FSB Shrine
Discography
postalvalhalla.com
e-mail webmaster:
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Some images used here were lifted from the official FSB web page. All images copyright FSB/Big MF Records/the original owners.
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Who the Heck is Feel So Bad?
(I should add -- I created this web site in 2000 and there is still virtually no other information on the web about this band, at least in English. I see people occasionally refer back to this site for info on the band, so I decided I really ought to update it, finally.)
Their official web site is at http://www.being.co.jp/fsb/. It used to have English and Japanese text, but has been recently redesigned for their new studio release "Perfectness". Almost everything I know about the band, I learned from their cds and their web site, but not knowing a lot about a subject has never stopped me from making a web page about it before.
Disclaimer: I'm hardly an expert on FSB. I don't run a fanclub for them, nor do I ever intend to run such a fanclub. If you run such a fan club and want me to post something about it, by all means contact me. ^_^ But please don't write to me asking any questions that aren't answered here -- if it's not on the web page, then I doubt I know the answer to your question. I've never even seen the band live.
About the Band
Daria Kawashima was a solo singer working on her second album "Don't Look Back" when she met guitar player Fuyuki Kurata. The two hit it off immediately, and decided to form Feel So Bad as a side project. They produced three singles and the first FSB albumn "Affect on the Brain" (released 26 Feb 1994) with the help of studio musicians on drums and bass.At this point, Masato "PON" Yamaguchi (drums) and Masato Ohashi (bass) joined, and FSB became a full-time metal band. "PON" and Ohashi had played together for four years in another band, and had also worked on Daria's solo album "Don't Look Back", so everyone had already played together before. And I guess, as they say, the rest is history. ^_^
The band released a mini-albumn, "Funky Side Business", on 10 Aug 1994. I'm not actually certain if the two Masatos had joined the band yet. I know they were part of the band by their 2nd full albumn release, "Power Groove", on 23 Nov 1994. I love the opening track on this cd, it starts with a goofy circus theme on horns that is picked up by the bass and drums, and then it all descends into very heavy riffing just as Daria begins to sing. Very cool! The albumn cover is pretty stupid looking though.
"Endorphine" was released on 26 Jul 1995. "In Trance" (their fourth albumn) was released 27 Apr 1996. Then, on 27 Jan 1997 they released their 5th albumn "Tokyo Power", which was a quantum leap forward for the band, in my opinion anyway. ^_^ Not only did this cd contain the Jigoku Sensei Nube theme, but overall it's just more technical and precise than the cds that came before it, with better songs. The band was really hitting their stride. Also, it was the first cd with a decent cover picture. ^_^
The band's own web site has incomplete information, so while I'm sure I've read somewhere (on one of their cds no doubt) that they've recently toured the USA twice, the only tour I know about for certain happened in July of 1997. Perhaps this is when they met Megadeth? Anyway, they started in New York, playing Webster Hall on the July 10th and CBGB on the 11th. After this they played on the 16th at "Tokyo Akasaka BLITZ" which sounds like some sort of festival or something -- no location for it is given. On the 19th they were in Los Angeles at the Whisky A Go Go, then at the Roxy on the 22nd and 23rd. And that was their first big US tour -- no wonder most people missed them. ^_^
It was a long time before I got to listen to their sixth release, "Luv.com", which came out on 15 March 1999. This is probably their best cd to date, and also more diverse than anything t hey'd done before. They mix in a lot of weird stuff -- electronica/samples, pop, complex worldbeat rhythms, a disco dance beat, even some flamenco. But when they really rock, as they do on several tracks, it's ultra-heavy. ^_^
What came next just demonstrates for me what an amazingly cool band FSB is. In order to push themselves creatively, they decided to release 12 full albumn/cds in 12 consecutive months -- 12 cds in a single year. Even more amazing, the first release, "Aisaretai! Chameleon", came out on 25 Sept 1999, only five months after the release of "Luv.com".
"Chameleon" was followed by "Trick or Treat" on 25 Oct 1999, "Rock & Roll Hymn" (a Christmas cd) on 25 Nov 1999, "Groovy Missile" on 25 Dec 1999, "Chocolate Bomb" on 25 Jan 2000, "Son of a Bitch 2000" on 25 Feb 2000, "Across a Rainbow" on 25 March 2000, "Get Happy!" on 25 April 2000, "Psychic Virus" on 25 May 2000, "Pinkish Orange" on 25 June 2000, "Virtual Vacation" on 25 July 2000, and on 25 Aug 2000 they completed the feat with their 12th monthly release (their 18th full cd overall), "Be Bop Cafe".
So there you have it, FSB put out 12 full cds in a single year, something that probably few other bands could pull off. The question everyone should be asking is: can these monthly cds possibly be that good?
I own all of the monthly cds. Luv.com is superior to any of them, but they are all very good, with strong songs and good playing/singing. Things that you notice: They are all short -- 9 or 10 songs only on each, as opposed to regular studio releases ("Luv.com" has 14). The variety and polish found on "Luv.com" isn't completely there on the monthly cds. Sky said that the most obvious difference was that the monthly cds weren't mixed quite as well as you'd usually expect. Sky's a dj, he has a better ear for those sort of things than I do.
But really, the monthly cds contain some my favorite FSB songs. While I haven't listened to their Christmas cd that much, I've been listening to "Son of a Bitch 2000" and "Psychic Virus" constantly since I got them. These are better cds than some metal bands put out with 2 or 3 years to work on them. FSB is so musically diverse that they never get boring or predictable, even after 12 cds in 12 months.
Simply put, FSB rocks! ^_^
After 2000 FSB took a long break. They release a greatest hits collection called "Feel So Best". On January 1st, 2002 they put out a live cd -- "Feel So Live Best", which was a limited release and is out of print now. They released "Daria Best" under the FSB name, although I believe it's Daria's solo work (with the band backing her). They finally returned in July 2006 with a new studio release, "Perfectness".
What's Cool About FSB?
But like many bands, you're not going to like them if you don't like the lead singer. Daria has a voice that is, in a word, "cute". This is a quality that many female vocalists in Japan have (Japan is the world leader in cute), but it's not a quality that you'd expect to find in a good metal band. But Daria has a strong voice, and growls and shouts and it all somehow works. Often she sounds a bit like a cartoon character or a demented metal muppet or something, and the band (which clearly does not take itself half as seriously as most metal bands) frequently sounds like some metal version of Saturday morning cartoon fare. Or something. But that's only one facet of the band -- as I said, they like to experiment, and they move from thrash to groove-laden metal to 140bpm metal punk, metal ballad, acoustic, pop, metal with a disco beat, funk metal, rap metal, conga rhythms, flamenco... but always back to metal with emphasis on very heavy riffing.
The guys (Fuyuki I think) also sing, usually at least one song per albumn. FSB vary their vocal approach, sometimes singing in unision on choruses for a big vocal sound, sometimes rapping or talking through part of the song, sometimes using vocal distortion effects, sometimes screaming or shouting, sometimes just singing. Whatever they do, they always sound like they're having a lot of fun. Really, if I had to sum up the band in just two words, I'd say Fun and Heavy. They really don't sound like any other metal band I know of.
What they aren't is easier to say than what they are. They aren't death or black metal, they aren't goth or symphonic metal. I'd say they aren't a progressive metal band, at least in the Dream Theater sense, but since they experiment so much you'd have to say that they have some progressive metal elements. 80's metal bands figure prominently in their influences (they've done covers of Hanoi Rocks (Tragedy), Megadeth (Skin of My Teeth), LA Guns (Kickstart My Heart) and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Do You Wanna Touch Me -- not a Jett original I know, but it's the Jett version that inspired FSB, they even say so). Their sound is pop metal, but with a lot more heaviness than you'd hear in most of the 80's hair metal bands (and also, we're talking J-Pop metal here). Although they don't sound anything like Van Halen, they're a party metal band in a similar mold, I think. They aren't interested in deep lyrics or musical atmosphere, they're just there to rock and have fun. They move from straight J-Pop songs and ballads to near-thrash pretty easily, and occasionally branch into blues-metal, rap-metal, or disco-metal. You never know what you'll get with them.
How did I discover this band?
Todd Smith lived in Japan, where he taught English. He would send anime-related stuff to his friends in the states, mostly to Tom Milliorn, but also to Tony Butterfield, to Sky Rigdon, and to me and my roommate Tom Hayes.
One day Todd sent Tom M a bunch of anime shows he'd taped off of Japanese television. One show was "Jigoku Sensei Nube" or "Demon Teacher Nube", about a high school teacher who fights demons and has a demon's hand in place of one of his own (which was cut off by the same demon, if I remember right). It was a pretty fun show even if we couldn't really understand what was going on (since it was all in Japanese). The opening theme was a very heavy hard-rock song that included some great vocal harmony.
It was "BariBari Saikyo NO.1" or "Mighty Mighty Strongest No.1", by FSB of course. We all thought it was cool. ^_^
Sky collects anime soundtracks and J-pop (Japanese pop music). He tracked down the soundtrack/theme songs for Jigoku Sensei Nube. Then he went looking for other cds by Feel So Bad. Avi, his super-anime-fanatic friend in California, helped. Soon Sky owned "Tokyo Power", which contains the theme used in Jigoku Sensei Nube.
We all thought this cd was ultra cool. ^_^
Anthony Waters also thought FSB was way-cool. He had his Japanese sister-in-law buy some other FSB cds. These were also pretty darn cool, although they were older than "Tokyo Power".
I bought "Tokyo Power" at the Kinokuniya Bookstore in the Uwajamaya Shopping Center in Seattle's International District. Sky and Tom H ordered the other cds through the bookstore. I should have too, but never did. I kept waiting for other cds to just show up at the store, but I guess they aren't popular enough or J-pop enough. I never saw one of their cds at Kinokuniya again.
Eventually I started ordering their cds over the web. This was a good thing, because owning only one FSB cd for so long was very unfulfilling. Now I have many of their cds, and plan to track down all of them. ^_^
BTW, both Avi and Anthony's (ex) sister-in-law warned us that the lyrics were rather raunchy and offensive, but what can you expect from a metal band? Anyway, it's not like the rest of us can understand any of it. ^_^
So How Can You Buy Your Own FSB CDS?
First, check out http://www.cdjapan.com.jp/. This is an online Japanese distributor of cds, movies and the like, and it's where I've got most of my FSB cds from. They're happy to sell to people outside of Japan. You have to become a member of their web site first, but that wasn't a big problem. Cds are sold in yen but they list the current US equivalent, usually around $20 or so per cde, plus shipping and handling, not too bad for an import.Other possible options include Amazon.com, which sometimes has their cds (usually for import prices), Ebay (you can get some very difficult-to-find cds via sellers on Ebay), http://www.gemm.com/, which links to thousands of small, independant new & used music sellers, many in other parts of the world -- great for tracking down hard to find cds. Another great place for hard-to-find metal cds (although I haven't seen them list FSB) is The End Records, specialists in obscure metal from around the world.
You can also sometimes find these cds through Amazon.uk or Amazon.fr, or through anime/J-pop importers.
If you have a Japanese bookstore where you live, you can probably order FSB cds through them. If you don't have a local Japanese bookstore, you can try to special order through an online one. I haven't tried this but I think it can be done. One such bookstore is http://www.sasugabooks.com/ in Cambridge, Mass.
One other option is to buy them from Japanese iTunes. This is possible if you buy a Japanese iTunes music card from J-Box. Their web site explains how to use it. I've checked it out, and nearly every FSB cd is up on the Japanese iTunes site, with the exception of the Feels So Live Best cd (and maybe the singles).
Other Japanese Metal/Hard Rock Bands
Earthshaker Darrin Divers, a friend who taught English in Japan, sent me a greatest hits tape by this metal band. They were -- eh, okay I guess. I also later found an albumn of some sort by them in a used record store, so they managed to release something in the US.
Loudness I remember that they released several albumns in the West, so somebody must have thought they were good. I never really listened to them, though. They were considered by many the premier Japanese metal band in the late 80's/early 90's I suppose.
Shonen Knife They're not a metal band but sometimes they pretend to be. I love Shonen Knife! They're definitely an acquired taste, and they certainly aren't the most skilled band in the world, but they produce some extremely infective alternative pop. I've been a big fan for years; I've seen them live twice, and own most of their cds.
The 5,6,7,8's Also not a metal band, but a girl garage band that leans towards 60's surf/frat rock. They have a US release called "The 5,6,7,8's Can't Help It!" which is a collection of material from their various Japanese releases. I've never actually seen anything else by them, but I haven't looked too hard. The US release has some phenomenally raw material on it, but some good stuff too. A wild, loud party band, lots of fun!
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant A punk band with a lot of cds out and available in the US. The only one I own is "Gear Blues" which is raw, heavy old-school punk rock. Not metal, but very heavy. They're pretty good -- actually, I like them a lot. ^_^
Guitar Wolf A noise/punk band. They're really in love with white noise, and even when they sing in English to a song you know, you can't understand what they're saying. Heh.
X Japan The creators of "Visual Kei" which was a Japanese rock style that focuses more on how the bands looked than on the style of music itself. Visual Kei bands often didn't sound anything like each other. X Japan was a power/speed metal band that developed into a progressive metal band by the end of their career.
Malice Mizer One of the best-known Visual Kei bands, probably the most popular at one point. Their music is hard to describe, but was highly orchestral and influenced by Victorian goth and French romanticism. Their guitaris Mana is well known as the founder of gothic lolita and gothic aristocrat fashion styles, and often appeared onstage and in videos dressed as a girl in elaborate outfits. Actually, the whole band was into very elaborate costuming and stage sets; they were very visually oriented.
Dir En Grey This is a band that started out as a Visual Kei band and then branched out into other styles. They've achieved quite a bit of success in the West and have toured worldwide; you can find their more recent cds quite easily in Europe and North America. Their style is also quite hard to describe because they do so many different things, often within the same song. They can be quite hard and heavy, to the point of thrash and screaming death metal-style vocals, and then can switch suddenly to progressive metal or even popish metal. I like what I've heard from them. ^_^
Luna Sea Another Visual Kei band that I've listened to. They're quite good as well.
Blood Stain Child I thought I'd list these guys just to make the point that I do realize that Japan is host to all kinds of metal. Blood Stain Child is a melodic death metal band, so for those of you who laugh when I dare to utter the phrase "heavy metal" in the same breath as pop rock bands like Shonen Knife, pop metal bands like FSB, punk bands like Thee MIchelle Gun Elephant and Visual Kei bands like Dir En Grey -- yes, real metal does exist in Japan, even if your definition of real metal only includes something with death metal growls. ^_^
I want to add that these days, with Wikipedia, Youtube, and Myspace, not to mention various band web sites, it's pretty easy to research bands no matter what part of the world they come from. I'm just listing a few bands here that I have personal experience with -- it's not meant to be a comprehensive list. Enjoy!