B'z

Infobox musical artist
Name = B'z


Img_capt = Koshi Inaba (left) and Tak Matsumoto (right), just after B'z initiation into the Hollywood's Rock Walk.
Img_size = 200
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Japan
Genre = Rock, Pop, Hard rock
Years_active = 1988–present
Label = Vermillion
Associated_acts = TMG (Tak Matsumoto Group)
URL = [http://bz-vermillion.com/ Official website]
Current_members = Tak Matsumoto
Koshi Inaba
Past_members = nihongo|B'z|ビーズ|Bīzu is a Japanese hard rock duo comprised of nihongo|Tak Matsumoto|松本 孝弘|Matsumoto Takahiro|composition, guitar and Koshi Inaba (稲葉 浩志 "Inaba Kōshi", lyrics, vocals).

They have released 41 consecutive #1 singles, 23 #1 albums, and sold more than 77 million records in Japan alone. [ [http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/confidence/55724/full/ ORICON STYLE: B'z got their 22nd #1 album, ranked No.1 in history and dominates all the 6 main ranking sections.] ] Under the recommendation of Steve Vai, B'z were the first artists from Asia to have their handprints and signatures put up in the Hollywood's RockWalk. [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20071121b1.html Duo B'z enters L.A. Rockwalk] The Japan Times en icon]

History

Early works: 1988-1990

Tak Matsumoto, who was already a professional guitarist, has been extremely busy with various recording sessions and live performances. On May 21, 1988, Tak released his first solo album, "Thousand Wave". He saw this as a finishing of a chapter as a solo guitarist, and began his search for band members. He later met vocalist Koshi Inaba, who would later start the band with him. At the time, Japan's music scene was loaded with many new bands being created. With all the digital sounds in mainstream music, the only sounds that they felt could not be expressed and replicated were the guitar and the human voice. As a result, they decided to keep it a two-man unit. On September 21 1988, B'z, with their first album, "B’z", and single, "Dakara Sono Te Wo Hanashite (だからその手を離して)", made their debut. Their music was very much a product of its times, with synthesizers and samplers sharing equal time with Tak's guitar, producing an experimental sound, very different from their well-known hard rock sound of today.

Instead of immediately performing live after a debut, as many Japanese bands were doing, B'z chose to have a clear vision of how they wanted to perform and decided to wait until they had enough material to play for at least 90 minutes. The two concentrated on recording, raising the quality of their music. Their efforts resulted in a second album, "Off the Lock", released on May 21, 1989. With this second album came their first series of live performances known better to their fans as "Live-Gym". "Live-Gym #00" started in Nagoya, continuing into Osaka, and finishing in Tokyo. Tickets were sold out on the day they became available. On October 21, their first mini album, "Bad Communication" was released. The title track was a blend of rock and dance music, and was still a classic to their "Live-Gyms." Their first nationwide tour, "B'z Live-Gym #001", finished with 16 shows around the country.

On February 21, 1990, the third album "Break Through" was released. To promote it, they started a tour with 22 shows nationwide. Their single "Taiyō no Komachi Angel," was released on June 13 and was able to peak at #1 on the Oricon Chart. Since the release of the single, each of their singles have since debut at #1 on the Oricon charts. "Wicked Beat", their second mini album, was then released on June 21. In contrast to the many promotional efforts for "Break Through", "Wicked Beat" received little promotion and the duo went back to the studio and began recording. Their 4th album, "Risky" was released on November 7 and went platinum. Their "Risky" tour, totaling 49 performances, also started in November. Their first music video, "Film Risky", was recorded in New York and London within 4 weeks, and was released on December 16. With a barrage of releases, 1990 came to be the busiest year for B'z.

Transitioning into hard rock music: 1991-1992

The third mini album, "Mars" was released on May 29, 1991. Little promotion was done for it and after releasing only two singles, B'z released their fifth album, "In the Life", on November 27. The release of the album marked B'z shielding away from their advanced-digitally sounds and more towards rock. Their first live video, "Just Another Life" was out on December 11. For promotion, B'z also embarked on their "In the Life '91-'92" tour, with 66 performances total. The tour started in December and manage to flow into the next year. The total number of "Live-Gym" they did during this year exceeded 100.

In the summer of 1992, the "Pleasure '92-Time" tour took place with 12 performances in 3 major cities. The arena-class tour had amazing features such as: a huge lighting set, called the "Starfish", and seats that rotated 360 degrees. October 28 marked the release of their sixth album, "Run", and proved to be more hard rock oriented than the previous. On December 9, they released a slightly different mini album "Friends". Different from "Run", its concept is somewhat similar to that of a movie soundtrack.

Switching to blues: 1993-1994

In the early 1993, the "Run" tour concluded after 49 performances in 21 locations. In the following year, they held an open-air concert for the first time, called "Jap the Ripper". The show took place in Bentenjima of Hamamatsu-city, Shizuoka on July 31 and August 1. The successful event gathered 50 thousand people per day, totaling 100,000 people in the end. Following this, B'z concentrated on recording once again, this time, producing a two-disc seventh album, "The 7th Blues". The album title not only came from it being their seventh album, but also after the seventh chord, that is frequently used in Blues. Becoming much more "bluesier" and soulful, this album evidently shows their lean towards blues, the roots of rock music.

On February 9, 1994 the "B'z Live-Gym '94 - The 9th Blues" tour started. The tour became their longest and biggest tour thus far, managing 87 performances in the year. During the tour, the album, "The 7th Blues", was released on March 2. The tour finished in Sapporo's Tsukisamu Green Dome on December 24. This album was a kind of "fans trap", because they made it to "clean" their fandom and just keep the rock and blues loving people with them.

Adopting J-pop: 1995-1998

In the first half of 1995, B'z spent their time recording and after creating numerous demos, they held the "Pleasure '95 Buzz Stadium" tour with 12 shows in 7 cities. Their eighth album, "Loose", was released on November 22. "Loose" was concentrated on the original concept of a two-man band. While combining rock with pop sounds, this album is well balanced with a variety of sounds. The album sold over 3 million copies, marking it as the best seller for B'z.

The B'z Live-Gym '96 "Spirit Loose" tour, started on March 15, 1996 and held 44 performances in 21 locations. The show opened featuring a short B'z action movie, shot in Los Angeles. A short while afterwards, B'z released their 6th mini-album titled "Friends II" on November 25. The album displayed more of an adult oriented rock.

On January 29, 1997, member Inaba's first solo album, "Magma", was released. He had been recording the album since the previous year, writing all the music and lyrics. The album, which topped the charts, showcased another side of him, different from that of his usual image in B'z. In March, the dome tour "Pleasure '97 Fireball" consisted of 9 performances in 5 locations. Tickets for each dome, which have a capacity of about 30 to 50 thousand people each, were all sold out. The tour included stops at Tokyo (3 nights), Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Maebashi, all being successful. On November 19, their ninth full album "Survive" showcased yet another new direction in sound and style.

B'z's first promotional effort for the album included performances in concert halls in Akita, Hakodate, Kōchi, Shiga, and Nagasaki, before plunging into the main tour. "B'z Live-Gym '98 Survive" started on January 24 1998. On May 20, B'z released their first official compilation album, "B'z The Best "Pleasure"", which also marked their 10th year since debuting. Every song included in this album was a huge hit, and was highly acclaimed and its first shipment had sold more copies than any other Japanese artist in history. On June 6, the "Survive" tour had successfully ended.

Going hiatus: 1998-1999

In the mid 1998, B'z entered a period of both rest and recording. Both Tak and Koshi had wanted to start on their own solo projects since the "Survive" tour, and finally got a chance to begin. During the period, on September 20, their second best-of album, "B'z The Best "Treasure"" was released. After a lengthy period, on December 16, Koshi released his first solo maxi single, "Toku-made."

Though not much activity were involve with the bang in the beginning of 1999, Tak released his first solo maxi single, "The Changing" on March 25, marking it as being the first time he ever sung on a released record. The single entered in at No. 2 its first week on the charts. On April 14, he released the album, "Knockin' "T" Around", which contains many other tracks with full vocals and also includes, the Formula-1 '99 theme song, "Go Further". The album has both instrumental and vocal tracks. However, even before the release of the album, B'z had already started recording again.

Returning to the music scene: 1999-2000

B'z started off the year of 1999 by busily promoting their recent singles and their tenth album "Brotherhood", which was released on July 14. In July, another dome-class tour began starting in Sapporo. The title of the tour, "B'z Live-Gym '99 "Brotherhood" included 14 performances in 7 locations. They did away with extra stage acts and concentrated on their musical performance, playing songs from the new album and many hits from the past. On August 28 and 29, they played in the Yokohama International Stadium. B'z concert was the first ever to be held in this stadium and gathered a stunning 140,000 people in just two days. Although the second day at Yokohama experienced heavy rain, the tour ended successfully. Shortly afterward, B'z started recording again and continued to do so throughout the rest of the year without rest.

On February 23 2000, they released the album "B'z The "Mixture"", which included re-mastered tracks of past songs, songs from past singles that were not the featured track, remixes, and a new song. In the middle of May, they started a rehearsal for the summer tour "B'z Live-Gym Pleasure 2000 -Juice-", starting a hall class venue show in Toyama, May 30. The tour totalled 18 shows in 10 cities, including a performance on the famous Nippon Budokan on June 20 as a start. When releasing "Juice", on July 12, the duo set a Japanese record of marking No.1 on the first week, making it their 25th #1 single in sequence. During the tour, "Once Upon a Time in Yokohama ~B'z Live Gym'99 "Brotherhood"~" was released. The year of 2000 was finished with the release of the eleventh album "Eleven" on December 6. B'z finished their work in 2000 with the appearance on the TV show Music Station Special and would start the rehearsal for the tour "B'z Live-Gym 2001 -Eleven-" which kicked off on February 26, in the following year.

Continuing into the 2000s: 2001-2007

On February 26, 2001, "B'z Live-Gym 2001 -Eleven-" kicked off at Ehime Kenmin Bunka Kaikan. Most of the shows of that tour were exclusive for the fan club members to get a ticket. After the Okinawa show on June 27 and 28, B'z departed abroad. They officially released their CDs in Taiwan and Hong Kong and after having Live-Gym that year, they made a promotion trip for the first time there. Warmly welcomed with local fans and all the media, they continued their tour with high expectation towards the Live-Gym in August. "B'z Live-Gym 2001 -Eleven-" had 46 shows in 19 locations and 600,000 audiences all together. After the Eleven tour, B'z prepared for the first Asia tour which includes "B'z Live-Gym in Taipei 2001" on August 25, 26 and "B'z Live-Gym in Hong Kong 2001". The first B'z Asia tour was successul, with the duo finishing their activities as "B'z in 2001" by August. The two later spent rest of the year concentrating on their own solo production.

While B'z started recording as soon as the year 2002 starts, Tak finished his solo albums. On February 27, two solo albums are released at the same time, "Dragon From The West" which consists of hard rock tunes, and "Hana" which includes more melodic and Asia orientated tunes. B'z finished their recording in the middle of May, and started the rehearsal in Tokyo for the Live-Gym tour soon beginning. As the excitement of the World Cup increasing, B'z performed with Aerosmith on the stage of FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Official Concert International Day, at Tokyo Stadium on June 27.

On July 3, right before the main tour starts, a new album "Green" which is also the name of the tour that year was released. The tour started from Saitama Super Arena on July 8 to the last show at Osaka Dome on September 9, gathering 700,000 audience all together for 14 shows in 11 cities. Band members were the former Mr. Big bass player, Billy Sheehan and the drum player Shane Gaalaas who has played for many artists' live and recordings. Having these skillful musicians, the sound became more powerful and heavier than its original mix. On September, after the last show at Osaka, B'z first US tour at a live house on the West Coast took place in San Diego "Canes" on September 22 and Los Angeles "The Palace" on September 24. The U.S, tour "Live-Gym 2002 Rock n' California Roll" was announced and sold only in the US. On October 9, Inaba released his second solo album, "Shian", five and half years after his first solo album. On November 27, a live video "A Beautiful Reel" was released in addition to B'z "Live-Gym 2002 Green ~Go★Fight★Win~", which packaged everything that happened at the Green tour. The title not only focused on the Green tour but also contain a second disc including the tour "Live-Gym 2002 Rock n' California Roll". On December 11, their first ballad compilation album "The Ballads ~Love & B'z~" was released.

The year 2003 marked their 15th anniversary and the two started recording from the beginning of the year, traveling to U.S. in February for additional recording. Apart from B'z, Inaba released his solo single, "KI", on June 11. Along with these continuous releases, the tour B'z Live-Gym The Final Pleasure "It's Showtime!!" started in July. The tour "Pleasure" series started since '91 would end this year. The tour kicked off July 3 at Hakodate Shimin Kaikan and finished at Nagisa-en on September 21, which was ironically the day of their debut, having a total of 23 shows all together. As it has been 10 years since B'z had perform at Nagisa-en since their 1993 performance of B'z Live-Gym Pleasure '93 "Jap the Ripper", it gathered 100,000 audience for two days. Even though the shows were hit by typhoon and it rained very hard, it manage to still attract thousands of audience.

After the Nagisa-en performance, B'z flew to the U.S. The tour "B'z Live-Gym 2003 Banzai in North America" concluded with 7 shows including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver. Their thirteenth album, "Big Machine", was released on September 17. As they flew back to Japan, B'z started their third tour in 2003, "B'z Live-Gym 2003 Big Machine." It was a dome tour in 6 locations, from Saitama Super Arena to Tokyo Dome in December. During the tour, Tak announced his solo project. As the start, he worked with the late Izumi Sakai from Zard for the song "Ihoujin", as well as with Mai Kuraki for the song "Imitation Gold". Later, the compilation cover album "The Hit Parade" with various vocalist was released on November 26.

Kicking off 2004, B'z went back to the studio to began recording again. On February 25, a DVD, Typhoon No.15 ~B'z Live-Gym The Final Pleasure "It's Showtime!!" in Nagisaen~ in Nagisa-en, was released. For the rest of the year, they worked mainly on their solo projects. Soon after finishing each solo tour, they began recording together again.

On April 6, 2005, B'z released their fourteenth album "The Circle". For the album's recording, the duo were particularly worried about its live sound. For promotional activities, B'z started the tour B'z Live-Gym 2005 "Circle of Rock" that ran from April to September, totalling 27 shows in 41 locations. House of Strings label, which Tak established a year before, released the artist's second album, "Theatre of Strings", on October 19. On November 30, "B'z The Best "Pleasure II"", the third compilation album, was released, reaching one million by the end of 2005. On June 28, 2006, their fifteenth original full album "Monster" was released. Most of the recording took place in Los Angeles. B'z kicked off the tour B'z Live-Gym 2006 "Monster's Garage" from Amami Bunka Center on July 2, having 17 shows in all, including 5 big domes in 11 locations and 450,000 audience members all together. In the end of 2007, more precisely on December 5, B’z released their sixteenth album, "Action". On November 19, 2007, B'z was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk as the first Asian inductee in Sunset Boulevard, California, US.

B'z 20th Anniversary: 2008-present

In February 2008, B'z released a DVD titled B'z Live In Nanba. The show was recorded in 2006 and it was broadcast online. The show features songs from The Circle and Monster period and performing of some old titles. Also, 2008 marks the 20th Anniversary of B'z. To celebrate the occasion, B'z launched an special website called "B'z 20th Anniversary". The site promotes two upcoming compilation albums: B'z The Best "Ultra Pleasure", to be released on June 18, 2008, and B'z The Best "Ultra Treasure", to be released on September 17, 2008. "B'z The Best "Ultra Treasure"" track listing was decided by fans who were invited to vote on three songs at the B'z 20th Anniversary website.

Discography

Other appearances

Live-Gym (concert tours)

* Live-Gym #00 (1989)
* Live-Gym #001 "Off the Lock" (1989)
* Live-Gym "Bad Club-Gym" (1989)
* Live-Gym "Break Through" (1990)
* Live-Gym '90~'91 "Risky"
* Live-Gym "Pleasure '91"
* Live-Gym '91~'92 "In the Life"
* Live-Gym Pleasure '92 "Time"
* Live-Gym '93 "Run"
* Live-Gym Pleasure '93 "Jap the Ripper"
* Live-Gym '94 "The 9th Blues" Part 1
* Live-Gym '94 "The 9th Blues" Part 2
* Live-Gym Pleasure '95 "Buzz!!"
* Live-Gym '96 "Spirit Loose"
* Live-Gym Pleasure '97 "Fireball"
* Live-Gym '98 "Survive"
* Live-Gym '99 "Brotherhood"
* Live-Gym Pleasure 2000 "Juice"
* Live-Gym 2001 "Eleven"
* Live-Gym in Taipei 2001 / Live-Gym in Hong Kong 2001
* Live-Gym 2002 "Green ~Go★Fight★Win~"
* Live-Gym 2002 "Rock n' California Roll"
** September 22 - Canes Bar & Grill: California
** September 24 - The Palace: California
* Live-Gym 2003 The Final Pleasure "It's Showtime!!"
* Live-Gym 2003 Banzai in North America
** October 12 - House of Blues: Las Vegas, Nevada
** October 14 - House of Blues: Los Angeles, California
** October 15 - House of Blues: Los Angeles, California
** October 18 - The Fillmore: San Francisco, California
** October 19 - The Fillmore: San Francisco, California
** October 21 - Showbox: Seattle, Washington
** October 23 - Commodore Ballroom: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* Live-Gym 2003 "Big Machine"
* Live-Gym 2005 "Circle of Rock"
* Live-Gym 2006 "Monster's Garage"
* B'z Showcase 2007
**The showcase 2007 is an unofficial tour they made this year. They visited a few cities (3 to 5) and played to small audiences. They played a lot of their old songs. Many of them were rarely played live including their new English song, that was released with Burnout Dominator's soundtrack, "Friction".
* Live-Gym 2008 "Action" - Nagasaki Brick Hall
* Live-Gym Pleasure 2008 -Glory Days-

B'z covers by other musicians

* Eric Suen covered "Easy Come, Easy Go!" as the theme for the 2000 Taiwanese drama, Huai Yu Gong Zhu (懷玉公主). The title of the cover is Wei Feng Shi Ke (威風時刻).
* Priscilla Chan has covered a Cantonese version of "Native Dance" called "放鬆三分鐘".
* For her second major label single, Aya Kamiki has covered "Pierrot", the B-side of "Yuruginaimonohitotsu".
*A cover of 熱き鼓動の果て ("Atsuki Kodō no Hate") appeared as a stage theme in the Nintendo DS rhythm game "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan". The performance is credited to Tetsushi Kimura.

Covers by B'z

* B'z has covered Maroon 5's This Love. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jXtPBSWOyI Maroon 5 cover] ]

Featured songs

* During the height of The X-Files' popularity in Japan, the B'z single "Love Phantom" was used as the closing credits theme song.
* Their song "Devil", an English cover of their song "Tokyo Devil", was produced for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.
* Their song "Atsuki Kodō no Hate" appears in the arcade drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin 4, and recently in the Nintendo DS rhythm game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan.
* Their song "Bad Communication" appears in the Game Boy Color rhythm game beatmania GB GotchaMIX2.
* Their song "Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni" was used in the 2000 TV drama Beautiful Life.
* Their song "Liar! Liar!" appears in the arcade and PlayStation 2 rhythm game GitaDora! GuitarFreaks 4th Mix & DrumMania 3rd Mix.
* Their song "ultra soul" appears in the arcade drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin 2.
* Their English song "Friction" is featured on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable game Burnout Dominator. This marked their debut on an official United States property. It is also included in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game Burnout Paradise.
* Several B'z songs were used in the Detective Conan anime series.
** "Giri Giri Chop" (TV series OP from Ep. 143-167)
** "Shoudou" (TV series OP from Ep. 425-437)
** "One" (Movie #3 ED)
** "Everlasting" (Movie #6 ED)
** "Yuruginaimono Hitotsu" (Movie #10 ED)
* "Roots" by B'z was also used as the ending theme to the four-part Black Jack OVA series to promote the then newest TV series. Tak Matsumoto also did a guitar-lead instrumental as the opening.
* "Lonely Stars" by B'z was used in the ending credits in the movie, The Legend of nihongo|Raoh II: Fierce Fighting Arc|ラオウ伝Ⅱ 激闘の章|Raō Den II Gekitō no Shō which is part of the Fist of the North Star anime series.
* "Ore to Omae no Atarashii Kisetsu" (オレとオマエの新しい季節) is currently used as the ending theme to the Japanese dub of "The OC"
* The song "Mienai Chikara ~Invisible one~" was the first ending theme to the anime Hell Teacher Nube.

See also

*List of best-selling music artists
*List of records of Japan
*J-Rock

References

* [http://bz-vermillion.com/english/top/index.html B'z biography at the official website]

External links

* [http://bz-vermillion.com/ B'z Official Website] ja icon en icon
* [https://www.bz-party.com B'z Party] Official fan club ja icon
* [http://bz20th.com/ B'z 20th Anniversary Special Website] ja icon