MY FIRST STORY Mini-Wiki #1!
This is for jellalism who requested for fun facts / trivia info about MFS.
I really enjoyed writing this one. It’s refreshing to write for the boys in the crowd once in awhile because I was able to write about a few technical stuff about the band’s Equipment that I don’t normally talk about with the girls. I like doing this so much, I think I want to feature band “Mini-Wiki” regularly after this. Come to think of it though, there is nothing trivial about the following info.
1. Singer Hiro was only 17 years old and still in high school when MY FIRST STORY was formed in 2011. He would regularly come to band practice after school hours in his uniform.
Photo credit: Various social media accounts by MFS members. I don’t remember honestly. Sorry :-/
*Note: The long-sleeved shirt is his winter uniform and the short-sleeved one is the summer uniform.
2. Lead guitarist Sho, bassist Nob and drummer Masack are also members of a piano-rock band called fromus , which they have never left even after joining MY FIRST STORY. In the beginning, MFS was referred to as the ‘hybrid band’ because of some members’ duality. The band fromus’ influence on them is evident as sound-wise, piano and keyboards have always been significantly featured in MY FIRST STORY songs’ music arrangement since the first album.
fromus Audioleaf profile and demo song link.
Photo credit: Fromus, Space Shower TV, Break Out TV
3. Guitarist Teru is the resident metalhead in MY FIRST STORY, citing Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica as his early influences, having grown up around heavy metal music fans namely his own father and uncle.
Photo credit: Teru from Y'sBOX Twitter, Metallica from rankopedia.com, Ozzy Osbourne from pitch.com
4. Drummer Masack spent some school years in Kelowna, Canada and actually speaks English very well. A naturally funny guy, the band members unanimously voted him as the “mood maker” in the band in a TV interview.
Photo credit: Sorry, I don’t know the name of that TV Show. Masack’s Twitter. MFS behind-the-scene of 虚言NEUROSE PV.
5. Bassist Nob is the quiet gentleman in the band and the most low-profile that he was picked by singer Hiro for an elaborate prank which was officially documented as 虚言NOBROSE and bundled with MY FIRST STORY’s 2nd full-length DVD ITSUWARI NEUROSE TOUR FINAL AT SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST.
Photo credit: Screencaps from 虚言NOBROSE DVD
6. A truly determined indie band, MY FIRST STORY retains the publishing rights to all their songs released on the BLACK RAIL single and 虚言NEUROSE fully to their name.
7. Executive Producer GEN from Intact Records, the label MY FIRST STORY is signed to, is also an established clothing label owner and the band members are the walking advertisement for the brands starting with Subciety and then Zephyren. Hence, the brand Subciety was heavily featured in the band’s earlier videos and then Zephyren after GEN left Subciety and started Zephyren. Singer Hiro in particular, regularly models for the brand’s seasonal catalogue.
Photo credit: Sorry, I don’t remember where I got that MFS Subciety one. MFS Zephyren by Sakaeya. GEN and Hiro from GEN’s Twitter.
8. Guitarists Sho and Teru and bassist Nob all have specially-built guitars and basses custom-made by Combat Guitars which is a Tokyo-based company specializing in hand-crafted guitars.
Photo credits: Combat Guitars
9. For 虚言NEUROSE, drummer Masack plays TAMA High-End Starclassic Bubinga series. Bubinga is a type of dense and heavy hard wood from Africa and is also called African Rosewood, distinguished by its beautiful natural reddish brown colour. Because of the wood density, it is said to produce a powerful and deep sound which can be heard on the album.
Photo: The reddish colours are the Bubinga wood natural colours. Photos from Masack and Nob’s Twitter.
10. When collaborating with the band SWANKY DANK for their song Sink Like A Stone, singer Hiro admitted to having difficulties with the song’s high notes as he said it was out of his comfort zone. (*Read the translated interview here) However, since then, he became adventurous to explore high notes which can be heard in the background vocals of 不可逆リプレイス (Fukagyaku Replace) and subsequently the album 虚言NEUROSE. Most notably in the title track itself.
Photo credit: MUSIC DRAGON.
This is the FIRST ever public Live performance of Sink Like A Stone. Hiro was clearly having difficulties and his singing “went out of control and sank faster than a stone”. He has improved since then.
11. MY FIRST STORY use a lot backing tracks for the vocal harmonies (together with Live backup by bassist Nob and guitarist Sho) during Live performances of songs off 虚言NEUROSE to keep the vocal effects from the studio recording as particularly for this album, the band wanted the feel of “listening to the radio in the city” as explained by singer Hiro in an interview with Rockin’ On Japan magazine and also because Hiro did ALL the backup vocals himself in the studio.
Read the translated interview here.
Photo credit: Screencaps from ITSUWARI NEUROSE TOUR FINAL AT SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST.
