It was 1998 when Atsushi Horie, Shinpei Nakayama and ex-ART-SCHOOL bassist Hidekazu Hinata met in Tokyo and created STRAIGHTENER. It wasn't until two years later, however, that they made their debut with the single, Senshi no shikabane no March, a solid punk-rock release. Then came Straighten It Up, their first mini-album. STRAIGHTENER eventually began joining their friends Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Ellegarden at the annual Nano-Mugen Music Festival, which is dedicated to spreading punk rock throughout the country.
In August 2002, they started their own label, Ghost Records. Two months later they released the label's first maxi-single, Silver Record, which sold very well. A year later, they became a major band on the EMI/Capitol label.
In 2004, Shinpei met GLAY bassist JIRO and joined him in a side project called The Predators, which also features The Pillows frontman Sawao Yamanaka. The formation of the band was officially announced on May 14, 2005. Their first mini-album, HUNTING!!!, was released on July 6, 2005 and debuted at number five on the Oricon charts. However, it was made clear that the band was just a side project, so there was no need to fear for the future of STRAIGHTENER.
STRAIGHTENER's 2006 album, Dear Deadman, was released on March 8th and met with great reviews.
The following year was a busy one for the band as it saw the release of an album, mini-album and single. From September through October they began their "LINEAR MOTOR CITY TOUR".
In 2008, STRAIGHTENER celebrated their tenth anniversary together. They also suddenly became a four-piece band with the addition of ex-ART-SCHOOL guitarist Jun Oyama. Their first album to feature Oyama, Nexus, went on to hit the fifth spot on the Oricon charts.
Hinata joined up with ELLEGARDEN guitarist Shinichi Ubukata near the end of 2008 to form the alternative rock band Nothing’s Carved in Stone. While the groups both have fairly intense release and touring schedules, he has continued to split his time between them.
As of spring 2012, STRAIGHTENER are still going strong. They released an acoustic album called SOFT in June, which was accompanied by a brief acoustic tour. They also have many summer festival appearances scheduled.
