Siam Shade

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Siam Shade
Also known as Ataru, Power
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genres Hard rock, progressive metal
Years active 1991–2002,
2007, 2011, 2013
Labels Leaf Mt., Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Associated acts Acid, Detrox, Binecks,
Big Bites, Bull Zeichen 88
Website siamshade.jp
Members Hideki
Natchin
Kazuma
Daita
Jun-ji
Past members Ataru
A

Siam Shade (stylized as SIAM SHADE) is a five-piece Japanese rock band, which broke onto the visual kei scene alongside a multitude of other artists in the early 1990s. They enjoyed a decade of relative popularity before disbanding in early 2002. On November 18, 2007, they reunited for a concert in honor of their recently deceased manager. The band reunited once again for free concerts on July 17 and October 21, 2011, dedicated to the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and performed a short tour at the end of 2013. Outside Japan, Siam Shade is best known for "1/3 no Junjō na Kanjō", one of the many ending themes of the Rurouni Kenshin anime.

History

Career

The band, originally called Power, was formed in 1991 by Natin and Hideki (then known as Chack), two high school friends with an affinity for music.[1] Their aspirations started to become a reality in 1992, when they met guitarist Kazuma at a talent show. After seeing his performance, they recruited the guitarist into the band and changed their name to Ataru.[1] In 1993, guitarist Ataru and drummer A, completed the lineup and the group began touring, playing small clubs and local venues. Shortly after, they changed their name again, settling on Siam Shade. They released a demo on May 1, shortly after which Ataru left.[1] Hideki then called on his former roommate and one-time band member Daita to fill in the lead guitar slot. Siam Shade soon caught the eye of Luna Sea vocalist Ryuichi Kawamura,[1] who, impressed with the band's demo tape and live performances, expressed interest in touring with the group. The two bands embarked on a three-month tour together at the end of 1993.

Siam Shade underwent a brief lineup change in 1994 when A left the band and was replaced by Jun-ji, solidifying the group's lineup until their disbandment.[1] Later that year, the band released their first self-titled album. In 2004, it was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in an issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.[2] Roughly one year later, the band signed with Sony Music Entertainment Japan and released their second album, Siam Shade II.[1] The album was met with favorable reactions, and the success of the album's two singles, "Rain" and "Time's", helped to solidify the band's presence in the rock scene.

The band burst into the mainstream in late 1996 when "1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou", a single from their latest album Siam Shade IV, was selected as an ending theme for the Rurouni Kenshin anime series. The song's popularity led to increased ticket sales, concert DVDs, and television appearances.

The band continued to release albums and DVDs well into the next decade. In 2002, while touring in support of their recently released compilation albums, the band announced that they would be disbanding in favor of pursuing solo careers. Siam Shade's 10-year career came to an end on March 11, 2002 at the Nippon Budokan.[1] Later that month, the band released their final album, Siam Shade X, a compilation of all their previous releases.

Post Siam Shade and reunion concerts

After the disbandment Hideki quickly begin his solo career. In 2003, he joined the band Acid, before leaving in 2006 to focus on his solo career again. However, in 2007 he formed Detrox with KAZ (Sads) and they released a large amount of material before going on hiatus after their show on April 18, 2012.[3]

Kazuma also started his solo career after the disbanding. In 2003, he performed a duet with Vivian Hsu, "Moment", which was used as the second opening theme to the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. He has also played support guitar for Anna Tsuchiya and Damijaw (solo project of Janne Da Arc member Ka-yu).

Daita started a solo career, wrote the soundtrack for the movie Volcano High, and played support guitar for Kyosuke Himuro. In 2005 he formed the band Binecks. In 2012, he formed the American based band Broken Arrow with vocalist Nik Frost, who sang on the Siam Shade Tribute album.[4]

Natin, now going by the stage-name "Natchin", has a solo career and in 2008 formed the band Big Bites with Anchang (Sex Machineguns) and Annie (The Yellow Monkey).

Junji has a solo career, was support drummer for Takanori Nishikawa a.k.a. TM Revolution, and in 2008 formed the band Bull Zeichen 88. He is also a regular support member for Acid Black Cherry.

Siam Shade held a reunion concert, titled "Heart of Rock", on November 18, 2007 at the Nippon Budokan, in honor of their manager who died the previous April. The band stated that the reunion was a one-off event, and would not pave the way for a new single or album release.

On October 27, 2010 a tribute album to Siam Shade was released, Siam Shade Tribute. It is composed entirely of Western artists such as Sebastian Bach, Richie Kotzen, Mike Vescera and George Lynch.[5]

Siam Shade's song "1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou" was covered by Nogod on the compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, which was released on January 26, 2011 and features current visual kei bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement.[6] "Glacial Love" was covered by Guild on its sequel, Crush! 2 -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, that was released on November 23, 2011.[7]

On April 29, 2011, Siam Shade announced on their new website, which went online on the same day, that they would reunite once again. This time for a free concert on July 17 at Zepp Sendai, entitled "Siam Shade Spirits ~Return The Favor~", "to bring hope" to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[8][9] On June 20, a second concert was announced for October 21 at Saitama Super Arena.[10] The band released the album titled Siam Shade Spirits 1993 on April 14, 2012, which includes their entire first album, the new "opening" track called "Light For Closed Your Eyes" and two previously unreleased songs from their indie years.[11]

Siam Shade performed their first nationwide tour in 12 years at the end of 2013, titled Siam Shade Live Tour 2013 ~Siam Shade Heart of Rock 7~.[12] The three date tour began on October 27 at Saitama Super Arena, and went to Zepp Nagoya on November 11 before ending on November 12 at Zepp Namba.[12]

Members

  • Hideki "Chack" Imamura (今村栄喜 Imamura Hideki), born (1972-01-29) January 29, 1972 – vocals
  • Yasushi "Natin/Natchin" Nakagawa (中川泰 Nakagawa Yasushi), born (1971-10-15) October 15, 1971 – bass
  • Kazuma Endo (遠藤一馬 Endou Kazuma), born (1972-02-26) February 26, 1972 – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Daita Ito (伊藤大太 Itou Daita), born (1971-06-19) June 19, 1971 – lead guitar
  • Jun-ji Sakuma (佐久間淳士 Sakuma Junji), born (1973-03-30) March 30, 1973 – drums
Former members
  • Ataru – guitar
  • A – drums

Discography

Main article: Siam Shade discography
Singles
  • "Doll" (December 19, 1993, distributed for free at first one-man live)
  • "Rain" (October 21, 1995) Oricon Singles Ranking: No. 49[13]
  • "Time's" (February 1, 1996) No. 44[13]
  • "Why Not?" (February 21, 1997) No. 69[13]
  • "Risk" (May 21, 1997) No. 42[13]
  • "Passion" (July 30, 1997) No. 35[13]
  • "1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou" (1/3の純情な感情, November 27, 1997) No. 3[13]
  • "Glacial Love" (グレイシャルLOVE, May 13, 1998) No. 10[13]
  • "Dreams" (August 5, 1998) No. 4[13]
  • "Never End" (October 28, 1998) No. 9[13]
  • "Kumori Nochi Hare" (曇りのち晴れ, February 24, 1999) No. 8[13]
  • "Black" (September 15, 1999) No. 5[13]
  • "1999" (September 29, 1999) No. 7[13]
  • "Setsunasa Yori mo Tooku e" (せつなさよりも遠くへ, April 19, 2000) No. 10[13]
  • "Life" (April 11, 2001) No. 13[13]
  • "Adrenaline" (アドレナリン, September 27, 2001) No. 14[13]
  • "Love" (November 28, 2001) No. 20[13]
Albums
  • Siam Shade (December 10, 1994) Oricon Indies Ranking: No. 2
  • Siam Shade II (November 11, 1995) Oricon Albums Ranking: No. 27[14]
  • Siam Shade III (October 2, 1996) No. 20[14]
  • Siam Shade IV - Zero (January 21, 1998) No. 3[14]
  • Siam Shade V (December 2, 1998) No. 6[14]
  • Siam Shade VI (July 26, 2000) No. 8[14]
Compilations
  • Siam Shade VII (November 29, 2000) No. 23[14]
  • Siam Shade VIII B-Side Collection (January 30, 2001) No. 17[14]
  • Siam Shade IX A-Side Collection (March 6, 2002) No. 20[14]
  • Siam Shade X ~Perfect Collection~ (November 27, 2002) No. 98[14]
  • Siam Shade XI Complete Best ~Heart Of Rock~ (September 26, 2007) No. 26[14]
  • Siam Shade XII ~The Best Live Collection~ (October 27, 2010) No. 23[14]
  • Siam Shade Spirits 1993 (April 14, 2012)
Various artists compilations
  • Emergency Express 1994 (February 1, 1994)
  • Tribute Spirits (May 1, 1999)
  • Tokyo Rock City (November 6, 2007)
  • Genten (October 6, 2010)
  • Climax J-Rock History (December 22, 2010)
Tribute albums
Videos
  • Siam Shade (VHS: March 1, 1997, DVD: December 6, 2000)
  • Siam Shade V2 Clips '95 - '97 (VHS: March 1, 1998, DVD: December 6, 2000)
  • Siam Shade V3 (VHS: March 20, 1999, DVD: December 16, 2000)
  • Siam Shade V4 Tour 1999 Monkey Science Final Yoyogi (VHS: August 30, 1999, DVD: September 22, 1999)
  • Siam Shade V5 (September 6, 2000)
  • Siam Shade V6 Live Otoko ki (December 31, 2000)
  • Siam Shade V7 Live in Budokan Legend of Sanctuary (March 27, 2002) Oricon DVDs Ranking: No. 34[15]
  • Siam Shade V8 Start & Stand Up Live in Budokan 2002.03.10 (May 29, 2002) No. 14[15]
  • Siam Shade V9 The Perfect Clip (January 8, 2003) No. 49[15]
  • Siam Shade Spirits ~Return the Favor~ 2011.10.21 Saitama Super Arena (March 10, 2012)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "SIAM SHADE JaME Profile". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2011-06-22. 
  2. ↑ "Top 44 Albums from 1989 - 1998". jame-world.com. 2004-05-09. Retrieved 2013-03-08. 
  3. ↑ "DETROX, Hiatus indefinitely". soundmeeting.net. Retrieved 2012-02-23. 
  4. ↑ "DAITA's New Band, BREAKING ARROWS, Debuts in US". barks.jp. Retrieved 2013-08-18. 
  5. ↑ "Foreign rockers create SIAM SHADE tribute album". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2011-04-29. 
  6. ↑ "'90s Visual Kei Cover Album". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2011-05-09. 
  7. ↑ "Aoi, Moran, and more to release ’90s Visual Kei cover album". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
  8. ↑ "SIAM SHADE to hold a free charity live in Miyagi". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2011-05-10. 
  9. ↑ "SIAM SHADE to unite once again for earthquake victims". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2011-04-29. 
  10. ↑ "SIAM SHADE to hold another charity live in Saitama!". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2011-06-22. 
  11. ↑ "SIAM SHADE to release new album, ‘SIAM SHADE SPIRITS 1993′". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "SIAM SHADE to hold their first nationwide tour in 12 years". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2013-04-27. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 "SIAM SHADEのシングル売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-06-20. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 14.10 "SIAM SHADEのアルバム売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-06-20. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "SIAM SHADEのDVD売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-06-20. 

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