Fire Bomber American
A legendary rock band spontaneously pops onto the scene!
Except… here comes a band claiming “they’re just doing covers of our songs!” The four of them are the epitome of sound overtechnology, winning over all of space with their awesome beats and grooves: Fire Bomber American.
Their indie album “Two Months Late Santa Claus Fire!!”, released October 2046, was distributed only in City 11 yet still sold out all 350 first-edition copies. Cult fans have embraced them with wild enthusiasm as of recently. VICTOR took notice of their talent and officially signed them on, putting them on the fast track to their major debut.
The sonorous shouts ringing loud and clear, the steady rhythm that makes your hips wanna sway… Only the authentic version can pull off these sweet sensations. Come on and listen to their song!
The Formation of Fire Bomber American and the Secret to their Songs
A plethora of new scores popped onto the rock scene in spring 2047, but what really caught the attention of fans was the English Fire!! album. Rock as a genre has branched out too much lately, and as a result, you could say that the word’s lost its oomph. Just think about how many bands there are out there passing off their bland beats as “rock”! Fire Bomber American leans exclusively hard. They’re one of a handful of bands who have stayed true to the original soul of rock.The band name may falsely suggest that they’re ripping off or covering the legendary rock band that saved City 7, Fire Bomber (who vehemently deny any relation). Regardless, their musical talents prove they’re a full-fledged band in their own right.
Fire Bomber American has a fascinating history prior to its debut. They touch upon this in their interview, but they used to be fringe musicians playing every night at the country bar “Zion” in City 11. Since City 11’s a scout migration carrier, most of the people who boarded it are so-called pioneers/vagabonds. Where the stink of bourbon hangs in the air and force trumphs over authority, it’s like if you plucked up the American Wild West and put it on a spaceship. Just the right environment to mold passionate spirits in.
It’s hard to believe, but as you can gather from the fact that they played at a country bar, Fire Bomber American started out as country musicians. To be more precise, they played just about anything including country, but the truth of the matter is that for many people, the first thing they heard from Fire Bomber American was country music. It was at Zion that they met the fabled producer Lynn Kaifun, who went quiet after producing for Lynn Minmay. Kaifun vanished entirely in 2010 once Lynn Minmay left to travel to the center of the galaxy. “There’s no singer left in the universe who’s better than her.” This was his final quote, but after more than 35 years, he seems to have discovered new inspiration. Whether it was destiny or not is anyone’s guess, but though Lynn Kaifun’s good looks had gone and left him looking like a worn old man, his ears hadn’t abandoned him yet! At last, Fire Bomber American got the chance to hit it big. But the sailing wouldn’t be so smooth.
Each of Fire Bomber American’s members are full of individuality. Kaifun deliberated what style it would be best to debut under, and ended up having them sing covers of Minmay first. Ironically enough, Mylene from Fire Bomber would later do her own covers of Minmay, but that’s not the only weirdly similar coincidence between the two bands. There’s one giant, glaring similarity. Though I believe the listeners may already have an idea of what it is, we won’t go unto specifics quite yet. But I digress.
So Fire Bomber American did covers of Minmay. (The band’s current name is used for convenience, but naturally they were performing under a different name at the time. The old name has been redacted per the group’s request. Rock bands and mysterious backstories go hand in hand!) However, this was not necessarily the best choice. You would be hard-pressed to say that Minmay’s lithe and lovely melodies were a good match for these band members with their hard looks and rippling muscles. Kaifun went around to broadcasters with a demo disk in hand, but reception was cold and harsh, and they were ridiculed for their unimaginative ideas. Thus Fire Bomber American failed to take off. However, new hope came from an unexpected direction.
Bands don’t typically change their identity much. Of course, listener preferences and popular musical trends have minor subconscious influence on band members whether they want them to or not, but their overall philosophy towards music makes fundamental change nigh-inconceivable. Not so for Fire Bomber American! They weren’t loathe to change their tune if it meant making their major debut. To frame it in a more positive light, they tried out a variety of styles to find the music they were best suited to.
Lynn Kaifun absconded before long. Whether it was because he sensed he’d hit the limit of his ability, or because he’d realized that he couldn’t get in touch with the times, nobody knows. All we do know is that Lynn Kaifun dropped off the radar, leaving behind one small parting gift: a fragment of Protoculture composition, which had been found at the same time as when Hayase Misa discovered that lyric card in Protoculture ruins. This fragment is very famous and many a musician has attempted to build a piece around it, only to fail miserably, leading to the belief that its rhythm is impossible to interpret at our current level of human understanding. For several months, the members of Fire Bomber American went quiet. In less flattering and fashionable terms, they practically became hermits. All to find their new sound, and to comprehend the sound that was in vogue long, long ago.
And at last in fall 2046, the advance edition of their much-anticipated first album was released by an indie label. Its alarming contents sparked enormous controversy. It was the same as Fire Bomber’s songs! This was entirely unintentional (say the members of Fire Bomber American, and naturally the guys of Fire Bomber say the same). This can simply be attributed to both parties attempting to restore Protoculture’s musical tastes for the modern day and ending up with extremely similar results. If you all out there happen to have Fire Bomber’s album on hand, try listening to them and comparing. They’re the same, but something’s different. Is it their soul? Their interpretation? Your mileage may vary on what it actually is, but the two sounds are undeniably parallel.
And when you’re listening to these albums, keep in mind that they’re based on songs that were universally popular entire millenia ago, as was Lynn Minmay’s “Do You Remember Love?”. Even Protoculture listened to diverse genres of music. Doesn’t that bring a smile to your face thinking about it?
Despite the controversy surrounding them, Fire Bomber American has been praised for its excellent musical sense and has finally made their major debut. Though coming onto the scene after Fire Bomber has ultimately worked against them, their impassioned beats are guaranteed to get you good.
No matter their age or artist, good music and great songs will always ring in our souls.
Interview
Rak Nabekasi (Rakku Neibukaaji)
Vox. Guitar / Age 18 / American descent
June Ley Mines (Jun Rei Mainzu)
Vox. Bass / Age 16 / Mexican descent
Kcool V Realy (Kuuru Vi Rearii)
Keyboards / Age 30 / Indian descent
Five Fads (Faivu Fazzu)
Drums / Age 25 / African descent
The following interview was conducted in January 2047 during band practice at the group’s studio. With their secret countdown live concert ending as a resounding success and their major debut fast approaching, the conversation went smoothly. Rak (on vocals) is said to be particularly prickly, but in this instance he was in an unusually good mood, and they were happy to openly discuss things we normally wouldn’t be able to even ask. Shocking truths are revealed within. Read with caution.
Congratulations on your breakthrough debut.
Rak: Thanks. Now we’re one step closer to universal stardom. It’s been a hell of a time. Though it makes me a bit sad to think that I’ll be saying goodbye to my old folk guitar and ten-gallon hat.
Kcool, could you tell us about what lead to your major debut?
Kcool: It took too long to get here. First off, limiting that album (Editor’s note: Two Months Late Santa Claus Fire!!, their indie debut) to 350 copies was a big mistake. We were fully confident that we could sell more. There were tons of people talking shit about us to boot. ‘s enough to give a guy the blues. People get this wrong all the time, but this isn’t a cover or bootleg. The point is, we’re authentic. Just listen and hear for yourself. The soul’s different. Just because it’s rock doesn’t mean there’s one uniform way you have to sing. This time we tried doing tremolo to give it that oriental feel.
I hear your first concert tour is coming up after this spring.
Rak: Now people can finally hear us in person. Our stage theme this time is gonna be “sumo ring”. It’s an old term meaning a place where men pit their bodies and souls against each other. But the lovely lady over there is welcome to step in too, of course.
June: Uh-huh. They’re pushing me to wear a thong by calling it a stage outfit. And the cord on the panties is crazy thick. And I’d be going topless. I do not get the appeal.
What kind of kickass tunes can we expect at this concert?
Kcool: Lemme see. I guess we can tell you a little about it. We’re gonna have a mixed lineup of the stuff we used to sing (Editor’s note: referring to country), rap, and Showa pop.
Rak: Ugh. That means it’s back to the old folk guitar and ten-gallon hat?
Let’s change the topic. Can you tell us about your latest album?
Kcool: Hmm… I guess you could say it came directly out of Lynn Kaifun’s parting gift to us. He might’ve vanished out of our lives, but he did instill a passion for music in our spirits. nd that’s how we learned about the sounds of the old Protoculture civilization.
Rak: No, no, no. Our album is about our sounds. It’s not anybody else’s, and nobody helped us get there. In the first place, it’s an insult. You get marginally successful and suddenly all these copycats pop up. Even just looking at the band names, you can tell which one of us is cooler. Think about it. We’re “American”. American! After the country blessed with historic pioneer spirit. The country that had Narsa (Editor’s note: referring to NASA), the unravelers of cosmic science. The most rockin’ country on that legendary planet Earth. That America. We’re the clear winners here.
Kcool: Well, just bite your tongue there, Rak.
What are your plans for the future?
Kcool: We haven’t figured those out yet. We’ve gotta start working on our second album, but we’ve already got some major creative differences fracturing our group members. I wouldn’t rule out us breaking up.
Breaking up? Now that’s buzzworthy.
Rak: I’m the one carrying Fire Bomber American anyway, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if we just disbanded now.
June: Uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh. If it means I don’t have to sing with this guy, I’m through.
Hm? Then that means your first concert would be your final concert?
June: That means our first album will be our final album. Wowza.
That’s concerning. By the way… can I ask one thing?
Kcool: Hm?
Your band name does sound like theirs.
Rak: Oh come on, I just told you before that we’re a grade up.
That doesn’t answer my question, but… your songs are very similar as well.
Rak: Well, there’s only so many notes out there, and there’s a limit to the number of ways you can string them together. Coincidences like that do happen, don’t they.
You’re getting a bit defensive there. And your visual aesthetics look the same too, right? This has gotta be a rip-o…
Rak: Listen here.
Yes?
Rak: I will murder you.
☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Translator notes
- Two Months Late Santa Claus Fire!! = 2ヶ月遅れのサンタクロースFire!!
- Zion = ザイオン
- City 11 “scout migration carrier” = 先行探索型移民船
- ハート (heart) is frequently used in the text and is occasionally replaced with “soul” in tl.
- Tremolo = コブシ. It’s an undulation most associated with enka and folk songs. You may know it as the red icon on Joysound Karaoke.
- American names are anagrams of their Fire Bomber counterparts.
- Vocal for Rak Nabekasi provided by Dennis Gunn. Official website here: http://dennisgunnmusic.com/
- Vocal for June Ley Mines provided by Melodie Sexton, under the alias of Dawn Moore. Other Macross work includes vocal performance in "Information High" by Sharon Apple. Official website here: http://www.artimage.co.jp/artist/melodie-sexton
- Minor differeneces exist between the first edition published in 1998 vs the 2008 reprinting. One example is the 1998 edition's advertising obi contains profanity, while the 2008 reprint edition's advertising obi lacks the "Fxxk! Fire Bomber." text.