Toru Yamashita

Toru Yamashita

ONE OK ROCK guitarist, Toru Yamashita in fan photo, at Back to the Future Hearts Tour, October 9, 2015, along with bands All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens and Neck Deep; Orlando, Florida CFE Arena.
Background information
Native name 山下 亨
Birth name Yamashita Tōru
Also known as Toru
Born (1988-12-07) December 7, 1988
Origin Osaka, Japan
Genres Alternative rock, post hardcore
Occupation(s) Musician, composer, actor, dancer (formerly)
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 2000–present
Labels Amuse, Inc., A-Sketch, Warner Bros. Records Inc., Fueled by Ramen
Associated acts HEADS, ONE OK ROCK
Website ONE OK ROCK official website

Toru Yamashita (山下 亨 Yamashita Tōru) (born December 7, 1988 in Osaka), better known by his stage name Toru, is a guitarist and leader in the Japanese rock group ONE OK ROCK. He was in the hip-hop group HEADS along with Ryota Kohama from ONE OK ROCK before they disbanded in 2002.[1]

Personal life

Yamashita was born in Osaka, Japan before moving to Tokyo. Ryota Kohama, a fellow member from ONE OK ROCK, is his childhood friend. With two others, Kohei and Takuya formed a hip-hop dance group HEADS when they were fifth and sixth-graders. They participated in dance competitions around the years of 1995–1999.

Career

They debuted with a single entitled "screeeem!" in July 2000 and followed with "Gooood or Bad!" in November, produced for Amuse, Inc.. The group performed every weekend in Osaka's Kyoubashi and Tokyo's Akihabara, shopping and amusement districts.[2]

HEADS disbanded in 2002 and in 2003 they took a break to improve their abilities. They merged into a new group with seven other members and were called GROUND 0.

In 2005 Toru took a main role in TV series Shibuya Fifteen. He contributed a cameo as a high school student in Kamen Rider Hibiki. That year, he invited Ryota, their upperclassman Alex and his friend Koyanagi Yuu to form a rock band. Later, Toru become the leader of this band, later named One Ok Rock. He met Takahiro Moriuchi when he performed with his previous band and insisted that he join ONE OK ROCK, despite repeated rejections. After Alex quit the band, Yamashita took his place, playing lead-guitar.

He is heavily influenced by Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Enter Shikari, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Sleeping With Sirens, Nirvana, and The Used.

Musical equipment

Toru often uses various Gibson Les Paul guitars in One Ok Rock. Recently he frequently used PRS Guitars. He started out with a Gibson Les Paul Standard Black and then purchased a Les Paul Custom Alpine White in 2009. Four years later, this guitar was signed by the members of Fall Out Boy on the front side and Avril Lavigne on the rear side. Toru first seen using PRS Guitars during the band's final tour at Nippon Budokan in November 2010.

References

  1. ↑ "Toru Profile on JpopAsia". Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  2. ↑ "Hip-Hop Kids Aim High, with "HEADS" Up". Retrieved 2014-10-12.
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