Glay, WINTER AGAIN

GLAY is one of the best Japanese rock bands of today. The name GLAY is actually pronounced "gurei" [Japanese pronunciation of the color gray] and [to quote Hirohiko Inoguchi, GLAY's executive producer] the misspelling of the word is "their way of being different."

GLAY is usually difficult to categorize in the Japanese music industry because neither the J-Pop nor the J-Rock fans are ready to accept them in either category. Takuro created GLAY because he wanted a band that could play both punk [rock] music as well as ballads and pop musicor people who like rock

"Our band is kind of rock, but there's no connection with other rock bands, and we also don't belong to the Japanese pop music. I think we're located in an ambiguous position. Japanese pop acts say we're visual [rock], and rock people say our band sounds like Japanese pop music."

But it is because their music is diverse that they appeal to so many people. GLAY's songs are a mixture of pop and rock music, ranging from folk rock ballads [like BELOVED] to heavy metal/hard rock songs [like ACID HEAD and HIT THE WORLD CHART!]. Most of their songs are upbeat and have very catchy tunes. Although Takuro was greatly influenced by the Beatles, they also have a distinct American sound ["Glorious", in particular, sounds like a classic American Rock 'n Roll song]. Part of the reason for this is the way Teru sings-he also likes to rap and yell. And his hoarse voice can easily be distinguished from other singers. But a lot of it is due to the composition and arrangement of GLAY's songs, and more importantly, the way Takuro and Hisashi play-they do not use a lot of distortions. I think it's ironic how Hisashi and Takuro both say that they like [British] punk rock music, and yet produce an American sound.

Onstage, Teru acts very cool-he has a natural groove to each of GLAY's songs. He often tries to encourage the crowd by yelling out things like "Motto! Motto!" [more! more!] or "Ikuze!" [let's go!]. Jiro looks like a little boy. He likes to jump and make faces at the camera, and sometimes even throws himself on the ground! Hisashi has a very effeminate persona. He usually wears women's clothes and he likes to spin and sway a lot, but this does not affect his incredible guitar skills. Takuro acts as masculine as Teru and often shows off impressive guitar play. GLAY's songs usually have very long [guitar] solos due to the fact that Hisashi and Takuro share the solos. But Hisashi is undisputedly the lead guitar player, whereas Takuro usually takes up a more rhythm guitar position [even though he does have solos all to himself].