akiko "kewpie" hiroshima (singer) was born in japan and moved to america for college. she has appeared on the stage and screen, and is happy to wear a pink wig for happyfunsmile.


kaori ibuki (singer) is pursuing an advanced degree in theater history from the city university of new york. she studies nihon buyo with the fujima school and, as such, is the lead bon-odori dancer for happyfunsmile.


brian nishii (singer, master of ceremonies) is at least a quadruple threat as an actor, singer, dancer, and bilingual radio personality. he lives in the lower east side with his wife.


rodrigo morimoto (singer) is a man of the world, growing up in brazil and moving with his family to nyc to work for the united nations. rodrigo started singing with happyfunsmile after a fateful night at a midtown karaoke bar.


wynn yamami (founder, chindon, accordion) delayed his phd in musicology in order to start nyc's only chindon group. he now has a large collection of enka records and crazy hats from around the world.


bill boyer (sanxian, sanshin) likes to play any instrument with strings, but hates frets. "dang, i hate frets," says bill.



kossan (sanshin, singer) is a zen monk who roller blades around the city and performs okinawan songs at bars, restaurants, and subway stations. needless to say, he was featured on the new york times blog.


ali sakkal (sax) is friends with wynn's brother. for some reason, that means he has to play with happyfunsmile.



rob perle (sax) is a businessman by day, saxophonist by night, and rugby referee by weekend.



glenn nataupsky (bass) has been on tour for quite some time, playing bass for every show you've ever seen. now he lives in new jersey with his wife and son.


ben gallina (bass) moved to nyc from his hometown of rochester, new york. he believes in the transformative power of meditation and insight to lessen the suffering of the planet and heal the conflicts of the world.


ryan dorin (keys) is best known as the twelve-fingered pianist in the sci-fi classic gattaca. he composes music, creates animated shorts, and enjoys johnny walker black on the rocks.


michael quintero (percussion) hits things.