About Me
Bio
Shiina Ringo (, Shiina Ringo) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist born on November 25, 1978. Her real name is Yumiko Shiina (, Shiina Yumiko).
Note: Her name can be romanized many ways, including Shina, Sheena, and Shéna. This extends to album listings where she's even listed as Sheena Rinngo on her album Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana. However, one cannot rule out the possibility that it was done in error, as can sometimes be seen in Japanese records.
Yumiko Shiina was born in Saitama Prefecture to Koutarou Shiina, an employee of an oil company, and Akiko Shiina, a full-time housewife. She was born with an illness in which the esophagus become more narrow as it gets closer to the stomach, resulting in many surgeries.
Her understanding of the arts began with her father's interest in jazz and classical music. Also, her mother majored in dance in college and practiced ballet. In her house were a large collection of music, a piano, and a guitar. Shiina 's father was also devoted reader of music magazines. The young girl began practicing piano at age 5, as well as starting classical ballet.
While Shiina was a very outgoing girl in her early child life, she later became shy and quiet. The pseudonym Ringo, meaning apple, comes from how she would blush bright red like an apple when she was in front of people, as well as from her love of the Beatles' Ringo Starr and singer Fiona Apple.
Her parents remember her as a mostly trouble-free child, except that she could not stand being alone, throwing tantrums if she could not have a friend to play with.
By age 15, Shiina had become involved in several bands as well as performing solo. In 1995, she received recognition from the Teens Music Festival as a member of the all-girl band Marvelous Marbles. Later on, she received an Award of Excellence as a solo artist in the finals of the annual Music Quest competitions.
In her later teen years she became a fan of the indie rock group Number Girl, attending various shows when possible.
On May 31, 2004, she formed a band called Tokyo Jihen (, Tokyo Jihen?). Tokyo Jihen is Japanese for "Tokyo Incidents" and was first introduced in Shiina's Sugoroku Ecstasy tour. You can watch them perform in Shiina's Electric Mole DVD.
The original lineup of Tokyo Jihen was: Shiina Ringo (vocals), Hirama Mikio {aka Mikki} (guitar), Kameda Seiji (bass guitar), Hiizumi Masayuki {aka H Zetto M or HZM} (keyboard/piano) and Hata Toshiki (drums).
In July 2005, the band announced that keyboardist Hiizumi Masayuki, and guitarist Hirama Mikio had left Tokyo Jihen, and that new members were being sought for Tokyo Jihen's second album. In September 2005 the band announced through its website that it had selected two new members, Akashika Tomonori {aka Ukigumo} on guitar and Izawa Ichiyou on keyboards. Shortly thereafter, the band announced it would be releasing its second album (featuring the new lineup) in January 2006, and that it would be playing two concerts, at the Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka and the Budokan in Tokyo, in February 2006.(Provide by Wikipedia)
