Tag Archives: Be With!

News

As you’ve probably noticed, ever since Koshi and Tak had wrapped up their respective solo projects, it has been very quiet on the B’z front despite the announcement of a new song, “Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru”, which ties into the Conan franchise. The latest issue of the fanclub magazine, Be With! Vol. 110, was supposed to shed some light on their future plans and their current work, but no new information could be extracted from the interview.

Both say they are working on new music. Tak Matsumoto is very likely preparing new B’z songs, while Koshi is working on a solo project with Stevie Salas. In the interview, Koshi mentions he wasn’t in the mood for work for quite a while, and didn’t start working until after Golden Week in the beginning of May. He does not mention why, but the passing of his father on April 15th may be the cause of that. Said solo project may not come to fruition until Fall, with an announcement to be expected for September at the earliest. Another solo tour for early 2017 may also be thinkable for Koshi, depending on how well the record does, according to Salas.

Koshi’s recently announced song 「YELLOW」 was, in fact, rushed to meet the deadline for the commercial, and Koshi has since reworked the lyrics to the song, as evidenced in the new version of the commercial. (old one for comparison)

As for Tak, he talked about his solo tour and the recent reveal of his 1959 Gibson Signature model. Gibson approached him last year, and asked him what he’d think if they made such a model for him. Tak gladly accepted. A Gibson employee visited Tak and took pictures of Tak’s 1959 model from every angle and in great detail, so they’ll be able to reconstruct it later. On the B’z front, Tak assures that he’s working on something, but it may take some time before they can announce something. Koshi may even be working on his solo project and the new B’z project at the same time, as Koshi is in contact with Tak.

All in all, us B’z fans are expected to be patient for just a little longer! We’ll keep you updated, of course!

Tak Matsumoto News

Translating all these interviews word by word takes a lot of time and effort, which has created a huge backlog on our part. To still keep you all updated with the latest information, we will from now on give you a quick summary of the most important points that have been made or revealed during each interview.

Be With! Vol. 108 was delivered to fanclub members in January 2016. The interview section is split up into “Tak Matsumoto” and “Koshi Inaba” interviews respectively. Both interviews were conducted at the end of November 2015.

Tak Matsumoto Interview

Tak was interviewed in his private studio in L.A., currently busy with recording. Below is a brief summary of what they talked about.

TV Asahi Dream Festival

– Enjoyed performing there very much
– Playing two versions of “ZERO” was Koshi’s idea: playing one chorus in the way they played it during the “EPIC NIGHT” tour
– Didn’t get to see the other artists as he was busy in his wardrobe
– Went to OZZFEST and saw 9mm Parabellum Bullet, Black Label Society, Hatebreed and BABYMETAL
– Wanted to see BABYMETAL and therefore went to OZZFEST; he liked BABYMETAL’s performance very much

Fanclub Exclusive SHOWCASE

– Thought they had done a fanclub exclusive event before
– Was surprised that fanclub members remembered the lyrics to “hole in my heart” and “Naite Naite Nakiyandara”
– Would do such an event again if there was a plan to do it

New Songs For “The World Heritage”

– Made the ending theme first
– Producers of the show had a lot of requests regarding the main theme
– Hasn’t decided on a title for the track yet
– Sometimes makes songs before deciding on a title; this seems to be the case here
– Jason Sutter on drums
– Juan Alderete on bass (also worked with B’z on “SUPER LOVE SONG” and “ACTION”)
– Main theme for “The World Heritage” was recorded in L.A.
– Ending theme was recorded with Shane and Barry while on tour in Japan
– Akira Onozuka on piano

Song for Ukiyo-e Exhibition: “Ups and Downs”

– At the time he received the request, he had already finished all songs for the new album
– Decided to make one more song
– Thinking about putting that song on the new album as well
– Enjoyed working on the song as he also likes Ukiyo-e
– Recorded with Jason Sutter and Sean Hurley (“Kuroi Seishun” from “ACTION”)
– Was looking for a drummer for next year’s solo tour and wasn’t sure about Jason Sutter, so he invited him to work on recording first
– Liked him as a person as well as his musical skills; Jason plays drums on over two-thirds of the new solo record

New Solo Album

– Didn’t specifically choose to make a rock-style album; just makes what he wanted to do at the time
– He is self-producing the new solo album (compared to “New Horizon” with Paul Brown and Robert Williams)

Upcoming Solo Tour

– Two of his solo shows will be in big venues: Osaka Jo Hall and Nippon Budokan
– Thought something special could be done in bigger venues
– Unusual for instrumental performances to take place in big venues
– Will perform both new and old songs with a focus on the new album
– Fans will not get to see him sing

Private Time

– Went to see LOUDNESS in LA
– Saw American Football for the first time; Watched UCLA vs UC Berkeley in the stadium
– A friend, who is a sports eventmanager, invited him
– Was surprised that a football game can take 3-4 hours to finish although each quarter is only 15 minutes.

B’z Recording

– Still a secret what they are working on, but they are working on something
– As they promised, they will be back as B’z in 2016

News

B’z official fanclub B’z PARTY has just informed its members that the latest Be With! issue has been mailed out and should be arriving in everyone’s mailboxes shortly. Furthermore, a survey is conducted on the B’z PARTY website as LIVE-GYM plans are underway. Fans are asked which song they haven’t heard live yet but would like to hear at an upcoming LIVE-GYM. In addition to that, fans are asked which song(s) they’d like to hear as an opening song or during the encore, or what song they’d like to listen to with their boyfriend/girlfriend, family, etc.

We’ll bring you the latest information from Be With! #103 as soon as we get our hands on it.

News

The latest issue of the B’z fanclub magazine Be With! has been mailed out to fanclub members this week and some have received it already. According to the interview contained in the magazine, B’z will resume work in the middle of August. Furthermore, Shane Gaalaas also seems to be back at work. Maybe he’s cooking up some cool drum tracks for future B’z songs?

We have also been on hiatus, but will soon resume our work on interview translations and the like. And, of course, we’ll bring you the latest interview as soon as possible.

Feature

This quarter’s issue of the B’z fanclub magazine Be With! contained lengthy separate interviews with both Tak Matsumoto and Koshi Inaba about their respective solo projects. The pair discussed their latest works in depth along with a variety of related subjects, as well as reiterating that as soon as their solo tours are over they will be returning to B’z activities full time.

First up is the full interview with Tak Matsumoto. The discussion covers a number of subjects related to his recent release 「New Horizon」, as well as his upcoming solo tour Tak Matsumoto LIVE 2014 -New Horizon-.

Click here to read the interview on the B’z Wiki!

Feature

Be With! Vol 96 Cover

The interview contained in the latest issue of the B’z fanclub magazine Be With! has finally been translated and is now ready for your viewing pleasure. The interview was conducted in November 2012. Tak and Koshi talk about their experiences during the 2012 North American tour. Additionally, they talk about their experiences during the filming for the WOWOW special and the release of the three home videos “ACTION”, “CIRCLE OF ROCK” and “ELEVEN”.

Check it out!
http://bzwiki.offthelock.com/Be_With!_Vol._96_(December_2012)

The next issue has already been mailed out to fanclub members and we will begin translating it once we receive it.