Ken Kitamura

Ken Kitamura (北村 健, Kitamura Ken?), known professionally as ken, was born in Osaka, Japan on November 28, 1968. He is the guitarist of L'Arc~en~Ciel, a Japanese rock band. He is also the leader/guitarist/vocalist of his own band Sons Of All Pussys or S.O.A.P and solo album Speed.
Two months before his graduation, Ken stayed away from The Nagoya Institute of Technology (one of Japan's top schools in this field), where he was an architect major to join L'Arc~en~Ciel (ラルク アン シエル), or L'Arc or Laruku (ラルク), in 1992 at the request of his childhood friend Tetsuya Ogawa (aka Tetsu the bassist). It's rumored that as a result of this Ken's relationship with his parents turned sour. However during his MCs on some stops of L'Arc~en~Ciel's Theater of Kiss Tour he's mentioned/hinted at that he's now in the process of reconciling with them or if not has indeed now reconciled with them. He has written a breadth of L'Arc~en~ciel's music ever since his joining, including "As If In A Dream", "Vivid Colors", "Niji", "The Fourth Avenue Café, "Shout At The Devil", "Kasou", "Lies and Truth", "Lover Boy", and "Twinkle Twinkle".
In 2002 Ken's own band, S.O.A.P, became active as a result of a break in L'Arc~en~Ciel's activities, with ex-L'Arc~en~Ciel member Yasunori Sakurazawa (Sakura) as the drummer, and Ein as the bassist (a half Japanese/German model who appears in a few L'Arc PVs). Each member contributed songs based on themes; Ken with love, Ein with Desire, and Sakura with his experiences in jail, and together they shelled out four albums; Grace, Gimme A Guitar, High! and Paradise. All S.O.A.P. activities have ceased since 2004.
On August 23, 2006, Ken released a solo album titled "Speed", referring to himself as just Ken and has taken a new, "clean" appearance similar to his early days with L'Arc~en~Ciel.
Guitars
Ken is currently an endorser for Fernandes Guitars and is usually seen playing these guitars live with L'Arc~en~Ciel. However he tends to mod his models instead of using them stock. For instance, in the past he used to use Van Zandt pick-ups heavily in his own personal guitars and has since moved on to Kinman pick-ups (this change having now been reflected in one of his more recent FERNANDES musician models). However he has also used many different guitars in and out of L'Arc~en~Ciel, including Gibson, Fender, and Steinberger models.
Facts
Name: Ken Kitamura
Nickname: Ken-Chan
D.O.B: November 28th, 1968
P.O.B: Osaka, Japan
Horoscope: Sagittarius
Height: 178cm
Blood Type: AB
Weight: 60 kg
Family: Mom, Dad, older sister
Marital Status: Dating Nagano Rei, an AV actress
Pet: ELIZABETH (cat) who appears in a music video
Favorite colors: Silver, Black
Favorite animals: Dolphins (he made joke about it at Otakon '04), cats
Favorite food: simmered dishes, truffes & fois gras
Favorite Alcoholic Beverage: Jack Daniels
Favorite Clothing Brands: Jun, Y's for men, Domon, Crazy Under Wear, 5351
Favorite Cigarette Brand: Marlboro Menthol Light
Smoking Status: Chain smoker