VAMPS ~ Profile & History

VAMPS

Vamps (typeset as VAMPS) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2008 by Hyde and K.A.Z, and signed to Hyde's record label Vamprose.

History

Vamps was formed by Hyde (L'Arc~en~Ciel) and K.A.Z (Oblivion Dust). They have been working together on Hyde’s solo work since 2003. After years of collaboration, the two finally decided to form their own band and agreed that there was no better way to announce Vamps than getting out in front of the fans right away. Their first material released was the single "Love Addict", released on July 2, 2008.

Their first nationwide tour of Japan, "Vamps Live 2008", kicked off at Zepp Tokyo. Between August 1, 2008 and October 28, 2008, Vamps played 46 shows at the Zepp live houses throughout Japan. The tour was totally organized by Vamps and the venues were custom decorated by spray art. The band played 6 to 10 shows at each Zepp venue and every single show was sold out. The continuous string of sold out shows was unprecedented and had never taken place during any other Zepp live house tour before. Their second single "I Gotta Kick Start Now" was released on March 13, 2009. Their next single "Evanescent" was released on May 13. On June 10, 2009, they released their self-titled debut album, “Vamps”. Followed by their fourth single "Sweet Dreams" on September 30.

On January 31 2010, the band was awarded with the "Billboard Japan Ranking International 2009" award for their efforts and success with their tour in the US.

After they released the DVD Vamps Live 2009 U.S.A. on March 17, 2010, they released their next single "Devil Side" on May 12, 2010. Their sixth single, "Angel Trip", was released on June 9. Following its release, their second album, “Beast”, was released on July 28, 2010. Their seventh single "Memories/Get Up" was released on December 15, 2010, featuring "Memories" and "Get Up -Japanese Ver.-" which is an alternative version of "Get Up" that translates some of the English lyrics into Japanese and is used in the anime "Bakuman". The DVD that came with the single contains the PVs for "Memories" and "Piano Duet".

Members

Hyde – vocals, guitar

K.A.Z– guitar

Ju-ken - bass

Arimatsu - drums

Jin - keyboard

Tours

Vamps Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour

In April 2009, Vamps announced their "Vamps Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour". The tour covered 10 US cities from July 11 - August 1. Vamps rocked both coasts, stopping in the following cities: New York, Baltimore, two Warped Tour shows (Hartford & Columbia), Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, and finishing off in Los Angeles.

Vamps Live 2010 Beast World Tour

Vamps embarked on their first-ever world tour in the fall of 2010. They made stops in the following countries: Taiwan, United States, Spain, France, China and Chile.

Discography

Albums

Vamps (June 10, 2009)

Beast (July 28, 2010)

Singles

"Love Addict" (July 2, 2008)

"I Gotta Kick Start Now" (March 13, 2009)

"Evanescent" (May 13, 2009)

"Sweet Dreams" (September 30, 2009)

"Devil Side" (May 12, 2010)

"Angel Trip" (June 9, 2010)

"Memories/Get Up" (December 15, 2010)

DVD

Vamps Live 2008 (February 4, 2009)

Vamps Live 2009 U.S.A. (March 17, 2010)

Vamps Live 2009 (May 12, 2010)

 About Members (HYDE and K.A.Z)

Members:

HYDE(Guitar & Vocals)

 
Vocalist of L'Arc～en～Ciel, HYDE has also been working on other projects vigorously since his solo debut in 2001. His first solo album "Roentgen" (X-ray in German), released in 2002, contained 3 singles, "Evergreen", "Angel's Tale", and "Shallow Sleep". In 2003, HYDE made his first major movie acting debut in the film Moon Child, co-staring Japanese singer Gackt. Later that year he also released his 4th and 5th solo singles, "Hello", and "Horizon", both from the December released "666" album. 2004 introduced HYDE's first solo tour for the "666" album, an English version of the "Roentgen" album, as well as the DVD "Roentgen Stories." In 2005 he composed “Glamorous Sky”, the theme song for the breakout success movie “NANA”, while also releasing his 6th single "Countdown." Both the single “COUNTDOWN”、and the 7th single “SEASON'S CALL”, released early in 2006, topped the Japanese charts. In April 2006, following to the release of his 3rd album ”FAITH”、HYDE launched his second nationwide solo tour ”HYDE TOUR 2006 FAITH”, which sold out instantly. In the same year he also performed in 4 shows on the West Coast of the US, which also sold out instantly. At the close of 2006 HYDE rejoined his L'Arc～en～Ciel band mates for a few 15th Anniversary performances. In 2007 HYDE was back in the studio with L'Arc～en～Ciel recording, then touring all over Japan, finishing the year with large arena shows in Japan's biggest cities. So far this year, HYDE has been continuing his work with L'Arc～en～Ciel, while working with K.A.Z on VAMPS.

K.A.Z(Guitar)

K.A.Z formed the band ”Oblivion Dust” in ’96 and debuted in ’97 with 3 singles, "Sucker", "Numb", and "Falling", off the album "looking for Elvis" released the same year. In 1998, K.A.Z joined the band "Hide with Spread Beaver", releasing 2 singles, "Rocket Dive", and "Pink Spider." 1998 also saw the release of 2 more Oblivion Dust singles, "Therapy", and "Trust", from their album "Misery Days." In 1999 K.A.Z and Oblivion Dust released 4 more singles, "Blurred", "You", "Goodbye", "Crazy", and a music video for the song "Overdose", all from the album, "Reborn." 2000 saw a quick reunion with Hide with Spread Beaver, another single, "Designer Fetus", and album "Butterfly Head" with Oblivion Dust. The next year, Oblivion Dust released their Best Of album, "Radio Songs", but the group disbanded. Also in 2001 K.A.Z started work with Tetsu from L'Arc～en～Ciel on his solo project TETSU69. In 2002, he formed the rock unit Spin Aqua with vocalist/model/actress Anna Tsuchiya, producing three singles and one album, "Pisces". Soon after K.A.Z started to co-write and co-produce songs with HYDE. For HYDE’s 3rd solo album ”FAITH”, he wrote 5 songs including the single “SEASON’S CALL” and co-produced all songs. K.A.Z then accompanied HYDE on his "Faith" tour as guitarist throughout the summer and fall of 2006. In 2007 K.A.Z and 2 of the 3 previous member of Oblivion Dust decided to get back together, spending most of the year writing and recording their January 2008 self-titled release, "Oblivion Dust." Early this year, Oblivion Dust had a short tour to signify their reformation, and while still actively working with Oblivion Dust as well as various other projects, K.A.Z and HYDE decided to start VAMPS.