Penicillin (band)
| Penicillin | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Alternative rock, hard rock, industrial rock, gothic rock |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | Pioneer LDC, East West Japan, Omega A.T. Music, Avex Trax/HiBOOM, Crown, That Records/Blowgrow |
| Website | penicillin.jp |
| Members | Hakuei Chisato O-Jiro |
| Past members | Yuuji Shaisuke Gisho |
Penicillin (stylized as PENICILLIN) is a Japanese visual kei alternative rock band, formed in Tokyo in 1992.
Formed by friends at Tokai University in Tokyo, Japan on February 14, 1992. Penicillin began with Chisato on vocals, Gisho on bass, O-Jiro on drums and both Yuuji and Shaisuke on guitar. Before anything was recorded however the band's line-up changed to Hakuei on vocals, Gisho on bass, O-Jiro on drums and both Shaisuke and Chisato on guitar. Their name was taken from the punk rock group "Penicillin Shock" in the manga series To-y and they titled their first album, which was released in 1994 and produced by Kiyoshi of Media Youth, after the fictional band. However, after their first album, Shaisuke left Penicillin to join Deshabillz.
The band made their major debut in 1996 with "Blue Moon" on Pioneer LDC. In 1997 the released Limelight, which was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze. They stayed on Pioneer until 1998 when they changed to East West Japan. Their sixth single released, "Romance", released January 15, 1998 ranked within the top 10 on the Oricon charts for six consecutive weeks, selling over 900,000 copies. It was the opening theme of the Sexy Commando Gaiden. After they were dropped by East West Japan they changed to Omega A.T. Music (an indie label) in 2001. Omega happens to be under Omega Project Holdings which Yoshiaki Kondou (Gisho) is the CEO of. However they were only on Omega for a year before being picked up by Hiboom, which was an indie subsidiary of Avex Trax. In 2005 when Hiboom was closed, they were picked up directly by Avex Trax and were once again on a major label.
On December 12, 2005 Penicillin celebrated its 15th anniversary as a band. On March 9, 2007 Gisho announced that he would leave the band. His last live was his birthday on May 20, 2007 at Shibuya O-East. Since then the band has continued on as a three piece unit. During the February 11, 2008 live, it was announced the Penicillin would once again change labels, this time to Nippon Crown.
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