Ellegarden is a Japanese
rock group that formed in December of 1998 in Chiba,
Japan. It includes drummer Hirotaka Takahashi,
vocalist Takeshi Hosomi, guitarist Shinichi Ubakata,
and bassist Yuichi Takada. Ellegarden has a sound
strikingly similar to some American Pop Punk bands,
and sings in both Japanese and English.
Ellegarden has been compared to famous artists of
similar style, most notably Sum 41 (Ellegarden was
the band's opening act on February 2005 during the
Sum 41 Japan Tour 2005), Blink 182 and Good
Charlotte.
Following a brief break due to vocalist Takeshi
Hosomi's throat problems, the band has announced
several appearances at summer music festivals in
Japan and is presently in the studio working on
their fifth full album.
Discography
Japan:
Ellegarden (mini-album) May 23, 2001
Don't Trust Anyone but Us - April 3, 2002
My Own Destruction (mini-album) - October 16, 2002
Bring Your Board!! - July 2, 2003
Pepperoni Quattro - May 26, 2004
Riot on the Grill - February 26, 2005
U.S.:
Riot on the Grill - March 14, 2006
Video and DVD
My Own Destruction Tour Bootleg VHS - March 20, 2003
Bring Your Board!! Tour Bootleg II DVD - May 26,
2004
Bad for Education Tour Bootleg III DVD - February
26, 2005
Announced 4th DVD - August 9, 2006
Maxi Singles
"BareF00t" - October 12, 2001
"Ring" - February 20, 2002
"Jitterbug" - November 12, 2002
"Missing" - November 3, 2004
"Space Sonic" - December 7th, 2005
"Salamander" - August 9, 2006
Tours
Dates shown are announcement dates
First tour - August 2002 - 20 stop tour through
Japan
My Own Destruction Tour - October 16, 2002 - 30
stops in Japan to promote album of same name.
Included some performances due to selling out of
tickets.
Bring Your Board!! Tour - July 10, 2003 - 25 stops
in Japan; one extra live performance
Jitterbug Live Tour - November 12, 2003
Pepperoni Quattro Tour - June 12, 2004 - Toured 19
cities in Japan
Bad For Education Tour 2004 - November 2, 2004 - 15
cities
Riot on the Grill Tour - May 5, 2005 - 39 stops -
See Dynamord's site for a complete listing
Space Sonic Tour 2005-2006 - December 3, 2005 - 36
stops
Japan Nite Tour 2006 - January 16, 2006 - First US
tour; appearance at SXSW followed by 7 cities
Equipment
Takeshi Hosomi (Vocal & Guitar)
Gibson Les Paul Standard ('89 model)
Shinichi Ubukata (Guitar & Chorus)
Gibson ES-335TD ('00 model)
Yuichi Takada (Bass & Chorus)
Fender Precision Bass (early '70's model)
Hirotaka Takahashi (Drums & Chorus)
Ludwig Classic Maple Drum Set
(SOURCE: "GiGs" Magazine 2005 June Issue)
Trivia
Vocalist/Guitarist Takeshi Hosomi lists Weezer as
the band he respects the most. He honored the band
by warming up with their first single (Undone - The
Sweater Song) during their 2005 U.S. Tour.
Takeshi Hosomi is very good friends with Asian
Kung-fu Generation's Masafumi Goto and
Straightener's Atsushi Horie. Ellegarden's song "虹
niji (Rainbow)" was made after Takeshi saw a rainbow
with them.
"Pizzaman" was based on his experiences with a pizza
delivery person vocalist Takeshi Hosomi met while
living in San Francisco.
(Biography is
available under the terms of the
GNU Free and
Wikipedia)
