B’z Perform “Ichibu to Zenbu” & “Still Alive” on FNS Music Festival
News 
B’z have just wrapped up their appearance on the 2017 FNS Music Festival aired on Fuji TV in Japan. The event, which will continue with a second day next week, sees artists perform more than once over the course of the evening. B’z first appeared on the stage to perform the modern megahit “Ichibu to Zenbu”. The song, despite being released in 2009, was first performed on television as part of Music Station SUPER LIVE 2012 and later on LIVE MONSTER in 2015.
Later in the show, B’z returned to perform their most recent single “Still Alive” from earlier this summer.
Images courtesy of @mahime1091783 & @orange0799
7-Eleven presents B’z PREMIUM LIVE at Zepp Tokyo (12.05.2017)
News 
After a brief hiatus following B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town- to finalize recording on DINOSAUR, B’z have returned to the live stage with tonight’s 7-Eleven presents B’z PREMIUM LIVE at Zepp Tokyo! The intimate venue’s capacity is just over 2,700 and was last played during B’z SHOWCASE 2007 -19-.
Entry to the show was determined via lottery amongst those that purchased and pre-ordered the premium release B’z COMPLETE SINGLE BOX. While today’s show took place in Tokyo, a second show will take place Thursday in Osaka, presumably with the same setlist.
Given that the aforementioned album’s titular tour is just over a week away, the event served as the live debut for many of its tracks. It also saw the return of a single not played in fifteen years, a beloved mini album song not heard since 2008, and the stage premiere of a certain digital single!
To avoid potential B’z LIVE-GYM 2017-2018 “LIVE DINOSAUR” spoilers for for those attending, we have preserved the full setlist after the break.
B’z Featured in Cover Story for Relaunched Rolling Stone Japan
News 
It has just been announced that B’z will appear in a cover story for Rolling Stone Japan‘s relaunch issue. The story will center on readers’ topics, their latest album DINOSAUR, and the creative secrets therein. The magazine will hit shelves later this month on Christmas Day in Japan.
B’z previously appeared in the December 2009 issue of the former version of the magazine, also in a cover story. At the time, the band were promoting MAGIC and provided background information on the album’s production.
The Guitars of DINOSAUR
Feature 
With every new B’z release comes great anticipation from the guitar enthusiasts that follow the band due to the contributions of composer-guitarist Tak Matsumoto. Thanks to BARKS, we now have an in-depth look at the equipment utilized for the recording of the twentieth B’z studio album DINOSAUR released earlier this week.
With regard to the recording sessions, Tak explained: “I always try a couple of guitars for each song, but this time I ran a lot of amps to search for the best match too. It’s quite a rush. Our sound has remained so stable for so long and because it was the same every time, I thought it’d become boring [to not try something new].” This desire to change led to the eclectic mix of rock tracks that now occupy the released album. Unlike previous albums, though, the guitar was mainly recorded in Japan and not their usual Los Angeles studio. This allowed more ready access to his vast array of guitars and equipment without having to see them all shipped overseas.
In all, the album saw eighteen electric and acoustic guitars be used across the thirteen tracks. A full accounting of all guitars and much of the amplifiers and effects pedals used in tandem to create the album’s sound are shown in the gallery below alongside the songs on which they were featured. Check it out!
Gibson TAK MATSUMOTO 1959 Les Paul Standard
A recreation by preeminent guitar manufacturer Gibson in their custom shop, the Gibson TAK MATSUMOTO 1959 Les Paul Standard is a highly detailed replica of a valuable Les Paul guitar owned by Tak since the early 90s. All of the visual imperfections, including cracks and scratches from aging inherent in the original in its half-century of life, are preserved with no concessions. A limited run of these replicas was prepared for buyers in Japan, with a premium edition signed by Tak selling out immediately after being announced. The guitar is now often played live as a substitute for its more valuable sister instrument, which is never taken out of the studio due to its value and age.
Can be heard on Dinosaur / CHAMP / Still Alive / Seimei (★ Only guitar used for track) / Yowai Otoko / Purple Pink Orange
(more…)DINOSAUR Debuts at the Top of Oricon Daily Chart
News 
DINOSAUR has debuted at the top of the Daily Oricon Albums chart and is their seventeenth consecutive studio album to do so.
B’z have returned with their latest studio album DINOSAUR and have done so at the top of the Oricon charts. First day data shows 107,723 physical copies sold as pre-orders. The numbers are in line with the first day sales of recent studio albums ACTION (109,680), C’mon (111,549), and EPIC DAY (118,540) despite the decreased appetite for physical releases even in Japan—where the drop has not been as drastic as other markets.
Thus far, numbers indicate the album is on track for a debut just under 200,000 physical copies ahead of its digital debut a few weeks later. Second day sales were tracked at 44,271 copies, which is nearly a thirty percent increase over EPIC DAY‘s sales in the same frame and puts it slightly ahead of its predecessor.
You can also now hear samples of all the album’s tracks on the B’z Wiki in the corresponding article. You can expect full details on the album and its production in the near future.
B’z Rock Best Artist 2017 with “Still Alive”
News 
B’z have just wrapped up their appearance on Nippon TV’s Best Artist 2017 program with the debut television performance of “Still Alive“. The appearance comes on the eve of the release for their twentieth studio album DINOSAUR. The band appeared for a brief interview beforehand prior to a video package being run featuring footage from ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017. The band were supported by Barry Sparks on bass and Shane Gaalaas on drums.
Tak also brought back his first ever Gibson signature guitar: the 1999 Gibson Les Paul Tak Matsumoto Signature model in Canary Yellow. This is the guitar’s first appearance on a live stage in sixteen years after last being seen for B’z LIVE-GYM 2001 “ELEVEN”. The guitar was supplanted later by the Tak Burst model before he segued to his Double Cutaway models beginning in 2004. Given the band’s thirtieth anniversary is coming next year, it’s possible Tak will be revisiting many of his older guitars for the upcoming tours.
Tak performing the finger tap solo for “Still Alive” with his original signature guitar
