Japanese rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel recently launched one of the nicest MySpace pages I’ve seen in awhile, just before they kicked off their current world tour. Although the international leg of the tour is over, you can still catch them at the Tokyo Dome May 31, June 1, and 3, and at Osaka’s Kyocera Dome June 7, and 8.
Tag Archive for 'j-rock'
Chaos would be an understatement at Odaiba Mall (Tokyo) recently, as it was the surprise location for a reunion video shoot for quite possibly the greatest band in Japanese history..X-Japan. Many would have accepted their beloved bands fate long ago, but not THIS band’s fans. Want to see how fast 3 shows at the Tokyo Dome sell out? Just wait and see..
Arriving home to Japan to much more press than the last time around, Ochi Yosuke is asking the media to believe he’ll win the next World Air Guitar Championship 3 times straight. Even with his unorthodox playing style, he still manages to mesmerize the Finnish judges quite handily. And seeing that he puts about as much passion into the contest as his own comedy career, who should doubt him?
X-Japan’s Yoshiki, made an interesting new blog post recently, in which he talked about a particular night right before his L.A. JRock extravaganza. Apparently, he was driving past the venue a few evenings before the show, and noticed a bunch of people camped outside. Intrigued by the sight, he phoned one of his personal assistants to find out what all the fuss was about. He was gently reminded that it was non other than HIS show that they were all awaiting for! After learning that some had been there for several days, he returned minutes later, shocking everyone with coffee and hot chocolates to help ease their wait..
This month, my hat goes off to a special group of fans, fans willing to wait an astonishing 17 years to see their favorite band play live again. I’m speaking of those dedicated to the Japanese group D’Erlanger. Many were willing to fly any distance, paying any price to see the group, and their hopes finally became reality after an announcement came that D’Erlanger would perform live again in late April. Playing before 3 thousand of their most dedicated in central Tokyo, many were ecstatic, many were in tears, their long wait was over, but one question remained. When will their beloved band ever play again?
Japanese comedian Ochi Yosuke, has to be walking on a cloud this month, after winning the Air Guitar World Championship in Finland recently. Only practicing for a couple of days, he shocked the judges with his powerful, albeit slightly comedic performance of “Are you gonna be my girl?” by the band JET. The Youtube video doesn’t really do the performance justice–he really had the crowd going. He walked away with a specially designed Finnish guitar and amplifier, donated by Brian May of the British rock group Queen. But more importantly, being part of a story that is sure to be circulating Japan for many months into the future..
JRock group Glay is back performing live after an almost 12 month leave of absence. The band quickly sold out their first gig at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, leaving hundreds of crazed fans without tickets. This was all the encouragement needed from the local scalpers to begin charging exorbitant fees of ¥70,000+ for decent seats to see the show.
The Asian music boom is spreading rapidly throughout the region, and many of it’s pop artists are taking notice. During a recent visit to Korea, Japanese star Gackt surprised several reporters by carrying out many of his interviews in Korean. Asked about his new found enthusiasm for Asian languages, Gackt said that he planned to focus a good deal more of his future energy promoting and touring in other parts of Asia, and wants to have a good grasp of those countries languages, so he can better communicate with reporters and fans while abroad.
Gackt’s ability to inspire media attention, and at the same time wow audiences, was demonstrated once again at this years Christmas Eve show at the Tokyo Dome. The Japanese artist entered the arena, riding a horse through the crowd at full gallop, all the while donning an elaborate array of heavy medieval gear. He reportedly trained several months for the event, and it proved to be quite successful, not only for several thousand adoring fans, but for the incredible amount of media attention he received for several weeks afterwards.
Orange Range drummer Katchan has left the current tour blaming a hand injury, but then shortly thereafter, announced he was leaving the band for good. There’s been a lot of speculation as to what happened, but there’s been no other official statements from Katchan or the band itself. Apparently, the group wishes him well, but will definitely continue on without him.
