雪猫ジル•泡件•猫川のゴロゴロ•ミュージック : FAQ about AWAKEN

ANNIVERSARY



Awaken just turned 25 in early 2013. What does it mean for you?		Your sister must be old now.

AWAKEN



I don't understand anything: what's the difference between Awaken, Nekokawa and Gilles Snowcat?		The name, for sure.

Bullshit! That's all???		OK let's go: Gilles Snowcat is a member of Awaken. But he got fed up of the band thing therefore he launched his own solo project for which he hired most of... the Awaken musicians.

So Awaken has split?		Awaken can not split. Awaken is an unsplittable.

I saw several albums of Awaken that are not mentioned in your discography. Are you ashamed of them?		It's not that we're ashamed, it's just that those "Awaken" are other bands using the same name. Mostly with that mystical shit like "open yourself to the World, awaken your soul blahblah". Ah ah ah!!!

BEPPU NIGHTS



What happened to the site beppunight.com? I just see strange unrelated things.		A sad combination of yours truly's incurable laziness and an idiotic geek's lack of skill led to the loss of the page.

BOOZE



What booze should I have to enjoy listening to Awaken the most?		The one that makes you high. You live in a country where you are free to make your own choices, remember? No need to ask the Party for a prescription from the official Doctor.

Who would you like to have a drink with?		Christine & John McVie.

CINNAMON LILLY



Is Gilles Snowcat playing in a band named Cinnamon Lilly?		We should investigate here. Definitely.

What could lure that huge ego-laden Snowcat into playing in someone else's band?		Money.

COLLECTION



What's on your iPod?		Do I look like someone using an iPod???!!!!

COVERS



You say you hate cover bands, but don't you record a lot of covers too?		Cover a great piece is cool when it has the meaning it deserves. On the other hand, cover bands are just a bunch of losers getting credits as musicians when they're merely tacky impersonators. Mimics. They just try to please the audience which is the opposite of rock'n'roll. Rock is supposed to be perverse, not a play-safe game. Cover bands are OK in a wedding party or at the local yearly police ball, but please keep them away from rock venues. Please.

Who covered Awaken songs?		Without a doubt your sister naked under the shower. And some musicians with a very good taste in music, like Sousbock, and Haraa did something between a cover and a remix.

DONATION



I want to give some bucks for you 'cuz I luv what U doin'. Wher'z'ur PayPal basket?		Sounds nice, really. The best donation is, however, to buy the music, simply. It keeps the whole business active.

If I buy ur muzik then it's the middle man that takes ur money and u get just a few cents, idiot!		Zats sanks to ze middle man zat bizness workz, moron.

DUB



Where can we get the dub versions of Snowcat songs?		In the Dub'n'Dance Collection.

FANS



Who is your average fan?		Being an Awaken fan immunises you forever from being average.

How faithful are your fans?		They drink the same Jack Daniel's since they're 14. That's what I call engagement.

How would you qualify your fans?		Savvy pirates.

FOUR DREAMS SUITE



What's that holy "4 Dreams Suite" and why it is so special?		It is a conceptual suite written between 1st of January and 31st of August 1988. Some parts come from earlier stages -1987 or so.

Is it a long song like "Supper's Ready" or a suite of songs like the "Abbey Road Suite"?		Both. It is a song in itself although parts can be played separately which makes them become separate songs. Smart, uh?

It seems to be a very unique song in Awaken's répertoire. Are there related songs to the "Four Dreams Suite"?		"Electric Time" the same year, and to a lesser extent : "How Many 'L' Where In Your Name?" in 2009.

Is the line "she died of happiness" [ndt : on the "Picture From An April's Dream" section] a metaphor for a drug overdose?		Such an orgasmic question...

GIRLS



Does being a musician help to attract girls?		It turns you into a mouth-watering apple in female psychology students' eye. Some fates are worse.

Are there more females or males in your fan base?		Shemales. And Frenchies too.

HATE



I fucking hate you, you're just a snooty loser playing old-fashioned kitsch music. You can't even sing in tune, your music just sounds like it had been recorded by squirts of the Sex Pistols in a cave where daylight hasn't shown up for decades. When will you get a serious job?		Let me guess, you're that expat teacher playing every Sunday afternoon in a cover band in a communist country, aren't you? Holy cunt! It's been a while! Are you still taking photographs of tribute-bands in your spare time and then pretending you're a photographer of ahem... rock bands? Such an exciting life you have. My regards to your mortgage.

LIVE



How is a live show of Awaken like?		Come and see.

Have you released any live album?		No, but there's a nice bootleg from a 1998 show somewhere around.

MEDIAS



Would you give a try to a TV contest (like, i.e, American Idol)?		Well, I may consider your previous offer to join that cover band then. Those contests are lousy jokes, since the stars are : the judges and the rules. Then get the picture of someone like Bob Dylan coming and singing a-capella in front of that bunch of uneducated judges: he'd have been fired after the first 3 notes. Now that record companies are collapsing, you'll find their morons on TV, telling the crowd what's good and what's bad. And the crowd will follow, 'cause they've seen it on TV and "TV's always right". Fuck them!

How much are you involved with social media?		That geek thing killed the radio stars and the video stars all at once.

MESSAGE



Every artist shares a message. What's yours? Peace and love?		See my finger. Yes, that middle one...

MINUS ION GENERATION



A few years from now, I've heard a song called "We're so fake", from a band called Minus Ion Generation. The voice sounded strangely like Gilles Snowcat's. Was he guested there?		We should do some research. Definitely.

MOKOMOKO COLLECTION



The first track, 回送, is sometimes spelled "Kaisô", sometimes "Kaisou". What's the correct spelling?		A third one is "Kaisō", while some lazy lads just write "Kaiso". It's up to you, as long as you get the chills listening to it.

What's the "Demokomoko" album?		The demos of the album.

Where can I get a copy of those demos?		Seems you can't.

Why releasing the album as a solo album when you're surrounded by most of Awaken members?		'Cause it's a Gilles Snowcat album, not an Awaken thing, regardless who plays on it.

I want to buy a physical copy but I don't find.		Some high-powers may answer you with the usual lot of excuses for the absence of the printed copy. However, what the fuck will it change? You'll buy the CD, copy into your computer or mp3 player or iPod or iGeek-thing and you'll forget the CD under a pile of dirty panties anyway. So just get the mp3 (I swear they're hi-fi), download the booklet and get high!

MUSICIANS



What happened to past Awaken musicians?		In the best case they joined the Mokomoko Orchestra, then some are active on their own. In worse cases they may have died, but in the worst of the perspectives they sank into an ordinary life they themselves hate -and hell they regret it. Serves you right, dudes...

If you had a magic wand, what famous band would you like to join?		I have a magic wand.

NEKOKAWA



Will there be new Nekokawa recordings or was it just a one-off?		Ah, Nekokawa, you said... Can you spell?

I noticed a case of plagiarism by Nekokawa!!! The piece "A Glass Of Nekokawa" sounds like [American composer] Philip Glass!!		If you had the guts to read further, you'd already know that it's a dedicated and assumed tribute to the talent of Mr Philip Glass.

PARTY IN LYCEUM'S TOILETS (a.k.a PiLT)



What does "PiLT" mean?		"Party In Lyceum's Toilets". Ever heard about acronyms?!

I can't find my copy of the Dark Dream Opera's storyboard.		Neither do we.

SONGS, STYLE & SONGWRITING



What song are you the most proud of, and the most ashamed of?		Pride and shame are for weak minds. Pride and shame are linked to the stupid obsession of saving face, and that shit always leads to more shit and fights and wars and antics.

I want to buy some of your albums, but I don't even know what kind of music you are playing?!		It's so kind of you to think of making such a meaningful investment. Some drunkyards label our music as magnetic soul ~ love music, or gorogoro music in more Asian parts of the Globe. To strike a chord inside of you, what do you think of art-rock, if you need to fall in familiar ground? Deal?

What's makes your 'magnetic~soul' different from what we hear nowadays?		A dose of rock'n'roll: record where we're not supposed to, using instruments that are not supposed to be used (hey fucker, if you knew...), then a little help from divine booze to fuel the music. And showing a finger to a bunch of useless rules (and to cover bands).

TALES OF ACID ICE CREAM (a.k.a ToAIC)



I just discovered ToAIC.	Poor soul.

Any funny memory about the recording?	Four white walls and no laces in our shoes, and the frightening nurse with a giant needle... I didn't swallow the thorazine, I'd spit every pill in the flower pot. Yet the producer smoked it afterwards, hence the result on the album.

What does 'acid' refer to? Drugs?	"An acid (from the Latin acidus/acēre meaning sour) is a substance which reacts with a base." (Wikipedia). Namely, with a fan base -as you all react to this word since the album has been released (aren't you a bit tired of this, by the way?)

Why don't you reunite the line-up of ToAIC and record some shit with the same vibe?!	Why the hell should I?

Why is ToAIC so expensive?	It's a collector now, plus I need your money.

Any plan to do a special offer on ToAIC to celebrate Awaken's 25?	Yeah, twice more expensive.

VIETNAM



Why have the Vietnamese pages almost gone?	Call it boycott. Vietnamese TV (VTV3) is allowed by their government to torture a cat during a stupid show. Any kind of collaboration with such a dictatorship should therefore be avoided at any cost.

WHY?



Why?	Why. (you surely expected the cliché answer "because", didn't you?)

To be continued. Please keep on sending us questions, the Old Cat's team will make sure to include them here.
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