Tokyo Yankees

Tokyo Yankees (stylized as TOKYO YANKEES and previously as 東京YANKEES) is a Japanese metal band that formed in 1988 Tokyo. After peaking in popularity in the early 1990s and going on hiatus in 1995, the band reformed in 2000. Vocalist Soichiro "Ume" Umemura died in 2007 after nearly twenty years fronting the band. Tokyo Yankees however continue to perform with the other members sharing vocals.

History

Beginning and success

Tokyo Yankees formed in 1988 and began playing shows in the local club scene the following year. Umemura and Nori were previously in the heavy metal band Guerilla, while U.D.A. and Ami were in the speed/thrash metal band Rommel. Rockin 'f, a Japanese heavy metal publication, issued their first single, "Joker", with an issue of their magazine in 1990. That same year their song "Rat Race" was issued on an omnibus album titled The End of the Century Rockers Emergency Express II. The band eventually signed with Extasy Records, who released their debut album, Do The Dirty, in 1991. That year they participated in Extasy Records' Extasy Summit '91 at the Nippon Budokan to a crowd of 14,000.

The band released another record, Overdoing, on Extasy in 1992, before the label closed its doors. The bands popularity declined without Extasy's support, and following releases were issued on TriadZ Records (1993's Ghost Rider) and Nippon Columbia Records (1994's Vacate Your Useless Brain), after which the band went on hiatus.

Reunited

After Tokyo Yankees, Ami went on to form Charisma, who released three albums between 1997 and 2000.

A Tokyo Yankees compilation LP was issued in 1996, but the band remained inactive. In 2000 Ume, Nori and U.D.A. reformed Tokyo Yankees with Yoshi on bass and released Pre-Emptive Strike in 2003. A year later Tokyo Yankees issued 777, their first-ever EP release. It features covers of influential bands (The Damned, Black Sabbath, Venom, and Anthrax) and well as re-recordings of two classic Yankees tracks; "Dirty Dog" and "Devil".

Tokyo Yankees were featured on Extasy's 15-year retrospective, entitled History of Extasy, in 2000. Vocalist Umemura commented on Extasy's success; "I may have not sold a million records, but I've never lost a fight!"

After reuniting the band performed regularly around the Tokyo area with many well known acts such as Youthquake, Ladies Room, Jolly Pickles and Ra:IN.

Recent Activity

Vocalist Soichiro "Ume" Umemura died on December 11, 2007. Surprisingly the band has continued to perform, with Yoshi and Nori taking over vocal duties. One of the band's first shows following Ume's death was the "hide memorial summit" in May 2008, where they performed with Extasy Records alumni X Japan and Luna Sea.

On May 4, 2008, Tokyo Yankees performed at the hide memorial summit at the 50,000 seat Ajinomoto Stadium, giving the group the opportunity to play for a large audience.^[2] Later that month, the band was featured on 413Tracks' Motörhead Tribute album with a recording of "Ace of Spades" and a live rendition of "Overkill". July saw the release a history DVD chronicling Tokyo Yankees career, and celebrating their 20th anniversary titled 20 and Alive [We Are The Yankees Of The Underworld And We're Undead!], which Yankee's supported with a small tour.

Nori, Yoshi and U.D.A continue to perform as Tokyo Yankees and gig in the greater Tokyo area, and around Japan. Recent videos posted on Facebook and YouTube show the band sometimes performing with guest vocalists. In September 2012, they performed alongside Ra:IN, Der Zibet and Ladies Room at the Yokohama Summer Rock Fes. – Revolution Rocks 2012.^[3] In 2015, Tokyo Yankees joined several other well known Japanese rock bands, including X JAPAN, Luna Sea, Buck-Tick, and Dir en grey, to play at Luna Sea's rock festival LUNATIC FEST, in Tokyo, Japan.

Since 2003 Nori has been active in his side-band From Hell, they have released two EP's and play one or two shows a month. Yoshi also plays in his side-band Blotto Rockers once a month. Occasionally when Nori plays with Kabukichou Boys and Yoshi with Go Bands, both bands use the name Fake And Liar.

Members

• Masanori "Nori" Hashimoto – guitar, vocals 1988–1995, 2000–present (ex-Guerrilla, From Hell, Fake And Liar)
• Hironori "Yoshi" Yoshinuma – bass, vocals 2000–present (Grimm the Capsule, Blotto Rockers, Fake And Liar)
• Takashi "U.D.A." Udagawa – drums 1988–1995, 2000–present (ex-Dementia, ex-Rommel)

Former members

• Soichiro "Ume" Umemura – vocals 1988–1995, 2000–2007† (ex-Guerrilla)
• Masahiro "Ami" Arayama (荒山正広) – bass 1988–1995 (ex-Rommel, Charisma, BLOTTO ROCKERS)
• Tohda – guitar 1988–1990 (Samurai Blondies)
• Hiyori – vocals (Youthquake)

Discography

Singles

• "Joker" (October 28, 1990)

Albums

• Do the Dirty (May 20, 1991)
• Overdoing (October 20, 1992)
• Ghostrider (October 5, 1993), Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 46^[4]
• Vacate Your Useless Brain (September 21, 1994)
• The Best of Tokyo Yankees '93–'95 (June 21, 1996)
• Pre Emptive Strike (October 14, 2003)
• 777 (October 9, 2004)

Videos

• Unrivaled is Extasy ~ Extasy Summit '91 at Nippon Budokan (February 21, 1992)
  • Perform "Dive into Field" and "Ace of Spades", the latter with hide and Pata, and make various off-shot appearances.
• Minna ga Mumei-Datta, Dakedo... Muteki-Datta ~ Extasy Summit 1992 (May 10, 1993)
  • Perform "Big Game" and "Drugstore Cowboy", the latter with hide, Pata and Yoshiki, and make various off-shot appearances.
• 20 and Alive [We Are The Yankees of The Underworld and We're Undead!] (August 27, 2008)

Other

• The End of the Century Rockers Emergency Express II (October 21, 1990, "Rat Race")
• Lightning&Thunder (October 1, 1998, "Light My Fire" and "Japanese Motherfucker")
• History of Extasy (June 21, 2000, "Japanese Motherfucker")
• Tribute to Masami -White Disc- ("Dead Rock")
• 413Tracks' Motorhead Tribute (May 14, 2008, "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill")
• Hard 'N' Heavy 2010 (February 13, 2010, "So What (Demo)")
  • Various artists compilation album in Vol. 15 of We Rock magazine

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook
• Official MySpace
• Official YouTube