+ Levin +

Drummer, composer, Lyricist

(AKA."Levi Levi" "Levin-chan")

Levin, the shortest member of La'Cryma Christi, grew up with Koji in Shin-Osaka. He never gives his real height, but is probably about 4'11" from the look of most group photos (sans platforms ^^;;;;;)  The other members give him a lot of hell about his size, but "the smallest member of La'Cryma Christi" probably has the biggest personality.  Levin is rather like a militant ray of sunshine.  Good luck trying not to smile when he's around...  

Levin joined the band Strippe-D-Lady with Koji in 1993 (they were a 2-for-1 deal).  But before joining La'Cryma's parent-band, he was actually the vocalist of he and Koji's own!  In the late 80s, Levin was something of a highschool bad-boy.  The leader of the pack (and the band), he defied convention with his shocking orange bangs.  On graduating and joining up with SL in the early 90s he adopted big poofy 80s hair and heavy makeup, quickly becoming the band's token femme-fatale.  A little hard to believe in retrospect, isn't it?

During the majority of the 90s Levin's look evolved into kitten-cute little boy sheik.  In all honestly, he almost always looked like he's been dressed by his mother.  But Levin pulled it off well... helps that he's naturally adorable and childlike.  Levin was also one of the first Japanese rock stars to embrace platform sneakers as casual wear ^^;  It's tough being so short.

Recently, Levin's style has become a little more rock and roll.  He's gotten some tattoos (an 8-ball, a tribal circle, squiggley lines)... and some rippling arm-muscles to display them on, too.  Levin's fans weren't too sure what to make of their adorable idol looking like sex on a stick... at least not at first... but now that it's become clear his cute personality is 100%  intact, the fans seem to be embracing the new image.

Levin's attitude toward performance (and life) is pretty easy-going. He's almost always smiling and really seems to enjoy being the center of attention. He's also a very theatrical drummer, making him a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Levin must spend almost as much time practicing his tricks as he does practicing his drumming!  His stick-twirling ability is unmatched.

Levin's hobbies are Science Fiction movies, 80s rock bands, amusement parks, and his beloved car  ^^;  He's a huge fan of Universal Studios Florida, American music, American food, Harley Davison, Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue and Star Trek: The Next Generation.  In fact, he's so obsessed with STTNG that he wore a different uniform from the series at every live in the '00 escape tour.

Of course... it's impossible to talk about Levin without mentioning his partner in crime.  Koji and Levin have been together almost as far back as they can remember, and it shows.  The two of them are still fast friends.  They spend a lot of their vacations with the band raising hell together.  They seem to have the biggest appetites in the band, too... I'm almost certain they're at least partially responsible for all the regional binging done on La'Cryma's promotional tours.  They're the consummate odd couple; Koji, the tallest member of the band and Levin, the smallest.  Poor Levin barely reaches Koji's shoulder.

But Levin's "best friend" (sorry Koji) is a black and brown miniature dachshund named "Data-chan".  Data-chan is so well-loved among fans that he sometimes gets his own column in Simpatia, showcasing the animal members (yes, pets can join Simpatia... no discrimination by species here!)

Levin's contributions to the band are probably the least consistant.  He wants to try a bit of everything but doesn't have the stamina to do much of anything (but drumming) for long.  He claims that the few songs he's worked on behind the scenes (SHY, Yuki ni natte kieta futari, your song) nearly killed him.  He's the most likely to show up late to practice and usually the first to call for a noodle-break.  Levin may not seek out extra work, but he doesn't shy away from it either ^^ Until recently, he wrote a column for the magazine SHOX'X.  He's also joined Taka and Shuse in a performance for a Led Zeppelin tribute concert.  

Levin is very dynamic live... but unfortunately, as his drum-lines get more complex and view screens less common, we see a lot less of his antics.  Hopefully, in the future, we'll get to see a lot more from Levi.  A bright spot in recent onstage developments are the number of performances the members make in their "mixed up" form.  Levin has not only been spotted singing vocal in the La'Cryma session band... but we've caught sight of him playing Shuse's bass! (with Shuse trying out drums... oh the horror)

Levin is very social and loves to make friends.  He's got all kinds of them... human... animal... possibly vegetable and mineral ^^;;;  He loves to befriend stage hands, managers, Western musicians he admires, random Japanese artists...  He once cited TM Revolution as his most famous performing friend.  ... They look alike don't they?  It's a little scary @_@ 

Levin's voice is pretty nasal... mid-high tone.  He speaks with a lot of expression and emotion... sometimes getting so excited that he bounces or fidgets in the middle of speaking ^_^  He can also imitate his drums perfectly with nothing but his voice and breaks into fits of laughter without reservation.  He's just extremely cute. 

Recently, Levin has been affected by the death of his friend and mentor Randy Castillo.  Randy was the drummer for Ozzy Osbourne and, more recently, the reformed Motley Crue.  Levin was a big fan and longtime supporter.  Randy passed away from cancer during the 2002 "&U" tour.  He'll be missed.

+ Levin's voice (.rm) +

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