I still remember the first time I heard fly song playing on the radio. Listen to the voice, I thought "its heard something like he's not Japanese." And I was right!They're MONKEY MAJIK, two of the members are Canadian brothers, Maynard and Blaise Plant. They both perform vocalist and guitar. And two others are pure Japanese. Tax on drumm, and DICK on bass. Due the combination of this two nation, and also the lyrics are sung in both English and Japanese, the band is sometimes reffered to as a "hybrid band". MONKEY MAJIK has been choosen as "Goodwill Ambassadors" for the 80th anniversary of Japanese-Canadian relation. Cool, eh? :D
MONKEY MAJIK formed in 2000. The name is a tribute to the song Monkey Magic (performed by Godiego), which was the theme song to Saiyuuki. Maynard has high respects for Godiego, then inspiring them to use the name. They are signed to Binyl Records, an Avex subsidiary. Their live recordings are handled by Under Horse Records (a subsidiary of Edward Entertainment Group). They still based in Sendai, even after mainstream success.
The band started off as a hobby but quickly turned serious when in 2001 they released their first album TIRED, release limited to 1,000 copies available at Tower Records in Sendai. Successful of the album's sale brought them to Under Horse Records. In 2003 the band released the first full-length album SPADE, once again only available at Tower Records in Sendai, then nation-wide released in 2004. The band's second full-length album, eastview, was released in 2005. In the fall of the same year the band signed on to major label avex. Their first major release single through avex was fly in 2006. It was quickly followed by the release of their second single, Around the World, which was used as the drama Seiyuuki's theme song. In 2007 MONKEY MAJIK released their fourth full-length album Sora wa maru de, where the titled song Sora wa maru de became the first song in Japanese History to reach #1 on USEN Request Chart before being released. Since TIRED the band has sold out every venue across Japan, and is often seen signing autographs after the shows.
♫ Members Profile
Maynard
Maynard Plant
August 6, 1975 from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Vocals and guitar
He is the band founder. Fluent in English, French, and Japanese, also able to speak in the nanbu dialect (なんぶべん). While living in Canada, Maynard wrote songs as a hobby, but only performed privately. Moved to Japan to work as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). He has high respects for Godiego. Other Japanese musicians which he mentions in high regard include UA, Oda Kazumaza, and Spitz. Maynard has solo project, blanc, which started as far back as 2003, has gained recognition across Asia. His father is also a professional musician who has played with Paul Anka.
Blaise Joseph Anthony Plant
March 18, 1980 from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Vocals and guitar
Maynard's younger brother. Fluent in English, French, and Japanese. Plays on a local ice hockey team in Sendai. He was active as a singer songwriter since he was in high school performing at clubs. Blaise continued the band with Maynard in 2001 where they released their first album TIRED. On March 3, 2008 he launched his solo project "The Alphabet Project" where every song released hit Number 1 on the Syncl Download chart, has built a reputation across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
tax
Takuya Kikuchi
August 31, 1975 from Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Drums
He partakes in the majority of songwriting. He had worked as a dental technician for five years, after which he switched to becoming a salaryman. He was introduced to Maynard and Blaise through a friend. Before becoming MONKEY MAJIK's full-time drummer his drumming experience only consisted of two years spent drumming during junior high school.
March 10, 1978 from Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Bass
Has previously been part of a funk soul band called Soul Addiction under the name Hideki Dick Mori. Also was a member of a jazz band called Private Kitchen. The 3 members invited DICK, who had become a well-known bassist in Sendai, out to a bar in Kokubun Cho "The Party District of Sendai" and forced him to drink until he agreed to join MONKEY MAJIK. Joined the band to switch in with Urushizaka with the release of the band's second indie album eastview.
Wikipedia
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