| The Pillows | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, power pop |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Captain, Pony Canyon, King, Avex Trax |
| Associated acts | The Predators, Nine Miles, Kenzi & the Trips |
| Website | pillows.jp |
| Members | |
| Sawao Yamanaka Yoshiaki Manabe Shinichirou Sato |
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| Past members | |
| Kenji Ueda | |
The Pillows (styled as the pillows) are a Japanese rock band. 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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Kenji Ueda, bassist for Kenzi & The Trips, invited The Coin Locker Babies vocalist Sawao Yamanaka and Kenzi & The Trips drummer Shinichiro Sato to form a new band. Since Yamanaka was not able to play the guitar well yet, Yoshiaki Manabe, a guitarist of the band Persia, joined them. The Pillows were formed on September 16, 1989.
The Pillows released two mini-albums from the indie label Captain Record. 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.
Originally, Ueda led the band, and Ueda and Yamanaka wrote songs. Because of musical differences, however, Ueda left the group (although Ueda has never been officially replaced).[1]
After a year with no activity or leadership, Sawao Yamanaka took the leadership role and the band was restarted, signing a contract with King Records. The band recruited Tatsuya Kashima as a replacement on bass. Out of respect for Ueda, Kashima was labeled as a guest musician on releases on which he performed. He stayed with the band through 1999 and the release of their 7th overall album Runners High. Kashima was replaced by current bassist Jun Suzuki.
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,[2] followed by concerts in New York City and San Francisco.[3] 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.[4]
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 as the theme song for the Japanese version of the children's animated seriesBen 10.
They returned to the US in 2008 starting with Los Angeles, followed by another appearance at SXSW, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, and Anime Boston.[5]
Pied Piper, the fifteenth studio album by The Pillows, was 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".
In 2008, Oasis extended an offer for The Pillows to play as the opening act at their concert in Japan, but the Pillows' frontman, Sawao Yamanaka refused their offer. In a January interview for Japanzine, Yamanaka joked that he "turned down the offer in order to have a fun story to tell".[6]
In 2010, the Pillows recorded "Rodeo Star Mate", a theme song for an OP for the series, Stitch - Itazura Alien no Daibouken.
In 2011, The Pillows recorded "Comic Sonic", as the ending theme for the anime adaptation of the manga "Sket Dance".
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]
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