Husking Bee Isobe Masafumi Kudo Tetsuya Hiramoto Leona Hirabayashi Kazuya Vocals, Guitar Bass Drums Guitar Profile With releases in the US and Japan, Husking Bee's pop-punk stylings have earned them an international following. The band's signature sound is defined by catchy guitars, driving rhythms, and the perfectly balanced harmonies of Masafumi Isobe and Kazuya Hirabashi. Conveying both emotional depth and delivering an almost perfect vocal interpretation of each song, Isobe is one of the most engaging vocalists in music today. Formed in 1994, Husking Bee's original lead singer and drummer quit the band in 1995. Enter Leona Hiramoto on drums and lucky for us Isobe takes center stage as the trios' lead singer. In 1996, Hi-Standard's Pizza of Death label produced their debut album Grip. They signed to Ini [label] in July 1998 and with the release of Put on Fresh Paint in October of that same year, Husking Bee exploded on the Tokyo underground music scene. The band signed a US distribution deal with Doghouse Records and in March 1999, Husking Bee made their first US appearance at the "South by Southwest" world convention in Austin, Texas. In May Put on Fresh Paint was re-released in the US. In October 2000, Kazuya Hirabayashi joined the band on guitar and the album Four Color Problem produced by Mark Trombino was distributed by both Doghouse [US] and Toy's Factory [Japan]. After the release of one single and two albums in the US, Doghouse Records discontinued their distribution deal with the band. In September 2001, Husking Bee released their first Japanese-language song ?Shinri no Kaze? with the single Autumnal Tints. A year later their fourth album The Steady-State Theory was released. The album expanded the band's musical repertoire with acoustic and driving songs, and the Japanese lyrics exposed them to new audiences. Husking Bee's fifth album Variandante was released by Toy's Factory in Japan on April 21, 2004. Predominantly pop, Variandante is the first album they've produced with all Japanese lyrics. When asked about this, Masafumi Isobe replied, "Well, this time, there wasn't a lot of time to write so I did it in Japanese and it turned out sounding smooth. If I had another month I would have tried doing it in Italian..." No matter what language Isobe sings in, Husking Bee's fast driven pop-punk and melodic vocals are always an unforgettable and captivating experience. It is a shame that another record company hasn't stepped up to distribute this band's newest release outside Japan. Soon after the publishing of this profile Husking Bee announced their plans to disband on March 6, 2005. What follows is Isobe's official announcement. "Husking Bee is going to disband. It's been 10 years that we've been playing together. I feel very happy that this band that was started by friends without much of a clear goal has had so many meetings and farewells, recorded and played at all sorts of places, and was able to move forward with a goal in mind. With regards to our progress, my feelings of thanks to those who supported us are neverending. It is a big turning point, but we will be spending much time on our activities from here on, so please continue to support us. The positive feelings of everyone who participated in Husking Bee's music will be a big support for us from now on. Thanks for the long time we've had. Isobe [磯部]" - Denise Smith (published 2005.01.16, updated 2005.11.13) Links Artist homepage ini Samples Discography list Albums PDCA-16 GRIP Unknown Put On Fresh Paint TFCC-88127 Put On Fresh Paint DGH058-2 Put On Fresh Paint DGH058-1 Put On Fresh Paint LP TFCC-88167 Four Color Problem Unknown Four Color Problem DGH081-1 Four Color Problem LP TFCC-89008 Autumnal Tints TFCC-86114 The Steady-State Theory TFCC-86146 Variandante TFCC-86176 Anthology 1994-2004 Singles TFCC-87040 The Sun and the Moon HWCA-1009 A Single Word TFCC-89053 Day of the Sun/Aoi Tenmetsu EPs DGH068-2 The Sun and the Moon DGH068-7 The Sun and the Moon 7-inch INIR-6 Inisplit Compilations BSR-0001 This is Pop HWCY-1030 Doghouse Sixty AMBR-001 It's Gonna Be ALLright [ALL Tribute Album] UPCH-1171 The Blue Hearts 2002 Tribute AVCW-12304 Dive into Disney [CCCD] TFCC-86123 Hungry for Carnage BFCA-83510 Elephant Kashimashi Cover Album DVDs Unknown London Nite 20th Anniversary on the year 2000 Unknown Space Shower Special Kyokuto-Saizensen TFBQ-18030 Clips TFVQ-68067 Clips [VHS] TFBQ-18057 050306 [Last Tour Live]		The Sun and the Moon (Single) Released: 1999.10.06 (TFCC-87040) Label: Toy's Factory Tracklist 1. The Sun and the Moon 2. Still in the Same Place 3. Nochini Ato 4. Face the Sunflower Put On Fresh Paint LP (Album) Released: 1999.07.27 (DGH058-1) Label: Doghouse Records Tracklist 1. Sing to Me 2. Life 3. Put On Fresh Paint 4. Sun Myself 5. On the Surface 6. One Day 7. Ambirious Men 8. People Around Me 9. A Single Word 10. Wouldn't It Be Nice 11. Natural Course 12. You Came Back 13. Our Wings Put On Fresh Paint (Album) Released: 1999.05.20 (DGH058-2) Label: Doghouse Records Tracklist 1. Sing to Me 2. Life 3. Put On Fresh Paint 4. Sun Myself 5. On the Surface 6. One Day 7. Ambirious Men 8. People Around Me 9. A Single Word 10. Wouldn't It Be Nice 11. Natural Course 12. You Came Back 13. Our Wings Put On Fresh Paint (Album) Released: 1998.10.07 Label: ini Tracklist 1. Sing to Me 2. Life 3. Put On Fresh Paint 4. Sun Myself 5. On the Surface 6. One Day 7. Ambirious Men 8. People Around Me 9. A Single Word 10. Wouldn't It Be Nice 11. Natural Course 12. You Came Back 13. Our Wings Put On Fresh Paint (Album) Released: 1998.10.07 (TFCC-88127) Label: Toy's Factory Tracklist 1. Sing to Me 2. Life 3. Put On Fresh Paint 4. Sun Myself 5. On the Surface 6. One Day 7. Ambirious Men 8. People Around Me 9. A Single Word 10. Wouldn't It Be Nice 11. Natural Course 12. You Came Back 13. Our Wings GRIP (Album) Released: 1996.12 (PDCA-16) Label: Pizza of Death Records Tracklist 1. Anchor 2. 8.6 3. Walk 4. The Show Must Go On 5. Don't Give a Shit 6. Share the Joy of Our Tour 7. Bear Up 8. Question 9. Only Way 10. Don't Care at All 11. Go it Alone 12. My Own Course 13. Beat It 14. All Your Life « 1 2 3 4 Organise Select type All Album Single EP Compilation Demo DVD Order by release date title type back to profiles
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