Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z performing at the Asian Heritage celebration in New York; left to right: Peelander Pink, Peelander Yellow and Peelander Green
Background information
Origin	Japan (band members) Buffalo, New York (band)
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Eat Rice Swell Geykido Comet Chicken Ranch
Members	Kengo Hioki (Peelander Yellow) Yumiko Kanazaki (Peelander Pink)
Past members	Kazuki Yamamoto (Peelander Blue) Kotaro Tsukada (Peelander Red) Akihiko Naruse Testuya Hayakawa (Peelander Black) Akiteru Ito (Peelander Purple) Ryo Tanaka (Peelander Green)
Website	Official Website

Peelander-Z is a Japanese-American punk rock band formed in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. They bill themselves as a "Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander". While the founding members of Peelander-Z were all born in Japan, they first met and formed their band while living in Buffalo, NY.^[1] The original three members of the band were billed as Peelander Yellow, Peelander Red, and Peelander Blue. Later members of the band have adopted the same naming structure, with mostly different colors, although one name, Peelander Green, has been used by two different drummers.

They perform on stage and appear in color-coordinated costumes, which they state are not costumes, but their skin. The costumes range from sentai style suits, to kimono, to rubber Playmobil style wigs. There is also a tiger costume and a giant squid/guitar costume to coincide with the song "Mad Tiger". Another aspect of their routine is their on-stage antics such as human bowling (diving head-first into bowling pins), pretending to hit each other with chairs in imitation of pro-wrestlers, and mid-performance piggyback rides. They often allow audience members on stage to join in on the fun, and often dive into the audience or hang from a balcony as part of their act.

History

In 1999 the band released a mini album on Eat Rice Records. The band was also featured on an episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade on Comedy Central.^[2]

In 2001 Peelander-Z released their first full-length album, "Rocket Gold Star," on Eat Rice Records. The band remained active that year, touring both Canada and Japan.^[3]

In June 2008, Peelander Blue announced he would be leaving the group to "go back to the Peelander-planet" because he is "a prince of P-Planet" and the "P-King will be retiring." (P-Blue was getting married and could no longer tour.) In July 2008, Peelander-Z welcomed Peelander-Green.

On September 17, 2012, Peelander-Red announced he would be leaving the band at the end of their U.S. tour. He left the band to open up his own bar in New York. Peelander-Purple, Akiteru Ito, joined the band as his replacement in February 2013.

In late 2013, Peelander Green left the band and has since been replaced by several temporary members, including Becoming the Archetype drummer Chris Heaton.^[4] He was later replaced by Ryo Tanaka, formerly of the Japanese band Spica.^[5] Tanaka left the band some time later.

Videos surfacing from 2015 live concerts show Peelander-Z performing as only a three-piece band with Yellow on Guitar, Green on drums and Pink on bass.^[6]

In 2016, Film Movement released Mad Tiger, the feature documentary film about the band's inner turmoil during and after Peelander-Red's departure, and leading into Peelander-Green's departure. The film was in production from 2012 to 2015 and was directed by Jonathan Yi and Michael Haertlein. The film revealed that Hioki and Kanazaki were married.

Peelander-Z released an album titled Go PZ Go on April 6, 2018.

The band canceled a planned 2020 tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ito left the band in 2022.^[7]

Members

• Kengo Hioki (a.k.a. Peelander Yellow) - lead vocals and guitar
• Yumiko Kanazaki (a.k.a. Peelander Pink) - keyboards, bass, and flashlight

Discography

Stage Act

Peelander-Z with Esther Ku and audience member playing the guitar and bass

Peelander-Z has a complex stage act, which involves hand-written signs, costumes, and audience participation. The signs often contain the lyrics to their songs. At some of their shows they also bring people from outside of the band on stage to play their instruments as they do a stage act.

Wrestling

Professional wrestling is a big theme in Peelander-Z's personas. Peelander Blue dresses in pro-wrestling garb, including a replica wrestling belt. All 3 members of the group are fans of professional wrestling, and are friends with independent wrestlers "M-Dogg 20" Matt Cross and Josh Prohibition. They have also been musically featured with pro-wrestling related Kaiju Big Battel.

On June 23, 2007, the group performed at The Florida Supercon in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. During their concert, pro-wrestler Nick Mayberry rushed the stage and threatened to assault the group. The trio were able to fight back, and both Peelander Blue and Peelander Red pinned Mayberry simultaneously - being named new co-HCW Hardcore Champions. This was their first pro-wrestling Title win.

On November 3, 2007, Mayberry appeared again with the group at the JaniCon in Jacksonville, Florida. He again made his way to the stage during their concert, assaulting the band and re-gaining HCW's Hardcore Championship, before being taken down by a chairshot from Peelander Blue. Peelander Blue, Peelander Red and Peelander Pink pinned Mayberry simultaneously, with all 3 being named co-HCW Hardcore Champions. It marks their second pro-wrestling Title victory.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peelander-Z.

• Official website
• Mad Tiger
• GC Records
• Peelander-Z interview on Brightest Young Things
• Peelander-Z interview on Karaterice
• Peelander-Z interview on Razorcake
• Peelander-Z interview on SparkPlugged
• Peelander-Z interview at J-Pop World