Guitar Wolf

Guitar Wolf was formed by Seiji and Billy in Harajuku. At the time, Seiji worked in a used clothes shop and Billy as an attendant in a punk rock shop directly across the street. Striking up a friendship due to their similar tastes in music, the pair agreed to begin playing rock’n'roll together. Thankfully, due to Seiji's persuasive nature, his co-worker Narita agreed to join as their drummer.

It was with this line-up that the band established themselves in 1987. That year, they decided to adopt Ramones-style names to complement their image. Seiji adopted the name Guitar Wolf, Billy became Bass Wolf and Narita filled the position of Drum Wolf. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before Narita left the band to follow his own dreams and was replaced by Toru, who had been recommended by Enocky of JACKIE and THE CEDRICS.

In the years that followed, the band developed their signature strain of garage punk and coined the phrase "Jet Rock'n'Roll" to describe it. Seiji has said that the phrase originated from the surname of one of his greatest influences: Joan Jett. "Jet Rock'n'Roll" caught on, and is now a commonly used term for bands of their genre, although Guitar Wolf is still described as "The World’s Greatest Jet Rock'n'Roll Band".

In order to improve their exposure, the band began to play at the DADDY-O-NOV event, BACK FROM THE GRAVE, which still hosts a variety of punk rock bands to this day. At a young stage in their career, the band also managed to secure a place on JOURNEY TO THE MAD BRAIN, an omnibus album released in October 1991. Although it may not seem like much, for a young band being placed on an album alongside established acts like The 5.6.7.8’s and JACKIE and THE CEDRICS was something to be admired.

The following year was quiet for Guitar Wolf, with the band featuring on another omnibus album. TVVA may have only been a sampler album, but being featured alongside recognized artists such as bloodthirsty butchers and GOD’S GUTS showed that the band’s star was continuing to rise.

1993 started with staggering promise for the young band. They embarked on a tour of the U.S., performing at the second Garage Shock Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. There, Oblivians member Eric Friedl watched the band's performance with enthusiasm. Impressed by their energetic live show, Friedl approached the band and requested a demo tape. After receiving consent from Guitar Wolf to distribute their work, Friedl established Goner Records in order to sell their debut LP, WOLF ROCK to the West.

The following year, Guitar Wolf distributed their first CD release through the Japanese label less than TV. More significant, however, was their exposure to American audiences through the magazine Maximum Rock'n'Roll, which featured the band on its front cover.

The band released their third Japanese album in 1996 and, following a performance at a New York record store, secured a contract with Matador Records that got their music distributed in America and Europe. 1997 was a busy year for the group, with a tour consisting of 34 dates in the U.S. and their live debut in Germany and England alongside the former Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Striving for greater success, the band signed with Ki/oon Records and subsequently released their fourth album. To support the release, Guitar Wolf set out on yet another tour, which saw them both performing in Japan and returning to the U.S as support for The Cramps in 31 cities.

January 1998 saw Guitar Wolf embarking on a brief Japanese tour with the Memphis-based Oblivions. A few months later, the band released their first single and set out on a world tour, which featured 12 shows in Japan and their first European tour, almost all 16 dates of which ended up selling out. Maintaining their partnership with The Cramps, Guitar Wolf supported the band on the Japanese leg of their tour before returning to the U.S. for a 24 date tour. Upon returning to Japan, they performed at the internationally known Fuji Rock Festival.

Not stopping for a break, the band supported The Woggles on their Japanese tour and also appeared on the NHK-FM radio program, Live Beat. On November 28th, Guitar Wolf performed at the Ebisu-Dynamite alongside THEE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT.

In May 1999, the band supported the Japanese leg of The Makers’ tour. Guitar Wolf maintained their furious pace, performing in both Australia and New Zealand, as well as taking part in various festivals such as OUT OF HELL, RUSHBALL 99 and THE RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL in EZO.

The band made their film debut in 2000, starring in Wild Zero which was directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi. In the movie, Guitar Wolf play themselves, battling against crazed fans, zombies and an alien invasion. Following the movie’s release, the band gave a stunning performance at Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo in downtown Tokyo. They followed this performance with their thirteenth tour of the U.S., which consisted of 28 shows in six weeks, including a stop at the Matador Records 10th anniversary show.

The coming of a new century brought Guitar Wolf's third single and album from Ki/oon Records, followed by a tour which featured 44 dates in 38 cities. The band played at several notable festivals and capped off the year by performing at the 10th anniversary show of London Night in December.

In 2001, Guitar Wolf were guests on FUJI TV's Hey Hey Hey and also held a short tour of Tokyo and its suburbs. In July, the band was scheduled to fly to Korea in order to perform at the Contact 2001 Korea-Japan Live Project but the event was canceled due to a dispute over the Tsukurukai textbook. The summer months saw Guitar Wolf participating in a variety of music festivals, performing at the 10th anniversary of Rock of Ages at the Shelter Club in Shimokitozawa, Tokyo and embarking on a five show tour of Brazil and the U.S.

The next year began with the band performing alongside the San Francisco-based Zodiac Killers on a short tour. In June, Guitar Wolf toured Okinawa and the Amami Islands for the first time. August saw the band performing at the Rock in Japan Festival in front of an audience of 35,000 as well as at the FUJI TV-sponsored Rock'n'Roll Summit.

In November, UFO ROMANTICS was released by the French punk label, Skydog. In order to promote the release, Guitar Wolf toured across Europe, performing in France, Belgium, Holland, Spain and Switzerland. Like their previous European tour, almost all dates sold out. December saw the band on a short Japanese tour with Brazilian band The Autoramas. Following this tour, Guitar Wolf released their first DVD, which contained mostly live footage.

February 2003 saw Guitar Wolf's UFO Romantics released in the U.S. through Narnack Records, followed by a short tour. After a quick break, the band appeared as a secret guest support act for D4’s Japanese tour. Later that year, Seiji supervised the production of Joan Jett's compilation album, a Japan-only release. As a result of his hard work, Guitar Wolf also went on to support the Japanese leg of her tour. In November, the band once again toured America and, for the first time, included Argentina in their schedule; a performance that managed to draw a crowd of 800. As a result of their popularity in Brazil, Guitar Wolf signed with Monstro Disco, who distributed their UFO Romantics album there.

In May 2004, Guitar Wolf participated in the first Tokyo Jet Night and, in June, the band found themselves at the center of their first tribute album. I Love Guitar Wolf very much saw popular artists like Lightning Bolt and PUFFY AMIYUMI coming together to voice their appreciation for the trio.

Throughout February and March 2005, Guitar Wolf once again travelled to America to tour, although tragically, on March 31st, bassist Billy passed away. In September, new bassist UG joined the band. Guitar Wolf then resumed live activities, returning to New Zealand and Australia in December. To their fans’ delight, the band even held a special end-of-year countdown in Melbourne.

Early 2006 saw Guitar Wolf perform in South Korea for the first time. The year was one of the heaviest for Guitar Wolf performance-wise, with the band participating in several festivals and returning to Australia and New Zealand for another tour.

In January 2007, Guitar Wolf released their first album since Billy's passing and held a tour of 35 shows across 32 cities. Over the summer, the band returned to Germany in order to perform at J-SHOCK and completed a short European tour. Guitar Wolf continued with their busy schedule upon returning to Japan, performing at LIVE FACTORY 721 in July and at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL and Tororo ROCK FESTIVAL the following month. In September, Guitar Wolf celebrated the 20th anniversary of their formation and they finished their one-man tour at LIQUIDROOM ebisu.

Following this live, it was announced that Seiji would need to undergo surgery for damage sustained to his hip due to his vigorous style of performing. After his surgery, the band halted activities to allow him to recover.

On April 4 2009, Guitar Wolf held a comeback live. Later, they announced that they would be performing at the GASOLINE ROCK FESTIVAL 09 TOKYO on June 7th and returned to touring.

2010 saw the band resume their usual feverish pace. With Seiji at one hundred percent, Guitar Wolf returned to play many Japanese summer festivals and, as if to make up for lost time, they recorded the album Uchusenkan Love in only twelve days. They also returned to the U.S. for their first tour since 2005, which included a performance at the Matador Records Anniversary Festival.

In 2011, Guitar Wolf embarked on their Hoochie Coochie Space Men tour, which turned out to be one of their most ambitious yet. Split into three parts, the tour’s 50 dates first took the band around Japan in March and April, then through the U.S. and Canada, and finished up with Europe in July. In Europe, they blazed through ten countries, bringing Jet Rock’n’Roll to England, Italy, Croatia, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Guitar Wolf have overcome a great deal of hardship during their 24 year career. With such determination and perseverance, one can foresee that this remarkable trio will continue to make the music that both they and their fans love for years to come.