Breaking your fate: An Interview with Shiena Nishizawa

If you’ve watched The Asterisk War or Kantai Collection (KanColle), then you’ve probably heard Shiena Nishizawa’s music. Having won the Grand Prix in the first FlyingDog audition in 2014, her pop rock stylings have been heard in anime since 2015. At A-kon 2019 we got the chance to chat with Shiena about her start in music, her love of American rock music, Steins;Gate, how she preps for a show, and more!

A-to-J: Hello and thank you so much for the interview! Can you please introduce yourself?
Shiena: Hi, I’m Shiena Nishizawa, I’m from Tokyo, I do a lot of anime themes, and I like rock music a lot!
 
A-to-J: How are you enjoying Dallas? Have you done anything fun?
Shiena: Before I arrived, I always thought Dallas would be very warm, and the weather is much hotter than I thought. The people here look very warm as well. I went to Fort Worth the other day, and everywhere I looked was so pretty and picturesque. I ended up taking a lot of pictures around Fort Worth. I went to the stockyard and saw the cow parade there, it was amazing!
 
A-to-J: For those unfamiliar with your work, could you describe your music and your sound?
Shiena: My music is very on the rock side, and sometimes I think about what if people don’t like rock music? What can I do? When I perform, I keep that in mind, and try to impress people at my shows so everyone can enjoy it.
 
A-to-J: Can you tell us a little about your musical background and how you became a musician?
Shiena: I actually got my start through an audition channel. Before that, I really liked playing acoustic guitar by myself. I kept thinking, how can I have more people hear my music? When I found an opportunity to do an anime song audition, I went for it. 
 
A-to-J: You mentioned Dave Grohl as a big influence, what other musicians or groups inspire you?
Shiena: Oh, I love Dave Grohl! When I was in high school, I was also really into Bon Jovi, even though he wasn’t part of “my generation” and my friends didn’t listen to them. My teachers loved Bon Jovi though, so I usually talked to them about their music.

The Pretender (Foo Fighters Cover)

A-to-J: You got into music professionally in your teen years, what was it like growing up like that?
Shiena: When I started my career, it was right before I graduated, so I don’t have a lot of overlap between being in school and my career. I do have a lot of friends that are voice actors who started young, did work, then went onto college, and it surprises me! I wouldn’t know how to handle that. They still have their professional careers while in school!
 
A-to-J: Your concert last night was so great!! How was it, playing your first American show here at A-kon?
Shiena: When my set started, I was so nervous, because the audience here was so different than the Japanese crowds. But at the end everyone cheered so loud and it was really comforting and I enjoyed it a lot!
 
A-to-J: How you do prepare for your live shows?
Shiena: Usually before a concert, I like to get a massage. My manager gives really good massages, so I get them from him sometimes. Before the A-kon show, I got a foot massage. If you’ve never gotten one, it hurts a lot. But afterwards, you feel so loose and lively and good.
 
A-to-J: Your music has been featured in anime such as KanColle and The Asterisk War, do you have any anime you enjoy?
Shiena: I like Steins;Gate a lot! On my trip from Japan to here, I watched 10 episodes on the plane to help me relax. In the anime, the main character likes Dr. Pepper a lot. Dr. Pepper isn’t popular in Japan because it tastes like cough medicine there. I was really excited to see Dr. Pepper everywhere when I got to America.
 
A-to-J: Dr. Pepper is from Texas! The Dr. Pepper factory is only about an hour from Dallas. 
Shiena: Really?! I want to go visit it now!

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A-to-J: Any big plans for the rest of this year and beyond?
Shiena: I’ve got a lot of projects in the works, so keep an eye out for news about them!
 
A-to-J: Do you have any hobbies you’d like to tell us about?
Shiena: I like to play video games. I enjoy Dragon Quest, and I was excited about the mobile app because it meant I could play it a lot more on the go.
 
A-to-J: Anything you’re looking forward to doing or seeing in America?
Shiena: Around our hotel, I saw a bunch of open spaces and parks that look nice, and I want to go take photos there.
 
A-to-J: Has anything really funny happened in your time here?
Shiena: I saw so many people eating hamburgers! I was prepared to see people eat a lot of pizza and hamburgers here in America. Japanese stomachs aren’t used to really heavy or greasy foods, so I want to eat them but then I get a stomachache so I can’t eat too much. I did go to Whataburger, and I liked it a lot!
 
A-to-J: Lastly, do you have a closing message for your fans?
Shiena: I want to thank everyone who came to the concert, it was really fun! I got so many messages of encouragement, and notes from those who couldn’t make it but wanted to, thank you so much everyone! I will keep working hard, so please keep in touch! I’ll be posting on Instagram and Twitter, so please follow me there!
 
Be sure to follow Shiena on social media, and check out her latest work as EXiNA!

Official Site https://exina.jp/
EXiNA/Shiena Instagram https://www.instagram.com/exina_xiena/
EXiNA/Shiena Facebook https://www.facebook.com/exinafp/
EXiNA/Shiena Twitter https://twitter.com/EXiNA_XiENA/
Shiena YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpMK6ySvMpHHabvEAQjFUkw
EXiNA YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKUR1GWKBZbFByLoPeRxDtA
 
Interview conducted by Janette G

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Break your fate