Japanese pop/punk quartet Ellegarden have become one of the biggest rock bands in their homeland, selling out 30,000 seat venues as a headliner and appearing at most of the nation's major rock festivals before bringing their explosive sound to American audiences. Ellegarden was formed in late 1998 when Takeshi Hosomi, who was working in the computer industry as an engineer, was approached by his friend Shinichi Ubukata, who played guitar and was looking for a singer to help him with his music.