'Paku'ography
Born on October 2, 1964 in Kyoto, Japan, Pakuya got his first guitar at age 13, but it was a 1977 KISS TV program special live at Budokan. "It was a revelation. I really started playing the day I knew KISS," Pakuya recalls. As a young man, Pakuya participated in many music competitions, and stuck very much to every musical instrument. Precision and obsessive perfection with his technique were learned at an early age. Pakuya would listen to records from his collection and learn them note by note. To this day, he still does much of the work on his own guitars. Dedication to his instrument led to stints in local bands while Pakuya was still in his teens. The guitarist then relocated to the states to join TOG in 1983. Inspired by not only such heavy rock guitar player Blackmore, Schenker, Yngwie, but also many classical artists like J.S.Bach, Vivaldi and Nicolo Paganini, Pakuya's intricate style amazed critics -- his high school debut was described by Guitar for the Practicing Musician as "mixing dazzling stage pyrotechnics with the incredible virtuoso excursions of marathon length and brilliant execution."
Pakuya came out at age 17, leading 1st TOG. This is very rare shot of debut performance at Gamera Hall in 1981.
He turned up as the guitar player of Lonesome Crow in 1982.
His subsequent work would forever change the standards of excellence in guitar technique. Pakuya released two works with TOG, before embarking on a solo career.
In 1997, he became sick that necessitated a long and arduous rehabilitation period -- but Pakuya's 1999 comeback, neo TOG, became his most successful live performance to date.
