Toshiya seems humble and down to earth. He says that when strangers ask what he does for a living, he replies that he’s an office worker; in fact, he grew up wanting to be a salaryman, just like his father. He says he was a shy child, but also an attention-seeker. “I was the type who wanted to find one thing and be the best at it,” he reveals. “The rest of the time I wanted to be left alone.”
Toshiya says he hated school, and would bunk off at any opportunity. Born in the late-1970s, he grew up watching anime like everyone else, and only developed an interest in music when he hit puberty and realized that if he didn’t know about the latest pop groups he would never get laid.
“I hated music at first,” he says softly. “We had music class and we had to sing in front of everyone while the teacher played piano. I’m tone-deaf — seriously. I really can’t sing. It was so embarrassing, so I hated music. But when you reach puberty, you want to be able to keep up with what the girls are talking about; which pop stars are good looking or whatever. So I started to listen to music just to get girls.
“I was mad about Michael Jackson in primary school though. Once a year they’d wax the varnish on the floors of the corridors, and we’d all do the Moonwalk on it, ha ha.”
His passion grew, and he eventually decided he wanted to clamber on stage and become a rock star. Knowing that his nonexistent singing ability would keep him from fronting a band himself, he shot for second-best: guitar, just to the left of the limelight. But here again he was thwarted by lack of ability, as the skills of his friends overtook his own. He was left with a choice between the drums, which require serious coordination, and bass. “Bass seemed easier — it only has four strings,” he laughs.
Dir En Grey was not Toshiya’s first band, but it’s the one that finally delivered him the attention he’d craved as a kid. Most of Dir En Grey’s previous seven albums have gone Top 10 in Japan, and they’ve played several shows at the Budokan — though the unassuming bassist insists he has no trouble walking down to the local convenience store “and flicking through the porno mags,” just like anyone else.”
Toshiya seems humble and down to earth. He says that when strangers ask what he does for a living, he replies that he’s an office worker; in fact, he grew up wanting to be a salaryman, just like his father. He says he was a shy child, but also an attention-seeker. “I was the type who wanted to find one thing and be the best at it,” he reveals. “The rest of the time I wanted to be left alone.”Toshiya says he hated school, and would bunk off at any opportunity. Born in the late-1970s, he grew up watching anime like everyone else, and only developed an interest in music when he hit puberty and realized that if he didn’t know about the latest pop groups he would never get laid.“I hated music at first,” he says softly. “We had music class and we had to sing in front of everyone while the teacher played piano. I’m tone-deaf — seriously. I really can’t sing. It was so embarrassing, so I hated music. But when you reach puberty, you want to be able to keep up with what the girls are talking about; which pop stars are good looking or whatever. So I started to listen to music just to get girls.“I was mad about Michael Jackson in primary school though. Once a year they’d wax the varnish on the floors of the corridors, and we’d all do the Moonwalk on it, ha ha.”His passion grew, and he eventually decided he wanted to clamber on stage and become a rock star. Knowing that his nonexistent singing ability would keep him from fronting a band himself, he shot for second-best: guitar, just to the left of the limelight. But here again he was thwarted by lack of ability, as the skills of his friends overtook his own. He was left with a choice between the drums, which require serious coordination, and bass. “Bass seemed easier — it only has four strings,” he laughs.Dir En Grey was not Toshiya’s first band, but it’s the one that finally delivered him the attention he’d craved as a kid. Most of Dir En Grey’s previous seven albums have gone Top 10 in Japan, and they’ve played several shows at the Budokan — though the unassuming bassist insists he has no trouble walking down to the local convenience store “and flicking through the porno mags,” just like anyone else.”
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