Ken Yokoyama

Originally serving as guitarist for the massively popular semi-punk group Hi-Standard, Ken Yokoyama splintered off to solo projects when the group unofficially disbanded in 2000. First returning to a development role at Pizza of Death Records (the band's onetime label), Yokoyama soon returned to performance with a series of small groups (the BBQ Chickens and the eponymous Ken Band) before performing solely under his own name. Yokoyama continued much of the sound of Hi-Standard -- a hugely successful formula -- with high-speed guitars and vocals (all in English) anchored by a manically fast drummer (Masatoshi Ishida in the case of Yokoyama's solo efforts) and compositions in the vein of contemporary American outfits such as NOFX. With bassist Serge Verkhovsky and guitarist Hidenori Minami, Yokoyama released two albums on Pizza of Death, achieving high sales for the non-mainstream market in Japan. In 2007, Yokoyama hit the Top Ten mainstream charts with Third Time's a Charm, continuing the quick, manic, and generally happy tone of the previous albums. ~ Adam Greenberg