Hi-Standard

Hi-Standard

Genres: punk, japanese, punk rock, J-Punk, rock

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HAWAIIAN6 Ken Yokoyama BRAHMAN Husking Bee 10-FEET

About Hi-Standard

Hi-Standard are a Japanese punk rock group who formed in 1991. Since then, they have become a popular and influential part of Japanese underground music. The release of their hugely popular "Making the Road" sparked sold-out Japan shows and US/European tours with punk bands such as NOFX, WIZO, and No Use for a Name. Although Hi-Standard were Japanese born, all of their major releases were sung in English. Live footage of the band shows them talking to the crowd in their native Japanese and then immediately changing to English for the songs. Style Although classed as a 'punk rock' band, lyrically they were not angry or politically charged like many other punk bands. Many songs were about meeting a new girl, lost love, or the transition from teenage years to adulthood. The song "Teenagers are all assholes" from their final LP "Making the road" talks about how there is no justification for violence, with lyrics such as "Don't torment your friends and neighbors/Someday you'll see you are small/There is no good reason to assault somebody/If you wanna beat someone/Beat yourself". Musically they were very similar to many other popular punk-rock bands that were big in the 90's, such as NOFX, Millencolin and The Vandals; most of their songs were very fast and catchy, with a few slower songs scattered here and there. "Making the road" was probably their most musically diverse release, featuring some very fast, hard songs (Just Rock, Crows) mixed in with slower songs (Endless Trip, Dear my Friends) and even a gentle piccolo-driven instrumental (Tinkerbell Hates Goatees). The band was considered to be very talented musically, with the fast, tight, powerful drumming and creative guitar work often standing out. Hiatus After recording five albums, the band entered a hiatus in August of 2000, shortly after playing "Air Jam 2000". Ken Yokoyama began working on other projects, including BBQ Chickens and Ken Band, which is now simply known as Ken Yokoyama. Yokoyama revisited the bands original label Pizza of Death Records, which has since signed many punk and alternative rock bands. Akihiro Nanba's newest project is Ultra Brain. According to CDJapan, Nanba proclaims their debut album, Neo Punk, to be the birth of neo-punk . Akira Tsuneoka now provides the drums for the group, Cubismo Grafico. Although the band has never officially called it quits, as time goes on it is looking more and more unlikely that they will play together again, especially now that each member has gone on to different projects. However, fans still hope to one day see a reunion show. Reunion After a couple years of unofficial hiatus, with 2 shows at Air Jam (2011 and 2012 respectively), Hi-Standard played during "FAT WRECKED FOR 25 YEARS", marking a new spark in their career. In 2016, they released 2 new singles, "Another Starting Line" and "Vintage & New,Gift Shits". Around 1 year later, they released a new album "The Gift", featuring new songs as well as covers such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water", originally by Simon & Garfunkel and "My Girl", originally by The Temptations, which was then followed by a Japanese tour. In 2020, they released a live album entitled "Live at YOKOHAMA ARENA 20181222". On February 14th, 2023, Hi-Standard's drummer, Akira Tsuneoka, unfortunately passed away due to undisclosed reasons. Later that year, they released a new single "I'm A Rat", featuring drummer Akira Tsuneoka. The song was written by NOFX's frontman and bassist Fat Mike. They also released a recording documentary, showing the recording process from December 2022. Hi-Standard appeared at some shows between 2023 and 2025, notably at Satanic Carnival 2023 Ken Yokoyama's drummer Eiji Matsumoto played along with them as well as during NOFX's Final Japan Tour THE BONEZ's drummer ZAX played alongside them. On 9/24/2025, Hi-Standard hosted a live on Youtube on Pizza Of Death Records's channel. During that live, both remaining founding members of the band announced their new drummer for their band; ZAX from THE BONEZ. They then announced their new Mini Album "Screaming Newborn Baby", of which they played a new song from their upcoming album, "Song About Fat Mike". The album is set to release November 26, 2025. On October 10th, 2025, they released the single "Our Song" Discography Growing Up (1996) Fat Wreck Chords Angry Fist (1997) Fat Wreck Chords Making the Road (1999) Fat Wreck Chords Love Is a Battlefield (EP) (2001) Fat Wreck Chords Last of Sunny Day (2000) Japan. The full-length Last of Sunny Day contains songs from their prior releases and original songs. The band have an additional single "The Kids are Alright" available only in Japan Hi-Standard perform punk covers of American songs "California Dreamin'", "Green Acres", Have you ever seen the rain?" and "Fools Rush In" Another Starting Line (2016) Vintage & New, Gift Shits (2016) The Gift (2017) I'm A Rat (2023) Our Song (2025) Screaming Newborn Baby (Set for November 26, 2025)

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