Kin-ichi Motegi (born 茂木欣一, Motegi Kin'ichi; December 15, 1967) is a Japanese drummer born in Tokyo, Japan in 1967. He is most famous for his work in rock group Fishmans where he plays a primary role, as well as drumming for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and So Many Tears.
Motegi was born and raised in Tama Plaza, in a modern apartment complex that lies in the suburbs of Tokyo, near a station for private railways. He found an interest in western music growing up, specifically hip hop. Motegi started his career as a drummer at an unknown age as soon as he found out he shared initials with Keith Moon, drummer from The Who, who became a huge influence to him back then. Motegi enrolled in Meiji Gakuin University sometime in the 80s, soon joining musical collective Song Writes [ソング・ライツ] where he would meet Shinji Sato and Kensuke Ojima, eventually forming Fishmans together. Motegi would work almost exclusively with Fishmans for the remainder of the 80s and the entirety of the 90s, contributing as a lead percussionist and founding member of the band. After Sato's passing, Motegi joined Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (whose drummer also passed away around the same time as Sato) as well as MariMari Rhythmkiller Machinegun with fellow Fishmans support musician MariMari. Motegi would grow to become a primary member of TSPO over the following years, as well as serving as the new flagship member of Fishmans. In 2011, Motegi would form Fishmans tribute group Fishmans+ with a multitude of older Fishmans musicians, as well as rock group So Many Tears alongside Yuzuru Kashiwabara and Takashi Kato. He is also known to frequent Polaris as a support musician. Motegi serves today as the primary torchbearer for Fishmans' legacy, as well as the drummer for TSPO and So Many Tears.
Trivia[]
- Motegi is left-handed, but he plays right-handedly except for floor toms.
Motegi in 2019.