OKAMOTO’S is a psychedelic garage rock band made up of four 19-year-olds from Shinjuku, Tokyo, who first got together while still in middle school. Fans of influential Japanese avante-garde artist Taro Okamoto, the members took a cue from the Ramones and adopted stage names. The band currently consists of founding members Sho Okamoto (vocals), Koki Okamoto (guitar), and Reiji Okamoto (drums), as well as Hama Okamoto (bass), who joined in 2009.
The group’s career kicked off in 2007, when their breakout performance at their high school festival turned into appearances at music venues throughout Tokyo. Even while preparing to graduate the following year, they continued to refine their energetic live performances into something befitting a band far beyond their young age.
OKAMOTO’S made their recording debut with an appearance on the Columbia compilation "Here Come the Modernity" in February 2009. Gaining acclaim and respect unheard of for bands their age, they followed it up in June with their debut album, "Here are OKAMOTO’S". In support of the album, they unleashed a touring blitz, starting with a sold-out solo performance to commemorate its release. Playing over ten shows a month, they managed to perform over one hundred times in 2009.
In December 2009, they capped off their year of success with the self-produced Count 1000 EP, limited to 1,000 copies and available only at live performances. 2010 marked the start of their first national tour in support of the rapidly-selling EP.
OKAMOTO’S brought their music to an international audience in March 2010 when they performed at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, followed by the six-city Japan Nite US Tour 2010. Taking the US by storm, their enthusiastic performances garnered rave reviews from fans and media alike.
After a whirlwind year of touring, OKAMOTO’S released their long-awaited second album, 10’s, on May 26, 2010 in Japan. Their major-label debut, 10’s was released by Ariola Japan and is available both as a standard CD release and a limited-edition CD/DVD package.
As a result of the critical and commercial success of their first US tour, OKAMOTO’S will be playing their first Australian shows in July. They will be supporting Thirsty Merc at the following performances: