Visual Kei and Oshare Kei

Members

Hyde – vocals, guitar
K.A.Z – guitar

Profile

VAMPS is the name of the band formed by HYDE (L’Arc~en~Ciel) and K.A.Z (Oblivion Dust). HYDE and K.A.Z have been working together on HYDE’s solo work since 2003. After years of collaboration, the two finally decided to form their own band and agreed that there was no better way to announce VAMPS than getting out in front of the fans right away. Their first Nationwide tour of Japan, "VAMPS LIVE 2008", kicked off at Zepp Tokyo. Between August 1, 2008 and October 28, 2008, VAMPS played 46 shows at the prestigious Zepp live houses throughout Japan. The tour was totally organized by VAMPS and the venues were custom decorated by spray art such as the now-famous VAMPS castle. The band played 6 to 10 shows at each Zepp venue and every single show was sold out. The continuous string of sold out shows were unprecedented and had never taken place during any other Zepp live house tour before. Their second single I Gotta Kick Start Now was released on March 13, 2009. A new single Evanescent was also featured as a PV.

2009 Live U.S. Concert Tour

In April 2009, VAMPS announced their "VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour." The tour covered 10 U.S. cities from July 11 - August 1. The official tour website is www.vampsliveusa.com[1]
In an interview before they left Japan, HYDE and K.A.Z. expressed their feelings about the tour (in English) with, "We are Ready" and "Do my best" respectively.^[1] HYDE also added, "I’ve been looking forward to this. We will put on an unforgettable performance, so please come and see us." K.A.Z. finished up the interview with, "We’re finally heading for our U.S. tour. I couldn’t wait for this day to come! Get ready to rumble☆".^[2] After the tour, they were interviewed to talk about what they have earned from the tour. HYDE also talked about the food they enjoyed most in U.S., which is surprisingly to be instant fried noodle, while K.A.Z was introduced to a kind of wine.^[3]