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| (Click the photo above to view a much bigger copy in a new tab; you can see other posters and wallpapers at the bottom portion of this post.) |
| Update as of December 8, 2023 (new uniforms for 2024): Miku; Kanami; Saiki; Akane; Misa Update as of July 26, 2023: Band-Maid 10th Anniversary Tour, USA, August 2023 (Lollapalooza; Chicago; Minneapolis; Denver; Salt Lake City, Utah; Portland; Spokane, Washington; Sacramento; Anaheim; Mexico City.) 
(Click the picture above to view or download a much bigger copy of the 10th Anniversary Tour poster in another tab: 2000 by 1413 px; 1.67 MB) Update as of November 6, 2022: Band-Maid fans are predominantly male, and so, it's refreshing to see Michelle, a young female American fan, enjoying herself at the New Jersey concert. (In her YT channel, she does guitar covers of Band-Maid and other rock bands.) Her interaction with Kanami at 12:35 to 13:37 is priceless. Introduction to Band-Maid (Part 2 with rare footage of the band’s early days; Part 3 with rare footage of Kanami and Akane before joining Band-Maid) Band-Maid documentaries: Miku (Part I, Part II, Part III); Saiki; Kanami; Akane; MISA 
Miku (band founder, lyricist, vocalist, and rhythm guitarist) |
From Wikipedia: “Members: Miku Kobato (founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, vocalist); Kanami Tōno (songwriter, lead guitarist); Akane Hirose (drummer); Misa (bassist); and Saiki Atsumi (lead vocalist).”
“The band was formed in July 2013. Singer/guitarist Miku Kobato, formerly an employee of a Japanese maid café, envisioned forming a band that juxtaposed the maid image with rock music.”
“Kobato recruited lead guitarist Kanami Tōno after an Internet search. Tōno had performed as a singer-songwriter and suggested her occasional backing drummer Akane Hirose for the new band. Hirose in turn suggested bassist Misa, with whom she had attended music school.
On July 24, 2013 they had their first live performance at the PP Audition held at Osaka Deep, as a quartet with Kobato on vocals. The band then decided to recruit an additional lead singer and selected Saiki Atsumi during auditions. Their first performance as a five-piece was at the P Festival at Shibuya-AX on August 22, 2013.”
“Band-Maid first gained international notice in April 2015 when the English-language Facebook page of internet radio station Jrock Radio promoted the music video for ‘Thrill,’ which led to over 1 million views in the following year.”
“Band-Maid’s image is modeled on maid café hostesses, with the standard uniform adapted to match each member’s personality. In interviews, they explained the concept came from founding member Miku Kobato who had previously worked at a maid café in Akihabara. This theme is reinforced by the band, who refer to their male fans as ‘masters,’ their female fans as ‘princesses,’ and their concerts as ‘servings.’”
Notes: (1) Band-Maid members are lovingly referred to by fans as “The Little Pigeon” (Miku), “The airhead musical genius” (Kanami), “Ice Queen” (Saiki), “Gorilla” (Akane), and “The Barefoot Assassin” (Misa). For more information about the band, view the PDF “Band-Maid for Dummies,” which contains great pictures and background information; (2) Other interviews with English subs: “Unseen World” interview excerpt from Young Guitar, February 2021; “The roots of Band-Maid; Miku’s hometown Kumamoto.”
| Fan cam videos (1080p with great audio) from 2022 USA tour: video immediately below is the full concert from NYC Irving Plaza.
House of Blues, Dallas concert by Hideki Ito: “From Now On” “Choose Me” “Alone” “Endless Story” |
“Freedom” (Band-Maid’s anthem; watch out for the drum solo)
“Daydreaming” (power ballad)
“Dice” (great bassline)
“Domination” (great audience participation)
Band-Maiko “Secret Maiko Lips” (Band-Maid’s alter ego; the music incorporates traditional Japanese instruments, and the girls wear kimonos)
“Don’t You Tell Me” (great battle between the lead guitar and the bass)
“Manners” (rock, blues, and jazz)
“Onset” (instrumental)
“From Now On” (instrumental; most progressive rock of Band-Maid's songs)
“Unleash!!!!!” (anime and live action video)
“Influencer” (explosive bass and lead guitar solos)
Band-Maid songs that have been used in anime, TV show, and movie: “Different” for Log Horizon Season 3, “Sense” for Platinum End, “Choose Me” for HBO’s “Peacemaker,” and “Choose Me” and “Blooming” for 2021 Netflix movie “Kate.”
Band-Maid’s social media: Reddit; Facebook group; Miku Kobato FB page; Miku Kobato on Tiktok; Instagram accounts of Miku, Akane, and Misa. (On Reddit, my screen name is “plainenglish2.”)
L-R: 1st row: Miku (lyricist, rhythm guitarist, vocalist), Saiki (lead vocalist); 2nd row: MISA (bassist), Akane (drummer), and Kanami (songwriter, lead guitarist). Note: Click the photo to view a much bigger copy in another tab.
38 free high quality wallpapers and phone lockscreens from Patrick_swe at ImageBam (sizes range from 4K to 1920x1080 pixels)
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| “Thrill” |
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| “Catharsis” |
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| “Secret Maiko Lips” |
CSS screensavers (free) from Patrick_swe are also available; for more information please surf to the Band-Maid reddit page.
Scans by SebastienBM (reddit)
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| Click the photo to view the much bigger copy in a new tab; size: 1867 x 1326 px; 1.2 MB |
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| Click the photo to view a much bigger copy in a new tab; size: 1920 by 1020 px; 618 kb |
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| “Unleash” mobile wallpaper edited by Sebastien BM (reddit) 1750 by 1348 px; 303kb (click the image to view the full sized image in another tab) |
“BAND-MAID New Artist Image” (Twitter; direct link to 4K image)
Band-Maid portraits (free) by YYDX (julia900122), fan from Taiwan; group portrait (approx. 1920 by 1536 px)
Solo portraits (approx. 1000 by 1300 px): Miku; Kanami; Saiki; Misa; and Akane.
Band-Maid artwork by @yori_024 (Twitter)
Artworks by 77mokume (Twitter)
The “Glittering” series:
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| Miku (the ribbon logo in her eyes) |
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| Kanami (“彩” of “Saiki” in her eyes) |
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| Saiki |
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| Misa |
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| Akane (bananas in her left eye) |
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| Band-Maid (2000 by 1412 px) |
Different series:
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| Saiki (with her “gun of lyrics”) |
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| Cluppo |
2023 artworks by 77mokume (Twitter)
Dancing Mincho at TGT; Drunk Misa; Miku; Saiki; MISA’s “Unsealing” Ceremony; Band-Maid Gorilla; Kugimincho (Kugi = Nai); Another Saiki; Akane: 1, 2, 3, wha! What … heck … !?; Misa at the bar (someone else nearby); Miku’s embarrassed bunny “Pyon” pose from the Tokyo Garden Theater show; Kanami; The Pigeon and the Queen; Miku planning her next step to World Domination; Saiki (Christmas okyuji uniform); Akane, Misa, and Kanami; Saiki and Miku Kobato: beautiful eyes!
World Domination: 10th Anniversary Tour by 77mokume (Twitter)
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| Saiki (680 by 680 px) |
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| Akane and Saiki (735 by 900 px) |
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| MISA, Akane, and Saiki (680 by 680 px) |
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| MISA, Akane, Saiki, and Kanami (680 by 680 px) |
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| All the girls (697 by 900 px) |
“Band-Maid road trip: 10th Anniversary Tour” by 77mokume (Twitter)
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| Miku; MISA; Kanami; Akane; Saiki; The Girls |
“Sexy Band-Maid” by 77mokume (Twitter) with individual artworks also available
“Band-Maid in the Japanese style” by 77mokume (Twitter): Miku; Saiki; MISA; Akane; Kanami; whole band
Update as August 19, 2022: Some photos from Osaka serving (from Instagram accounts of Miku, Akane, and Misa)
Update as October 31, 2022: Some USA tour photos (taken by fans or from the band’s official SNS)
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| Miku with her birthday gifts |
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| 4032 by 1456 px (1.5 MB) |
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| Miku with 12-string Zemaitis (3024 by 4032 px; 2.2 MB) |
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| Miku with 12-string Zemaitis (3024 by 4032 px; 2.1 MB) |
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| Miku with 12-string Zemaitis (1080 by 720 px; 231 KB) |
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| 4032 by 2268 px; 1.46 MB |
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| Akane (2268 by 4032 px; 1.13 MB) |
Update as of August 13, 2023: Band-Maid photo gallery (Lollapalooza 2023) from Illinois Entertainer, Chicagoland’s Free Music Monthly Magazine – In Print And Online
Miku; Saiki; MISA; Kanami; Akane; Saiki leaning forward; Saiki standing; Kanami flexing; whole group
1 comment:
So nice to see an elaborate blog post on Band Maid - my favorite hard rock/metal band.
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