Profile of Yoshiki Hayashi on Famous Like Me

Yoshiki is a Japanese musician- superstar. He is most renowned as a founding member of the former band X Japan.

Biography

Yoshiki Hayashi (born November 20, 1965) was born in Tateyama, Chiba, Japan.

He started playing the piano at the age of 4. His mother was a piano teacher and taught him herself. When Yoshiki was ten years old his father committed suicide. This tragedy and the ensuing trauma threw Yoshiki completely into his music. He grew out long hair and took up playing the drums to release his anger and pain. A great fan of Western bands, particularly KISS, while in middle school Yoshiki came to enlist childhood friend Toshimitsu Deyama as a member of his rock band X. A handful of other members came and went, but in 1985 the lineup finally emerged with Yoshiki on drums and piano, Toshi on vocals, Hideto Matsumoto (nickname hide, always in lowercase) on guitar, Tomoaki Ishizuka (Pata) on guitar, and Taiji Sawada on bass.

In 1986 Yoshiki's mother sold her business to promote the band, whose music was too angry and aggressive for an existing label to support, so they started their own label called Extasy Records. By 1987 the band was taking off, with the hit singles Orgasm and I'll Kill You, and next year their first album Vanishing Vision. On September 1, 1989 the bands song Kurenai placed 5th in its first week on the Oricon Charts. They were the first indies band to reach the chart. In 1992, the band changed its name from X to X Japan. The reason was so that people wouldn't get them confused with bands named X in Australia and Los Angeles, USA. At this time Taiji (bass) left the band and was replace with Heath. The band was reached its final and most well known line-up.

The band's appearance became milder. They no longer had spiky hair by the time they held the legendary concert in Tokyo Dome in 1992, Hammettsu ni Mukatte (On the Verge of Destruction), though most of the members retained their long hair. Around 1994, Yoshiki cut his long hair and kept it short until now. The only member who still retained a sense of psychedelic apperaance was hide, being famous for his short pink-and-black hair and eccentric personality.

In 1997, Toshi decided to leave the band. In 22nd September 1997 the band announced their dissolution and had their last concert at the Tokyo Dome in December of that year. The concert, called The Last Live, was almost a replica of their earlier tour: Dahlia Tour, but with an unprecedented sad ambience. After the band broke up Yoshiki and Toshi went their separate ways, and Yoshiki continued to run his company. X Japan left the stage as Japan's most influential and imitated band ever.

Even during the throes of X Japan's wild popularity, he managed to scout out and promote other Japanese rock bands of notable worth (e.g. Glay in around '92-'93, Dir en grey in around '98); therefore, with the role of "musician" so suddenly retired, Yoshiki was able to focus and hone his efforts as a producer. After the sudden death of hide on 2nd May 1998, Yoshiki fell into a great depression, and vowed never to play the drums again. He moved to Los Angeles and stayed out of the public for 2 years.

In 2000, he opened up Extasy Records International and Extasy Records North (a recording studio) up in Hollywood, California. He considered a memorial concert for hide to be done in 2002, but cancelled due to it being too 'commercial'. By then Yoshiki was at work once more, this time to finalize a private project called "Violet UK", on which he had been hatching for 10 years. "Violet UK" is scheduled to be released on the 22nd of September, 2005, the 8-year anniverary of the disbanding of X-Japan.

2002 also saw Yoshiki's return to the pop music scene by joining the Japanese pop band globe (always in lowercase), in which he still is a member. Yoshiki also has collaborated with other famous musicians, including Tetsuya Komuro or globe in '92 in the production of the song Eyes of Venus and Virginity; George Martin producer of The Beatles in the production of Eternal Melody in around '92; and Roger Taylor of Queen in production of the song Foreign Sand, and expressed his creativity through various avenues. He has shook hands with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during campaign season, who claims to be a huge fan of X Japan.

Fans of Yoshiki may remember him most from his heavy visual days with X Japan, when his extreme personal style and effeminate dress was almost a literal representation of the Japanese bishounen aesthetic. He was then an enigmatic man who was just as easily a demon tearing up his drums as a gentle, living doll seated before a crystal piano; and while nowadays Yoshiki prefers to stand behind the curtains as a sophisticated businessman, he is no less busy in the music industry, and spends his time between Tokyo, Japan, and Los Angeles, California.

Discography

Studio Singles

• Amethyst (3 November 1993)
• Foreign Sand (1 June 1994)

Studio Albums

• Yoshiki Selection (12 November 1991)
• Eternal Melody I (21 April 1993)
• Yoshiki Selection II (4 November 1996)
• Eternal Melody - Yoshiki present (27 December 2001)
• Eternal Melody II (23 March 2005)

Compilations by Various Artists

• Kiss My Ass (21 June 1994)
• Hide Tribute Spirits (1 May 1999)
• Ai Chikyu-haku Presents Love The Earth (30 March 2005)

For his discography with X-Japan please see the page X-Japan.

For his discography with globe please see the page globe.

Multimedia

DVDs

• Symphonic Concert 2002 with Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra featuring VIOLET UK (30 March 2005)

Links

1. Official Site: Yoshiki.net
2. Extasy Japan: Extasy Japan
3. Extasy Records International: Extasy Records International
4. X Japan official Site: X Japan

Unofficial Sites:

1. Yoshikinet.com: Yoshikinet
2. Endless Dream : Endless Dream
3. Screaming Kiai message board: ScreamingKIAI

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