Yoshiki Fukuyama

Yoshiki Fukuyama (福山 芳樹), born September 14, 1963, is a Japanese guitarist, singer and songwriter. He originally became known on an international level for his work in the anime Macross 7 where he was the singing voice and guitar of the show's main character, Basara Nekki. Fukuyama is currently enjoying a successful career recording both solo and as a member of the anime music super-group, JAM Project.

Biographical Information
Yoshiki Fukuyama describes himself as being born in Tokyo and raised in Kamakura. Even in adulthood, he has continued to live in or near Kamakura.

Fukuyama's family consists of himself, his wife, a daughter and a menagerie of various pets. He and his wife, Kyoko Fukuyama, generally work as a songwriting team. He composes the music while she writes most of the lyrics for his songs.

His blood type is A.

Fukuyama is an accomplished musician who plays several instruments. On his solo albums, he performs all of the instruments except drums (played by Shoichiro Aso) for most of the songs.

Early years
At age 5, Fukuyama began taking piano lessons. He and future band-mate, Toshiyuki Furuya, had the same piano teacher. In his early teen years, he discovered The Beatles, which led to his interest in playing guitar. In high school, Fukuyama was a member of a Queen tribute band called “他” (hoka), which means “other” in Japanese. The band was reportedly so named because they were frequently listed as “other” on concert billings.

The early gigs: 1982 to 1988
In college, Yoshiki Fukuyama, Toshiyuki “Rocky” Furuya, and various friends formed the band Doolin Dalton (later changed to Dalton Kougyou), often performing songs by The Eagles and similar bands. Fukuyama played bass and shared the lead vocal position with Furuya.

Also during college, Fukuyama played guitar and sang with the comic-rock band Kirenjaku. Although he occasionally sang lead with Kirenjaku, fellow band member, Takeshi Yamaguchi, performed most of the band's lead vocals. Kirenjaku recorded one four song EP.

Fukuyama and Furuya, along with several other friends formed the band Maps. By 1988, Maps had evolved into the band Humming Bird for which Fukuyama is often remembered.

1988 to 2000
Humming Bird played a blend of rock and folk with roots in the hard rock and roll of the 1960s to 1980s, such as Queen or The Beatles. Initially, Humming Bird had only two official members: Yoshiki Fukuyama on guitar and vocals and Toshiyuki Furuya on bass and vocals. Various friends also played. The final band roster was set in 1992 with the official addition of Shoichiro Aso on drums. Humming Bird enjoyed moderate success, having released nine albums before disbanding in May 2000.

1994 to 1998
Yoshiki Fukuyama was the singing voice and guitarist for the main character, Basara Nekki, in the anime Macross 7. Fukuyama, Chie Kajiura, Tomo Sakurai, and various studio musicians recorded several albums of songs that were used in the show. Most of the time, the work was merely credited to Fire Bomber, although Fukuyama-san's name does appear in the songwriting credits of several songs. Also he and his band, Humming Bird, are both listed in the “Thank You” section of all the Fire Bomber album credits.

May 2000
Fukuyama began his solo career after the break-up of Humming Bird.

Mid 1990's to 2003
Fukuyama teams up on occasion with Masato Ushijima to form the folk/rock duo, Wild Vox. They are mostly a live band, but they did record one album, “Yasei no Kaze”, that was released in April 2002.

He also occasionally joins up with local performers from the general Yokohama-Kamakura area to form such bands as A-band (so named because all three members have type-A blood), Westcoast Doukoukai, San Sei's, and others.

February 2003
Fukuyama formed his current band, Fukuyama Yoshiki Band (also known as "F-Band"), with members: Tetsuro Morita on bass, former Humming Bird member Shoichiro Aso on drums, and Jun Imai on keyboards. After Imai-san left to pursue other projects in 2005, Hidetoshi "HIDE" Suzuki joined them on keyboards for the "Fire Bomber 2005" tour. The band's current keyboardist is Akira "PONchan" Yokota.

March 2003
Yoshiki Fukuyama and Masami Okui, both performers who have sung several anime and video game themes, joined and continue to perform regularly with the anime music super-group, JAM Project.

August 2007 to present
Following a Macross 25th anniversary concert, Fukuyama and actor Nobutoshi Canna joined forces to perform a number of concerts together. Since during the production of Macross 7, the two men had worked together portraying the character, Basara Nekki - Canna acted and Fukuyama sang and played guitar - they had considered the name "Basaras" for their duo, but decided instead on "Fukujin" which was created by combining the first kanji of their respective surnames. From time to time, as their busy careers permit, they sing together onstage and create a series of internet radio broadcasts called "Fukujin tsuke". On November 23, 2008, Fukujin will perform its first international concert in Taipei, Taiwan.

Information Sources
Biographical information in this article was translated from information on the following official sites:
 * Rocky's World (The official Humming Bird Site)
 * Yoshiki Fukuyama Official Website
 * Kirenjaku Official site

Yoshiki Fukuyama 福山芳樹 福山芳樹