I'm not doing Apple Butter Day with my jewelry this year. Instead I will be at Madison Square Garden having the experience of a lifetime; mine, in fact. If you think KISS is the quintessential rock band of our time, then you don't know X-Japan. When lead guitarist hide (that's his name, it's pronounced he-day and it is not capitalized --he is the beautiful pink haired boy in the first video below) allegedly committed suicide on May 2nd in 1998, at least three copycat suicides followed and according to wikipedia "of the approximately 50,000 people who attended his funeral at Tsukiji Hongan-ji, nearly sixty were hospitalized and about two hundred received medical treatment in first aid tents." His bandmates have said on numerous occasions that his death was, in fact, almost certainly accidental. He was drunk when he arrived home that night and probably passed out while doing a technique to alleviate neck pain that the band often used on the road. The technique is real, though some have speculated that it may have been a case of auto-erotic asphyxiation. His death, no matter what the cause, was more than a ripple in a pond. It continues to echo in the hearts of fans to this day. The dramatic impact his death had and the number of people affected by it, speaks to what X-Japan is to the rock scene in Japan. What's really special about them, though, is their ability to break out in the US and around the world in a way that no Japanese rock band had before them (or has since with the exception of another favourite of mine, Dir en grey --who I was in love with before they broke out over here, btw. #jrocksnob #lol)
Today X-Japan consists of its creators Yoshiki (drums and piano) and Toshi (vocals) who formed their first band together at age 11, Pata (rhythm guitar) who rounded out their full original lineup by the middle of 1987, Heath (bass) who joined the band after original bassist Taiji left in 1992 (but played with them again in 2010,) and Sugizo who officially joined in 2009 and provides lead guitar and violin. Sugizo is famous in the Japanese rock scene for his band Luna Sea; a band that has also seen some success in the United States, though not as widely. Both hide and Taiji are both still considered members of the band and their websites are provided along with the other members' when they are provided with a press piece or piece of media. When X-Japan performs they sometimes keep a giant plush doll of hide on the stage with him and almost always have a particular yellow guitar with hearts on it with them in a solitary guitar stand (which you will notice in the video for I.V. on the SAW IV dvd.) They have even used a recording of his guitar work and video footage playing with them on stage (also in the video for I.V., I believe) and played with his hologram at live shows. Taiji died in 2011 of attempted suicide by hanging after being taken off life support. Yoshiki mentions him and hide often when posting about the MSG show on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere, and I expect a large tribute to them both at the show.
To give you a taste of the band as it was, this is Kurenai as performed at the show titled "The Last Live" in December of 1997 when the band officially disbanded before getting back together in 2007/8. They began life as a speed metal band, which is evident in this track.
This video was shot in 2010 for the song "Jade" which was officially released in 2011. Like the song Without You, it is a tribute to Yoshiki's best friend and bandmate, hide. They became known for being a ballad metal band, which is evident in this track.
For years, I have cited Yoshiki as one of my idols. His talent as performer, composer, lyricist, songwriter, and businessman are all truly inspiring. He loves what he does and he loves his fans. He literally plays through the pain of multiple herniated discs every time he performs (as evidenced by the neck brace you can see in both those videos.) Yoshiki is THE quintessential rock star of our time, even if you've never heard of him. He stars in a comic book headed by Stan Lee, himself, and has composed and played for the Emperor and Empress of Japan. He composed and performed the theme for the 69th Golden Globes this past year (yes, our Golden Globes in America --see what I'm saying.) It doesn't get any bigger than Yoshiki and I'm finally going to see him this October at the most important venue in our whole entire country. I am beyond excited.
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