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For the 29th edition of TEAM SAKUSAKU presents - Favorite Collections, we are happy to introduce Teruki, a musician who plays drums for the five-piece rock band Antic Café (AnCafe)!

Please start by introducing yourself.

My name is Teruki and I beat the drums for a band called Antic Café (AnCafe). Next year will mark the 15th anniversary of our band!

Congratulations! It seems AnCafe have spent a lot of that time performing at concerts overseas even.

Our first live performance overseas was at an event in Germany. From 2008 onwards, we toured Europe and South America. We took a break in 2010, but when we got back together in 2012, we performed overseas a number of times. Visual-kei is interesting in that there wasn’t any one particular person that paved the way for it; rather, it just suddenly took off all around the world. For me, visual-kei was always this kind of underground culture…people who knew about it, knew about it – that kind of thing. And that's why the reaction from people overseas was such a shock to me at the time. In France, for example, we had a turnout of some 1500 people. In saying that, we haven’t had the opportunity to play overseas much recently, but I did get to take part in a music festival in Malaysia in September. Actually, AnCafe have never really toured much of Asia. Only Korea briefly. So it was my first time in Southeast Asia!


And what did you take away from your first trip to Malaysia?

The airport was super modern but outside there were all these different types of plants and it really reminded me of Brazil. Perhaps because they have similar hot climates? We arrived at the airport first thing in the morning, and as we were in transit leaving the airport and watching the rising sun float up through the mist, I really felt a sense of vast nature (lol). In the city I noticed a lot of kanji characters, which seemed somewhat similar to Taiwan where I've traveled before. During my three-day stay I had one day to sightsee, so one thing I did was visit a rural area to see the fireflies. At night I went to the yatai street-food stalls! Kanon ate grilled corn. Even though we had eaten dinner beforehand and were already full (lol). On the topic of food, I found that the food in Europe wasn’t really to my liking. No matter what I ate in Malaysia, however, everything was delicious!! Even the Chinese chain stores tasted a little different – like they had been Malaysia-ized – but even they were good too. I felt like I could actually live in Malaysia! (lol) It might just be the place where I set up my retirement mansion (lol)


What was the vibe at the event like?

It was set up like a music festival, with five Malaysian artist groups and five Japanese artist groups. The difficulty with concerts overseas is first and foremost the language barrier, as it can be quite hard to communicate with the staff at these events. Everyone there was so nice, though!! Rehearsals ran behind but there weren’t any major problems. The actual performance, however, was a little more touch and go! In the changeover, we started doing a sound check when all of a sudden the emcee announced “Next is Ancafe!” and we basically had no choice but to jump straight into our set! We pretty much just went with the flow, but when I glanced to the side of the stage I did see all the PA’s in a flurry. They really seemed to be doing everything they could to keep to schedule (lol).

How do you feel about being labelled a “Japanese visual-kei band” when you play overseas?

I’m not focused on the genre or on my role as a representative; I just want to be able to play with pride in our performance and musical ability. At the event, the band before us seemed to be quite a big act in Malaysia and the people really responded to their set. Even though it was a concert we were invited to play at, it was overseas and not home turf, so we took to the stage guns blazing. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing overseas or at home in Japan, people are waiting to hear you play, that’s what’s important. I will never be satisfied finishing a set knowing that only I had fun. I want to continue to be part of a band that focuses on the maximal enjoyment of the fans at all times.

So you treat each performance the same. And how do you feel now that AnCafe is on the cusp of their 15-year anniversary?

I never imagined that AnCafe would be around this long, or get to perform at the Budokan twice, or play all these concerts overseas! Now all I want is to continue to be a part of AnCafe for as long as I can. I want to keep playing music until I die. To do that, musical ability is just as important as human relationships. I don’t know what the future holds for AnCafe, but I know that with all the members working together we can overcome whatever comes our way. If it weren’t for AnCafe I never would have made it to Malaysia after all (lol).


But I also have a dream of becoming a top drummer as well. I may already be a professional musician and a member of the band AnCafe, but I also feel that if I don’t break out of that mold, there are limits to how much I can grow. From about a year ago, I started tutelage under my current drum teacher and developed some personal goals that I’m now working towards. It has been inspirational to me in many ways, like a switch has been flicked on inside me, and I have a level of confidence now that makes me feel like a completely different person to who I was a year and a half ago! It was around the same time that I had the opportunity to take up a support role and I feel like this also gave me a perspective of the world that was different to what I was used to. I love music and I really just want to perform for as many people as possible. So I’ve realized that there are still various opportunities and chances out there. To be honest, I don’t think “chances” are given to all people equally. I’m sure there are countless people out there who worked harder and have more ability than me, they just never got their chance… I think if you’ve really got something to say, something of substance, you’ll definitely have the best chance to capitalize when opportunity finally does come knocking. So work yourself to the bone and polish that substance now! If only I had known this when I was 20 (lol) It’s never too late, though!

It’s great to see someone continually perusing their dream. Is there anything you would like to say to young people trying to pursue their own dreams?

Never give up. This is important! (lol) Not giving up is crucial to the pursuit of dreams, as is prioritizing all the things you need to do along the way. A sudden idea might help you to avoid some problem that’s in front of you, but it’s only a temporary solution. It’s the same with “chances.” I think the only way to achieve the result you want is with personal improvement and continuous effort. That’s why I continue to exert myself, and why I want others who are chasing their dreams to continue to refine themselves, too.

And a final word for the asianbeat readers.

At the event in Malaysia, Anna Tsuchiya sang the theme song to NANA and crowd really went off. Seeing that made me realize just how deeply people are aware of Japanese pop-culture. From a number of years earlier I’ve been to all different events held overseas, and I feel like Japanese content just continues to permeate further and deeper throughout the world. I consider us as a visual-kei band to be one aspect to that pop-culture, but one big difference between us and other “contents” like anime and movies, is that with us you get the “honmono” (real thing). You can listen to music anywhere and you can watch music videos anywhere, too, but a concert isn’t the same. And not just for the fans but for us as well. Going to Malaysia, our first overseas concert in a while and a country that I hadn’t visited before, and being told by the fans “I’ve loved you for so long” or “finally we get to see you live”, it really blew away any and all worries that were troubling me at the time! It’s amazing that there are all these people in far off or unknown places that are waiting to see you. While it makes me happy that people come all the way to Japan to get the “honmono” experience for themselves, this trip reminded us how much we really like to be able to go straight to the fans, too!