Crazy Ken Band

Ken Yokoyama has been involved with a series of projects (including heading Pizza of Death Records), but one of the few to hold strongly was the Crazy Ken Band, a large contingent of musicians clustered around Yokoyama. The music is, at its core, a bit retro, with sentimentality exposed in the lyrics, and references to a less sanitized Japan of the past. Though the band began forming in 1991, it wasn't until Yokoyama's return to "solo" projects around 2002 that the group took off as a force unto itself. The band's live performances have garnered the most attention, though album releases have consistently performed well, with 2008's Zero easily staying in Oricon's Top Ten for an extended period. ~ Adam Greenberg