Tokyo Damage : Interview With Mr SATOH

Source Hello Damage
Credits to Cliff

Back in 2008, I interviewed Mr. SATOH-SAN (not his real name), who worked for a fairly well-known Visual Kei record label in the ‘90s.

Visual Kei is a sort of glam-gothic-rock thing where the band might look like a space vampire who is also a gay Kabuki French countess.

That makes it sound better than it is.

Personally, the main thing I like about this genre is the same thing I like about punk: the FANS: 15 year old girls from good families, with designer handbags, who beat the shit out of each other during the show, to prove to their dreamboat that they’re the ‘best’ fan.

But as rad as those girls are, they are victims of the fantasy, the image that these bands project. Luckily, we have Mr. SATOH, who is going to tell us about the grim reality. That’s right: I am trying to bum out visual fans. If you’ve come here from a link on a message-board, assume your crying posture now.

During this interview, you’ll hear a lot about the Yakuza. But don’t get it twisted: the Visual Kei industry is NOT more mobbed-up than any other part of the entertainment industry in Japan. That’s fine. Precisely BECAUSE the Visual Kei mobsters are so typical, visual is a good way to learn about the dark side of Japanese entertainment IN GENERAL.

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