The event “SWEET EXTRA 2004 NEW BEGINNING”, which was comprised of the bands from Sweet Child, was held on the 24th of August at Zepp Tokyo.

The FLARE were the third band that played in the event. The mysterious band revealed themselves finally. Their participation in the event was announced with very short notice so most fans didn't have a chance to get tickets. That means there were only few fans that came to support the band in the audience.

The FLARE played the 1st single “INNER CHILD” to open the show, then played total 7 songs including the c/w “LYRA". The performance only lasted around half an hour. After they finished, the audience couldn't stop talking to each other. Everybody chatted to the next person. I don't know what they were actually talking about. Maybe they were impressed with Sugizo's playing, or maybe they were impressed with Yuna's vocals that were far more aggressive than he looked.

But I'm sure that there were unseen sparks between the stage and the floor. They played with extremely high energy. Sugizo didn't even say a word and left the stage. Yuna said “We want to say many things but we place all our thoughts in our songs," during the performance. The last song called “STARLIGHT" made me tremble. I felt a funny feeling listening the song -- as though I'd been forgiven by somebody.

What is The FLARE aiming at? What are their goals?

I met them a couple days later after that event. Sugizo still had neck pain, which he received during his performance. Yuna had a very soft and warm atmosphere. The conversation began with the story about their secret lives.

Reporter: Before the event, you performed some secret lives as “XXXXXX" in some places in Tokyo, didn't you?

Sugizo: Yeah. It was good. If I hadn't, I couldn't have stood on the stage on the 24th.

Reporter: You had a monster's mask on your face. (laugh)

Sugizo: I didn't want the audience to know it was me. (laugh)

Reporter: Wasn't it hard to play putting the mask on your face?

Sugizo: It was okay, I'm quite patient. (laugh)

Yuna: He looked like a Geisha in backstage. (laugh)

Reporter: The other bands were stunned by your performance, weren't they? Didn't they say “What a band! Who is the guitarist!?"

Sugizo: No, they all knew it was me.

Reporter: Oh, you didn't put your mask on when rehearsing? (laugh)

Sugizo: You're joking! (laugh)

Reporter: What did you feel at Zepp Tokyo after those secret lives?

Sugizo: I felt same as usual. (laugh)

Yuna: I was… I felt so nervous, it wasn't the most nervous moment in my life but the 2nd or 3rd . Don't get me wrong, it was like I was going to step into the fire of enemies. I‘ve performed many times, but there, nobody would have known me. Not even as the singer of “XXXXXX" (laugh) , it was the first day I sang as a member of The FLARE.

Reporter: You experienced that everybody who looked at you would value you?

Yuna: Yes, felt that with all over my body. (laugh) But as I sing, I could go back to my roots.

Reporter: Your roots?

Yuna: Why I stand on stage. Because I have something to tell you. I adjusted my feeling then I realized that it won't change anything wherever I sing.

Reporter: The things to tell… That is the key why you decided to start and form The FLARE, and why you started with INNER CHILD.

Sugizo: Since I often talk to Yuna, we understood what we wanted to say, and as long as only two of us to created a band, we could express our common thoughts and ideas. If we don't, it means nothing.

Reporter: Can you express your common thoughts in a word?

Sugizo: To purify the darkness, then to fill the world with light. It's not to pretend that you're not seeing the darkness. It's to look at it and do something for it. I think that's the reason why music exists. Currently, only strong countries control the earth so the difference between the wealthy and the poor is widened. Everybody forgot the most important thing. The light of the sun, water, the nature including all the insects, animals and plants supports and live together. That's we want to tell.

Yuna: Humans are destroying this planet. That's the truth. But humans can save this planet at the same time. If only we realise that we can live because we were born on the earth, we cannot harm the earth any more. However, we are not men of religion, (laugh) we just want to send that message through our rock 'n roll music. We'd like to send it with our energy and vibrations. Maybe only 10 people will get it at first, maybe 500, if it spreads around to 1000, even to 2000, like ripples, it would be great.

Reporter: Express your thoughts on INNER CHILD.

Yuna: INNER CHILD is inside you who closed your heart as you had pain in your childhood.

Sugizo: It's like your real voice inside yourself. Most people sealed the voice as they grew. When you were a child, you expressed your feelings freely, didn't you? But you began to hide your feelings gradually. You became uncomfortable and felt pain hiding your real heart.

Yuna: Especially in Japan. Teachers press children so hard that they begin to close their mind more and more.

Sugizo: Teachers should realise and understand their trauma and pain otherwise they don't feel comfortable. So we should remember the time when we were small children.

Reporter: That's a good message.

Yuna: If you were denied all the time, you cannot be free from the pain forever. Like myself, I‘ve been suffered from it for years, and I guess there are many people feel the same. If you cannot love yourself, you cannot believe others. However, if you realise the existence of your inner child inside you, you can love yourself, and love other people.

Sugizo: At least within the radius of 10 light years, (laugh) there is no other planet like the earth which is capable of breathing, so I would like to find appreciation and rejoice with this miracle that I'm alive.

Reporter: So your mission is to send these messages to people with your music.

Sugizo: Yeah, we are musicians. (laugh)

Reporter: Music is not only for humans. It's also for cats and dogs, isn't it? Insects and plants in the room can listen to it. I've heard Mozart is good for plants to grow fast. Good music can send excellent vibration not only for humans.

Sugizo: I'll tell you that…I've got a book on the crystals of water.

Yuna: Ah! I've got it too! (laugh)

Reporter: You are the same type of people. (laugh)

Sugizo: The book is so interesting. The water makes various shapes of crystals if you play music. If you play Morzart, it makes beautiful shaped crystals, but Beethoven, the shape will be a little heavy. (laugh)

Yuna: And also, if you place a glass of water on the word such as “evil” in kanji, the shape will be distorted, but on the word “love”, it makes beautiful shapes of crystals.

Reporter: Oh, that's interesting!

Sugizo: The shape will be distorted if you play negative heavy rock.

Reporter: Please test it with The FLARE.

Sugizo: I'd love to. (laugh) The reason why I'm interested in water is everything on the earth contains water, right?

Reporter: The human body, too. 70% of it is water, isn't it?

Sugizo: So, if you listen to something which sends good wave motion, the water inside your body should make a good shape of crystals.

Reporter: More people listen to these type of things recently, don't they?

Yuna: Yeah, but still, most people reply “What?”

Sugizo: There aren't many people who interested in these type of things in the Japanese rock scene. (laugh) But I think the younger generation are. They are different from my generation. So, if our music begins to mean something to them, I'll be grateful. Perhaps the 22nd century won't come, if we do nothing. In the history of human beings, the problem was with the 20th century. The way to use energy was wrong, too. So we would like to cultivate the ground for the children in the next generation. Oh, maybe The FLARE exists to play music for children. (laugh)

Yuna: We don't intend to change something by force. We just want to give a small opportunity.

Reporter: It doesn't sound small.

Sugizo: If so, it is worth living here now and playing music…

Reporter: You've sent your messages on the 24th of July. In front of me, there is a guitarist who hurt his neck during the performance (laugh)

Sugizo: Oh, please don't write that! (laugh)

Reporter: I'd like to write it. (laugh) That means you've given an energetic live performance to the audience.

Sugizo: Please… I still cannot move my neck. (laugh) I got this cramp at the beginning of the first song, so I couldn't move like I usually do.

Reporter: I didn't notice it.

Sugizo: I guess somebody must have noticed. Reality is always different from dreams. (laugh)

Reporter: How were you, Yuna? It started with extremely high tension.

Yuna: It was like I opened the first door.

Sugizo: It was like, when I opened the door, there was a hole. (laugh)

Yuna: I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed our performance, but…I felt that I had to improve a lot to touch people's hearts. I need brush up my skills more. Nobody moves if I sing as they expected. I have to sing more than what they expect to move their hearts; I learnt that from the live.

Reporter: After the first live performance, and the release of INNER CHILD, what is The FLARE is going to do?

Sugizo: Shall I tell you the details? We'll make the next single then we will do some secret lives and then we plan to go on the tour at the end of the year.

Reporter: Oh! You plan for the tour!!

Sugizo: From the end of this year to the next year, we'll go on tour for training. We don't plan to do a one-man tour for a while.

Reporter: What about the songs?

Sugizo: I'm making the songs at fast speed. So many ideas come into to my mind one after the other. I feel as if I am at the peak point of my life in music. I have problems not having enough time to record it all.

Yuna: The song and lyrics come up to my mind when I change the environment so I'm thinking about going to some places where I can be in meditation. When I'm doing such as looking at the sky, looking at the clouds, and feel the wind, something new will be born in my heart. And also I have to rebuild basic physical strength.

Reporter: Preparing for next live performance?

Yuna: I've been singing, so I can sing 20 or 30 songs with no problem but in The FLARE, it requires a higher level. I have to sing each song with all my strength and soul. I don't want to control myself on the stage in The FLARE. I don't want to think anything.

Reporter: You want to be in a trance.

Yuna: I wanna be someone who can express the thoughts that I really want to tell. If I can, the message will be more and more convincing. So…I need to train myself. (laugh)

Sugizo: There's no The FLARE fans yet in the world. (laugh) There are my fans or Yuna fans, though. Everything starts from the beginning. I feel so excited about it. The unfathomable journey has begun