Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

Abe Futoshi

Guitar

Ueo Koji

Bass

Kuhara Kazuyuki

Drums

Chiba Yusuke

Vocals

My favourite Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra song guest featured a strong vocalist whose voice still wanders around in my head hours after listening to Kanariya Naku Sora. I figured a band that employed such a singer continuously must be worth its weight in gold. Little did I know Chiba Yusuke was only one of four talented and passionate musicians in Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, a band in constant evolution, even when you think things just can't get any better.

It is not impossible to have heard of this band without active research since a few of their albums like Gear Blues and Rodeo Beat Specter were released internationally through different labels. They made reviewers rave, but pleasing critics is not the best way to get recognized in America and music festivals in foreign countries will have to do for now. Not that TMGE is eager to make it overseas, as Chiba Yusuke stated: "If it happens, it'll happen".

An unorthodox writing style and powerful spirit: that is what makes this band unique. You never know what to expect while listening to a TMGE song. The songs don't end when you think they will and the band jumps into a jamming session at the most awkward times. Even while influenced by notorious bands from the United Kingdoms and United States, they add their own special musical approach, as if unaffected by the current "standards" destroying the industry. The inspiration sources are so many, that you cannot pin point any influence and all you hear is this fresh new sound called Thee Michelle Gun Elephant.

The spirit I mentioned is said to be best experienced live, but it is still quite denotable in their albums, conveyed principally by Chiba Yusuke's voice. Right up there in intensity with The Back Horn's Masashi Yamada, I'm surprise it is still with him after almost a decade of profound screaming. Yet, his screaming is of a rare melodious breed. The few semi-English phrases used by Chiba do not make the songs easier to understand from a lyrical standpoint. In fact, they probably make them harder to grasp, but they are sung with loads of imagery, and that is what matters.

Chiba forms the greatest duo with his old friend Abe Futoshi, with whom he shares the spotlight. He too, displays muzzled influences from famous guitarists but he has the skills to back them up. His guitar cuts through the songs like a razor blade and his creativity and sense of improvisation make every song unique while being punched by a giant "Abe was here" stamp. Kuhara Kazuyuki and Ueo Koji are geniuses in their own right. From some of Kuhara's beats you could swear he has a third arm. Ueo's brio is easier to notice when you have been hearing some TMGE for some time and are getting used to being pummelled by Abe's guitar playing. What I like most about him is the way he switches his style regularly from guitar-accompanying to offbeat.

Sharing interest in music from different parts of the world, college friends Chiba Yusuke and Abe Futoshi decided to try their hands on a band of their own. The first recruits did not quite live up to the senior members’ expectations, but after a few changes, Kuhara Kazuyuki and Koji Ueo established themselves as worthy complements of TMGE's style. However, their former bassist inspired the band's name, grossly mispronouncing a 1979 album from The Damned called Machine Gun Etiquette. It was after a long trial of small gigs that the band produced their first album in 1995. With the help of producer Chris Brown, who previously engineered albums and tracks for Radiohead and Pink Floyd, Cult Grass Star was a very decent debut album, which, little did they know, would be the last one they would produce that wouldn't reach the top Oricon spots. High Time at number thirteen, Chicken Zombies at number 5... then came Gear Blues, an unprecedented bomb that sold over 500,000 copies.

An intense schedule of writing, live performances and promotion is the kind of life TMGE led for eight years before taking a short, much-earned vacation after the release of Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter, 2001's chart-toper. This "break" must have been spent perfecting their music and writing more songs because Michelle Gun came back better and hungrier than ever with Sabrina Heaven. They were so eager to unleash more works that they published a six-song mini-album confusingly called Sabrina no Heaven three months afterwards.

A few days after the redaction of this profile. Thee Michelle Gun Elephant announced their ultimate disbandment. Girlfriend, release June 21st, and Electric Circus, planned for October 10, will be the

last two singles they will produce. The band will still complete their appropriately-called "Last Heaven" sold-out tour, which started September 12, but will call it quits on October 10. It is very frustrating to see a band disappear at the peek of their talent, but there's nothing else to do than respect their decision and wish every member well in their upcoming projects, which I will follow closely.