Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
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| Thee Michelle Gun Elephant | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Japan |
| Genre(s) | Garage rock Blues rock Punk rock Garage punk |
| Years active | 1991-2003 |
| Label(s) | Universal Music Group Alive Records |
| Associated acts | Rosso Radio Caroline The Birthday Midnight Bankrobbers |
| Website | Rockin' Blues |
| Former members | |
| Chiba Yusuke Abe Futoshi Ueno Koji Kazuyuki Kuhara |
|
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant (often abbreviated to TMGE) was an influential Japanese punk band.
They were ranked at No.77, in a list of Japans top 100 musicians, provided by HMV. [1]
Contents |
[edit] History
The band was formed in 1991, while the band members were students at Tokyo's Meiji Gakuin University. They decided to create a band after going to a Kiyoshiro Imawano concert together in their early teens, and later drew influence from The Roosters. Their unusual name originated when a friend mispronounced the title on a cassette tape of an early jam session recording with cover songs of Thee Headcoats and from The Damned's album, Machine Gun Etiquette.
Their first major label release, Wonder Style, was released in 1995, and produced in London, United Kingdom, by Chris Brown, who previously engineered albums and tracks for Radiohead and Pink Floyd. The band was later spotted by The Brian Jonestown Massacre during a gig in Los Angeles. They were so impressed by the band that they told Alive Records owner Patrick Boissel about them, who then sought them out and signed them to his label. This led to the American release of Gear Blues in 2000.
The band announced that they would break up on October 11, 2003, after their Last Heaven tour of Japan. Around 2002, vocalist Chiba Yusuke and Blankey Jet City bassist Terai Toshiyuki formed ROSSO.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Maximum! Maximum!! Maximum!!! (1993) Self-released
- Cult Grass Stars (1996) Triad
- High Time (1996) Triad
- Chicken Zombies (1997) Triad
- Gear Blues (1998) Triad
- Casanova Snake (2000) Triad
- Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter (2001) Triad
- Sabrina Heaven (2003) Island
- Sabrina No Heaven (2003) Island
[edit] Live albums
- Casanova Said "Live or Die" (2000) Triad
- Last Heaven's Bootleg (2003) Island
[edit] Singles
- Sekai no Owari (1996) Triad
- Candy House (1996) Triad
- Lily (1996) Triad
- Culture (1997) Triad
- Get Up Lucy (1997) Triad
- The Birdmen (1997) Triad
- G.W.D (1998) Triad
- Out Blues (1998) Triad
- Smokin' Billy (1998) Triad
- GT400 (2000) Triad
- Baby Stardust (2000) Triad
- Abakareta-Sekai (2001) Triad
- Taiyou wo Tsukande Shimatta (2002) Island
- Girl Friend (2003) Trippin' Elephant
- Electric Circus (2003) Island
[edit] B-sides compilations
- Rumble (1999) Triad
[edit] Best of compilations
- TMGE 106 (2000) Triad
- Collection (2001) Alive Records (US release)
- Grateful Triad Years (2002) Triad
[edit] Other releases
- Wonder Style (1995) Trippin' Elephant
- Wonder Style (reissue) (1997) Triad
- Vibe On! (1998) Trippin' Elephant
- Kwacker (with Mick Green) (2001) Trippin' Elephant
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- English language fan page by Troy Johnson
- Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Bio on VH1.com
