The story behind Gellers seems like the stuff of made-for-TV movies. A bunch of kids meet one another on the outskirts of the city, and eventually form a band. They stick together and, despite a few setbacks, release an album and tour the country as adults. There are no scripts to be found here, though.
"Everyone has known each other since childhood," says Kenichi Kawasoe, vocalist and guitarist for Gellers.
Kawasoe says the Tokyo quintet formed over a shared interest in punk group The Blue Hearts during junior high school. It took a few years for the final lineup to shake out, but today Gellers features burgeoning indie star Shugo Tokumaru. The band recently released "Guatemala," a mini-album, and will play shows in three of Japan's biggest cities in late May and early June.