Flower Travellin' Band

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Flower Travellin Band)
Jump to: navigation, search
Flower Travellin' Band
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genre(s) Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal
Years active 1968—1973, 2007—Present
Label(s) Atlantic, Pony Canyon
Members
Joe Yamanaka (ジョー山中?) (Vocals)
Hideki Ishima (石間秀樹?) (Guitar/Sitarla)
Jun Kobayashi (小林ジュン?) (Bass)
George Wada (和田ジョージ?) (Drums)
Nobuhiko Shinohara (篠原信彦?) (Keyboards)
Former members
Chiba Hiroshi (千葉ひろし?) (Vocals)
Remi Aso (麻生レミ?) (Vocals)
Katsuhiko Kobayashi (小林勝彦?) (Guitar)[citation needed]
Takeshi Hashimoto (橋本健?) (Bass)[citation needed]

Flower Travellin' Band (フラワー・トラベリン・バンド Furawā Toraberin Bando?) is a Japanese hard rock outfit that was first active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

The band was initially started as a side-project by Yuya Uchida when he returned to Japan after visiting his friend John Lennon in England, where he was introduced to various upcoming artists such as Cream, and went to a Jimi Hendrix concert. Yuya wanted to introduce their work to a Japanese audience, and formed the "Flowers" as a cover band with various group sounds musicians, and two vocalists; male singer Chiba Hiroshi, and female singer Remi Aso. They released an album titled Challenge! in 1969, featuring covers of songs by Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane, and Big Brother and the Holding Company, in addition to an original song. The art-work stirred the Japanese media, as it depicted each member posing naked.

In 1969, after the release of the album, Remi Aso, and guitarist Katsuhiko Kobayashi relocated to the United States. Later that year, Yuya reorganized the remaining Flower members, recruited vocalist Joe Yamanaka from the group sounds band 491, and formed the "Flower Travellin' Band" as a way to produce and explore a new music direction outside his own career. Their first release was a mini-album in 1970, made to emulate the Flowers release by means of cover songs, and nude art work. Their first original album titled Satori was being produced in the same year, and was released in 1971.

They recorded their followup album Made In Japan the following year in Canada, and performed with artists such as Dr. John, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Returning to Japan for a home show, they performed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, and in 1973 were billed to perform with the Rolling Stones throughout their Japanese tour, however all concerts were canceled when Mick Jaggers visa was rejected due to a drug conviction. They released a live album titled Make Up later that year, and performed at Maruyama Park. At this time, Yuya became involved in numerous projects; including the organization of music festivals, films, and television. The band went on a long hiatus, with each member continuing individual careers; throughout this time they remained in close contact. Joe Yamanaka recorded numerous solo albums, and collaborated with the reggae band The Wailers in the 1980s. Guitarist Hideki Ishima became a studio musician and invented the "sitarla", which combines the qualities of a solidbody electric guitar and the sitar.[2]

On November 25, 2007, the band members officially reunited and formally recruited keyboardist Nobuhiko Shinohara, who had previously worked with the band. A new album was released in 2008. [3]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Official releases

  1. Challenge (1969)
    Credited as Yuya Uchida and the Flowers.
  2. Crash (1970)
    Single recorded with trumpeter Terumasa Hino, and the first recording credited to The Flower Travellin' Band.
  3. Anywhere (1970)
    Debut album.
  4. Satori (1971)
    First original studio album.
  5. Made In Japan (1972)
    Second original studio album.
  6. Make Up (1973)
    Double album, consisting of both live and studio recordings. Featuring keyboardist Nobuhiko Shinohara.
  7. We Are Here (2008)
    Produced by the band, without Yuya Uchida.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://intnl.uchidayuya.com/
  2. ^ 俺はロッキンローラー. ISBN 9784331654408. 
  3. ^ www.flowertravellingband.com

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Travellin%27_Band"
Personal tools
Languages