Interview with GERTENA

GERTENA thank you very much for answering this interview!

ーーFirst of all, please tell us a funny story about yourselves.

Agato: A fun story about myself…If a new songs is recorded I always go to a karaoke bar  to check the song flow to write a lyric for it with a random tentative lyric, this time I sang a lyric about how much I love to each pudding and my passion for pudding with all my heart. People looked at me from the door of the room and they giggled at me because I was singing a song with weird lyrics with my headphones on.  

Satsuki: I left my wallet and smartphone on the roof of my car when I was refueling at a gas station were I happened to stop at, after I was done refueling my care I forgot them and started the car and drove away, when I was drove about 15 kilometers, I suddenly remembered and got out of the car in a hurry, but lucky my wallet and smartphone were still on the top of the roof….I was in a kind of hurry… such things happen from time to time. 

Youth・K・End:　I don’t know if it’s fun or not, but I love the universe. So it is fun to compare various things to the universe and talk about them .Some people are interested in that kind of conversation when you meet them for the first time, and some people might think you’re just a weirdo!… Well I like the universe because it is full of mysteries.

Note: You can check out  his older twitter @v_multiverse to which he shared lot’s of universe themed stuff.

Renka: I’m desperate now. I’m sure it will come out from now on.

ーー Please introduce GERTENA to us, what kind of image do you want to express?

Agato: Even if there is just one person somewhere in this world who can relate to GERTENA, I wish that GERTENA will give a meaning to their life and that this person will find the spirit to walk forward. We have as a concept that we can wipe away past traumas, negativity and shackles and push you forward. Our music has a hash and heavy sound, but with a melody that will stick in your mind easily.. Regardless of genre or gender or age, I wish that various people will check us out.

Satsuki: As Agato said, I also hope that our music will touch someone’s heart somewhere. So I hope it sticks with the people who started to like it. It’s up to the person to decide how they want to see it and how they want to feel  it, and there’s no reason for us to force them to feel it only in one way! I’ll just say this, we’re playing cool music!

ーーWhat made you decide “I wanna start a band with these guys?”

Agato: Originally, I’ve been in a good friendship with “Satsuki” and “Youth ・ K ・ End”  for a long time already, but se far we hadn’t had a chance to play together, so we just happened to get together and talked about it and decided we wanted to do something interesting as a band! This is when we hit it off.

Satsuki: Actually, before forming this band, I was invited by Agato to start a band together with him, however I refused his offer because at that time I was busy with my own band, however that band is disbanded now too. Also back then Agato told me he’d be waiting for me anytime to start a new band together, so since he said that to me, I felt I had no choice and to accept this invitation!

Youth・K・End:　Actually, I’ve always wanted to start a band together with Agato. When I heard that Agato’s last band would disband, I immediately asked him “Why won’t we form a band together”. Since then we have faced some hardships but now I am also a member of this band!

Renka:  I was invited by Satsuki, and since this band is very different from what I had done before, it wasn’t easy to decide to join, but I felt that these members were the only ones who could help me grow, so I made the decision to join along! And this band will definitely make me grow!.

ーーYou’ve been active in Visual Kei for a long time now, why did you continue in this scene?

Agato: It’s the best scene where I can express myself and be recognized by my surroundings.

Satsuki: I really do like visual kei myself, so that’s my reason.

Youth・K・End:　Since I started to be part of this scene I’ve not changed my feelings towards it at all, I still do think that this scene is just really amazing and cool. 

Renka: It’s a scene full of stuff I really wanna do myself too.

ーー Because not everyone in this world can visit the lives of GERTENA,  so how would you describe GERTENA’s music? Are there any similarity to the sound of “your past bands” inside GERTENA? Or is it all a completely new concept?

Satsuki: Of course there are links to the sound of our past bands, bands around us, bands that have influenced us. My(our) current sound is a result of digesting them in my(our) own way.

Youth・K・End:　Of course there is some similarity.  Because each sound of GERTENA now is everything that I have been influenced by in my life.

ーー Does GERTENA have a concept? 

Agato: GERTENA does not quite have a concept, however it feels more like the idea of “free yourself from the bonds of the past“. The band logo is decorated with a broken chain to symbolize this.

ーー Agato, can you tell us why you changed your name back to Agato? “Izumi” was a nice stage name as well.

Agato: I don’t have any personal deep feelings for the name itself, but the reason why I changed it back is because most people know me as “Agato”. In the Visual Kei world, if you change your name, people won’t know anymore who you are.

ーーWhat about the other members? Why did you choose your stage name?

Satsuki: It’s my secret.

Youth・K・End:　It’s my intuition. It felt most personal.

Renka: I can’t tell.

ーー What is the most difficult thing about keeping a band active?

Renka:  As long as you have strong feelings, you can do anything.

Satsuki: I’ve never thought about it! I love what I do, so my feelings about a band are always active!

ーー What are the challenges of being in a band?

Agato: How can I make my fans excited every day? I’m always worried about it. 

Youth・K・End:　It’s the period when news songs are produced. Basically, we’re bandman who want to perform live, so it’s annoying to stay in a small room and to compose our own songs. However, we are happy when our songs are completed and that we can perform our news songs by exploding them on stage.

ーーIf you had to describe GERTENA in kanji, which one would you choose?

Renka: Just “漢(otoko)” 

(漢(otoko) means: man among men・a true hero)

ーーWhat is the reason for calling the band GERTENA? How did you choose this name?

Agato:  The band name was chosen from among three finalist names at our band meet-up. We decided to choose a name that was easy to remember and sounded the best with just “4 (katakana)” characters. 

(GERTENA in katakana: ｹﾞﾙﾃﾅ → ge ru te na)

ーーPlease tell me why I need to attend GERTENA’s live shows. How can I continue to follow GERTENA? (I’m listening to things like the fun and goodness of going to live shows and the secret to staying a fan.

Satsuki: There’s no way that we force you to keep following us, but if you like our music, or if you can relate to us, or if you feel something that sticks with you, that’s absolutely fine to us. Also if you want (and can come) to go to a show, then please come! When you visit us , I’ll make sure to play songs that you’re gonna be excited about!

Youth・K・End:　I’m sure there are a lot of things that don’t make sense to you in your daily life, but I hope that when you come to a live concert, you can forget about those things and just enjoy yourself with your instincts. It’s about opening up your instincts.

ーーIs there any reason why you decided to hold the ONEMAN on December 1st? Or was the date chosen randomly?

Agato: December 1st is the month where the end of the year and the beginning of the year intersect to make a fresh start. I don’t know how COVID-19 will shape itself from this year to next year, but I hope that we can make a great start.

ーーAgato, is there a “lyrical theme” inside your lyrics? Or are your current lyrics mainly your “own”  feelings?

Agato: The lyrics I write are human, philosophical, and sometimes I write about my feelings at the moment. When I start to write lyrics, I open the lid of my box of thoughts that I usually don’t think about (so deeply) and take out various words and images.

ーーWhat are the selling points of GERTENA?

Agato: We move intuitively without mobbing about anything, so we never will bore you.

Satsuki: That we are hot, cool and strong guys. 

Youth・K・End: Our songs are emotional, but also sensitive.

Renka: Anyway, our music is intense, yet melodious.

ーーHow do you see the future of GERTENA?

Agato: Playing at an overseas event.

Satsuki: I think the same, playing at an overseas event.

Youth・K・End:　Advance into space.

Renka: Definitely playing at overseas events. And we will be one of Japan’s leading rock bands.

ーーPlease share a message to your readers. 

Agato: GERTENA is a band that grows together with their fans. Let’s grow together and level up together. I want to show you a wonderful view!!

Satsuki: As GERTENA we’re doing something really cool! So please listen to GERTENA’s music, if possible be sure to come to our live shows, and feel any emotion whatever you want! 

Youth・K・End:　GERTENA is a newly born band, so it can take any shape in the future. We’ll do our best to turn it into a good shape, and we’d be happy if you could throw your feelings at us too. I hope you’ll watch us as we continue to grow.

Renka: We are a band that always will do anything with our full power. Of course, we also share our full power at our live shows too. So please come and join us and show your full power also to us GERTENA!