Toru Yamashita

Toru Yamashita (Japanese: 山下 亨, Hepburn: Yamashita Tōru, born December 7, 1988, in Osaka), better known by his stage name Toru, is a guitarist and the leader of the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock.

Toru Yamashita
山下 亨
山下 亨
Toru at One Ok Rock concert, Ambitions World Tour, New York City, 2017
Background information
Birth nameYamashita Tōru
Also known asToru
Born (1988-12-07) 7 December 1988
OriginOsaka, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • composer
  • actor
  • dancer (formerly)
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • vocals
  • PRS
  • Gibson
Years active2000–present
Labels
Associated acts
WebsiteONE OK ROCK official website

He was in the hip-hop group HEADS along with Ryota Kohama from ONE OK ROCK before they disbanded in 2002.[1]

Personal life

Toru was born in Osaka, Japan before moving to Tokyo. Ryota Kohama, a fellow member from ONE OK ROCK, is his childhood friend. With two other men, Kohei and Takuya, Toru and Ryota formed a hip-hop dance group called HEADS when they were fifth and sixth-graders. They participated in dance competitions in the late 1990s, between the years ranging from 1995 to 1999.

On July 28, 2020, it was announced that Yamashita had been tested positive for COVID-19.[2]

Career
Yamashita in 2015

They debuted with a single entitled "screeeem!" in July 2000 and followed with "Gooood or Bad!" in November, produced for Amuse, Inc.. The group performed every weekend in Osaka's Kyoubashi and Tokyo's Akihabara, shopping and amusement districts.[3]

HEADS disbanded in 2002 and in 2003 they took a break to improve their abilities. They merged into a new group with seven other members and were called GROUND 0.

In 2005 Toru took a main role in TV series Shibuya Fifteen. He contributed a cameo as a high school student in Kamen Rider Hibiki. That year, he invited Ryota, their upperclassman Alex and his friend Koyanagi Yuu to form a rock band. Later, Toru become the leader of this band, later named ONE OK ROCK. He met Takahiro Moriuchi when he performed with his previous band and then stalked him until he joined ONE OK ROCK, after repeated rejections. After Alex quit the band, Yamashita took his place, playing lead-guitar.

He is heavily influenced by Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Enter Shikari, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Sleeping With Sirens, Nirvana, The Used, Avril Lavigne, and Biffy Clyro.

Equipment

Toru often uses various Gibson Les Paul guitars in ONE OK ROCK. Recently he frequently used PRS Guitars. He started out with a Gibson Les Paul Standard Black and then purchased a Les Paul Custom Alpine White in 2009. Four years later, this guitar was signed by the members of Fall Out Boy on the front side and Avril Lavigne on the rear side. Toru first seen using PRS Guitars during the band's final tour at Nippon Budokan in November.

See also

References
  1. "Toru Profile on JpopAsia". Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  2. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-07-27/one-ok-rock-band-leader-guitarist-toru-yamashita-tests-positive-for-covid-19/.162295
  3. "Hip-Hop Kids Aim High, with "HEADS" Up". Retrieved 2014-10-12.
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