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Sunny Day Service
Sunny Day Service is a Japanese rock group.
Formed as a punk band, the nature of their music began to change with their 1995 major debut. Their debut mini album had the pervasive influence of Flipper's Guitar, to the point that Sunny Day Service themselves bragged, “We're Flipper's Followers!” However, with their first full album, Wakamonotachi (Youths), they returned to folk rock compositions, reminiscent of Happy End. After that, as a 90's neo acoustic band their abilities manifested and they gained a reputation.
Regrettably on Dec. 14, 2000, on the last day of the LoveAlbum Tour, the band broke up. Due to the band members' wishes, almost all the band's singles have gone out of print and are extremely hard to obtain.
Musically, because of the influence of Madchester and the Second Summer of Love, drawing widely from rock, pop, and even movie music in order to express styles from punk to neoacoustic in their indy period. They were seen as a new band of the Shibuya tradition. The true beginnings of the Shibuya movement in the 60s, French movies, neoacoustic, the flower movement, and what was later called rare groove and free soul were made to be elements of the music. However, their late entrance earned Sunny Day Service monokers such as “The last of the Shibuya tradition.”
Table of contents
members
support members
a short history
discography
singles
original albums
remix albums
best edition
trivia
members
Sokabe Keiichi (b Aug. 26, 1971) – guitar, vocal. Native of Sakaide in the Kagawa Prefecture. Dropout of Rikkyo University.
Tanaka Takashi (b June 25, 1971) – bass. Native of Imabari in the Ehime prefecture. Dropout of Seikei University
Maruyama Harushige (b Nov. 6, 1971) – drums. Native of Tokyo
Support members
Arai Hitoshi guitar
Takano Isao keyboard
Hosono Shinichi guitar and keyboard
Odajima Hitoshi artwork
history
1992
While at university, four people formed Sunny Day Service. They started as a punk band. Sokabe and Tanaka were in a band called The Rock n' Roll Stars before this, but because this band was a loosely held together band of friends, it seemed like Sokabe didn't want to break it up.
1994 During their independent career, they had their first major debut in the single “Starry Sky Drive ep.” Their sound was influenced by Shibuya tradition and in particular similar to the Madchester movement's Flipper's Guitar and their last album. Because of that, they were criticized as being “a poor take on post-Flipper's Guitar” and so forth. People thought little of this kind of music. After publishing their second major release, Cosmic Hippie ep, two members quit. Sokabe and Tanaka remained. The band's name came not from a twist on Sammy Davis Jr's name, but alluded to a group called Another Sunny Day, which was with an English label called Sara which Sokabe liked.
1995 Maruyama joined from a band called The Original Electric Glass Baloon (which is the same MIDI band SUGIURUMN that Sugiura Eiji would later be the frontman for). The aspiring drummer joined and they became a 3 piece band.
They released their first album, Wakamonotachi (Youths). As opposed to the Shibuya tradition, they developed a 70s folk rock, which could be said to pay homage to Happy End. The combination of their poor performances and their lyrics, which incorporated an especially immature outlook, would not, comparing their later works, improve. However, not a few said Sokabe's unchanging character became the calling card of the band and moreover that was the album's charm. It was said about them, more than just their sound had been the reason the comparison to Happy End still stuck with them. They produced this album with a lyrical style which was born of the strong influence of Matsumoto Takashi. Moreover, in the same way that Happy End's first album's lyrics insert listed the names of writers and musicians they drew influence from, on the last page of the album Wakamonotachi (Youths) lyrics insert's last page lists both Happy End and a manga from the 70s called SeiShun (Green Spring/Youth). On a side note, in response to the question of why they hadn't gotten a better drummer, he said at the beginning they intended to get a very skilled person since the two couldn't perform even before that.
1996 Their second album, Tokyo, is released. Though like their earlier works it had a Happy End motif, Sunny Day Service established skillfully their own character. Many people take this as their best album.
1997 Their third album, A Night of Love and Laughter, is released. 9 months later, their 4th album, Sunny Day Service, is released. Their performance was still not skillful, but they had a groove that nobody save these 3 could make. Sunny Day Service had found their own band sound. This album was well made even compared to Tokyo (album). On this album's preceding single, their 8th, NOW was used as the music for a commercial for Lotte Chocolate. This helped make it the best selling record in Sunny Day Service's history. During this time was the band's peak both musically and interpersonally.
1998 The release of the 5th album, Midnight. This especially chaotic album had many different types of music, came on 2 CDs (one 12cm, the other 8cm), and exceeded 80 minutes in length. The band's mannerisms were born via the completion of the band sound on this album and the next. Later, Sokabe said it was made with a feeling of “because we immediately put our usual qualities into everything, may I present...[the album]”
1999 The release of their 6th album, MUGEN. The reaction to the 10 song album was that it compared little the previous works. In response to the feeling that the previous works had gone astray from the old world view of Sunny Day Service, this album returned to their origin. They once again returned to the style of the old Sunny Day Service. Sokabe said it was a last gift. Compared to their start, their sound had developed considerably. After this album there was a feeling that they had begun to lose “the essence of the music these three made.” During this time, rifts in the band began to appear. Reportedly, Maruyama rarely showed up to recording sessions.
2000 The release of their 13th single, Night Melody. This was the first release of Q&A, a label which had been spun off from the record company Sunny Day Service was with. On their 14th single, Magic, they welcomed a producer who had worked with SUGIURUMN and joined forces. The next release, the 7th album, LOVE ALBUM, was more than half songs that were made with this producer. These songs broke ground never before attempted by Sunny Day Service. However, for a band that had broken a oath never to collaborate this became a factor in the band's ending. Around this time, Maruyama came to recording sessions as little as possible. At performances, the used a former support member as their percussionist. In fact, Maruyama had not contributed on the album. During this album's tour, Sokabe thought the band could regain a good condition but he himself was skipping out on rehearsals, etc, and there was no indication they were heading toward recovery. They made their break up announcement mid-tour. On December 14th, at the Liquid Room in Shinjuku, they held their last live performance and broke up. In response to and encore they played the out of season Summer Soldier.
Singles
S.F. Colour is born (a 7inch disc split with a band, their upperclassman Arai Hitoshi's N.G.THREE) *independent
Cosmo Sport ep コスモスポーツep*independent
Starry sky drive 星空のドライブep
Cosmic Hippie epコズミック・ヒッピーep
How's it going/Let's go out on the town御機嫌いかが？ / 街へ出ようよ
The mad running of adolescence song青春狂走曲
If we fell in love恋におちたら
Let's meet hereここで逢いましょう
Summer soldierサマー・ソルジャー
White lover白い恋人
lover's room恋人の部屋
NOW
Goodbye! Town's loversさよなら!街の恋人たち
Let's live today今日を生きよう
Slow Riderスロウライダー
On lips like a dream夢見るようなくちびるに
Night's melody/love is pink夜のメロディ / 恋は桃色
Magic魔法
Bees and Spiders 蜂と蜘蛛(a 98 tour pamphlet bonus 8cm single)
Original Albums
SUPER DISCO 1994 *Independent
Youths (Wakamonotachi) 若者たち1995
Tokyo 東京1996
Night of Love and Laughter 愛と笑いの夜1997
Sunny Day Service
Midnight 24時1998
MUGEN 1999
LoveAlbum 2000
FutureKiss 2000
Remix Albums
Party Love Album 2000 (only available in limited quantities at live performances)
Best of Editions
Best Sky 2001
BEST FLOWER – B SIDE COLLECTION- 2001
Trivia
During their independent time, Sokabe went to see a live where his friend's band was playing. There he drunkenly swore at a stranger. This man was Watanabe Fumitake who later became Sunny Day Service's director and supported their career. While cursing at the man, Sokabe managed to hand him a CD. This was a foot in the door toward their major debut.