Great 3, stylised as GREAT3, are a Japanese

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

formed in 1994. The trio is composed of

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Akito Katayose,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Kenichi Shirane and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

jan (who replaced Kiyoshi Takakuwa in 2012). All members serve as composers and lyricists, as well as lead vocalists. The band's name is a reference to all three members being tall.

Biography

Katayose, Shirane and Takakuwa formed Great 3 after the dissolution of their previous band in February 1994 (the other members went to form Hicksville). The group debuted on

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Whe ...

with the single "Fool & the Gang" and the album ''Richmondo High'' in 1995. Later, they established their own label, Bodicious. In the early 2000s, they started collaborating with American musician

John McEntire John McEntire (born April 9, 1970 in Portland, Oregon) is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. McEntire started playing dr ...

, who produced/engineered their albums ''May and December'' (2001), ''When You Were a Beauty'' (2002) and ''Climax'' (2003), ''When You Were a Beauty'' being recorded with the members of

The Sea and Cake The Sea and Cake is an American indie rock band with a jazz influence, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails (Archer Prewitt), Shrimp Boat (Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge), an ...

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

and

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

. In February 2004, the group gone on hiatus, with members focusing on their solo careers. In May 2012, it was announced Kiyoshi Takakuwa was no longer part of Great 3. On 27 July 2012 they released their first digital single titled "Emotion / Lady" and on 1 August, it was announced the new bass player would be jan. The band's first album with jan, the self-titled Great3, was released on 21 November 2012. A second, entitled Ai no Kankei, was released on 19 March 2014; it is the band's most-recent release to date.

Members

* (born 23 May 1968 in Tokyo, Japan) — vocals, guitar :Known for writing lyrics, composing songs and producing records for Japanese acts such as Any,

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GO!GO!7188 GO!GO!7188 (Go Go Nana Ichi Hachi Hachi), also known simply as Gogo, was a Japanese rock band with influences spanning from surf rock to punk rock to enka. History In June 1998, Yumi Nakashima (nicknamed Yuu) and Akiko Hamada (nicknamed Akko ...

, Merengue, Sakura Merry Men, Sister Jet, Sophia, Violent Is Savanna, Zamagi, et al. :In 2000, he released a solo album under the name Akito titled '' Hey Mister Girl!'' recorded with the members of

and

, and produced by

. Acts as a duo with his wife, Chocolat (Chocolat & Akito). * (born 11 January 1968 in Tokyo, Japan) — vocals, drums :Support live and studio drummer for various Japanese artists such as The Beatniks,

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, Caravan, Chara, CureaL, Leo Imai,

Kimonos The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

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, ,

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. Music producer. Released a solo

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

album titled '' Manmancer'' in 2008. His other musical projects include Lasvegas and Acapulco. * jan (born 4 May 1990) — vocals, bass :Son of singer and photographer * (Former member) (born 17 September 1967 in Australia) — vocals, bass :Left in May 2012. Continues solo career as Curly Giraffe and act as a live and studio support for other musicians. Played in a band Honesty with Shigekazu Aida of El-Malo.

Discography

Albums

* '' Richmondo High'' (1995) * '' Metal Lunchbox'' (1996) * ''

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

'' (1997) * '' Without Onion'' (1998) * '' May and December'' (2001) * '' When You Were a Beauty'' (2002) * ''

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

'' (2003) * ''Live 2003.5–6.7.9'' (2003) * '' Great3'' (2012) * ''Ai no Kankei'' (2014)

Singles

* "Fool & the Gang" (1995) * "Oh Baby" (1995) * "Discoman" (1995) * "Star Tours" (1996) * (1996) * "Glass Roots" (1996) * (1997) * "Caligula" (1998) (with Chara) * "Soul Glow" (1998) * "I.Y.O.B.S.O.S." (1999) (with cover of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's " Like a Virgin" as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

) * "Quincy" (2001) * "Ruby" (2001) * "Climax E.P." (2003) * "Great 3 Remixes" (2004) * (2012) * "Emotion" / (2012)

Compilations

* ''Great 3 Singles 1994～2002'' (2002) * ''Music for Cosmetic'' (2002) (Collection of instrumental songs) * ''Lost Virgin ～Great3 Best～'' (2004) (Best & live)

Videos

* ''Great3 Singles 1994～2002'' (2002) * ''Tour Climax 2003.5.9'' (2003) * ''Private Lesson Tour Romance I In the Summer of 1997'' (2008) * ''Great3 Singles 1994～2002'' (2008)

Other

* ''Border -A Tribute to

Motoharu Sano , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. A graduate of Rikkyo University, Sano is a frontman with a history of performing in several bands which feature music both in Japanese and occasionally, English, playing songs that often have a rock ...

- (1996) * ''We Love Butchers'' (1999) (

Bloodthirsty Butchers Bloodthirsty Butchers was a long-running indie rock and punk rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Although little-known in the West, they have contributed to two compilations on the Olympia, Washington based Yoyo label. The band has also rel ...

tribute album) * ''

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

Best of Tribute'' (2004)

References

External links

Official website

Great3 on Facebook

Curly Giraffe

Kenichi Shirane

Akito Katayose on Facebook

Akito Katayose on Twitter
{{Authority control EMI Records artists Japanese alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1994 Musical groups from Tokyo 1994 establishments in Japan