Heavy metal drummer. Piano player. Hello Kitty doll. A wine. These are the answers Yoshiki has given  to people who ask him who he is. Yoshiki laughs and says the listener must be thinking “Oh. This guy is crazy.” Perhaps. Yoshiki is all these things and you could even add producer (credited on all five of Dir En Grey’s singles from their major debut), founder of Exstasy Records (who signed Luna Sea and Glay) and a pioneer of the Visual Kei genre. The co-founder of X Japan, one of Japan’s most successful musical groups, Yoshiki is an icon in the metal and rock world, both domestically and internationally. And now he's gone back to his roots as a classical musician.

Currently on a world tour promoting his album Yoshiki Classical, Yoshiki’s first dates were in California. The debut show in Costa Mesa featured many tracks off the classical themed album and renditions of X Japan hits. Surprise guest Sugizo (Luna Sea, X Japan, Juno Reactor) made an appearance and played the violin for the crowd. An additional noteworthy performance was the song "Hero," which will be the theme for the new film Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary. The second stop upon the tour was in San Francisco's gorgeous Davies Hall, where special guest Toshi, co-founder and vocalist for X Japan, appeared and performed on stage alongside Yoshiki. It was then the two announced that X Japan will be playing at Madison Square Garden in New York this October 11. But if you don't want to wait until then, you can catch him on tour all around the world! 

The Yoshiki Classical World Tour will continue on to:

05/21/14 Moscow, Russia - Crocus City Hall
05/23/14 Berlin, Germany - Tempodrom
06/06/14 Shanghai, China - Oriental Arts
06/08/14 Beijing, China - Beijing Exhibition Center
06/10/14 Bangkok, Thailand - Royal Jubillee Ballroom
06/13/14 Taipei, Taiwan - NK 101
06/16/14 Tokyo, Japan - Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
06/17/14 Osaka, Japan - The Symphony Hall 

For more info, head to Yoshiki's website at www.yoshiki.net

by Reginald Rhoades