Lots of websites are started up every day, and just a little over a year ago, BOO was started and joined very shortly by BOO Forums. With the upcoming release of Back-on‘s new song, Sands of Time, it seemed like a great opportunity for us to celebrate our very first birthday and also their new work at the same time!

After some discussion, we’ve opted for April 6th 2008 as our official birthday, and we’ve already started planning a number of things to mark the occasion! As BOO+Forums is fundamentally a fan community built for Back-on fans by fans, one of the major areas that we are focusing on is the:

Fanwork donation request!

This is where we would humbly like to ask everyone for their contribution! And what we are looking for, as ookami, one of our forum moderators (who came up with the idea) so excellently put it: (everyone’s) own little tidbits of Back-on goodness!

So, it can be art, writing, sketches, music, singing, covers, wallpapers, videos, literally just anything that you’ve made as a fan of Back-on. Please don’t hesitate to submit your work, as they will be appreciated, since you have spent time on it!

In addition to this, we are also going to do a:

Banner Rotation

To celebrate this event, and for the forseeable future, we will be randomly rotating the forum banner (the large image at the top!) using member-contributed work! The idea is with thanks to Sesshy, and I really hope everyone will be kind enough to submit their work!

The current banner featuring flower and Butterfly was kindly created for us by Sound-Ex/Nao, which I think is a fantastic example! Simple yet so very effective. So long as the banner is less than 850px in width and has a suitable height (minimum 150px) then please send them in! The minimum criteria (of course) is that it should say the forum name somewhere.

Another thing that we will be doing includes:

The New BACK-ON Dictionary in WIKI format

Originally a concept started by ichiban (forum moderator) as a forum thread where users contributed their definitions and collaborated to form the content. We’ve decided it’s time to make it ‘official’ and neat and tidy by making it like a WIKI! This will form part of the main site and will be editable only by forum members. The original forum thread will still remain though!

And as with every website, the time comes for a new fresh look, so we will be introducing:

New website and forum theme

This is still very much in the works, and we will/are working with some members to ensure this goes well and on-time! At the moment the new forum theme has already been approved by Sowon (co-admin of the BOO Forums) but the site theme is progressing a bit more slowly, so on that note, we would be very grateful if you could let us know what you would personally like to see on Back-on Online! This can be done by commenting at the end of this post, or by getting in touch via the Contact Form.

We also have other ideas in the works that are coming along, but our focus is primarily on donated fanworks, so if you do have something that you’ve done with Back-on’s music, pictures – literally anything – please do let us know! Any work can be submitted to us by emailing:

submissions(AT)backon-online.com

This is a big event for us, and we very much hope you can join us in celebrating our first birthday! :) Thanks!

This time, a day dreaming… and Kodou were the top favourites of our voters, and as usual, we have also put up two extra downloads for just one week only, including the much-requested Hikari Sasuhou (Survive ver.) as well as the runner up from the previous polls, forward.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the latest polls, and if possible, it would be great if you could vote again in the next one, where:

• Butterfly (Butterfly single)
• DRIVE (New World album)
• Believer (Chain single)
• Grab (Survive compliation album)
• Gaku-Ten (Baby Rock album)
• RAIN (New World album)

are all up for selection. It might be a bit more difficult to choose this time! :)

More updates will be forthcoming throughout the site, as well as more content from various contributors! And before I forget, we have updated the affiliate link with Sound EX from their Myspace to their official new website! The people behind the website are Nao and Sesshy, and I would encourage everyone to pay a visit, particularly as the graphics used for the site design really are fantastic! I’ve included a screenshot of the new site design below as a taster, but look out for the flash movie on the splash page – it’s worth the wait – and this is coming from someone who doesn’t usually take a second glance at splash pages.

The aim for us this year? For BOO to become better! :) We definitely have something to look forward to, as BOO will be celebrating its very first birthday very soon! It would be an understatement to say that it has been a brilliant time, where the definite highlight was the opening of the BOO Forums by Sowon in April 2007!

I’ve met some seriously amazing Back-on fans through there, and if you do have some time, I would really encourage you to pay a visit and have a look around! A big thanks must go to the members for their great support, and if you did have any questions about the band (and band members) this is the place to ask as there are lots of experts! :)

Because the new year is a time of reflection:

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who has supported the site in some way or another, whether as a fantastic fellow admin (Sowon) or by providing site content (MJtheOne for the wallpapers, funbari for the lyrics, and guitar chords by Avalonstar12) including the images found in the Gallery (particularly ichiban) and also the special Back-on videos provided by gangangan03, blueblueblue and SoundEX amongst others. Of course the thank you must extend to the many people (who I’m sorry to have not mentioned here) who have made the site so much richer by posting comments and writing about their experiences both on the Forums and the main site. THANK YOU!

And before I forget: THANK YOU, BACK-ON, FOR BEING SO EXTRAORDINARY!

Happy new year everyone!

p/s: And for some really yummy news, rumour has it that Back-on will be releasing a brand new single on January 30th 2008. We don’t have much detail to go by at the moment, but will definitely keep you posted! If you would like to follow the latest developments, feel free to read the forum thread about the new release created by slipknot240.

Despite continuing RL commitments, I will try and be as active as possible to make up for the lost time. Send me an email or something if you feel (at any point) that I need to be kick-started into action. ;)

Moving on to the planned updates for news, I am currently facing a small backlog of news posts about Back-on‘s activities that need to be written up, so they will be released over the next two weeks or so. This includes the new PV preview of Butterfly that is available on Back-on’s Myspace, some new videos on Youtube from Sound EX and blueblueblue, as well as some interesting news about Back-on‘s charity efforts and alot more!

However, one of the major works planned for September 2007 is to the main BOO site. Some of you may already have spotted a difference or two already, but I’ll try and summarise the changes below:

• Wallpapers – A brand new section of Back-on wallpapers for your desktop that has been created with the help of MJTheOne! All the fantastic work you’ll see was sent to me a few weeks back, but alas it’s taken me a while to work out the layout and actually post the content! The first wallpaper – Chain – is all ready to be released, and you can get a sneak preview thumbnail below!

  

  Please do show your support for MJTheOne by visiting his Deviantart account (to view his other work- I personally love the 3ds MAX designs!) and by leaving him your comments!

• Lyrics – This is definitely one of the most popular sections of BOO, and now that I’m armed with a bit more experience with WordPress template editing, the Lyrics section is now ordered alphabetically rather than chronologically! Hopefully this will make it far easier to view all the lyrics (that, and everything is now on the same page) Of course, feedback is always appreciated!
  Please also lookout for the release of more lyrics later on this month!
• Where to BUY Back-on’s CDs? – BOO have already made a brief stab at this information on the Music page, but with the forthcoming release of 2 singles on September 19th 2007, it seemed like a good time to write up a proper post. I would definitely welcome any input from other fans for this section, and will be making a post on the Forums in the next few days for people to post their suggestions too!
• And other ideas! – These are currently taking shape in my mind, so are not finalised per-se. I will be bouncing a few of these ideas off a few people this month to see if they will be suitable for BOO first, just in case ;)

Well, as Porky Pig might say at the end of each Looney Tunes episode – ‘That’s all folks!’ – but only for now! Please do let us know what you think of the new updates! :)

p/s: For visitors who are also looking for the next Music update, don’t worry – it’s coming soon!

It isn’t all singing and playing – Back-on eat snacks prepared (by a very lucky lady) and have a little fun as a group too, so it’s quite an interesting video to watch, especially if you’re enjoying the music as well!

You can watch the video by clicking on this direct link, or scrolling further to watch it directly on BOO! Why not let us know what you think too in the comments section? :)

Update 28/12/2007: Thanks to TELO for letting us know about the video going offline! We have now updated the link with the same PV that has kindly been uploaded by dualimaen.

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Anyway, Sound EX has suggested that we all visit Gori‘s personal blog to wish him a happy birthday, which I think is fantastic idea! So click on the link below to visit his blog and give him your very own birthday greetings!~

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/goribaba/

From Back-on Online –

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GORI-san! Hope you have a great time today and always! 誕生日おめでとうございます

Another promotion video from new single “BLAZE LINE/a day dreaming…” is completed !

It will be uploaded soon !

Please check it !

Sound Ex has said (in the same forum thread) that the PV should be released ‘in a week or so’ so keep an eye out everyone! :) I’m certainly looking forward to it’s release!

Of course, the video is included in this post as well, and it seems that this is a special version of the PV with extra ending credits! The info comes courtesy of Koutarou, and you can find out a little more below the video.

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It seems almost every single member of Back-on got quite tanned during their stay in Houston, America, as they have t-shirt tan marks on their arms! I also think it’s very sweet of Back-on to go the extra mile and give their thanks to e.g. JohnP, Nao (SoundEX) and Fabio amongst others by recording their messages.

We also get to find out the identity of the lucky man arm wrestling with Icchan in the PV! He is known as Nick and you can visit his Myspace profile by clicking on his name!

p/s: Two versions have been uploaded, the first one has a lower pitch than the other, and I think the latter is closer to the original so I’ve included the new version above.

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. ^^