Munetaka Higuchi | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Davy |
| Born | (1958-12-24)December 24, 1958 Nara, Japan |
| Origin | Osaka, Japan |
| Died | November 30, 2008(2008-11-30) (aged 49) Osaka, Japan |
| Genres | Heavy metal,rock |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer, record producer |
| Years active | 1973–2008 |
| Formerly of | |
Munetaka Higuchi (樋口 宗孝,Higuchi Munetaka) (December 24, 1958 – November 30, 2008) was a Japanese musician and record producer. He is best known as the original drummer of theheavy metal bandLoudness, but first rose to prominence as a member ofLazy in the 1970s.
From a young age, he was considered a talented drummer. During his high school years, Higuchi played in seven bands. But he was not happy with this situation, wanting to focus his time on only one band. At this point, schoolmate and future bandmateAkira Takasaki came along and they formedLazy.[1] Lazy was formed by very young musicians and started playing easy-listeningpop-rock, that slowly progressed to more complex music. Higuchi was identified in the band by the moniker "Davy".[2]
When he and Takasaki shifted their musical interests tohard rock andheavy metal, they foundedLoudness in 1981.[1] During his time with Loudness, Higuchi released his first solo album,Destruction, in 1983.[3] In the same year he produced and played drums onMari Hamada's studio albumsLunatic Doll andRomantic Night.[4] He left Loudness in 1992, and resumed his solo career in the late-1990s, working also on side projects, includingSly (with former Loudness' singerMinoru Niihara),[5]Bloodcircus, Rose of Rose, and the Rock 'n' Roll Standard Club Band, besides collaborating with dozens of Japanese artists, both as producer and as drummer.
In 1997, as "Munetaka Higuchi & Dream Castle", he released the albumFree World. The band featured many famous musicians from the jazz and rock/metal spheres, likeSteve Vai,Stanley Clarke,Billy Sheehan,Ty Tabor,Terry Bozzio,T. M. Stevens,Ronnie James Dio,Richie Kotzen,Paulinho Da Costa and others.[6] The album was released on February 21, 1997, in Japan.[7] In 1998, he producedCozy Powell Forever ~ Tribute to Cozy Powell,[8] a tribute album to the recently deceased drummerCozy Powell, very popular in Japan. For the album, Higuchi had the collaboration of the best Japanese heavy metal musicians and was able to reunite his former bandmates of Loudness.[9] A tour in support of the album was made with musicians from Loudness and Sly.[10]
He returned to Loudness in 2000, maintaining his high profile in the metal genre.
On April 14, 2008, just two months after Loudness released the album,Metal Mad, it was announced that he was diagnosed withhepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer.[11] On November 30, 2008, Munetaka died at the age of 49 in a hospital in Osaka, Japan.[12] His death had a vast echo in Japanese media and in the entertainment business.[13]
Higuchi endorsedPearl Drums,Sabian Cymbals,Remo drumheads andVic Firth drumsticks.
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