RINA (SCANDAL) vol.1 - Feelings of "Let's challenge myself" every year

---

【vol.1】　Feelings of "Let's challenge myself" every year.

SCANDAL: their solo performance at the Nippon Budokan in 2012, just 4 years after their major label debut, was a huge success; they held a world tour in 2015 and visited 9 countries; and they have an overwhelming presence as a representative of Japanese all-girl bands. We asked drummer RINA, the youngest among the members and who supports the band with emotional drumming, about building up her body.


I've been making music with the feeling of being reborn once a year.

――SCANDAL is entering their eleventh year this year. Looking back on the past, what is your current mental state like?

「SCANDAL began when I was in my third year of middle school at 15 years old, and at the same time I started up the drums. Back then, I honestly did not think that the band could have continued on this long. We had been working furiously every day, and as we put our focus into playing lives, lives became something very precious for us. We started getting more and more particular about things, and it truly makes me happy that it seemed like the band would always be an enjoyable thing. I am so proud that we had been able to continue on for ten years with the same members as an all-girl band.」


――What is the secret to have been able to continue the band enjoyably all this time?

「Compatibility with the members is very important, but since we're such good enough friends that we hang out with each other on our own time, it's a huge thing that members who get along with each other were able to meet one another. Also, making music with the feeling of being reborn once a year is also a big thing. It's like a feeling of "Let's challenge myself" every year.」


――So, all of the members share feelings of wanting to challenge themselves.

「I think so. I think we've been able to continue the band because we all have those feelings, and there is an infinite number of things we haven't yet done. We'll be going on a 47 prefecture tour this year and touring live houses around the country. Being able to tour around to many venues including small live houses is a huge dream for an all-girl band--or any band. We are genuinely happy to be able to do this. Because we're a band that can and wants to play lives at live houses, halls, and arenas, we want to entertain even more audiences.」


I wasn't good at swimming, so lesson days were depressing (laughs).

――RINA, what kind of sports have you done so far?

「I started gymnastics and swimming when I was in kindergarten at the recommendation of my mother. When I was in elementary school, I started short-distance running and high jump. Because I wasn't good at swimming, I'd get depressed every time lesson days would come around (laughs). When I was little my body was weak and I had a small appetite, so I went to swim lessons to train my body. Since I joined the soft tennis club in middle school, I had constantly been playing sports until SCANDAL formed in my third year of middle school.」


――Are there any exercises or sports you do regularly?

「I'm currently doing Pilates. When you overuse your body playing the drums, damage is likely to accumulate in joints such as wrists and ankles. So, I'm doing Pilates for core training and to maintain accumulated damage.」


――What kind of movements do you specifically do in Pilates?

「It's similar to yoga, but, in contrast with the spiritual element of yoga, Pilates emphasizes physical aspects. The inner muscles are trained while using tools, but the tools used are changed out and matched to the parts you want to train. I am in a position to firmly support the center of the body, I mainly do core training, and I'm working a trainer to expand the spaces between my backbones in order to reduce damage in my lower back. There's surprisingly a position in yoga where you bend the body to 90 degrees, but Pilates will gradually soften your body as you move. So, it seems that Pilates fits for those who have injured their body or want to rehabilitate their body.」

http://www.cw-x.jp/conditioning/story/170215_rinascandal-vol1.html

#front-page

Wow, these are the most beautiful pictures I have ever ever seen of Rina-san. I just keep staring... completely lost in her eyes.

Thanks for posting and translating this article. Rina plays the drums hard, but enjoys it so much it is a pleasure to watch. A lot of drummers do accumulate injuries over the years....it is great to see that Rina is conscious of that and is working to prolong her career and in doing so, the bands as well. I would love to see them around another 10 years, since I am just catching up on the first 10

CW-X is a one the the most highly recommended compression gear brands for long distance running and other forms of endurance sports. I am really surprised they have a pretty interesting lifestyle magazine. I wonder if Rina is now one of the spokespeople of CW-X.

She looks really stunning, BTW.

Well, she could stop playing physical/real drums and learn how to make them on PC by using a software. From what I know Cubase + some drums plugins do the job very well, sometimes even better than physical/real drums. This way she will avoid all the injuries from playing real/physical drums.

The disadvantage will be that she won't be all the time on stage, only when she will have to sing her part from a song. But her health > her presence on stage.

park23 wrote:Well, she could stop playing physical/real drums and learn how to make them on PC by using a software. From what I know Cubase + some drums plugins do the job very well, sometimes even better than physical/real drums. This way she will avoid all the injuries from playing real/physical drums.

The disadvantage will be that she won't be all the time on stage, only when she will have to sing her part from a song. But her health > her presence on stage.

Okay...that's never going to happen. That'd essentially be the same as RINA no longer being in the band.

She and the band have mentioned several thousand times over the years that PLAYING LIVES is the most important thing for them. RINA especially. She also loves the drums. She's absolutely not going to give up both playing physical drums AND playing lives.

With every occupation there are hazards. This is just one of them. RINA and the band have long since accepted it. It's one of the reasons why RINA is actively trying to at least try and work on any damage sustained so far.

Drum machines have no soul.

All musician's get sore somewhere on their body for the sake of their passion.  There's nothing unusual about it, but I'm glad Rina is taking care of herself.  I regularly see a lot of classic metal and thrash bands live, and those drummers are all in their 50's and 60's.  I seriously doubt these guys ever took care of themselves like Rina is doing now, and they're holding up pretty well considering how intense the music they play.  Rina's going to be fine in the long run.

RINA (SCANDAL) vol.2 - Conditioning wear CW-X fits me very well

---

RINA talks about how physical aspects as well as mental ones are important factors in drumming. This time she talked about the movements needed of drummers, training she's working on for lives and tours, and the possibility of conditioning wear CW-X.


Continuing to train is my "lucky charm."

――Please tell us about the physical strength and movements needed of drummers.

「You of course need core strength, but having the same mentality as with any sport is also important. If something hurts on your body, you get disheartened and it affects your playing. Because drums are a non-electric instrument, it really reflects your heart and mood. So, the sound changes so much when you are or aren't playing with your heart and body in the right place. I think it's important for drummers to keep their body and heart healthy. Continuing to train is my "lucky charm" and has become important to me. Of course, as the voices of our audience also affects me mentally, it becomes energy–or rather, a driving force for me.」


――Are there exercises and stretches you do for lives?

「Before rehearsals, I use a core noodle [two foam rollers connected to each other] and do stretches to loosen my body. With the core noodle I do training that corrects distortion of the body and trains the core with two cushioned poles. For stretching I lay out on a yoga mat and stretch my body, but I carry those items over with me to my drum set.」


――Do not you wear sportswear under your live outfits?

「When I have a lot of damage in my lower back, I prepare a belt to support my lower back under my outfit. The thin belt ones don't stand out too much so my outfit isn't affected. I also do taping during the latter half of tours. I tape around my wrist, ankle, and lower back, but I don't rely on taping or supporters until it's needed. If you do not do your best with your own muscle strength, your muscular strength will just keep degrading more and more. That's why I feel like I'm training everyday.」


My muscles are naturally supported simply by wearing CW-X's sport tights.

――Are there any exercises that just aren't your thing?

「Since I was little I've always been bad with long-distance running. I've been more of a short-distance person than a long-distance person since my sports club days. I can run fast out of the gate, but it seems like I don't really have endurance (laughs). Moreover, I've been aware that I've always been bad at long-distance running, but I had a chance to participate in the Honolulu Ekiden last year in Hawaii and the members and I ran through parks in Hawaii at that time. Due to it being in Hawaii, I thought I'd be able to run pleasantly in spite of my being bad at long-distance running. I felt that my mood and endurance changes depending on the situation. Before I started Pilates, I would run before going on tour. Even so, that lasted for only about a month (laughs). I felt that I was better suited to attending classes and training more carefully than I did with that kind of training.」


――Running also puts a burden on your lower back.

「That's right. Actually, my back pain is still terrible now; it's become sciatica. The nerves from my lower back to my heel has been painful for a long time. I'm doing Pilates as a rehabilitation, so this may be the time that my body hurts the most.」

――We heard that you were wearing sportswear CW-X, but does it support your conditioning?

「I tried wearing CW-X's sports tights, but CW-X's HTW 057 sports bra is light, soft, and nice to wear. Lightness is important for exercising on yoga mats and exercise using instruments; I choose sportswear with emphasis on those kinds of points, so it fits me very well. CW-X's HXY109 sports tights (Expert Model) incorporates the fundamentals of taping, so I feel that my muscles are naturally supported simply by wearing it.」


――What situations would you want to use CW-X for in in the future?

「I want to use sports bra for Pilates, and I always do stretching using core noodles before I sleep at night and when I wake up in the morning, but I always do them in pajamas after taking a bath. I thought it'd be nice to change into CW-X clothes at least once.」

http://www.cw-x.jp/conditioning/story/170220_rinascandal-vol2.html

#front-page

wow sciatica? didn't know that rina is suffering from so many healty issue related to playing drums. taping and pilates can be considered as standard procedure, but she must be/have been in such a pain.


as a person with lower back pain, I can really say running is a terrible idea ahah. totally a burden 

When you see how RINA deal with these issues, and realize she is in pain sometimes, but doesn't show it.. that has to double your respect and admiration. I suppose she overrides pain when playing lives but overriding can be dangerous too.

Thanks again for this post  It is sad to hear that Rina is already having issues with her lower back. It is good that she is active and doing activities and training to try and rehab it. I hope she is able to get the back pain lessened if not taken away.

If she's into it, I recommend acupuncture.  That helped me recover from some very painful injuries over the years including carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis in both arms (from typing and playing piano), and fracturing both my legs in the abdominal area from sprinting in baseball.  Doctor said I would never run again, and acupuncture proved him wrong.  It's amazing what those little needles can do.

RINA (SCANDAL) vol.3 - I want to show that I'm challenging myself to new things

---

【vol.3】　I want to show that I'm challenging myself to new things.

RINA's band has entered their eleventh year, they've released their best album 『SCANDAL』, will be holding a 47 prefecture tour, and has taken a definite step toward their next stage. In this last edition we asked her about the conditioning of her mind as well as about SCANDAL and her personal prospects in the future.


I'm really enjoying new things and things I like to do one step at a time.

――Please tell us how you spend your days off.

「I almost always go to the movies on my days off (laughs). In particular I recently decided to make sure to watch Japanese movies and am aiming to watch 100 of them in one year (laughs). When I have time I feel like watching a movie, and I go to the movies at the pace of about once per week. Just going to the movies makes me happy, and it's also a time I can relax my heart.」


――Are there any other moments where your heart's at rest?

「Since I love European fashion and movies, I've been attending a French language school for about a year and go about once per week. Although I have to study, it's not a bother at all because it's closely related to my hobbies. Attending school is enjoyable; I've found learning to be something great after becoming an adult. Even if I have to do homework, I'm like, "Okay, I'll do my homework!" (laughs). It's fun opening up my notebook at home. I'm really enjoying new things and things I like to do one step at a time; it's a time I can relax.」


――Are there decisions you've made during your daily life?

「When we're doing sound production, our days and nights are immediately reversed and throws us out of whack. That's exactly when you want to rise with the sun and sleep with the moon, but living a regular life is a musician's eternal issue. You think, "Why do ideas come to me more at nighttime..." (laughs).」

――What about food?

「Recently, the members have been talking about how "we must make sure to eat white rice and meat." It might be a given, but it's important to have things that'll give you energy. My energy immediately changes right before a live, so that's why I often eat udon. There are various opinions on this, but I drink hydrogen water. I've been using a hydrogen water dispenser at home for about 3~4 years now and use it for both cooking and drinking. I've been told that it currently has no effect on me, but I think it's good that the effects depend on each person. I feel relieved when I drink hydrogen water; it's important to feel like that.」


――That way of thinking may apply to everything.

「It really does seem like it. When I'm training, it's very important to imagine breathing in while thinking of how your breaths will go into the thigh muscles.」


I also want to send out non-musical things through SCANDAL.

――Do you have any recommended stretches and training that you can easily start to do?

「Since core noodles can be substituted with towels, roll up bath towels to make them slender and narrow, connect them together, lie on top of them, and straighten or extend your spine to the correct position. You're only lying down, but I think that it's easy to do because you're training just by lying down while making sure to breathe in deeply. I ask my trainer about training methods using tools, and I also exchange information with my drummer friends. Just stretching both hands forward while soaking in a bathtub, and just by clasping and unclasping your hands will increase muscle strength.」


――Please tell us what you would like to challenge yourself to do and what your goals are.

「I always want to show that I'm challenging myself to new things. It's the same for whatever I do, but even if there's a popular tune going around in music, I always think, "Let's make a cool song different from that." There's always backlash when we make albums, and because we feel that we want to create a nice work with a different angle than the previous work, I think we'll always continue to have that kind of stance.

Also, it'd be great if I could send out things aside from music. Because I love clothing, I selected vintage items myself on our 2015 overseas tour and sold them in Japan as a vintage shop with clothing selected by RINA. I want to bring home the goodness of things abroad that aren't found in Japan, and I want to bring the goodness of Japan overseas with me. I am hoping to disseminate cultures that transcend borders through the band SCANDAL.」

http://www.cw-x.jp/conditioning/story/170223_-vol1-5.html

#front-page

About Rina's health, during one of the studio recording, Rina did show off her arm muscles to one of the MCs and the female host gave them a squeeze saying how hard they were  (It was edited out on the TV broadcast)

Rina always impresses me of on her view of what the band is, and what her goals are with the band and how she sees what the band can achieve, not only through music. She has a 50 year old mind in a 20-something body