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Before their headline show at the Best Buy Theater in New York City on May 1st of this year, we had a chance to sit down with VAMPS to discuss their tour with Sixx:A.M. and Apocalyptica, the Modern Vintage tour, their plans after the tour and more. Please enjoy!
Thank you for sitting down to do this interview with us today. You covered Mötley Crüe on tour with Sixx:A.M. How did you feel about playing something familiar to that audience?
Hyde: We weren’t really sure about covering Mötley Crüe, but once we did it – of course there were a lot of Mötley Crüe fans at the show – we knew it was the right decision to play it.
How was it touring a vast majority of America rather than just a few select cities?
Hyde: This isn’t the first time we have toured in the States, but this time it was very exciting to see all the different cities we got to travel to. We realized, “Wow, America is such a big place!” Based on their appearance, some cities seemed to have a “tough” feeling to them – we think it would be tough to live in certain cities.
What did you think about this entire tour overall?
Hyde: Today is the final, but we still don’t know yet. Once the show is finished today, maybe we will feel something.
Both of you have toured in many places around the world. Was there anything you really liked about this particular tour?
Hyde: I want to eat crawfish again. We just had it yesterday for the first time and we all loved it.
You should go to New Orleans, they are famous for it!
Hyde: Delicious~
What activities can we look forward to from VAMPS following this tour?
Hyde: This was the tour, but at the same time it was the Modern Vintage Sixx:A.M. tour, not just VAMPS. Most of the fans were there to see Sixx:A.M. so most of them didn’t expect much from us as an opening band at this point, unfortunately. But we hope some of them enjoyed the performance and the music. Maybe the audience can see something different that they’ve never seen before, something new like VAMPS. It’s something they could look forward to seeing again in the future.
You are playing Japan Night overseas; where else would you like to see music from Japan showcased?
Hyde: Japanese entertainment should go overseas more often. If there is a place we can go, we should go and play music for the fans there.
Do you plan on expanding yourself outside of music? Such as music in a movie, video game, etc.?
Hyde: Actually, next year K.A.Z has a movie shoot coming up.
Oh, really?!
K.A.Z: No, no, no!
Hyde: Just kidding~ so real talk. We are almost too busy doing music to do anything else. If there is something else such as acting, we’re just too busy. We want to focus on our music.
You’ve shared a lot of your activities, such as eating, through social media. What is one memorable moment that you haven’t shared yet?
Hyde: I think we’ve shared everything we’ve done!
Was there something that was your favorite when touring with Sixx:A.M. across America?
K.A.Z: The day before yesterday (April 29) was the final day of the Modern Vintage tour. After Sixx:A.M. got off stage, all of the bands – including VAMPS and Apocalyptica (another support act) – everybody was just so happy about the entire tour and how well we all performed. We all had a beer and spent a lot of good time together.
We talked to Apocalyptica in Denver and they have collaborated with a lot of artists throughout their career. Would you guys consider a collaboration with either Apocalyptica, or another artist?
Hyde: We are big fans of Apocalyptica, we’ve been watching a lot of music videos of theirs. We are very interested in working with Apocalyptica. The concepts of their music videos are just amazing. They have their own flavor and their own image. We feel a common ground with them through their videos. We feel a connection between VAMPS and Apocalyptica. If there were an opportunity, we would love to work with Apocalyptica, [that] would be fantastic.
Do you have plans of touring anywhere else internationally this year, or next year?
Hyde: We are going to Asia after this – we have gigs in Hong Kong and Taiwan. We will also be in London in July. Please check our homepage for any more international dates we may be adding.
Do you have a final message to the international fans of VAMPS?
Hyde: Sixx:A.M. gave us a huge opportunity to support them and embrace the U.S. market while on this tour. It was such a great and memorable experience, so we hope to keep doing what we’re doing right now. We would love to come back to do another tour. Please continue to support us!
Interview by: Melissa Castor & AliW
Special thanks to VAMPS for their time! Check out our live report of NYC here and our Denver live report. Finally, our interview with fellow tour mates Apocalyptica.