YOSHIKI of X Japan: Honored with Historic “Asian Icon Award” at the Classic Rock Awards Show; ‘WE ARE X,’ Critically Acclaimed Music Doc Expands Nationally

Thursday, January 12 and Friday, January 13 at  Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in New York

(Los Angeles, CA: Monday, November 14, 2016) X JAPAN leader YOSHIKI performed at the “CLASSIC ROCK AWARDS” held at Ryogoku Kokugikan this past Friday, November 11. YOSHIKI opened the prestigious annual award show–hosted by the UK-based magazine Classic Rock–with a striking classical piano performance. Later that night, YOSHIKI made history by becoming the first-ever artist to be honored with the “ASIAN ICON AWARD.” Based at the venerable “Roundhouse” venue in London, the CLASSIC ROCK AWARDS are widely recognized by the world’s rock stars as the “annual must-attend event,” bringing together artists from rock’s global Hall of Fame. The show was held in Japan this year for the first time ever, and with this memorable timing YOSHIKI became the first Asian artist to accomplish this great achievement. Rock royalty including Jeff Beck, ELO, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Def Leppard, Richie Sambora, Cheap Trick attended the event and gave YOSHIKI rave reviews for his performance featuring classical renditions of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and X JAPAN’s masterpiece “Art Of Life.”

“So many artists in Asia are going overseas and Asian rock is growing worldwide. X Japan, is proud to be one of them and if there’s a wall between east and west, the wall is getting lower and thinner. I’m going to break this wall. It’s an honor to receive this award. I would like to dedicate this award to the members of X Japan, especially Hide and Taiji. Thank you very much.” –-YOSHIKI

YOSHIKI is currently on a world tour greeting audiences for the X JAPAN documentary ‘WE ARE X at film festivals in various countries, as well as promoting his forthcoming classical tour. WE ARE X is a transcendent and beautifully shot rock & roll story about the Japanese rock band X JAPAN, one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Under the enigmatic direction of YOSHIKI, composer, classically-trained pianist, drummer/percussionist, and the creative force behind the group, X JAPAN has sold over 30 million singles and albums combined–captivating such a wide range of admirers as Sir George Martin, KISS, Stan Lee, and the Japanese Emperor-while pioneering a spectacle-driven style of visual rock called Visual Kei, a one-of-a-kind cultural phenomenon.Directed by acclaimed documentarian Stephen Kijak (Stones in Exile, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man), and produced by the Oscar-winning production team  behind  Searching for Sugar Man, WE ARE X is an astonishingly intimate portrait of a deeply haunted–but truly unstoppable–virtuoso and the music that has enthralled legions of the world’s most devoted fans. The film continues to expand nationally in new cities every week; see the current list of playdates (here).

Here is some early critical praise for the film ‘WE ARE X’: NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES, PITCHFORK, BUZZFEED, USA TODAY and LA WEEKLY.

Following are all YOSHIKI Classical and X JAPAN current tour dates:

 Running Time: 95 Minutes

Rated: R (For Language)

Film Website: http://www.wearexfilm.com/         

X JapanFacebook / @xjapanofficial Twitter / X Japan Youtube

YOSHIKI Official Website: http://www.yoshiki.net/
YOSHIKI Facebook/ @YoshikiOfficial Twitter / YOSHIKI Youtube @yoshikiofficial Instagram

X Japan is the most successful rock band in Japanese history, and that is not a statement made lightly. The band has sold more than 30 million albums; singles and videos combined, sold out Japan’s 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome 18 times – so far – and have played to tens of thousands of fans outside of Japan. In the band’s early days their look and sound sparked a global interest in entertainment, especially with the Japanese cultural rock phenomenon, “Visual-Kei,” a movement X Japan pioneered that spread globally. X Japan formed in 1982 (calling themselves X) by Yoshiki and Toshi while they were still teenagers. Over the next 13 years, the band released five studio albums–Vanishing Vision (1988), Blue Blood (1989), Jealousy (1991), Art of Life (1993) and Dahlia (1996), as well as six live albums, ten best hits albums and 20 DVD releases. X Japan was the first Japanese band to achieve mainstream success while signed to an independent label. The band was so popular they became a cultural phenomenon.
In the fall of 1997, at the height of their success, the band broke up. Four months later, Hide, X Japan’s original lead guitarist, was found dead in his Tokyo apartment. At his funeral, more than 50,000 fans came to mourn his passing. In early 2007 Yoshiki and Toshi resumed communication and later that year X Japan officially reformed. The band launched its reunion in 2008 with 3 nights at the Tokyo Dome. 2 years later, X Japan filmed a music video on the rooftop of Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre with a throng of some 8,000 U.S. fans taking part in the shoot on Hollywood Blvd. But it was on August 8, 2010 that X Japan performed in front of a mainstream American crowd for the first time at Lollapalooza. Immediately following the festival, X Japan played the biggest concert in its history, selling out two consecutive shows at Japan’s Nissan Stadium, filling 140,000 seats. The band’s first North American tour wrapped with a monumental New York date selling out The Roseland Ballroom on Oct. 11, 2010.
In June 2011, X Japan kicked off a European Tour at London’s Shepherd’s Bush (selling -out the venue in 30 minutes). The tour continued to Paris and Utrecht wrapping in Berlin before the band traveled back to Japan to play the famed Summer Sonic Festival. That same year the world tour took them to South America where they sold out shows playing to massive crowds in Santiago, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima and Mexico City. X Japan then returned to Asia playing arena shows in Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Bangkok. In 2012 X Japan was the first Japanese band to take home the prize for “Best International Band” at the Golden Gods Awards held in the U.S. In 2014 X Japan headlined a colossal show at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden in the U.S. Now, in 2016, X Japan is gearing up for the biggest event in the band’s history. The current line-up of X Japan is Yoshiki/drums, piano; Toshi/vocals; Pata/guitars; Heath/bass; and Sugizo/guitars,violin. X Japan recently announced the release of the band’s 1st new studio album in 20 years, which will be available in worldwide release in 2017.