Fans of multi-member Japanese groups usually have a so-called oshimen, the personal number one favorite member of the group. Then there might be the oshi-wrecker, the person who makes you doubt your choice for oshimen every now and then. In my case, that’s usually the one with blue hair. And if you follow such a hierarchy, there must be a member that is your least favorite of the group as well…
Now bare with me, we’re leaving the realm of idols a bit and are looking at a band this time. But just a bit, most of these band members have an idol past or idol type of career. So let’s go way back to the early 2000-naughts when a girl with twin tails moves from Nagoya to Tokyo in order to pursue a career as an idol and model. Her agent comes up with the idea of putting her into an idol punk pop band called Pink*Panda because she knows a bit of bass guitar. But there she soon realizes that her ambitions are bigger than being the background pony in a group that holds her back artistically. When she meets up with an old school friend (also a bass player…) they decide to give it one more go. In 2009 they start the band Gacharic Spin.
They perform some odd side activities, like hosting a TV show in Hiroshima and coaching AKB-48 members. Somehow they get the opportunity to go touring in France, but at that exact moment their vocalist becomes ill. So Koga (bass), Hana (drums) and Tomo-zo (guitar) recruit keyboardist Oreo Reona, a former band mate of Tomo-zo, to accompany them on their foreign adventure. Oreo and Hana share the vocal duties, which leads to a bit of a challenge: they’re both stuck behind their instruments, often at the back of the stage. So, in a next expansion of the band in 2013, they get two dancers involved. Yes, the dancers Arisu and Mai are fully fledged band members, not just background additions. Or as they say it themselves, “we’re that band with dancers”.
In case you haven’t noticed by now, this is not your average band. They have two cheerleaders firing up the audience and the dynamics between the band members result in some hilarious anecdotes. So let’s focus on Oreo here… In this set-up she gets plenty of room to do her goofy things. Standing on her keyboard while playing is just the beginning. She’s on the receiving end of an elastic band gag. Then she joins in on a triple instrument spin in “Hunting summer” and tops it off with a keyboard duel with Nenne (Arisu’s replacement in 2015) playing on each other’s backs. Then she wears a hamburger suit as stage costume for an entire year while at the same time being responsible for the “sexy” factor in the band. If that is my least favorite member of the group, then you get an idea of how awesome Gacharic Spin is.
So they also have F Chopper KOGA, a bass player who is a full rhythm section by herself and in my humble opinion the best bass player around. Not just the best Japanese bassist, or female bassist, nope… the whole planet. Then there’s the blue haired (…) drummer Hana who sings and then casually switches to guitar in v5.0 of this band’s changing line-up in 2019. On the other (first) guitar it’s Tomo-zo who in her pink and cute outfits does not really strike you as an old school hard rock player with some nice metalic elements. Together with Oreo they have formed the core of the band since 10 years back. Nowadays the line-up is completed by Yuri on drums and Angelina 1/3 on vocals, the latter being a high school recruit almost 15 years younger than the rest.
It’s difficult to describe Gacharic Spin’s music, but it’s easy to love it. It’s pop, it’s catchy, but it has hard rock and metal elements as well as thick layers of synth and keys. There’s a huge variety in vocal styles, including rapping. But to me it’s Koga’s super funky bass slapping that defines the sound. Take a song like “Sekira liar” as an example. That intro gets me going whenever I hear it and it still works after hundreds of times. Or a more recent song like “Frustration” or the reaction video YouTuber favorite “I wish I”. There’s so much going on in different layers, but it’s definitely not shoe gazing math rock. On the contrary, their live’s are an explosion of joy where audience participation is an important ingredient in the Gacha experience.
Any clever conclusion to this article? Nope. Just go out there and explore the wonder of Gacharic Spin and not-my-oshimen Oreo Reona…