "Drunkenness and Awakening." Mutsumi Keida and Mai Tsuchiya, the first guests of the Karagumi Gekidan Karagumi , who were with us for the recording on the same day, joined us by surprise, making for a deep evening in which the perspectives of music and theater intermingled. So, here's the main story.
Before that, cheers! !
Fujiwara: My image of Noguchi is just a drunk guy (lol)
Noguchi: LOL! I have never seen Mr. Fujiwara get drunk.
What kind of band is Kukan Gendai?
Fujiwara: Kukan Gendai's live performances begin with the three pieces looking at each other in a "three-way" state. For example, I have performed live in Jiten 's ``Fatzer'' and have collaborated with various performing arts artists, but they are looking for elements that are not so-called accompaniment music.
Spatial contemporary music has the power to arouse a certain level of concentration in a given situation, and I think this is ``awakening.'' For example, I think the feeling of being indulged in a theater production and thinking, ``Ah, I'm crying...'' is similar to the feeling of being completely inebriated, but in Kukan Gendai, I feel that ``the more you get drunk, the more alert you become.'' right. But Noguchi himself has a strong image of being drunk, so I've always been curious about what that gap is.
Noguchi: Actually, the style of playing with three people facing each other is a way to avoid getting drunk. I think some people might say they can't dance to our music, but I try to make music that people can dance to and feel good about drinking alcohol with, so if we're inebriated (to the music), we'll play it. I become unable to do so. That arrangement also conveys the meaning of ``Let's get on with it without getting too drunk.''
Fujiwara: I see. I'm very conscious of that.
Noguchi: I thought it was more fun to approach music in a way that feels like it's being moved by something, and to perform live.
Fujiwara: People who have never heard our music may misunderstand when we say “fit into a mold,” but there are no elements that fit into the mold of existing band music.
Noguchi: In that sense, it's actually the opposite. The “type” I just mentioned means something like pitching form. No matter how innovative you discover a throwing method, it is completely different to concentrate on throwing by practicing and perfecting it to the point where you can do it properly, and to improvise and throw with a new form. We think it's best to first decide on your own form and then try to follow it.
Fujiwara: Is there anyone you used as a reference?
Noguchi: There are quite a lot of them. There are also things like "It's a rip-off!" It's not a plagiarism at all (lol)
Fujiwara: Ah, I couldn't copy it completely, so it turned out like that...
Noguchi: Yeah. But I was like, “That’s interesting.” (laughs)
Video provided by: Spot
Did a food-eating incident occur? !
Fujiwara: By the way, how is your drinking life these days?
Noguchi: I was still a university student when I first met Mr. Fujiwara, but I feel like I've finally gotten out of that college groove (lol).
Fujiwara: As expected... (lol)
Noguchi: I've made a lot of mistakes, and as a result of that, I'm probably thinking, ``Maybe I should toughen up a little.''
Fujiwara: I have witnessed that failure several times (lol)
Noguchi: We apologize for the inconvenience...
Gatsu vinegar miso appears here.
Noguchi: Oh, it's so good!
Fujiwara: Vinegar miso is also good! (Towards the counter) "General, it's delicious!"
General: Ah, thank you (Teru)
General (a little shy)
Noguchi: By the way, the other day I went to Fukuro (*a popular izakaya in Ikebukuro) by myself, and after I sat down and ordered, I looked in my wallet and found that I only had 100 yen. Thanks to that, I don't remember the taste of my first beer at all (lol)
Fujiwara: Lol!
Noguchi: In the end, I timidly decided to pretend to be going to buy cigarettes and withdraw money from an ATM, but the lady at the store kindly introduced me to a convenience store that was a 1-minute walk away. But I knew that the convenience store didn't accept my bank, so I dashed to a 7-Eleven that was far away (lol).
Fujiwara: Ah, that 7-Eleven.
Noguchi: Yes. I ran, but it took me over 5 minutes to run, so it was so slow that everyone was saying, ``Maybe he just ran away with something?''
Fujiwara: Hahaha!
Noguchi: So when I flung open the door of the restaurant and returned to my seat, I heard a voice in the distance saying, ``I guess it wasn't just a run-off,'' and I thought, ``Ah, I guess I was being messed with...'' (laughs) I had a new cigarette in my hand.
Illustration: Kanae
Fujiwara: But I think people were looking forward to it. I was like, “He ran away!” (laughs)
A while ago, I was at the counter of a bar and was at the scene of a fugitive. Suddenly, the old man suddenly walked out, and at that moment, the old lady running the restaurant yelled, ``It's a fugitive!'' !!” I shouted.
Noguchi: It's going up a lot, that's it (lol)
Fujiwara: Then the young people at the store jumped over the counter and chased me, and I was easily caught (lol)
Noguchi: Eh! I got caught!
Fujiwara: Yeah. I was surprised. I saw them eating and running... or something like that.
Noguchi: Going back to what I was saying earlier, I was like, ``That was a nice sight.''
Fujiwara: I guess everyone is looking forward to it. That's why I think everyone who was there enjoyed the 5 minutes during Multi-Sector Guchi-kun's performance. I was like, ``I wonder if he ran away, I don't know...''
Noguchi: lol
Eating and running away is “awakening”
Fujiwara: Leaving aside eating and running away, in keeping with this theme of ``Drunkenness and Awakening,'' even though they were basically inebriated, the customers at the store at that moment were concerned about whether or not Noguchi would come back. I think I watched it with a certain sense of tension and alertness.
Noguchi: I see. I'm starting to understand what Fujiwara-san means by "awakening."
Fujiwara: But, today, let's go with the drunken style. To be honest, I'm in drunken mode (lol)
*Although it has already been mentioned, this recording is Fujiwara-san's second visit of the night.
Noguchi: Well then, let's go to Hoppy.
Fujiwara: There are three colors: white, black, and red.
Noguchi: Then, choose red.
Fujiwara: Excuse me, one set of Red Hoppy please!
General: Yes.
Here, we have the famous cheesesteak!
(How to eat) Add Tabasco to your preference, cut and eat with your hands.
Noguchi: What, do you cut it by hand?
Fujiwara: Oh, seriously? This master's commitment is amazing.
Noguchi: Solid? this. picture? a! Okay, so that's it!
Yeah! !
Fujiwara: This is nice. It's not even pizza. I wonder what it is, it’s delicious! !
After enjoying this cheesesteak, two members of the Karagumi Theater Company (Mutsumi Keda and Mai Tsuchiya) who were accompanying us joined the conversation.
Fujiwara: For me, it's forever. The only thing that can stop me is the last train. And the last train won't stop me...
Keda: “The railroad continues forever”!
Karajuro x Kukan Gendai? !
Fujiwara: What did I forget to ask the two members of the Karagumi at the first house ( first session )? I was wondering what it was like when both of them said that their special skill in their profiles was "piano". That's right.
Keda: I learned how to play the piano, so I can play it fairly well. However, from my point of view as someone who works in theater, I find music to be sneaky because it suddenly comes to my heart without even using words, and I think, ``This is so cool.''
Fujiwara: I see, that's it (I'm drunk) . But of course there is a compatibility between theater and music.
Tsuchiya: I think so. When I think about why plays are written as ``songs,'' I think it's because there is a connection between music and theater.
Fujiwara: I feel that musical scores and plays have something in common in the sense that they both contain certain instructions.
Tsuchiya: Sound has its assigned role, and just like theater, music also involves communication. A session.
Keda: Jazz is the easiest to understand.
Fujiwara: I was just dreaming about it, but if Tou-san and Kukan Gendai were to be mixed together, I'd like to see it. Maybe I'm being presumptuous, but...well, I guess it's true.
I think that Karajuro's indigenous energy is imbued with a certain lyricism, but unlike, for example, popular songs that further agitate the lyricism, if we challenge that with the "aggressive" music of Kukangendai. What will happen? I'm sure it's impossible to just get lost in lyrical music. I think that getting drunk means ``transferring half of your body to another world,'' and when you listen to Kukan Gendai's music while you're intoxicated by the story or space, you're transported to yet another different world. like……
Keda: That's amazing.
Noguchi: This is especially true for popular songs, but I feel like the song comes with a “face”. When I worked with Lolo 's Naoyuki Miura, there was a scene where he made unpleasant noises along with the song, and in the middle of it, I played Takuro Yoshida's song. At that time, Miura said, ``The reason I can only use popular songs is because I can present a frame that says, ``This is the song.'' In other words, my interpretation is that popular songs come in "faces," so even if a part of the song is cut out and released, the listener will somehow be able to recall the part that was not heard. That's right.
Fujiwara: I see.
Noguchi: But that's what's difficult when we try to do the same thing. It is difficult to create a state of collision between surfaces. So I thought about making a collage of different songs. So recently, the way I perform live has changed a bit, and I've been trying to insert a fragment of song B while song A is playing, and then go back to song A. When I started doing that, it surprisingly became a song. I thought it created an antagonistic relationship between the "surfaces", like a collision between the music and the noise.
The raw theory of music and theater
Fujiwara: Your latest album ``LIVE'' embodies exactly that kind of antagonism. At first glance, Kukan Gendai may seem to have a stoic playing style, but when it comes together with the stage, they demonstrate tremendous communication ability, so I hope everyone will listen to it.
* Kukan Gendai “LIVE” is now on sale! Click here for details.
Watch youtube here
Keda: Are you conscious of the idea of “breaking down”?
Noguchi: If we continue like this, this is what will happen, so there are quite a few people who think, ``Let's dislocate it now.''
Keda: Like breaking the predetermined harmony?
Noguchi: Yeah. First of all, as a rock band, how do you break up the existing songwriting method with guitar, bass, and drums? When I thought about this, I started experimenting with various things, and a change in direction occurred. By the way, rhythm was the key word from the beginning. The rhythm of the bass and drums is constant, but the guitar is playing a completely different song, or all three of us are separated, or two of us are together, but only one of us is doing something different.
On the other hand, this time I started creating consistent rhythms, and eventually it became more like easy-to-understand dance music on four beats... Everything comes from the desire to dislocate something, but lately there have been more and more moments where I don't know what is dislocated and what is the real point.
Keda: That's what's great about " live ". When Juro Kara decided to re-perform the dozens or hundreds of plays he had written in the past, what he did to maintain a "raw" state was to create a state of flow that was not in a predetermined harmony. right. How far can so-called actors go “live”? We create a situation where it's not like, ``Oh, we're going to talk there,'' but in a very real way. Listening to it now, I thought it might be the same.
Noguchi: There's probably something that resonates with me.
Keda: The same goes for theater. Well, all theater is like that.
Noguchi: There is a word in theater that refers to replays, but when you say earlier that ``sheet music and plays are scores,'' isn't all music a replay? There are many bands that have been playing the same songs live every time for six years or so. Band members don't have the idea of getting stuck in a rut because it's a repeat performance. In fact, the songs I haven't played in a while are better. So in that respect, theater and music are obviously different, but they are completely different. However, while being aware of this difference, the struggle of figuring out what to do to create a ``live'' feel when re-performing a play from the past several years later really resonates with me.
Keda: You have to work a little harder in theater, but music touches your heart directly, so I think musicians are overwhelmingly conscious of ``live''.
Me, I'm frustrated. That's because music gives me a "boom" feeling (in my heart) . Also, in the sense that you don't have to watch the music, you can eliminate one thing. For example, when a musician makes the sound “ra”, it sounds like “hmm”! ! (Impressed) ,” but even if we say “Ra,” nothing will happen. First of all, you have to understand.
Noguchi: But I think we are probably suffering the same thing. After all, the effort to produce an "A" that impresses people is the same as the question of whether it is "raw" or "raw". It's the same thing as delivering an "A", but delivering an "A" that reaches the listeners is a very difficult task.
Keita: Is that so? Yes, it's a lot of work.
The “buzz” of theater
Noguchi: The first time I saw a play was at Hi-Bye 's ``Recycle Shop KOBITO'' based on Fujiwara-san's blog and Atsushi Sasaki-san 's introduction, I felt intense jealousy. At that time, I had my first taste of a simultaneous conversation where about seven actors were all saying different things. So I thought, ``I really want to do this, but I can't.''
In a play, when actors stand on stage and say something, each person's line becomes a screen. But in music, even if one person plays the drums, it doesn't make a difference. So it's almost impossible for Kukan Gendai to have multiple conversations at the same time, but if the actors are there and they all talk about different things, that murmur becomes a song.
Fujiwara: That may be true.
Noguchi: It's difficult to express that kind of feeling as a live performance of a song using three instruments. That's why I was so jealous.
Fujiwara: I'm sure the fun of being an actor is both erasing yourself and revealing yourself. Actors have to play someone other than themselves, so they're probably interested in other people, but at the same time, I think there's an inseparable part of them that says, ``But it's me.''
Keda: Yeah, that's true.
Fujiwara: I think that ``zawameki'' is a combination of the ultimates of both.
Noguchi: An actor has multiple names, including his real name, and his character's name. For example, if three actors were to talk about something that happened recently at the same time, that alone would create a buzz.
Keda: Is the reason why the music can't create a commotion also because it's in Do Re Mi Fa So Racido?
Noguchi: Rather, I think it's because when people with ears listen to the sounds made by various types of instruments, they have a strong ability to make them into a single piece of music. However, with the simple rule that lines in a play must occur at the same time, it is possible to listen to separate lines separately. In music, even if we do different things, we still think of it as an "ensemble" or something, but in theater, when multiple people talk about different things, people think, "Huh? Did we just say different things?" I think so.
Keda: I see, it doesn't come together as one piece.
Noguchi: Yeah, it won't. Because it has a role.
Keda: Well, I don't like difficult stories, but this is really interesting.
``24 Billy Milligan'' appears while drunk
Fujiwara: Let's go back to drunkenness and arousal. I think it's important that ``events happen'', and like the food-and-run incident I mentioned earlier, a lot of things happen when you're drinking.
Noguchi: The important thing is that when you're inebriated, your attention to events is zero. I think we are now treating drunkenness as the opposite of awakening, but the truth is that we still don't really understand what drunkenness feels like.
Fujiwara: Ah... In short, the fact that something is happening is an awakening. Conversely, drunkenness is a state in which events do not occur. There can be a kind of euphoric state at a theater or music concert, but the ``events'' I think of don't happen there. I think it's just a state of consuming what you like.
Noguchi: I see. But I think it would be more interesting to talk about drunkenness as a bad thing, instead of saying that drunkenness is okay. Isn't that amazing? I think there is a story like that.
Keda: I love myself when I'm drunk. There was a time when I felt sorry for not having any memories, but I've now entered the phase where I'm okay with it.
Noguchi: Does that "It's okay" mean that I'm not me when I'm drunk?
Keita: It's painful to think about it that way, so I try to think of it as a book called ``The 24 Billy Milligan''.
Noguchi: There is a self who is drunk, but there is also a self who is awake.
Keda: Yes. It's okay, I'm here.
Noguchi: All of them may be me, and none of them may be me, but it means that there is someone out there who has already given the okay to everyone.
Keita: Yeah. Even though I caused trouble and got a lot of trouble, I guess it's okay because I haven't killed anyone.
Fujiwara: That might be true, yes.
Awakening = provocation
Noguchi: Returning to the topic, if you say, ``It's okay to be drunk, right?'' I think some people will say that it's okay to be drunk.
Fujiwara: But I think awakening is absolutely necessary.
Tsuchiya: I think it's necessary too. If you are not awake, you cannot communicate.
Fujiwara: I think that awakening means providing stimulation. Isn't that important? That's what I think. I'm not interested in getting drunk and thinking, "That was kind of fun." If you're this drunk right now, I won't be able to convince you...
Keda: I think that if there are inebriated states, awakened states, and normal states, and if awakenedness is a special state, it is no different from drunkenness. I don't trust that at all.
Fujiwara: Maybe I just want to say, "I need to wake up." I think what Kukan Gendai is doing with their music is a kind of provocation. Regarding the way we listen to music. for ears, brains, and vision. I also believe that one of the artists' jobs is to carry out such provocations. I'm sure you can see this in your plays as well, and ``The Privileged Body Theory'' was also a kind of provocation against the existing theatrical situation at the time. When I call it provocation, it may seem like I'm trying to pick a fight, but I think it's basically an interaction and communication with the person right in front of you. I mean, don't ignore that.
Noguchi: Yeah, if it turns out that provocation is not important, there will be no cultural communication at all.
Fujiwara: That's right.
Noguchi: In other words, the state of not having it is drunkenness.
In my interpretation, for example, when we get excited about a band called A, and a junior high school student who doesn't know anything asks, "What is A?", it means, "Don't you even know about A?" I think it will be a challenge. But in terms of the relationship between me and Mr. Fujiwara, I think it's drunkenness to have a conversation that ends with "A's bad, isn't it?" or "That's dangerous."
Fujiwara: Yeah. You won't be able to talk like that once you sober up. I want to get to the core of things more than that.
Noguchi: I see, there is a core that is not like that.
Fujiwara: Maybe there is.
Noguchi: That's the core of Mr. Fujiwara.
Fujiwara: Yeah, maybe there is. But maybe not... (← Inebriated)
All: Eh” (lol)
Keita: I'm drunk...
Noguchi: I'm completely awake now (lol)
Fujiwara: ...We're facing a counterattack. The plan was to drive Noguchi to intoxication...
All: lol
Noguchi: I'm at my first house today, so I can afford it! By the way, this is definitely a provocation (lol)
Fujiwara: Yeah, I'm completely overwhelmed. Dangerous.
Tsuchiya: What's with this weak feeling? (lol)
Fujiwara: As of now, I'm losing 7:3. But for me, it's burning.
Tsuchiya: Please lose, Fujiwara-san. Lose properly.
Keda: No, but Mr. Fujiwara is the type of person who wants to do his best.
Noguchi: Yes. I want to receive it, and I want to receive it as a technique. But I guess I have to take it first (lol)
Fujiwara: ...This is drunkenness and awakening. So drunkenness and arousal actually come at the same time. It 's this this. Intoxication and awakening come at the same time! !
(I'm in the middle of the story, but I couldn't collect any more, so it was time to take a photo.)
Keita: So? What happened to this? It doesn't solve anything though.
Noguchi: ...I don't really understand either.
Fujiwara: That's right...
Staff: Isn't it LOVE?
Fujiwara: No, I don't think you should dismiss it with LOVE.
Noguchi: But we're holding hands.
(Mr. Fujiwara and Mr. Noguchi holding hands friendly)
Tsuchiya: What, already?
Keda: Yeah, I understand that the two of you are good friends.
Fujiwara: Well, I love Noguchi-kun.
Everyone: Lol! ! !
The two then returned to Kashimada Station in good company.
complete
Here is the store information
This time I was taken care of by “Tachinomi Yuki”
http://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1405/A140503/14036023/
Closed: Sundays and holidays
Address: 1133 Kashimada, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Phone: Private
Access: 2 minutes walk from Kashimada Station
Business hours: 17:00-24:00 *You can enter after 10:00 p.m.
General
The general's kindness is reflected in the sign on the toilet.
And here is the dish we had this time.
We recommend:
＞ Look forward to next time!
Please click here for vol.1 “Bad Places and Underground” .
《Notice》
■ A role-playing play set in the southern half of the Keikyu Line, written, directed, and edited by Chikara Fujiwara.
<This event has ended. 〉
“blanClass x Drama Center F co-sponsored project Promenade Theater｜BricolaQ [Geki Quest Keikyu Bungetsu Edition]”
7.12 (Sat) Doors open at 13:00 Performance starts at 13:30
*Meet at blanClass in Idogaya. Tour-type performance that travels throughout the Miura Peninsula
▷ Click here for details
■ Kukan Gendai LIVE
<This event has ended. 〉
“Kukan Gendai x Spot” 9.1 (Monday) Doors open at 18:30 Starts at 19:00 @Super Delux
▷ Click here for details
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