Snowkel

Snowkel were a Japanese band mixing traditional guitar J-pop and elements of Pixies-like alt-rock who won some recognition with their songs for anime series, most notably the ultra-popular Naruto, but split up after sticking around for less than a decade. The trio was formed by Shinya Nishimura (vocals/guitar), Masami Kabamura (bass), and Masato Yamada (drums), and went the usual route for young bands, playing local clubs -- in their case, in Fukuoka -- and selling their own CDs at the shows. They also won an audience award at a local music contest in 2004. Snowkel released tw...