Earth, circa 1982, a young farmhand in rural Ohio looks out across the pitch black western skies. His eyes fix themselves upon a faint light blossoming on the horizon. As he makes his way through the wheat fields towards the source of the glow, he loses his balance as the earth rumbles underneath his feet.

Several feet in front of him two giant protrusions, demonic bunny ears, emerge from the dirt and rise ominously into the night sky. In a flash of vibrant glittering color the words “LM.C” appear, shimmering like phantoms in the night.

The above may as well be the story of LM.C’s birth.

the INCREDIBLYTRUE

story

of

Words by Brian “boo” Stewart

Photos by Miyawaki Susumu

Illustrations by Stephanie Yue

LM.CLM.CLM.C

To hear vocalist Maya and guitarist Aiji of the electro-rock unit tell

it, LM.C wasn’t created so much as it just happened one day, like any

natural (or supernatural) phenomenon. As the easy-going duo told

us, looking oddly battle-ready in matching fatigues, they have no

history. For this reason they were desperate to make one up for our

interview, weaving fact and fiction into an exciting narrative that

included international rap superstars, beards, atomic bombs and

Limp Bizkit, among other things. Or maybe they were just having

some laughs at my expense.

Though talking to the irreverent pair was often like a surreal true

or false test, there were several rock solid facts. Regardless how you

may perceive the brightly colored hair and makeup or the spastic

cheekiness, these are two serious musicians who want to make great

music. Maya, former support guitarist for Miyavi and now revealed as

a natural born star, goes as far as to practice LM.C songs at Karaoke.

Aiji, former guitarist of the recently disbanded PIERROT, may look

coolly indifferent in photos, but in real life he’s a workhorse with a

gentle demeanor and a mischievous streak. So who can blame me for

almost believing them when they handed me a random Korean pop

CD and claimed it was “the foundation” of LM.C’s sound?

This is the incredibly true history of LM.C.

pS: So tell me what’s up with that funky band name, “Lovely Moco-

chang?” What’s it mean?

Maya (M): There’s no meaning.

pS: How did you come up with it?

M: There was never a time when we said, “Let’s start a project to-

gether,” or gave a specific day that LM.C was born. LM.C didn’t have

an “official” beginning.

Aiji (A): Why don’t we start with the band name?

M: Right, so the band name is the same case, there was no real, like,

starting point. The name just sort of came about. I think when you

decide to do a band, the four or five members get together and

someone says, “What’ll we do about a name?” and then everyone

throws ideas around. There was no such exchange in this case. We

had a practice or demonstration show, where I would play guitar and

sing by myself, and when it came to booking the venue I needed a

name. And I guess you could say that’s where it came from.

pS: Where did the name itself come from?

M: That would be, well... the good lord?

A: Uh, we’re not that kind of band.

M: No good? Not the right-spin on it?

A: We are not that kind of band (Laughing)

M: Well, I mean, Mocochang is the name of my dog...

pS: ...so, a mystery then?

M: Oh, yeah. Fine, a mystery it shall be.

pS: Mocochang has sort of an ethnic ring to it.

A: Ah, you’re just saying that because it has that ‘ch’ sound like

MocoCHang. That’s on purpose.

pS: Is that rabbit character on all of your goods called Mocochang

as well?

M: That is also undecided. The reason I made it a rabbit was that I

wanted a trademark. I mean, it’s not even really a rabbit, not really.

A: It’s rabbit-y.

M: I think it’s hard to see anything but a rabbit; it’s more rabbit-like.

I think what I’m trying to say is I never gave it a specific meaning. I

won’t say it is a rabbit, nor will I deny that it is. It’s all kind of vague.

pS: You guys have known each other for some time, how long has

it been?

M: Wow, about ten years?

pS: During that time were you constantly thinking, “Someday let’s

make LM.C happen!”?

M: Not at all. Not to start with.

A: Not really.

M: Really, I was the one who approached Aiji with just sort of a greet-

ing. For me, he was sort of a senpai, a guy with more history in the

scene; someone I knew from bands and having grown up in the same

area.

pS: Were you two classmates?

M: No, it wasn’t like that. What do you call it?

A: Um.

M: Whatever. Yeah, we were classmates. (Giving up)

pS: No, no. Don’t lie, I’ll print whatever you tell me and get in

trouble.

A: What do you call senpai/kouhai in English?

pS: You mean not in school? That’s kind of hard. Which one of you is

younger? Oh, Maya of course.

A: If he (Maya) was older that’d be a problem, since I’m his senpai!

pS: So does Maya have to do everything you say, since you have the

“rights of the senpai”?

M: Everything.

A: (Laughing) There are no such rights, but he naturally does so

anyway.

M: That’s right. Getting back to the question, at first that’s how

things were. We were never like, “Let’s do something someday.”

pS: Maya, you used to be a guitarist in your previous bands. How did

you end up as the vocalist this time?

M: Hmm, there was no one else better.

A: Yeah, well, when I heard Maya’s demo track I thought it was great

and since his voice was good I wanted him to try singing for us. And

that was how we started. I did make an effort to look for a singer;

but as he said, there was nobody and it seemed we could make better

music doing this with just the two of us.

pS: Where did you learn to rap, Maya?

M: Ummm.

A: From the hit charts.

M: In LA.

A: Yeah when he was in LA; what was that, five years ago?

M: Harmonizing. Nah, I never much cared for hip hop or anything.

That was also something that just sort of happened. I was hoping to

play several types of music and, just about the time I started writing

my own songs about five years ago, this is what was popular and I

just sort of ended up incorporating it. I have really unsophisticated

taste.

A: And then you got the call from JAY-Z.

Maya (vo)

LM.C / 039038 / LM.C

M: From L.A., yeah? I got the call on my cellphone.

pS: What did you go to L.A. for?

M: I was hoping to do some shopping.

Manager: How long are you going to fall for their schtick!?

M: I’m joking.

A: Maya went to L.A. to audition for Limp Bizkit...

pS: Are you telling the truth this time?

M: That is the honest truth! You know, when their guitarist Wes

Borland left the band, they held those auditions? I went to America

at that time.

pS: What did they say?

M: Um, they were speaking English so I couldn’t understand.

(Laughing)

A: I have this feeling that they said you’d be better off rapping, but...

M: Oh yeah, that’s right. One of the guys judging me turned to me

and said, “Son, you should be singing.”

pS: Why does the “dot” in LM.C come between the M and the C?

Shouldn’t it be L.MC as in Lovely -space- Mocochang?

M: That is the “dot” from “lovely-mocochang.com.”

pS: I was just discussing with your staff about how your plans to

open an English home page got scrapped for now. Are you aware

of the overseas LM.C fans?

A: Uh, somewhat.

M: Somewhat. Just the other day

there was this group of Germans

who came to a shop in Harajuku

that sells LM.C goods.

pS: And you happened to be there?

A: No, um, we weren’t there, but

they happened to stop by. Maybe

they came to see a concert or some-

thing. I’m not sure, but I heard from

the shopkeeper that they came to

hang out.

pS: Was there a desire within

you to make this kind of music

from before?

A: I mean, I personally prefer peppy

songs to like, downers. I like songs that

get the blood pumping over gloomy

ones.

M: Longtime fans of Aiji probably get

it, like, “Ah, that’s so Aiji,” I guess.

pS: So during songs when there are long breaks without guitar,

what do you do with yourself, Aiji?

M: Hahaha!

A: When there’s no guitar part? Channeling, I guess? I commune

with the stars.

M: Yeah, he does.

A: Then, when my part comes up, I’m at last free to unleash.

pS: Why don’t you ever have beards or facial hair growth?

(The room explodes in laughter)

A: What are you talking about?

M: You’re all over the place!

A: (Thinking) I guess that would be the result of channeling with

outer space?

pS: I wonder if Maya has a beard under his face mask. (Editors note:

he wore a face mask because he had hay fever.)

A: Ah, and if you were to take off that mask...

M: It’s incredible, thick and bushy.

A: Right.

M: Uh no, I don’t have a beard. And I’ll thank you not to doubt me. I

can’t really grow a beard.

A: I don’t really have much either. It comes in thin. Ah, Maya doesn’t

get any at all.

M: Nothing.

pS: Let’s talk about your recording process.

A: There you go jumping around again.

M: Song making is different for each song.

pS: Well, for instance, how is song making different for something

like “Oh My Juliet” versus “Rock the LM.C?”

M: Um, well, at this point we make the songs at home and then

play it for the other guy.

pS: So how many of the songs did Maya write versus Aiji?

M: Of the songs we’ve released, I’d say we’re about half and half.

Since we’ve come this far I think we’ll be becoming like B’z, with Aiji

making songs and me writing lyrics.

A: No we won’t. We won’t become B’z.

M: Don’t know B’z? Well, we have sort of a Genbaku Allergy

thing going.

A: He certainly doesn’t know that.

pS: Genbaku Allergy?

M: They were an indies band from

long ago.

A: No way anyone (overseas) knows them.

pS: Is this a band that was wiped out by history?

M: No, nothing like that. I was just saying that there was that

kind of band once. So we bring the songs we make in and, if this

were a band with a bassist and drummer, we’d all go into the studio

and make the song, but that’s not possible, so we make them at

home.

pS: Do you make the songs digitally or using live instruments?

M: Digital.

A: Basically digital. But our new single uses live drums for the first

time.

M: In the recording.

pS: Let’s talk about the new single. What kind of song is “Boys &

Girls?”

M: It’s exactly as the title says. It’s a song for boys and girls, nothing

more, nothing less. Sorry, that’s it.

pS: What’s the music like?

A: Cheerful and upbeat.

pS: Why did you want to tell this story of “Boys & Girls?”

M: I dunno, with each song the theme changes. This is just one

theme of many. For instance, no matter who you are, even when

you’ve grown up, there’s still this part of you that’s forever a child.

What would you call it? The feelings from when you were a young

boy or girl remain. I wanted to make a song about that.

pS: And I’ve heard this will be the theme for an anime?

M: That’s right.

A: Katei Kyoshi Hitman Reborn.

pS: I have heard that you lent your voice to the anime Red Garden

previously?

M: I did, yes.

pS: What role?

A: The role of the prince.

M: The president.

pS: Were you jealous of him, Aiji? (Laughing)

A: Not in the least. (Laughing)

pS: Listening to “Boys & Girls” I’m confused about who LM.C is as an

artist. This time it’s sort of a pop/punk tune. Does LM.C basically turn

whatever they come up with naturally into music, as is?

M: That’s right. So when you say, “When I heard this I didn’t know

what you wanted to do as an artist,” that’s sort of the point. It’s just

something that came about naturally. We don’t want to get stuck

in just one genre of music, so our things come out like this. It’s

natural. It’s not like we wanted to try something different from

what we were doing. This is just really natural. We don’t even know

what we’ll do next.

“Personally I prefer peppy songs to like, downers. I like songs that get the blood

pumping over gloomy ones.”

LM.C / 041040 / LM.C

A: We do what we want, when we want, so it really has nothing to

do with genre. I mean, on the other hand, if we want to try classical

music we will, just because we think it’s cool.

pS: Speaking of which, the guitar solo in this song suddenly goes all

classical.

A: Whatever pops into my head, I put in there.

pS: The song title “Little Fat Man Boy” doesn’t make sense to me.

M: Really?

pS: What does the title mean?

A: I guess most Americans don’t know about this?

M: Probably not.

pS: Is there some story?

M: There is, but...

pS: I mean the problem for Americans is they see “little” “fat” “man”

and “boy”; and all those words contradict each other.

M: I see. So you don’t get it? I mean the title “Little Fat Man Boy” is a

word I made up, but it has a meaning.

pS: Is it a secret?

M: No, not a secret. Rather, here in Japan most people recognize it.

A: Just tell him. I mean, it is fact after all.

M: A long time ago Japan had two nuclear bombs dropped on it.

A: Atomic bombs.

M: These are the names of those two bombs; the two bombs dropped

on Japan by the United States. The names were “little boy” and “fat

man.” The lyrics are about that. I mean, you know about the attack

on Pearl Harbor, right? It’s linked to that.

pS: That promotion video has little to do with that story though.

M: Nothing.

pS: What made you guys decide to use claymation?

A: I’ve wanted to do something in clay animation for a long time

now. I’ve always been a really big fan of Czech animation. I just

happened to be talking about it and it was something the director

was also interested in, so we ended up making it.

pS: Was the director a friend of yours?

A: Not a friend per se.

M: Not a friend but the guy who does all of LM.C’s videos.

A: Well, I call him a friend now. He makes all our videos.

pS: It seems like, in Japan, many bands use the same director through-

out their careers.

M: Is that not the case in America?

pS: Not necessarily. American bands use many different directors;

whoever is hot at the moment.

A: In Japan there really aren’t that many “hot” directors at one time,

so even if you go through them, I don’t think you can make some-

thing exciting. You can’t spend all that much on videos. There’s not

that sense of their significance from the label side.

pS: Will LM.C always be a two person unit?

M: Haven’t figured that out yet.

pS: So there’s a chance you may take on more members at some

point?

M: If we were to meet someone cool. I mean, we met you guys.

pS: So I’ll join LM.C then.

A: We welcome you.

pS: Maya, you play acoustic guitar.

M: On recording, yeah. It’s just one song though.

pS: What made you decide to use yourself and not Aiji for that?

M: I didn’t really decide, that too just sort of happened. It’s just by

chance that Aiji plays guitar and I sing. We’re not particular about it.

For example, if it’s my song and I have an image for how the guitar

should sound, I’ll play it. It’s not like, “I’m the guitarist, so I’ll play all

the guitar parts” or “I’m the singer, so I’m going to use my voice for

every line.” When I need to I’ll use other people to sing, including

Aiji.

pS: Do you sing on the recordings, Aiji?

A: Well, a bit.

M: A bit. He sings a bit.

A: I mean this isn’t like a band. We’re something like Massive Attack,

a song making unit.

pS: It’s been a year since you started doing this. How has it been

looking back?

M: How... I mean, we’ve been working on this since long before that.

It’s only been about half a year since we surfaced as a group. It’s all

from here on out. We really don’t have a history yet.

pS: If I may go back to “Boys & Girls,” growing up, did you like hang-

ing around more with boys or girls?

M: I prefer girls.

pS: Why is that?

M: Because I like them. (Smiling)

pS: In what way do you like them?

M: As members of the opposite sex. Hehe, I dunno. I like hanging

around with both. I grew up in the sticks so...

A: You had nothing to do? (Coolly)

Aiji (gu)

LM.C / 043042 / LM.C

M: I had nothing to do. So you’re saying all I did was play around? Is

that what you mean?

A: I’m just saying you seem like the type...

M: I mean, I wasn’t hanging around with all guys or all girls, we all

played together. But I mean, now I prefer the company of girls. I

don’t really seek out guys to be friends with.

A: Yo, for real? What’s up with that?

pS: Are you the opposite, Aiji?

A: I don’t think about it. Friends are friends.

pS: Is that how you were when you were a kid?

A: Hmm, I never cared so I have no idea.

pS: When did you start playing music?

A: At age sixteen.

pS: What was the reason you started playing? Was it to be popular

with the girls?

A: Ah, no, not for that reason. It was an after school activity, like a

club. That was my introduction.

pS: What did you hear that made you want to be a musician?

A: I just wanted to be in a band. It wasn’t that I heard something and

wanted to be like that person. It started from me wanting to make

noise with other people.

pS: Did you start out doing covers?

A: Sure.

pS: Whose songs did you cover?

A: Like Ziggy and other rock ‘n’ roll.

pS: Whose guitar playing impressed you?

A: Oh, I didn’t start playing guitar ‘til I was eighteen. Before that I

was the singer. So like, when I turned eighteen and started the guitar,

I jumped right into writing originals. If you’re asking who my favorite

guitarist is or something, there’s no one. I don’t really like anyone.

Vocalists on the other hand, I have a lot of favorites.

pS: Who would those be?

A: Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush and Maya.

pS: By Maya, you’re of course referring to the ‘90s R&B singer?

A: Yes, that’s the one.

M: I remember her. (Laughing)

pS: Why are you called Maya anyways?

A: It’s Maaya with a long ‘mah’ sound.

M: It was a nickname from elementary school.

pS: Maya, when did you come to Japan... d’oh!

(The room bursts out again, laughing at my mistake)

A: Maya, people think you have that type of face huh?

M: An L.A. face?

A: No, not L.A. Like an Asian elementary school student.

M: I came here from L.A. when I was a fourth year elementary school

student.

pS: I meant to ask, when did you figure out that you wanted make

music?

M: Music? I knew when I was in middle school.

pS: What did it for you?

M: I started out liking X Japan when I was, like, ten years old and still

in elementary school. That started me off.

pS: So you liked hide?

M: Not really hide as much as X Japan. And when I got to middle

school I was all about Luna Sea. There was a band boom at this time.

pS: Like Buck-Tick?

M: Yes, that’s right. There were a lot of bands like that. And I wanted

to be like them.

pS: When you see the various ways visual-kei has grown, do you

sometimes get confused as to whether it’s visual-kei at all?

A: Rather, it’s that I’ve always just thought of the makeup as part of

the gig, if you want to stand on that stage. That’s how I think of it;

I’ve never thought visual-kei was associated with the music. It’s just

that if you want to stand on that stage you wear makeup. That’s why

David Bowie wears makeup. It’s the same thing.

M: I think maybe Japan didn’t have that culture back in the day

and when it got popular they just gave it an easy label. That’s

where it started from, so we don’t really need to think about it;

I don’t care if people think of us as visual-kei. They can call us what-

ever they want to.

pS: Do you guys have a motto?

A: Nope.

M: I guess “Jiyuu Ki Mama ni.” (Free to be.)

A: It’s like living your life on a carpet of clouds.

pS: They sell exact mockups of the coveralls you guys wear through

Groucho. Are you ever worried that, if all the fans come to the concert

wearing them, one of you might blend into the crowd and vanish?

A: I think I’d like to blend into the crowd and vanish.

pS: Are the fans all wearing them?

M: Surprisingly, yes.

A: A few.

M: I was telling you about those girls from Germany earlier, right?

They actually bought them. (He shows me a picture he took on his

cellphone.)

pS: What made you decide on coveralls?

M: Well, it’s easy to understand.

pS: Were you going for a hip-hop vibe?

M: I don’t know. Are coveralls hip-hop?

pS: Well, kind of like Rip Slyme or...

M: Then, yeah I was.

A: Pardon?

pS: I’ve learned my lesson, I won’t write that down.

A: I mean it’s just a really easy thing to get into. It’s symbolic.

pS: Is going to the bathroom a hassle in those?

M: We don’t go to the bathroom.

A: We don’t do such a thing. Idols don’t go to the bathroom.

M: We have no need.

A: Yes, yes.

M: We don’t get beards.

pS: Are there any artists you’d like to perform with?

M: That would be...

A: Michael Jackson.

M: That’s not what I was going to say. What are you looking at

me for? Like, I’m not funny at all.

A: No. I mean, that would be very LM.C like.

M: Well, I mean, it’s not funny.

pS: What about like, record with?

M: Ah, Michael Jackson?

pS: Right, Michael Jackson.

A: Or is it Jichael Mackson?

pS: ...

M: (Laughing his ass off.)

pS: I don’t think my readers are going to get the joke.

M: Not funny? Doesn’t translate well? They’ll probably think it’s

a typo.

pS: Are you guys Michael Jackson fans?

A: I like him. And Maya does too, right?

pS: Were you disappointed in him at all for his child molestation

charges?

A: I really don’t have any interest in that. I don’t care about his

private life.

M: Rather, for Japanese, that makes him more interesting. Inter-

esting or... I mean no offense to the victims of course, but he’s

just incredible. That whole Neverland Ranch thing is just crazy,

which is great.

pS: What do you think when you hear a Michael Jackson song?

A: The melodies are good. Simply put, he just makes great melo-

dies. Like number one in the world.

M: He really is number one.

A: Even in how much money he spends, number one.

M: His songs, whatever, but his presence is massive. I mean he’s

kind of screwed up but...

A: When you get to his class, even if it’s just a backing track, you

can really tell it was made by an artist in the upper echelon. The

level is just different somehow, even when you listen on CD.

LM.C on MichaelJackson?!

“I’ve never thought visual-kei was

associated with the music. It ’s just that if you want to stand on that stage you wear makeup.”

LM.C / 045044 / LM.C

A: All true.

M: In order to not get beards we don’t go to the bathroom.

A: And we don’t eat food.

M: Not sure about that one there. We don’t drink anything.

pS: So you’re saying you have no sexual parts either?

M: That is sort of a cloudy area.

A: Pardon?

M: I don’t get the impression that coveralls make it hard to go to the

bathroom.

A: On the contrary, it’s easier!

pS: Before you thought up the coveralls, what other ideas did you

have?

A: Actually it was coveralls from the start, like, “how about coveralls?”

In the end we wanted to give both members the same look. And we

weren’t about to come out wearing jeans and a T-shirt. I thought

coveralls sort of satisfied that.

pS: Will they always be black?

M: Haven’t decided that either.

A: We’ll probably wear what we want to, when we want to.

pS: Who titles the songs?

A: Some are Maya, some are both of us.

pS: All in English?

A: No, it depends on the song. There’s Japanese too.

M: There’s some that mix the two, with alphabet letters and Japanese

characters. But I guess most are English-like.

M: It’s not that I haven’t thought about it so much as regular English

lyrics are beyond me right now. If I could speak it really well, I might

try. If I did something now it wouldn’t make sense and I don’t want

to put myself through that.

pS: Would you like to increase your overseas activities?

A: Not, like, increase them. If there’s something that comes along our

way, we’d love to.

M: Yeah, we don’t want to force it.

A: We have no desire to force ourselves on America and try to sell

there.

M: I’d like to do it with the same sense of going from Tokyo to

Hokkaido.

pS: Do you like Japan?

M: Yeah, I do. But actually, I love America.

pS: How many times have you been to America?

M: Not that many, but I mean, talking about America, it’s got to be

L.A. You know, the West coast. It’s got nice weather. England has,

like, bad weather.

A: Yeah, it’s bad. It’s worse than Japan. It’s cloudy.

M: So I like the sunny West coast better than overcast England.

pS: Maya, what is your favorite flavor of Chupa Chups (lollipops)?

M: Wow, my favorite? I like everything, it changes with my moods. I

used to really dig strawberry cream, like, sweet flavors. Recently a fan

gave me a special Taiwan-only flavor.

pS: What would make you happy to receive from a fan?

M: Something I want? Maybe something I could use in a photo or

video shoot? That’d make me happy, goods or toys.

pS: What are your hobbies? (Editor’s note: The word, “shumi,” is

used here to mean hobbies and also mean “tastes,” as in what turns

you on.)

M: My tastes!? (Heart pounds)

A: English-like, because they’re in ENGLISH.

pS: Have you ever been to an English conversation class?

A: Never.

M: Nope. I don’t really know any English, as was the case with “Little

Fat Man Boy.” It has very little to do with the meaning. It’s the sound.

I try to use words that I already know and not, like, choose a word

and make it into English.

pS: So have you ever considered trying your hand at English lyrics?

“Idols don’t go to the bathroom.”

LM.C / 047046 / LM.C

A: Go on Maya; tell him about your sexual tastes! How you like it.

M: How I like it? That’s a tough one.

A: CENSORED!

M: He means hobbies. I don’t have any. I’m currently looking for

some.

pS: Looking for hobbies?

A: What the heck does “looking for some” mean?

M: You know, like, fun things. What’s hot now and what’s popular

with people, anything really.

pS: What about you, Aiji?

A: Nothing, except travel.

pS: Are you a gamer?

M: Not at all.

A: Yeah, I am. I’m huge into games.

M: Wouldn’t that qualify as a hobby?

pS: What’s your game of choice?

A: Different stuff, like soccer or Winning Eleven.

pS: Here’s another one from the fans. Are you two party animals or

homebodies?

M: Party animals.

A: What was that?

M: Haven’t you heard?

A: No, I hadn’t.

M: Well I’m not a party animal. I’m the stay at home type, but Aiji is

up for anyth- ...

A: Get outta here.

M: Anything.

A: This is the first I’ve heard of this.

pS: He’s probably playing Winning Eleven at home.

M: Yeah, make that REAL Winning Eleven.

A: What’s that? Isn’t that just soccer?

M: He’s quite the animal.

A: No tell me, what exactly is REAL Winning Eleven?

M: Sometimes he’s taken over by the beast, a party beast.

A: No I’m not.

M: Dangerous!

pS: Do you guys drink? If so, what do you drink?

M: I don’t.

A: I do. I’ll drink anything as long as it costs over $100.

pS: Um, next up...

M: Beards? Can we talk about beards some more?

pS: No. No more beards.

M: Was that last question from American fans?

pS: Yeah, you guys have quite a following. There’s a lot of fan sites

out there.

M: I heard something about this. One of our Japanese fans was tell-

ing us that she looked up our name and there were a ton of overseas

fan sites.

pS: Do you ever Google yourselves or otherwise use the internet?

M: I use the internet to look up anything I want to know more

about.

A: Things I want to know at the moment.

M: Like, what does a shark eat? (Snickering)

pS: Do you guys have an idea about what you want to do next?

M: Well, for now the tour. I just want us to do the best job we can on

what’s right in front of us. This isn’t the time to start talking about

where we’ll be in a few years. As we do our thing that stuff will come;

goals and what not. I just want to perfect our live act.

pS: How have the shows been so far?

M: I dunno, we haven’t done enough shows to really understand.

Now that we have a few singles and a mini album out the fans know

the songs. I think our concerts are going to change from now.

pS: Are you guys thinking about a full album?

M: It’s not something we think about, nor something that we aren’t

thinking about.

pS: I have something to ask you.

M: (Snickering) Is it about beards?

pS: (ignoring) Where would you want new fans to start listening to

LM.C from?

M: I want them to listen to a wide array of songs. Like I know “Boys

& Girls” is our new single, but don’t listen to just that. I want people

to make a pass through our past works, because just one song isn’t

going to tell you who we are. I think people will understand better if

they listen through our catalog.

pS: Any advice for recent graduates?

M: I have the impression that kids at that age won’t listen to me no

matter what I tell ‘em.

A: Yeah, just live life impulsively.

M: Just do what you were doing.

A: Live life how you want to.

M: No matter how much an adult tells them to study they don’t see

the importance of it. It’s impossible for me to make them understand

what I’ve learned in the decades I’ve lived with just a few words. So

they should just do what they’re doing.

A: Live how they want to live.

pS: Do you have a message for your fans?

M: What language shall we do this in, Korean?

A: Why not. Tell me, do they buy our CDs overseas?

pS: Sure, through importers.

A: But everybody downloads this stuff from file-sharing websites and

their friends, right?

pS: I would say so.

A: So that’s where most of them get our stuff. I mean, the fact is we

file-share too, we’re not saying that’s wrong and in fact we don’t

even think it is. But if you have a chance to hear LM.C’s music and

you like what you hear, please buy it. If there’s an opportunity we’d

like to come do a concert in America or somewhere. I really don’t

consider our countries separate. We’re all part of the same earth, the

same planet.

M: I don’t know what genre we are, or how well known we are there,

but I just want everyone to have a good time together. This isn’t

something that can happen any day. In order for LM.C to establish

itself over there, we’ll need the help of all those reading this issue of

purple SKY.

LM.C’s new single “BOYS & GIRLS”

comes out 5/23/2007 (only in Japan).

“I really don’t consider our countries separate. We’re all part of the same earth.”

LM.C / 049048 / LM.C