is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band formed in 1999.

History

The band is probably best known to Western audiences for its song "Speed" which was featured as the 10th ending theme for the popular anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 Naruto

Naruto

is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...

. All of the band members were born between 1978 and 1979. Akira and Kentarō were acquaintances in school and they regularly made music together, releasing a demo tape in 1999. They later moved to Tokyo where in April 2002 Shūichirō joined the band. Later in the year they released a new demo tape with 9 tracks.　In June 2003 they released their first album, and in December of the same year they released their second album . During June 2004 the band released a self-titled album as well as re-releasing their first two albums. In July and August they took part in the Fuji Rock Festival

Fuji Rock Festival

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The 3 day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan...

 and in September they released their first major album "Hello Hello Hello". To end the year, they started their first national tour, ending in December. Recently they have taken part in festivals such as the Rock in Japan Festival

Rock in Japan Festival

The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, organized by Rockin'on. At this festival appear many J-pop artists. Rock in Japan Festival is the biggest rock festival in Japan....

 and the Nano-Mugen Festival in 2008.

Members

- vocals, guitar - vocals, bass - vocals, drums (withdrew on March 10, 2008 for medical reasons, but returned on October 10, 2009)

Singles

• Magic (November 1, 2006) (July 19, 2006)
• Living in the City (May 10, 2006) (August 3, 2005)

Albums

• Life Goes On (February 10, 2010)
• Fish My Life (July 16, 2008)
• Rock Is Harmony (November 22, 2006)
• Kiss (September 21, 2005) (June 23, 2004) (December 3, 2003) (June 25, 2003)

External links

• Official Website
• Shūichirō Saitō on Twitter
  Twitter
  Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...