2004
Due to the band members engaging in side projects this year, Buck-Tick plays only a handful of concerts. They play the 4 most populous cities in Japan. These have been the same most populous cities since the 1960s so it's a safe bet that in a given year, Buck-Tick will play Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya.
In January, the television show "Kiseki No Tobira TV No Chikara" (AKA "TV No Chikara") started using "Gensou No Hana" as the ending theme song.
This was the year of side and solo projects, except for Hide whom only put out t-shirts. A website was created for each project. The summary for this year won't be entirely chronological due to all the projects. Rather, I will detail each project separately and then finally discuss what Buck-Tick as a whole did since the majority of the first half of the year was solo/side projects and Buck-Tick as a band's activity was sparse and mostly in the last quarter of the year.
Atsushi entered the studio on February 16 to record for his solo project and ended recording on May 13. The "Sacrifice" single was released on May 26 and "Taiji/Smell" double single on July 21. The debut album Ai No Wakusei was released on June 23. He played 2 live shows in Tokyo at NHK Hall on July 21 and 22. For the concerts, the backing band consisted of Masatomo Kawase (guitars), Ken Miyo (guitars), Tomohiro Matsuda (bass), Kousaku Abe (drums), and Maki Fujii (synthesizer, backtrack compile, & rebuild). The setlist included a new song "Explosion" and a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". From these shows, a live video, -Explosion- Ai No Wakusei Live 2004 was released on December 16. 2 books were also released as part of Atsushi's solo project. Yasou, a collection of poetry (mostly song lyrics), was released on July 14 and Sacrifice, a collection of photographs, was released on July 20. During this time, Atsushi announced that he has married again.
To promote his solo activities, Atsushi appeared in various magazines and tv/radio programs. On June 20, he appeared on Tokyo FM's radio show "Prime Time Radio. He also appeared on the TVK tv program "Mutoma Japan", which was aired on June 21-23. On July 3 (just after midnight so Japan reports it as July 2), he appeared on FM Aichi's radio show "Moondog Hour." On July 6, he appeared on FM Nack5's radio show "The Shooting Hits." On July 24, he appeared on Music On! TV program "M-On! News & Clips All Hits!", with a repeat airing on July 26. On August 1, he appeared on the Sky PerfecTV! show "Movie Delivery". On August 3, he appeared on the Ishikawa TV program "N-18." On August 25, he appeared on the Sky PerfecTV! show "Rockin' Jam."
The short film Longinus, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, was released on August 25. In it, Atsushi makes his acting debut as a vampire who hunts other vampires. (Perhaps he is planning to be like David Bowie with dual careers?) To promote the film, on August 7 at the Kudan Kaikan in Tokyo, there was a screening and a Q&A session with the filmmakers, including Atsushi.
Atsushi made a guest appearance on October 9 at the "Arabaki Matsuri" (now known as Arabaki Rock Fest) held at Sendai Accel. He appeared with Kazumasa Tanaka (Grapevine) and Leyona as the guest of Theatre Brook and were thus billed as Theatre Brook & Arabaki Super Session. [Though the band is Theatre Brook, all information I have read on this show at the time listed it as Brooks plural. The Arabaki Rock Fest website now has historical lineup information and is listing it as Brook singular.] Atsushi's solo efforts continued a little bit in 2005 but that's about it.
Lucy (Hisashi side project) released their album Rockarollica on June 9. The other members are Kiyoshi (vocals, guitars) and Katsushige Okazaki (drums, manipulate, vocals). Lucy seems to be a group where 1 member will write the entire song, rather than a collaborative effort. The easiest way to tell who wrote the song is to listen for who is the only or primary singer on the song. Hisashi and Kiyoshi had custom guitars made for Lucy that resemble coffins with a cross on it. The band embarked on the Lucy Show ~Shout, Speed, Shake Your Rockarollica~ tour in June and July for 12 dates. Kazutoshi Yokoyama joined them for keyboards and they also had 2 bassists (but not at the same show). Eikichi Iwai played the majority of shows but when he couldn't perform, they were joined by Morio Nozaki. Their setlist included covers of their influences such as The Roosters, The Rockers, and YMO. The live video Lucy Show ~Shout, Speeed, Shake Your Rockarollica~ was released on November 17. Lucy would continue in future years with more releases and live performances.
Wild Wise Apes (U-ta side project) released their album 3rd World on July 28. The other member is Atsushi Okuno (vocals), formerly of Rogue, also from Gunma prefecture. They played 2 live shows entitled Stage for 3rd World on July 30 in Tokyo and July 31 in Takasaki, Gunma. For the concerts, the backing band consisted of Akihide (guitar) and Furuton (drums). Their setlist included a Rogue song, Atsushi Okuno solo song, and a cover of The Roosters. There is little to no hope of further Wild Wise Apes activity as 4 years later in 2008, Atsushi Okuno became paralized and confined to a wheelchair after an accident. He can partially move his right arm and is an active blogger. Perhaps one day he will make computer music but who can say. This concludes the tale of Wild Wise Apes.
Toll Yagami released his solo album under the name Yagami Toll & the Blue Sky and the album was released on May 24 and entitled 1977 / Blue Sky. The songs are one continuous long track on the CD. It is a very personal album where he deals with the death of his older brother, which sparked him to become a drummer. He did not play any live shows to support the album. The album did not have any photos of the musicians who played on the album, just a simple drawing. There are two backing bands credited, Blue Sky and the Optical Surfers. At this time, the web site for Toll contained a story with drawings of how the Blue Sky came together, mostly drinking tequila with foreigners. One would have thought this would've been the Blue Sky's only effort but a new version was formed for Toll's special 50th birthday concert in 2012.
It is interesting to note that both Atsushi and Hisashi's solo/side projects were released on Victor, Buck-Tick's first record label, while U-ta and Toll chose to go the independent route. WWA Records was created to release the Wild Wise Apes record. The Blue Sky album was released by Circles Music Publishers, the Buck-Tick run company that Buck-Tick publishes all their music with. Perhaps despite the previous friction with the label, both Atsushi and Hisashi wanted the support the big label could provide or perhaps there were even some leftover contractual obligations.
Since all the other members were fully involved in side projects, writing songs, recording albums, and even playing live shows (except for Toll), it is curious that Hide did not do the same. It would take fans a few years to hear his project and find out why it wasn't released in 2004 like the other members. Instead, the fan club decided to offer Hide fans something as they were pushing projects for every member: t-shirts. Hide created his own brand of t-shirts under the moniker Six One Six, which stands for June 16, Hide's birthday. I can't be certain if clothing was more of Hide's idea or band management but it has become a mostly forgotten moment in Buck-Tick history.
The mobile fan club Love & Media Portable was launched around April for the monthly price of ¥300.
At the Night Side live album released on April 7; live video released on April 21. This is their first live release that was not filmed at a specific single or 2 day event but rather throughout the course of the tour. This gives more of a behind the scenes look at the band on tour.
On September 11, Buck-Tick played a show entitled "Akuma To Freud -Devil and Freud- Climax Together" at the Yokohoma Arena. Twelve years earlier they had held the "Climax Together" show at the same venue. The show was recorded and the Akuma To Freud -Devil and Freud- Climax Together live video was released on December 22.
Fernandes held a Buck-Tick Fair at 3 locations in October-December. Hisashi and Hide's guitars were on display along with stage costumes. Hisashi's coffin guitar from Lucy was also on display. The fair was held at the Music Land Key music store in Shibuya, Tokyo on October 30-November 8, the Shinseido Rock Inn music store in Omiya, Saitama on November 13-we, and at the Ishibashi Gakki music store in Ochanomizu, Tokyo on November 30-December 6.
At the end of the year, Buck-Tick played 3 dates under the banner The Day In Question. December 26 in Nagoya, December 27 in Osaka, and December 29 in Tokyo. This was the first time that The Day In Question shows were held outside of Tokyo.
