Welcome to Buck-Tick Zone

Hello New Fans

So you're new to Buck-Tick and you came across this site. As the webmaster, I'm grateful for that. Now it's a big responsibility for me to introduce you to the band and I will do my best. I don't know what you know about the band. I hope that you find on this site what you are looking for. I know that it's tough when a band has been around for a long time and they have released so many albums that it makes you dizzy deciding where you should start from. It's especially hard to learn about a band who is not from your country and doesn't sing in your language.

Personally, when I want to learn about a band that has been around a long time, there are a couple of methods I choose from.

buy the album that has the song I already know and like
if I don't know any songs, buy the singles compilation or greatest hits
if there are no such compilations, buy the first and last albums to get a sense of the career span
read reviews online, join a mailing list, and ask die-hard fans where to start
watch their music videos

1. If you already like a song, please look at the albums in the Releases section and find the album that song is on. There are a few singles that are not on any studio album and I would then suggest to try an album released around the same year as that single. FYI: those singles are "Gessekai", "Bran-New Lover", "Miu", "Gensou No Hana", and "Kagerou".

2. Fortunately, Buck-Tick does have a singles compilation entitled Catalogue 1987-1995. Unfortunately, it only contains singles released in 1988-1995, so it doesn't present a very comprenhensive outline of Buck-Tick's catalogue. BUT, they did release an updated double disc version called Catalogue 2005 and this is where I'd recommend you start if you want an overview of the band's entire career. The tracks are from 1987-2005 and it contains most of the singles as well as selections from their albums. Buck-Tick have released another album which one might think is a greatest hits compilation because the title of it is Koroshi No Shirabe ~ This is NOT Greatest Hits (1992). I just want to point out that it certainly is not a greatest hits album. What the band did is take songs already released and tried to re-think them. They re-recorded the songs, sometimes quite differently than the original.

3. You could buy the first and last albums. It's up to you. Buck-Tick started with a European-influenced new wave-ish sort of style and progressed to a more rock feel with splashes of cyber-goth-industrial-electronica-darkness.

4. No matter what you may think of an album, it is someone's favorite and also someone's most hated. It's hard to go by reviews and other's opinions. Only you can decide if something suits your tastes. Since Buck-Tick have released so many albums, might I suggest buying every other album to start with? Buy only 1 or 2 at a time and listen to them thoroughly before you form an opinion. There have been times when I bought an album by a band I knew nothing about and really disliked it, was even at the point of selling it. Then, something clicked and I began to like it, even love it. Sometimes you simply listen to things at the wrong time/place.

5. There have been numerous times when watching a band's performance has endeared me to them so if at all possible, I recommend this. Watching a band's music videos or tv/live performances is easier than ever these days with the internet. It helps give you a sense of the band sonically and visually. Of course, if the visuals turn you off, you may just hide the application window and focus your attention on the music. It also goes without saying that a poor concert performance (or bad attitude in an interview) has turned me off several musicians but I don't want to throw you off the path before you even get on it.

Finally, what do you do when you don't know Japanese... If it is a matter of reading the song titles, just grab that album you own and look at this site. I don't use any Japanese characters (unless I'm explaining something) to make it friendly to those who don't understand. If you want to know what the title means, I have those all translated on one convenient page called Glossary. If you're really in a bind, you can use online dictionaries and translation sites although I have yet to come across any decent Japanese/English translation engine. (Japlish and Engrish makes more sense than some of those damn translations.)

and Hello to Not So New Fans

I've tried to make this site informative and interesting. If you have questions or would like to see something in particular on this site, contact me and we'll discuss. I love the band but I'm by no means a source for the latest gossip or know the answer to every bit of Buck-Tick trivia. I don't live in Japan either so I have just as hard a time as you might in staying informed and acquiring the latest releases. I'm not even a member of the fanclub. My advantage in keeping up on Buck-Tick is that I have a credit card and know Japanese. This means that I tune in to their official website now and then and order cds/dvds from amazon.co.jp. Sometimes I buy things off of ebay. Those were my main sites--now it's cd japan for new releases and yahoo japan auctions for older stuff. I don't really use much else. Do you know of good places to buy Buck-Tick stuff that ship internationally? Let me know and I'll list it on this site for people who want to know.

My other advantage is that I am part Japanese with family there so every few years I might visit and have time to browse record stores or have my mom or brother pick up something for me when they visit. (This will eventually make you unpopular and your requests might be denied.) A great advantage would also be to have friends that live in Japan who are trustworthy and are willing to buy something and ship it to you every now and then. I used to have a few of these type of penpals back in the days before the internet and that's how I would acquire a few items. (Again, your connections may tire of this.) But beware that someone might walk away with your money and never send you anything. (Yes, this has happened to me and no, not all Buck-Tick fans are honest, good-natured souls.)

If you're lucky, you might live by a Japanese immigrant community where there are bookshops and music stores that can order items for you or maybe even sell used cds. Major cities are your best bet. Within North America, the largest communities are in Hawaii, Los Angeles, and New York. There are sizeable communities in South America in Peru, Argentina, and Brazil but I don't know how the shops are. For Europe, I have heard of decent shops in London and Paris. (Some of the chain book/music stores include: Kinokuniya, Asahiya, Book Off)

Unless you lived in London in 1988 or in Seoul in 2001 (or the freakishly lucky in Turkey who say Buck-Tick in 1994, I salute you), I'm guessing that you have never seen Buck-Tick in concert outside of Japan and never will. Buck-Tick have mentioned a desire to play more concerts in Asia such as Hong Kong and Singapore but it's been years since this statement and I sincerely doubt this will ever happen. So if you want to see them in concert then you better plan a trip to Japan during their next tour. Though I'd love for them to play a show in the USA, (because I live there and it's been done by other Japanese musicians/bands), I know deep down that it's not going to happen. But we can still hope and show our support to the band that they might consider it.

If you are trying to obtain an autograph, band member's original guitar pick or drum stick, best of luck to you. Seriously, this is just about the hardest thing to do as a fan of this particular band. Basically you would have to win a contest where they were giving away autographed items as prizes or buy such an item off of someone. Yes there are times when the members have thrown their guitar pick or drum stick or an autographed item into the audience but the number of people who receive these things compared to how many fans exist, it's just very bad odds. Not that I have talked to that many Buck-Tick fans but I have never heard of any fan who has met a B-T member or won a contest, period. (One of my friends did grab an autographed drum head and another friend did grab Toll's drum stick at a concert but another fan punched her and stole the stick--see what I mean but not all B-T fans are nice. Japanese girls are vicious!) You must understand how big Buck-Tick is. They are not #1 in the charts but they still play large venues. Large enough venues that you have very little chance of getting an autograph before/after the show like you might for other bands. Plus I don't think there's a make-a-wish foundation in Japan, if you know what I'm saying. I'd like to help you out but this is just an impossible request.

Finally, if you have a large collection of Buck-Tick items, please consider contributing images/info to complete the site. As you browse the site and you think, "hey, this is incomplete, why didn't they put such and such info or picture", it may be because I do not have it and may need your assistance. Also, throughout the site I sometimes leave notes here and there if I am lacking info and need help. If you would like to help, we can discuss over email, see bottom of screen for address.

One more thing, a little thank you goes a long way and being a webmaster is often a thankless job. The few who say thanks are greatly appreciated and it motivates me to keep the site going.

In Buck-Tick we trust,
Mariko
AKA kalavinka

[this page was last updated on Monday, 14-Jul-2008 22:24:34 PDT]

Official Fan Club

Fish Tank is the name of the official Buck-Tick fan club. Buck-Tick may have international fans, but they are not an international band. As such, it is much easier to join if you live in Japan or know Japanese well because everything will be conducted in the Japanese language and currency.

The benefits of joining are that you receive:

membership card
original pin/badge
newsletters (4 times per year)
24 hour information service (Fish Tank Drag Net)
fan club online shop
first access to concert tickets (including the occasional fan club only exclusive concert)
etc.

Initial fee of ¥1000, annual membership costs ¥4800 so when you first sign up you will need to pay ¥5800.

Telephone +81-3-5410-2071 weekdays 2pm-6pm (Japanese only!)

Fish Tank (Nyukai Kibou Kakari)
Dai 2 Mezonbuke 302 Go
1-11-12 Sendagaya
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0051
Japan

So how do you join? Send an email to bt@buck-tick.com and use simple English to say you want to join the fan club. Don't expect them to be able to reply in English though. Include the following details about yourself:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Fax Number (if you have it)
Sex (male or female)
Birthday
Email address

Print out the email you sent and within 3 days send it and the money to them (yen only) via registered mail.

Of course if you are actually in Japan it's much easier to join. Just ring them up for details or go to one of those Lawson machines or the web site. I need not remind you that knowing Japanese is key for doing it this way but if you're already in Japan you probably know enough to do this.

Where to purchase stuff online

You could buy used goods from someone online or by trading online. Resources for this would be this site's BBS, Japanese rock music online communities, etc.

If you want to go through a more traditional means, check out the sites below.

Amazon Japan - the site is available in English (it might take you awhile to find the link to display the page in English) and has improved so much that I don't think you need to know any Japanese to order something. Unfortunately you cannot buy items from the marketplace if you live outside of Japan. I recommend buying multiple items only or else the shipping charge is too high.

CD Japan - direct from Japan. I've only purchased from them brand new releases (often pre-orders) and the transactions went well. I've heard that they sometimes include first release goodies (when available) with your package and yes I received this too. (Sometimes releases in Japan include a poster or other goodies if you buy it when it is first released.)

Ebay - the ever popular auction site. Years ago you could scarely find Buck-Tick items there but that is not the case these days. Overall it is still limited but once in awhile rare items appear.

J Pop Help - importer based in Canada. I've never purchased items from here but they have a lot of Buck-Tick stuff so I might purchase something so I can describe the experience firsthand.

Nippon Export - direct from Japan. I've never purchased items from here but they have several Buck-Tick albums. Payment method is in Japanese but they have a tutorial on how to do this.

Yahoo Japan Auctions - warning, you must be able to conduct all business in Japanese to use this site (including Japan issued credit cards, bank transfers, etc. for payment, and sellers do not ship outside of Japan). Therefore, if you really must bid on something, it is recommended that you do so through a third party bidding service that will bid for you, receive the item, then ship it to you. Please search the internet for such services on your own. After reading the terms/conditions of the various bidding service providers and reading reviews of others' experiences in dealing with those services, I tried out Crescent Shop and thought it was easy to sign up, bid, pay, and items were received in good condition in a fair amount of time. (But I still think all the fees are too high in general with these third party bidding service providers, so again this is only if you absolutely must have the item.)

Yes Asia - they sell all sorts of things from Asia. They have a site separately for just the USA and Canada. When you browse or try to order, you will be directed to the appropriate Yes Asia site for shipping purposes. I've only bought things from them once or twice but everything went well. Others have complained about them.