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Ryoji Chimura (President and CEO of Office Augusta)
2020/11/2 update
In 2017, I was appointed President of Office Augusta in place of Yoshinobu Morikawa, the current Chief Advisor, who is the founder of the office.It's been almost four years since then.Not surprisingly, this was the biggest pinch year.
The tours of the artists they belong to have been postponed or canceled one after another, and all plans have been blown away.Under such circumstances, live distribution, goods development, and work creation were carried out, and Augusta camp was held online in September.And in December, a project called "Augusta HAND x HAND (hand by hand)" will be held with the theme of collaboration, which is a set of sound source release and live distribution.
I haven't given any instructions in this regard.When I told them about the current state of the office, everyone voluntarily thought, "What should I do in this era?"Not only the artists who participated in my activities, but also the staff who felt a sense of crisis showed their professional intentions.
Perhaps in Morikawa's time, he created a strong sense of unity by taking the lead.However, Augusta is now a big family, and each is independent as an individual unit.Even so, what on earth is it that each person thinks about Augusta as a whole without falling apart?As president, I really appreciate it.
After this year's Augusta camp was over, while I was waiting for a taxi to return, I was talking to Masayoshi Yamazaki, saying, "I'm glad this year was my 25th anniversary. I think it would have been difficult if my juniors carried this on their backs."Like Kyoko, Yamazaki was thinking about the whole office.He must continue to show leadership.
As a person in an office with such reliable artists, I think what I should do is create a field where they can do what they want to do.All that is required is to believe in the talent of the artist, as when he first met Yamazaki.
In 2021, Office Augusta will energetically disseminate new talents such as Regal Lily, FAITH and DedachiKenta.I would be so happy if everyone could believe in the leap of the staff I believe in and the artists they believe in.
Yoshinobu Morikawa (Chief Advisor, Founder of Office Augusta)
2020/8/25 update
January 1997, 1. I'm sure I'll never forget this day. It was the day when Masayoshi Yamazaki's fourth single "One more time, One more chance" was released.
Yamazaki, who made his debut in September 1995, had released three singles, one full album, and one mini album by then. Everything was excellent and I was confident in it. However, the sales were not good enough.
It's been 1 year and 5 months since its debut. Yamazaki was steadily increasing the number of customers through regular live house activities in Tokyo. He also served as a personality on radio programs such as Sapporo STV and Osaka FM802, and has gained a lot of fans in Sapporo and Osaka.
"One more time, One more chance" This song was already completed before its debut.
I still remember clearly when I recorded DEMO at the beginning of the new year in 1994, before my debut. Since it is Polydor 2nd studio, DEMO, it is recorded on 2 tracks of DAT tape, which is not multi-tape. I gave one-take OK to the wonderful result. It was a performance that I couldn't get any more.
After that, this take is overdubbed and the single version is completed. The original one-shot recording was later used in PV.
Everyone believed that "One more time, One more chance" was a song that would be Yamazaki's killer tune. It was an overwhelming take that tightened my chest no matter how many times I listened to it. So when are we going to release this song? Every day we struggled to find a tie-up that was indispensable for a single release at that time, we struggled day and night to promote this song.
I was playing this song. In order to spread widely, I really wanted a tie-up that would trigger that. It was such an era.
However, the music was not suitable for commercials, let alone the work of an unknown newcomer, and there was no way to hear from the TV drama, only time passed.
The few fans who went to the live house for Yamazaki were also looking forward to the release of this song. Some media people who knew Yamazaki had been anxious for the release of this song. But we still couldn't get a chance to release this song. Most of the staff who are thinking of playing this song were also worried that they would miss the release timing as it is. It's been a year and a half since Polydor's debut, and Yamazaki has begun to feel impatient with Yamazaki, whose sales haven't changed much. Let's all play "One more time, One more chance" next time, and let's release this song even if there is no tie-up even though it is the era of tie-up heyday. Contrary to my feelings, I can't be involved in this song forever. Such an atmosphere was also transmitted.
Meanwhile, a movie called "Moon and Cabbage" came in from a slight coincidence. The protagonist of this movie co-starred in the same live house eggman as Yamazaki. On that day, director Tetsuo Shinohara, who was visiting to see the live performance of the leading candidate, noticed Yamazaki cleaning up the instruments after the live performance. Later, Director Shinohara contacted me. In other words, Yamazaki was selected. It was a small movie that was screened in a single building, but we couldn't wait for it to be released anymore. We decided to appear in Yamazaki's movie on the condition that "One more time, One more chance" should be the theme song without hesitation. Yamazaki had an atmosphere of loneliness that I couldn't say even if I had no experience as an actor. The appearance was, in a word, a picture. The innate morale and sense of words had something that fascinated people. That's why I didn't hesitate to let Yamazaki act as an actor.
As the movie meeting progressed, there was a request from the movie staff. "Please rewrite the lyrics of Sakuragicho" that appears in the lyrics of "One more time, One more chance". From the perspective of the movie people, the "place name Sakuragicho", which has nothing to do with the story of the movie, was caught. Even if the scale is small, I do not want to crush the tie-up, and there was a request from the distribution company, and the staff on the Yamazaki side also said that they would follow this offer. It wasn't long before the report came to my ears. "I can't give it up. I won't let you touch or rewrite the lyrics of this song word for word." That was also the feeling that our staff had for this song. "If it's a place name that has nothing to do with this movie, I should change the filming location of the movie to Sakuragicho," I thought it was rude, but I didn't mean to bend my belief.
I am still grateful to Director Shinohara for understanding this feeling. It is an important work for me, for the staff, and above all for Masayoshi Yamazaki. It is a work that has been warming up for a long time and has been waiting for the time to ripen.
"Moon and cabbage" was completed at the end of summer. The movie will be released on December 1996, 12. The Theater Shinjuku single building has started. The release of the theme song "One more time, One more chance" was aimed at the fourth week of January of the following year, one month after the movie was released. The effect of the movie will appear in this song in a month. That's the reading.
With the big push of FM802, "One more time, One more chance" was charted in the 1th place on the year-end cable broadcasting one month before the release. I was excited about the new year with expectations.
At the beginning of the year, the wired chart was rising steadily. I feel like I'm messing around. And the most disappointing thing was that the audience mobilization of the movie was not good, and before the release of "One more time, One more chance", I heard a glimpse of the discontinuation of the screening in Tokyo. However, the future screening in Osaka is also being decided. The preview in Osaka has already ended, and the movie was well received by the media people living in Kansai. It still remains on the wired chart. Moreover, FM802 has selected "One more time, One more chance" for heavy rotation in January. I was also writing Sugawara on the desk and request postcards.
And every day, I made an appearance to the publisher Polydor so much that I hated it. I couldn't help but do something even if I had no use. He visited President Orita's room and begged him to increase the number of initials for CD shipments because "this song has the power to penetrate the general public without tie-ups".
And that day came. I called Polydor from the morning to check the number of shipments. However, even in the afternoon, I didn't get a clear number. Polydor has always been late in contacting shipping reports, even on the release date. I kept calling Polydor while visiting record stores in Kichijoji and Shinjuku. There are often no clear reports when the situation is not very good. I didn't mind.
When I hang up the phone that doesn't connect, I always do the sober work at the record shop on the release date, but I don't know how effective it is I broke it. This work or act makes me feel very miserable.
Fortunately, this CD was placed in every store, but it wasn't as many as I expected, much less I couldn't find his poster in the window at the store. Even so, I was able to find this new CD at a record store more than usual. After all, I bought several CDs "One more time, One more chance" myself and aimed at Nisshin Power Station with a feeling of loneliness.
Yamazaki had already entered the dressing room after returning from the campaign from Sendai. It's kind of hard to meet face to face. In any case, first of all, it is necessary to grasp the number of shipments on the release date. Sano of Polydor appeared in the usual light tone. Maybe I've disciplined Sano. What does Polydor linger without reporting? What's the number of shipments today! !! Sano with a grinning face told me. "It's over 1". When I asked "what?", I couldn't understand the number for a moment. "It seems that the backorders for One more time and One more chance have exceeded 1," Sano said with a slapstick feeling. I was speechless. I felt as if I was stunned and slumped into the place. "Sano!" When I said Sano's name three times, the stage went dark. Yamazaki has appeared. The girls cheered like a louder scream than usual. I swallowed the urge to scream! Does Yamazaki on stage already know this fact? Yamazaki, I'm sure I was screaming in my heart that I've finally come this far. And I thought this yarrow. But who did you think "this yarrow" at that time? Maybe it was Yamazaki, this yarrow, which means you're a better guy than a genius.
