11 posts tagged “yoshiki”
From Jrockrevolution.com:
[...]
While YOSHIKI won’t be acting in a movie, he will, however, be the producer of Lionsgate Entertainment’s next film, “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” a horror musical directed by “Saw II” and “III” director, Darren Lin Bausman, starring Paris Hilton and Sarah Brightman. It was revealed that YOSHIKI will also be producing the soundtrack for this film.
[...]
...
Oh damn, he really is going to work with Paris Hilton of all people. Really, I respect YOSHIKI, but to actually work with Paris Hilton? There's no way for me to put this in polite terms, so all I'm going to say regarding this is, I don't like it. I don't like it at all.
Yanked word-for-word from JRockRevolution.com:
EXTASY Records is set to release the original motion picture soundtrack for Catacombs, the dark thriller from the producers of the SAW series about to make its theatrical debut in Japan.
Why is this soundtrack a landmark for jrock fans? Because YOSHIKI (X JAPAN), as executive producer, has delivered an album unprecedented in music history for its collaboration of Japanese and American rock bands on a multinational release. His own involvement itself was unprecedented, as he was heavily involved in hand-selecting the artists featured on the album.Most significantly, this soundtrack includes the first song by VIOLET UK to be released on an album. YOSHIKI wrote and produced "Blue Butterfly" as the End Title song for the film. And one of YOSHIKI's personal choices for the album was "Psyche" by hide's band zilch.
The album also includes artists such as gothic/industrial greats Peter Murphy (ex-Bauhaus) and Skinny Puppy, digital soundscaping wizard BT, and musical juggernaut Ministry. The soundtrack will be available in Japan at retail and online stores nationwide on October 2. But how can you be the first to own your own copy of VIOLET UK's album debut?
Look no further, because Jrock Revolution will be the first exclusive retailer of the Catacombs movie soundtrack outside of Japan.
Tonight, as in Thursday, September 20, we open the doors to a pre-sale of this groundbreaking soundtrack, right here at JRR. And the first five hundred pre-orders will ship with a special bonus gift included!
The pre-sale begins at 8:59 P.M. PST/ 11:59 P.M. EST. Check back here for more information about how you can place your pre-order!Continue for the full track listing and more about the Catacombs movie itself.
Catacombs Original Motion Picture Soundtrack1. “Blue Butterfly” - Violet UK
2. “Lie” - Black Light Burns
3. “Smartbomb” - BT
4. “Magnifishit” - Skinny Puppy
5. “Badass(Rogue Element Mix)” - The Crystal Method
6. “Unholy Confessions” - Avenged Sevenfold
7. “Twist Your Fate” - Peter Murphy
8. “Please Myself” - Shawnee Smith
9. “Psyche” - zilch
10. “Bleeding Mascara” - Atreyu
11. “Vela, Together We Await The Storm” - The Human Abstract
12. “Die In A Crash” - Ministry
So, Violet UK has surfaced again. I'm still waiting for the day that YOSHIKI finally, FINALLY release a full VUK album. Not one track, not demos, not snippets, but a full-blown, REAL album.
Think this will ever happen in the next... oh, 3 years?
...
...
That's what I thought too.
Edit: You can hear bits of the soundtrack (and the VUK song) by watching the Catacombs movie trailer on JRockRevolution.com.
As promised, I have compiled the live reports covering the J-Rock Revolution Festival (I prefer writing it as "J-Rock" instead of "JRock"). As of 11pm Tuesday May 29, I have read reports written by more than 30 people. The overwhelming number forced me to pick out the ones I liked instead. So now, I'm only posting links to around 10. My preferences for live reports were explained here, in what I think makes a good live report.
amouraiguise - Yes, I love details.
coiled_iris - Is it possible to fangirl about a live report? The author is a girl after my own heart. The blow-by-blow accounts leave me a puddle of fangirl mess on the floor.
danimation - Written by a male fan.
direngreyfan413 - Encounter with YOSHIKI after the live.
fourscrewsloose - Great details, with photos of concert-goers.
fy_sanctuary - A report with lots of photos.
jrock_junkie00 - This one's got a photo of miyavi arriving in his convertible. WTF, he wears that hat even when driving?!
radicalfxcker - This was written by an Akiya (of Kagrra,) fan! *hugs her*
remix_sakura - Great coverage of Kagrra,.
Two eL's - Nice details on MUCC's performance.
It seems that both Kagrra, and alice nine. gained a lot of new fans on Friday night. Whooo! Despite being an alice nine. fan myself, I'm still surprised by how popular they are. They seriously brought the house down, my god. Aside from the YOSHIKI band announcement, it seemed that alice nine. stole the night. I'm incredibly delighted and proud of them!
On a related note, more videos of the 2-day concert have surfaced. Keep on checking YouTube!
Edit:
Oh, and a rant. I'm shocked so many people are indifferent about SUGIZO. "Oh, I have no idea who that other guitar guy in Yoshiki's new band is." This reallly bothers me. If you don't know who LUNA SEA is and consequently, who SUGIZO is, please go check out the band's entry on Wikipedia.
Who do you think was the biggest influence and inspiration for Gazette? (I'm using them as an example because they're getting so big now.) Where do you think Reita and Uruha's performing style come from? Who the heck do you think Uruha's hero is?
It's one thing to not have heard of LUNA SEA's works, but I think a J-Rock fan should at the very least know of the band since they're so legendary.
Err...
But the bit of Kagrra, live in the beginning and backstage footage at the end are worth it.
"Ah, I knew it!" says me.
During his performance for the first night of JRock Revolution, miyavi confirmed the members of Yoshiki's "super band" that so many have speculated about. The members are Yoshiki, Gackt, miyavi, and Sugizo!
My original post last year speculating about miyavi's plan to join YOSHIKI's project was seriously the most linked entry ever. I kept on seeing this blog being referenced or linked to in various J-Rock communities, blogs, and even Wikipedia. So now, it's been confirmed. miyavi is indeed the 4th member of YOSHIKI's band.
And according to Wikipedia, the band's name is SKIN. SKIN will be performing at the Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, CA on June 29 (already? what about a bassist?!). Gosh, why do the Californians get all the cool J-Rock events? *headdesk*
I'm seriously tempted to move to the West Coast.
You people in the Los Angeles area...
I HATE YOU ALL!!!!
YOSHIKI says on his blog:
More than a year ago, some of my friends asked me if I could organize a Japanese Rock event in America……… then I said……. OK! ..... Well that's it…… We're doing it.
When I used to live in Tokyo, I organized several rock concerts….. So this time I'm doing it in Los Angeles with several partners. ….. Some small details may change, but we have 9 bands coming from Japan and will be performing at the "Wiltern Theater" in L.A. on May 25, 26th.
(The band lineup will be: alice nine., Vidoll, Duel Jewel, Kagrra, Miyavi, DéspairsRay, Merry, Girugamesh, and MUCC.
Also, at the theater, the fourth member of the band will be announced.
I'm not performing….. but I'll be there to make sure everything rocks.
For more information (such as ticket sales), see the Jrock Revolution myspace.
Kagrra,, oh god, Kagrra,'s finally coming, but they're going to be on the other side of the country! And there's also alice nine., VIDOLL, D'espairsRay, and girugamesh... Why can't there be a similar event in New York?!
By the way, notice how miyavi's on the roster and YOSHIKI's also going to announce the fourth member of the super band? Looks like my speculation a while ago may even be true.
But, why-oh-why are we East Coast residents so unloved?! I feel so utterly bitter to know that some of my favorite bands are going to be so close, yet still unreachable. This is almost exasperating enough for me to just move to LA! Had Gazette also been on the roster, I'd die from regret. Come to New York in June/July (while I'm in the city), pleeeeeease?
J-Rock has picked up such momentum internationally that I wonder if there are sustainable growth opportunities in getting personally involved in this developing business. At this point, it's still too early in my career to make the transition. Yet, I can clearly see three different pathways that can lead me to this from my current position. One day, I can actually have a hand in directing the flow of this sub-industry if I so choose, Hmm... the future holds so many endless possibilities. Let's see what happens in the next 10 years.
YOSHIKI says he loves Deg, thinks he's still working on Violet UK, teases us more about the superband, but then gets all angsty over the X Japan revival. For the full blog entry, see his MySpace.
On Dir en grey
Overall the show was great…… full of energy, and….. every time I see them perform, it makes me want to rock……
Anyways…… after the show, the entire band came to my house, and celebrated Shinya's (the drummer's) birthday party. Back then….. well, when I was producing Dir en grey, we used to hang out pretty much every day…… It was so nice to hang out with them again.
Last night we ended up drinking together until the morning,
I hope they're all OK for the show tonight.
On stage they were very charismatic, but off stage they are some of the sweetest people I know…… HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THEM!!!
Yeah, except Deg barely even acknowledges their fans most of the time. Though from the US meet-and-greet news I've been reading in live reports, the band has taken a step in the right direction. So, did Deg perform with a massive hangover?
On Violet UK
He THINKS he's still working on Violet UK, or does he think it's going to blow us away? Oh, YOSHIKI, please just release the album already. >_<OK….. I'm still working on Violet UK……I think….. but for the first time in many years, I'm confident that some of these songs will be able to blow your minds away……
On the superband
Half of the J-Rock fandom shouts "miyavi!", while the other half shouts "hell, no!"And…… some people have questions about "THE BAND".
Yes, Sugizo from Luna Sea came here to LA several times last year, and last month Gackt came to town, and we both went to dinner…..
Sugizo and Gackt are such talented people, also having such an amazing vibe. Actually, they are all going to come here next month with one more person that I can't reveal yet.
On the X Japan revival
OK, and X Japan…..
I'm like…….Why now? ..... Why, why, why……
To be honest….. it took years to conquer the pain and sadness….. maybe not yet, I still cannot listen to…… or watch X Japan's videos….. without tears…..
" MY OWN GODDAMN BAND" ….. I can't listen to it without crying…… HOW CAN I BE IN IT AGAIN? …… IT HURTS SO MUCH…… TO EVEN TALK ABOUT ...... X JAPAN…..
Yes, I can play the drums. I think I can play them even harder than before…… of course my injured neck and wrists hurt….. but SO WHAT!!! ….. I don't give a fuck about that kind of pain…..
But mentally….. I don't know if I can take it….. I'm not saying if I'll do it or not….. I talked to Toshi (vocalist)……. He called me almost towards the end of last year….. for the first time since we went our separate ways……….
Toshi and I..... we grew up together…........ I don't know ….. I don't know…. I don't …… know …….
Yes, there are lyrics of the song "WITHOUT YOU" ….. That, I wrote, right after Hide's death….. also, I had to do so many takes of piano recording, because of the tears falling down and flooding the piano keys, and my fingers kept slipping again and again.
If there's somebody to sing this song ….. I think it should be Toshi….. but …… I don't know….. I don't know….. I don't fucking know….. It's too painful to……
I'm sorry, I don't want to make you feel depressed or anything like that….. but so many people have been asking me about this, so I had to say something…… just let me….. have…… a little more time……
Oh dear. X___x I remember watching an interview with YOSHIKI from around 2001 where he reminices about X Japan and hide, made me all teary-eyed.
I wrote about YOSHIKI's announcement of forming a band with Gackt way back in August. By now, everyone should know that yes, SUGIZO (ex. LUNA SEA) has signed up for this project too (article translation here). In certain J-Rock fandom circles, tongues are wagging and excitement is building.
Now, there are two more spots left in this super J-Rock band of the century. Who will be the bassist and the second guitarist?
I, along with many others, have been thinking that whoever YOSHIKI end up inviting to the project, they must be of the older era J-Rocker crowd. Since YOSHIKI's X Japan, SUGIZO's LUNA SEA, Gackt's Malice Mizer were all bands that reached their prominence in that late 80's to 2000 time span.
But, something that happened just yesterday made me reconsider.
Enter miyavi.
Here, I will quote the wonderful LJ community masakarasu's translation of miyavi's video message from his blog entry yesterday (December 30). He had just returned to Japan from Los Angeles.
He said that he has something he wants to tell everyone, but not in a text, rather in a comment, in person, right there as he's tired, as he's wanting to tell everyone.
He said it's been four years since his old band broke up, and he debuted as a soloist in 2002. Being in a band was amazing, as it was said in magazines as well, but it didn't work out and he had to go solo. And now it's been four years, and it's all thanks to everyone. He said he's really feels that from his heart.
He said he thought that soccer and being in a band were over for him, but that next year, he's thinking of being in a band, playing guitar. He found an amazing guy (older than him), and he thought he'd like to try screaming in the background once again (laugh), so he hopes we look forward to it.
He can't say who's going to be in the band yet, but he hopes that they can in the new year. He's sorry for making everyone, especially Comiyavi, wait for so long this year, so that's why he decided to make a comment.
But of course, he still wants to continue his solo act as a solo artist, so he wants everyone to look forward to it.
He said he'll be working on pre-productions and he's thinking about going back to Los Angeles again, and he knows everyone's going to miss him but he's still going to play guitar, doing neo-visualism.
Los Angeles? An older musician? 2007? Right after the announcement of SUGIZO's involvement in the YOSHIKI+Gackt project? This is too much of a coincidence to be coincidental. Meeves, you're up to something!
Before you think, "has YOSHIKI lost his marbles?", consider this further. Yes, miyavi would be like a pipsqueak next to J-Rock legends YOSHIKI and SUGIZO. But the man is damn talented on the guitar. And let's not forget YOSHIKI's shrewd business sense. With the project's current lineup, the band will draw a huge audience from the mainstream pop world because of Gackt. YOSHIKI and SUGIZO will attract the fans of the older era J-Rock bands nostalgic to experience the magic once again. And if miyavi joins the fun, he will bring to the table the younger, visual kei-following crowd. The project won't just be a "let's resurrect the J-Rock dinosaurs", but "let's create a band that will encompass and appeal to all tastes and ages". It'll be the supreme band of the century.
Of course, many also worry that by having so many prominent musicians on board, the entire world is not enough for their egos combined. It'll be like a powder keg, ready to self-destruct at the smallest spark. Yet, I'm comforted by the fact that the band members themselves are aware of this and will work to overcome such obstacles. I remain optimistic about the collaboration and look forward to the final product.
In SUGIZO's words, “Look out for high-impact, explosive rock music." (tsukinoshita)
purple SKY Appears in MUCC's New DVD Footage
Who is that awkward, dashing, Japanese speaking lad with dark hair interviewing MUCC on the Bonus DVD that comes with the limited edition of their new single HORIZONT?
Why it's purple SKY magazine's very own boo. Yes, that's me dredging a print-worthy answer from a still groggy Miya. [...]
Hey, MUCC actually put footage of the purple SKY interview on the DVD of their single release. This is really nice advertising for purple SKY. Think the magazine will get a sales/subscription boost from this?
While searching for Youtube footage of this portion of the DVD (unfortunately, nothing came up), I stumbled upon the trailer for the upcoming Otakon 2006 documentary, presented by Tainted Reality.
Oh, and also a YOSHIKI interview from the same event.
Oh YOSHIKI, your shirt makes you blend right into the background wall. And I wish you'd take off your shades. Everyone at the convention knows who you are, shades or no. I just don't buy into the whole "rock stars must wear shades to maintain an air of mystery and coolness" deal. Despite his "Japanese Rock Legend/God" status, YOSHIKI seriously doesn't project that rock star persona here anyway. He really does seem like the "aww, shucks" type of guy in the video (to borrow from purple SKY's description of him).
I had such a bad urge to throw something at the screen because he said "I don't know", shrugged, and played with his hair/collar so often. He had a very defensive posture, with his arms crossed over his chest, as if he felt uncomfortable and was trying to distance himself from the audience. I thought he'd have plenty of practice giving interviews. Stop fidgeting and give us straight answers, dammit!
One.
YOSHIKI (formerly of X Japan, currently producer) was spotted at the Family Value Tour San Bernandino concert. (From mivanx77 of Batsu J-Rock Forum, photo credit: mivanx77)
Two.
Kyo of Dir en grey was rushed to the hospital after falling down from a crate/platform during performance at the Family Value Tour Toronto concert.
Kyo looked fine for the first song. During the second song, he fell down. Most people thought it was part of the act. He took a long time in getting back up, and several roadies rushed to his side, concerned and helped him back up. He made it back up after an uncomfortably long time, but looked disoriented (he banged into a mic stand). None of the other band members stopped.
After the show, I talked to fans who said he was bleeding around the face, but I didn't notice myself (my eyesight's on the crummy side), and it could've been part of the act.
A couple of songs into their set, Kyo lifted a red cage-like platform. I didn't see any struggle, but it's possible he overexerted himself then.
After the Diru show, while Flyleaf was playing, people started noticing a commotion backstage. There was an ambulance and paramedics there, and someone was being taken away. It was Kyo, by all consensus. It definitely wasn't someone from another band, because the rest of Dir en grey were standing close by, looking agitated (I saw Die and Toshiya specifically, but I'm assuming Shinya and Kaoru were there, too). Then security told everyone to piss off.
There was no meet-and-greet for Toronto. I don't know if is related to Kyo's health or not. It wasn't cancelled or anything, it just wasn't planned at all.
That's the extent of public and my personal knowledge. Despite the fact that he was clearly not feeling well during the show, the band finished their set with aplomb. It was a great performance everything considered, and they have my kudos for that. I hope Kyo will be alright. :/
From iro of Batsu J-Rock Forum
