The B'z Hype Topic! ("B'z XX9" OUT NOW! Check your inboxes!)

[OFF THE LOCK]

「CHUBBY GROOVE TOUR 2017」 Additional Dates & Tour Details

Amidst high demand for tickets for Koshi Inaba's and Stevie Salas' collaborative tour 「CHUBBY GROOVE TOUR 2017」, seven additional dates have been added to the tour schedule. The dates added to the tour schedule are marked in bold. In other news, the tour logo as well as the support members for the upcoming tour have […]

[OFF THE LOCK]

Inaba & Salas Guests At J-WAVE 「SAPPORO BEER OTOAJITO」 Radio Program

Koshi Inaba and Stevie Salas will be guests at the public recording of the J-WAVE program 「SAPPORO BEER OTOAJITO」 in celebration of its 401th rendition. Fans can apply via J-WAVE's website for a chance to be part of the audience. 300 winners will be chosen at random. 「SAPPORO BEER OTOAJITO」 is a weekly music program hosted by […]

[CrimsonDragon]

CHUBBY GROOVE looks like it's going a fun album! I wonder what songs will be performed on the accompanying tour? I think it would be a great opportunity for Koshi to perform his latest solo single YELLOW as well as some lesser known album tracks. I've always been a big fan of the funky Nemurenai no wa Dare no Sei from his debut album, and should fit well with the tour.

[Valentin]

CHUBBY GROOVE looks like it's going a fun album! I wonder what songs will be performed on the accompanying tour? I think it would be a great opportunity for Koshi to perform his latest solo single YELLOW as well as some lesser known album tracks. I've always been a big fan of the funky Nemurenai no wa Dare no Sei from his debut album, and should fit well with the tour.

Interestingly, when I pondered about what they might be going to perform, I never went beyond the twelve new tracks of CHUBBY GROOVE plus Head On Collision and maybe Police On My Back, with Hazumu Sekai due to the band’s prominent involvement and one possibly unreleased song or classic of Stevie Salas practically being the only potential additions, specially given that they will play in more intimate places where even B’z tends to keep it relatively short. Though my thinking might be too conservative, I’m really not expecting much of a solo show, but rather one that’s fully dedicated to them as a group without many changes or surprises.

[Jd-]

CHUBBY GROOVE is sounding better and better the more we hear. Definitely check out the pair of CMs that aired during their radio interview the other day. This is uncharted territory for Koshi and it seems as if he's acclimated very well. It has that same sort of departure feeling as did FRIENDS/FRIENDS II when compared to the rest of the B'z catalogue at that point, even. I've also been thinking of tabbing "SAYONARA RIVER" if any of the guitar-minded folks here want to give it a try.

We'll be posting a full write-up on it in a few days I think, but you can watch the Japanese/English interview they did here in the meantime. Salas is on point and shares quite a few humorous anecdotes and such.

As for the tour setlist, I'm curious myself. I'd love to hear "Head On Collision" and I would imagine Salas is gonna play a couple of his own tunes. I'd love to hear "Tell Your Story Walkin'", especially. While Salas is a great guitarist in the studio and live, the guy can actually throw down vocals really well live.

Oh, and, the news bot will be online full-time in a couple of weeks. We'll also have the announcement of those lingering mystery projects around that time, too... Stay tuned!

[Jd-]

We're about to reveal our most involved undertaking yet, and those that saw B'z XX8 will have already had a first taste in the form of various hints. Below is all it was leading toward.

{IEAIOA_ ~OAE~} / -. --- - / ...- --- .-- . .-.. ...
—This joint message was a reverse from the norm in that the letters missing were not vowels but consonants (thus why the Morse code hint translates to "NOT VOWELS").

The Dancing Men Code
—The Dancing Men code ultimately translates to "Let us aim for September 21 2017". However, the message runs over to make the second line say "12017" in order to prevent someone from immediately recognizing "2017" and instead assuming it may mean December unless they work on the top line as well. This is the latest point we would want to release the upcoming project, but if it feels "complete" before then, we'll go for sooner!

"28:08" Overlay
—This refers to a shirt worn prominently at this timestamp that says "Love in different colors". This will be very relevant to the project that's about to be announced.

AF8
3
B2
E0
—Put these together, and... you get a label for the other effort of its kind undertaken on these forums.

As for the rest...
—There are several other elements that won't be answered here because they specifically reveal some of the songs that will be included in the project that is about to be announced below. For those, you'll have to work them out yourself!

[Jd-]

As teased previously, our next project will be the B'z International Showcase! This video project will aim to create an all-new compilation that will not just be in English... but in Spanish, Chinese, German, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, Arabic, and any other language that you know! We want to release this compilation with as many languages included as possible and can only do it with your help.

If you're open to translating a few songs from English to your language of choice, click here to volunteer!

The translation package (which includes full instructions) will be sent out very shortly and requires absolutely no technical knowledge of any kind. You will simply be translating from text files and sending it back. Nothing more to it than that!

---

Can't Help with Translation? Join us by contributing a personal message!

As part of this video project, we want to incorporate written messages from as many international fans as possible. All you would have to do to contribute would be to hand-write or digitally draw a brief message of roughly one to two lines—preferably in your native language—and send it our way via PM at this link. We'll do the rest!

Please Note: All contributions will be incorporated ANONYMOUSLY—in other words, your message will appear amidst several others without your screen name attached.

If you decide to contribute a written message to be included in the project, here are the guidelines:

1) Each message should be roughly two lines long, but three lines is okay too. Keep in mind this message will be displayed during a video, so it will be "read" by the viewer in the allotted time it is on screen. The content of the message can be humorous, sentimental, meaningful, or anything in between.

2) Your written message can be about anything B'z-related. Some ideas from submissions we've already received:
—Your first experience with B'z and how you discovered them
—A message about a B'z song you specifically relate to or remember fondly
—A translated quote from a B'z song (please also write in the song title; see example at the bottom)
—Just a quick commentary on the band in general

If you are unsure about any of this, please continue to the bottom for some actual examples.

3) Because there will be several English contributions, it would be great if your message was in your native language. Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese—anyone and everyone is welcome! If you prefer English, by all means contribute in English!

4) The message may be written by hand and photographed via phone or scanner, or you may draw your message in Paint, Photoshop, Gimp, or any other imaging application. We prefer not to use typical typed messages with a normal font simply because it will not assimilate well with what we have in mind for this video. If that is your only option, we will gladly work with you on that!

5) Once you have written your message, please also directly transcribe the original text in your language -AND- provide an English translation if it is not in English already. This is because a translated subtitle will be shown on screen above your written message to allow viewers in other languages to understand it as well.

6) Please upload the image file of your message to an image service such as http://www.imgur.com/ and send it directly. Please also include the above transcription -AND- English translation if the message is not in English already. All messages and translations will be checked by other natives before release, so don't worry too much!

MESSAGE EXAMPLE:

When submitting your message, all you need to do is include them in this format:

IMAGE OR IMAGE LINK HERE
[LANGUAGE] (Which language you are writing in, to ensure there is no confusion)
[TRANSCRIPTION] (Transcription of the image in question here)
[ENGLISH] (English translation of your message if not already in English)

Below is a sample of what an entry could look like (forgive the handwriting):

Spoiler:

[LANGUAGE] Vietnamese
[TRANSCRIPTION] "Miễn là còn sống trên đời, ta sẽ gặp lại nhau vào một ngày nào đó ở nơi đây." (Itsuka no Mata Koko de)
[ENGLISH] "So long as we're alive, we can meet here again someday." (Itsuka Mata Koko de)

Whether you're submitting your message, volunteering to translate to your language, or have a question of any sort, send a PM here anytime!

[k11chi]

I'm thinking on practising Love Phantom with my new Casio. That transition at 1:15 is SICK!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JnOF7jy_vA

[Folka]

Hi just heard the Music Stage performance of INABA / SALAS. Something seemed off. Inaba went off pitch many times. I wonder why

[Jd-]

I'm thinking on practising Love Phantom with my new Casio. That transition at 1:15 is SICK!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JnOF7jy_vA

Fantastic version indeed! Let us know how it goes if you decide to tackle it.

Hi just heard the Music Stage performance of INABA / SALAS. Something seemed off. Inaba went off pitch many times. I wonder why

Apparently his in-ear monitor wasn't working so he wasn't able to hear himself/the music. If you rewatch, you can see that when the first chorus started, he was already checking his ear-piece, and right after that he was checking the receiving unit on his belt (which he also checked again later in the performance, too). It bears noting there was another band earlier in the evening that also had monitoring issues (and some other artists were lip-syncing, as is common with certain types of pop acts for these TV performances, so it wasn't obvious even if they had the same issue).

Overall, I'm hoping for a Hulu JP livestream of the INABA/SALAS tour finale so we can hear a non-TV version of the song. For those that missed 'em, here are the music videos for "AISHI-AISARE" and "OVERDRIVE" in full:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTvo4pjO4Uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQFy_vCBfuA

And, Tak & Daniel Ho's electric-acoustic instrumental album will be out in a few weeks. They uploaded slightly extended versions of two of the mini PVs here, one of which is an excellent cover of Journey's "Faithfully":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEhMPvOTxDw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlqa6Z2bgB0

[Folka]

Apparently his in-ear monitor wasn't working so he wasn't able to hear himself/the music. If you rewatch, you can see that when the first chorus started, he was already checking his ear-piece, and right after that he was checking the receiving unit on his belt (which he also checked again later in the performance, too). It bears noting there was another band earlier in the evening that also had monitoring issues (and some other artists were lip-syncing, as is common with certain types of pop acts for these TV performances, so it wasn't obvious even if they had the same issue).

Yeah, I noticed that. There was a huge improvement, but I also saw him choughing, so I assume he wasn't in perfect shape. I'm really waiting for some live video and the CD to arrive! I like the sound I'm hearing from the previews!

[Jd-]

INABA/SALAS CHUBBY GROOVE TOUR 2017 Setlist
(For 1/25 & 1/26 Shows)

1. SAYONARA RIVER
2. Kunou no Hate no Sore mo Kotae no Hitotsu
3. ERROR MESSAGE
4. NISHI-HIGASHI
5. My Mirai (2010 Koshi Solo B-side to "Okay")
6. Shirase
7. Hazumu Sekai (2004 Koshi Solo Album Song from Peace Of Mind, co-written by Salas)
8. Shoumen Shoutotsu (2004 Koshi Solo Album Song from Peace Of Mind, co-written by Salas)
9. Moonage Daydream (David Bowie Cover)
10. MY HEART YOUR HEART
11. WABISABI
12. OVERDRIVE
13. MARIE
14. AISHI-AISARE
—ENCORE—
15. BLINK
16. Police On My Back (The Clash Cover)
17. TROPHY

The setlist is quite close to what was expected, as they stuck fairly strictly to their previous collaborations and celebrated those (good call, Valentin!). That'd explain why Salas didn't throw in a solo number, though it'd have been great to see a new version of "Tell Your Story Walkin'" and of course to finally hear "Head On Collision"! Oh, and speaking of which: The song "BLINK" from the album is actually a Japanese remake of one of Salas's previous tunes, "The Uprise", from his solo work. Given they played every song from CHUBBY GROOVE, it's possible the setlist will be the same throughout.

[dumytru]

Hi just heard the Music Stage performance of INABA / SALAS. Something seemed off. Inaba went off pitch many times. I wonder why

Apparently his in-ear monitor wasn't working so he wasn't able to hear himself/the music.

This is kinda sad .

[Folka]

INABA/SALAS CHUBBY GROOVE TOUR 2017 Setlist
(For 1/25 & 1/26 Shows)

1. SAYONARA RIVER
2. Kunou no Hate no Sore mo Kotae no Hitotsu
3. ERROR MESSAGE
4. NISHI-HIGASHI
5. My Mirai (2010 Koshi Solo B-side to "Okay")
6. Shirase
7. Hazumu Sekai (2004 Koshi Solo Album Song from Peace Of Mind, co-written by Salas)
8. Shoumen Shoutotsu (2004 Koshi Solo Album Song from Peace Of Mind, co-written by Salas)
9. Moonage Daydream (David Bowie Cover)
10. MY HEART YOUR HEART
11. WABISABI
12. OVERDRIVE
13. MARIE
14. AISHI-AISARE
—ENCORE—
15. BLINK
16. Police On My Back (The Clash Cover)
17. TROPHY

The setlist is quite close to what was expected, as they stuck fairly strictly to their previous collaborations and celebrated those (good call, Valentin!). That'd explain why Salas didn't throw in a solo number, though it'd have been great to see a new version of "Tell Your Story Walkin'" and of course to finally hear "Head On Collision"! Oh, and speaking of which: The song "BLINK" from the album is actually a Japanese remake of one of Salas's previous tunes, "The Uprise", from his solo work. Given they played every song from CHUBBY GROOVE, it's possible the setlist will be the same throughout.

Shoumen Shoutotsu! My favourite song from Inaba!

[dumytru]

Hi just heard the Music Stage performance of INABA / SALAS. Something seemed off. Inaba went off pitch many times. I wonder why

Apparently his in-ear monitor wasn't working so he wasn't able to hear himself/the music.

This is kinda sad .

So I watched the live (finally) and I have to say it was amazing. He went off pitch only until he figured out his in-ear isn't working.