Great 3, stylised as GREAT3, are a Japanese

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

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 themselve ...

Akito Katayose,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

Kenichi Shirane and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

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 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) 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. Early life McEntire was born on April 9, 1970 ...

, 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,

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

and

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

. 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, Fujifabric,

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

, 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 The Sea and Cake,

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,

Bonnie Pink , known by her stage name Bonnie Pink, is a Japanese people, Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano. Asada has said that the name Bonnie Pink is random and has no special meanin ...

, Caravan, Chara, CureaL, Leo Imai, Kimonos, Love Psychedelico, , Salyu. Music producer. Released a solo electronic 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'' (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, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's " Like a Virgin" as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

) * "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-'' (1996) * ''We Love Butchers'' (1999) ( Bloodthirsty Butchers tribute album) * ''

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band 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 their f ...

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