Known for their wild performances and fearless exploration of new sounds, the members of MO'SOME TONEBENDER still manage to surprise even their most devoted fans with each new release.
MO'SOME TONEBENDER was formed in Fukuoka in late 1997. The band came together in a very natural way; vocalist/guitarist Kazuhiro Momo and his drinking buddy, drummer Isamu Fujita, discovered their future bass player Yasunori Takei at a live show and asked him to form a band with them. It is worth noting that the “MO’SOME” portion of the band’s name stems from a combination of the “mo” of Kazuhiro Momo’s family name and the “some”—or “samu”, as it is pronounced in Japanese—of Isamu Fujita.
Thanks to their energetic live performances, MO’SOME TONEBENDER quickly made a name for themselves through opening for foreign bands. After distributing various demo tapes during live shows, their first mini-album Drive came out on the indie label QUATTRO UK DISCS in 1999. Following the release of their first full album Dawn Rock in 2000, they attracted the attention of the major label Universal. Two of their most commercially successful albums, Hello and Light, Slide, Dummy, were released on Universal in 2001 and 2002.
After returning to their former label QUATTRO UK DISCS for the experimental, punk-influenced album Trigger Happy, the band once again switched labels to Columbia Music. In March 2006, their first live DVD was released. Their next album, Super Nice, was released in February 2007.
Of all MO'SOME TONEBENDER's releases, perhaps the most shocking for fans was 2008's SING!, which saw the band embrace an upbeat pop sound.
In 2009, the band announced via a message on their official website that they would be entering an experimental period. During this time, Fujita switched from the drums to guitar and the band recruited a support drummer. The band resumed their regular activities in 2010, and they continue to use a support drummer to allow Fujita to take over the guitarist position when a song calls for it.
Perhaps due to the mixed reactions SING! received, MO'SOME TONEBENDER's next studio album STRUGGLE would see them head in the opposite direction, with a heavier, more aggressive sound than much of their previous work.
The year 2011 was especially exciting for MO’SOME TONEBENDER as it marked the band’s first performance in North America. The band showcased their charismatic, loud brand of rock n' roll to American audiences on the seven-date Japan Nite US Tour 2011, which began in Austin, Texas on March 18th and concluded in San Francisco on the 27th. Their first best-of album BEST OF WORST, was also released that April, celebrating the band’s lengthy career and highlighting the eclectic nature of their sound.
The next year brought the album Strange Utopia Crazy Kitchen, which struck a sort of balance between the extremes of SING! and STRUGGLE, containing a diverse mixture of genres ranging from rock to electronica to pop. It also saw Momo release his first solo album and announce a new project called geek sleep sheep with yukihiro of L'Arc~en~Ciel and 345 of Ling tosite shigure.
While their frontman is currently juggling two bands and his solo career, MO'SOME TONEBENDER is still going strong in 2014.
