Two days before their live in Taipei on May 30th, X JAPAN arrived in Taiwan and immediately held a press conference for their waiting fans. SUGIZO, HEATH, PATA and YOSHIKI were in front of cameras and reporters a mere hour after getting off the plane. Most noticeably rock in appearance were SUGIZO and HEATH: both were dressed all in black, SUGIZO in a patchwork trench coat and HEATH in a gothic-looking outfit. Upon closer inspection, YOSHIKI had skulls on his T-shirt and scarf, but PATA was refreshingly casual in a flowery shirt.
Though it had been many years since the band had been in Taiwan, they all professed to be very happy to return. PATA compared the warmth of the fans’ welcome to the hot weather in Taipei and claimed that he used to visit three times a year! A few questions about the live were posed, but as usual, YOSHIKI demurely refused to give any details. He asked the fans to wait and see, and assured them they would not be disappointed. YOSHIKI stated that he would give his all, and joked that the live might kill him!
SUGIZO was asked about his feelings on participating as a support member for X JAPAN, and he replied, “I’m very proud and blessed to be a part of this great band, and I also hope I’ll be able to do it justice my own way. When I joined, I promised to do my best.”
As HEATH and SUGIZO had known each other for a long time prior to SUGIZO joining the band, HEATH said he was very excited to be on the same stage with his good friend.
Then the topic turned to X JAPAN’s future activities. YOSHIKI admitted to plans of promoting the band in Beijing and Shanghai after the live in Taiwan, but said he’d have to make it through the live in Taipei first! No concerts were confirmed for China, however. YOSHIKI was also deliberatey vague when giving news about the band’s new album: it should be released in 2009 and will have new songs, but other than that, fans will have to wait and see…
During the reporters’ Q&A session, a question about zhong-zi (sticky rice dumplings) was asked because it was Dragon Boat Festival, a very important holiday in Taiwan. The band had received many zhong-zi from fans when they arrived at the airport, and YOSHIKI promised they would definitely eat them because, as he said, “It’s Dragon Boat Festival, we have to!”
There was also a silly question about how the members don’t seem to age, despite having been in the music scene for two decades. SUGIZO laughed and replied, “I don’t know any real secrets. I guess my heart is childlike, so I feel young and stay young!”
YOSHIKI added, “I’m doing what I love, so that’s how I stay young.”
The final question of the afternoon had to do with how lives in other countries were different from lives in Japan. HEATH felt that there was no real difference - all the fans receive them warmly, so they just reciprocate the feelings at concerts. PATA’s answer was the same: no matter where they were, seeing all the fans made him just want to shout “thank you” over and over…and of course, no whether in Japan or otherwise, he had to put on a cool show!
SUGIZO had an amusing anecdote about losing things. He said that if he lost something in Japan, he could return to find it, whereas in another country, it would be lost forever! Apparently, this was something that happens to him often and has caused him a lot of grief. Poor SUGIZO!
YOSHIKI was the last to reply, saying that even if venues and people were different, the emotions felt at each show were the same. He had an anecdote as well: “The interaction with fans will always be a little different. Last year, when I came to Taiwan, many fans met me dressed as brides. Today, I wanted to arrive dressed as a bride…but the management asked me not to do this. But at the concert…you never know!”
Faithful fans of X JAPAN, would you consider YOSHIKI a bride worth waiting for? Hopefully, you won’t have to wait much longer until the band makes it to a country near you. In the meantime, check out the live reports of X JAPAN’s concerts in Asia, available on JaME!
