Serving up a ferocious, fuzzy, Rohyphenol-laced cocktail that fuels the bloody collision of neo-psychedelia, garage, post-punk and glam, San Francisco’s mercurial Tokyo Raid effortlessly pulls off the difficult trick of being simultaneously iconic and fresh.
Formed in 2004 under the moniker The Mandarins guitarist/singer, Ben Utah mined influences ranging from T. Rex and The Kinks to The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division, and Spiritualized, to write and record 3 EP’s between 2005-2007. Guitarist Dean Taylor (Brian Jonestown Massacre) was recruited in early 2006 to record the “Cleopatra” EP with the band, along with guest performances by Dave Han (Astral/Foreign Cinema) and Cary LaScalla (Bellavista).
2008, saw a new line-up for the band and a name change that reflected their leaner, meaner sound. Tokyo Raid was born with Ben Utah (now on bass), Mike Thompson (drums) and Tim Kearney (guitars). Having spent a year away from San Francisco scene to relocate to the motor city of Detroit, Utah began penning songs that moved the band’s sound from traditional psychedelic and retro-jangle guitar stylings to a dark, raw mix of new wave, psyche rock and garage.
In 2011, Kearney was replaced with guitar/bass stylist Ty Gerhardt (The Girlfriend Experience, The New Day Breakers, Ing, Songs for Snakes, Cupcake). Bringing with him a new level of musicianship and broad, aggressive sonic palette, Gerhardt helped to further define and refine the band’s sound and the group quickly returned to Tiny Telephone to re-tool their soon to be released EP with engineer Ian Pellicci (Deerhoof, 31Knots).
Recently joining the ranks is Johnny Evil, known for not only his multi-instrumentalism, but his far-reaching booking/promoting arm with his production company Evil Live Productions. After playing in several well-known bay area bands, he's joined the Tokyo Raid army to take over the world by storm.
With the latest and greatest lineup firmly in place, Tokyo Raid’s sound, both in the studio and on the stage is as powerful and aggressive as it is engaging.
The SF Deli Magazine described a recent performance as:
“… an impressive set that fused the pulsing drone of Joy Division with blues-inspired psyche rock. Layered with aptly placed shrieks of feedback, Tokyo Raid bludgeoned the crowd with their wall of sound that eagerly awaited dissection." -Ada Lann, SF Deli
Tokyo raid is currently mixing their new EP slated to be released in September on the newly minted Dancing Leper label, with the first single “Indulgence” going to Rock Band Network for digital download. The band is also planning a West Coast tour to support the new EP in September and October 2011.
