Home Made Kazoku
Biography. Home Made Kazoku is a trio, consisting of members Micro, Kuro, and DJ U-Ichi. The band was originally formed in 1996 under a different name. The band was in a state of flux with regard to membership until 2001, when they settled on becoming a trio with the name Home Made Kazoku. From 2001 to 2003, the band performed in various Nagoya nightclubs. In early 2004, the band was chosen to be part of a country-wide tour known as the Japan Club Tour. During the tour, the trio gained a large portion of their  Japanese fanbase, and were also signed on by the recording company, Ki/oon Records. Vocalists Micro and Kuro are originally from the United States. Micro spent a portion of his childhood in Kentucky, while Kuro stated that he lived in the U.S. until he was twelve in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after being signed on by a recording company, the group released an album containing the song "Home Sweet Home (Reborn)," which became one of the most requested songs on Japanese radio stations for the rest of the year. In July 2004, Home Made Kazoku released their first single, "Summer Time  Magic." "Summer Time Magic" ranked 15th on the Oricon record charts for nearly 10 weeks. After a series of singles, including "Thank You!!", which was used as the second ending theme for the anime "Bleach," and "Shōnen Heart," as well as the second opening theme for the anime "Eureka Seven", the band's first full-length album was released "Rock the World". "Rock the World" entered the Oricon charts. The record was in fifth place on the Oricon chart for its first week, and would stay in top 20 for the next eight weeks. "Rock the World" sold 191,744 copies  and became the 78th best selling album of 2005. After their first album, the group went on several tours and concomitantly released several singles. They also released their second and third albums, "Musication" and "Familia". Of special note, tickets to their second tour were sold out within the span of one hour, a record in Japanese music. In January 2007, it was announced that they would perform the first ending theme to the anime "Naruto: Shippūden" entitled "Nagareboshi Shooting Star" which entered the Oricon charts at 10th place. One of the member, Micro, was featured on the Abingdon Boys School  song "Lost Reason" as it appeared on their self-titled album. Home Made Kazoku has performed for a promotional commercial for a product called "Walky Walky" with their song "Easy Walk". In addition, Home Made Kazoku's single, "No Rain No Rainbow", is the movie theme for the second Naruto Shippūden movie. In 2011, Home Made Kazoku returned to Naruto Shippuden for the third time with the song "FREEDOM", which was the 17th ending theme. The band played their first show in the US at Otakon 2010 in Baltimore, MD, and returned for Otakon 2013 alongside T.M. Revolution. Their official  blog stated in August 2016 that the trio will go on indefinite hiatus by the end of the year. According to the comment by group member Micro, the group is taking a hiatus to "grow individually and take on new challenges." The group's three members will then pursue solo careers. Style. Home Made Kazoku usually displays a very up-beat mood in their music, sometimes described by fans as "feel-good music". The pace of the songs may vary from moderately slow and calm to moderately fast and energetic. Following a trend within Japanese pop, the group makes use  of English phrases within the music. This use is rather extensive, as nearly every song contains some amount of English. Most songs utilize the language in the refrain as well as in isolated instances throughout a song. The subject matter of the music usually concerns love, family, peace, harmonious communication with others, fun, and summer festivities. Additionally, most of the music videos seem to take place in the spring or summer, hearkening back to their up-beat mood and liveliness. When asked what they want listeners to take away from hearing their music, they responded saying that no matter where  you come from or the color of your skin, we are all one big family. When asked which American artist they would most like to collaborate with, the group showed interest primarily in hip-hop and pop artists. Micro would most like to work with The Black Eyed Peas, Kuro with Stevie Wonder and U-ICHI with Jay-Z.