Hayashi Yoshiki
Drums & Piano
Birthday: 11.20.1965
Birthplace: Teteyama, Chiba
Yoshiki was the founder of X Japan. He plays piano, keyboard and drums, he also can play guitar and bass.
He loves opposites and likes to play the mysterious, so he used to tell his birtday is the day X and that he has amethyst-colored blood.
He always makes the impression of a shy and sensitive person but this changes when he is behind his drums when he makes the impression that he is pure engery.
It seems that Yoshikis parents had a shop for clothing. But when Yoshiki speaks from his family, he only talks about his mother, once he said that his mother would wish to stop him playing drums and only compose music. 1999 Yoshiki confirms in an interview that his father commited suicide at the age of 33, Yoshiki was 10 at that time. Yoshiki wrote the song "Tears" for his father.
His former girl-friend was the japanese singer and actress Shizuka Kudo. The japanese press spreads rumours that he changes his girlfriends constantly. Since 1999 he produces the songs of his ex-girlfriend Shizuka and it seems that they have private contact aswell.
In an interview he stated once that he would like to marry but since he is never at home and absolutly intolerablly when he has a song in his head, he wants to wait, at least in the moment. He also said that it would be awfull when he would became father and his child would be like him.
As a pet he would like to have a tiger, he said. He doesn't like radio shows and let always Toshi, hide, pata and heath do the talking.
Together with Tetsuya Komuro, a famous japanese pop musician, he produced in 1992 under the name V2 the single "Haitoku no Hitomi" and the video "Virginity".
In 1994 he wrote and produced together with Roger Taylor, the drummer of Queen, two songs. "Foreign Sand" is about understanding between different nations and on Taylors album "Happiness", the song "Final Destination" was released as b-side of the single.
Also in 1994 he tributed a song to the Kiss-tribute "Kiss my ass". He contributed a classic piano version of the Kiss-song "Black Diamond".
In 1995 he let his hair cut short and started to wear less provocating clothes.
On the stage he gave everything and he often fell from the higher part of the stage where the drums were located. In 1996 during the Dahlia Tour he couldn't play to the end of the show and had to go to a hospital because of his backbone. The docter warned him that he should be more carefull and that he had eventually to stop playing drums. Yoshiki continued to play but he wears a special neck-support.
September, 22nd in 1997 was the day Yoshiki announced the disbanding of X Japan. He had secret plans (with hide) to form a new band with a new singer. His plans died with hide in 1998 with hides death.
After this tragedy he spent most of the time in his house in Los Angeles where he has 2 recording studios and produces some new American and Japanese band for his record company Extasy International and Extasy Japan.
He wrote songs for Saijo Hideki and Shoko Kitano and since 1999 he produces the japanese visual band Dir en grey. In 1998 he wrote a song for Zalman Kinds movie "In God's hand". In the movie the songs only played for a few seconds but it is probably released on the Violet Uk album.
Yoshiki had the great honor to write a song for the celebration that was held to celebrate the 10th year of the enthronement of the japanese emperor. The event was held on November, 12 1999 in front of the palace. Yoshiki wrote the song "Anniversary" only for this event and played it on the piono together with an orchestra. Yoshiki said in an interview that he had asked his mother for help when writing that song.
The emporer Akihito and his wife Michiko liked the song very much. The emporer even made a "tanka" (poem) about it at the traditional "utakai" (competition about poems at new years day): "Hi kurete hiraba ni tudou hitobitto to iwai no sirabe tomo ni kiki iru...(After the sunset with the people that gathered in the park I listened to the song of the celebration...).
Yoshiki was further honoured when he was invited to the traditional japanese spring celebration in the japanese Akasaka palace in Tokyo at April, 24th 2000. He went there with his mother and joined the 2600 invited guests and had a short talk with the emporer like all other guests.
In 2000 he wrote and performed several advertisment videos for the supermarket chain 7-11. He wrote the music for this under the name of his solo project Violet UK. The clips look very futuristic and they don't have much to do with a supermarket.
In 2001 he was again busy producing bands, but he also worked for his solo projekt Violet UK. At first it was said that it should be already released in 2001 but being a perfictionist Yoshiki still isn't ready for releasing. He is planing a worldwide release, that is the reason why all the texts are in English. Newest planed release date is fall 2002.
In 2002 Yoshiki joined the band Globe which is the band of his friend, Tetsuya Komuro. They made the project V2 some years ago.
