Hi-STANDARD

The wickedly original Japanese punk revival band Hi-Standard were formed in 1991 by guitarist/vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:4pPZ7nNH108ax8A1sjxfpX">Ken Yokoyama</a>, bassist/vocalist Akihiro Nanba, and drummer Akira Tsuneoka. The bandmembers made a name for themselves in their native Japan in early 1992 when they released Growing Up on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Toy%27s+Factory+Records%22">Toy's Factory Records</a>. They were soon brought to the attention of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fat+Wreck+Chords%22">Fat Wreck Chords</a> owner <a href="spotify:artist:30fdKm6MAgbb1V2bA1rRT1">Fat Mike</a>, who licensed the album to his own label for sale in America. A mixture of irreverence and impressive talent, Growing Up was highly lauded by many American reviewers. The group responded by touring heavily in promotion and releasing a string of 7" singles, including one split single with fellow <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fat%22">Fat</a> recording artists <a href="spotify:artist:3bnjnDR8RpA8FA4yZpND07">WIZO</a>.

In the summer of 1997, Hi-Standard released Angry Fist, their second full-length album. Although the band had opted to replace the irreverence of Growing Up with caustic, sarcastic humor, the music remained much the same: friendly, talented, and accessible. Most of 1997 and 1998 was spent touring America with <a href="spotify:artist:4S2yOnmsWW97dT87yVoaSZ">NOFX</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3IargnqMQ4MhndgbiPlAXp">Jersey</a>. In early 1999, Hi-Standard returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Toy%27s+Factory%22">Toy's Factory</a> to produce their third album, Making the Road, and two years later they released the Love Is a Battlefield EP.

Shortly after the the EP's release, Hi-Standard announced they would be going on hiatus, with each of the bandmembers moving on to new projects. The group reconvened in 2011 for a one-off show, and again in 2012. Three years later, they headlined the Japanese edition of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fat+Wreck+Chords%22">Fat Wreck Chords</a>' 25th anniversary show in Tokyo, and in 2017 they released the four-song Another Starting Line EP, their first collection of new music in 15 years. Drummer Akira Tsuneoka died after a brief illness on February 14, 2023, at the age of 51. ~ David Cornelius, Rovi