To see the member profiles as seen on the official website (plus a bit of my input and research!) click here to go to the "The Band" section of this site: http://bumpawesomeenglish.blogspot.com/p/band-member-profiles.html.
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2012
September 12 23rd single, "Firefly" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
April 7 Start of the GOLD GLIDER TOUR
January 18 22nd single, "Good Luck" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
2011
Dec. 2011 - Jan. 2012 Start of the GOOD GLIDER TOUR
November 2 5th video clip compilation, "Cosmonaut" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
October 19 21st single, "Zero" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
May 11 20th single, "Smile" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
2010
December 15 6th album, "Cosmonaut" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
October 13 18th single, "Letter to an Astronaut / Motorcycle" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
April 21 17th single, "Magic Cooking ~From You to You~" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
April 14 16th single, "HAPPY" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
April 10 "BUMP OF CHICKEN SECRET" show at Roppongi Hills Arena
2009
November 25 15th maxi single "R.I.P. / Merry Christmas" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
2008
August A period of production began
August 1 Appeared in ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2008
Feb. - July Homeship Satellite tour
Jan. - Feb. Homesick Satellite tour
2007
Dec. 19 5th album "Orbital Period" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Oct. 24 13th maxi single "The Flower's Name" & 14th maxi single "Mayday" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Oct. 19 Appeared in SCHOOL OF LOCK! LIVE TOUR "YOUNG FLAG" at ZEPP TOKYO
Oct. 17 Appeared in FM802 "Design the Night" Special Live ~Icon-Tact at Namba Hatch
July - Sept. Appeared in our first summer event in a year!
July 16 Appeared as secret guests in High Line Records 10th Anniversary ~First Summer in Ten Years~ at ZEPP TOKYO!
2006
Nov. 22 12th maxi single, "Hometown of Tears" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Sept. 20 First silent film production "Puppet Show Guild" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
March 22 First Motoo Fujiwara solo soundtrack album "SONG FOR TALES OF THE ABYSS" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
March 11 Live show at the Samseong Textile Center in Seoul, South Korea
Jan. - March "Run Rabbit Run" tour
2005
Dec. 14 12th maxi single "Karma / Supernova" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Nov. 23 11th maxi single "Supernova / Karma" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Aug. 10 Live shows "LIVE AT PLANETARIUM" in Aichi, and at the Love, Earth Fair Sasashima Satellite Exposition Assembly Hall "COSMO ZONE THEATER"
July - Sept. Summer events
July 21 10th maxi single "Planetarium" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
2004
Dec. 19 Live show at ROLLING HALL, Seoul, South Korea
Dec. 11 & 12 Final show of PEGASUS YOU tour in Makuhari Messe international exhibition hall, halls 9-11
Dec. 1 9th maxi single "Wheel Song" and 3rd video collection "Yggdrasil" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Sept. - Nov. MY PEGASUS tour
Aug. 25 4th album "Yggdrasil" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
Summer events start with our first live show in South Korea
July 7 8th maxi single "Only Lonely Glory" released (TOY'S FACTORY)
May 29 Sakura City Gymnasium live show
May 6 Tower Records Shibuya, in-store live show
April 28 "FLAME VEIN +1," "THE LIVING DEAD," and ""Video Pokiiru DVD Edition," originally released by High Line Records, are re-released by TOY'S FACTORY
March 31 7th maxi single "R.A." released (TOY'S FACTORY)
2003
Dec 25 New website!
Aug. 3-31 Summer shows
Then we begin a period of recording and incubation
May 13 - June 15 NINJA PORKING tour
March 12 "Lost Man / Sailing Day" released
March 8 Live show at SPACE SHOWER Music Video Awards 03 at Nippon Budokan
Feb. 28 Live show at ZEPP TOKYO for ONE PIECE preview showing
2002
Dec. 18 "Snow Smile" released
Dec. 3 - 18 LOVE & PORKIN' tour
Aug. 7 - Sept. 7 B.O.C presents BAUXiTE page 1 and summer shows
May 16 "Jupiter" score book goes on sale!
March 25 Chiba LOOK event (and an article about BUMP published in B.PASS July edition)
March 23 Japan-wide tour kicked off at Akasaka BRITZ: "BUMP OF CHICKEN LIVE TOUR [POKISTA 21]"
Feb. 20 New album "Jupiter" goes on sale!!
Jan. 26 - Feb. 4 FM Event Tours & BUMP OF CHICKEN present POKIRETSU CHINHYAKKA (Rare Objects). BUMP toured with bands they like, and playing with their usual intensity and MCing with peacefully smiling faces.
Jan. 5 Let's get to work! We went to go get artist portraits taken.
2001
Dec. 30 Done recording! All we have left is the mastering~
Nov. 20 Begin broadcast of "BUMP OF CHICKEN ALL-NIGHT JAPAN-r" (every Tuesday, late night, from 3 AM to 4:30 AM)
Oct. 17 4th maxi single "Halcyon" released
A classical sound with a universal melody, and faith. With this song BUMP opens a new door and enters the final stages of completing their album. Before the release BUMP finished their tour "SURF PORKIN'" and say they wish they could tour more, however they say "It's over so we will enjoy the present to the fullest with no regrets," and they will keep these words in their hearts, but for now they turn their attention to finishing the album before the end of the year. [Translator's note: this is a pretty huge sentence here, and I tried to make it sound good while not cutting the meaning]
Aug. 31 Begin working on broadcast of "BUMP OF CHICKEN ALL-NIGHT JAPAN.com"
Aug. 8 To devote time to the summer tour we participated in one event, "ROCK IN JAPAN FES." as the first performance.
July 21 Our summer tour, SURF PORKIN', began with Chiba LOOK! Thanks to you all the tickets sold out in the blink of an eye on the first day. Once again our drummer Masu ran into the problem of having his birthday while on tour (Aug. 10th at Kyoto MUSE HALL). The members gave him birthday presents on stage.
May During this two month period we have been absorbed in album production work, and have not done any promotions. During this time, on the one month anniverasary of "Star Gazing" (Tentai Kansoku) on 5/21, it was at 3rd place on the Oricon charts!
April 4 Our show "BUMP OF CHICKEN ALL-NIGHT JAPAN-R" is on air. On this day we also started our regular show, "BUMP TV ~Men's Experience~" on SPACE SHOWER TV. (Check the "Information" page for details.) [Translator's note: this is no longer on the website.]
March 23 We started our first Japan-wide one-man tour in the band's hometown at Chiba LOOK and went from the north to the south on STAR PORKING GU TOUR 2001. All locations SOLD OUT. You could watch our final performance at Shibuya AX live online at beatrip.com. It far exceeded our expectations when over 2,020,000 people accessed it online!! The show was broadcast on SPACE SHOWER TV on 6/24 on "BUMP TV ~Men's Experience~"during a 1 hour special.
March 14 3rd maxi single "Star Gazing" released! (TOY'S FACTORY). The song was chosen for FM Radio 18's country-wide power play and for SPACE SHOWER TV's "POWERPUSH," and has been initially ranked in 8th place on the Oricon charts…!! The day before Star Gazing went on sale we had a special surprise on beatrip.com. Over 1,100,000 accessed the site!!
March 10 Neo Stream Live Vol. 2 at Shibuya AX with Kiseru and Fra-foa
Feb. 18 Our first live show of the 21st century is our own event: "De La! Locha!!" (special version with HUSKING BEE, Huckleberry Finn, at Shibuya ON AIR EAST) .
January Diligently working on new songs and practicing.
It's 2001! The 21st century! All the members of BUMP are 21 years old as the 21st century begins.
2000
December We were busy with recording and radio appearances, but perhaps as backlash from last year (?) the members ended up leisurely spending New Year's at home with their families.
Dec. 15 CHICKEN GEORGE event at Kobe
Dec. 9 Event with THE CROOVES and MO'SOME TONEBENDER at Nagoya E.L.L.
Dec. 3 Event with YOUNG PUNCH and Syrup16g at Sendai JUNK BOX
Nov. 26 Event to promote BUMP OF CHCKEN: "De La! Locha! Vol. 2" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251. We were asked to come by Syrup16g as a continuation from the previous event.
Oct. 16 Our first time selling cover papers at "ROCKIN' ON JAPAN." These papers were Fujiwa's own hand-drawn illustrations of the members. [Translator's note: I'd love to see these if anyone has one! Fujiwara is a really good artist. :D)
Oct. 1 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251
We also completed our 4-day tour for the anniversary of the release of "Diamond." Some people who came to the tour told us that they think the tour venues were too small. There were many people who could not get tickets, and we got a lot of messages on our homepage saying things like, "I wish the venues could have been larger," and "Why are you still having shows in such cramped places?" However, there was a reason. This tour was promoted by TVK TV & SPACE SHOWER TV "LIVE Y" and in B.PASS (on sale 10/27.)
Sept. 30 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251
Sept. 24 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Chiba LOOK
Sept. 23 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Chiba LOOK
Sept. 21 2nd maxi single "Diamond" is released (TOY'S FACTORY.) It initially ranked at 15th on the Oricon charts. This day we were also working on the broadcast of "BUMP OF CHICKEN ALL-NIGHT JAPAN R."
Sept. 16 We had our first special appearance on SPACE SHOWER TV "SSS." It was packed with photos from previous live shows!
Sept. 3 "SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2000" event at Hibiya Outdoor Theater
Aug. 29 "RUSH BALL 2000" event at Namba Mother Hall
Aug. 27 "Sound Marina 2000" event at Hiroshima Kannon Marina
Aug. 9 "MAJI ROCK FESTIVAL" event at ZEPP Fukuoka
Aug. 3 "LIVE STOCK 2000" at ZEPP Sendai
July 27 We finished both performances for "Summer Pokiiru 2" at Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO. It was a more emotional show than we expected. It it too difficult to put into words. I'm sorry.
July 23 "Summer Pokiiru 2"at Shinsaibashi CLUB QUATTRO
July 22 To do a photo shoot we got together early in the morning and went to Lake Hamana (well, it was really the Lake Hamana Service Area by the highway.) We were blassed with fine weather and everyone turned red with sunburn (Masu's skin tans the most.) The next day we had a live show in Osaka we we stayed in Hamamatsu.
May 13 SWEET LOVE SHOWER EXTRA at Osaka Castle Outdoor Concert Hall. After this we took a break from live shows until the middle of July to concentrate on recording.
May 7 Live show at Shibuya ON AIR WEST (presented by High Line Records)
May 4 MUSIC DAY at Hibiya Outdoor Theater
April 18 Appear on "LIVE SHOWER PHANTOM" on SPACE SHOWER TV
April 16 "TOUR POKIIRU" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251 (final show of the tour). Today in front of the live house there was a long line of people hoping to get one of the limited same-day tickets.
April 14 High Line Records in-store live show
April 2 Our regular radio show on BAY-FM, "BUMP OF CHICKEN PONTSUKA" was lengthed to 20 minutes! It was also moved to a time slot at 3 AM.
March 30 "LIVE Y" at Club Asia
March 27 Tour to commemorate our album release, "Tour Pokiiru" starts at Chiba LOOK
March 26 BUMP appears on "SING" on SPACE SHOWER TV in our first special video appearance
March 25 2nd album "THE LIVING DEAD" is released (and ranks at 86th on the Oricon charts)
March 17 Guest appearance on JAPAN COUNT DOWN (TV TOKYO)
March 6 Osaka Banana Hall event (sponsored by FM802 "BREAth THE MUSIC" and "EGG STAND")
March 2 Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (Huckleberry Finn presents "草加印其の一" [Translator's note: not sure what this is?]
Feb. 29 Live show at Chiba LOOK (with Huckleberry Finn and BUNGEE JUMP FESTIVAL)
Feb. 25 1st video collection "Video Pokiiru" is released (High Line Records)
Feb. 19 Appear in "SPEEDBALL" event at Akasaka BLITZ.
Feb. 14 Live show at Fukuoka DRUM Be-1
Feb. 12 Live show at Osaka MUSE HALL
Feb. 10- We go on tour with Noodles. Live show with Chewing Gum Weekend at Nagoya Heart Land on Jan. 16, "Green Green 2000" at Shimo Kitazawa SHELTER (with BEAT CRUSADERS / SNIFF, and Syrup16g)
Jan. 8 Our first appearance on "JAPAN COUNT DOWN" (TV TOKYO)!
1999
Dec. 31 We did a New Year's Eve event. We counted down, moving from Shibuya DESEO to Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO to Shimo Kitazawa Club 251. May no problems arive in 2000.
Dec. 23 End of the year special, High Line Records in-store event (4th time on Naoi's birthday)
Dec. 12 "Happy Turn" event at Shimo Kitazawa (with Campanella and Syrup16g)
Dec. 7 Appear on SPACE SHOWER TV's "MATAHARI"
Dec. 4 Live show in Shimo Kitazawa GARAGE (planned by Melodians "Search for Burning Love")
Nov. 27 "Extremely Rich Person" live show to commemorate the release of "LAMP" at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE
Nov. 25 1st maxi single "LAMP" released (High Line records)
"Extremely Poor Person" live show to commemorate the release of "LAMP" at Chiba LOOK
Although it's our first single we were chosen for SPACE SHOWER TV's "POWER PUSH!" and we also won in the TVK TV's "Mutoma Japan" "VIDEO CLIP DARBY," so there is a bit of a sensation around "LAMP."
Nov. 3 Event to promote BUMP OF CHICKEN: "De La! Locha!" at Shimo Kitazawa Club 251 with Syrup16g
Oct. 24 Event at Hibiya Outdoor Theater (DRAW THE HIGH LINE)
Oct. 23 All-night event at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (planned by GASH and "TRAVEL AIR")
Oct. 11 Live show at Shibuya ON AIR WEST
Oct. 8 Omiya HEARTS live show
Oct. 3 Start "PONTSUKA" on BAY-FM's NEO STREAM NIGHT!! (Every Sunday night at 4 AM, for 5 minutes)
Sept. 30 Serial column "I'm Hideo" begins in QUIP MAGAZINE (sold at the start of the month every 3 months)
Sept. 23 Live show at Shibuya DESEO (with BUNGEE JUMP FESTIVAL and HEAD GOOD TV)
Sept. 15 Final show of the tour at Chiba LOOK. All advance tickets as well as tickets sold that day sold out instantly!
Sept. 12 Live show at Nagoya E.L.L.
Sept. 10 Live show at Osaka Shinsaibashi CLUB QUATTRO ("Cabaret," produced by Chiwaki Mayumi) with Kururi and MANGA HEAD. Most audience members were Kururi fans, but the members were moved by how warmly they were received. We gave an encore of our well-known song in Chiba and Tokyo, "DANNY" (thank you everyone on the staff!) After the show, as aways we ate dinner then returned to the hotel, and then we played a rare game of "Very Rich Man" (a card game.)
Sept. 9 Travelling day. We had free time until the evening so the members decided to go to the Atomic Bomb Dome. In the car to Osaka they peacefully talked together about the impact of the bomb, about humans, and about themselves.
Sept. 8 Live show at Hiroshima Neo Polis. After the show we of course ate Hiroshima style okonomiyaki for dinner.
Sept. 7 Live show at Fukuoka DRUM Be-1. Some people even came all the way from Nakasaki to see BUMP. After the show we of course ate ramen for dinner.
Sept. 6 We arrived in Kobe at dawn. The members could not hide their sleepiness and so we napped until the afternoon (in a love hotel, of all places.)
Sept. 5 We set out for Tokyo for our first Japan-wide tour, "HANSO-DE TOUR '99!" We were awake until the dawn recording, but what is with this merry mood?! On August 26th we had a live show at Shima Kitasawa CLUB 251 ("Coordinated Science Research Deptartment Vol. 8" with Life Recorders, GOING UNDERGROUND, and GUN.)
Aug. 25 Live show at Chiba LOOK ("Breaststroke Tournament ~Swimming Swimming~")
Aug. 20 Live show at Shibuya Club Asia ("Club DI:GA" with Noodles, GIANT STEP, Pete Best, etc…) Since it is summer vacation many people from Osaka, Niigata, Nagano, Sendai, Hokkaido and other places came to see BUMP.
Aug. 15 Omiya Nack 5 Town in-store live show
Aug. 8 Live show at Chiba LOOK (with Wagon, Sepa, and In the Soup)
Aug. 3 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa SHELTER (with Sorbitol and FLOWER ROCK.) It was BUMP's first live show in a while. 100 people came.
July 30 The first day of FUJI ROCK Fes. At first all the members were really excited to go, but only Masu had saved up the money to go. In the end, Masu went by himself on the train.
July 15 Our serialization in BREaTH started (from vol. 9 onwards)
July 13 B.PASS interview. We talked and talked! According to our energy levels we may be featured in more editions of the magazine in the future.
July 3 Live show in Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251 (with Stainless and Simmons.) After this we will be taking a short break from live shows. We will use this chance to send out the instruments for their first repairs ever.
June 30 Live show at Kumagaya VOGUE… In June alone we had 5 live shows. We may have been too worried that it would be cold in Kumagaya at first, but the show was great. BUMP gives nice, inobtrusive shows…
June 27 Live show at Omiya Hearts (with Sun Tower, Gillcover & the Monkey)
June 22 Live show at Shibuya Attic (with HUSBAND, dai dai, JET SET, and BELOTECS)
June 13 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (Wilbury, Cruyff in the Bedroom)
June 3 Live show at Chiba LOOK
May 22 Shima Kitazawa CLUB QUE "High Line Night" event live show (with Carnies, Giant Step.) This was out first time selling out of tickets in Tokyo! As the people at the store said, "It's the tears of the year's final event!" [Translator's note: I don't have a clue what this means! I researched and could not figure it out, but it might be related to a Japanese proverb or something? The original is お店の人曰く「年末のイベントなみだね！」Anyone know?]
May 20 Live show at Shibuya Attic (with MANGA HEAD, Water Pic Man, Patty's Oblian)
May 5 In-store live show at HMV Shinjuku South store (with GIANT STEP.) Our music video was playing on a huge screen, the members were projected on a huge screen, and the band was merrily performing on stage. Over 300 people came to see them today.
May 4 Live show in Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. Because it is MUSIC DAY (what is that?) SPACE SHOWER TV filmed BUMP (it will be on air on June 9th, 1999.)
May 1 Live show at Chiba LOOK. Because all tickets were sold out, 35 fans could not get in and waited in front of the shop! The shopkeepers told them that capacity had already been reached, but the fans pushed inside anyway.
April 10 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa GARAGE (with APOLLO TEAM, Hermann Hesse & The Pacemakers, BUZZ-EDGE)
April 1 Live show at Osaka Banana Hall. Maybe because of our show yesterday, about 30 people bought tickets to today's show.
March 31 We were guests on FM Hirakata. We had a show at Osaka BAYSIDE JENNY. Compared to the last time we came to Osaka, it was unexpectedly cold. It made the members rethink about coming to Osaka. But despite such thoughts we got a lot of survery results.
March 30 Live show at Shibuya ON AIR EAST. After the show we headed toward Osaka!
March 28 Live show at Shimo Kitagawa CLUB QUE. We heard that some famous people in the industry may be coming to watch.
March 22 One man live show at Chiba LOOK to celebrate sales of our CD. We had originally meant to play with another band, but they had an accident and had to cancel. But we still had an amazing show with 150 fans. We played a song about a friend who moved far away, and it was a moving performance.
March 18 Our first album was released with High Line Records, "FLAME VEIN"! To commemorate this day we had an in-store acoustic show at Shimo Kitazawa High Line Records. 150 fans came to see us! The stairs in front of the store were covered in fans. SPACE SHOWER NEWS covered the show. It will also be published in the free paper "DAVILS' CRISIS" #2.
March 10 Our show at Shimo Kitazawa's SHELTER that fans had been looking forward to was a great success.
March Masukawa was accepted into college. It's nice weather and we're going to restart band activities.
1998
Dec. 11 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. Thanks to the influence of our CD and casette tape close to 100 people came just to see BUMP OF CHICKEN. Our fans cam from places ranging from Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Gunma, Ibaraki, and Tochigi.
We were invited to 5 different events but had to refuse them all, and paused band activities for college entrance exams. We used winter vacation to record for 3 days.
Dec. 6 We launched a free paper, "HELLS IMPACT"
Oct. 27 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa
Oct. 25 In-store live show at High Line Records to commemorate sales of our first CD. So many people crowded in to see BUMP that a store employee told us, with surprise, "I've never seen so many people in the store before!" After that our CD went on the High Line Records sales chart, reached second place (our demo tape was also on the chart,) and sold out in a month. The last part of "BUMP OF CHICKEN's VIVA!! LONGFELLOW" will be broadcast of BAY-FM's "NEO STREAM NIGHT."
Oct. 24 We appeared in an event at Chiba LOOK. 250 came to the event! Our 1st CD "BUMP OF CHICKEN" (only 500 copies produced, sold at High Line Records and our live shows, serial number included) was on preorder. 200 copies were sold.
Oct. 18 "BUMP OF CHICKEN's VIVA!! LONGFELLOW" broadcast of BAY-FM's "NEO STREAM NIGHT."
Oct. 8 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. We sold out our quota. Tokyo's wind is still cold.
Oct. 4 BAY-FM's "NEO STREAM NIGHT" begins an indies corner with a month-long special guest. The form it takes is "BUMP OF CHICKEN's VIVA!! LONGFELLOW."
Sept. 30 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. This is a first booked live in Tokyo, and many fans from Chiba came to cheer us on.
Sept. 23 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
Sept. 15 We gave a show at Chiba LOOK that they planned for us. Two bands played and close to 200 people showed up. The plan was "to cover each other's songs in alternation" and the other band covered our song "R.A." which caused a great chorus to rise from the audience.
Aug. 30 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
July 27 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
June 25 - 28 We had a joint performance with Switch at Meidaimae Kid Ailack Art Hall for a musical. Its title was "Running Woman." For the musical we wrote about 6 songs. There were 6 showings and many people came to each one, and we closed with great success.
June 7 We gave a show at Chiba LOOK that they planned for us. About 230 people came to the event!
May 27 One-man live show at Chiba ANGA. 150 fans show up. We set the ticket price at 651 yen to express thanks to our fans who always come and support us.
May 17 Live show at Design Festa. We played in a space meant for fashion shows, but we sold out all the demo tapes we brought in 5 minutes.
May 3 We gave a show at Chiba LOOK that they planned for us. 200 people came to the event!
April 29 We gave a show at Nishiogikita TURNING that they planned for us. It was full of people who have already heard about BUMP OF CHICKEN.
March 31 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
March 15 At Chiba ANGA, BUMP OF CHICKEN had our first comeback show, a historic one-man performance. 130 fans, who had waited eagerly for us, showed up.
March It was Spring, and one of our members had entered college, one was a ronin [translator's note: a drifter, or waiting for the next year to take college entrance exams again], one was taking exams, and one was headed to Tokyo to get his chef's license and driver's license. Our demo tape was at 3rd place on the High Line Records total sales chart. It stayed in the top 10 for months after that.
1997
October We gave a planned show at Chiba ANGA. We sold out of 50 demo tapes in 10 minutes there. Due to our success, we started selling them with Shimo Kitazawa High Line Records after that (and ended up selling 1000 demo tapes total.) After the this the band took a breat to study for college entrance exams.
June - August We gave 5 live shows on our first tour "CHICKEN'S KNIFE." Although, all of these shows happened in Chiba. Therefore is was really a Chiba tour. At our final show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (where we played for 15 minutes) we distributed our first survey, and got back 50.
January We were encouraged by our first live show in the city (at Shimo Kanazawa at their all-night event.)
1996
August We performed Glass Blues at Beat Brust in Japan. We shined at this Japan-wide grand prix. The prize we hoped for and received was… A Macintosh 1. We ran into the problem of how to devide the prize, and since no one had any games we carried it to Masu's house. The Macintosh will rest at Masu's house…
From February to April, one of our members was absent. We constantly did live shows after that (but of course we had to take a break for exams.) In 1996 we entered "DANNY" in the '96TFM contest. We advanced to the Kantou level, and received an odd prize.
1995
July Our first live show was our high school music festival. It was our first time performing our own original songs (but we weren't nominated to win.) But, we still got to meet people. We told ourselves, "We've got to go somewhere together!" so in the summer we're going to go and visit Karuizawa without any songs to work on.
1994
In 1994, in their 3rd year of middle school, Fujiwara, Naoi and Masu formed a band. They began to do more than cover the Beatles, so after high school entrance exams they added Masukawa on guitar, and they all went on to different high schools but still continued the band.
It was in Sakura City in Chiba Prefecture.
These 4 who had been friends since kindergarten, who all but one went to the same elementary school as Nagashima Shigeo [translator's note: Nagashima Shigeo is a famous baseball player and team manager], met up again in middle school.
Aug. 8 To devote time to the summer tour we participated in one event, "ROCK IN JAPAN FES." as the first performance.
July 21 Our summer tour, SURF PORKIN', began with Chiba LOOK! Thanks to you all the tickets sold out in the blink of an eye on the first day. Once again our drummer Masu ran into the problem of having his birthday while on tour (Aug. 10th at Kyoto MUSE HALL). The members gave him birthday presents on stage.
May During this two month period we have been absorbed in album production work, and have not done any promotions. During this time, on the one month anniverasary of "Star Gazing" (Tentai Kansoku) on 5/21, it was at 3rd place on the Oricon charts!
April 4 Our show "BUMP OF CHICKEN ALL-NIGHT JAPAN-R" is on air. On this day we also started our regular show, "BUMP TV ~Men's Experience~" on SPACE SHOWER TV. (Check the "Information" page for details.) [Translator's note: this is no longer on the website.]
March 23 We started our first Japan-wide one-man tour in the band's hometown at Chiba LOOK and went from the north to the south on STAR PORKING GU TOUR 2001. All locations SOLD OUT. You could watch our final performance at Shibuya AX live online at beatrip.com. It far exceeded our expectations when over 2,020,000 people accessed it online!! The show was broadcast on SPACE SHOWER TV on 6/24 on "BUMP TV ~Men's Experience~"during a 1 hour special.
March 14 3rd maxi single "Star Gazing" released! (TOY'S FACTORY). The song was chosen for FM Radio 18's country-wide power play and for SPACE SHOWER TV's "POWERPUSH," and has been initially ranked in 8th place on the Oricon charts…!! The day before Star Gazing went on sale we had a special surprise on beatrip.com. Over 1,100,000 accessed the site!!
March 10 Neo Stream Live Vol. 2 at Shibuya AX with Kiseru and Fra-foa
Feb. 18 Our first live show of the 21st century is our own event: "De La! Locha!!" (special version with HUSKING BEE, Huckleberry Finn, at Shibuya ON AIR EAST) .
January Diligently working on new songs and practicing.
It's 2001! The 21st century! All the members of BUMP are 21 years old as the 21st century begins.
2000
December We were busy with recording and radio appearances, but perhaps as backlash from last year (?) the members ended up leisurely spending New Year's at home with their families.
Dec. 15 CHICKEN GEORGE event at Kobe
Dec. 9 Event with THE CROOVES and MO'SOME TONEBENDER at Nagoya E.L.L.
Dec. 3 Event with YOUNG PUNCH and Syrup16g at Sendai JUNK BOX
Nov. 26 Event to promote BUMP OF CHCKEN: "De La! Locha! Vol. 2" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251. We were asked to come by Syrup16g as a continuation from the previous event.
Oct. 16 Our first time selling cover papers at "ROCKIN' ON JAPAN." These papers were Fujiwa's own hand-drawn illustrations of the members. [Translator's note: I'd love to see these if anyone has one! Fujiwara is a really good artist. :D)
Oct. 1 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251
We also completed our 4-day tour for the anniversary of the release of "Diamond." Some people who came to the tour told us that they think the tour venues were too small. There were many people who could not get tickets, and we got a lot of messages on our homepage saying things like, "I wish the venues could have been larger," and "Why are you still having shows in such cramped places?" However, there was a reason. This tour was promoted by TVK TV & SPACE SHOWER TV "LIVE Y" and in B.PASS (on sale 10/27.)
Sept. 30 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251
Sept. 24 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Chiba LOOK
Sept. 23 "Pro Pokiiru Autumn" at Chiba LOOK
Sept. 21 2nd maxi single "Diamond" is released (TOY'S FACTORY.) It initially ranked at 15th on the Oricon charts. This day we were also working on the broadcast of "BUMP OF CHICKEN ALL-NIGHT JAPAN R."
Sept. 16 We had our first special appearance on SPACE SHOWER TV "SSS." It was packed with photos from previous live shows!
Sept. 3 "SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2000" event at Hibiya Outdoor Theater
Aug. 29 "RUSH BALL 2000" event at Namba Mother Hall
Aug. 27 "Sound Marina 2000" event at Hiroshima Kannon Marina
Aug. 9 "MAJI ROCK FESTIVAL" event at ZEPP Fukuoka
Aug. 3 "LIVE STOCK 2000" at ZEPP Sendai
July 27 We finished both performances for "Summer Pokiiru 2" at Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO. It was a more emotional show than we expected. It it too difficult to put into words. I'm sorry.
July 23 "Summer Pokiiru 2"at Shinsaibashi CLUB QUATTRO
July 22 To do a photo shoot we got together early in the morning and went to Lake Hamana (well, it was really the Lake Hamana Service Area by the highway.) We were blassed with fine weather and everyone turned red with sunburn (Masu's skin tans the most.) The next day we had a live show in Osaka we we stayed in Hamamatsu.
May 13 SWEET LOVE SHOWER EXTRA at Osaka Castle Outdoor Concert Hall. After this we took a break from live shows until the middle of July to concentrate on recording.
May 7 Live show at Shibuya ON AIR WEST (presented by High Line Records)
May 4 MUSIC DAY at Hibiya Outdoor Theater
April 18 Appear on "LIVE SHOWER PHANTOM" on SPACE SHOWER TV
April 16 "TOUR POKIIRU" at Shimo Kitazawa club 251 (final show of the tour). Today in front of the live house there was a long line of people hoping to get one of the limited same-day tickets.
April 14 High Line Records in-store live show
April 2 Our regular radio show on BAY-FM, "BUMP OF CHICKEN PONTSUKA" was lengthed to 20 minutes! It was also moved to a time slot at 3 AM.
March 30 "LIVE Y" at Club Asia
March 27 Tour to commemorate our album release, "Tour Pokiiru" starts at Chiba LOOK
March 26 BUMP appears on "SING" on SPACE SHOWER TV in our first special video appearance
March 25 2nd album "THE LIVING DEAD" is released (and ranks at 86th on the Oricon charts)
March 17 Guest appearance on JAPAN COUNT DOWN (TV TOKYO)
March 6 Osaka Banana Hall event (sponsored by FM802 "BREAth THE MUSIC" and "EGG STAND")
March 2 Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (Huckleberry Finn presents "草加印其の一" [Translator's note: not sure what this is?]
Feb. 29 Live show at Chiba LOOK (with Huckleberry Finn and BUNGEE JUMP FESTIVAL)
Feb. 25 1st video collection "Video Pokiiru" is released (High Line Records)
Feb. 19 Appear in "SPEEDBALL" event at Akasaka BLITZ.
Feb. 14 Live show at Fukuoka DRUM Be-1
Feb. 12 Live show at Osaka MUSE HALL
Feb. 10- We go on tour with Noodles. Live show with Chewing Gum Weekend at Nagoya Heart Land on Jan. 16, "Green Green 2000" at Shimo Kitazawa SHELTER (with BEAT CRUSADERS / SNIFF, and Syrup16g)
Jan. 8 Our first appearance on "JAPAN COUNT DOWN" (TV TOKYO)!
1999
Dec. 31 We did a New Year's Eve event. We counted down, moving from Shibuya DESEO to Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO to Shimo Kitazawa Club 251. May no problems arive in 2000.
Dec. 23 End of the year special, High Line Records in-store event (4th time on Naoi's birthday)
Dec. 12 "Happy Turn" event at Shimo Kitazawa (with Campanella and Syrup16g)
Dec. 7 Appear on SPACE SHOWER TV's "MATAHARI"
Dec. 4 Live show in Shimo Kitazawa GARAGE (planned by Melodians "Search for Burning Love")
Nov. 27 "Extremely Rich Person" live show to commemorate the release of "LAMP" at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE
Nov. 25 1st maxi single "LAMP" released (High Line records)
"Extremely Poor Person" live show to commemorate the release of "LAMP" at Chiba LOOK
Although it's our first single we were chosen for SPACE SHOWER TV's "POWER PUSH!" and we also won in the TVK TV's "Mutoma Japan" "VIDEO CLIP DARBY," so there is a bit of a sensation around "LAMP."
Nov. 3 Event to promote BUMP OF CHICKEN: "De La! Locha!" at Shimo Kitazawa Club 251 with Syrup16g
Oct. 24 Event at Hibiya Outdoor Theater (DRAW THE HIGH LINE)
Oct. 23 All-night event at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (planned by GASH and "TRAVEL AIR")
Oct. 11 Live show at Shibuya ON AIR WEST
Oct. 8 Omiya HEARTS live show
Oct. 3 Start "PONTSUKA" on BAY-FM's NEO STREAM NIGHT!! (Every Sunday night at 4 AM, for 5 minutes)
Sept. 30 Serial column "I'm Hideo" begins in QUIP MAGAZINE (sold at the start of the month every 3 months)
Sept. 23 Live show at Shibuya DESEO (with BUNGEE JUMP FESTIVAL and HEAD GOOD TV)
Sept. 15 Final show of the tour at Chiba LOOK. All advance tickets as well as tickets sold that day sold out instantly!
Sept. 12 Live show at Nagoya E.L.L.
Sept. 10 Live show at Osaka Shinsaibashi CLUB QUATTRO ("Cabaret," produced by Chiwaki Mayumi) with Kururi and MANGA HEAD. Most audience members were Kururi fans, but the members were moved by how warmly they were received. We gave an encore of our well-known song in Chiba and Tokyo, "DANNY" (thank you everyone on the staff!) After the show, as aways we ate dinner then returned to the hotel, and then we played a rare game of "Very Rich Man" (a card game.)
Sept. 9 Travelling day. We had free time until the evening so the members decided to go to the Atomic Bomb Dome. In the car to Osaka they peacefully talked together about the impact of the bomb, about humans, and about themselves.
Sept. 8 Live show at Hiroshima Neo Polis. After the show we of course ate Hiroshima style okonomiyaki for dinner.
Sept. 7 Live show at Fukuoka DRUM Be-1. Some people even came all the way from Nakasaki to see BUMP. After the show we of course ate ramen for dinner.
Sept. 6 We arrived in Kobe at dawn. The members could not hide their sleepiness and so we napped until the afternoon (in a love hotel, of all places.)
Sept. 5 We set out for Tokyo for our first Japan-wide tour, "HANSO-DE TOUR '99!" We were awake until the dawn recording, but what is with this merry mood?! On August 26th we had a live show at Shima Kitasawa CLUB 251 ("Coordinated Science Research Deptartment Vol. 8" with Life Recorders, GOING UNDERGROUND, and GUN.)
Aug. 25 Live show at Chiba LOOK ("Breaststroke Tournament ~Swimming Swimming~")
Aug. 20 Live show at Shibuya Club Asia ("Club DI:GA" with Noodles, GIANT STEP, Pete Best, etc…) Since it is summer vacation many people from Osaka, Niigata, Nagano, Sendai, Hokkaido and other places came to see BUMP.
Aug. 15 Omiya Nack 5 Town in-store live show
Aug. 8 Live show at Chiba LOOK (with Wagon, Sepa, and In the Soup)
Aug. 3 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa SHELTER (with Sorbitol and FLOWER ROCK.) It was BUMP's first live show in a while. 100 people came.
July 30 The first day of FUJI ROCK Fes. At first all the members were really excited to go, but only Masu had saved up the money to go. In the end, Masu went by himself on the train.
July 15 Our serialization in BREaTH started (from vol. 9 onwards)
July 13 B.PASS interview. We talked and talked! According to our energy levels we may be featured in more editions of the magazine in the future.
July 3 Live show in Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251 (with Stainless and Simmons.) After this we will be taking a short break from live shows. We will use this chance to send out the instruments for their first repairs ever.
June 30 Live show at Kumagaya VOGUE… In June alone we had 5 live shows. We may have been too worried that it would be cold in Kumagaya at first, but the show was great. BUMP gives nice, inobtrusive shows…
June 27 Live show at Omiya Hearts (with Sun Tower, Gillcover & the Monkey)
June 22 Live show at Shibuya Attic (with HUSBAND, dai dai, JET SET, and BELOTECS)
June 13 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (Wilbury, Cruyff in the Bedroom)
June 3 Live show at Chiba LOOK
May 22 Shima Kitazawa CLUB QUE "High Line Night" event live show (with Carnies, Giant Step.) This was out first time selling out of tickets in Tokyo! As the people at the store said, "It's the tears of the year's final event!" [Translator's note: I don't have a clue what this means! I researched and could not figure it out, but it might be related to a Japanese proverb or something? The original is お店の人曰く「年末のイベントなみだね！」Anyone know?]
May 20 Live show at Shibuya Attic (with MANGA HEAD, Water Pic Man, Patty's Oblian)
May 5 In-store live show at HMV Shinjuku South store (with GIANT STEP.) Our music video was playing on a huge screen, the members were projected on a huge screen, and the band was merrily performing on stage. Over 300 people came to see them today.
May 4 Live show in Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. Because it is MUSIC DAY (what is that?) SPACE SHOWER TV filmed BUMP (it will be on air on June 9th, 1999.)
May 1 Live show at Chiba LOOK. Because all tickets were sold out, 35 fans could not get in and waited in front of the shop! The shopkeepers told them that capacity had already been reached, but the fans pushed inside anyway.
April 10 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa GARAGE (with APOLLO TEAM, Hermann Hesse & The Pacemakers, BUZZ-EDGE)
April 1 Live show at Osaka Banana Hall. Maybe because of our show yesterday, about 30 people bought tickets to today's show.
March 31 We were guests on FM Hirakata. We had a show at Osaka BAYSIDE JENNY. Compared to the last time we came to Osaka, it was unexpectedly cold. It made the members rethink about coming to Osaka. But despite such thoughts we got a lot of survery results.
March 30 Live show at Shibuya ON AIR EAST. After the show we headed toward Osaka!
March 28 Live show at Shimo Kitagawa CLUB QUE. We heard that some famous people in the industry may be coming to watch.
March 22 One man live show at Chiba LOOK to celebrate sales of our CD. We had originally meant to play with another band, but they had an accident and had to cancel. But we still had an amazing show with 150 fans. We played a song about a friend who moved far away, and it was a moving performance.
March 18 Our first album was released with High Line Records, "FLAME VEIN"! To commemorate this day we had an in-store acoustic show at Shimo Kitazawa High Line Records. 150 fans came to see us! The stairs in front of the store were covered in fans. SPACE SHOWER NEWS covered the show. It will also be published in the free paper "DAVILS' CRISIS" #2.
March 10 Our show at Shimo Kitazawa's SHELTER that fans had been looking forward to was a great success.
March Masukawa was accepted into college. It's nice weather and we're going to restart band activities.
1998
Dec. 11 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. Thanks to the influence of our CD and casette tape close to 100 people came just to see BUMP OF CHICKEN. Our fans cam from places ranging from Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Gunma, Ibaraki, and Tochigi.
We were invited to 5 different events but had to refuse them all, and paused band activities for college entrance exams. We used winter vacation to record for 3 days.
Dec. 6 We launched a free paper, "HELLS IMPACT"
Oct. 27 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa
Oct. 25 In-store live show at High Line Records to commemorate sales of our first CD. So many people crowded in to see BUMP that a store employee told us, with surprise, "I've never seen so many people in the store before!" After that our CD went on the High Line Records sales chart, reached second place (our demo tape was also on the chart,) and sold out in a month. The last part of "BUMP OF CHICKEN's VIVA!! LONGFELLOW" will be broadcast of BAY-FM's "NEO STREAM NIGHT."
Oct. 24 We appeared in an event at Chiba LOOK. 250 came to the event! Our 1st CD "BUMP OF CHICKEN" (only 500 copies produced, sold at High Line Records and our live shows, serial number included) was on preorder. 200 copies were sold.
Oct. 18 "BUMP OF CHICKEN's VIVA!! LONGFELLOW" broadcast of BAY-FM's "NEO STREAM NIGHT."
Oct. 8 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. We sold out our quota. Tokyo's wind is still cold.
Oct. 4 BAY-FM's "NEO STREAM NIGHT" begins an indies corner with a month-long special guest. The form it takes is "BUMP OF CHICKEN's VIVA!! LONGFELLOW."
Sept. 30 Live show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB 251. This is a first booked live in Tokyo, and many fans from Chiba came to cheer us on.
Sept. 23 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
Sept. 15 We gave a show at Chiba LOOK that they planned for us. Two bands played and close to 200 people showed up. The plan was "to cover each other's songs in alternation" and the other band covered our song "R.A." which caused a great chorus to rise from the audience.
Aug. 30 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
July 27 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
June 25 - 28 We had a joint performance with Switch at Meidaimae Kid Ailack Art Hall for a musical. Its title was "Running Woman." For the musical we wrote about 6 songs. There were 6 showings and many people came to each one, and we closed with great success.
June 7 We gave a show at Chiba LOOK that they planned for us. About 230 people came to the event!
May 27 One-man live show at Chiba ANGA. 150 fans show up. We set the ticket price at 651 yen to express thanks to our fans who always come and support us.
May 17 Live show at Design Festa. We played in a space meant for fashion shows, but we sold out all the demo tapes we brought in 5 minutes.
May 3 We gave a show at Chiba LOOK that they planned for us. 200 people came to the event!
April 29 We gave a show at Nishiogikita TURNING that they planned for us. It was full of people who have already heard about BUMP OF CHICKEN.
March 31 Live show at Motoyawata ROUTE 14
March 15 At Chiba ANGA, BUMP OF CHICKEN had our first comeback show, a historic one-man performance. 130 fans, who had waited eagerly for us, showed up.
March It was Spring, and one of our members had entered college, one was a ronin [translator's note: a drifter, or waiting for the next year to take college entrance exams again], one was taking exams, and one was headed to Tokyo to get his chef's license and driver's license. Our demo tape was at 3rd place on the High Line Records total sales chart. It stayed in the top 10 for months after that.
1997
October We gave a planned show at Chiba ANGA. We sold out of 50 demo tapes in 10 minutes there. Due to our success, we started selling them with Shimo Kitazawa High Line Records after that (and ended up selling 1000 demo tapes total.) After the this the band took a breat to study for college entrance exams.
June - August We gave 5 live shows on our first tour "CHICKEN'S KNIFE." Although, all of these shows happened in Chiba. Therefore is was really a Chiba tour. At our final show at Shimo Kitazawa CLUB QUE (where we played for 15 minutes) we distributed our first survey, and got back 50.
January We were encouraged by our first live show in the city (at Shimo Kanazawa at their all-night event.)
1996
August We performed Glass Blues at Beat Brust in Japan. We shined at this Japan-wide grand prix. The prize we hoped for and received was… A Macintosh 1. We ran into the problem of how to devide the prize, and since no one had any games we carried it to Masu's house. The Macintosh will rest at Masu's house…
From February to April, one of our members was absent. We constantly did live shows after that (but of course we had to take a break for exams.) In 1996 we entered "DANNY" in the '96TFM contest. We advanced to the Kantou level, and received an odd prize.
1995
July Our first live show was our high school music festival. It was our first time performing our own original songs (but we weren't nominated to win.) But, we still got to meet people. We told ourselves, "We've got to go somewhere together!" so in the summer we're going to go and visit Karuizawa without any songs to work on.
1994
In 1994, in their 3rd year of middle school, Fujiwara, Naoi and Masu formed a band. They began to do more than cover the Beatles, so after high school entrance exams they added Masukawa on guitar, and they all went on to different high schools but still continued the band.
It was in Sakura City in Chiba Prefecture.
These 4 who had been friends since kindergarten, who all but one went to the same elementary school as Nagashima Shigeo [translator's note: Nagashima Shigeo is a famous baseball player and team manager], met up again in middle school.
nice blog & help me to know about BOC .. i'm new fans BOC :D
ReplyDeleteThank you! And you've discovered an awesome band. :D
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