Biography
Originally conceived by entertainer and "entrepreneur" Yuya Uchida as the Flowers, a Japanese heavy-rock cover group fronted by women, the project soon evolved into the Flower Travellin' Band, an underground force that later shaped metal bands and earned the admiration of Julian Cope. Under the Flowers name, vocalist Remi Aso, guitarist Hideki Ishima, bassist Jun Kowzuki, and drummer Joji Wada issued their 1969 debut Challenge, which contained only Western pop and rock covers; the record drew notice chiefly because the musicians appeared nude on its sleeve.
After Uchida and Aso departed, the remaining members recruited vocalist Joe Yamanaka and shifted toward original, experimental material. Their first release under the Flower Travellin' Band moniker, Anywhere, arrived in 1970 and included five covers such as Muddy Waters' "Louisiana Blues" and Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath," once more featuring the musicians nude, this time astride motorcycles.
The band's inaugural fully original album, Satori, followed in 1971. Made in Japan appeared in 1972, and the double live-and-studio collection Make Up came out in 1973, after which the group entered a hiatus of more than thirty years. By the close of this period the Flower Travellin' Band had opened for major acts including Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Material recorded prior to Anywhere surfaced in the mid-1970s as Kirikyogen, while a 1995 bootleg of early recordings was issued under the title From Pussies to Death in 10,000 Years of Freakout.
In 2007 the Flower Travellin' Band regrouped without Yuya Uchida and with keyboardist Nobuhiko Shinohara added, releasing We Are Here the next year. Activities halted in March 2010 when vocalist Joe Yamanaka received a lung-cancer diagnosis. Yamanaka succumbed to the illness on August 7, 2011, at the age of 64.
After Uchida and Aso departed, the remaining members recruited vocalist Joe Yamanaka and shifted toward original, experimental material. Their first release under the Flower Travellin' Band moniker, Anywhere, arrived in 1970 and included five covers such as Muddy Waters' "Louisiana Blues" and Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath," once more featuring the musicians nude, this time astride motorcycles.
The band's inaugural fully original album, Satori, followed in 1971. Made in Japan appeared in 1972, and the double live-and-studio collection Make Up came out in 1973, after which the group entered a hiatus of more than thirty years. By the close of this period the Flower Travellin' Band had opened for major acts including Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Material recorded prior to Anywhere surfaced in the mid-1970s as Kirikyogen, while a 1995 bootleg of early recordings was issued under the title From Pussies to Death in 10,000 Years of Freakout.
In 2007 the Flower Travellin' Band regrouped without Yuya Uchida and with keyboardist Nobuhiko Shinohara added, releasing We Are Here the next year. Activities halted in March 2010 when vocalist Joe Yamanaka received a lung-cancer diagnosis. Yamanaka succumbed to the illness on August 7, 2011, at the age of 64.
Albums
