Shishamo (stylised as SHISHAMO) is a Japanese band. Formed in 2010 while at high school in
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the List of cities in Japan, eight ...
, the band began releasing music in 2012.
Biography
The band formed in early 2010, after the original three members attended the
light music club during their first year of high school at Kawasaki City High School for Science and Technology.
Asako Miyazaki and Aya Matsumoto had been childhood friends, but Misaki Yoshikawa met the others for the first time at high school.
The band named themselves after
shishamo
, or ''Spirinchus lanceolatus'', is an anadromous fish (smelt) native to Hokkaido, Japan.
Description
This fish averages 15 centimeters in length, with a maximum recorded length of 70 cm. It is generally dark on the back with a silver-white u ...
, a type of small fish commonly eaten in Japan, however they originally spelled their name in
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
, .
In 2011 they started writing original music.
In May, the band competed at the Teens Rock in Hitachinaka music contest, where they won the grand prize and the best vocalist award.
After this, the band decided to spell their band name "SHISHAMO" in
Latin script
The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...
.
The band released their debut CD in October with "Shukudai ga Owaranai", a single exclusively sold at
Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...
. At the same time, the band members became radio personalities for ''All Night Nippon R''.
In January 2013, they released ''Sotsugyō Seisaku'', a compilation of their songs recorded while at high school, and toured Japan in March.
In Spring 2013, after graduating high school, the band members began devoting their time fully to the band, releasing their debut album ''Shishamo'' in November.
On December 6, 2013, the band held their first solo concert at the Shibuya WWW in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
.
After performing their second national tour "Kanojo ga Dekita Bandman ni Koi Suru Kyūjitsu" in May, the band performed at nine summer festivals across Japan, and released the single "Kimi to NatsuFes".
On September 11, 2014, the band announced that Aya Matsumoto was leaving Shishamo, due to a promise to herself made in high school to leave the band when she turned 20. She was replaced by bassist Aya Matsuoka, and the band released the single "Ryōsangata Kareshi".
Members
* is the band's vocalist and guitarist, as well as the primary songwriter.
* is the band's drummer and considered the band leader by the members.
* is the band's bassist. Originally from
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, she joined the band on September 11, 2014, replacing original member Aya Matsumoto.
Former members
* was a founding member of the band, and the band's former bassist. After declaring that she would leave the band when she turned 20, she left the band on September 11, 2014.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Promotional singles
Notes
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shishamo (band)
2010 establishments in Japan
Japanese rock music groups
Musical groups established in 2010
Musical groups from Kanagawa Prefecture
Japanese musical trios
All-female bands