Gacharic Spin (ガチャリック スピン) is an all-female Japanese rock band. It has evolved over time into a six-piece outfit composed of a bassist, drummer, guitarist, two vocalists, and keyboard player (that's the simple description, anyway). They are noted for their colorful and high energy shows, and for their flexibility in changing up bad roles as needed.
The band name is a play on the Japanese onomatopoeia "gachapon" (ガシャポン), referring to capsule toy vending machines (and also the toys from them), and specifically the "gacha" sound of the cranks on the machines - a loud clattering sound. This is one hint that their concerts are not what you'd call sedate affairs. The dancers are known as the Gacha Gacha Dancers.
The band was formed in 2009 when F Chopper KOGA (bass) left her previous band THE PINK★PANDA due to artistic differencesnote . She recruited an old school friend, Hana as a drummer (and background vocalist), and then through auditions the group gained a guitarist (EITA) and a vocalist (Armmy). EITA left after a few months for unspecified reasons, and was replaced by TOMO-ZO (formerly of Eu Phoria). This lineup released a few singles and a mini-album (Virgin-A).
In 2012 Armmy was diagnosed with a serious long-term illness, which forced her to leave the band. The timing was unfortunate, as they were about to start on another tour. Rather than cancel, they did the tour relying more heavily on Hana as a singer, and a variety of guest vocalists (notably including Fuki from the band Light Bringer). Their occasional keyboard player (Oreo Reona, also formerly of Eu Phoria) also became a full member of the band at this time, and also contributed backing vocals. After the tour they decided that rather than look for another vocalist, Hana would take over main vocals with Oreo as backing vocals (with occasional contributions from the other members). With this lineup they released their first full album, Delicious.
At this time they also did a notable side project with Fuki called Doll$Boxx. As this unit they wrote and released an album, DOLLS APARTMENT, which covers a slightly wider range of genres than Gacharic Spin - all the way from pop-rock to thrash metal. Live Doll$Boxx performances tend to happen when Gacharic Spin and Fuki can arrange to play on the same bill (with Light Bringer before their breakup, and then with the Fuki Commune), and are much anticipated by the fanbase.
Although having Hana and Oreo handle vocals worked well, this left the burden of providing movement and engaging the audience to Koga and Tomo-Zo, which is not easy while trying to play complicated bass or guitar passages. At one show they tried adding a dancer (Mai, who Koga knew through family friends). The audience reaction was very positive to this, and so in 2013 Mai and another dancer (Arisa) were added as Performer #1 and #2, also known as the Gacha Gacha Dancers. With this lineup they released their second album Winner in 2014.
After Winner, they transferred from their indie label to a major (Victor Entertainment) and released the compilation album Gachatto Best 2010-2014.In 2015 Arisa left the band to concentrate on her schoolwork, and was replaced by Nenne (as Performer #3). This lineup released two further albums, Music Battler (2015) and Kakujitsu Hendo -Kakuhen- (2016).
Nenne experienced sudden hearing loss in 2017, and went on hiatus. After a few months of treatment she still had limited hearingnote , and was at risk of future hearing loss with exposure to loud noises, so decided to leave the band in August 2017.
Mai decided to graduate from the band at the end of 2018 to pursue a different path (so far unspecified, but not involving music according to Koga).
In 2019, the band underwent another restructuring with Hana being moved to vocals and guitar, while new members Angelina 1/3 and yuri were added as a "mic performer" (doing chanting parts and MCing for stage performances) and drums respectively. The band's first album with the new lineup was Gold Dash in 2020. In 2021, the band released their first self-produced album Gacharic Spin, featuring Angelina prominently as a second vocalist, with future releases shifting her more towards the primary vocalist.
The current members are:
- F-Chopper Koga (F チョッパー KOGA)
- bass, bandleader
- 2009-present (founder member)
- Hana (はな)
- vocals, guitar, drums
- 2009-present (founder member)
- TOMO-ZO
- guitar, vocals
- 2009-present
- Oreo Reona (オレオレオナ)
- keyboard, vocals
- 2012-present
- Angelina 1/3 (アンジェリーナ1/3)
- vocals
- 2019-present
- yuri
- drums
- 2019-present
Past members:
- EITA
- Guitar
- 2009 (founder member)
- Armmy
- Costume: Red
- Vocals
- 2009-2012 (founder member, died 2015)
- Arisa (ありさ)
- Costume: Green
- Dancer (Performer #2)
- 2013–2015
- Nenne (ねんね)
- Costume: Orange
- Dancer, keyboards (Performer #3)
- 2015–2017
- Mai (まい)
- Costume: Light Blue
- dancer, vocals (performer #1)
- 2013-2018
Prior to the band's restructuring in 2019, the primary vocalists were Hana, Oreo, or TOMO-ZO depending on the songnote , but post-restructuring the role has primarily shifted to Angelina. However, the group is generally known for its flexibility, with Hana sometimes playing bass (and resuming her role on drums when yuri temporarily went on hiatus due to pregnancy) while Oreo and TOMO-ZO still provide vocals on occasion. And that's before you get into all the subunits and collaborations!
Discography
Singles
- Lock On!! (March 5, 2010)
- Hunting Summer (ハンティングサマー, June 2, 2010)
- Yukinaku ~Setsunaku~ Melody (雪泣く〜setsunaku〜メロディー, September 6, 2010)
- Nudie Rhythm (ヌーディリズム, June 27, 2012)
- Boku Dake no Cinderella (僕だけのシンデレラ, March 19, 2014)
- Sekira Liar/Tokenai Candy (赤裸ライアー/溶けないCANDY, February 25, 2015)
- Don't Let Me Down (May 27, 2015)
- Shakishaki Shite/Arubusu no Shōjo (シャキシャキして!!/アルブスの少女, June 22, 2016)
- Generation Gap (ジェネレーションギャップ, September 6, 2017)
- MindSet (June 9, 2021)
Albums
- Virgin-A (May 25, 2011, mini-album)
- Delicious (March 6, 2013)
- Winner (April 9, 2014)
- Gachatto Best 2010–2014 (ガチャっとBEST＜2010 - 2014＞, October 1, 2014)
- Music Battler (September 30, 2015)
- Kakujitsu Hendo -Kakuhen- (確実変動 -KAKUHEN-, September 7, 2016)
- G-litter (April 11, 2018)
- Gacha10 Best (ガチャっ10BEST; March 27, 2019)
- Gold Dash (March 11, 2020)
- Gacharic Spin (September 8, 2021)
- W (July 5, 2023)
DVD's/Blu-Rays
- Gacharic Spin Live & Lesson (April 3, 2011)
- Gacharic Spin 1st Anniversary Live –Shogeki! Shogeki? Show Geki– Kanzenban (Gacharic Spin 1st Anniversary LIVE〜衝撃!笑撃?SHOW劇〜完全版, April 13, 2011)
- Delicious Live DVD (October 23, 2013)
- Delicious Live DVD Limited Edition -Kanōnakagiri Tsumekomimashita- (Delicious Tour DVD 限定盤〜可能な限り詰め込みました〜, November 20, 2013)
- Gachallenge Final!! 2014 -Odaiba Kesshou Sen- (ガチャレンジFINAL!! 2014〜お台場決勝戦〜, March 25, 2015)
- Sekira Liar Tour Final -Shibuya Public Hall- (赤裸ライアーTOUR FINAL!!!〜渋谷公会堂〜, December 16, 2015)
- What! Seventh Anniversary!!!!!!! TOUR FINAL (な・な・なんと7周年!!!!!!! TOUR FINAL, February 22, 2017)
- The Tour Never Ends 2018 FINAL ~Don't Do This at Home, Kids~ (TOUR 止まらない 2018 FINAL ～良い子(415)は真似しないでネ～, August 29, 2018)
- LIVE Blu-ray "The Super Best Ever 10th Anniversary Special Live!! (LIVE Blu-ray『最高最強伝説-10th Anniversary Special Live!!-』, January 22, 2020)
Gacharic Spin contains examples of
- Auto-Tune: Used for effect in some songs - particularly Juicy Beats.
- The Baby of the Bunch: This was the case for the Gacha Gacha Dancers (who were high school-aged when brought into the band) but especially applies to Angie, who was 17 when she joined the band and proceeded to be doted on by all of the others in livestreams. The band even held a special show to celebrate her turning 20 (the age of legal adulthood in Japan).
- Catchphrase
- Oreo Reona: SEXYYY! (and also Armmy previously - Oreo took over the character to a certain extent)
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Many of the stage costumes prior to their 2019 restructuring.
- Koga: Yellow
- Hana: Blue
- Tomo-Zo: Pink (very, very pink)
- Oreo: Purple
- Mai: Light Blue
- Nenne: Orange
- Arisa: Green
- Crossdresser: Hana in particular tends to dress 'boyish', and in the video and TV performances of Boku Dake no Cinderella she gets the full Regency outfit (well sort of - they probably didn't have tight leather trousers back then...). In the same video Koga and Arisa also get the leather trouser rock god treatment. This became a little less prominent after the 2019 restructuring since the band stopped using consistent costumes, but Hana continues to wear the least overtly feminine clothing compared to others like Tomo or Yuri.
- Fanservice
- Armmy - short skirts, crop tops, and the attitude to make full use of them.
- Oreo - takes it over the top with the neon brassiere.
- The video for Nudie Rhythm. Lots of suggestive silhouettes.
- Gratuitous English: As with a lot of Japanese music, there tends to be a fair number of English phrases thrown into the mix.
- Hidden Track: The album 確実変動 -KAKUHEN- has an unlisted track 77 (at least on the CD).
- Lead Bassist: Koga, as the founder and leader of the band.
- Re-release the Song: The album Gachatto Best contains re-recordings of selected songs up to 2014. This was their major label debut (Victor Entertainment).
- The Band Minus the Face: After Armmy left, a good amount of the band's constant changing of roles happened due to the band lacking a consistent vocalist. As the leader, Koga would be the closest to filling the role of the face, but because the band's two most consistent vocalists (Hana and Oreo) were usually in the back playing drums and keyboard, the Gacha Gacha Dancers were brought on to bring out a little more stage presence in front. After all three dancers retired from the band and the band's subsequent restructuring, Angie has been slowly starting to be the closest to the face of the band in terms of stage and media presence (to the point the video for Forever 9teen
doesn't show any of the other band members), but she still continues to share the vocalist role with Hana, and the band continues its practice of shuffling roles around when needed.
