Jarrett Welch Wrestling Co. · Forbidden Place Records · 2026

TOJOYAMAMOTO

A noisy punk band forged from the wreckage of the '90s underground and Southern Wrestling from a time gone by.
Lexington, Kentucky's most dangerous export.
Loud, filthy, and completely unapologetic.

Who they are

Nobody asked for Tojo Yamamoto. That's exactly the point. Named for the legendary Memphis wrestling heel who played villain so convincingly the crowd never knew when to stop hating him, Tojo Yamamoto is a band built from the scattered survivors of Kentucky's 1990s underground—a scene that burned hard, left marks, and rarely got its proper due.

This is not a reunion. There is no original lineup to reassemble, no catalog to celebrate, no tour to cash in on. Tojo Yamamoto is something rarer: a genuinely new band, formed from battle-hardened veterans of The Mighty Skullhead, Nine Pound Hammer, Supafuzz, Ted Bundy's Volkswagon, Abusement Park, and No Excuse—who came together not out of nostalgia, but because they still have a few pots to stir and words to spew with loud, sometimes ugly, honest punk rock music.

Their guitarist, Elwood Francis, is currently holding down the low end for ZZ Top. Yes, that ZZ Top. He is also, underneath all of that, a punk skater, guitar mischief-maker—and Tojo Yamamoto is where that side of him gets to breathe fire. "We're playing simple music that's loud, filthy, and distorted," he says. "These aren't clean sounds. We're throwing down with the raw energy that got us into music in the first place."

Frontman Larry Joe Treadway—Lexington artist, video geek, part-time filmmaker, full-time chaos agent—lures listeners into what he laughingly calls his "pup tent of auditory chaos." His vocal delivery is battery acid chasing razor blades. His lyrics catalogue middle-aged rebellion, social media-fueld social disorder, and the particular disillusionment that only comes from having survived the underground and watched the world forget everything it taught.

Bassist Will Pieratt's delivery is about as subtle as Godzilla on the Tokyo skyline—simultaneously keeping time and threatening to wreck everything around him, with a danceable low-end groove that nods to early Killing Joke, Gang of Four, and Wire. Drummer Darren Howard is the engine: thunderous, relentless, and technically ferocious in the way that only someone forged in the 90s alt-underground could be. They aren't the rhythm section, they are the band's internal organs that allow the skeleton to twist and shout-or nail that elbow drop from the top rope.

Together they are making noise-rock for a new world that never asked for it. They couldn't care less—and that is precisely what makes them worth your attention.

"Somewhere along the line, what seems challenging, impenetrable, and off-kilter reveals itself to be brilliantly unique, ornate, and wholly original. Bear with it—you'll get there. The more you listen to Tojo Yamamoto, the more you become indoctrinated into their sonic cult."

— The Big Takeover

Sounds like

Amphetamine Reptile era Cows Early Killing Joke Gang of Four Wire Black Flag Cosmic Psychos The Wildhearts Hammer Party-era Big Black

The band

Guitar

Elwood Francis

Guitar warlock, feedback wrangler and sonic architect. A punk lifer who has spent recent years as ZZ Top's bass player, now back where he started: loud, distorted, and completely unhinged. Blends blistering aggression with unmistakably catchy melodic hooks that cut through the waves of fuzz, he's bombasticly unique--and unapologeticly loud.

ZZ Top · The Mighty Skullhead · Control Freak

Drums

Darren Howard

The backbone. Thunderous, relentless, and technically ferocious in the way that only someone who survived the 90s underground could be. His fills don't ornament the music—they are the music, propelling everything forward with perpetual motion and force that never loses its swing.

The Mighty Skullhead · Nine Pound Hammer · Idiot Box

Bass

Will Pieratt

Subtlety is not on the menu. Pieratt's bass delivery sits somewhere between a freight train and a dancehall—simultaneously holding the rhythm hostage and giving the crowd something to move to. A contradiction that works every single time.

The Mighty Skullhead · No Excuse · Abusement Park

Vocals

Larry Joe Treadway

Confrontational frontman, Lexington punk, part-time filmmaker, full-time provocateur. His stage presence is "slightly threatening." His lyrics trace the wreckage of middle age with the same raw energy he had at 22—only angrier, sharper, and more honest.

Ted Bundy's Volkswagon · Lance Russell Five

In the control room

Recording Engineer

Jason Groves

Supafuzz · Asylum on the Hill
Gold Tooth Display · Floraburn

Studied musician and stellar studio engineer, Groves is the trauma surgeon behind the band's recorded sound—adding layers of tonality, raw noise, and dissonance that give Tojo Yamamoto's recordings their particular depth and menace. The band calls Jason, "the snubnose .38 aimed from behind the glass."" His ear for texture and unusual sonic combinations is as integral for the band's grit as anything that happens in the room.

Discography

Debut EP

Tojo Yamamoto

2024 · Forbidden Place Records

5 Track E.P.

A concept EP paying homage to Memphis Wrestling and its fans. Highly critically acclaimed from The Wire, Spin, Razorcake, The Big Takeover and more.  Released on hand-crafted smoky transparent 10" vinyl pressed like a gooey Japanese flag. 3 accompanying music videos. Available on all streaming platforms.

 

Second EP

Turning Face!

2025 · Forbidden Place Records

6 Track E.P.

Six searing songs. Broadened songwriting, sonically expanded and socially searing. Again, critically acclaimed, live shows to support, sold out.  Mastered, cut, and pressed at 45 rpm for maximum volume. 3 self-produced music videos to accompany the release. 2 glorious vinyl variants. Available on all streaming platforms.

 

Single · Cover Series

Heroes

2024 · Jarrett Welch Wrestling Co.

Heroes (David Bowie)

The first release in the band's ongoing cover singles series. A lathe-cut take on the 1977 Bowie/Eno classic.  Features a guest appearance by Lina Francis—Elwood's daughter—on backing vocals, marking a genuinely unexpected and memorable addition to the band's catalog. Available on all streaming platforms.

 

Single · Cover Series

The Concession Stand Blitz

2025 · Jarrett Welch Wrestling Co.

Ballroom Blitz Sweet)

The second in the cover series — a unique spin on the 1973 The Sweet banger. Limited to 100 hand-numbered copies; first 25 signed by the band. Packaged with a beer coaster, stickers, buttons, autographed photos all hand assembled.  Available on all streaming platforms.

 

Single · Cover Series

Man on the Moon

2026 · Jarrett Welch Wrestling Co.

Man on the Moon (R.E.M.)

Man on the Moon (Nothing is Cool RMX)

The third installment of the cover series. A blown-out, fuzzed-out assault on R.E.M.'s 1992 track—reimagined through the lens of The Fall, Cows, and Antiseen on a southern road trip together. Transparent pink vinyl, limited to 100. Available on all streaming platforms.

 

What the press said

The Wire

I can't claim to be able to decode most of the raw throated lyrics, but the roten tooth pulse of harsh-edged guitar riffs, thug-like drumming and rough proto-grunge muscle hits me right in my pre-Nirvana sweet spot, with even a whiff of Pussy Galore somewhere on the breeze. A sweet anomoly."

The Big Takeover

Six searing songs from the band's swirling creative morass of post-punk, hardcore, art-punk, and intense hard rock groove. "Hardway to Shitsville" aligns them with The Wildhearts at their most intense—that same blend of rock raucousness and an almost pop accessibility in the loosest possible sense. A sonic cult worth joining.

IDIOTEQ

This band  isn't chasing fame or commercial success, this project is less about revisiting and more about reimagining creative roots. "We've failed at some really cool things," Treadway admits, wearing that badge proudly. For a band named after a villain who thrived on theatrics, Tojo Yamamoto embodies the spirit of punk: unrelenting, unpolished, and unforgettable.

Bandcamp community

"This EP definitely has a Cosmic Psychos vibe, fun stuff!" Blown-out, grooving noise-rock with primitive, laid-back riffing and caustic guitar tones—redolent of the traditional noise-rock formula, punk rock's greasy, sluggish offspring.

Apricot Magazine

Tojo Yamamoto isn't just a band—it's a sonic smackdown straight out of Kentucky's underground scene, blending raw punk rock energy with storytelling rooted in the wild world of classic Memphis wrestling. "We're playing simple music that's loud, filthy, and distorted. These aren't clean sounds."