How BACK-ON took KENJI03, GORI, TEEDA and SHU from Adachi to the world.
In Tokyo, KENJI03 met and befriended GORI, feeling that they were kindred spirits. In their 6th year in school, a friend who played guitar very well influenced them and they realized that they wanted to start a band. Though, they did so separately. The two attended the same primary school in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, a district that, by Japanese standards, is filled with crime and high-density, public housing blocks. It is this less than glamorous background that remains a big part of BACK-ON's identity.
In high school, KENJI03 met TEEDA while GORI met SHU. They each started out in separate bands, but they naturally began turning toward each other to form their own band. At this time KENJI03 met his brother's friend, MACCHIN, who became the band's drummer.
In September 2002, Jesse who is the vocalist and one of the guitarists of RIZE, named the band BACK-ON using kanji that means "Sound Explosion." For their first couple of years, they performed with other artists such as RIZE, SPHERE of INFLUENCE, and SCREAMING SOUL HILL to name a few, and were included on the compilation album luv graffiti 2 in December 2003.
It wasn't until the following year that they released their first mini-album, ADACHI TRIBE, on October 27th. 2004 was busy not only with the recording of their first mini-album, but also with their participation on two compilation albums and at numerous performances, which included those for the STOP AIDS CLUB MOVEMENT and 「ADACHI TRIBE」TOUR FINAL. One of the compilation albums, which included artists on Avex, was released the same day as ADACHI TRIBE; it was titled OPTION presents STREAM Z J-LOUD.
BACK-ON went into 2005 at full speed when they released two more mini-albums, one joint album with Pink Flamingo MG and had 111 concerts in one year as their popularity grew rapidly. On November 25th, they had their BABY ROCK TOUR FINAL ONEMAN SHOW at the Shibuya club Asia, which was completely sold out.
In 2006, BACK-ON did the theme track, Chain, for the anime Air Gear, which only helped increase the band's popularity; not only within Japan, but in other countries as well. In April, their song Kodou was used for the television show Tokyo! Mayokara. Considering the popularity gained by Chain being in an anime, the new single was a hit as well! They garnered the same success with the release of their mini-album NEW WORLD, which received good reviews. Following their participation in the Final Ryu Tour on December 14th, MACCHIN withdrew as the band's drummer.
In early 2007, the position of drummer was filled by ICCHAN. The year looked bright for the band as they continued with the anime connection, providing the opening theme of Murder Princess with the track Hikari Sasuhou, along with the songs A day dreaming... and BLAZE LINE to the anime Eye Shield 21. During that year, BACK-ON was also scheduled to perform at two anime conventions: Anime Matsuri in the USA and Anime Evolution in Canada.
Having already made an impact in the Japanese television community, BACK-ON provided the ending theme to the television program Keitai Sosakan 7, a 51-episode drama, with their song Sands of Time, which began airing on April 2, 2008. In the middle of the year, rumors were confirmed about a collaboration between GReeeeN, BACK-ON and JIN. The collaboration created a new band: BAReeeeeeeeeeN. In November, BACK-ON finally released their first full-length album. However, the fourteen-track album mainly consisted of previously released songs, five of which were remixes, and three brand new ones, two of which were BAReeeeeeeeeeN songs.
BACK-ON began the year 2009 with a release in January, flyaway. Moving away from television for a bit, this time the title track was used as the theme for the PSP game Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2. It was not until two years after their performances in North America that it was announced that BACK-ON would perform overseas again. This time, it will be at the German anime convention Connichi in mid-September.
Despite being in the music industry for seven years, BACK-ON is still young and rocking it! Compared to their music at the beginning of their career, they have grown as artists and continue to excel as they push toward the top.
