Koshi Inaba , born on September 23, 1964, in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture) is a Japanese vocalist. His real name is Hiroshi Inaba . He graduated from the Faculty of Education at the Yokohama National University, and has a degree in mathematics.
Musical career
Inaba is the vocalist and lyricist for the Japanese hard rock band B'z. Their debut album, B'z, was released in 1988, and he started his solo career in 1997 with album Magma. Whereas B'z songs are composed by Tak Matsumoto, Koshi composed songs for his own solo albums.
His musical influences are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, and Guns N' Roses. He respects David Coverdale, Robert Plant, and especially Steven Tyler as vocalists. He is a fan of Elvis Presley.[citation needed]
As a vocalist, he is known for his wide vocal range, covering three and a half octaves. Subject matter of his lyrics include social issues ("Liar! Liar!"), war ("Ai to Nikushimi no Hajimari"), peace ("ROOTS"), lost love, and loneliness ("Itsuka no Merry Christmas").
Inaba sang on the Steve Vai song "Asian Sky" from the album The Ultra Zone in 1999. He has played with overseas musicians such as Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd), Stevie Salas, and others. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that he would be featured in Slash's 2010 solo album, Slash. Inaba sang on the first single, "Sahara", released on November 11, 2009 in Japan. The song Sahara was featured in the 15th track of the Japanese edition of the album.[1] On February 24, 2010, it was announced that single "Sahara" won the Western single of the year 2010 at Japan Gold Disc Award 2010 held by RIAJ
Albums Magma (29 January 1997) Shian (9 October 2002) Peace of Mind (22 September 2004) Hadou (18 August 2010)
Singles "Tooku Made" (16 December 1998) "KI" (11 June 2003) "Wonderland" (14 July 2004) "Okay" (23 June 2010) Guest appearances The Ultra Zone (on the track "Asian Sky") — Steve Vai, 1999 Slash (on the track Sahara) — Slash, 2010
