The Oranges Band

The Oranges, from Tokyo, Japan, formed in 1997. A few years earlier, lead vocalist/guitarist Jeff Orange had decided to name his next band after the Anthony Burgess novel Clockwork Orange (and the motion picture directed by Stanley Kubrick). The irony of the moniker, of course, is that instead of being a dark, violent-themed hard rock act -- keeping in mind the subject matter of the movie/book -- the Oranges play glam and bubblegum pop music that is a direct throwback to bands and artists of the '70s; the Bay City Rollers, Suzi Quatro, and Kiss are just a few of their biggest influences, not to mention the Beatles, the Monkees, and Japanese GS (a blend of traditional Japanese pop tunes and Western standards from the 1960s).

By the time they'd formed, the members -- Jeff Orange, bassist Robin Orange, guitarist/vocalist Nelo Orange, and drummer Pea Orange -- were all seasoned veterans. Jeff Orange's last band, a Japanese power pop Who-influenced band called the Shamrocks, had released six albums and 11 EPs (on two different record labels, Epic/Sony and Pony Canyon) in Japan, in fact; and bassist Robin was a former member of Kusu Kusu, who were big enough of a group that they sold out the Budokan Hall. The Oranges recorded a seven-song EP, Balloon, for Glam Rock Records, before issuing two EPs and two full-length albums for Rabbit Records in 1999-2000. Afterwards, they came to the attention of the newly formed Smile Records, a pop label formed in L.A. by Tony Valenziano (of the Stand). For their American debut, Smile -- which is distributed by Image Entertainment, one of the leading distributors of videos/DVDs -- re-released the Oranges' Young Now! USA on June 25, 2002. ~ Bryan Thomas, Rovi...

READ MORE