advantage Lucy

Advantage Lucy, one of Japan's most loved pop bands, is influenced by groups like the Cardigans, Smiths and Ivy. They've released four critically-acclaimed albums, including their latest, Echo Park, which came out in 2005. The duo, consisting of vocalist Aiko and guitarist Yoshiharu Ishizaka, has played in Korean and Taiwan, and hopes to travel to a place near you one day.
Advantage Lucy was formed in October, 1995. It all started when guitarist Takayuki Fukumura placed an ad in music magazine Rockin’ On, looking for a musician other than a guitarist, and Ishizaka replied to it saying he was a bassist even though he couldn’t play the bass. The two met, and Ishizaka made Fukumura listen to a song he wrote, which Fukumura loved. They decided to become a double-guitar band, and placed another ad in Rockin’ On magazine, this time looking for a vocalist. Aiko applied for the position, even though she wasn’t particularly interested in singing and just wanted someone to teach her to play the guitar. At the try-out session Aiko somehow passed the test in spite of the fact that her voice was too small to be heard, and the band ‘Lucy Van Pelt’ came into being. In the beginning there were a drummer and bassist, but they quit.
Lucy Van Pelt’s first show, as a three-member band, was in March 1996. Banba, an old friend of Ishizaka’s, was at the show, and seeing the band he decided to join as a drummer. Around that time, the band released its first cassette from Japan’s Clover Records, and also participated in a compilation CD put together by GOD’S POP RECORDS of Japan. Sakamoto joined the band as a bassist after this.
1997 was a busy year for Lucy Van Pelt, as the band took part in compilation albums for the Japanese magazine Beikoku Ongaku, Japanese label CREAMCONE records and the U.S.’s sonorama Records (which also contains a song by Aiko’s solo unit, maples). Lucy also released its first album, ‘In Harmony’, from GOD’S POP Records, that year.
In 1998, bassist Sakamoto left, and Japanese band Round Table played the bass in her place in the mini-album “advantage Lucy”. The band signed with major label Toshiba EMI in October and changed its name to “advantage Lucy”—in two years’ time, the group released five singles and two albums.
Fukumura left the band in 1999, and in that year advantage Lucy set up its own independent label Solaris Records, releasing two mini-albums via that label in 2001.
In 2000, Fukumura became active in the music scene again, starting a band called Vasallo Crab 75, which performed with advantage Lucy. But then, tragedy hit the band: Fukumura passed away on November 26, 2001—ever since, each year on that date friends of Fukumura perform in an event in memory of him, called Mune-Kyun Arpeggio.
In 2004, advantage Lucy went international: it played for the first time in South Korea. It also provided songs for the dramatic troupe ‘Caramel Box’ and for TV commercials, and Aiko did narration work.
2005 saw the departure of Banba, who’d had leg trouble for two years. With the help of support musicians, Lucy released the single ‘Hello again e.p.’ and its 3rd album, “Echo Park”. It played a Christmas gig in South Korea.
In 2006, advantage Lucy did its 3rd show in Korea, and also took part in Taiwan’s Formoz Festival.
In 2007, advantage Lucy created the opening song for the NHK TV show, Hooray for Fish, based on the picture book by Lucy Cousins.
"Hello mate !" / "グッバイ(Good bye)"
"風にあずけて(kaze-ni-azukete)" / "杏花的季節(anzu-no-kisetsu)"Live@Taiwan
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2008.4.29 @ QUE ☆photo by missa