maya and Aiji of the band LM.C took some time to answer our questions the day between their US debut performance at Anime Expo and their second performance at Crash Mansion in Los Angeles, CA.
How are you guys right now?
maya: Super great!
Aiji: Feeling energized!
How did you feel the live performance went yesterday?
Aiji: Finally we’re here in the US and we could really feel the audience going crazy for us.
Do you feel it could have been improved?
maya: Weelll…
Aiji: No, but I wish we had time to play more songs. Then again there is tomorrow!
Yeah speaking of that, what do you expect for tomorrow’s live?
maya: The audience might feel really hot? (Laughs) But I’m expecting them to go crazy and show lots of energy.
Were you surprised at how energetic the audience was last night?
maya: Yes. But mostly I was just really happy. Really happy!
maya, you always have a lollipop in your mouth. You like them that much?
maya: Do I? Hmm… (Laughs) I’ve never thought about why. I guess I just really like candy. I’m still a baby. I always like to have something in my mouth.
Earlier in the Q & A panel you mentioned that there’s no free time for you during this visit. If you had free time, what would you like to do?
Aiji: Yeah, anything. Just, you know, regular sight seeing. But going out, anything’s fine!
Anything? How about clubbing?
maya: If we go we might like it. (Laughs) More like, we want to go to the beach.
Aiji: Yeah definitely the beach.
maya: We don’t fit!
Aiji: Not really but…(Both laugh)
Aww, that’s not true! Also earlier, you mentioned you both came here separately on private occasions?
maya: Ah yes, I came for an audition. Guitar. Ahh… Limp Bizkit? (English) Six years ago. (Laughs)
Aiji: I came here on a trip to Hawaii. Just to go swimming. (Laughs)
How did you like Hawaii?
Aiji: Saiko!
Saiko. How do you like California?
Aiji and maya: Saiko, saiko, saiko!
maya: Very saiko! California’s really fun and interesting.
Aiji: It’s the greatest!
So you really like it, I take it.
maya: Really like it! I love the west coast. Weather’s nice. (English) Beach too.
Ahh! So compared to Japan, can you say you like one place over the other?
Aiji: Hmmm, one over the other huh? It’s very hard to say…
maya: At this moment I like it here better! (Laughs) This moment! The atmosphere is great here.
Yeah it’s summer! It’s nice. And it’s an anime convention. Did you get a chance to wander?
maya: We had time huh?
Aiji: Yeah, we went all the way around.
Ohh? What do you think of it?
maya: Oh it’s wonderful!
Aiji: It gives off a certain power. (Laughs) What I mean is, it’s like Halloween but more over the top.
A big version of a Halloween party.
Aiji: It seems very fun.
Did you recognize anybody? As in the characters they were cosplaying.
maya: We kind of knew most of them huh?
Aiji: Yes we did.
How about fans who dress up as you? There were a couple of LM.C cosplayers today.
maya: I’m really happy people did an LM.C cosplay. It’s pretty accurate too!
maya, you used to be a support musician. Why did you decide to form your own group?
maya: I had been wanting to do it for awhile, but you know, I finally found a way to make LM.C happen. It just came about naturally.
What was the hardest change to adjust to?
maya: Um, the amount of work we have to do!! (Both laugh) Yeah, it’s totally different.
You don’t like it?
maya: No, no, no, I like it. It’s still a lot of fun.
Last night you performed at the anime convention. Tomorrow it will be a live house. What’s the major difference performing between the two?
maya: Difference?
Aiji: Difference… Well, it’s a different place. (Laughs)
maya: There is a lighting difference you know. (Both laugh)
Last night’s live had an interesting lighting situation. Did you dislike it?
Aiji: There’s no like or dislike. It was just us having fun at the moment.
Well, your most recent single 88 is the opening of an anime. Do you like the series it opens for?
maya: We like it! It’s fun.
Aiji: It’s kind of weird that our song is the opening though. (Both Aiji and maya Laugh)
maya: Every week we record it!
Aiji: That’s true. We do.
That’s devotion. Well, I gotta ask… The masked guy. What’s his story?
maya: Well he does have his privacy. He needs his privacy! (Laughs)
Aiji: Yes! Limits, limits! (Both laugh)
OK, OK. Is he going to appearing in all the videos from now on?
Aiji: Yeah he’ll be in our videos.
maya: As long as his schedule is open.
Aiji: But he’s really busy. Busier than us.
It’s a shame he couldn’t make it to this interview!
maya: He’s just so busy!
Aiji: So busy!
maya: He’s working at Starbucks now! (Everyone laughs)
That IS busy! Lets talk about the titles of your songs. Bell the Cat? Sentimental Piggy Romance? How do you come up with these ideas?
maya: Hm? I just kind of thought of it… Maybe from space? (Laughs) Or a dream!
Did you aim to be different from other Jrock bands when you first started as LM.C?
Aiji: We just do whatever we want to do. So, we don’t feel like we’re unique. We don’t notice the difference between us and other bands because we don’t really think about it.
Jrock in general is getting popular here. How do you feel about that, since you are a part of its popularity after all.
maya: I never thought I could come to the US in the past. But (laughs) I want to be within the circle of Jrock artists performing here.
If LM.C had its own world, like LM.C world, what it would be like?
maya: Everything would be pink!
You like the color pink?
maya: Oh no no, it just popped into my head right now. And … (stands and looks around) The ceiling would be like…
Aiji: Outer space right?
maya: Yeah, make it like outer space.
Aiji: The floor could be tar. Like black tar. A long line of black tar all the way to the end.
You guys are really imaginative.
maya: Ah I’m sorry! (Laughs) (Aiji is laughing in the background)
Really! Is that how you guys coordinate when you create songs?
maya: Yeah that’s pretty much how it goes. (Aiji nods) (Both laugh again)
Is there ever any creative conflict between you?
Aiji: We’ve never had an arguement.
We can move on to the last question then. This is for maya. In the video for 88… your hair is really big. It’s really big. How did you get it to be that big?
maya: Ah that person over there who looks like an elementary school teacher. (Points to the hair stylist) (Everyone laughs)
(To the hair stylist) Hey good job!
Hair Stylist: (nods repeatedly in thanks and LM.C laughs louder) Maybe next time I can style your hair?
I’m looking forward to that! Thanks very much!
LM.C: (English) Thank you very much!
Interview by Sarah; photos by Kei
Thank you to LM.C for taking time to answer our questions; thank you to Pony Canyon Inc. for making this possible.