Number Girl

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Number Girl was formed in Fukuoka in 1995 by when Mukai Shutoku, who was a solo artist at that time and had been briefly involved in the band Number Five. When he found that his new members had previously been in a band called Cowgirl, he combined the names to Number Girl.

Number Girl's initial style was a brand of indie rock influenced by 70s punk bands such as the Ramones, as well as more contemporary bands such as the Pixies. Their most distinctive trait was Shutoku's vocal style, a combination of shaky singing, aggressive growls and screams, as well as rapping.

The initial band members were quickly replaced or left the group and so Shutoku invited bassist Nakao Kentarou to join him. He was followed by guitarist Tabuchi, who Nakao had met when she was in a band with Shiina Ringo called Cosmic Cherry. Mukai convinced fellow Fukuoka musician, Inazawa Ahito, to join the band.

In 1996 and 1997 they hosted their own monthly event called Chelsea Q in which they performed with bands such as Panic Smile. After self-releasing a few cassettes and appearing on a couple of compilations, their first full-length studio album, School Girl Bye Bye in 1997 on independent label Automatic Kiss.

A year later, Number Girl played their first Tokyo based concert series and made their first trip to America. Toumei Shoujo was released on EMI, followed by their first major label album School Girl Distortional Addict.

In 2000, Number Girl went into the studio with producer Dave Fridmann and released their third full length studio album, Sappukei. They then embarked on a brief US tour with Polysics.

After a year of touring, Number Girl returned to the studio and released what would become their final studio album, Num-Heavymetallic. They set out again on tour, playing over thirty dates. On 20 September 2002, Number Girl announced their break up. They played their final show in November 2002 in Sapporo.

The band members went on to other projects; Nakao supported Spiral Chord before joining Sloth Love Chunks. Hisako became a member of Bloodthirsty Butchers and also formed her own band, Toddle. Mukai continued performing as a solo artist and formed a new band, Zazen Boys, with drummer Inazawa. In 2005, Inazawa left Zazen Boys to form Vola and the Oriental Machine