time for a brief introduction to...Kobukuro. this is the duo's first hit song called "Yell". Kobukuro is a portmanteau of the two singer's family names. a portmanteau is a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more words to make one word. Kentaro Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda are the names of the two guys who make up the singing duo. Kobukuro was formed in 1998 when the two street musicians met in while performing on the streets of Sakai (south Osaka). they released about 3 albums before signing a major record deal with Warner Music Japan in 2001. "Yell" reached #4 on the record charts that year. i became a fan when i heard them do a collaboration with Sato Chikuzen for a cover of the Stardust Review song, "Mokuren no namida" in 2004. but the first cd i bought of theirs was the 2005 hit "Sakura". their story is a wonderful story. two musicians meeting by chance
forming a duo and playing as street musicians and then within 8 years they are selling out concert halls and stadiums for every performance. of course my dear friend Noriko is one of their biggest fans...and member of one of their private exclusive fan clubs. i still remembering watching the dvd of their sold-out performance at the Budokan in Tokyo. Noriko told me the story of how one of their Mothers was a good singer and had a rare opportunity to sing in the Budokan after winning a singing contest. the sad part was that she died before seeing her son sing there in sold-out performance. it brings a tear to my eye just thinking about that. i am sure i will corrected on this story as i might not have all the details exactly correct by... Noriko... if she ever reads this. i will correct any unintentional misinformation at that time. Noriko and i had the good fortune to see them live last October as a part of their annual "Blowin in the Wind" concert at
Banpaku Kinen Koen (Expo Park) in Osaka. that concert lasted about 7 hours and featured many top musicians. i actually went to the park the day before the concert to hear the rehearsal as well as visit and take photos of the cosmos and sunflowers. 
and by chance i met and got to shake the hand of a good friend of Kobukuro and fellow musician (also with a good story) named Baba-san..."come on and do it do it do it do it boys..." currently Kobukuro is on tour again. i think Noriko has a pair of hard-to-get tickets for one or two of their concerts. and i think i might get to go to one with her on May 15th. several of their songs have been used as the theme to some popular Japanese dramas (dorama). last year Kobukuro won the Grand Prix award at the Japan Music Awards for their song "Tsubomi" (flower bud) which was the theme song for the wonderfully touching drama called Tokyo Tower. so now you know a little more about what and who is Kobukuro. i will add another video soon so you can see their transformation. one things that is the same is their down to earth personalities, humbleness and incredible musicmanship. and yes, Kuroda is the tall one and Kobuchi the shorter one. i think Kuroda is about 6 ft 4in. an interesting little fact about them is that they were born 5 days apart in March of 1977. Kobuchi turned 31 on the 13th of this month and Kuroda will turn 31 on the 18th.
and by chance i met and got to shake the hand of a good friend of Kobukuro and fellow musician (also with a good story) named Baba-san..."come on and do it do it do it do it boys..." currently Kobukuro is on tour again. i think Noriko has a pair of hard-to-get tickets for one or two of their concerts. and i think i might get to go to one with her on May 15th. several of their songs have been used as the theme to some popular Japanese dramas (dorama). last year Kobukuro won the Grand Prix award at the Japan Music Awards for their song "Tsubomi" (flower bud) which was the theme song for the wonderfully touching drama called Tokyo Tower. so now you know a little more about what and who is Kobukuro. i will add another video soon so you can see their transformation. one things that is the same is their down to earth personalities, humbleness and incredible musicmanship. and yes, Kuroda is the tall one and Kobuchi the shorter one. i think Kuroda is about 6 ft 4in. an interesting little fact about them is that they were born 5 days apart in March of 1977. Kobuchi turned 31 on the 13th of this month and Kuroda will turn 31 on the 18th. 
if the Budokan sounds familiar...the Beatles were the first rock group to perform in the arena/concert hall in a series of concerts in June/July 1966. their appearances were met with opposition by some who thought the appearance of a western pop group would defile the martial arts arena. by 1978, however, the Budokan gained worldwide fame when Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick used the concert hall to record their live concert albums in 1978 and 1979. i have seen two concerts at the Budokan. the first was Willie Nelson in 1983 with my friend Katsu and the second was Kenny Loggins in 1984 with my girlfriend Yukiko. memories. i have a photo of me standing in front of the Budokan. on the marque is キニーロゲンズ...Kini Rogenzu or something like that. i will try to find that photo and once again i will correct any unintentional misinformation. that was 24 year ago.
