There is no shortage of bands with wacky names in Japan, and Thee Michelle Gun Elephant is up there with the best of them. The band, which broke up at the end of 2003, excelled at incredibly high-energy rock 'n' roll. TMGE (the band's name is apparently a surreal take on the title of an album by the Damned, Machine Gun Etiquette - go figure) first got together in 1991 and debuted at Shelter, a well-known live house in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa district and immediately made a name for themselves...

There is no shortage of bands with wacky names in Japan, and Thee Michelle Gun Elephant is up there with the best of them. The band, which broke up at the end of 2003, excelled at incredibly high-energy rock 'n' roll. TMGE (the band's name is apparently a surreal take on the title of an album by the Damned, Machine Gun Etiquette - go figure) first got together in 1991 and debuted at Shelter, a well-known live house in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa district and immediately made a name for themselves with their punkish, Ramones-like rock. Crucial to the band's appeal was lead vocalist Yusuke Chiba, who sang with a maniacal intensity that made one wonder whether he was demonically possessed, and lead guitarist Futoshi Abe, who combined the riffmeistery of a Keith Richards with the buzzsaw attack of a Johnny Ramone. After the requisite period of indie semi-obscurity, TMGE signed with Nippon Columbia's (now defunct) Triad label, later moving to Universal Japan. In 1999 Bellingham, Wash.-based indie label Estrus Records released a three-song single by the band, and the group did a 16-date tour of the U.S. the same year. The band also signed deals for France, Spain and the UK, and did dates in Europe. TMGE received rave reviews internationally, but also had pressures to play more in Japan. As a result they turned down offers to play outside Japan, and the buzz they had created was not followed up on. In 2002 Chiba joined forces with former Blankey Jet City bassist Toshiaki Terui and Masato, the drummer for the unfortunately named Assfort, in a new band called Rosso, which disintegrated in 2006.  Chiba then formed a new band called The Birthday with Imai Akinobu who also had played guitar with Rosso, Kazuyuki Kuhara of TMGE on drums, and Haruki Hirai on bass.  The Birthday have since released three albums, 2006's Roller Romantics, 2007's Teardrop, and 2008's Night on Fool. TMGE guitarist Futoshi Abe worked on a number of projects, including a project with Akio of Snail Ramp. In July of 2009 it was revealed that  Abe had died from a rare medical condition, at age 43.