Toru Yamashita
| Toru | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 山下亨 |
| Birth name | Yamashita Toru |
| Also known as | Toru |
| Born | December 7, 1988 |
| Origin | Osaka, Japan |
| Genres | Alternative rock, post hardcore |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, actor |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | A-Sketch |
| Associated acts | HEADS, ONE OK ROCK |
| Website | ONE OK ROCK official website |
Toru Yamashita (山下亨 Yamashita Toru), born December 7, 1988 in Osaka, better known as his stage name Toru, is a guitarist in the Japanese rock group ONE OK ROCK. He was in the hip-hop group HEADS along with Ryota Kohama from ONE OK ROCK before they disbanded in 2002.[1]
Personal life
Toru Yamashita was born in Osaka, Japan before moving to Tokyo. Ryota Kohama, a fellow member from ONE OK ROCK, is his childhood friend. They met together with two other members: Kohei and Takuya formed a hip-hop dance group HEADS when they were fifth and sixth-graders. They were also active before their debut and participated in dance competitions around the years of 1995–1999. They debuted with a single entitled "screeeem!" in July 2000 and followed by the second single "Gooood or Bad!" in November, produced by a popular musician under the label Amuse, Inc.. The dance group made a performance every weekend on busy streets in Osaka's Kyoubashi and Tokyo's Akihabara, shopping, and amusement districts.[2]
HEADS disbanded in 2002 and in 2003 they took a break to improve their abilities. At this point, HEADS as a four member group ended. They merged into a new group with seven other members and were called GROUND 0. In 2004, Toru and Ryota continued their activities as GROUND 0. In 2005 Toru tried to explore his experience and took a main role in TV series Shibuya Fifteen. He also become a cameo as a high school student in Kamen Rider Hibiki.
In the same year, he got an idea to form a rock band, then he invited Ryota, their upperclassman Alex and his friend Koyanagi Yuu. Later, Toru become the leader of this band, later named One Ok Rock. He met Takahiro Morita when he performed with his previous band, insisted him to join ONE OK ROCK even though he repeatedly refused. After Alex quit from the band, he took over his place, playing lead-guitar.
He is heavily influenced by Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Enter Shikari, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Sleeping With Sirens, Nirvana, and The Used.
Musical equipment
Toru often uses many different kinds of Gibson Les Paul guitars ever since the start of One Ok Rock's career, but recently he frequently used PRS Guitars. He started out with a Gibson Les Paul Standard Black and then purchased a Les Paul Custom Alpine White in 2009. Four years later, this guitar was signed by the members of Fall Out Boy on the front side and Avril Lavigne on the rear side. Toru first seen using PRS Guitars during the band final tour at Nippon Budokan in November 2010.
References
- ↑ "Toru Profile on JpopAsia". Retrieved 2014-10-12.
- ↑ "Hip-Hop Kids Aim High, with "HEADS" Up". Retrieved 2014-10-12.
External links
- Official website (English)
- Official website (Japanese)
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