The Pillows
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Pillows | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Genres | Alternative rock, Indie rock |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Captain, Pony Canyon, King, Avex Trax |
| Website | www.pillows.jp |
| Members | |
| Sawao Yamanaka Yoshiaki Manabe Shinichirou Sato Jun Suzuki |
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| Former members | |
| Kenji Ueda Tatsuya Kashima |
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The Pillows (styled as the pillows) are a Japanese alternative rock band, best known internationally for the soundtrack of the anime OVA series FLCL.[1][2] During its long-running career, the group has released more than a dozen original studio albums, along with several EPs, singles and compilations. The Pillows are currently signed to the Avex Trax label.
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[edit] History
Kenji Ueda, a bassist of Kenzi & The Trips, invited Sawao Yamanaka, a vocalist of The Coin Locker Babies, to form a new band, because his band broke up. Then, Ueda invited Shinichiro Sato, a drummer of Kenzi & The Trips, too. Since Yamanaka wasn’t able to play the guitar well yet, Yoshiaki Manabe, a guitarist of Persia, joined them. In this way, The Pillows was formed on September 16, 1989.
The Pillows released two mini-albums from the indie label Captain Record first. The Pillows contracted with the major label Pony Canyon, and came out with the single "Ame ni Utaeba" in 1991. They released two singles and two albums.
In the beginning, Ueda took the leadership in the band, and Ueda and Yamanaka wrote songs. However, the relation between Ueda and Yamanaka or other members got worse gradually because of the gap of musicality and the course of the band. As a result, Kenji Ueda left the group and has never been officially replaced. [1] The Pillows lost the leader, and stopped activity until the band contracted with the next record company.
Sawao Yamanaka became a new leader, and the band restarted after an interval of about 1 year. Following Ueda's departure, the band recruited Tatsuya Kashima as a replacement on bass. Out of respect for Ueda, Kashima was only labeled as a guest musician on releases he performed on. He would stay with the band through 1999 and the release of their 7th overall album "Runners High." Kashima was replaced by Jun Suzuki who is still with the band today.
In 1999, The Pillows were approached by the anime studio Gainax, which licensed The Pillows' three previous albums for the soundtrack of their latest anime FLCL. The Pillows also composed two new songs for the show, "Ride on Shooting Star" and "I Think I Can," which were released on their album "Fool on the Planet."[1]
In March 2005, The Pillows played their first show in the United States at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas,[3] followed by concerts in New York City and San Francisco.[4] In the following year, The Pillows returned to North America during their tour in support of the album My Foot, with several more dates in the U.S. and a show in Mexico City.[5]
The group's album Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! was released on May 2, 2007 their first on the Avex Trax label.
The single, "Ladybird Girl," was released on August 15, 2007, and is being used in the Japanese version of the children's show Ben 10 as its theme song.
They returned to the US in 2008 starting with Los Angeles, followed by another appearance at SXSW, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, and Boston.[6]
Pied Piper is the sixteenth studio album by The Pillows, released on June 25, 2008. It includes the singles "Ladybird Girl," "Tokyo Bambi," and "New Animal" as well as the b-side "Across the Metropolis."
[edit] Logo and mascot
Buster-kun has been The Pillows' mascot since about 1998, when on a visit to London, they saw a doll of a "grotesque and creepy-looking teddy bear" (which can be seen in many of their videos, including "Hybrid Rainbow") and subsequently used it for the artwork of the album Little Busters and on t-shirts sold during the following tour. Buster-kun was named after the album and the group also uses the term "little busters" for its fans.[7]
[edit] Lineup
- Sawao Yamanaka (山中さわお Yamanaka Sawao) – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Yoshiaki Manabe (真鍋吉明 Manabe Yoshiaki) – lead guitar
- Shinichirou Sato (佐藤シンイチロウ Sato Shinichirou) – drums
- Jun Suzuki (鈴木淳 Suzuki Jun) – bass (support member,[1][8] since 1999)
[edit] Former members
- Kenji Ueda (上田ケンジ Ueda Kenji) – bass (1989–1992)
- Tatsuya Kashima (鹿島達也 Kashima Tatsuya) – bass (support member, 1992–1999)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Moon Gold (1991)
- White Incarnation (1992)
- Kool Spice (1994)
- Living Field (1995)
- Please Mr. Lostman (1997)
- Little Busters (1998)
- Runners High (1999)
- Happy Bivouac (1999)
- Smile (2001)
- Thank You, My Twilight (2002)
- Penalty Life (ペナルティーライフ, 2003)
- Good Dreams (2004)
- My Foot (2006)
- Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! (2007)
- Pied Piper (2008)
- OoParts (Out of Place Artifacts) (2009)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Osueke, Austin (2006-07-07). ""J-Pop Is the Quiet Storm in American Culture"". asianweek.com. http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=2678f5aa59e69f844690ff18578074bc. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ Johnston, Chris. "FLCL". (November 2006) Newtype USA. p. 151.
- ^ "SXSW 2005 Showcasing Artists: The Pillows". sxsw.com. http://2005.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/15920.html. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ ""More Pillows Concerts"". animenewsnetwork.com. 2005-02-28. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-02-28/more-pillows-concerts. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ ""The Pillows Tour North America in June"". animenewsnetwork.com. 2006-05-24. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-05-24/the-pillows-tour-north-america-in-june. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "SXSW 2008 Showcasing Artists: The Pillows". sxsw.com. http://2008.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/56321.html. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
- ^ Mays, Jonathan (2006-07-02). ""Sound Decision"". animenewsnetwork.com. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/sound-decision/2006-07-02. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "The Pillows profile". pillows.jp. http://www.pillows.jp/p/profile/. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- Alchemy's Jennifer Ho speaks to Sawao Yamanaka in 2008, on the Asian Pop Show SBS Radio (in Japanese or translated into English)
