X Japan

Guitar battle with hide and Pata
1992.01.XX

i = Interviewer
h = hide
p = Pata

Written by Iguana: The following interview is taken in exerpts from the magazine GiGs, Jan 1992. It's a guitar related interview battle between hide chan and Pata chan. Translated by Iguana, photos from GiGs Jan. 92.

i: By now we got used to the image. hide uses Fernandes Mocking Bird and Pata Gibson Les Paul.

p: That's right...

h: But the first guitar I ever had was a Gibson Les Paul.

p: Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!

h: The first guitar I ever had was a Gibson Les Paul Delux in natural wood, I was about 15, I guess.

i: What!? A Gibson? With 15!?

h: Yeah!

p: (laughing) Unforgivable! Absolutely!

h: Yeah... I became sort of famous in town among young musicians. That guy has a Gibson! It was as if I had been driving a Lamborgini...

p: Wow... that means you practiced the scale with a Gibson, didn't you?

h: Yes... I coulnd't play a bit. I had bought it because I thought I wanted to learn how to play. I practiced in low cord all the time. I had not even an idea what a high cord was.

p: (laughing) Unforgivable!

h: Isn't it! I bought it at the American air base, it was used of course and rather cheap. But I actually had no idea what exactly I had bought there. And I exchanged it for another one pretty quickly.

i: Goodness... And Pata's first Guitar was a Stratt (I'm not sure about the real name, in Japanese it reads Sutorato).

p: Yes, the cheapest model.

i: Ah, that's better, for a beginner that's an appropriate instrument.

p: Damn right! And it was really the cheapest around!

h: (laughing).

i: I guess hearing that, the guitar kids reading that will feel safe again! hide's story is just too far a distance.

h: (laughing) Like 300 meters ahead of the rest!

p: (laughing).

i: So when you even started with a Gibson Les Paul, how come you changed to Mockingbird?

h: Well, at that time back then I was a big BowWow fan and the two BowWow guitarists used B.C. Rich.

i: That's right... that's about 10 years ago now, right?

h: I was quite a freak then and went to a lot of their concerts. And just that time Fernandes had a sales of Eagle and Mockingbird. The guy in the instrument shop also said they were damn good and if you connect them to a booster your ears drop off (laugh). I had no idea what a booster was, but anyway I felt the urge to buy that thing (laugh). Well and ever since then I use the Mockingbird. I still have my first one, I repaired it lots of times.

i: But at that time the most famous ones were Les Paul and Stratt and the Mockingbird was not very popular.

h: Yeah, whenever someone asks me I always say, Mockingbird is the best! To make a little promotion for that guitar so that it doesn't end up in the store rooms not getting used by anyone! (laugh).

i: Back then the B.C. Rich and its copies were also pretty expensive, right?

h: Yes, I also own only one real B.C. Rich.

p: Ah, that one...

h: Yes, that's the real one.

i: What?

h: I used it on stage all the time, it's a little greenish, but I painted it. I painted it so much that you can't read the maker's name anymore, but it's a real B.C. Rich. I painted it all up to the head so nobody can find out the maker anymore.

i: Well but nowadays, thanks to your influence the Mokcingbird has a big revival.

h: Yes, I'm quite happy about that. But during recording I also lend Pata's Les Paul from time to time (looking at Pata) That one has a nice balance, doesn't it?

p: Oh yes, it has.

h: However when I play while seated I always slide backwards somehow.

p: Of course you do, that's normal (laugh).

h: You get smaller and smaller when you play it while seated, crouching all over.

p: I just can't play the Mockingbird, that thing has a strange body. You just can't play it, it's terrible!

h: I think I'm looking cool with a Les Paul... however I'm the only one who thinks that. Everybody says I look awful with a Les Paul in my hands.

p: (laughing)

h: But a Stratt really doesn't fit me, I think.

i: The question is who decides whether it looks cool or not.

p: (to hide) Well, you DO look awful with anything but a Mockingbird.

h: That's just because you've never seen me with any other!

i: We were able to confirm that fact when X recently played a balad on Music Station and you (hide) were playing an accoustic guitar... it really looked awful.

p and h: (big laugh).

h: Stop it! Stop it! That's not fair! Everybody says I look awful with anything but a Mockingbird and slowly I'm start to believe it! That's not nice! (laugh).

ThanX: Iguana