2012/07/07＊Takuro
「The night before Kyoto Daisakusen」
Kyoto’s still in the midst of rain with the occasional rumble of thunder. It’ll be our third time at Daisakusen, but probably the first time for us to perform there when it’s raining… I’m sure everyone’s hoping for the weather to improve though (I’d think?), us included.
O’ Great Sun, by daybreak please take the rain away, O’ Great Sun.
2012/06/30＊Takuro
「From recording to broadcast」
Huh! It’s been quiet here for almost an entire month. Last time, the staff wrote about our recording for MTV, and tonight is when it’s going to get aired. For those who can, do hurry up and tune in to MTV for the 20 o’clock broadcast so you don’t miss it!! (Even if you probably would get another chance with rebroadcasts and whatnot…)
Right now, 9mm’s in Sendai for our performance at “LAST ZEPP SENDAI” tomorrow, and just like last time when NHK aired our appearance on Top Runner (that could already be called nostalgic event… time sure flies, huh?), none of us in the band will be able to watch the broadcast. This is because we absolutely must get ready for tomorrow by indulging in the local delicacies of Sendai. (laughs) So please do us a favor and watch it for us, cause it’s going to be pretty good! Not much longer until it starts! Especially for those of you with doubts and worries such as “can 9mm pull it off unplugged?“, please tune in!
2012/05/19＊Takuro
「The Unplugged rehearsals continue」
We had a flashy showdown with KING BROTHERS. They put us in a really tough spot by pulling off such a grand show. I think they’ll have some pretty fantastic showdowns with Straightener and THE BAWDIES, too. I wanna go see ’em! I also wanna take them on again ourselves.
Turning the distortion off again, I’ve changed to my acoustic. We’ve increased our actoustic repertoire, so I think it’ll be quite a nice selection at the show itself. Letting our manager hear the new arrangements, his response was as if he was hearing new songs altogether. At any rate, there’s no doubt going to be a broadcast of it, so we definitely want you to check that out.
Looks like the weather will keep being unstable. For enduring times like that, how about some fun music and videos?
The PV for the new song by mudy on the sakuban (who just got their fourth guitarist), and the one for haisuinonasa’s song called “Chikatetsu no Doutai” are both fantastic, so for those of you feeling down because of the weather, please check them out right away. I just watched them myself. Man, pretty amazing, the both of them.
By the way, 9mm is also back to writing new songs.
2012/05/14＊Takuro
「A change of pace & other things」
Changing from the acoustic to the good old electric guitar, I’m getting ready for our show with KING BROTHERS. The rehearsals for Unplugged are really fun, too, but… I just can’t help but say that distortion really is wonderful! Playing in a rock band is fun, guys.
I tried playing the Navigator again after a long time. I’m currently pondering whether to use it at the show, too. Also, I’m considering having two amp racks.
I recommend this CD. It’s a compilation series by the title of “LateNightTales” and has different artists select all the tracks on the disc. So, this isn’t Belle & Sebastian’s new album but rather songs selected by them (their second in the series). Others featured in the series include Fatboy Slim, AIR (the French one), Jamiroquai and — possibly a good one for the 9mm fans — Arctic Monkeys, etc, so there’s a big back catalog. You’ll probably only be able to get imports of these.
Listening to a compilation made by someone else, thus having music that you didn’t choose playing in the background as you go about your life (mostly if you live in the city)… it was quite weird, actually. Not to say it’s a bad thing or anything.
2012/05/12＊Takuro
「After GW」
After Arabaki (which was a full house — thanks also to the people who were even watching from outside!) and Golden Week, we’re now working hard on the arrangements for MTV Unplugged. Yesterday we played through all the songs we’re planning on performing and were able to come up with rough arrangements for all of them. Though there might still be some changes to be made, the only thing left is for us four to just play them again and again and again.
There are new shows that are being announced as well as a number of other things I’d like to talk about, but as my head’s not really in proper working order (possibly because it can’t get used to the acoustic arrangements), I’ll be gradually talking about them when I can.
2012/04/16＊Takuro
「Concerning act4」
Our 4th live video “act4” is released on the 18th. Aside from the DVD, we’re releasing a limited first edition Blu-ray as well. They both come in the well-known case typical of the act-series. The booklet isn’t all pictures, as it also has individual interviews with the members. We haven’t been interviewed for any magazine directly this time around, so I think this’ll become the main source for reading about our sentiments on “act4”.
The live footage consists of the entire “Movement YOKOHAMA” event that took place on June 16th 2011 at the Yokohama Arena. Aside from the people who were at the show and those who came in possession of the take-out CD, this’ll be the first time you’ll be able to get the whole story of the show.
We did things limited to that day only, such as different arrangements on some songs, a section with acoustic instruments only, lighting that can only be pulled off at an arena… there’s plenty of highlights! To begin with, this was the first time we played all the songs off of Movement. Straight from the oven!
In addition, we’ve also opened a special site where we’re trying out our first paid contents (available for a limited 3 months). They consist of footage that lets you know the story behind the DVD. In this month’s “making of the commentary audio track”, questions such as “were we really drinking?” or “just what caused that sound?” will certainly be answered. However, there’s something I really want to put emphasis on here. That is…
“The first edition DVD and Blu-ray look quite similar.” (laughs)
Be careful, everyone!! To explain just how much alike they look… to give a womanly example, Manakana, or a manly example, Touch. That’s how similar they look. (laughs) For people who’ve been tired lately due to club activities or work, possibly people who are drunk, people who are wearing glasses and not contacts that day… or even just people who are a little bit careless (such as myself), it’s going to be easy to mix them up. Thus, I’m going to write how to tell the two people products apart, so those of you who haven’t reserved a copy and are obstinate about just walking into the store and grabbing your copy from the shelf — as well as for the CD shop staffers who are going to put “act 4” in those shelves in the first place — please pay attention. Ready?
The one with a black sticker on the front is the DVD.
The one tied with a black obi strip is the Blu-ray.
OK? Please recite this like a mantra when entering the CD shop. If you recite it to the point where you just end up mixing the two after all… well… it does actually say on the package which one it is if you look carefully. (“Whaaat!?”) Be careful, everyone! Do your shopping in a calm and collected fashion, yes?
Uhm. The regular edition is in a CD size case as per usual. As for the bonus footage that is the same in all the editions, they include the must-see for everyone, the shocking “going through all 42 venues of the “Movement Moment Tour 2011” in 99 seconds“. There’s another version of it on the special site which is pretty awesome as well! Also, another one that some wildly enthusiastic fans were hoping to see again since last time, the rumored “venue construction and demolition” thing is also featured. Maniacs! (Wait, wasn’t there something like that in “Hirake! Ponkikki”? “Maniacal brain power” or something?)
It won’t be long until it goes on sale. Wait for it!
2012/04/13＊Takuro
「DIAMOND HEADZ」
It was a hell of tour this time.
For both Hawaiian6 and 9mm, the voltage on both stage and in the audience grew only higher and higher the closer we got to the finale at Shinkiba. Though it didn’t feel like it, it was only a three-show tour of Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka, but it was like… how should I put it… a really satisfying one. (laughs)
As we were going “we can’t let it end with just this!” at the wrap-up party, we talked about how we’d use the title “DIAMOND HEADZ” again were we to do shows together. So even if we played a one-off show together, it might be called “DIAMOND HEADZ”. (Not that it’ll be for a while, not for the summer anyway).
At any rate, we made a promise to “definitely do this again!“, so for those of you who couldn’t get enough of the tour this time, you can look forward to there being a next time. Anyway, it feels like there might be quite a few 9mm fans who are going to want to attend Hawaiian6’s shows from now on, too. Same goes for last month’s BOOM BOOM.
And here’s something that isn’t limited just to this particular tour, but most of the bands we play with tell us how “9mm’s audience gets so fired up even when the other bands are on stage, so playing for them is awesome!” (It’s weird, but for band guys, you’ll know who your fans are when you’re standing on stage. And no, not just by looking at their T-shirts. (laughs) If you don’t believe me, you’ll know what I mean if you try playing in a band yourself.)
Among the people that like your band, seeing people in there seemingly loving and enjoying the very music you’re playing is truly a proud moment. Please pass those good vibrations to the people around you, too. For those of you that like to mosh and go wild, please don’t go too far and get yourself (or someone else) hurt. For those of you who’d rather just watch all cool-like, that’s completely OK, too. I want all kinds of people to watch us.
I’d like to take this chance to once again thank everyone who enjoys 9mm’s shows. Thank you very much!! We’ll be hoping for your continued support!! And for those of you who’ve yet to come and see us, we’ll be waiting for you!! (…looks like this wasn’t all “thanks“.)
P.S. 「act IV」 finally goes on sale next week!
2012/04/01＊Takuro
「April is here」
It’s already been a week since our tour with BOOM BOOM SATELLITES. After Hiroshima, the members from both bands kept drinking until morning, so the drive back was pretty crazy for a variety of reasons. Feeling sick from the vibrations, barely having gotten any sleep… well, I guess that’s just the usual. (laughs) Above all else, I think it serves as a reminder of the power of strong alcoholic drinks, but we’ll leave that aside.
It was a fantastic two days. We were talking about how we’d definitely play together again, so you guys look forward to it, too
As we rush into April, there’s another one right ahead of us: a heated two-band tour of Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka with HAWAIIAN6. We’ve appeared together several times at festivals, but this is our first time properly sharing the bill. I expect there to be lots of our fans who are seeing HAWAIIAN6 for the first time (as well as the other way around too, of course)…? That makes it even more stimulating. Awesome.
“To hell with petty details! Let’s just play a show!” That’s the sort of fired-up tour it’s going to be, starting from Nagoya on the 5th. The tour T-shirt is also cool stuff, so check that out!
2012/03/22＊Takuro
We’re taking part in BOOM BOOM SATELLITES’ tour 「BRANDNEW CHAPTER -GARDEN OF DELIGHT-」, of which it seems like the staff are already uploading pictures from. 9mm are only appearing on the Fukuoka on Hiroshima stops of the tour, but we’re just really happy to be able to play with them. I said this on stage, too, but we have lots of respect for them. Today was awesome and though I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow, too, it’s sad that we have to bid farewell to the delicious cuisine of Kuyshu.
I’ll go backwards in time a bit and talk about March 18th. 9mm appeared at SOUND SHOOTER vol.7. Without announcement, too. As to why, it’s because we appeared as O.A. DOTMANZ. After a remodeling operation by SOUND SHOOTER aka Rui Hashimoto (we changed into dot-pattern clothes he handed over to us), we performed as DOTMANZ, playing several 9mm covers as well as a purported new song by them.
If there was someone at the venue that day who was thinking “this band DOTMANZ, they sure look like 9mm — they’re playing covers of them, too!” and they still think that to this day, I definitely never want them to change. (laughs)
However, just to set the record straight, 9mm does not equal DOTMANZ. If you want to call DOTMANZ something, call it an enormous aggregation, a sort of organization that changes according to Rui’s remodeling operations (dot-pattern clothes, etc). After the operation is done on everyone — be it men or women — they thusly become a part of a band called DOTMANZ. So, from next year and onwards at SOUND SHOOTER, when you hear about DOTMANZ performing, please realize that 9mm is not necessarily a part of them! Actually, I wonder just who it’s going to be next time. Let’s look forward to it.
Anyway, after our performance, I enjoyed watching the other bands’ shows to my hearts content. The beer was great, too (it’s from Fukuoka and even more delicious than usual. I wonder why?). I think I might go next year even if I’m not invited. (laughs)
That’s about it. I think the crowds for both 9mm and BOOM BOOM are demanding a time that makes both your mind and body go crazy, so let us make tomorrow a day just like that, shall we not? Wait for us, Hiroshima! Goodbye, Fukuoka! We’ll definitely meet again!
Ramen CITY!!
2012/03/17＊Takuro
「March 17th is…」
…the anniversary of 9mm Parabellum Bullet’s formation. I’ll be honest: I was about to forget. It’s not like we really celebrate it every year or anything, so it was this close.
Yes. To all our fans, to all our future fans, thank you. Congratulations to both us and all of you.
By the way, today’s our 8th anniversary.
That means that next year it’s……!
We’re hoping for your continued support～!!
