Rize

Related Tags: Rize Extras

Vocals/Guitar: Jesse McFaddin
Drums: Nobuaki Kaneko a.k.a. N.K.
Bass: Kensuke Kaneoko a.k.a. Kenken
Drums: Yoshihiro Nakao a.k.a. Naka

Rize were formed in June of 1997 with Jesse, son of Japan’s super guitarist Hisato "Char" Takenaka, on vocals and guitar, Nobuaki Kaneko on drums and Tokie on bass. Jesse and Nobuaki had grown up as childhood friends.

The band started play around the Shimokitazawa area, and soon built up a strong following, with their aggressive rock meets hip-hop sound.

They went on to sign to Sony, and in November 2000 released their debut album 'Rookey', which went to #8 on the Oricon charts, with the single 'Why I’m Me' also going into the top ten.

In March 2001 there was a shuffling of members, with Tokie departing (she later joined Losalios), U-ZO taking over on bass, and Yoshihiro Nakao being added on guitar. The new line-up was soon up and running, and solidified on their national 'Full Volume' tour. They also swung a slot playing at Summer Sonic, one of Japan’s biggest music festivals.

The band also went to Thailand to film the video for their song 'Light Your Fire'. Rize followed with the album Foreplay in December 2001, some of which was conceived while the band lived together in LA.

In 2002 Jesse recorded with a Kansai rock band, using the name Sorato Takenaka on the single 'Free Fall'. Also in 2002 Rize did 42 shows on the 'Fuck’N’Rock' tour. In Nov. that year they released their third album, 'Natural Vibes'. Their subsequent release in Jan 2003 was the single 'Vibration introducing Def Tech' (in 2005 Def Tech, who share management with Rize, would go on to have their debut album sell over a million copies).

Rize later in 2003 played throughout Japan on their 'Natural Vibes' tour. The band got some further traction when their song 'Gun Shot' was chosen to be used in the video game 'Gunsurvivor 4 Biohazard Heroes Never Die'.

Also Rize began further testing the waters internationally. In May 2003 they played two shows in Korea, and in the summer 35 shows in the States with the Orange County-based 'Kottonmouth Kings'.

In 2004 the band mostly lived in California, but were not heard from much. Their official history calls this their “time out”.

In 2005, however, Rize blasted back, first releasing a 'Best of' album 'Fuck’N’Best' in March, and with plans to release 'Spit & Yell''. Rize also had the distinction of being one of the first bands to raise their hand to join the 'Live 8' concert held in Japan on July 2, 2005. (taken from nippop.com)

Their 2001 song 'Light Your Fire' was added to the tribute soundtrack of film 'Death Note: the Last Name' in 2006.

There is a lot of conflicting versions of how Rize came together. A lot of people online hate Rize for doing a cover of 'Pink Spider', a suicide-letter song done by the artist hide.