Toybox is a three-piece rock band based is Tempe, Arizona consisting of members Yo on vocals and bass guitar, Naoto on guitar and Celica on drums.
Though the three of them hail from different parts of Japan, they met, and formed their band, at Arizona State University.
The idea for what was to become Toybox came to Naoto, Celica, and former members Sunao and Kyoko after they had just seen a Sum-41 concert in Phoenix.
They started jamming together for awhile with Sunao on guitar and Kyoko on drums while Celica was playing the bass.
During this time they had not yet secured a vocalist.
After searching for some time, they happened upon Yo when he drunkenly started singing along as Naoto played on a guitar at a party. From there Toybox hit the ground running and began jamming and writing songs in earnest.
The line up at this time was Yo on vocals, Naoto and Sunao on guitars, Celica on bass and Kyoko on drums.
However, because Kyoko was an exchange student, the time for her to return to Japan was soon at hand. With her gone, a realignment had to occur.
Toybox quickly got long-time friend Nathan Oser to pick up a guitar while Celica went to drums and Sunao picked up the bass.
This lineup played a number of intimate gigs at and around Arizona State University before,
once again, Nathan left to spend a year studying in Wakayama, Japan.
Rather than mix it up again and find new players, Sunao, Yohei, Naoto and Celica were determined to soldier on with only one guitar (with Yo playing back up .. songs).
This roster saw the expansion of Toybox to their most active period; playing shows all around Tempe and the East Valley at venues large and small.
They continued to develop their reputation for intense, energetic and commanding performances and forged fast friendships with other local bands and promoters and put out their very first professionally recorded EP 5 Seconds To….
Sadly, not too long afterwards, due to personal reasons, Sunao decided to leave the band and pursue his own interests.
While the departure was certainly difficult and upsetting, Toybox once more did was Toybox does best: persevere.
After a brief and unsuccessful search for a new bass player, they finally decided upon having Yo switch to playing bass and singing simultaneously and he immediately went out and bought a bass rig.
And it was magical. Suddenly this leaner, meaner and more focused Toybox hit the stages of Phoenix with unprecedented and unparalleled zeal.
A slew of new music began pumping out of them unlike anything long-time fans had heard from them before.
Harder, faster, darker and powerful riffs, bombastic drums and frenetic vocals
signaled the rise of a newly dedicated, hardworking Arizona rock band embodying life, love, death and reality with a unique and singular sound.
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