Penicillin (stylized as PENICILLIN) is a Japanese

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 ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band, formed in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in 1992.

History

Formed by friends at

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai ...

in Tokyo, Japan on February 14, 1992. Penicillin began with Chisato on vocals, Gisho on bass, O-Jiro on drums and both Yuuji and Shaisuke on guitar. Before anything was recorded however the band's line-up changed to Hakuei on vocals, Gisho on bass, O-Jiro on drums and both Shaisuke and Chisato on guitar. Their name was taken from the punk rock group "Penicillin Shock" in the

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

series '' To-y'' and they titled their first album, which was released in 1994 and produced by Kiyoshi of Media Youth, after the fictional band. Hakuei later stated that when the band started, he wanted to play

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

in a violent and flashy style like Gastunk. To his recollection, the term "

" did not exist when they formed, but Penicillin were quickly labeled as such. After their first album, Shaisuke left the band to join Deshabillz. Penicillin made their major label debut in March 1996 with "Blue Moon" on Pioneer LDC. On July 25 and 26, they performed at the Nippon Budokan while still a new band. In 1997 they released ''Limelight'', which was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine ''Band Yarouze''. Penicillin stayed on Pioneer until 1998 when they changed to East West Japan. Their sixth single "Romance" was released on January 15, 1998 and ranked within the top 10 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...

chart for six consecutive weeks, selling over 900,000 copies. It was the opening theme of the '' Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san''

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

adaptation. After they were dropped by East West Japan they changed to Omega A.T. Music (an indie label) in 2001. Omega happens to be under Omega Project Holdings which Yoshiaki Kondou (Gisho) is the CEO of. However they were only on Omega for a year before being picked up by Hiboom, which was an indie subsidiary of Avex Trax. In 2005 when Hiboom was closed, they were picked up directly by Avex Trax and were once again on a major label. On December 12, 2005 Penicillin celebrated its 15th anniversary as a band. On March 9, 2007 Gisho announced that he would leave the band. His last live was his birthday on May 20, 2007 at Shibuya O-East. Since then the band has continued on as a three piece unit. During the February 11, 2008 live, it was announced the Penicillin would once again change labels, this time to

Nippon Crown is a Japanese record label established as Crown Records on 6 September 1963. It is a spin-off of Nippon Columbia and is owned by karaoke maker Daiichikosho. The record label singles which topped the Oricon Singles Chart are Kaze's "22-Sai no ...

. In 2010, Penicillin established the independent record label That Records. The first release by the new label was their single "Rosetta" on August 4. Penicillin's song "Romance" was covered by And on the compilation ''Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-''. The album was released on January 26, 2011 and features current visual kei bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement. It was also covered by Jui for the similar album ''Counteraction - V-Rock covered Visual Anime songs Compilation-'', which was released on May 23, 2012 and features covers of songs by visual kei bands that were used in

. They covered " Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride", from '' Lilo & Stitch'', for the cover album ''V-Rock Disney'', which was released on September 7, 2011 and features visual kei artists covering

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

songs. Penicillin released their first cover album, ''Memories ~Japanese Masterpieces~'' which is composed of songs by female singers, on March 18, 2015. The artwork for the album was drawn by Atsushi Kamijo, author of the manga from which the group took their name.

Member information

*Hakuei: (vocals) Born December 16, 1970 in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kushima City. However, when his parents divorced in 2nd grade of elementary school he moved with his mother to Aomori prefecture Hirosaki City. At Tokai University he got his degree from the general education department. In 1996 he made his solo debut with the single "Zeus". In 1997 he worked as an actor in the movie ''-Thirty 30-'' and in 1998 he played

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

in Penicillin's ''Rock Opera Hamlet '' (written by Kiyoshi, ex-

hide with Spread Beaver , known professionally as hide, was a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1987 to 1997 and a solo artist from 1993 onward. He also formed ...

). In 1999 he joined up with Kiyoshi once more for the duo Machine, which is currently active. Hakuei currently is a model for Black Peace Now, and draws a comic strip featured monthly in ''Fool's Mate'' called ''Susume! Tonosama''. He's a member of a secret band called Kaizoku which only does secret lives. When Penicillin performs live on his birthday it's known as "Super Heart Core" *: (guitar) Born October 4, 1971 in Tokyo, Japan. He attended Tokai University and received a degree in pre-law. In September 1996 he made his solo debut with "Dance with the wild things". During his solo career he's played notable places such as Nippon Budokan. In the late 1990s he wrote music for and produced the band

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

. In the past he's worked o
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with the likes of Kiyoshi & O-jiro, Crack-Z with friend Satoro from ZZ, and Nano with Hakuei. Currently he's doing a solo project under the alias MSTR with the band Crack6, as well as under Chisato doing live guitar support for Acid Black Cherry. When Penicillin performs for his birthday it's known as "Rock x Rock" *O-Jiro: (drums) Born September 14, 1972 in Chiba, Japan. He attended Tokai University as well, but did not graduate from it. He has done side projects such as R, with Chisato and Kiyoshi, 808, with Yasumichan of Sleep My Dear, and Starman, with Gisho as well as Yasumichan and Ken from Sleep My Dear. When Penicillin performs on his birthday it's known as "Tono!Gig" ;Former *Gisho: (bass) Born May 20, 1971 in Hyogo Prefecture. Gisho attended Tokai University and got a degree in Economics. He used the name Ootaki Jun for his solo career. He starred in the movie ''Shonan Bakuzo Zuku Arakure Knight''.Movi
Jacket
In 2001 he joined Omega Project Holdings and later became their CEO. He's a fan of

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in ''Youngblood'' (1986). H ...

and ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in The Matrix (franchise), ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Car ...

'' and because of that his birthday lives were titled "Gishorix Revolution" his last live with the band was on May 20, 2007 at Shibuya O-East and it was known was "Gishorix Revolution -Never Ending Story-". *Yuuji: (guitar) *Shaisuke: (guitar)

Discography

Singles

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Cover albums

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penicillin Visual kei musical groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese hard rock musical groups Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups established in 1992 Japanese musical trios Japanese gothic rock groups