Pre EES
Akihito Morimoto, known as 'Aki' (guitar and vocals) and Kazuto Maekawa (bass) first met at High School in Osaka. Aki learned English from the lyrics of bands he liked. Akihito Morimoto and Kazuto Maekawa first formed an 80s metal cover band in High School called Caducious.
Morimoto and Maekawa first tasted commercial success after moving to Tokyo and playing as guitarist and bassist in a five-piece pop rock band. Morimoto later said that one of the main reasons for this band's demise was that they acted on everything that they were told, and as a result soon became directionless. It was this lesson that helped form the attitude of Electric Eel Shock – that musicians should listen to the views of others, but that learn from their own mistakes.
After the demise of this band, Morimoto and Maekawa stayed in Tokyo. Morimoto followed his passion of fishing and became a competition angler (he still writes for Japan's largest fishing magazine, Basser Magazine) and Maekawa joined The Apollos (a well-known Japanese funk band) as session bassist. Maekawa's low-slung bass and unkempt appearance was at odds with The Apollos' suited and polished image, and meant that his time in this role was short lived. However, Maekawa left a lasting impression on their drummer, Tomoharu Ito (known as Gian, due to his similar appearance to a well-known Japanese comedian of that name). Gian, who had a day job making false teeth, was soon introduced to Morimoto, and the three started practicing together shortly afterwards.
Read more about this topic: Electric Eel Shock