Linkin Park

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Linkin Park
Linkin Park performing at 2009's Sonisphere Festival
Background information
Also known as	Xero (1996–1998)[1] Hybrid Theory (1998–1999)[1]
Origin	Agoura Hills, California, USA
Genres	Nu metal, rap rock, alternative rock
Years active	1996-present
Labels	Warner Bros., Machine Shop
Associated acts	Dead by Sunrise, Fort Minor, Jay-Z, White Pegacorn, Tasty Snax, Relative Degree, Grey Daze, Bucket of Weenies
Website	www.linkinpark.com
Members
Chester Bennington Rob Bourdon Brad Delson Dave "Phoenix" Farrell Joe Hahn Mike Shinoda
Former members
Kyle Christener Scott Koziol Mark Wakefield

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California, formed in 1996. Since their formation, the band has sold more than 50 million albums^[2] and won two Grammy Awards.^[3][4] It achieved mainstream success with its debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005.^[5] Its following studio album, Meteora, continued the band's success, topping the Billboard 200’s album charts in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world.^[6] In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth greatest band of the music video era and the third best of the new millennium behind Oasis and Coldplay.^[7]

Having adapted the nu metal and rap rock genres to a radio-friendly yet densely-layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora,^[8][9][10] the band explored other genres in their next studio album, Minutes to Midnight.^[11][12] The album topped the Billboard charts and had the third best debut week of any album that year.^[13][14] They have also collaborated with several other artists, most notably with rapper Jay-Z in their mashup album Collision Course, and many others on Reanimation.^[9]

Larc en ciel bio....

L'Arc-En-Ciel - Biography

07-07-2006 20:14 | 0 reaction(s) | add reply

In February 1991, tetsu and hyde, along with Hiro (guitar) and pero (drums), formed the band and named it after a film that tetsu had seen. After a year of gaining notoriety in their hometown of Osaka, Hiro left the band on June 12, 1992. pero soon followed on December 30 of that same year, supposedly to join up with his friend Hiro again. tetsu convinced his friend ken to quit his studies in architectural design and join the band. A new drummer, sakura, was recruited after tetsu saw him play. In 1993, the band released their debut album, Dune under the indies label Danger Crue, which was met with plenty of success and rose to number one on the Oricon indies charts. This caught the attention of some major labels, so in 1994, they signed for Sony's Ki/oon division, releasing their second album, Tierra (Spanish for "Earth") that same year. Heavenly followed in 1995, and True, their first million seller, in 1996. In 1997, sakura was arrested for heroin possession and quit the band. This became lowest point in the band's history. When news of sakura's arrest became public every ounce of Laruku's popularity was stripped. Just as they had reached a peak in their career, CDs were being pulled off the shelves, and any songs that were used as theme songs were quickly replaced. There was no evidence of the band's existence, and their next single "The Fourth Avenue Cafe" was indefinitely postponed and has never been released. Many believe that the whole incident was blown tremendously out of proportion. L'Arc-en-Ciel was quiet for a little while, but they were not ready to give up. They continued to be featured on magazines, but as a three-man band L'Arc-en-Ciel. They then created a "L'Arc-en-Ciel cover band", "The Zombies", which was the three-man band L'Arc-en-Ciel themselves covering and making fun of their own songs. They also covered artists such as Marilyn Manson. In 1998, they released their first single since sakura left 「虹」 (Niji — Rainbow). yukihiro was the drummer for this release, but was only listed as a support member. However, the band members were quickly impressed with his drumming skills and made him the official drummer not long after niji's release. L'Arc-en-Ciel was back, and what better way to prove themselves then by organizing a concert, aptly titled "Reincarnation"; this was the reincarnation of L'Arc-en-Ciel. The first concert date of the new tour in Tokyo Dome had an attendance of 56,000 and sold out in four minutes, a Tokyo Dome record as well as a testament to their popularity. Their next album was Heart, in 1998, which, like their second major album "Heavenly" is seen as a transitional album: trying to forget the past, but also trying to maintain their originality and success. L'Arc-en-Ciel released three more albums of new material during the next few years. Ark and Ray which were released simultaneously in 1999, and were the first Japanese albums to be released the same day in many different Asian countries. The release of Ark and Ray marked the high point of their career, with each selling over two million copies (no other release from the band managed to reach two million). Real followed in 2000, which was the last CD of new material for some time, although many more compilation and remix albums would follow. L'Arc-en-Ciel also composed several theme songs for various anime series, including DNA², Rurouni Kenshin, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Fullmetal Alchemist. They also created the ending theme song to the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. After a while, however, the various members began working on various solo projects. hyde released several solo albums (as HYDE), ken founded Sons of All Pussys, tetsu started Tetsu69 and yukihiro played with Acid Android. The band seemed close to calling it quits. In June 2003, Laruku came back to play a series of seven concerts in Tokyo called the "Shibuya Seven Days", and announced a new album for release in the following year. So, in February 2004, their first single in more than three years came out, followed by another one in early March. Finally, their long-awaited new album, Smile, was released on March 31. Shortly afterwards, on June 2, 2004, the single 自由への招待　 ("Jiyuu e no Shoutai") introduced "P'unk-en-Ciel", a partial change, for the first time on CD with "Milky Way". In the past, the band also played a P'unk version of "Round and Round" live. On July 31, 2004, L'Arc-en-Ciel made their U.S. concert debut at Otakon 2004. Approximately 12,000 people attended the concert, which was held at a outside venue for the first time in Otakon's musical guests history, the 1st Mariner Arena located near the Baltimore Convention Center. In 2005, the band released various singles, including "Killing Me" , "New World", and "Jojoushi", which appeared in their last album, Awake, released on June 22 with twelve tracks, including "Lost Heaven", the end theme for the Fullmetal Alchemist film. In addition, the band will go on their "Asialive 2005" tour, and as the name suggests, the band will be performing in Korea and China as well as Japan. Japan's two concerts will take place at the Tokyo Dome. More information about "Asialive 2005" can be found at their official website at the bottom of this page. On May 31, 2005, Tofu Records, Sony Music Japan's U.S. label, released the DVD of the Otakon 2004 concert. On July 20, 2005 "Link" was released; also known as the opening theme of the film Fullmetal Alchemist, it was the first Laruku single after "Awake". This single also includes a new version of "Promised Land".

Yui

Yui (singer)

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For other uses, see Yui (disambiguation).

Yui
Birth name	Yoshioka Yui (吉岡 唯)
Born	March 26, 1987 (1987-03-26) (age 22) Fukuoka, Japan
Genres	J-pop, Pop rock
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress
Instruments	Vocals, Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, drums
Years active	2004–Present
Labels	Studioseven Recordings Leaflet Records (2004)
Website	http://www.yui-net.com
Notable instruments
Fender GA-45SCE Fender GDC200 SCE Fender Stratocaster Squier Bronco Bass Fender Telecaster

Yui (stylized as YUI) (ユイ^?, born March 26, 1987 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. She is currently signed to Studioseven Recordings and attached to the talent agency Stardust Promotion.

Kitaro Biography

Kitaro - A Biography


Kitaro was born in 1953 as Masanori Takahashi in Toyohashi, Japan. In Highschool he loved Soul and Rhythm & Blues. He learned playing E-Guitar and performed with his band "Albatross" on parties and in clubs. His biggest influence in this time was Otis Redding. "Rhythm and blues has a kind of depth, emotions how can I say it? The audience feels something like same kind of emotions from my music. My music is not rhythm and blues, but it feels like soul.".

His nickname Kitaro was given to him by friends after the main character from the japanese cartoon television series "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro".

In the early '70s he changed completely to keyboards. He joined the band "Far East Family Band" and toured with them around the world. In Europe he met the german synthesizer musician and Tangerine Dream-cofounder Klaus Schulze. Schulze produced two albums for the band and expanded Kitaro's knowledge of synthesizers.

A quotation from Kitaro gives us his view on synthesizers: "With a synthesizer I could create an ocean, a winter coastline, a summer beach, a whole scene."

In 1976 Kitaro left the "Far East Family Band" and made a long trip throught asia, visiting countries like Laos, China and Thailand. In India he lived for about 6 months in Poona at the (at that time) famous ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Back in Japan Kitaro started his solo career in 1977. The first two albums Ten Kai and From the Full Moon Story became cult favorites of fans of the nascent New Age movement. But it was his famous Soundtrack for the NHK series "Silk Road" which brought him the international attention.

He struck a worldwide distribution arrangement with Geffen Records in 1986; in 1987 he collaborated with different musicians, e.g. with Micky Hart (Grateful Dead) and Jon Andersen (Yes) and his record sales soared to 10 million worldwide.

In 1994 he won the Golden Globe Award for his soundtrack for Oliver Stones movie "Heaven & Earth". He was also nominated several times for a Grammy in the category New Age (which he won in 2001 for his album Thinking of You).

Kitaro is a star, but he is very modest. "Nature inspires me. I am only a messenger", he said. "To me, some songs are like clouds, some are like water". Since 1983 his reverence for nature leads Kitaro to annually give thanks to Mother Nature in a special "concert" on Mount Fuji: on the day of August full moon he beats on the Taiko drum from dusk to dawn. Every year people watch and assist him during this "concert".

From 1983 till 1990 he was married with his first wife Yuki (they have a son, Ryunosuke, who lives in Japan). They separated because Kitaro worked most time in the United States while she lived and worked in Japan. In the middle of the 90ths Kitaro married Keiko Matsubara, a musician who already played on several of his albums. With her and her son Kitaro lived in Ward, a little town outside Boulder/Colorado (USA) on a 180-acre spread in a big house with his own studio, called "Mochi House". In 2007 they moved to Sebastopol, a small city in northern california. His studio in Ward still exists and can be rented.

Slash Gun n roses

Slash (musician)

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Slash
Slash performing with The Nightwatchman in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Saul Hudson
Born	July 23, 1965 (1965-07-23) (age 44) Stoke-on-Trent, England
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Hard rock, blues-rock, heavy metal[1]
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Guitar, backing vocals, bass, banjo
Years active	1983–present
Labels	UZI Suicide, Geffen, Koch, RCA
Website	www.slashonline.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul B.C. Rich Mockingbird

Saul Hudson (born 23 July 1965), better known by his stage name Slash, is an English musician. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, he moved to Los Angeles, California as a child, where he began his career in the music industry. Slash is arguably best-known as the former lead guitarist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he performed and recorded between 1985 and 1996. He later formed the eponymous Slash's Snakepit and co-founded Velvet Revolver with his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. His debut solo album, Slash & Friends, is due to be released in 2010. In August 2009, Time Magazine named him #2 on its list of the 10 Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time