Member Since: 7/13/2006
Band Members: TARUMI (Kazuto Tarumi) on bass, vocals, keys, sampler and trumpet,OTA (Yuji Ota) on lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica and Theremin, NOMOTO (Yoshiaki Nomoto) on drums and samplers.
Influences: YUJI OTA -Guitar&Vocal
---------------------------------
FUNKADELIC
THE JIMI HENDRIX &EXPERIENCE
CREAM
THE DOORS
KAZUTO TARUMI -Bass&Vocal
-------------------------------------
FRANK ZAPPA
LED ZEPPELIN
LARRY CORYELL
HERBIE HANCOCK
GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION
YOSHIAKI NOMOTO -Drums&Vocal
-------------------------------------------
BUDDY MILES
JAMES BROWN
IGGY POP
BOB DYLAN
CEE-LO
HIGH TIME TO KNOW….who the hell are GREAT ADVENTURE ?
In a short period of time, the TOKYO/JAPAN-based rock band GREAT ADVENTURE (G.A.) have caused a sizable stir. This 3-piece rock band’s sound hits in a realm somewhere among the spiraling guitar rock, the electronic drive and the real funk - i.e. from White Stripes to Gorillaz to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Gnarls Barkley / Led Zeppelin to The Chemical Brothers. A frequent comment about the band is that they don’t sound Japanese in any way. The band are however entirely Japanese. Besides singing in passable English, the trio has a looseness in song composition and performance that is rarely found in Japanese bands.
In 2003, the band released their debut album “GREAT & FUNKY†on an indie label called Apple Paint Factory (APF) which is also the management they belong to. But it was picked up by RESERVOIR RECORDS, an imprint of EMI Music Japan, who re-released the album in a slightly modified version on the major’s distribution. The band made a reputation with their spirited live shows, especially when they landed opening slots for the popular foreign rock bands Kasabian and The Music in 04/05. Also with the heavy support for the video of the title track by Space Shower TV (popular satellite music channel), the album scored a smash hit. In August of 2005 they also played some Japan’s biggest rock festivals including Summer Sonic where they kept expanding their fan base by performing there for 3 consecutive years.
The band’s second album “ROCKS†came out on Nov. 23rd, 2005 on Reservoir. The first lead track Any “Place Rocks†was featured on the TV ad of NTT DoCoMo Kansai (Osaka branch of Japan’s biggest telecom), and was a hit at key radios nationwide. It was around that period when they visited London for the first time to shoot the video of the track (which was later placed on MTV Japan’s highest rotation Buzzclip) and also did their first overseas gig at Upstairs at the Garage on Sep. 26th. Small but good audience including the staff of BBC Radio 1’s rock programs, who were actually there to see a different act, were overwhelmed by their amazing performance.
In 2006, they hosted MTV Japan’s weekly program "MTV Apt" as VJs, which was just the beginning of the dramatic increase of the media exposure for a band that used to limit their visibility on purpose. They released two singles “Where’s The Soul?†(Aug.) and “Space Men†(Nov.), followed by a Japan tour in autumn.
January 2007 saw the release of their third album “OK Screamer†which received strong reviews from the critics as ‘the best hybrid funk rock’. Throughout 2007, they were considering what type of an album they should do next, while keeping up with their frequent live gigs including four shows in London (Dublin Castle, Water Rats, The Fly and The Borderline). The experience and reaction from those gigs inspired them for the production of the next album that’s very original and that they could present proudly to all music fans from around the world.
In early January 2008, they’ve finally completed their 4th studio album which is to be released in April in Japan. They’re full of confidence that they’ve created music full of the primitive essence of Rock music by a 3-piece. The timing is perfect to check out these three reckless boys in the time The Police and Led Zeppelin are back in the scene.
Sounds Like: ROCK/ALTERNATIVE
Record Label: Apple Paint Factory / Reservoir Records
Type of Label: Major