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, better known by his stage name Dynamite Tommy, is a Japanese musician, record producer and businessman. He first rose to prominence as vocalist of the punk rock band
Color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
in the late-1980s and early-1990s, but now predominantly works behind the scenes running his record label
Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986 by Color vocalist Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka, with branches predominantly in Japan and the United States, as well as previously in Europe. It also continues to co-manage many of its ...
.


Career

Dynamite Tommy formed the punk rock band
Color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
in 1985, for which he was initially the guitarist before quickly taking over the role of vocalist. In 1986, Tommy formed the independent record label
Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986 by Color vocalist Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka, with branches predominantly in Japan and the United States, as well as previously in Europe. It also continues to co-manage many of its ...
to distribute his band's work. It is one of two labels credited with helping to spread Japan's
visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...
movement. It has also been a major contributor in spreading modern visual kei outside Japan. During a break in Color activities in 1992, Tommy teamed up with Kenzi of the recently disbanded
Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sick ...
to form Sister's No Future. In 2008, Tommy wrote and directed the music film ''Attitude'', with various Japanese rock artists from the 1970s–1990s appearing as themselves. Tommy called in
Taiji Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...
and Tatsu (
Gastunk Gastunk (stylized as GASTUNK) is an influential Japanese rock band, first active from 1983 to 1988. Initially a hardcore punk band, guitarist Tatsu later recalled that when Gastunk made their major label debut they were dubbed heavy metal by t ...
) to help with the film's music and, after later recruiting Kenzi, this led to the creation of The Killing Red Addiction. The group made its debut at the
Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
in Los Angeles on 22 June 2009. They released a cover of Gastunk's "Devil" on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on 13 January 2010. Among the artists Tommy has produced include
Dir en Grey Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en grey) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. With a consistent lineup of guitarists Kaoru and Die, ...
,
Phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or semi- ...
,
Miyavi , better known by his stage name Miyavi (雅, stylized as MIYAVI), is a Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor known for his finger- slapping style of playing a guitar. He has been active since 1999, first as guitaris ...
, and
The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...
. He has also been involved in the formation of fashion brands DIRT (produced by Toshiya of Dir en Grey) and KOMACHI 2266531 Dark Lolita (a
Gothic Lolita is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...
line designed by Dada of Velvet Eden). He also wrote the screenplay to Miyavi's film ''
Oresama is a 2004 Japanese film. The film revolves around the protagonist of the story, Japanese rock musician Miyavi, portraying himself and his adventures when he goes back 20 years in time. Plot The film starts with Miyavi leaving to see family bac ...
'' and produced the 2001
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
adaptation of ''
Grappler Baki Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...
''. In 2016, Tommy started producing the idol group 2o Love to Sweet Bullet. It is composed of eight young girls with an average age of 16.


Personal life

Despite having been in the business for over three decades, Tommy has said that he does not even like music, explaining that he only enjoys the dynamics of being in a band. In 2016, he stated that he has no plans to return to musical activities. As a big fan of soccer, Tommy has obtained a level-2 coaching license and founded the
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
Style Football Academy for children in Tamagawa. As the president of Free-Will, Tommy was one of three people arrested for fraud on 14 September 2007. The trio were accused of defrauding the Asatsu-DK advertising agency of 324 million yen (approximately US$2.8 million) by placing false orders for materials for the band Dir en Grey.


Discography

;With Color ;With Sister's No Future * "Sonic Beat" (21 January 1992) * ''Sister's No Future I Demonstration'' (21 February 1992) * "So, So Long My Honey So Long" (21 July 1992) * * ''Thrill Show'' (21 October 1992) * "Long Time No See" (as Sister's No Future Super Deluxe) * ''T.G.I.F'' (23 August 1995, as Sister's No Future Super Deluxe) * ''Mind Park'' (21 October 1996, as Sister's No Future Max) ;With The Killing Red Addiction * "Devil" (13 January 2010)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dynamite Tommy 1964 births Living people 20th-century Japanese musicians 21st-century Japanese musicians Japanese businesspeople Japanese punk rock musicians Japanese record producers Japanese male rock singers Musicians from Hyōgo Prefecture Visual kei musicians English-language singers from Japan 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers