Story of Elizabeth.eight

Episode:00　～ Pull-outs, inexperience, evil schemes? ～

MIWA Yuta first formed a band when she was 17 years old. She heard a rumor that there was a good drummer in the band club of another school and met Colonel Ismi. Convinced by his inhuman looks that "this is the only one," MIWA Yuta begins to recruit him, without considering the Colonel's reasons. Colonel Ismi sensing MIWA Yuta's charisma, agreed to join, and they form a band that will become the starting point of ELIZABETH.EIGHT. At that time, Colonel Ismi has tattoos on both shoulders designed by MIWA Yuta as a sign of loyalty to the queen.

Later, the bassist left the band. The band needed a bassist as soon as possible because recording was imminent at the time. The prerequisite for a new member was "someone who is familiar with MIWA Yuta and can respect her as a queen." MIWA Yuta and Colonel Ismi turned to a mutual friend, SUGAWARA Shunji, and set about recruiting him to join the band.

Shunji was a college student at the time. Just a college student. Although he loved music, he had never even touched a musical instrument, let alone a bass guitar. He was half-assedly put into a car, half-assedly given alcohol, half-assedly given a bass guitar, and half-assedly made to join the band. Shunji Sugawara who had never played an instrument before, experienced his first recording session at one month later.

While performing mainly in their hometown in Saitama Prefecture, their guitarist left the band. A "Guitar Man Wanted" flyer was posted at a live house where they often performed at the time. Then, a few days later, the one who showed up was FUKAMI Yukiharu. He was a senior vocalist of major bands at the time. The members all thought, "There must be something behind this, what on earth is he up to? "

FUKAMI had seen MIWA Yuta live before and was shocked by his performance. Since then, he had been watching MIWA Yuta from the shadows, and when the guitarist left the band, he volunteered to join as the new guitarist. When it turned out that he was not planning any evil scheme, he joined. At that time, he was given a "MIWA Yuta Manual" by Colonel and Shunji. At this point, the previous band members were assembled, and after several years of activity, the band became ELIZABETH.EIGHT.

Episode:01　～ The Birth of Beth Hachi: Meeting the Human Puppy. ～

Thus, the members of the predecessor band, which became the basis of ELIZABETH.EIGHT, came together and worked energetically. On January 1, 2006, the name was changed to "ELIZABETH.EIGHT" due to MIWA Yuta's change of heart. At the same time, they even named the abbreviation "Beth Hachi". Shortly after starting activities as ELIZABETH.EIGHT, MIWA Yuta met Kofuji, who would later become a member.

At the launch of a concert, the drummer who performed with her first time that day, sat next to MIWA Yuta. He was very friendly to Beth Hachi members, which was unusual for them. MIWA Yuta likened him to a "human puppy" because he was as friendly as a dog.

Later, he left his band and joined as a roadie in ELIZABETH.EIGHT in order to find a new place to work. As he blended in with the band members without any discomfort, MIWA Yuta said to him, "You're interesting, join us."

However, he is a drummer. He wondered if he could join a band that already had a drummer named Colonel Ismi. When He was puzzled, the word came quickly "On Guitar." this means that twin guitars would not be a problem.

I see, no probrem. I had never played guitar before, but I would have no problem joining the band. He thought so. He then went to a pet store with MIWA Yuta and Colonel Ismi and given a dog collar. He was named "Kofuji" and became ELIZABETH.EIGHT's second guitarist.

Episode:02　～ Growing Live Bands!: Success and Suffering ～

when became a five-member group, ELIZABETH.EIGHT had been more energetic in its activities. They started own label, released CD nationwide, toured, and held one-man live concerts. They proud to say that live show is the essence of their music, and they perform more than 100 shows a year, mainly in the around Tokyo. While on tour, they was more stoic than necessary, eating bread with mayonnaise as staple food. As they traveled from place to place, their fans given them canned food, instant noodles, vegetables, and even cassette stoves.

In an effort to expand the boundaries of activities for independent bands, they colluded with "The Hands In Pockets" to organize a two-man live show at SHIBUYA-AX where big stage. Everyone said impossible. "Why would they do such a thing?" Each time, MIWA Yuta replied, "I want to do it on a big stage." was the very simple answer.

On December 14, 2010, far more people than expected gathered at SHIBUYA-AX. When the SE that announced the start of the live played, the audience shook with cheers. Although it was tremendously difficult to realize, it was a great success because of the support of many friends. Since then, ELIZABETH.EIGHT has continued its energetic activities with CD releases, one-man live shows, and its first iTunes distribution.

However, in 2013, FUKAMI Yukiharu complained of poor health and went to the hospital. After tests, he was diagnosed with "acute myeloid leukemia."

Episode:03　～ A mighty enemy!: Determination to keep fighting ～

FUKAMI Yukiharu who was diagnosed with "acute myeloid leukemia", sent an e-mail to the band members. He said that he had been careful not to pull them down because he was the oldest of them all. He also apologized for the fact that he still got sick. He was told by doctor that he had only a few months to live. The members couldn't immediately reply to the report, but they all felt the same way.

"Until he gets well and comes back, the four members of ELIZABETH.EIGHT will do their best. This is where FUKAMI returns to." Activities by four members continued, with the band announcing FUKAMI illness and treating it as a temporary withdrawal for recuperation. Kofuji became the sole guitarist, and the group continued to perform live and produce a new album without using any support members.

After that, FUKAMI Yukiharu recovered and was temporarily discharged from the hospital, but while recuperating at home, he was found to have relapsed and was readmitted to the hospital. The recurrence of leukemia was very difficult to recover from, and he had no choice but to wait for a suitable candidate to appear for transplant surgery.

Episode:04　～ The queen robbed of music ～

The four members of ELIZABETH.EIGHT have decided that the great loss caused by the temporary departure of FUKAMI Yukiharu can only be recovered by a further leap in their activities. They decided to release a new album, hold a one-man live concert, and national tour.

While continuing their live activities, the four members have been working on new songs, recording, and rehearsing for the one-man live show. The release of the album was getting close and the tour dates were just about to be decided.

2014 MIWA Yuta is hospitalized urgently due to encephalitis. The doctor said, "She collapsed from a seizure caused by encephalitis and the location of the lesion makes surgery infeasible. She is in danger of losing her life, but even if she survives, there is a high probability that she will remain disabled." It was expressed unspeakable despair.

A few days later, the members went to visit MIWA Yuta after receiving a report that she had managed to survive, But she was unable to speak properly due to the aftereffects of her illness, and her body was paralyzed.

Members went to the hospital every day. They did not know whether she was getting better or worse. Then MIWA Yuta told them something even more shocking. "I can't hear the music." Amusia. It is one of the sequelae of encephalitis, but it is very rare. It was a symptom of an inability to recognize music as music. Sound is just "sound," and neither rhythm nor melody can be recognized. Distorted guitar sounds, for example, are just "noise".

MIWA Yuta is a vocalist and a songwriter. The stress of losing that identity was spectacular. She still has paralysis in her hands. And unable to write, and her articulation is slurred due to dysarthria. She had hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, nightmares, and even lost her singing. She was in despair.

Under such circumstances, the remaining members gathered for a meeting to discuss the future of ELIZABETH.EIGHT. The conclusion was to "Continue our activities." As the doctor said, she might be disabled for the rest of her life. She may need nursing care. She may be impossible to comeback. But even if In that case, they couldn't let end the band.For the songs and lyrics written by her, and the band raised by her too. Because them believe in the return of FUKAMI and MIWA Yuta, them had not stop ELIZABETH.EIGHT.

Episode:05　～ Believe and wait!: Invincible Rock 'n' Roll ～

MIWA Yuta suffered daily hallucinations and auditory hallucinations. Sometimes she cried in the middle of the night and was confined to bed with restraints. Due to memory impairment, she couldn't remember anythings. Her real name, date of birth, address, and phone number. The only things she could remember were "1/27, 3/27, 4/2, 6/30" , they were theband member's birthday.

Her disability gradually improved with medication, but her "amusia" continued. She couldn't even sing the simple nursery rhyme. When watching TV, all voices sounded the same. She couldn't distinguish between men and women. The only people she could distinguish were "Funassyi" and "Matsuko Deluxe."

The members stayed at the her hospital room in turn. And continued their activities as a three-piece band in order to keep FUKAMI and MIWA Yuta in their place while they recuperated. Kofuji became the band's vocal & guitar instead of MIWA Yuta, and took the stage.

While the three-piece continued to perform, MIWA Yuta underwent frantic rehabilitation every day. Her resilience was so great that even the doctors were amazed. A short time after the album was released, MIWA Yuta was discharged from the hospital and went to a rehabilitation center. It was a miracle that she was able to leave the hospital without serious physical disabilities, and after regaining her daily life, all MIWA Yuta wanted was music.

She continued her rehabilitation at home, but her turnaround came suddenly. One morning she was about to sing a song as usual when a melody popped into her head. When She fearfully tried to sing, she felt could sing better than usual. She put on a CD and the song blasted into her head. "I was struck again with the same moving I had when I first encountered rock 'n' roll." MIWA Yuta later said. A few months after his stroke with encephalitis, MIWA Yuta was beginning to get his music back.

Episode:06　～ The Next Stage of Unity ～

Although the three-piece's live shows were conducted with ELIZABETH.EIGHT existing songs, new songs were released to make it clear that "the band would continue its activities." Previously unreleased songs that had already been produced were recorded and released as a single CD.

MIWA Yuta gradually regained her musicality and actively incorporated songwriting into her rehabilitation. After thinking about what she could do as a vocalist who cannot sing, she decided to shoot a three-piece music video by MIWA Yuta. The music video was released on YOUTUBE as "Directed by MIWA Yuta" and received a lot of positive feedback. Later, all of ELIZABETH.EIGHT's music videos were shot by MIWA Yuta. She was commissioned by "The Captains" and other groups to direct their music videos, which led to terrestrial broadcasting and tie-ups, she also made great strides as a director.

Feeling that she was recovering from her illness, her friends and live houses began to offer her lectures and readings, and she began to perform on stage with readings that summarized her experiences during her hospitalization. The audience was so enthralled by the uncanny content of the reading that when the reading was over, the applause continued indefinitely.

MIWA Yuta worked hard on her rehabilitation, drowning out the pain of not being able to sing with readings, music video shoots, and future prospects. The rest of the members also worked energetically to prepare for the coming return of the queen. They organized events and held one-man live concerts. New friends were made, and they all hoped for MIWA Yuta's return and the original ELIZABETH.EIGHT's singing voice. Meanwhile, she started full-scale rehabilitation in the studio too and practiced singing amidst the band's booming sound. About a year had passed since she had fallen ill with encephalitis. And it was on the big stage at Zepp Diver City Tokyo that she took the stage as a vocalist for the first time since his discharge from the hospital.

Episode:07　～ Resurrection of the Queen!: Birthday of Cheers and Sobs ～

About a year after MIWA Yuta was diagnosed with encephalitis, ELIZABETH.EIGHT was preparing for an event at Zepp Diver City Tokyo. At that time, MIWA Yuta was participating in studio practice, had quit drinking and smoking, which she used to love, and was regaining confidence in her singing. When the three-piece appeared at live houses, she went to the venue together and watched them on stage.

MIWA Yuta's enthusiasm for performing on the biggest stage since SHIBUYA AX increased, and the members felt the same way. So, she decided to take the stage for one day before making a full comeback, calling it "The Queen's Descent." Fellow students and fans who came to the event cried, pumped their fists, and got very excited when MIWA Yuta appeared on stage. Her first performance in a year was a great success.

The performance at Zepp convinced the members of MIWA Yuta's recovery. And they decided that the day of MIWA Yuta's birthday event would be the day of return to the Queen.

May 12, 2015 @ Shinjuku MARZ. The annual event, titled "The festival that mainly ignor the Queen's birthday Festival." MIWA Yuta returned to the band on this day, which was retitled "The Festival of Spending as if Nothing Happened on Queen's birthday Festival." During the short performance time, the sobs and cheers of those who had been waiting for the queen's return never ceased in the packed hall, and the encores continued forever. MIWA Yuta said, "Now that I'm back, come again." and she turned down the encore with a plausible opinion.

Episode:08　～ Revibe and Reborn: Never ending story ～

One year and three months after she collapsed from encephalitis. MIWA Yuta made a miraculous comeback. A few months later, ELIZABETH. EIGHT was performing at an event held at a live house in Tokyo. After the show, a young band member came to MIWA Yuta, who was at the venue.

The band member was the guitar & vocal of the band that performed that day, and had also performed with Three Piece Beth Hachi before. He suddenly said, "Let me be your dog." and pledged his loyalty to MIWA Yuta.

He told me that he had been impressed by the attitude of the band ELIZABETH.EIGHT during their previous performance together. He was interested in MIWA Yuta and had been reading MIWA Yuta's blog, which he had been updating during his recuperation, looking forward to meeting her someday. MIWA Yuta liked his looks and crazy ideas so much. She gave him a collar as her "second dog" and decided to love him.

One day when he was acting as a roadie like Kofuji in the past, it was discovered that he had a piano history in his childhood. The next moment, MIWA Yuta decided to let him join the band. The second dog, named "Italu", of course had no keyboard experience. However, without hesitation, he bought the equipment and began practicing. About two months after MIWA Yuta's return, ELIZABETH.EIGHT was reborn as a six-member band, and a further leap forward was foreseen.

Perhaps ridie the wave, a match was miraculously found for FUKAMI Yukiharu, and he underwent successful bone marrow transplant surgery. The story of ELIZABETH.EIGHT continues as they await the return of FUKAMI, who still works hard on rehabilitation with a guitar in arms.

Episode:09　～ Change and evolution: A Zelvania Story ～

After Italu joining, the visual image had been renewed. As if to symbolize the sound that changed with the addition of the keyboard, it had become more flamboyant and glamorous. Added elements of glam rock to the conventional garage rock sound, they showed a new expansion as the band. And ELIZABETH.EIGHT, whose activity period was ambiguous due to Kofuji's joining and MIWA Yuta's medical treatment period. Therefore, they decided to label 2018 as their "roughly 10th anniversary" year.

On the other hand, FUKAMI Yukiharu who had been undergoing medical treatment, also experienced a change. After a bone marrow transplant, FUKAMI switched to home treatment. And started producing music as part of his rehabilitation and with the aim of improving his skills during treatment. And he submitted his work to the music contest held by "IWASHITA Shin Shoga" and won the "President's Award."

The work was a short phrases, but He wasn't in a condition to play the guitar yet. Therefore, he resorted to an incredible method of placing the guitar on the floor and played with a pick in his mouth. By the way, FUKAMI got "one year's worth of Shin Shoga" as a supplementary prize but he was unable to eat due to dietary restrictions.

In 2018, ELIZABETH.EIGHT participated in the contest-style live event "JAPAN EXPO ROCKS". They aimed to win the championship by betting on participation in the "JAPAN EXPO" held in Paris, France. The winner was decided by audience votes. In order to won, the cooperation of the supporters was essential.

In the preliminary rounds held several times, thanks to fans and friends who rushed to support us from various places, we were able to win smoothly. And then the final. Thank you stage for everyone who cheered me up to the final. The venue was very excited, but the result was defeated.

Although She feels frustrated at not being able to repay the support, MIWA Yuta said, "We didn't win, but we didn't lose anything. We gained a lot." Through the event, They felt that the bond between the fans and the members became stronger. also met new people.

And above all, the name "Zelvania Family" was created for ELIZABETH.EIGHT fans. It's a meaningless idea by MIWA Yuta, but sometimes will be used for a long time.

Episode:10　～ Shaked The Queendom: The first power-down? ～

In 2019, the morning after their 11th one-man live, they received a unilateral withdrawal declaration from Italu on keyboad. After that, he lost contact and disappeared. The members were puzzled by the sudden event. MIWA Yuta, who especially loved pet dog No.2, had gray hair due to stress. She refused to eat and vomited repeatedly.

A few days later, They succeeded in contacting him by email, but MIWA Yuta was exhausted. In the email, it was written that the intention to withdraw would not change, and that the live schedule that had been decided would also be cancelled. Although it became a withdrawal in the form of abandoning everything, MIWA Yuta announced this matter through SNS.

"When anyone leaves Beth-Hachi, I take full responsibility as the leader and songwriter. Please don't blame him. It will be said that it has been powered down in the future. It's natural because he was excellent for us." Many people commented that "that is a leader, that is MIWA Yuta," with her unique view of a leader. On her own blog, she also said, "My dog Italu died. I won't let you say anything worse." Furthermore, she concluded, "I have confidence in the 4-member formation. Please look forward to it."

Episode:11　～ 11 years that closed the curtain: The way of the dream land. ～

May 12, 2019, as decided before the commotion, they ended "The festival that mainly ignor the Queen's birthday Festival" that had been running for 11 years. The event, which was the final round, was a lot of excitement, and at the time the event was launched, there was the "ultimate inner circle glue" that MIWA Yuta wanted.

The venue turned into a homey reunion, and at the end of the event there was a mosh and dive. "The Ignore Festival" came to a grand conclusion amidst an encore that never stopped ringing. In addition, in celebration of Miwayuta's birthday, which had been ignored for 11 years, they launched "A festival to celebrate at Disneyland for the Queen who had Unexpierienced Disneyland." The event was scheduled to take place in 2020.

And even after that, the 4 people who do activities with same or more power than that. Even the organization changes, the love from Zelvanias did not change, and the attendance also increased. MIWA Yuta also resumed her poetory reading activities, and the number of live at the band increased. Activities other than live performances such as blogs and "note" were also well received, and the power down ended in a baseless worry.

MIWA Yuta said, "If I'm here, we can rebuild as many times as our want. First, as long as we're healthy, we can do it as many times as our want." ELIZABETH.EIGHT remains unchanged and had its sights set on the next work.

Episode:12　～ A turbulent beginning.: The world brought by Corona. ～

In 2020, when the four-piece band was still actively performing, there was talk of a new type of coronavirus. While live houses were being forced to take countermeasures against infection, the band performed for the first time at Shibuya Club Quattro in an event called "Live House and Masterpiece." Miwa Yuta was moved by the stage, which she had personally longed to see. The next day, February 26, the government announced a "request for voluntary restraint in holding events and reduction in scale."

While various parties canceled events and refrained from live performances, ELIZABETH.EIGHT's stance was: "As long as the organizer decides to hold the event, we will not cancel the performance. And we will not hold the event ourselves." And they tried to prevent infection every day.

while the public was strongly against the band, they experienced their first non-audience live streaming event at "EMERGENZA JAPAN 2020," which we were participating in. They felt the fun and potential of the live streaming format, and actively incorporated it into their subsequent activities. Incidentally, three days later, the government declared a state of emergency. Again, it was barely.

While the way live shows and bands are changing at a dizzying pace, They experienced new forms of live shows, such as no audience and live streaming, and continued their activities as actively as ever. The birthday event, which was supposed to be the last time last year, was also held as a "The live broadcast Festival of the Queen's Birthday Festival." It was a remote talk event with no audience.

They used "home time" to prepare for the production of a new album. The program "Midnight Rodeo TV," which was broadcast live almost every day on TwitCasting, has also started and had been well received but... In December 2020, MIWA Yuta felt discomfort in her left breast and underwent an examination at a hospital, where she was diagnosed with "breast cancer."

Episode:13　～ Birth of Modified human "Odd Pie" ～

For the umpteenth time despair struck ELIZABETH.EIGHT. Each member was surprised and shocked when they heard the results of the diagnosis, but the next moment they were looking forward. MIWA Yuta herself was also quite anxious, but compared to the time of encephalitis, she said it was better to be conscious.

Even after her illness was discovered, they continued to perform at their scheduled gigs. And on December 21, she announced her illness on SNS. People around them responded like "Is that possible?" "Again?" "Too many episodes."

During the months of testing, he launched the "Save the Queen Project" to help pay for the costs of testing and treatment. We were able to gain a lot of cooperation through the sale of support goods and the collection of support money. MIWA Yuta felt as if all of her past activities had been affirmed, and she was filled with gratitude for the great love and determination to face the disease.

On March 12, 2021, Miwa Yuta underwent surgery to remove her entire left breast. It was the left breast which she had written event titles and comments (a.k.a. "Chichimoji") with a magic marker at events organized by her friends.

After the surgery, MIWA Yuta looked at the scar and muttered, "I like it." She named her condition "Odd Pie," after the so-called "odd eye," in which the left and right eyes are different colors.

And MIWA Yuta decided to send out the anxiety and conflicts he experienced in a funny way. She started writing an essay "If an unselling band member gets breast cancer" on "note" for people who are similarly anxious about tests and treatments.

She also created a new song titled "Modified Human Odd Pie." Its waiting for the time when it will be released to the world someday.

Episode:14　～ Finally a celebrity!?: TV and Internet News ～

After surgery and anticancer treatment, MIWAa Yuta returned to work with a skinhead. It was October 27, 2021, seven months after the surgery. She attracted attention when she posted a video on SNS showing the members shaving her hair, which had been reduced by the anti-cancer drugs. MIWA Yuta said, "I didn't lose my hair or my breasts. I just got a future."

After her return, she continued to write essays about her tests and treatments on her blog. One day, she was contacted by CyberAgent (a media company) and offered to write for Ameba's official celebrity blog. (Services operated by the company) In April 2022, she started an Ameba celebrity blog titled "Atashi Band-man" (I am a band member). Around this time, she changed the notaition of official band name from "ELIZABETH.EIGHT" to "Elizabeth.eight."

A few days after her blog was launched, she ranked third in the "J-POP and ROCK category ranking." Diamond☆Yukai (RED WARRIORS) , Ryugen Toshi (X-JAPAN), and MIWA Yuta, a shocking lineup. In addition, her blog posts were picked up by YAHOO! News and she received the "Ameba Award for Excellence." She became a popular blogger both in name and reality.

On the other hand, she made numerous radio and TV appearances to promote her band's album "Cougal Pok-chini," which they had been working on since before her illness was discovered. They had many opportunities to talk about their past episodes, and once again we were reminded of Elizabeth.eight's stormy life.

Episode:15　～ The new world: Its passed like a storm is the 15th anniversary. ～

After MIWA Yuta's return, they continued to be active, releasing albums and music videos, and live shows and distributing music. The public was gradually easing restrictions after requests to refrain from going out and declarations of a state of emergency. Live music venues began to show their excitement, with live shows for both spectators and distributors becoming increasingly common.

While the events that had been postponed were being revived, Elizabeth.eight realized that they had celebrated 15th anniversary in 2021. The year 2021 was realy busy for them, so they rushed to produce 15th anniversary goods at the end of 2022. Soon the year was over, and in no time at all, we entered our 17th year. It was a stormy 15th anniversary.

The year 2023 arrived and the production of a new song was started, but the announcement was postponed for various reasons. The year was the 15th year of the "The festival that mainly ignor the Queen's birthday Festival" was held at Shinjuku MARZ where called holy spot for this event. Although the event was supposed to be the last time in 2019, it has been held every year with different venues and forms, and this year it showed the highest excitement ever. The year 2023 is only halfway through, one cannot take one's eyes off the future activities of the band.

Episode:16　～ Trials and Troubles: A Problematic Track as Told by the Tarot. ～

Elizabeth.eight, meanwhile, had been working on the production of their new song "Shinigami Guide" in preparation for its release. The song was created for digital distribution only and was not intended for live performances. It was an experimental attempt to find new ways of promoting and selling music.

To create a music video of unprecedented scale, they commissioned renowned filmmaker Oshiri-chan as the director. The video was shot with meticulous attention to detail, from the costumes and filming location to the actors and props. However, during this time, the sound engineer fell ill while editing the audio, making communication nearly impossible. Although the music video was filmed using a rough mix that was still in progress, its completion had to wait for the final edit of the track.

While waiting for contact from the engineer, MIWA Yuta repeatedly used tarot cards, a hobby of her, to divine the future of "Shinigami Guide." Each time, cards appeared that hinted at setbacks or cancellations, including the Death card. The frequent appearance of this card, which was related to the song's title, heightened the credibility of the readings and cast a shadow of doubt over the song's future.

More than six months later, they were able to reconnect with the recovered engineer, and from there, the track quickly progressed to completion. Despite a nearly one-year delay, "Shinigami Guide" was finally released, along with its music video. Released simultaneously with "Economic the Animal Monkey Tune," the music video received a positive reception, making it seem like a great success.

However, when they approached radio and television for promotional tie-ins, they received no favorable responses. Certain phrases and company names mentioned in the lyrics, as well as the overall theme of the song, were flagged as problematic. The deliberately provocative lyrics backfired, but all the members, including MIWA Yuta, accepted it with a resigned, "Well, that makes sense."

Thus, while "Shinigami Guide" became something of an underdog, it can be said that as an experimental piece, it left a lasting impact that could lead to future successes.