Kengo Hioki, better known as Peelander-Yellow is a muralist, painter, designer, and musician who has brightened the Austin Music Experience for over twenty years.
Yellow was born in Japan (or the Z area of Planet Peelander depending on who you ask). He studied Art at Osaka University before moving to New York City but he eventually fell in love with Austin after he came to see his friend’s band play at SXSW 2002. The following year, his band, Peelander-Z made their SXSW debut.
If you’ve never been to a Peelander-Z show they involve a lot of…audience participation, or maybe you could call it a chance to exercise (which the band does). Adorned in their Sentai superhero-style costumes, which the band refers to as their skin, there’s usually some combination of pro-wrestling maneuvers, mid-song piggyback rides, crowd surfing, and other acts of absurdity to get even the shyest wallflowers to join in.
When he’s not hurling himself into sweaty fans, Yellow is a painter. Although touring kept him from painting for over 10 years, it was here in Austin, at Eastside King, that the door was opened again. They hired him to paint a mural on their food truck in 2011, and since then, his stylings have become iconic. I’m sure you’ve seen some at places like the Hole in the Wall back bar, Juiceland, 4th Tap Brewing, and many others.
Hioki says he wanted to be like the color yellow because it’s the color of the sun, and the sun makes people happy. After 25 years, over 1600 shows and 12 albums, Yellow is Peelander-Z’s only remaining original member, but it’s hard to imagine a light as bright as him burning out anytime soon.
