Interview with Solo Guitarist, RENO (English Version)

This is an interview from JROCK.tokyo, with RENO who started his his career as a solo guitarist after ViViD disbanded.  Both English and Japanese interview is available.

Interview with Solo Guitarist, RENO “Enjoyable guitar to anybody is the ideal”

RENO started his career as a solo guitarist after ViViD disbanded. His technical performance and incredible sense for melody are his strength when expanding his activities to various fields. I interviewed him over his strong feelings towards guitar and sound… Let’s hear what he says! He is the guitar hero of the next generation and this is the interview full of his passion! (Text & Interview: Hikaru Takasaki, Photographer: Kouichi Kondo）

—You’ve been performing as a solo guitarist since ViViD broke up, RENO. Let us look back your recent activities. You had your first solo live on June 4th, right? How did go?

RENO：A guitar instrumental without a vocalist is quite rare for today. Moreover, it was just after the break up so I was nervous for sure. Although I was playing solo I got support members. That made me think I wasn’t playing alone. Also I gained more confidence as fans gave me great reaction when I stood on a stage. Thanks to you all, tickets were sold out for both day and night session.


—RYOGA who was a member of ViViD also participated in, right?

RENO：Yes, he gave me a profound sense of reliability. His presence was very big to me as we had been always performed together.

—Your solo songs sound quite melodious. You hold up a concept “Let guitar sing”. Sine when you had the concept?

RENO：I was already thinking to “Let guitar sing” when I was in ViViD. Although there are thousands of people who are simply good at the guitars, I would be bored if I only listen to that. I might listen to them to brush up my skills but it doesn’t necessarily make me feel sympathy or impressed to the music as a listener. I prefer ones that have a melody line: intro, A melody, chorus… So I take a great deal of a melody for my solo songs. I don’t want to make a song just so complicated and leave the listeners behind.


—I feel you have a high spirit of entertaining fans.

RENO：If I was in their shoe, I wouldn’t want to be left behind and music that gives me an impression of “Isn’t it just your self-satisfaction?” is not enjoyable to listen to. In addition, guitar instrumental music itself sounds self-satisfaction. Therefore, I want to think about the listeners first. If someone who doesn’t know me thinks “I like this melody!”, it’s the best.


—I know quite many guitarists and bassists who start singing after becoming solo. Don’t you want to sing, RENO?

RENO：I like thinking the lyrics a lot but I’ve never thought of becoming a vocalist. I sang a song of ViViD in encore at a solo live on June 4th. I just did it hoping fans would be happy! (lol)

—I think fans were very happy. The live must have been an enjoyable one with various entertainments!

RENO：I think so! The last song I played, “explosion”, was a guitar instrumental which is recorded in ViViD’s first album. I know fans wanted to listen to this song so it was also for fans. I got really nervous when I sang! The main part, of course it was the first time to perform so I was nervous but a pressure toward singing in encore…! (lol)


—(lol) You will be holding solo lives in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka starting in November. It’s still a bit early but are you already thinking ahead for the lives?

RENO：I think many people don’t know the concept of guitar instrumental. I need to think from now how to construct a live performed for those people. Songs are easy to listen with steady melodies so I want to make the live enjoyable, too.


—So it’s not a hard live full of techniques but is more like enjoyable to many people.

RENO：That’s right. It’s the ideal if anybody can enjoy it such as guitar kids, girls who used to be fans of ViViD, grandpa generation, and etc.


—You are playing in MASAKI’s solo tour as a support guitarist from August. Do you find any difficulties as it’s not your own band?

RENO：I am quite nervous (lol). They all are great veterans so young guy like me joining there takes a lot of courage. But as a support guitarist, I want to perform what I can applying my own unique approach and so. I would be happy if fans who don’t know me think “He plays good!”


—You participated in a composing and recording of soundtrack for a game “Dragon Ball Z Chou Kyuukyoku Butou Den”.

RENO：It was first time for me to take part in game music but “Dragon Ball” has been my favorite since I was an elementary school student so I was over the moon! I knew Dragon Ball world so it was easy to work.


—Are you willing to try composing this kind of sound track or theatrical music in the future?

RENO：Yes. I’m determined to do my work as a solo as well as support guitarist. In many cases, this kind of sound track music usually don’t contain vocal therefore guitar can play a pivotal role. So I had so much fun doing this task. I’m hoping to do various staff.


—Expectation for you as a solo guitarist is getting higher but didn’t you think of forming a new band when ViViD ended?

RENO：I had always been in a band but it broke up. When I thought of me in 5 years and 10 years, I chose to be a solo not being in a band as it’s easier to move around. But I like band sound so it became a band formation with a drum and a bass when I came to stand on a stage as a solo. RENO is a solo guitarist but also a band at the same time.


—I see, thank you. Let me ask you about the guitar and the equipment? Can you talk about your main guitar?

RENO：I have two guitars that I mainly use at lives. One is custom-made based on Life-Ash of G-Life produced by DAITA and Modern Pro Series M5 by Suhr. I’ve been playing those guitars at lives for about two years. I was greatly influenced by DAITA since I was a kid so I want to have at least one G-Life as a fan. I had it for three to four years but it was only two years ago I started using it at lives, I guess. I knew Suhr and always wanted to try. I found it when I was wondering around in a music store. It was like falling in love at first sight (lol). It’s perfect for my performance as its sound standouts well.

—You used to play the guitar custom-made of j-custom RG by Ibanez before, right? Either of the guitars is perfect for a technical play as it has a good usability and its sound can standout in intense hard rock music.

RENO：The sound matters the most when choosing a guitar but I also think a lot about “Playing at lives”. Even if a guitar produces superb sounds but the usability is low or just doesn’t feel right, I can’t use it at lives. The balance is hard bit.


—Now you are solo, your perception toward lives and creating sound for recording must have changed from the time you played in ViViD.

RENO：When I was playing in ViViD, I used to think the guitar as a support to vocal as it’s the main like simply reducing the volume and distortion when playing the backing. But when it comes to solo, I need to sing. In other words, I stand on a spot to play the guitar as the main part which leads a melody like a vocalist. That aspect is my focus when making sounds. I’m trying to make the sound that is clearer without too much distortion so that it’s easy to listen for people who don’t play the guitar as well.


—Haven’t you reconsider equipment other than the guitars such as effecters and amplifiers?

RENO：That’s right. But as for the equipment I change them quite often (lol). I’ve been thinking how far I can do with compact equipment.


—Is there any artist who you refer to when making sounds or who has influenced on your performance?

RENO：DAITA, and Michiya Haruhata of TUBE. They are the ones who let the guitar sing. Looking outside Japan, SteveVai and Joe Satriani.


—All of them are great guitar heroes who express how you perceive guitar. Are they the ones who inspired you when you first encountered music?

RENO：Yes. But it was Eric Clapton who made me think of rock first. I thought “Cool!” when I listened to the intro of the famous “Layla” under my father’s influence. I was still an elementary school student. My father told me it was the guitar which played the intro of “Layla”. So I grew up with music that contained guitar solo. That gave me a big influence and led me to decide to perform as solo.


—Any advice for people who are starting the guitars?

RENO：We need nothing but to play. Improve skills little by little taking 24 hours of 365 days of years and years. One thing I’ve been doing is to look back how much I have improved for the prior year at the year end. I compare myself of the present considering “The target was to become able to play this phrase” or “I was bad at this kind of play”. By doing so, my improvement and challenges become clear. I think it’s a good idea to always practice comparing yourself to the past.


—Lastly, could you give a message for JROCK.tokyo users?

RENO：You might have been a bit confused about ending ViViD after six years and having started my new challenge. I’m determined to play as solo for life. I would like to highlight that there is no word for guitar instrumental therefore there is no boundaries or frontiers. So I would like to perform overseas starting from Asia and would love to go to the U.S. My solo songs are distributed through iTunes to each country so I would be grateful if people abroad listen to them, too.
Also, I would be happy if you think guitar instrumental is a new sensation. Through my music, I would like to widen the variety of music to which people listen to. I’m making my solo songs melodious and catchy by adopting many kinds of music so please have a try. I have also started to make an album so stay tuned.


source: http://jrock.tokyo/