Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thee Michelle Gun Elephant | ||
|---|---|---|
 Thee Michelle Gun Elephant: L>R: Abe Futoshi, Chiba Yusuke, Kazuyuki Kuhara, Ueno Koji
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Japan | |
| Genre(s) | Garage rock Blues rock Punk rock Garage Punk Japanese Monster R&B |
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| Years active | 1991-2003 | |
| Label(s) | Universal Music Group Alive Records |
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| Associated acts |
Rosso Radio Caroline The Birthday Midnight Bankrobbers |
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| Website | http://www.rockin-blues.com/top.html | |
| Former members | ||
| Chiba Yusuke Abe Futoshi Ueno Koji Kazuyuki Kuhara |
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Thee Michelle Gun Elephant (also known as TMGE) was a Japanese Garage band of notable popularity in its country of origin. Its music is known for the loud guitars of Abe Futoshi and lead singer Chiba Yusuke's loud, gravelly yet melodious vocals. Other members of the band include Kuhara Kazuyuki (drums) and Ueno Koji (bass). The band was formed while the band members were students at Tokyo's Meiji Gakuin University, and their name came from a combination of the name of Billy Childish's offbeat band Thee Headcoats and a former bassist's mispronunciation of the name of The Damned's album, Machine Gun Etiquette.
Their first major label release, Wonder Style, was released in 1995, and produced in London, United Kingdom, by Chris Brown, who previously engineered albums and tracks for Radiohead and Pink Floyd. Their breakthrough album, however, was 1998's Gear Blues which sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Gear Blues was released in the United States in 2000 by Alive Records.
The band announced that they would break up on October 11, 2003, after their Last Heaven tour of Japan.
They are often mistakenly referred to as "Thee Machine Gun Elephant" and "Three Machine Gun Elephant".
[edit] Discography
Albums
- Cult Grass Stars (1996) Triad
- High Time (1996) Triad
- Chicken Zombies (1997) Triad
- Gear Blues (1998) Triad
- Casanova Snake (2000) Triad
- Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter (2001) Triad
- Sabrina Heaven (2003) Island
- Sabrina No Heaven (2003) Island
Live Albums
- Casanova Said "Live or Die" (2000) Triad
- Last Heaven's Bootleg (2003) Island
Singles
- Sekaino-Owari (1996) Triad
- Candy House (1996) Triad
- Lily (1996) Triad
- Culture (1997) Triad
- Get Up Lucy (1997) Triad
- The Birdmen (1997) Triad
- G.W.D (1998) Triad
- Out Blues (1998) Triad
- Smokin' Billy (1998) Triad
- GT400 (2000) Triad
- Baby Stardust (2000) Triad
- Abakareta-Sekai (2001) Triad
- Taiyou wo Tsukande Shimatta (2002) Island
- Girl Friend (2003) Trippin' Elephant
- Electric Circus (2003) Island
B-Sides Collection
- Rumble (1999) Triad
Best-of Collection
- TMGE 106 (2000) Triad
- Collection (2001) Alive Records (US release)
- Grateful Triad Years (2002) Triad
Other releases
- Maximum! Maximum!! Maximum!!! (1993) Self-Released
- Wonder Style (1995) Trippin' Elephant
- Wonder Style (reissue) (1997) Triad
- Vibe On! (1998) Trippin' Elephant
- Kwacker (with Mick Green) (2001) Trippin' Elephant
[edit] External links
- English language fan page by Troy Johnson
- Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Bio on VH1.com
