Band of the Week: fade

From left to right: 5° (Godo), Noriyuki, Jon, Rui & Kansei

I know what you're thinking. Is this really a Japanese band? Yes and no. Not all members were born or raised in Japan, but they sure are stealing the hearts of the Japanese audience.

“Californa Roll of Rock” is the term that fade uses to describe themselves. “What does sushi have to do with this?” you think. Nothing actually. They just want to say that they combine both Eastern and Western elements in their music. It's a combo that suits them well in my eyes. How they describe their own style: "80’s flavored authentic American hard rock sounds featuring twin guitars inspired & created based on their unique composition of this band with their international culture."

It was in 1991 that drummer Rui and guitarist Kansei started their musical careers in New York by forming a cover band called “Grass Roots”. Kansei was born in Japan while Rui was born and raised in New York. In 1994 an other member joined the band. His name was Noriyuki and he would be the new bass-player. He was born in Kyoto but raised in New York. The band gained an other member in 1998. 5°, the only one born and raised in Japan, joined them as the second guitarist. That same year they also held their first concert ever in Tokyo during the summer break. One year later the band's home base switched from New York to Tokyo.

In 2001 Rui and Kansei met Jonathan “Jon” Underdown. An American guy who had lived for some time in Japan but had plans to return to America. Since Jon was a singer the guys gave him some of their demo tapes. Jon liked all kinds of music, but at that time the rock genre wasn't very high on his list. He gave the demo tapes a try and to his surprise he actually liked what he heard. So in November of 2001 he joined the band as the vocalist.

The band's name was changed to “Fade” in 2002 and in the same year they released their very first album called “Fade”. Fade's first live took place in Shibuya on December 17. In total there were 350 tickets available but they were all sold out in 15 minutes. One year later, in 2003, album “Fade” was released nationwide via CD stores. It ranked #3 on “Japan Countdown”.

Second album “Moment of Truth” was released in 2005. This album was recorded in Los Angeles. Around March Fade set out for a Japan tour and managed to visit 20 cities. In July a new album called “Under the Sun” went on sale. To promote the album they went on tour again, but this time they visited 14 cities.

In 2006 the song “Beautiful” was featured in the Japanese movie “Rainbow Songs”. The movie was directed by the famous Shunji Iwai. A couple of years later, in 2008, album “To Find a Better Tomorrow” was released. The album was mixed by Ted Jensen (Fall Out Boy, Yellow Card, My Chemical Romance, etc.) and was ranked 9th in the “Western Music” chart of the “Non Japanese Music” category of the USEN chart in Japan.

Somewhere in August of 2009 Fade got a great opportunity. They were invited to perform at the “ETP Fest”, which is one of the bigger rock festivals in Seoul, Korea. In November they released album “Age of Innocence”. Two songs from the album got featured in TV commercial or “ABC Mart”, a popular shoe outlet in Japan.

In 2010 the song “Reality Lost” was used in two popular music games, “Drum Mania” and “Guitar Freak”. That year Fade also played at various rock festivals such as “Mega Rocks 2010” and “Minami Wheel 2010”. They also held a tour of their own called “American Made Samurai Japan Tour 2010.”

The album “Kings of Dawn” was released in April 2011. To support the album they went on a nationwide tour and visited 16 cities. That same year the song “One Reason” was used as the opening theme for the anime series “Deadman Wonderland”. Jon also teamed up with the famous “GACKT” to form the band “Yellow Fried Chickenz” (or “YFCz”). While Jon was touring with YFCz the rest of Fade was working on the new album called “天～TEN～”.

If you like the style of these hard workers and want to show them some support, you can like their page on facebook and (if you want to) join the Belgian street team! I'm the leader of the street team, so if you have any questions, just ask. :)

Useful links:

Official Facebook

Official Website

Official Blog

Official Fade Belgian Street Team Facebook