OWN INTERVIEW CONTENTS Vol.15 Hinata Hidekazu (Straightener / Nothing's Carved In Stone, etc.)
OWN (hereinafter O) Hinacchi, it's been a while! First of all, please introduce yourself and the band you're in!
Hinata Hidekazu (hereafter referred to as H) is the bassist! I'm in a lot of bands, first of all Straightener. Nothing's Carved In Stone . I'm also in session bands like HHMM and Katsina Session . I'm also in a project called EOR, a session band with Nakamura Tatsuya. I think that's about all I'm doing at the moment. Oh, I'm also in a band called FULLARMOR .
OYou participated in all of them as a bassist, right?
Only H FULLARMOR plays guitar.
Personally , I love musical instruments, so I'd like to talk about equipment, but I'll leave that to Bass Magazine (laughs).
HThat 's true (laughs).
This time, I would like to hear from you mainly about your roots, personal side, fashion, and more !
H Understood, thank you very much!
First of all, what was the first music you consciously fell in love with ?
HThe first music that I thought was cool was Prince.
Was it because it was popular at the time, or was it black music?
Rather than being conscious of it as an H genre, I just thought it was somehow cool. I remember clearly realizing then that "I like this kind of music." At the time, my older sister had a lot of records in her room, and among them was Prince's album " Sign "O" the Times, " which had just been released, and I listened to it. I think it was '87 . I thought, "This is cool!"
OHow old were you at that time?
H is probably in 4th grade?
OThat 's really fast (laughs).
H: That's true (laughs). I also listened to LL COOL J 's album " BAD " in my sister's room. I think that was his first album . I got to hear it in real time, so it was even more of a shock.
OI think that's quite rare for elementary school students in general...
H: It was definitely my sister's influence. I listened to a lot of different music, and her bandmates would come over to our house, so I was always up to date with the latest information. I thought the music I listened to in my sister's room was cooler than the popular Japanese pop music!
By the way, what kind of music was popular at the time?
In the H generation, maybe BOØWY or BUCK-TICK ? Unicorn too.
Will this be the era of the O -band boom?
I think it was a little before the H -Band boom, because I remember the band boom hitting in my fifth or sixth grade .
During the band boom in the 1980s , young Hinacchi listened to Prince and hip-hop . It's surprising how precocious he was!
H (laughs). Well, I did check out Ika-ten and stuff like that. I was really interested in music itself. Even listening to Prince now, he was doing some really innovative things, so I think that was my gateway and it had a really strong musical influence on me.
OHow did you end up starting to play instruments from there?
H: Speaking of my older sister, when I was in the fourth grade, I started playing with the drum set that was in her room. She also had a guitar in her room.
O: Was your sister also involved in music activities?
He was in the H- band. He was seven years older than me, so he really took a liking to me. So I started playing the guitar, bought instruction books, and gradually improved until I could play it casually. Then a few of my friends started asking me to teach them. At the time, guitar was the star of the show, so a lot of people wanted to play, but no one wanted to play bass. Bass was considered pretty unglamorous (laughs). So I thought I'd teach everyone the basics of guitar and get them to learn how to play, and then I'd take up bass myself. After that, my mom bought me a bass for my birthday, and I started playing. I got hooked.
He said he became more addicted to it than to the guitar.
H: That's right. It wasn't just his approach as a rhythm instrument, but his percussion-like playing style was really interesting. There was a guy named Larry Graham who was active in Sly & The Family Stone , and he was the one who invented the slap technique. After I got to know him, I practiced slap technique as hard as I could. I watched a ton of Larry Graham videos.
Who was your bass hero back then?
H: I guess it was Larry Graham and Tom Hamilton from Aerosmith . Tom Hamilton's bass playing with a pick was really cool. That was when I was in middle school, and I guess that's when I gradually started to become interested in fashion.
Did you get interested in fashion through music?
Some of it came from H- music, but others came from other things. At the time, Machida had a lot of second-hand clothing stores and was extremely popular. There was an American casual fashion boom. When I was in my first year of high school, I wore a bowling shirt and chinos. I think I wore Adidas Superstars. I also wore skater fashion with a Fred Perry polo shirt.
Like Matt Hensley.
H: That's right! He's wearing shorts with a ball chain attached. But his long hair is slicked back, which is very Machida-like (laughs).
It's an exquisite mix.
All of my friends around me had an incredible knowledge of fashion. There were a lot of people in Machida who wore all kinds of fashions. There were skaters, and people who liked Western style would wear Red Wing engineer boots and bell-bottoms. When I became a high school student and started performing live, I would stand on stage wearing things like Drill (a 90s skateboard brand), and American street fashion was introduced to Machida quite early on. There were also a lot of select shops, and in the latter half of high school, Chicano shirts were also on sale. The Maria sticker I still have on my Fender bass is one I bought back then.
Rather than one root, various cultures and fashions came into Machida.
H : That's right. So I was able to enjoy all kinds of fashion. It was a mixed bag. My friends on the team were all about American casual style. They wore Vanson leather jackets and would take them off when they got into fights (laughs). After that, I got into East Coast hip-hop culture, and my favorite brands were Timberland and Eddie Bauer . At the time, there was a hip-hop select shop in Daikanyama, and I used to go there a lot with my friends. It was '96 , so BUDDHA BRAND had just returned from America, and East Coast fashion was all the rage around me. We were all wearing the same Islamic watches (laughs).
OWhat artists did you like at that time?
A Tribe Called Quest was popular at the time. Everyone loved them! Then De La Soul came along and I thought they were really cool. I used to say I liked East Coast music and vibes, but when I rode my lowrider I'd dress like I was from the West (laughs). I remember putting 18- inch wheels on a Toyota WINDOM and turning it into a Lexus. That brings back memories. It wasn't the bang-bang style with hydros, it was the style called New Street. It was around the time when the trend of driving luxury cars in luxury was emerging.
OH : Had you already started your band activities at that time?
I was in H. It was a hardcore band called Sonic Swing Stair, and Shige ( now Cro-Magnon) , the drummer for Loop Junktion, was a member. Jin (Yamahito) was rapping on his own and later joined Loop Junktion . Then, while I was in that band, Shige went to study abroad at Berkeley, and the band stopped. I ended up joining a band called ART-SCHOOL through a different route.
Returning to the topic of fashion , do you have a theme or concept for your fashion?
H: I've always loved black fashion.
OI think it might have something to do with the fact that I was obsessed with Prince when I was a child (laughs).
H : Maybe so, maybe it's fate (laughs). I like fashion that somehow makes me feel like I'm black. I like a basic style that's black as well. No matter how you look at it, I think black people are always at the cutting edge.
OWhat kind of brands do you like?
Since I became a musician with H -Pro, I've only been wearing domestic brands. About 20 years ago, Ura-Harajuku was at its peak, and I used to buy secondhand brand clothes. Now I only wear brands that I know.
Although she wears a variety of brands, her style is consistently very Hinacchi-like.
H: I'm glad to hear that. I've recently become hooked on combining those kinds of brands with vintage clothing, and it's really fun. My favorite brand is SOUTH2 WEST8 , which is sold within NEPENTHES . It's outdoor wear, but I like that it has a slightly niche design. There's also doublet . They've done a POPUP together with NuGgETS .
OYou also run your own brand, right?
H: It's a brand called " bocco ." I love clothes, and the clothes my friend makes are cool, so I feel fulfilled. But recently I've been growing vegetables at a place called Hinata Farm, and I'd like to eventually release workwear-style clothing under " bocco ."
Like farm merchandise (laughs).
H: That's right. I'm currently talking with craftsmen in Okayama and I'm thinking about creating something that can be used as both interesting workwear and stylish everyday wear.
O Workwear for garage work is different from clothes worn for farm work.
Since the work they do is different, the designs are different too. Nowadays, more and more people are gardening at home, so I thought all of Hina's fans would like to wear it too.
OYou still have a lot of hobbies as always (laughs).
H -do is great. It was pure coincidence, but there was a vacant plot next to my alma mater that I was able to rent for a really reasonable price. The reason I started it was because my wife and I were talking about wanting to do something together. My wife has always loved gardening, so it seemed like the perfect fit. Digging and tinkering with the soil makes me feel energized, and a beer after farm work tastes absolutely delicious (laughs).
What kinds of vegetables are you growing now?
There 's quite a wide variety. We have bell peppers, strawberries, radishes, potatoes, tomatoes, shishito peppers, and okra. Right now, we're preparing autumn vegetables. Next up are onions. Pumpkins will be ready soon too.
This is a simple question, but how does it taste?
H: It's so delicious. Fresh vegetables really make a difference. They're pesticide-free, and the basil smells different too! It's a world apart.
O I see! So, going back to the topic, what do clothes and fashion mean to you?
H: I often rely on fashion.
OWhat kind of situation is that, for example?
I use fashion to decide what mood I want to be in for the next tour, or what mood I want to be in. I think about my mood based on fashion. I also change my hairstyle to match my mood at the time. I started to enjoy these things when I was in my 30s .
O I have the impression that Hinacchi often wears eyewear. Do you like eyewear?
I love H. I guess glasses can change your character, similar to how you change your beard or hair style. I've always loved them, and when I was in high school I used to wear Ray-Bans . I still wear them almost every time I go out, even when I'm in the car.
Do you have any preferences, like " I wear this kind of eyewear with this kind of clothes!"?
H: I haven't really decided yet, but when I play sessions, I tend to wear a hunting cap and slightly larger glasses. Something with a gradient, something that gives me a bad boy vibe. I don't have many standard shapes like Wayfarers. I also don't really like small sizes.
Just like with clothes, I change it depending on my mood at the time.
H : That's right. I like to change my glasses depending on how I'm driving or what mood I'm in. Also, I'm talking about black fashion again, but the glasses that black people choose are really great. I admire people like THE ROOTS . They wear sunglasses even at night and don't seem to be bothered at all (laughs). Isn't it the same with Tab Zombie ( SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS )? I think they're really good at wearing glasses.
By the way, what did you think of OWN eyewear?
I thought it was really good, including the comfort! I like using it because it can be matched with various clothes. It's also good for camping.
Please tell us what you like about O OWN .
First of all, it doesn't feel strange when you wear it. I think people who like glasses will understand this, but it's really important that it doesn't feel strange when you put it on. If that's not the case, you can't wear glasses for long. That's why I think OWN has really done their research (laughs).
That 's great to hear (laughs). I think the product numbers that you're currently using are #03 and #07 .
The green lenses of the new H model #07 were also beautiful and very good.
O In the J-ROCK scene around you, is there anyone who talks about this kind of fashion or has a similar vibe?
I don't think there's any H. I'm the only one who keeps the rhythm going in the background, so maybe we're fundamentally different. Maybe I'm not really a rock guy (laughs).
If that happens, the type of music you want to do in the future may change.
HHMM , the session band I'm in with Masanao H (Matsushita) (Yasei Collective , Gentle Forest Jazz Band , ZA FEEDO), is a lot of fun and fits my current mood perfectly. I'm only jamming with jazz musicians now, and I'd like to cover all genres. Lately I've been preferring jazz and R&B to hip-hop .
OHina -chan, you yourself aren't from the jazz field, are you? What is the reaction of the jazz musicians you play with?
H: It seems like people are really enjoying it. Maybe that's why we're able to create a new kind of mixture. The LA music market right now is quite full of jazz and black music mixed with other things, and I thought it would be great if we could do something like that in Japan too. I wonder if it could work as something new. I think there's a sense of closure when it comes to music genres in Japan right now. Masanao seems to have felt that way in the jazz world, and I felt that way in the rock world. So I'm really glad that we hit it off and are able to do HHMM .
I see. I'm really looking forward to your future developments as a session band! Finally, is there any information you would like to share about Hinacchi?
H Nothings is currently on hiatus. We are still holding live sessions. Please check out our various social media accounts !
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