Luna Sea is a Japanese rock band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura, Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara, Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue, Jun "J" Onose and Shinya Yamada, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000. They released seven studio albums and several singles and VHS/DVD releases throughout the 90s.
History
Discovered by the late Hideto Matsumoto (then lead guitarist of X Japan), Luna Sea were signed by X Japan co-founder Yoshiki Hayashi to his independent label Extasy Records, on which they released their self-titled debut album in 1991. Originally a visual kei band, they held the "Luna Sea First Year Anniversary One Man - Kurofuku Restricted" concert, which earned them the label "Kurofuku Kei" which was later applied to other bands. Kurofuku (黒服) means black suit or mourning clothing
By 1995 the group's popularity had reached the point at which it would headline the Tokyo Dome, Japan's largest indoor live venue. Five years later, the stadium would also host the band's farewell concerts. Having already been on a year-long hiatus between releases of the albums Shine and Lunacy, Luna Sea decided to disband after two more performances on December 26 and 27, 2000.
Since then, the members have either pursued solo careers (like Ryuichi and J), new bands (like Inoran with Fake?) or collaborations with other musicians (such as the short-lived The Flare by Sugizo and Lazy Knack vocalist Yuna). Shinya, marrying Aya Ishiguro of the pop girl group Morning Musume, has been playing drums for other musicians such as Nanase Aikawa, Maki Oguro, and Miyavi. More recently, Inoran has left Fake? and reunited with Ryuichi to form Tourbillon in 2005, while Sugizo has joined the supergroup Skin in 2007, which also features pop/rock artists Gackt and Miyavi, as well as Yoshiki.
Luna Sea reunited for a concert on December 24, 2007. The concert was aired live on Japan's NHK BS Hi-vision Satellite channel, with a few songs cut from the track list. The full-length DVD of the concert will be available on March 26, 2008 and is already available for order.
Luna Sea will perform at the "hide memorial summit" on May 4.
Members
As with numerous other Japanese bands, the members of Luna Sea were usually credited with their given or stage name.
* Ryuichi Kawamura (河村隆一 Kawamura Ryuichi) – Vocals
* Yuune "Sugizo" Sugihara (杉原有音 Sugihara Yuune) – Lead guitar and violin
* Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue (井上清信 Inoue Shinobu) – Rhythm guitar
* Jun "J" Onose (小野瀬潤 Onose Jun) – Bass
* Shinya Yamada (山田真矢 Yamada Shinya) – Drums
Subject: Luna Sea - band 
Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:04 pm
