ELECTRIC EEL SHOCK are a trio of rock'n'roll monsters from Japan travelling the world with an explosive live show - along with a passion for baking and fishing.
Three years ago, the band blew away the rest of the lineup at the debut Rockit Festival with their infectious combination of rock, punk and metal. Apart from the sheer power of the music and their on-stage antics, the furore over drummer Tomoharu 'Gian' Ito's on-stage nudity ensured the show went down in Hong Kong gigging history.
Next Friday, Electric Eel Shock are back to remind Hong Kong what live music is all about. The band - Ito, singer Aki Morimoto and bassist Kazuto Maekawa - formed in Tokyo in the late 1990s with a common love of British headbangers Black Sabbath and made their names with a tour of the US in 1999. They've been on the road almost non-stop since. These days, Morimoto gets phone calls from former Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne asking him to go fishing.
It sounds as if the band are content with life on the road. 'I want to play our rock'n'roll to the people who have never seen our show or heard our music before,' Morimoto says. 'As long as we keep moving there's nothing stuck in our minds. We're doing what we love. Touring the world gives us so much stimulation - new friends, new food, crazy audiences and many other good bands.
'Of course, we always want to play bigger shows and have bigger sales, but it's not about the money. We want to meet new fans. I don't need much money, just enough to get new fishing rods.'
Fishing is clearly Morimoto's passion. 'It's like a fighting sport for me,' he says. 'I don't do it to relax, and I don't fish to reflect upon my life. I only consider the strategy of how to get fish. I'm a hardcore fisherman!