2020
The year started off well. On January 29, a new single "Datenshi" was released as well as the tribute album Parade III ~Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick~. "Datenshi" had lyrics by Atsushi and music by Hisashi. The B-sides included a new song "Luna Park" (lyrics by Atsushi; music by Hide) and a live version of "Datenshi." For the cover album, the bands included Brahman, Hachiju Hachi Kasho Junrei, minus(-) featuring Chiai Fujikawa, Granrodeo, Sid, Kokusyoku Sumire, Der Zibet, Cuba Juice, Ringo Sheena, Dir En Grey, Miu Sakamoto, Gari, and Ryota Fujimaki. To promote the new single and cover album, Atsushi and Hisashi appeared on the FM Cocolo radio show "The Majestic Saturday Night" on January 25.
In February, the band's hometown of Fujioka in Gunma announced that at the end of April there would be a special collaboration where a sign would temporarily be put in front of the Fujioka train station, there would be a Buck-Tick themed manhole cover, and the member's handprints would be on display, a Buck-Tick flowerbed would be put at the site of their former high school, there would be a screening of a Buck-Tick movie, etc. Pre-orders were taken in March for a Hisashi hoodie that would be released the following month and were made in collaboration with Amplifier, who previously sold Hisashi t-shirts.
Then the year went bad. This is the year that SARS-CoV-2 AKA COVID-19 AKA (shingata) coronavirus AKA the pandemic fucked the world over. Many things scheduled to take place were rescheduled and rescheduled and rescheduled or never occurred. People were asked to stay home, not go to school or work in person, wear masks, social distance, wash hands, etc. There were delays in the manufacturing and shipping of goods. There were many jobs lost and lives extinguished. Many bought fancy clothes but had no place to go. For awhile it seemed as if live music would be gone forever. Even the mighty rock gods of Japan were not immune. Buck-Tick were in the middle of recording a new album when Japan started to shut down. By April, the hometown collaboration was postponed indefinitely. Being an island and no stranger to isolating themselves from the rest of the world, it wasn't long before things started to have some semblance of normality again in Japan while the rest of the world fought over toilet paper and politicized epidemiology.
U-ta was scheduled to guest perform once again at the memorial concert for his friend's father, Yoshio Harada, on February 29. However, that was postponed to August 6 and eventually cancelled altogether.
On March 18, B-T Live Product -Ariola Years- was released. It was a box set of 10 previously released live videos on Blu-ray with a live photo booklet. The live shows covered 2000-2010. If one already owned all of these when they were originally released on DVD, perhaps there was not enough bonus material incentive to purchase it unless you're a completist or have abandoned DVD for Blu-ray.
U-ta was scheduled to appear on March 26 at the seventh "Ongaku To Hito" magazine sponsored talk event "Oretachi, Pro Yakyu Daisuki Musician Desu! held at Shinjuku Loft Plus One. However, due to pandemic gathering concerns and restrictions, this was shifted to a virtual audience. U-ta can be seen wearing a black Tigers jersey or jacket but I think he was wearing this over his usual yellow Tigers official fan club jersey as the yellow jersey is visible in other photos from this day. Other musicians who appeared include Atsushi Inoue (New Rote'ka), Kouji Ueno (The Hiatus), Takuya "Moby" Okamoto (Scoobie Do), Kyosuke (Bakudan Johnny), Great Maekawa (Flower Companyz), Shinichirou Satou (The Pillows), Koji Hayashi (Triceratops), and Kanji Yamamoto (formerly of The Cigavettes).
At the end of March, it was announced that t-shirts illustrated by Atsushi Kamijo (creator of the comics "To-y" and "Sex"") in collaboration with Gain (garment, artist, illustration, noise). There were two designs, one of the entire band and one just of Atsushi. Both were available on solid white or solid black t-shirts for ¥8,580. These became available in December.
Both U-ta and Toll were scheduled to perform at Guitar Circus Vol.9 on April 13 at Shimokitazawa Garden but it postponed until 2021 and was different than originally planned. (More on that in the section for next year.) Guitar Circus Vol.9 was to celebrate the 50th birthday of singer/guitarist Kenta Harada and the 52nd birthday of drummer Eiji Mitsuzono. 4 bands were scheduled to appear: Katamali (Kenta's band with Eiji), Yagami Toll & Blue Sky (Kenta on guitar, Kaname on bass, Masato Yagi on guitar), ARB tribute band (Kenta on vocals/guitar, Mitsuhiro Saito on vocals/guitar, U-ta on bass, Makoto Takahashi on drums), and Kenta Harada as a solo artist (Kaname on bass).
Toll was scheduled to perform at an event on April 28 at Shimokitazawa Garden to celebrate the 60th birthday of his side project bassist Kaname. Historic Route ~Kaname 60th Birthday Live~ was to feature several artists including Kaname solo, Human Beat Jumbo Band, Cosa Nostra, Yagami Toll & Blue Sky (with Kenta Harada, Masato Yagi, Shime), Love Jets, Blind Headz, along with DJs Sadao Osada and Jun Sasaki.
Buck-Tick originally scheduled a series of fan club and mobile site member only gigs to take place in 7 major cities around the country in May and June. Due to pandemic concerns, these were at first postponed until February-April 2021 but by the end of the year it was clear that the pandemic was not improving so the concerts were cancelled altogether.
As we all needed something to do, Buck-Tick held a series of Saturday concert streams on YouTube and Nico Nico from May 2-June 13. These were previously released shows sold on home video and made available as a live stream, not archived for later viewing. If you couldn't afford to buy your own copy of these shows, the free streaming was a welcome treat. Many fans wrote comments or tweeted as they watched. This was held again from July 31-September 9 but on Wednesdays.
In July, Amplifier finally sold the Hisashi figure as part of their vinyl collectible doll (VCD) series. It was originally supposed to be available in January. They were made in collaboration with their parent company Medicom Toy Corporation. Also in July, the band sold special summer merchandise that they may have not offered if the world wasn't in the middle of a pandemic. This included a mask (normal enough in Japan), mask case, and door opener (so your hands don't get germs). The other items were common enough for summer merchandise, but with Buck-Tick branding, such as a USB powered fan and Hawaiian style shirts (aloha!). Since Toll couldn't hold his annual birthday concert in August due to the pandemic, he sold merchandise instead, including a mask case and door opener.
Toll was interviewed as part of a radio special on FM Gunma on July 31. The special broadcast was called Gunma3B and it was centered on the 3 big 'B' bands that have come out of Gunma prefecture: Boøwy, Buck-Tick, and Back Number. When a listener who wants to learn drums asked Toll for advice, he emphasized that there are no shortcuts when it comes to learning drums and to take it one step at a time.
Feeling the need to help Buck-Tick fans get together virtually and hoping to finally create a bridge between Japanese fans and non-Japanese fans, I began holding Buck-Tick album listening parties on Twitter on August 1. Largely inspired by Tim Burgess and the success of his listening parties with the original artist. Although, I am no one and with no such clout, I thought just fans listening at the same time around the world and tweeting in their respective language would be fun. Maybe some people isolated would find others they could talk to. Funny enough, in 2019 I held various polls on Twitter to see what's everyone's favorite album, single, video, side project, etc. I used those results and picked the top album to start off the listening parties. Six/Nine kicked off #BuckTickListeningParty and I asked people to suggest what to listen to next, held a poll, and then the top choice was the next week's album. It continued through 2021, eventually listening to every Buck-Tick studio album and side project. I even created playlists on Spotify so we could listen to all the b-sides and other songs not captured on studio albums, but were limited by the selections on Spotify as the band's discography is incomplete on that platform. (I got carried away and made pre-show playlists with artists that Buck-Tick were influenced by or various other themes so if you're interested, check it out.) The highlight though was when people who have worked with Buck-Tick tweeted as well, such as Raymond Watts when we listened to Schwein and Owen Paul when we listened to Taboo as he produced it. (Thank you kind sirs!) After the albums were over, I tried switching to watching live videos with #BuckTickViewingParty but that was more difficult to sustain as the albums are much easier to access. My hope of bridging Japanese and non-Japanese fans didn't come together though. Perhaps the time zone difference is too great because I tried to find a time that most of the world is awake but the times were not very good for any fans within a couple of time zones near the international date line, such as Japan and Australia.
On August 26, the single "Moonlight Escape" was released. The song's lyrics were written by Atsushi and music by Hisashi. This makes another album were all of the singles were written by Atsushi/Hisashi. The B-side was available on the upcoming album. On September 21, the album Abracadabra was released. It turns out that the last 3 singles made it onto the album, including 2019's "Kemonotachi No Yoru." Though it was a double single, "Rondo" did not make it to the album. The album's cover artwork was notably different than Buck-Tick's past image. It seems like a happy fantasy world and perhaps that is the kind of contrast that is needed in a dark pandemic world. Pastel goth. With retro formats being cool, this album was available on vinyl and cassette tape. A new Buck-Tick album has not been available on vinyl since 1989's Taboo and perhaps the last new album on cassette tape was 1992's Koroshi No Shirabe ~ This is NOT Greatest Hits. What to do though if one is not a young hipster or an old person who never let go of ancient technology? Buck-Tick answered that by releasing B-T branded record players and cassette tape players. You're welcome. The record player was a Vinyl Motion model by Ion and sold for ¥24,900. The cassette player was a portable model and sold for ¥4,600. They also announced this album would have an international release out of a UK based record company complete with lyric translation into English. Could this mean that the band has their sights set on playing outside of Japan again? Only time will tell.
From September 18-30, one could enjoy Buck-Tick in virtual reality/augmented reality at the Nagoya TV Tower. On the third floor, the Speed XR facility opened that showcased VR/AR. There were 3 songs from The Day In Question 2019 to view as well as 3 music videos available in 360 degree viewing. Throughout November, there was another item added, a Peach Booty G animated video using Buck-Tick's song "Que Sera Sera Elegy" with animated cameo appearances by the band.
On September 26, Atsushi and Hisashi appeared on the FM Cocolo radio show "The Majestic Saturday Night" to promote the new album.
Working musicians not working means money is not coming in. The band decided to hold a virtual concert with no audience. Abracadabra Live on the Net took place on September 21 with streaming passes available on several platforms, including the ability for worldwide fans to view. This is notable as many sites in Japan only accept Japanese credit cards or addresses when submitting payment. The first part of the stream was a pre-recorded interview where each member was filmed separately. Then the concert was live. Fans across Japan and the world stared at their little glowing screens and remembered for a moment what it's like to be at a concert. The band seemed stiff and unsure how to perform in this brave new world but by the end of the show they had loosened up. Perhaps they had forgotten what is was like when they were pioneers and held a no audience concert for Japanese cable tv in 1991. Ever the self-promoter, Hisashi cautiously wore his B-T branded mask whenever he wasn't singing. (Seems he wanted to save his family from the germs of his skanky bandmates.) At one point, U-ta held a piece of paper to show all the things that have happened for the band on September 21. Not to brag but it would have been easier for him to view the front page of this website as I have a today in Buck-Tick history side column and his paper missed a couple things. That's OK U-ta, Engrish is hard and you weren't wearing your reading glasses.
Realizing there's money to be made in these no audience concerts, the band filmed a concert and showed it across with country with audio systems strong enough to feel like the band is sweating and stinking up the stage right there with you. Perhaps they were remembering when things like this used to happen in the 1980s in Japan or when the band had theatre releases that have never made it to home video. (When are you going to release "Film Product?" Are you there Buck-Tick? It's me, B-T Zone.) Anyway, Tour 2020 Abracadabra On Screen opened on September 26 at Tachikawa Stage Garden in Tokyo with two screenings that day. It then moved on to major cities until ending on December 26 in Osaka. Most of those cities held 2 screenings in one day. In total, there were 26 dates that one could attend. Tokyo had 5 dates, Osaka had 3 dates, and some areas (like where my family is from) didn't have a venue near enough to watch it at all. What's a concert without merchandising, merchandising, merchandising! One of the items sold was a face mask that was a collaboration of Hisashi and Kiryuyrik.
In October, the band sold Halloween themed merchandise. Usually this would have been sold at live shows but since there's no live shows, these were limited to online sales. The most pandemic type of thing they sold was a neck gaiter face cover that made the wearer look like a B-T jack-o'-lantern.
On October 7, the literary magazine "Bungei" published their winter edition and the contents broke the internet as it was revealed that the prize-winning author Haruka Toono is the son of Buck-Tick frontman Atsushi Sakurai. This was such a big news item that the magazine went into a third printing, which is only the second time they had to do that since they launched in 1933. The magazine published a conversation between the two that could be considered respectful in Japanese culture as Atsushi referred to his son as Prof. Toono and Haruka referred to his father as Mr. Sakurai but even as a Japanese person it felt cold and weird for them to do that. (The word used was "sensei" which can mean teacher, master, doctor, professor, etc.) Haruka had been a guitarist in bands in high school and college but quickly realized he prefers to listening to music rather than performing in public and shifted to writing stories. Haruka graduated from Keio University Faculty of Law and won the 2020 Akutagawa prize for his novel Hakyoku (meaning "Break-up" or "Split"). Though not the youngest person to ever win the prize, he was the first prize-winner born in the Heisei era (he was born in 1991 and the era was 1989-2019). He only began publishing in 2019 so that's quite an achievement. (Please note that I don't know what his major was at Keio but it's a private university and one of the top in Japan. The law school has two campuses and offers other majors such as politics, journalism, communications, etc. By one interview though, I would guess he did study law.) Haruka has said that he's been in contact with his father only more recently but has listened to Buck-Tick since elementary school. Atsushi has said that he is aware of what his son has been doing since university and was shocked when he first read Hakyoku because it's close to the type of art he likes. Overall, my impression is that Haruka is a little bit shy so we should continue to respect their privacy.
In November, there were several announcements of goods. First, Buck-Tick held the Relief Crew Project, which sold new merchandise and the profits were to be donated to live crew members. There were the usual items such as t-shirts and tote bags but they also sold a pandemic specific item--a mask case featuring a mask wearing a face covering. The sale was successful and it benefitted the staff of companies they utilize when going on tour as well as freelancers they usually work with. (In April 2021, they announced that the project generated ¥6,748,800 and named the companies that would receive the net profits.) This was perhaps the most generous band effort I noticed during the pandemic. Some bands held virtual shows to keep the money flowing, some sold merchandise or just made videos or livestreamed, and some held events to keep in touch with the fans. Others did absolutely nothing to benefit others and kept fans in the dark. We all battle our own demons but from this perhaps some suspicions about band relations were confirmed as we saw various members of bands around the world quit or become intensely creative.
Second, it was also announced in November that Buck-Tick would collaborate with Tago Studio out of Takasaki, Gunma (Higuchi brothers hometown) to sell the T3-02 studio monitor grade earphones. There were quite expensive at ¥68,200 so probably not for those listening to the new album on the Buck-Tick branded cassette player.
The international release of Abracadabra was to be through London's JPU Records on November 20 on CD and cassette tape. However, many companies experienced supply chain issues with their products during the pandemic and even this release had delays.
Finally, special jackets were for sale made in collaboration with Hisashi and Kikuchi Takeo. Technically these are 'souvenir jackets' but are known as 'sukajan' and were advertised by Buck-Tick as 'ska jacket.' This style of jacket may be unique to Japanese youth culture. They are like bomber jackets and can be warm and puffy, but perhaps it's best described as a satin version of an American lettermans jacket. There may even be (removable) hoods, though this feature seems to be rarer with the current generation of jackets sold. The key point is they are very gaudy with the embroidered design on the back. In fact, the brighter the better. There may be some embroidered decoration on the front or sleeves as well. Being that it's youth culture in Japan, often the designs may be Japanese in nature or almost gang-like in celebrating the local area with pride. Hisashi's collaboration jacket design was quite subdued. The embroidery was stitched in Kiryu city in Gunma, about 40km away from Hisashi's hometown. There were two designs and sold for ¥70,000.
In December, there was another clothing collaboration where Project (Re:II) used Buck-Tick lyrics on tapestries, masks, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweatpants. The goal was to be sustainable with the future in mind and the theme was 'No.9 New World Just Calling You.' Most of the designs had a splattered paint look and were done by Kazuhiko Takakura. The price ranged from about ¥3,080-¥11,880
Tired of virtual sex, it was finally time to experiment with having an in person audience. Buck-Tick dared to hold the annual year end show with masks required for the audience and a break to clear the air. Abracadabra The Day In Question 2020 took place on December 29 at the Nippon Budokan. This was the first time that The Day In Question show had additional words in the title. This show was also available to purchase as a live stream worldwide. The back of Toll's stage costume declared, "FUCK OFF!! COVID-19." Then came the second encore and Toll had changed his clothes. The back of Toll's stage costume declared, "FUCK OFF!! SARS-CoV-2." (But tell us how you really feel.) The show was successful in that they claimed there were no cases of coronavirus spread due to the concert.
