http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/GacharicSpin

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 five-piece outfit composed of a bassist, drummer, guitarist, keyboard player and dancer (that's the simple description, anyway). They are noted for their colorful and high energy shows.

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.

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The band was formed in 2009 when F Chopper KOGA (bass) left her previous band THE PINK★PANDA due to artistic differencesnote The remaining members reformed as B Li STAR and went in a more 'pop' direction. 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.

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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.

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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 nothing above 4kHz, 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).

The current members are:

F Chopper Koga (F チョッパー KOGA) Costume: Yellow, usually long shorts bass, bandleader 2009-present (founder member)

Hana (はな) Costume: Blue, trousers, occasional cowbell hat drums, vocals 2009-present (founder member)

Tomo-Zo Costume: Pink, fluffy dresses, goofy hats guitar, vocals 2009-present

Oreo Reona (オレオレオナ) Costume: Purple, SEXY! - including the notorious neon brassiere keyboards, vocals 2012-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



Main vocalists are Hana, Oreo or Tomo-Zo depending on the songnote Also the Gacha Dancers in Tokenai Candy. Hana also plays guitar in Boku Dake no Cinderella. Nenne sometimes played keyboards when Oreo is out front. 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)

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)

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)

Gacharic Spin contains examples of