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Интервью в www.examiner.com/article/interview-with-yoshiki...

Interview with Yoshiki of X Japan on the band’s Madison Square Garden debut

This Saturday (Oct. 11) will go down in J-rock history, as one of the biggest bands in Asia makes their debut at Madison Square Garden. Formed over 30 years ago, X Japan first gained notoriety in the mid-'80s by ushering in the visual kei movement, a style that continues to evolve through other Japanese megastars like L’Arc~en~Ciel (who headlined the World's Most Famous Arena themselves in 2012).

At the center of it all is X Japan's founding member, Yoshiki Hayashi. An equally talented songwriter, heavy metal drummer and classical pianist, he is both the heart and soul of X Japan, and, having lived in Los Angeles for two decades, the ideal mouthpiece for the band's American tours, which started with a bang in 2010 at Lollapalooza and included a sold-out gig at New York's now-defunct Roseland Ballroom.

In this exclusive, expansive interview, I spoke with Yoshiki about how the group's original hopes to play the Garden in 2008 were dashed by personal health and management troubles, his favorite, anime, manga and X Japan songs, and his experience working with legends like Stan Lee, KISS, and the Emperor of Japan.

How did this concert for Madison Square Garden come together? I know there were plans to do this in 2008; can you talk about this history?

Our band reunited around the year 2008. We did our reunion concert in Tokyo Dome, three days or so, I think. At that time, we were also thinking of performing [shows] outside of Japan, and Madison Square Garden was one or two of [the ideas]. But for some reason they didn’t happen, so since then, that venue was always in our minds. A few years ago, we decided to try schedule Madison Square Garden. I think we were kind of confirmed last year.

It’s a long road.

Yes. Well, considering that X Japan was not doing anything—I mean, the band broke up around the end of 1997, so when we reunited we had almost 10 years of a break. We started doing a bunch of arena shows, and then we started touring the world when we went to 16 countries or so. Considering this, the [last] six or seven years have been tours [laughs].

Are there plans for X Japan to play any other concerts for the remainder of the year?

Not now. We just announced our shows in Japan, this place called Yokohama Arena, so we [performed] there Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. It’s kind of like a prelude to Madison Square Garden and a kickoff to [that] show, about 10 days before that. As of now, Madison Square Garden is the only American show, but [depending] on how it goes, we may start another world tour. We’re just talking about it right this moment.

очень-очень длинное интервью обо всем на свете

After plans for the original Madison Square Garden performance of 2008 was cancelled, X Japan came to New York to play Roseland Ballroom two years later. What was the reason behind playing a smaller venue?

In 2008-2009, we had this management, so we were planning Madison Square Garden in America in New York, and also planning on playing some venue in Paris. Those were all cancelled because of some problem with the management. In 2010, we had new management, then since we were doing just only one show in New York, in 2010 we did a North American tour starting in Los Angeles, and we went to Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver, Chicago, Toronto, and New York. So, we went to tour in America instead of us doing one place in America. That’s how things changed. Same as Paris; instead of doing one place, [in 2011] we did a small tour in Europe. We played in London, Paris, Utrecht, and Berlin. Before 2008, we were thinking just one show in New York and one show in Paris, that’s it. But we kind of split it apart.

How was the decision made to play Roseland?

Before X Japan broke up and after the reunion, we kept playing these huge places like the Tokyo Dome, which we played five times to 65,000 people. We kind of wanted to go back to basics, like how we started in the clubs, how we started playing intimate shows to 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 people. So Roseland was perfect…I loved that show.

I went with a friend and he was amazed. Many new fans were born that night.

Well, that’s good [laughs].

We saw one young couple in the crowd—I would imagine they were Japanese. They brought their toddler, maybe a two-year-old boy…

[Laughs] Oh my God.

He had these big headphones on to protect his hearing. We were thinking what kind of parents would bring their child to this kind of show.

[Laughs] Oh my God.

A lot of stuff happening in the crowd that night.

Yeah, the crowd in New York was amazing.

We love our rock shows here. Interestingly enough, I noticed that the week you’re playing this October, the last time in Roseland was during New York Comic Con week. Is that the same kind of reasoning with the timing of the Madison Square Garden show?

Yes. Actually, right before we decided the date, we also talked to New York Comic Con, so they actually are happy to sponsor our show. It didn’t have to be during New York Comic Con week, but I was hoping it would be, so it’s perfect to be right in the middle of it.

Will you be making an appearance at the con?

Yes. Actually, I will be doing it with Stan Lee. I’m going to be appearing at New York Comic Con on October 10th, the day before the X Japan Madison Square Garden show.

He’s an amazing guy. I’ve interviewed him before. He’s in his nineties now, but he has so much energy.

[Laughs] I know, I know. He’s a true legend and he’s amazing.

Recently, you wrapped up the first leg of your Yoshiki Classical world tour. Are there any plans to do a second leg maybe next year?

Yes. Because the first leg was a pretty rough test, I’ve been talking to my agent for the second leg for the Yoshiki Classical tour. But right this moment, the first priority is X Japan and the Madison Square Garden show. Maybe I’ll think about it after that.

You played a lot of cities on that last leg, but unfortunately New York was not included. Was Carnegie Hall unavailable?

[Pauses] How do you know about that? [Laughs]

Intuition!

I went to 10 countries [on the first leg], I think. Yes, we were talking about Carnegie Hall. Most likely, the path to Carnegie Hall may be one of those places I’m going to be performing.

I hope you can make that dream come true soon.

I’d love to. Carnegie Hall is also as important as Madison Square Garden.

If Yoshiki is going to do a classical show in New York, it must be at Carnegie Hall.

Yes. I would love to do that.

I want to talk a little about your approach to songwriting. So many X Japan songs have English in them. When you originally wrote them, did you have someone translate them from the Japanese, or is that something you have total control over?

For the past 10 years, I speak more English than Japanese, even though my English is not perfect. When I write lyrics, I actually write in English first. For some of the tunes I composed, I wrote it in English and then I just translate to Japanese [laughs]. I write English lyrics, mainly, more than Japanese lyrics.

You’ve been living in Los Angeles for some time now.

Yes. I go back and forth between Japan and America. I think I’ve been living almost 20 years here in Los Angeles.

What things do you like the most about living in the U.S.?

It was kind of an accident, because 20 years ago I came here to go to a recording studio, so that’s the reason. It’s like, I can go to a grocery store or something like that—it’s impossible to go to that kind of place in Japan. It’s kind of nice to have freedom [laughs].

Agreed. What kind of expectations do you and the rest of the band have for the Madison Square Garden show? Are you looking for a sellout, or some kind of increased awareness for the group? It’s such a big place, so what would you consider a success following this performance?

I think everything you said. It’s like we’re going to perform our most memorable show ever. Also, this is the first time we’re doing the full production. When we performed at the Tokyo Dome, our drum riser moved into the B-stage, or lasers and tons of pyro and everything. We’re bringing all those to Madison Square Garden. Actually, we’ve never done that outside of Japan. So we’re trying to get awareness—we are X Japan in America. Also, we wanted to—Madison Square Garden, I believe, has always been one of the places to go for a performance, a dream place for any rock band….Probably the show, for me, the reason is anything you can think of, a culmination of everything.

L’Arc~en~Ciel performed at Madison Square Garden as a headliner two years ago, being the first Japanese group to headline there. What kind of things does X Japan want to do differently in terms of promotion or outreach, and how do you feel about how they did?

First of all, I have enormous respect for the band L’Arc~en~Ciel, and I think they’re great...I didn’t go to their show, so I don’t know 100%. I kind of watched saw little bit of video, but X Japan’s strength, we make even Tokyo Dome a live house. We create a super energetic show, whether it’s 1,000 people or even 50,000 people. We are trying to make the Madison Square Garden show like a huge club, but also a theatrical combination. I know that L’Arc~en~Ciel deserve a Madison Square Garden show. I mean, it’s not the same band; they have their strength, and we have our own strength, too.

How do you feel about ticket sales right now? Are they in line with your expectations?

I think so. It’s not as easy as playing in Tokyo or Asia, but we just started heavily promoting Madison Square Garden, so we’re pretty confident that it’s going to be a big crowd.

Are there any American bands that you would most want to tour with?

Good question. I don’t know, I mean, it doesn’t have to be America; it could be someone from England or Europe. Let’s see, KISS may be interesting, or maybe like Muse—they have also a classical music influence as well. Or maybe someone heavy, like Slipknot. I don’t know [laughs].

Do you have any favorite X Japan songs to perform live?

Some of the X Japan songs are really fast, so I’m doing the same song I played more than 20 years ago. Even though I love those songs—songs like “X,” or “Kurenai” that I play fast on—I love those songs, but it’s not easy for me to play as a drummer. These days, I love our new songs, something like “Jade” or “Born to Be Free,” those are pretty new songs. These are good. Also, we will be performing a brand new song in MSG—I think we are planning at least two songs.

Can you give us the title of the new material?

One song’s called “Hero,” which we kind of did the music video shoot [in August] in Tokyo. I just got back from Tokyo and Hong Kong yesterday. Then there’s one or two more songs—we’re just trying to figure it out.

Is there an English lyric you’ve written that you’re proudest of?

[Laughs] Hmm. Well, I like the song “Jade.” Also, I like our song called “I.V.,” the theme song I wrote for the film Saw IV.

Regarding your recent Yoshiki Classical album which was released worldwide earlier this year, I was curious about your song “Anniversary,” which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the enthronement of the Emperor of Japan. What was in your heart when you set out to write this?

Actually, I didn’t understand why the celebration committee called me to compose the song. I was like, “What?!,” you know? Then I asked my mother….At that time, they didn’t give me any direction, then they asked me to compose, and when I asked them what kind of song, they didn’t say anything. I was like, “Should I play rock, should I play pop, or should I play something classical?” So I made the decision to create a piano concerto, because I thought that was appropriate rather than playing heavy metal, right?

What kind of approach did you take when you wrote “Golden Globe Theme”?

When I was asked to do this, I was like, “What?!” [Laughs] I actually didn’t know what to do at that time, so I kind of composed three different kinds of songs: One very classy, one very edgy, and one kind of in the middle….During the awards, they party. It’s different from the Academy [Awards], so people are drinking champagne and eating….People liked my choice of combination of a little bit of prestige and edgy.

I wanted to ask about your health these days. How are you feeling now, and will you still be wearing a neck brace when playing heavy drums live?

Yes. I’m been seeing doctors, even through my Yoshiki Classical world tour. I did a cortisone shot five times in my life elbow, and six times in my right wrist this year alone [laughs]. I think my body’s just deteriorating, but I know it’s a tradeoff, because every time I put everything in the show, even when I was touring classical music as well. Doing rock music, I put even more energy and everything I have into that kind of show. I know it’s not going to last that long, but I’ll do it till the end. The end may come next year or two years from now, but it may last five years. I won’t be touring 10 years, I don’t think so. I’ll do what I can, and the doctor said I need to wear braces, so I’m wearing braces for my right wrist when I’m not performing—when I’m not actually playing the piano—and a neck brace that I’ve started to wear for the drum performance as well.

Years ago, Alex Van Halen had a similar condition, and he would wear a neck brace during a few Van Halen tours. During the last few tours, I didn’t notice him wearing one, and I’m not sure what happened with him.

Wow. I’d love to see his doctor.

When you finally met KISS, when did that happen and what was that like?

I met them a long time ago. When I went to Gene Simmons’s house, I was asked to do a KISS tribute [1994’s KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved]. I did a song called “Black Diamond,” a kind of concerto. They were very nice. I met Gene and Paul [Stanley], then eventually, Gene invited me to some kind of party. Last year, last August, I happened to be in Tokyo and they were touring in Japan, so I went to see the show. We hung out after the show. It was so nice to see their performing skill. I went to see their show when I was close to 10 years old—my mother took me to see the show after I asked her. They were the first rock band and the first rock show I went to see. It was very nice to see them performing, and they’re one of my inspirations.

Would you say that KISS was the biggest inspiration to X Japan regarding the birth of visual kei?

I think that KISS is one of the inspirations. We also liked Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Sex Pistols. The visual kei aspect was a combination of all those genres, including new wave, heavy metal and punk rock. We combined everything into a kind of genre for visual kei.

Would you say that David Bowie’s look in the film Labyrinth was an inspiration?

I think so. I met David Bowie a long time ago; we interviewed together. I think that I met him personally before KISS, though.

Regarding the version of “Black Diamond” that you did, was that your first choice of song to cover for that project?

Yes. Actually, Gene Simmons told me about a few [songs] with piano or classical arrangements for KISS, he gave me maybe five songs…I said I would like to try a concerto, and he said, “Okay, we’ll see.” I was asked to do it for a Japanese version of their tribute album, but they liked it so much that they put my arrangement into the worldwide album.

A few years later they released a tribute album in Japan called Jigoku no Shōsan, which I happen to have, and I was wondering if you were approached to be part of that project as well.

I didn’t know that project.

It’s a cool one. It’s like a Japanese artists’ version of the American KISS tribute album.

Oh, interesting. I need to check it out.

It actually has a version of “Deuce” by Diamond Yukai. You were both in the movie Tokyo Pop.

Okay, okay [laughs].

How did X’s appearance come together in Tokyo Pop, and what do you think about that scene now?

[Laughs] At that time, we were one of the bands people were talking about—the crazy hairstyle and out of control something, and I think somebody heard our band name, then someone approached us to do a movie, and we were like, “cool.” We had to do it at a gig or something, and they showed up.

What is KISS’ influence to you, and how do you feel about them not being able to perform together at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony earlier this year?

Having a band is really complicated. It’s like X Japan—except Toshi, the vocalist, pretty much everybody was the leader of the band, so our strategy is to be able to gather all those leaders of the band. In our case, Taiji was an original member; he actually happened to pass away in 2011. In 2010, we had an X Japan show in Nissan Stadium [in Yokohama]. I actually fired him a long, long time ago. We had some mutual differences—not only music, we had a lot of differences. But I somehow knew his condition was not right…[but] I wanted to perform with him again. So Toshi and I asked him to join our band, even though we have a great player. I also talked to my present bass player, Heath, saying, “Can I invite Taiji into our show?” He said yeah, but he was like, “We would have two bass players.” I said, “A few songs. Because I would like to kind of reunite.” It was very, how do you say, a memorable moment, but at the same time, organizing that kind of show was not easy. So for sure, KISS has a lot of different things that we don’t know, but on this day they appeared on the same stage, so I think we should appreciate what they have done.

If it’s not too personal, where were you when you received the news of Taiji’s passing the following year, and what were your initial thoughts about that?

We were doing a world tour, then we were taking a break and I was in the studio in Los Angeles recording. My friend told me…first of all, I didn’t believe it. It was a little too dramatic…

Let’s talk about some of your endorsements. I really like the drumsticks that you’ve used for a long time made by Tama. Do you still use those now?

Yes, I do.

They have that coating on them for extra grip. Do you know what that grip is made out of?

Actually, I don’t know. It doesn’t really slip, so it kind of sticks to your hands.

I’ve used them before, but the only problem that I had was that they leave black marks all over the drum heads whenever you hit them.

[Laughs] Exactly! I have the same problem [laughs].

Do you have to replace your drums a lot on tour, or do you leave them like that?

Oh, for sure. I bang drums so hard, after every single show I have to change every single drum head.

Your roadies must love you.

My cymbals, too. They crack, so I have to replace them here and there.

Do your drum technicians like having all that extra work, or is it mendokusai [a bother]?

I have a person who just sets up drums, and also I have a person who just changes the heads.

Did you ever feel like using nylon tips when you play with your sticks?

I kind of like something natural. I used that before, but I hit drums so hard that those tips really break. I break at least three or four sticks during the show.

I remember they cost about 2,000 yen a pair when I was in Japan, but they’re totally worth it.

[Laughs] Thank you.

For your song “Endless Rain,” the intro has a similarity with “November Rain,” which was released several years later by Guns N’ Roses. When you first heard “November Rain,” did you notice this, and had anyone from that band ever talked to you about it?

That’s interesting. You know what? The new guitar player Richard Fortus, from Guns N’ Roses, actually he’s a friend of mine, so he actually played “Endless Rain” during the Guns N’ Roses tour during his solo. He and Robin [Finck], who used to be in Nine Inch Nails, they did “Endless Rain” during the guitar solo.

In 2011, X Japan signed a deal with EMI to release an English-language album in the United States. The last I heard about that, it was said that the tsunami in Japan made it difficult to finish recording. What’s the status of that, will that album ever come out, and is there any plan to release new music in America?

Yes. Actually, we are definitely planning on releasing the album now. We started doing a world tour in 2011. Then during that tour, our original bass player, Taiji, passed away. Then I [thought] we had to take a break again, not only for that reason due to some drama in terms of the band, not like actually the band itself, [but] towards for management or something like that—we had a lawsuit and everything. Finally, some of those things kind of settled, so we can concentrate on more music. Especially this year, we started focusing on more music, too. During that time, also, of course the tsunami and everything happened, too, but the main reason was that our band was not ready at that time.

Does the deal with EMI still hold, as far as the contractual obligation to have this record released?

Actually, we are almost talking to a different label [laughs]. Also, you know, EMI was bought by Universal, and then…yeah, let’s change the subject.

As far as video goes, are there any plans to release any live DVD footage from the previous U.S. tour?

I think so. We shot a lot of places; not only the U.S., but of course we shot in New York, in England, Mexico, Brazil, we shot Paris, London, Berlin, so we shot several shows, also in Southeast Asia: We shot Bangkok, Shanghai, Taipei, so we have a lot of footage. We also had three days of reunion shows at Tokyo Dome; we have not released those yet…we’ll start releasing those little by little.

Do you have any future plans for your supergroup S.K.I.N.?

Yes. When we are together, we go to dinner or something, we talk about [it]. When we formed S.K.I.N., at that time X Japan was not in my mind, because X Japan was not there. Right after we formed the band S.K.I.N., Toshi from X Japan called me from out of nowhere, and it was pretty much the first time I talked to him in 10 years. We started talking about reuniting the band and everything, then also each member of S.K.I.N. had their previous commitment and engagements, they were doing their own stuff, so it’s kind of hard for us to get together. I think it’s a little more like my fault, because I was not planning on doing X Japan at that time, then I started doing X Japan. So I became pretty busy with X Japan, too. But we talk about it here and there, so there’s definitely a possibility we will be together, but at this point, we don’t have any specific plan.

Will any of the songs from that tour be released at some point?

I didn’t think about that, actually. Hmm. We’ll see, yeah.

Good answer.

[Laughs]

Do you have any favorite anime or manga?

I liked Mazinger Z. Of course, Saint Seiya. Also, I like, how do you say, Attack on Titan.

That’s very popular now, even in the U.S.

Yeah. I like that. Evangelion. I like Bleach. I like One Piece, too. It’s so hard to name a few.

How about movies?

I don’t know, actually….Recently, I’ve just been working day and night. The only time I watch movies is in the airplane, I think. These days, I’ve even been composing on the plane [laughs]…

Your life itself is probably more interesting than most Hollywood movies these days.

[Laughs] We should create our own movie.

A fan asks: How do you fight jetlag? Is it the power of the models that you seem to take with you everywhere you go?

On tour, every time I wake up in a different country, before jetlag hits, I’m already in a different country. For some reason, wherever I am, I’m very nocturnal. Jetlag doesn’t really hit me—I’m staying up all night, and I go to bed when the sun comes up. That’s the style. That kind of supersedes jetlag.

How did that tradition start of you taking fashion models with you on tour?

First of all, they are friends of mine. I don’t go out that much, so, people I meet are usually at the video shoot or something like that, so they became friends. [We invite each other out], so that kind of happens organically.

A fan asks: What kind of hair treatment do you do?

[Laughs] I don’t know. I just have something from Japan, actually, that my makeup artist gave to me. I don’t even know, yeah.

This might help answer this next fan question: Is your beauty a curse for you?

I don’t know. Of course, during the tour or something with the makeup, usually I don’t do anything. I don’t even dry my hair, just take a shower and go to a meeting or to the recording studio…

It’s just natural for you.

Yeah. I mean, I care about music completely, so everything else in my life is secondary.

Do you study martial arts?

When I was in high school, I used to do judo for three years. I was no good, though [laughs]. Also, several years ago I was doing karate. It was not a good idea, because I play piano. So—

Dot dot dot?

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Since X Japan’s international tours, what have your feelings been about your and the group’s popularity growing in overseas markets, and where do you see the most growth?

I don’t know. I mean, we toured in the year 2011 [to] 15 countries, so they were equally good….Even though it wasn’t a huge arena tour or anything, we played at capacity of somewhere around 2,000. In Southeast Asia we played at capacity of a little over 10,000 or so. So the music is spreading just little by little equally throughout the world. It’s very interesting and we are very fortunate.

In the next year, would there be any plans for X Japan to play new countries or new cities in the United States?

I think so, but I think it would all depend on how the Madison Square Garden shows go. Right now, our focus is just MSG, MSG, MSG.

A fan from Minneapolis said she hopes you can come there.

I see, I see. We’d love to, yeah.

This year also sees the release of two new X Japan greatest hits packages. Since the band hasn’t recorded a complete studio album since 1996, do you have any idea why so many of these collections have been released so far?

Hmm…

Or to put it another way, do you or the group have any input on any of these collections that have been coming out for the last 10 or 15 years?

Usually, record companies suggest something like this. Then, I would say sometimes okay, sometimes not…something from Sony, they have the rights, so they can release regardless. After Sony, we do have the rights, so if it sounds or original or something, that’s cool. As long as there’s a need, you know, we kind of provide that. I know we should release a new studio album, so we are working on it. I’m just too picky, yeah. The perfectionist thing is kind of killing me, too. Like, I’m always fighting every day….Recording is a process of compromising [laughs]; a compromising process.

How did you feel about the remastering job Sony did for the X Japan albums Blue Blood and Jealousy?

I think they did a pretty good job, actually. Yeah!

What music artists do you follow these days?

I pretty much listen to everything. I listen to rock like Muse or Slipknot, or recently EDM. Lady Gaga; Rihanna, I also listen to classical music, like Rachmaninoff a lot, Tchaikovsky a lot, Bach. I play Chopin a lot these days myself. I pretty much listen to anything.

How do you feel about Hayao Miyazaki retiring from making films?

I mean, he’s an amazing, amazing person. I’ve never met him, but he’s created amazing animation. I hope he keeps going, you know? But if that’s his decision, then I think we should all respect his decision. There are two types of artists in the music world: Some of the artists just keep going, such as the Rolling Stones and KISS, they just keep doing and doing, so I have much respect towards those artists, as well as someone who just says, “Okay, that’s enough.” So that’s their choice. I don’t know which category we fall into—we thought we were the second one; “X Japan will never reunite” or anything, but we’ve since reunited, so we’d like to try as much as we can. As long as there are fans, you know, they want us, so we keep going.

What do you feel is the secret to X Japan’s longevity?

I think I have to say two reasons: The most important reason is there are amazing fans throughout the world supporting us, so they’ve made us continue to exist. Also, when it comes to music, even though I do a lot of stuff outside of music, I’ve never compromised when it comes to music, the integrity of music. And no matter what our record company says, no matter what people say—“You should be doing this or trying this,” blah blah blah—I’ve never compromised the musical quality, so those two things are key, I think.

Since X Japan has already completed one tour of the U.S., what are some things that you thought went really well in crossing over to an American audience?

A long time ago, we toured throughout Japan many, many times. Even though these days the Internet is everywhere and people can choose their music through their computer or cell phone, performing live shows is another level, a different level. So, I don’t believe in shortcuts. We have to cross over boundaries and everything, we have to keep working, keep playing, show to show. Doing the U.S. tour only one time, I think that’s not enough. If we decide to do this, I think we should tour as much as we can, as many shows as we can. After all, X Japan is a live band.

I couldn’t agree more. When people see this show, if they’re unfamiliar with X Japan, their minds will be blown, they’ll love it so much.

[Laughs] Thank you.

Yoshiki, I have to be honest. I never thought you could put lasers and smoke and everything at a show at Roseland. I saw Lady Gaga’s show there before they closed the venue.

The last one, right? I saw some from the video. Was it good?

It was really cool, because she used the whole ballroom. It wasn’t just the stage, it was everywhere. But I have to say even though that was an amazing production for so small a place, it still wasn’t the same as X Japan’s show, and I mean that.

That’s such a compliment, thank you so much.

What things would you have done differently on that U.S. tour four years ago?

That was good. I mean, I hoped we didn’t take that much of a break between that tour and then now. I wanted to keep going, you know. That tour right after and everything, and a lot of inside problems and band management, so… That tour itself was very interesting, very intimate. We kind of like, how do you say, learned again how much we love to perform. Before that U.S. tour, the only place we’d been performing was Tokyo Dome and big stadiums, pretty much. So…that was pretty much our first time performing in front of 1,000 to 3,000 people—before, we were just performing in front of 50,000 people. So [I thought] that pretty much brought us back to the basics. That was great.

A fan asks: What do you really think of all the J-pop groups like AKB48, Exile, and all the rest?

I think they are part of the Japanese culture. I think I do have respect for much of what they do. I do have enormous respect toward the K-pop groups, as well. I mean, their style might be a little different, but they all work very hard. Even though we do rock, a different genre, I do respect all those groups.

Finally, what were your memories of playing New York with X Japan for the first time four years ago, and how does it feel to be coming back?

Again, the Roseland Ballroom show was one of the best shows I think I’ve ever performed. The energy from the audience was amazing. At an X Japan show, we create a show with the audience—it’s not “the band is performing and the audience is just watching,” so we create the show together. Because that show was very good, because the audience was amazing, then we are just really, really excited to go back to New York to create another memorable moment together. It’s going be a bigger place, and everything is bigger in scale, but we made the first floor of the arena, how do you say, standing. So we’re going to try to make Madison Square Garden like a huge club, a huge live house. It’s going to be a truly amazing show [laughs], and we’re just way too excited to get back to New York.

What do you see in the future for X Japan?

We’re a band that never knows what’s going to happen next, but I’d say that after the Madison Square Garden show, it’s going to be the next chapter of our band.