A Japanese indie rock band, Yellow Studs' songs range anywhere from wild garage rock to heartrending piano ballads. Each one is topped off with a nostalgic rock'n'roll feel courtesy of the hoarse voice of frontman Taichi Nomura.
Yellow Studs was formed in Tokyo in 2003, with Taichi Nomura on vocals and piano, Daisuke Ueda on bass, Takayuki Okudaira on guitar and Kouhei Kimura on drums.
They released their first album Shindo 7 the next year. Their third, Dengon, was released in 2007, and saw the band place seventh on Tower Records’ indie rankings.
In 2008, the band suddenly became a five-piece when Taichi’s younger brother Ryohei Nomura joined as a second guitarist. That year also saw the release of the band’s first compilation album, Sannen keika.
2010 was a big year for Yellow Studs, as they released three singles and held their first one-man live, which drew over 300 people.
The next year, Yellow Studs contributed a track to Ghibli Rock, a tribute album to the music of Studio Ghibli. Unfortunately, 2011 would also see the departure of Kimura from the band. They welcomed new drummer Kazuhiko Maekawa soon after.
Released in January 2012, the band’s fifth album shower showed a distinct maturation of their sound and attracted many new fans. It was also their first to be made available for purchase internationally on iTunes.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the members have taken many strides to engage their fans in recent years. Most notably, in 2012, they began recording a weekly USTREAM video where they respond to comments and questions from Twitter and keep fans up-to-date on their activities. They continue to diligently record a one hour chat every Thursday.
In June 2012, the band debuted a PV for the song Kotoba ni naranai, which had been made on a very modest budget by an Okinawan video creator named You. Soon after, encouraged by the success of shower, Yellow Studs started a fundraising campaign on the micro patron website Campfire, hoping to use the money to finance a professional music video by You, with the ultimate goal being to use it to attract the attention of a major label. To their surprise, the campaign reached its goal of 300,000 yen in just over a month. Their next album, curtain, was released on December 5th.
Unfortunately, in October 2013, Maekawa announced that he would have to go on an indefinite hiatus from the band. Hiroki Tanaka, who also plays the Cajón (a box-shaped percussion instrument) in Team GARAKUTA, is currently performing as their support drummer.
In January 2014, eager to share their latest work with fans and generate some buzz for their next album, the band released the song Comedy as a free download on their website. This March, they revealed that their music is being featured in a commercial for Kirin's "Hyouketsu Strong" starring popular actor Shota Matsuda. Their new album ALARM will be released in June.
While still a relatively small indie band, Yellow Studs is a group with a unique and well-defined sound, and they continue to grow with each new release.
