BIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY
We are... You are... Electric Eel Shock:
Aki Morimoto - Guitar & Vo
Kazuto Maekawa - Bass
Tomoharu 'Gian' Ito - Drums
"Mixing dark fuzzy stoner rock riffs with classic rock sensibilities and addictive song-writing hooks, EES occupy the gaping void somewhere between Queens Of The Stoneage, AC/DC and Black Sabbath." Kerrang
"You’d have to be the most miserable of metal purists or the ultimate elitist trend follower not to allow yourself to simply enjoy this band..." Classic Rock
"The true triumph of Electric Eel Shock is that they put on a show that can be equally enjoyed by metal’s fanatics and its detractors. This is more than just a rock show – it’s a complete entertainment package." Metro
Electric Eel Shock are a glorious celebration of Classic Rock, Punk and Metal. A true power trio from the time before rock became fractured into a diverse multitude of sub-genres and we were all still one big happy Rock & Roll family.
Akihito Morimoto (Guitar & Vocal) and Kazuto Maekawa (Bass) were brought together whilst still at school in Osaka by a mutual obsession with Black Sabbath.
They learned English from the bands they read about in Burrn Magazine and played together in several bands that often covered their idols from the western world which, as well as Sabbath, included Twisted Sister, Van Halen, Rainbow, MSG, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Queensryche, WASP, RATT, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne Band, Motorhead, Guns and Roses, Motley Crue etc…
Aki and Kazuto first tasted commercial success after moving to Tokyo and playing as guitarist and bassist in a five-piece band that had some pop rock success at home in Japan.
Aki explained this bands implosion by explaining that they believed every bit of advice that they were told and eventually became directionless as a result. It was this lesson that helped form the attitude of Electric Eel Shock -- listen to everyone BUT make the decisions yourself and if you do make a mistake make sure that you only make it once...
Now in Tokyo with no band Aki turned back to his other passion of fishing was a professional competition angler for a while (he still writes for Japans largest fishing magazine Basser Magazine). Kazuto joined The Apollo’s a well-known Japanese Funk band as session bassist. Kazuto’s low slung bass and unkempt appearance was at odds with the suited and polished image and led to his time in this role being short lived, however it left a lasting impression on the drummer Tomoharu Ito. The leader of The Apollo’s had given his drummer the more familiar name “Gian” due to his similarity in appearance to a well known Japanese comedian of the same name. Gian, who had a day job making false teeth, was soon introduced to Aki and the three started practicing together shortly afterwards.
This was not quite the start of Electric Eel Shock as we know it, the first public performances of EES were actually as an 11 piece band with keyboards, female vocals, horns etc… it was not until the logistics of getting all of these members together on the same day to practice became unbearable that EES stripped down to the three piece. It is thought that Gian took up playing with four drumsticks after he moved from Funk to Rock and wanted to increase the impact, it is any ones guess why he likes to drum naked!
Electric Eel Shock decided against making demos and sending them to labels etc instead they dived straight in and set up Micro Music with their friends releasing their first full length “Maybe I think, We Can Beat Nirvana” they then followed this with “Live Punctured” and set about making a major impact on the independent rock scene of Tokyo.
In 1999 EES recorded Slayers Bay Blues on an eight-track recorder press up enough to take on the road and set off for their first gigs abroad. They had lined up a hand-full of dates in and around New York with their friends Pealander-Z who had relocated there some time earlier. The gigs were a massive success and a handful of dates turned into 20 or so. They went back to Japan with many offers to return. It was around this time that they first met longtime tour manager Bob Slayer, who had previously toured with bands such as Led Zeppelin and had become the first westener to be Karaoke Champion of Japan.
Electric Eel Shock made the collective decision to sell their property and left their homes in order to return to the states.
They continued to tour America near constantly for the next two years.
Their tours grew and grew as word of mouth spread that this was a live show not to be missed. The numbers of gigs around the states and the people attending them went up and up and all the while Electric Eel Shock survived on sale of CD’s and T-Shirts.
They recorded again and pulled together another full length titled after their current phase “Go America”
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At the end of 2002 an email out of the blue from a UK fanzine writer, who did not realise what he was getting himself into, was to open up a new phase.
The only question EES answered was the one that asked: “Have you got any plans to come to the UK?” that was the only invitation they needed and the reply was: “No! But we want. You get gig and we will come…”
A month later on Jan 16th 2003 Electric Eel Shock landed in London for 5 hastily arranged gigs. Due to their overwhelming live performance they ended up doing 12 gigs during their 10 days with the London underground being their only form of transport! They returned to the US with the above fanzine writer as their new manager!
EES spent the rest of 2003 between the US and Europe including highlights of playing at both SXSW and CMJ festivals in America and headlining a stage at Roskilde Festival in Denmark and a supporting Danko Jones on a 40 date European tour.
At the start of 2004 Electric Eel Shock went into the studio for the last of the Go sessions and although it was still relatively low budget and paid for the band themselves it was the first time the band had gone into a studio as opposed to practice room, kitchen, cupboard etc and they even had an engineer. The results (Go Europe / Go USA) were licensed around the world and the band followed it on promotional tours that
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EES were soon making plans with Grammy nominated producer Attie Bauw (Judas Priest, Scorpions etc) for a new album. This was going to be a move away from their garage roots. The aim was to catch all the energy and individual character of an Electric Eel Shock performance with a production that would sit alongside the early Sabbath albums that had inspired this journey many years ago.
EES finished the recordings for Beat Me early 2005. They went back to Japan for the first time in a long time. The Japanese media is just starting to get hot under the collar about how much these three guys have achieved away from home… Before Aki left he made an innocent comment which sums up EES’s attitude. “I think we have just started…”
Electric Eel Shock are a band who’ve worked hard to get where they are - and they’re damn well going to enjoy themselves! Of course, everyone - fans old and new - are invited to join the party!
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