Koshi Inaba

Koshi Inaba
Koshi Inaba (left), and Tak Matsumoto (right), just after B'z initiation into Hollywood's RockWalk.
Background information
Birth name	Hiroshi Inaba
Born	(1964-09-23) September 23, 1964
Origin	Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Genres	Hard rock, blues rock, pop rock
Occupations	Musician, lyricist, composer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, blues-harp, drums, maracas, mandolin
Years active	1988–present (B'z) 1997–present (solo)
Labels	Rooms Records Vermillion
Associated acts	B'z, Steve Vai, Tak Matsumoto, Slash
Website	B'z official web site

Koshi Inaba (稲葉浩志, Inaba Kōshi, born Hiroshi Inaba (稲葉浩志, Inaba Hiroshi) on September 23, 1964, in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture) is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as the singer and lyricist of hard rock duo B'z.

Early life

Born and raised in Tsuyama, Okayama, Inaba enrolled in Yokohama National University's Faculty for Education in 1983 to become a qualified mathematics teacher. He made his musical debut in 1985 whilst still a student, contributing vocals to Toshiya "Ran" Matsukawa's album Burning ~Tribute to Randy Rhoads~ under the stage name Mr. Crazy Tiger. He graduated in 1987.

B'z & solo career

Beginning with B'z in 1988, Inaba has, together with guitarist Tak Matsumoto, continued to release new material and tour as part of B'z almost every year since. He has also periodically released solo material, starting in 1997 with the album Magma, produced whilst B'z were on a brief hiatus. Unlike in B'z, where he contributes only lyrics, Inaba has composed all the music for his solo releases.

Inaba has also sung on other artists' releases, such as the Steve Vai song "Asian Sky" from the album The Ultra Zone in 1999. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that he would be featured in Slash's 2010 solo album, Slash. Inaba sang on the first single, "Sahara", released on November 11, 2009 in Japan. The song Sahara was featured in the 15th track of the Japanese edition of the album.^[1] On February 24, 2010, it was announced that single "Sahara" won the Western single of the year 2010 at Japan Gold Disc Award 2010 held by RIAJ.^[2]

Vocal style & influences

He has a wide vocal range, covering three and a half octaves.

Amongst his musical influences are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, and Guns N' Roses. He respects David Coverdale, Robert Plant, Axl Rose, and especially Steven Tyler as vocalists. He is a fan of Elvis Presley.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

Albums

• Magma (29 January 1997)
• Shian (9 October 2002)
• Peace of Mind (22 September 2004)
• Hadou (18 August 2010)

Singles

• "Tooku Made" (16 December 1998)
• "KI" (11 June 2003)
• "Wonderland" (14 July 2004)
• "Okay" (23 June 2010)

Guest appearances

• Burning — Ran, 1985 (as Mr. Crazy Tiger)
• The Ultra Zone (on "Asian Sky") — Steve Vai, 1999
• Slash (on Sahara) — Slash, 2010

See also

• B'z
• Tak Matsumoto

References

External links

• B'z official website
• B'z no bise (French)
• Off The Lock (English)