Tokyo Yankees is a Japanese metal band that formed in 1988 Tokyo. Vocalist Soichiro "Ume" Umemura died in 2007 after nearly twenty years fronting the band. Tokyo Yankees however continue to perform with the other members sharing vocals.
History
Beginning and success
Tokyo Yankees formed in 1988 and began playing shows in the localclub scene the following year. Umemura and Nori were previously in the heavy metal band Guerilla, while U.D.A. and Ami were in the speed/thrash metal band Rommel. Rockin 'f, a Japanese heavy metal publication, issued their first single, "Joker", with an issue of their magazine in 1990. That same year their song "Rat Race" was issued on an omnibus album titled The End of the Century Rockers Emergency Express II. The band eventually signed with Extasy Records, who released their debut album, Do The Dirty, in 1991. That year they participated in Extasy Records' Extasy Summit '91 at the Nippon Budokan to a crowd of 14,000. The band released another record, Overdoing, on Extasy in 1992. The band's popularity peaked at that point, gaining them a contract with major label Nippon Columbia, where they released two albums; 1993's Ghost Rider and 1994's Vacate Your Useless Brain. The band's popularity declined afterwards, and they returned to the indies scene in 1995. Ami and U.D.A left after the band returned to the indies scene. Yoshinuma replaced Ami in 1996, and Yamato replaced U.D.A. Ricky replaced Yamato after their 1996 tour. After Tokyo Yankees, Ami went on to form Charisma, who released three albums between 1997 and 2000. A Tokyo Yankees compilation LP was issued from Nippon Columbia in 1996. The band continued to perform in the local club circuits, and participated in V/A releases. After U.D.A returned in 2000, the band released Pre-Emptive Strike in 2003. A year later they issued 777, their second EP. It features covers of influential bands and well as re-recordings of two classic Yankees tracks; "Dirty Dog" and "Devil".
Recent Activity
Vocalist Soichiro "Ume" Umemura died on December 11, 2007. The band decided to continued on, with Yoshi and Nori taking over vocal duties. One of the band's first shows following Ume's death was the "hide memorial summit" in May 2008, where they performed with Extasy Records alumni X Japan and Luna Sea. On May 4, 2008, Tokyo Yankees performed at the hide memorial summit at the 50,000 seat Ajinomoto Stadium, giving the group the opportunity to play for a large audience. Later that month, the band was featured on 413Tracks' Motörhead Tribute album with a recording of "Ace of Spades" and a live rendition of "Overkill". July saw the release a history DVD chronicling Tokyo Yankees career, and celebrating their 20th anniversary titled 20 and Alive , which Yankee's supported with a small tour. Nori, Yoshi and U.D.A continue to perform as Tokyo Yankees and gig in the greater Tokyo area, and around Japan. Recent videos posted on Facebook and YouTube show the band sometimes performing with guest vocalists. The band also has maintained a friendly relationship with former members Ami and Tohda, both of whom occasionally join the band on stage. Sometimes they play entire shows with Ami on bass and Tohda on guitar, in which case Yoshinuma takes over full-time on vocals for the performance. In September 2012, they performed alongside Ra:IN, Der Zibet and Ladies Room at the Yokohama Summer Rock Fes. – Revolution Rocks 2012. In 2015, Tokyo Yankees joined several other well known Japanese rock bands, including X JAPAN, Luna Sea, Buck-Tick, and Dir en grey, to play at Luna Sea's rock festival LUNATIC FEST, in Tokyo, Japan. Since 2003 Nori has been active in his side-band From Hell, they have released two EP's and play one or two shows a month. Yoshi also plays in his side-band Blotto Rockers once a month. Occasionally when Nori plays with Kabukichou Boys and Yoshi with Go Bands, both bands use the name Fake And Liar.
