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Born and raised in Japan, post-grunge influenced singer and songwriter Koji Tamura met guitarist Katsumi Yokota in 2003. The two bonded together over their similar taste in music, and started working together on their songs. Soon after this fated pairing the two went on to play acoustic gigs at small bars and live houses in Tokyo under the name 'Dogs'. The persona fit perfectly, being taken from several famous songs of their favorite Grunge bands including Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. (You know which songs we're talking about.)

As stated, Dogs' songs are heavily influenced by the Grunge and Alternative bands from the 90’s era in America, with some hits of Hard Rock and other genres too. At the time it seemed to Dogs this type of style was so out of fashion with the music scene as a whole in Japan. Their songs are written by Koji - who spent his youth working in the US military base in Japan, had lived in Los Angeles for 3 months, and also dated a girl from Canada at the time - and are entirely with English lyrics, which made it difficult for them to obtain other band members in Japan. Therefore, Dogs had to endure nearly two years before finally finding a suitable drummer and bass guitarist.

Growing to be a four member band for the first time, Dogs started playing gigs in slightly bigger live houses and bars in and around the Tokyo area. Among the indie field they quickly became well-known for their energetic, charismatic, and genuine live performances.

Soon after a few growing pains of some member changes, they settled with drummer Atsunori Ito and bassist Tetsuya Kayanuma. At this point they changed the band name from Dogs to D.O.G.S., containing the same pronunciation and meaning, and then went into the recording studio in the summer of 2006. During this session, with recording engineer Leon McCormick, they laid down thirteen tracks and self-released their first album, “Out Of the Prison”.

So come see it for yourself - you will find their struggle, pain, loneliness, anger and hope in these songs. Which may not be new themes in this world, but you will see that they are not copies or rip-offs of anyone. It's real – encompassing a heart, soul, will, and voice - that you can't ignore.

It’s damn catchy too and purely rocks!!

Keep your on eyes on this young band from Japan; they'll come to take revenge on Seattle one day.
--2008, Written by Koji Tamura

How did D.O.G.S. start?
The band officially began February/March, 2005 and has been creating music ever since. Over the past year, the band has gone through quite a few member changes, but it has all been in the quest of the perfect sound for D.O.G.S.

Why start a band?
D.O.G.S.'s music is written in an attempt to communicate with the world around them. It is commonly thought that through music a person's innermost feelings can more readily be expressed and shown. Thus the members of D.O.G.S. wish that with music, they can communicate what otherwise would be left unknown to the rest of the world. It all comes down to the fact that the members of D.O.G.S. love music whether it be creating, jamming, recording, or performing.

What do D.O.G.S. sound like?
There is a warm familiarity to their sound but at the same time there is also a unique quality that can't be pinned down. Many of their songs are quite catchy; after only hearing the songs a few times, don't be surprised if you start humming a line or two! It is very hard to put an exact description to it, but if you listen to a few of the older grunge bands you'll get an idea of what they sound like.

D.O.G.S.'s song "Hold On" has been featured on the soundtrack of the independent film, "Life". This soundtrack also contains songs from acclaimed groups/artists such as Tony Cartwright, an American singer/producer, and Ayabie, an up and coming Visual Kei band. A description of D.O.G.S. and their sound can be found on the film's website (http://www.starforest.com/life/music/dogs.html).

Feel free to join D.O.G.S. in their quest to communicate to the rest of the world.
--2006, Written by J.G. (who's kinda been there since the beginning)

Koji Tamura's rare sharp voice and the melancholy words makes this band one of the most anticipated post-grunge bands to emerge from the Tokyo rock scene.