Eastern youth

Eastern Youth is a Japanese indie rock trio. Despite being primarily punk rock-influenced, their sound blends many different styles, and is especially complex for a three-piece band. Their lyrics, sung in Japanese, express the helplessness of Japanese youths. Their influences include Fugazi, Jawbreaker, Stiff Little Fingers and Discharge.

Prior to 1994, Eastern Youth were an Oi! band. Around 1994, with the addition of Tomokazu Ninomiya on bass, Eastern Youth evolved into an indie band. Oi! deals mainly with societal issues and with the skinhead subculture, whereas indie rock deals primarily with personal, emotional issues.

Career
Eastern Youth was formed in 1988 by childhood friends Hisashi Yoshino and Atsuya Tamori in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. The band moved to Tokyo in 1990. The former Japanese skinhead band would eventually transform its style from Oi! to Indie rock, when they were joined by former metal guitarist Tomokazu Ninomiya on bass in 1994. In 1995, they put out their first release on their own record label, Sakamoto-Shoten: Kuchibue Yofuke-ni-Hibiku ("A Whistle Rings Through the Midnight Street"). Within the next 5 years, Eastern Youth became legendary to the Japanese indie rock scene and in 2000 they played in the United States for the first time, largely broadening their popularity. They continue to tour in the United States, often with the support of the Saddle Creek band Cursive, with whom Eastern Youth split sides on 2003's 8 Teeth to Eat You EP.

Members
Hisashi Yoshino - vocals, guitar
Atsuya Tamori - drums
Tomokazu Ninomiya - bass · close