SUGIZO

Sugizo, real name Yasuhiro Sugihara, was born on July 8, 1969 in Kanagawa, Japan. With strains of Japanese-Chinese and Japanese-German flowing within his blood, and dominant musical influences from both of his parents, he started li

Sugizo, real name Yasuhiro Sugihara, was born on July 8, 1969 in Kanagawa, Japan. With strains of Japanese-Chinese and Japanese-German flowing within his blood, and dominant musical influences from both of his parents, he started life with an unusual background and an exceptional talent. At age three he was trained on the violin, and reportedly had to practice up to four hours a day at the insistence of his father. As a teenager, he became more rebellious and delinquent, and was drawn increasingly toward the raucous music of Western rock bands such as KISS. Despite his father's disapproval, Sugizo taught himself the guitar, and then began playing bass in a high school band named Pinnochio. The internal structure of Pinnochio was not cohesive, however, and soon Sugizo and friend Shinya Yamada left Pinnochio to join up with rival bandmembers J and Inoran; and with the later addition of Ryuichi Kawamura, the vocalist from the band Slaughter, the five formed the Visual Kei rock unit "Lunacy". With J already a bass player, Sugizo switched to the electric guitar singularly, and as Inoran preferred to play rhythm guitar, he became Lunacy's lead guitar (and invented his familiar stage name).

The five performed in Machida Playhouse and other clubs, persisting in their live performances despite exceptional sales of their demo tapes. Soon enough they were scouted out by one hide of X Japan fame and signed to Extasy Records. The band's name was then changed to "Luna Sea" and shortly thereafter came the release of their first full-length album. Throughout the course of Luna Sea's joint career, they became one of the most beloved bands in all of Japan, China, and Taiwan, and gained many Western fans as well. Sugizo in particular became a female fan-favorite, being something of a narcissist and very aware of his public sexuality, and through his leather-and-lace stage costumes, anime-style hair, and flambouyant persona came to acquire the media's nickname of "The Walking Porn". However, with the birth of daughter Luna in 1997, Sugizo's image mellowed considerably; although upon the death of mentor hide he dyed his hair bright pink again as a tribute to his fellow guitarist.