With thanks to gangangan03 for his kind permission, we have now translated the interview clip and added subtitles to the original, which is now available on Youtube as a video response!

This is our first attempt at translating an interview clip, so if you do spot any errors or anything else that we can change or improve, please let us know! :) You can watch the subtitled version by clicking here or after the cut.

Interview questions included:

What were your thoughts about the whole event (Formoz Festival)?
Was there anything that stood out in particular?
Have you done anything interesting whilst you’ve been in Taiwan?
Do you have any weird habits?

Apparently icchan eats a lot (especially whilst on the phone) and Kenji03 likes sticking out his tongue!

Hope you enjoy watching the interview, and please do let us know what you think! :)

BACK-ON on MTV Taiwan (subtitled)

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Each article/interview offers it’s own unique perspective of the band, and this undoubtedly includes the most recent issue (only its second!) of Five-For magazine, which features a special interview with Back-on, in addition to an exclusive review (including pictures!) of the band’s final concert of 2007 ‘Code 003′, which was the finale of their “Shining Line” tour in Japan!

We’ve included a small preview of one of the Back-on pages below for your reference that can be found on the Five-for website, as well as the cover of this particular issue (2):

And if the interview and concert review (by Sabrina) weren’t enough, Five-For is also giving fans the opportunity to win special Back-on merchandise from their 2007 finale concert, including an autograph board as well as a Back-on towel! The draw takes place on February 21st 2008, so if you are planning to purchase the magazine, please do try and order it before the deadline if you’re interested in participating in the contest!

And for a quick lowdown: Five-For is a new bi-monthly magazine dedicated to Japanese Music. The editor, Sara Crane, mentioned that a major part of the magazine *is* covering the gigs and shows that the bands do at home in Japan. More information can be found on the Five-for website, where it can also be ordered online for $10.95 (US/Mexico/Canada) or $15.95 (Europe/Asia/South America), inclusive of delivery.

In addition to Back-on, the second edition of Five-for also includes interviews/live reports with Hitomi Shimatani, Koda Kumi, the pillows, and Danger Gang amongst others.

As with all articles featuring Back-on, please let us know what you think! :) If you do enter the competition, good luck! We’ll keep our fingers crossed what one of our visitors is the lucky winner!

However, it’s been several years since then (the site was acquired by a commercial company in 2000) and the site has become less prominent, so imagine my surprise when a random search came up with an interview by Anipike with Back-on! :)

The interviewer, Carlos Pardo, one of the main article contributors of Anipike, met Back-on during the Anime Evolution convention (2007) in Canada the day after their concert.

He started off the article by introducing the band (always a good thing!) and talking about some of the band’s activities at the convention, before moving to give a glowing review (with plenty of detail and enthusiasm) of their concert performance, and a brief excerpt is provided below:

BACK-ON whipped the crowd into a jumping mass of bodies with their first song “Chain,” a particular favorite of mine. Teeda the MC or rapper of the group, stomped around gushing out the lyrics, and then guitarist/vocalist Kenji stepped in to sing the melodic chorus of the song. Kenji03 definitely was a favorite among the females in the audience, with plenty of screams each time he came up to the microphone. With Shu supplying more guitar riffs, his long hair shaking to the rhythms of Icchan on drums, and Gori creating a path of blazing bass tones, you can clearly see a band comfortable with themselves, synchronized together to make an impressive quintet.

Later on, Carlos (or Hkaddict as he is probably better known as) then launched into the interview (or chat) session with Back-on, where they covered a range of topics, including (predictably) anime and music, with some really interesting (and new) answers, such as:

H: I notice there’s a lot of diversity in the type of songs you do, so I was wondering if you have a band or bands that are influences?

B: The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Linkin Park, the Fugees.

I remember reading that Kenji03 was a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, but it was unbelievable to find that the band have now also cited Linkin Park as an inspiration! For those who are wondering why this revelation is significant: their music has often been compared with LP‘s, and the band are sometimes called the japanese LP, but I’m fairly certain that Back-on have never cited them directly before (open to correction).

H: Do you have a favorite anime series?

B: Dragon Ball, Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin…

Yay, I like those anime too! ;)

H: Since you like animation, what do you think of cosplay, would you like to cosplay, and what character would you like to cosplay?

B: Cosplay is fantastic. It can be really sexy! If I can I’d like to be one of the Shinsengumi members from Rurouni Kenshin…

Spider Man…

A typical “wanna be” for our age is Son Goku from Dragon Ball, the orange gi…

We don’t really know what we want to be, but if we could do it we could go onstage to cosplay during a concert.

We saw a Jigen cosplayer here (from Lupin the 3rd), who looked like Jigen, but he also looked like Justin Timberlake! When you cosplay you are actually copying someone, but there is originality and creativity too. It’s fantastic.

Of course, the conversation touched on Back-on‘s musical activities:

H: Do you have a favorite brand of instrument you like to play, such as guitar brand?

B: Gibson, Fender, or Japanese brands, DW…

H: A question…about songwriting. When you write a song does it come out of a jam session, something you work on at home, or do you all get together to work on something?

B: Before we used to do it at a jam session, but nowadays each of us comes with an idea of what we want to do and create just one piece together. We all have a similar view, so we just get together and create a piece. We each play something and then assemble it together.

H: Last question. What do you like to do in your spare time away from the studio, the stage—related or not related to music?

B: Even in our spare time we listen to music and try to come up with images related to the music—visualize it on a computer/TV screen.

For us music is part of our life, and listening to music relaxes us. Even in our spare time we like to do something related to music.

At the same time we like to do other things, like shopping or whatever—different things.

At this point I should clarify that this isn’t the full interview article, and there were lots of random questions and answers that we haven’t included here – including Gori‘s attempt at asking for Hkaddict‘s Fender Stratocaster 1988 guitar – so I would strongly encourage everyone to read it in full, as it has all the extra humour and fun that we’ve unfortunately had to miss out.

You can find the full article (published on December 1st 2007) by clicking on the (long) screenshot provided with this new post, or by visiting: Anime Web Turnpike – Back-on at Anime Evolution 2007. Both take you directly to the website! I really enjoyed reading this interview article (it did help that it was in English and had lots of pictures! :D) and trust that you will too.

Please let us know what you think! :)

The interview took place sometime in September 2007 and is featured in the latest edition (Fall 2007) of purple SKY, published at the start of December 2007. I was kindly sent a preview of the interview article by the magazine, which you can see below:

Unfortunately I don’t have the full article at hand at the moment, so I can’t comment further on the content alas. However, it does look very promising (and of the above mentioned ‘historical’ significance) so if are you interested in reading the full interview, purple SKY is available from shops in the US such as several branches of Barnes & Noble, Borders and other independent stores (see full list) It is also available online at $6 (exc. PP) directly from the purple SKY website, which I think is particularly useful for international fans!

Other bands/artists that are featured in this issue of purple SKY (a specialist J-Rock magazine that is released quarterly) include The Captains, Plastic Tree, and Anna Tsuchiya to name just a few. And if you’re running into pick up a copy, I’ve included the front cover of the Fall 2007 edition below for your reference:

Please let us know what you think if you do purchase the magazine! It is definitely a huge milestone that marks a step into the mainstream for Back-on, especially in America!

For instance, the latest issue (085) was released today (June 1st 2007 ) and features Code-E. You can view the 16-page issue by visiting http://www.avexmovie.jp/pam/ and clicking on the button as indicated below:

The interface is a funky-as flash-based reader, which is so intuitive that even yours truly could use it from her first visit. But uh… let me focus on the actual interview! You can find it on page 13 as part of ‘New & Topics‘ taking up half a page spread. You can also click on the thumbnail below to load the article in it’s full glory!

The article is quite short, but the band reveal alot in just 4 questions! I’ve made a small stab at translating the text, but full credit must go to Soph for her wonderful help in translating the bulk of the interview!

Q: What were your first thoughts when you found out about that you would be writing the opening and ending theme for Eyeshield 21?

We were extremely happy as it’s a production that we all like. Especially as we’re part of the ‘Slam Dunk’ generation, so writing an OP and ED for an anime from a sports genre is quite enjoyable.

Q: Please tell us about the highlight of BLAZE LINE.

As you can see, the lyrics “支えてくれる君がいるから” (note: second line of the chorus) or “because you are here supporting me” are the high point of this song, and my, or our success is due to the people who support us, so we overlapped our feelings of “Ah, what we are now is thanks to you all!” to the lyrics when composing this song.

With regards to the music, we played the guitar by strumming it hard at a fast-paced rhythm to express a sense of sprinting or speed, but we put in some fun (lyrics) for the rap part to try and express enjoyment.

Q: Please can you now tell us more about the highlight of ‘a day dreaming…’

The lyrics for this song came to me as (I) was daydreaming and thinking about family, friends and the people that are important to me. How would I describe it? A natural feeling? “What can I do for the people that I care about?” Or “I just want to be with them, and be around for them” and so on. Although it isn’t anything special, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. The music and the lyrics of the song makes the listener feel a sense of geniality.

Q:Finally, what message would you like to share with pam! readers?

Our latest work covers extremely different types of music, one is an aggressive song with a mixture of metal and electro rap, and the other is a calm and gentle ballad. However, both songs are about the honest “feelings of gratitude (appreciation) that are usually forgotten” and the songs will definitely touch your heart. Please do listen to them! They will resonate (within you)!

I would like to thank Soph again for her help with the translation! Hope you enjoyed reading the article! :)

In what I believe to be Back-on‘s first English interview article entitled USA turns it BACK-ON, Cynthia of JaME (JMusicEuropa) asks the band a selection of interesting and investigative questions that really do open my eyes to how the band thinks, as well as reveal some intriguing facts about the band, such as the tidbit that their favourite performance song is Chain. Some of my favourite Q&As are included below:

Q: Who are the main lyricist and songwriter of the band? How are the two developed?

A: TEEDA: We basically all work together. SHU, GORI, and ICCHAN come up with the music; they’re the first building blocks. Then KENJI03 and I come up with our own lyrics that we sing. After the lyrics are added, all of us come together as a band and listen to what we’ve come up with to make suggestions and changes.

Shu adds later on in the interview that for shows such as Tokyo Mayokara and Eyeshield 21:

SHU: We usually try to create the music based on the visual image that we see, so the viewer can connect both the song and show. We try to interlink the music with the show, so that way the listener can visualize what he or she saw in the show by remembering an episode or scene. Since the visual was already created for the audience, what we’re trying to do as artists is create the sound side.

And this is how Teeda learnt his English:

Q: TEEDA, you speak a lot of English slang and also have slang written in your lyrics; where did you learn this?

A: TEEDA: When I was in high school, my father knew an American family that lived in the neighborhood. I was able to visit them often and stayed over from time to time, so I learned English from my father’s friends’ children. When I put slang into the lyrics I ask my friend, Matthew, if they sound alright. He’s not related to those friends I had from my childhood days.

One of the main reasons I love this article is because we also get to find out what inspires Gori and Shu, since it’s quite difficult to find anything other than factual information about them. Alas, Icchan doesn’t say much during the interview (according to Gori, he’s shy :D awww…) but we do get to find out how he joined Back-on (in October 2006):

ICCHAN: I was introduced to the band from mutual friends of the original BACK-ON members of other local and active indie bands.

USA turns it BACK-ON also solves the puzzle behind Kenji03‘s name, an FAQ of quite a few Back-on fans (you know who you are ^^):

KENJI03: Everyone has their unique name, but Kenji is very typical, so I wanted to add a little tweak to the name. And since BACK-ON is from Tokyo and Tokyo’s area code is 03, I added 03 to my name.
TEEDA: KENJI-TOKYO. (everyone laughs.)
KENJI03: It could also be read as KENJIO-SAN. (again everyone laughs.)

There is plenty to read that hasn’t been included here, so do read the article! The actual interview was conducted on the last day of Anime Matsuri in a room with comfy-looking sofas! I know this, and you will too, because Cynthia has kindly included photos of the band taken during the interview.

Which reminds me, on another (mostly unrelated) note, JaME have also published a brand new picture for Back-on‘s profile, which you can see below, courtesy of JaME.

Every single band member has a brand new hair style, with Teeda sporting the biggest change from his previously braided locks! Icchan has a rather devilish look (imho! I’m willing to be corrected here :D) which I do like (although by all accounts, he’s really a sweetie! Just ask Koutarou!), although my favourite in this picture has to be Gori (who has the cutest smile in their recent interview with Soundex).

So, a big thanks to Cynthia and JaME (JMusicEuropa) for interviewing Back-on and publishing such a great article! Please do show them your support by commenting directly on their Back-on Interview Comments Thread, you’ll have to register, but I think it’s worth it!

p/s: A big thanks must be given to xiijelly as well! :)

SoundEx Youtube Channel

With reference to the video captions by Nao, in the first 50 second clip, the translator Tomo runs through the list of the questions to ‘prep’ the band. I’ve taken the executive decision to use a picture of Tomo (and Nao‘s head?) for the screenshot, since by all accounts on the Forums (ok, I meant Ichi), the official translator is meant to be very cute! Click on the picture to go straight to the video.

 In the second interview clip (with a running time of 4:02 minutes) we get to see/hear each Back-on member give a brief account of their “typical day“, which was the opening question so there are presumably more coming up! (I’ll try and find out more about the answers either from the Forums or by listening to the clip again.)

This is the video that highlights that all the band members look incredibly cute when they’re smiling (smile more!) and Gori definitely struck me as a very happy man, because he was smiling from the start of the clip! Hence we have his picture for the screenshot below. :) As before, you can click on the picture to watch the clip.

There are also more videos (in sequence) of the Post Autograph session which are worth watching too, so do pay a visit to the SoundEx Youtube Channel! Apparently it’s already one of the top 100 most watched channels in the Musicians category today. ^^

KENJI03 and SHU‘s hair definitely appear longer than in recent photos/videos, but TEEDA has the biggest change in hair style! It’s now short and (sadly) no longer braided (I loved that look!) but it does feel very refreshing imho. Perhaps its a summer look to coincide with their new album? I’m probably reading too much into this as a fan girl, so… have a look at the front cover of this issue instead featuring 上木彩矢 (Aya Kamiki) :p

There is a lot of content in KERA (in colour), which probably explains its hefty price tag (double the price of Weekly Shonen Jump in England), but if you’re looking to change your style or get a glimpse into the fashion of Harajuku girls and Goth-looks, then its worth taking a look. This is the first time I’ve bought it but… do you read it? What do you think? :) I’ve taken a few quick photos of the inner pages of this issue which you can see below:

This concludes our first glance at the article, which is the also the first magazine interview conducted with Back-on this year. I will attempt to understand the full interview as soon as I can, but as far as I can tell a fairly large percentage of the article is news and information we already knew, but this time all the members get to say their bit in this one page article. Please continue to watch this space for further updates!

p/s: Other bands featured in this month’s issue include All Japan Goith, 超飛行少年, ONE OK ROCK and メガマソ.

Sound EX and Ichiban (both are members of the Back-on forum) will be at Anime Matsuri, and Sound Ex has started a forum thread for collating questions, both for the Q&A PANEL as well the forthcoming private interview time that Sound EX has arranged with Back-on.

So if you have any burning questions – come forth and post on the forum! You can find the direct url below:

http://www.backon-online.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=34

First on the list – Back-on have officially announced the news of their scheduled appearance at Anime Evolution on their official website. It seems that it will be a live and recorded performance at an outdoor venue, a great setting seeing as this will be in August!

In light of Back-on appearing at both Anime Matsuri and Anime Evolution, J!-ENT have released a spotlight article on the band, written by Dennis A. Amith. He talks about the band’s history (something we haven’t touched on yet at Back-on Online) as well as their recent releases. I would say though that Back-on’s musical style is more similar to Linkin Park than Limp Bizkit. You can read the article yourself by clicking on the link below:

http://www.nt2099.com/J-ENT/INTERVIEWS/BACK-ON/BACK-ON-event.pdf

The picture in the article features all of the band, including Icchan, the new drummer. It does look as though he’s been photoshopped in though for some reason hmm… I’d be interested in finding out what readers thought as well so feel free to drop a comment. ^^

So… finally on to the bit about Back-on Online, we now have a proper forum! Again, credit must got to Sowon (now the in-house Super-moderator) for suggesting the idea in the first place. Please do pay a visit and register to join the chat! It is the first forum dedicated to Back-on and I think it has a lot of potential to reach more people!