Birth name Hiroshi Tomioka Instruments Vocalsguitar | Genres Punk rock Years active 1985-present Genre Punk rock | |
 | ||
Born 14 September 1964 (age 52) ( 1964-09-14 ) Occupation(s) Musicianrecord producermanager Similar Taiji Sawada, hide, IKUO, Hiroshi Sato | ||
Hiroshi Tomioka (Japanese: 冨岡裕, Hepburn: Tomioka Hiroshi), better known by his stage name Dynamite Tommy, is a Japanese musician, record producer and businessman. He first rose to prominence as vocalist of the punk rock band Color in the late-1980s and early-1990s, but now predominantly works behind the scenes running his record label Free-Will.
Contents
Career
Dynamite Tommy formed the punk rock band Color in 1985, for which he was initially the guitarist before quickly taking over the role of vocalist. In 1986, Tommy formed the independent record label Free-Will to distribute his band's work. It is one of two labels credited with helping to spread Japan's visual kei movement. It has also been a major contributor in spreading modern visual kei outside Japan.
During a break in Color activities in 1992, Tommy teamed up with Kenzi of the recently disbanded Kamaitachi to form Sister's No Future.
In 2008, Tommy wrote and directed the music film Attitude, with various Japanese rock artists from the 1970s-1990s appearing as themselves. Tommy called in Taiji and Tatsu (Gastunk) to help with the film's music and, after later recruiting Kenzi, this led to the creation of The Killing Red Addiction. The group made its debut at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles on June 22, 2009. They released a cover of Gastunk's "Devil" on iTunes on January 13, 2010.
Among the artists Tommy has produced include Dir en Grey, Phantasmagoria, Miyavi, and The Gazette. He has also been involved in the formation of fashion brands DIRT (produced by Toshiya of Dir en Grey) and KOMACHI 2266531 Dark Lolita (a gothic lolita line designed by Dada of Velvet Eden). He also wrote the screenplay to Miyavi's film Oresama and produced the 2001 anime adaptation of Grappler Baki.
Personal life
Despite having been in the business for over three decades, Tommy has said that he does not even like music, explaining that he only enjoys the dynamics of being in a band. In 2016, he stated that he has no plans to return to musical activities. As a big fan of soccer, Tommy has obtained a level-2 coaching license and founded the UEFA Style Football Academy for children in Tamagawa.
As the president of Free-Will, Tommy was one of three people arrested for fraud on September 14, 2007. The trio were accused of defrauding the Asatsu-DK advertising agency of 324 million yen (approximately US$2.8 million) by placing false orders for materials for the band Dir en Grey.