MRR: How long have you been doing the Registrators?

Since I was almost 16, so about 11 years now. We used to have the different bass, the drums, but Jun's always been playing with me.

MRR: What kind of music did you play when you started?

Sex Pistols covers, a lot of the Damned, the Clash. A bunch of covers.

MRR: Your first release is a split CD, right? Did you change the way you play between then and the time you had the second single out?

We had already been playing the style we are now back then. We had always been playing "Youth' and "Monkey". But, we were just starting to play with Ren then as a three-piece. We liked the bands like Vacant Lot, Buzzcocks and Boys, so we were trying to play melodic punk.

MRR: Since your second single, you play the '77 style punk you do now. Is there any reason for the change?

MRR: How do you write songs now I think your latest work is the most hardcore stuff you ever put out.

tuff. I I love the hard punk like Raw Records also think good Neo Mods, Power Pop and New Wave are also punk. '7 7 punk has a lot of depth to it, and I wanna incorporate all aspects in the punk we play. We don't wanna be totally retro, either.

MRR: We all know it's not 197 7, but what do you mean when you say you're not the retro band?

Well, we don't wanna be 'a'77 cover band. We wanna write and play our own songs. I think my band has a different sense of speed than the bands back then. Still though, I only like '77 punk.

Buzzcocks, Dammed, Boys, bands like them. There's too many that I like.

MRR: You seem to a so like obscure kinds of bands. What appeals to you? How are you influence by them?

I probably wouldn't have paid attention to them if they were my contemporaries, but it's sort of a new discovery to me to find them in the '90s. It's interesting to place them in the same contest with more famous bands. I think they're unique and usually, the kind of artwork they used for album sleeves are cool.

There's a lot of stuff that inspires e. I don't model a single band, but I would take bits and pieces of the guitar or drum sound or whatever, and make them parts of my own songs. It'd end up sounding like mine.

MRR: Currently a lot of American and European bands play '77 punk. I think the Registrators don't sound like any other, but how do you feel about other '77 punk bands out there?

I don't know all of them. But I think their songs are usually too straight forward and there's not much complexity to them. Just really fast songs, the drummer plats the garage punk beats. I don't think the Rip Offs are that way.

MRR: During the long history of the Registrators, do you think things changed for the band after releasing the first single? How about before then, when you put out the split CD?

Yeah, I think after the single, a bunch of offers came for us to make more records, even thought the single didn't sell really well. We made about 300 copies of the split CD 2-3 years before the first single, and they didn't sell at all. when we were asked to make the first single, we were really happy.

MRR: How about when you recorded the Japanese compilation LP Chloroform?

Those 7 bands on the compilation all love '77 punk' cause its not like hardcore, or pop all the way. Before then, the Registrators had always been categorized as garage or melodic punk band, so we wanted to get together with other bands like us and make records or play shows. So we did.

MRR: Has anything changed after that?

I see a lot of different things in that style of music an people who are involved. also, new bands with slightly different approach have started playing. bands like First Alert, Private Ways, and Radio Shanghai, they're awesome! We haven't changed much.

MRR: I know you guys record your own material. When and why did you start doing that?

We recorded our first CD. We would record all the time even though nobody wanted us to (laugh). After a while, we met Pink and he recorded our first, second and third singles, and the record that was gonna be our first album. Then, we figured maybe we could do it on our own. Since the single, 'Just Wanna Kill Everything,' we recorded all our songs. We've got about 70 songs, covers and originals, that we haven't released.

MRR: Do you not want to remake those songs?

Cause we always want to be better songwriters and and keep putting out for our fans.

MRR: You have done a lot in'97 by making three singles. Did you achieve something by doing that?

I wanted to prove that we could play three totally different types of songs, and that we could still produce a lot after releasing an album. Prove to who? I don't know. (laugh)

MRR: Have you started working on your second album?

Right now, we're writing songs. We're talking about ho we arrange the songs. We'll do different takes of some songs already put out as 7' records, and we do other types of songs, too. We wanna record something that grown-up punk bands would do.

We wanna tour Europe. Anything else fun, we'll be there (laugh).

About once a month. We can't play too much in Tokyo cause it's too small.

A bunch of stupid record offers. Singles, albums and compilations... we're not the kind of band to be on compilations, right (laughs)? We didn't do any of that because none of them interested me. We work with Rip Off Records because I can talk to Greg and he likes our music. As a band, we think Rip Off is the best label 'cause Greg puts out our music as quickly as our recording is done,-and the distribution is 'good. No one other than Rip Off's given us an offer like that. I know some of the DIY type labels are so happy being who they are. But to me, they're all flaky and cheap assholes who don't know how to sell...

MRR: How many copies of the album have been sold?

6,000 or so? It's a pretty small figure for Japanese 'independent' band, but we don't get any support around here in Japan. I think we get treated better in America and Europe. I've seen our CD on a jukebox in a tavern in a small town. Things like that just make me wanna hate Japan even more (laughs).

MRR: Do you think you've been getting more recognized around the world?

Yeah, I think so. Most of our 7's were released by Japanese labels, so I think a lot of fans heard us for the first time through the Rip Off release. I think we're the last one of the 'lo-fi" bunch such as Teengenerate and the Rip Offs. Our album doesn't have the typical 'lo-fi' sound, but our style is similar to theirs.

MRR: Do you consider your band as a pioneer, and think that there's a lot of Registrators copy bands out there?

I suppose so (laugh). Seriously, I'm sure a lot of Japanese bands had the idea of starting a band like us, but we're the first to actually have done it. When American fans hear '70s style punk from Japan like bands on the Chloroform COMP, they can't help seeing in them our influences of some sort.

MRR: Typically, what kind of reactions do Japanese bands get in the U.S.?

I guess overall, Americans react to bands in more exaggerated, bigger ways. I think a lot of Japanese bands think they're the greatest because of that, and it's totally wrong. Japanese are monkeys, to the eye of the average white American. I mean, the monkey goes to America and plays something remotely close to What they are trying to do. They've gotta be surprised ' The monkey doesn't even speak English I'm that monkey' I don't mean to say "God Bless America' though. I don't mention their names here, but those Japanese bands had better stop thinking they're so beautiful, and trying to kiss American's ass. Why don't you play more in Tokyo? 'Texas recording' doesn't mean shit if you don't play in Japan to begin with.

MRR: What's it like playing in Japan compared to playing in America?

It's definitely more expensive to play in Japan than in America. 700 bucks to go play in Osaka and back . Pretty difficult to try to appeal to Japanese audience. We're not as commercial or melodic as ska punk, and don't have the tight network hardcore punk bands have. We're lucky if we can find three die-hard fans in each place we go.

MRR: How hard is playing in a punk band and being a punk in Japan?

We have some overlap with hardcore and melodic punk fans. I think our die-hard fans are mostly collector types though. I know a lot of collectors think there's just a bunch of garbage bands out there, and it's pretty tough to get them to come to our shows.

MRR: Do you use '70s punk as a reference for your songs?

I listen to it to satisfy my ego as a collector, and to help me express myself. Classical, jazz or blues musicians play old songs the Way they do, and be just original about it. I understand where they're corning from, but we're not interested in staying 'traditional' like them. We wanna make punk in our-own style and grow up with it. We are different from other bands ,cause we look at ourselves in the long run. We wanna put ourselves in a process of becoming mature as a punk band.

MRR: Tell us about the three 7"s you put out in '97.

Our ability to write songs has gotten better after that, definitely. We used to like to simplify songs, and nothing else. We actually took time to make these singles, and we ended up not just deleting, but sometimes adding things to make songs better.

MRR: How do you decided what to add to you songs, without losing the punk appeal?

MRR: Does a good song have to come before that?

Yeah, good songwriting is 70-80% of the product. Many people think that somehow, complicated or catchy songs, like our 4 Vibrate EP (1997), are musically better. I agree that EP is a well produced on, but I think hard, fast or weird songs can be just as good. Our next one's gonna be even more different than what we've tried so far (laugh). We'll go beyond Killed by Death, Back to Front or Raw Label stuff.

MRR: Do you only like'70s punk, or do you like some other stuff too?

Some people back then called 999 or Buzzcocks 'Power Pop". Neo Mods stuff wasn't considered as punk either, right? I think all good bands are punk, including Power Pop, Neo Mods and New Wave. Stiff label bands like XTC, Vapors and Gang Of Four are also my favorite, though not as big of a favorite as what you call punk.

MRR: What kind of inspirations do you get from 7O's punk?

That's really all I listen to. I like grown-up punk bands, rather than immature ones.

I think 'even bad musicians can play punk' kind of mentality is totally wrong. Punk bands haven't been recognized as great musicians just because they weren't as good as bands like Led Zeppelin or King Crimson. We gotta have some degree of technique cause we have to play to the speed we like, and A sound good as a band. Personally, I am no better than some kid out there I just that this kid ended up player punk for 11 years. So, somehow, I gotta try to be better as a player in the band.

MRR: What are your new songs gonna be like?

I wanna do something nobody has done before, but I know nothing too weird is gonna come out of us. I mean, we know each other too well, after 1 0 years of playing together. We wanna destroy the punk rock we've played, but we won't make it our goal. We don't wanna play simple 8-beat rock 'n roll either. That'd be too boring for us.

MRR: How do you think you should play shows?

We want to sound like a wall, and be sharp about playing it. We also wanna be thrilling about it.

No lyrics in Japanese. We've listened to American and English music only, and can't play music in any other languages. We don't use drastic tempo changes in songs either. We probably don't need two-beat songs. And no songs longer than three and a half minutes. But I guess if A something is absolutely necessary and appropriate for the band, that's okay. I think bands out there should be more conscious about what's appropriate for their own music.

MRR: There's poser '70s punk bands and poser mentality. What do you think about them?

I've got nothing to do with them. We'll be like us no matter what, and we ignore them. We don't wanna be close-minded, though. Actually, I respect some of the Japanese bands on major labels because they make money playing music they like. We need money to keep playing in the capitalist society such as Japan. I think it's total bullshit for bands to be completely against the whole system, or be for environment or ecology.

MRR: How do you want to mature as a punk band, or personally as a punk?

To me, punk isn't something that gives me identity or attitude. Punk for me is all about being an individual. So even if our music has changed, it'll still be punk. Even if someone else says it's not punk, I'd be okay with it. As long as he or she gives me something constructive or honest to say.

MRR: How hard is playing in a punk band and being a punk in Japan?

No social status here. Well, I don't care about that, but I at lease wanna be able to live. I don't wanna sleep on the street. or have 'punk' lifestyle. I guess it's almost all about music. I have frustration, dilemma or other feelings and to express it in songs is punk to me. I love to make money for music I play, but it's pretty hard.

MRR: What's your opinion about making money by playing punk?

I don't like it all the time, but I'd love to make money by doing things I'm good at. I've got this music and nothing better. I'm not like someone with a real job or some kind of security, playing only on Sunday afternoons. I'd probably hesitate to sign with a major label, but I might. I guess I don't care if it's major or independent as long as it means more money for a punk band like us.

MRR: Would the Registrators stay the way it is?

We can't just sit around as the reigning underground '70s punk band. We'd be dead if we stayed that way. For now, I would have fun playing with underground hardcore punk bands. I'd have just as much fun playing with punk bands on Japanese major labels like Hi Standard, Michelle Gun Elephant or Blankey Jet City. Seems interesting to go over their territory.