Dragon Ash started out from humble punk beginnings to become one of the brightest groups in the growing New Japanese Rock movement in the late '90s, blending pop sensibilities with a hard-edged sound, producing albums and singles that play like a tour of Western rock of the '90s. Lead singer and guitarist Kenji Furuya, son of actor Ikko Furuya, met drummer Makoto Sakurai when they were junior high students in a Tokyo suburb, and the two started playing together.