What kind of group was BiSH, a “punk band without instruments”? How have they changed after 8 years and 3 months?
Just before BiSH’s breakup live “Bye-Bye Show for Never” to be held on June 29, 2023 (Thursday), we interviewed two media representatives and writers who have followed the group the closest. The interviews were conducted with two of the media and writers who have been following the group most closely. Jinichiro Iida, director of the music information and sound source distribution site “OTOTOY,” and Hiroo Nishizawa, who served as director of the site and currently manages the culture magazine “StoryWriter. Both have interviewed BiSH members and producer Junnosuke Watanabe many times since the group’s formation up to the present in OTOTOY’s “BiSH~Rock’n Roll Swindle~” series.
The author, who has covered BiSH on numerous occasions, and I discussed the group’s turning points and changes in the members.
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BiSH on the eve of its formation: My first impressions of the members at the audition
-What was your first encounter with BiSH like?
Iida: Going back, it was originally from the timing of the start of BiS. Junnosuke Watanabe (Junnosuke Watanabe) contacted OTOTOY, and a while later Nishizawa-kun joined as well, so me and Nishizawa-kun followed BiS.
After BiS broke up, Mr. Watanabe called me and said, “I’m thinking of doing BiS again. Mr. Watanabe had just become independent, so he asked me to lend him OTOTOY’s office for the audition. That was the beginning. We all got together and selected the members.
-What was your first impression of each member?
Iida: Chichi had the look of a leader from the beginning. I could sense from every word that Mr. Watanabe also wanted to make her the center of the group.
As for Aina, Mr. Watanabe was going to drop her at first. But she sang outstandingly well. I and Mr. Matsukuma said so, and then Mr. Sotty (costume designer Kenta Sotobayashi) said, “She looks good in costumes,” and Mr. Watanabe said, “If everyone says so,” and so on.
Momoko came in with that innocent look and talked in a soft manner, but that somehow made the place more relaxed. When Mr. Watanabe said, “Please lift your bangs,” her cuteness came to the surface. It was as if Mr. Watanabe decided on the spot that she had passed the test.
-What do you think about Linlin and Hashiyasume Atsuko?
Iida: Linlin was similar to the way I feel now. She was cute, but also confident and a little different from the others. I remember that she left a strong impression on everyone. I felt that Hashiyasume had already established herself as a character with glasses. She seemed strong and solid as an individual.
Nishizawa: In a later episode, Junnosuke said, “I passed the test with the feeling of jumping off the clean water stage.
Iida: It is true that when he took the hashiyasume, everyone was like, “Oh! Iida: It is true that when we took Hashiyasume, everyone was like, “Oh!
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BiSH Formation – Major Debut (2015-2016)
-Do you have any events or episodes that you think marked a turning point for the group from the time of its formation to its major label debut?
Nishizawa: I think the release of our second album “FAKE METAL JACKET” was the core of the group. Songs from this album, such as “beautifulness,” are now the main focus of our live performances.
It is also refreshing to hear a change from your previous songs, which were a combination of J-pop, J-rock, and melocoa, to a more alternative guitar rock sound. There are songs like “ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE,” which goes from quiet to intense in one fell swoop. I think this is where the musical foundation of BiSH was laid.
Iida: I feel exactly the same way. I think that “Spark” and “Sarabakanana” were the period when Mr. Matsukuma and Mr. Watanabe were really getting into the swing of things. I feel that it was the music that really pulled the group forward.
-The first time I saw BiSH was at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM in 2016 (“Eden of Sorrow Tour Final “IDOL is SHiT”). At first, I had the image of BiS as a group that was going to do radical things again, but I think it was at that time that my image changed to that of a group with cool live performances.
Nishizawa: That’s right. With the completion of “FAKE METAL JACKET,” I felt that our direction was set and our focus narrowed.
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The atmosphere of the group changed with the addition of Ayuni D. (2016)
-What was your first impression of AYUNI?
Iida: Nothing but cute, so she said she was looking forward to growing up. I could clearly see that in her. I think the day after the audition, Ms. Watanabe went to Hokkaido (Auni’s parents’ home).
That’s how passionate Mr. Watanabe was, and everyone was sure of it. I remember being shocked at the balance of Aina, Chicci, and Ayuni when the three of them sang together. That was the most impressive thing.
Nishizawa: To be honest, I was scared of the atmosphere of BiSH in the beginning and didn’t want to get close to them. But when Auni joined the group, everyone was at a loss as to what to do with such an innocent girl, and the shape of the group changed a bit.
The group changed a bit from being spiky to feeling a little closer to each other. That is how much the group’s atmosphere changed when Auni joined. She had a different atmosphere from the previous members.
Signs of a breakthrough at Hibiya Noon (2016)
-When did you see the signs of BiSH’s breakthrough?
Nishizawa: For me, it was Hibiya Noon (“BiSH Less than SEX TOUR FINAL ‘Teiseikai'”). Tickets did not sell out until the day of the concert, and eventually sold out just in time. The live performance that day was great, but the live video of the “orchestra” that we released on YouTube afterwards went viral. The excitement was different from what we had seen in the past, and it felt like it was spreading outside.
-I went to Hibiya No Oto as well, and I felt that I could see something like a certainty. I remember directly saying in the backstage greeting after the concert, “We can definitely do it in a bigger and bigger place. But the members responded with something like, “Oh, thank you,” and they didn’t seem to have that much confidence in their ability to make a breakthrough.
But the fact that they came out with an “orchestral” song here suggests that they were planning to make BiSH a more popular group, and the songs that would make that possible came together at just the right time. How do you feel about it? What do you think?
Iida: I think so too.
Nishizawa: Orchestra” was initially intended to be a coupling of “DEADMAN”.
Iida: I was thinking that “Orchestra” was going to be a coupling of “DEADMAN” at first: On the other hand, it was the people at avex who said, “This is a great song, so let’s release it as a single. Mr. Watanabe and Mr. Matsukuma, who had been working independently, took their ideas and made them work as something that would sell better. In that sense, I thought the staff at avex was really amazing.
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The Makuhari Messe concert where “a punk band without instruments” became clear, and the start of solo activities (2017-2018)
-What about the key events here in 2017-2018, when the group is getting back on track?
Nishizawa: I think our 2nd major album “THE GUERRiLLA BiSH” was a big one. Matsukuma-san found a new axis in the song “My landscape” that used strings and was different from the alternative music that had been released up to that point. Furthermore, at this time, we were able to hold a guerrilla live performance on a boat in Dotonbori, Osaka, and to realize on a large scale the homage to the Sex Pistols that Junnosuke had originally wanted to do. I think the timing of this release has been a major accomplishment of that.
Iida: I would have to say Makuhari Messe (“BRiNG iCiNG SHiT HORSE TOUR FiNAL “THE NUDE”).
-I went to that concert myself, and it was amazing. I will tell you my impression first, but after seeing that show, I finally understood what it means to be a “punk band without instruments”. The audience’s enthusiasm was just like a punk band’s live performance.
More than anything, I understood the meaning of the fact that Aina came up with the choreography and the members danced to it. The members come up with their own choreography and dance to it, just like a band writing and performing their own music. I felt like I finally understood the essence of what kind of group BiSH is.
Iida: At Makuhari Messe, I thought that we might go to Tokyo Dome and become a big star. I felt the same as you, Mr. Shiba, that my concept had changed. I felt that I could do cool things, that I was no longer an idol. The quality of the music was outstandingly different from what it had been up to that point. I still remember the last song “NON TEE-UP”.
-Around this time, solo activities of Aina and Chichi, and individual activities of each member such as Auni’s PEDRO started.
Iida: I feel that Aina’s career blossomed around this time. The same goes for dance. She started to give emotional live performances around this time. They started to improvise and dance, but that is not idol dance. Idols are supposed to dance in a conventional way.
This also helped her to improve her abilities, and her songs began to reach various people and receive praise. At this time, I feel that Aina was leading the team in terms of musicality. With that, Chichi also started a solo career, Ayuni started PEDRO, Momoko wrote a book, and I have the impression that each individual’s personality started to explode.
Nishizawa: I think 2018 is the halfway point between independent and mass. I think it was a time when we were thinking about how to adjust to the situation or what we should do.
The most impactful thing about this period was the release of “NON TEE-UP” without prior notice. At that time, we had released our 4th major single “Life is beautiful / HiDE the BLUE” and both songs had tie-ups. At that time, “NON TEE-UP” didn’t have a tie-up, so we said, “Lick my tits, get your dick wet,” which was a mess.
Iida: I didn’t think “NON TIE-UP” was a good song at first, but at Makuhari Messe, I thought it was a great song. It is a great song. Even those of us who have listened to a certain amount of music were like, “What are you doing? Even those of us who have listened to a certain amount of music were like, “What are you doing?
Nishizawa: Looking back on it now, I think it was a time when the group was getting bigger and bigger, and I felt like I was going through growing pains with my solo work and “non-tie-up” stuff.
Ametalk! Finally Death” (2019), which expanded their range of expression and appearances on
-In 2019, “Ametalk! (TV Asahi), and there is also the impression that the number of fans has increased in a wider field. What kind of impression do you have of BiSH at this time?
Nishizawa: The 3rd album “CARROTS and STiCKS” was an experimental album. It had a bit of noise-like sounds, such as “Death at Last”.
Iida: BiSH is one of those things that you don’t know until you see them live. I wondered who would be featured on this song and how, and Rinrin was right in the middle. I thought, “I see, this is what I wanted to do. I thought it was great that the most inconspicuous girl, Lynn Lynn, suddenly started to have a death voice and changed her mind.
-If I had to choose a song from this period, it would be “Death at Last”. The live performance of the song was also very impressive.
Nishizawa: When I asked the members during a recent interview, many of them said that this work was significant. They said it expanded their range of expression. I also feel that they were in a position to lead the junior members and other groups, rather than BiSH alone.
Iida: During an interview around this time, I said to the members, “You’re selling well,” but everyone’s clothes and belongings were the same as usual. The girls themselves were not aware that they were selling so well. No one was getting carried away, and they seemed to be working desperately.
