February 11, 2009

Today YOSHIKI had a press conference announcing his breaking into the racing circuit. YOSHIKI announced that he will be producing a racing team of two drivers for the DOME company for the Super GT Series. The team will be called “Team YOSHIKI DOME Project”.

The press conference started with the introduction of the two directors of the DOME company who made a brief statement outlining that this was the perfect match of a car lover and a racer lover and that they expect to win the team title. Then the two drivers who will be driving the racing car for YOSHIKI came out. One of them mentioned that today was the first time that they had met YOSHIKI.

Finally YOSHIKI comes out and the fan section in the back (from YOSHIKI mobile)screamed out his name. The PR company’s MC asked YOSHIKI how he was feeling. YOSHIKI stated that he wasn’t feeling so good. After finishing X Japan’s Hong Kong performance he wanted to go back to LA, but his condition prevented him from doing so. He said that he will go back this week. Asked what he thought about the DOME name, he said that it was “kakkoii” or cool because of the numerous meanings that the word conveys especially in the case of X Japan because of events at Tokyo Dome. During the press conference he drank ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK. Enjoy a sequence of him drinking the drink.

The next questions was about what kind of cars YOSHIKI has. He said, “I drive very fast cars. I also have hybrid/eco cars, but they are also very fast.” He later continued that he had a special fast version of the new Honda hybrid which is not out yet that was made just for him. He emphasized how fast the car was but would not mention any other companies besides Honda due to the venue and sponsor being Honda.

In 1995 YOSHIKI also sponsored a Formula Nippon racer and that year he won. He was asked if he was anticipating another win. “I’m not pressuring you guys to win,” as he turned to the two drivers sitting next to him, “but you better win.” He also stated he likes the neck to neck anticipation of races. Asked if he had any dreams for this team, he stated, “for this team, I want them to win obviously.”

The press conference then turned to questions from the press core. “After Countdown Blitz and the Honk Kong success, you will be playing in Seoul in March. What about concerts for the Japanese fans?” Yoshiki talked about how they wanted to get Osaka Dome and Kyocera Dome but both of those initiatives failed. According to an anonymous source in the band, these failed because those stadium’s will no longer allow rock music in those stadiums because of the surrounding residential areas. This first became an issue with the band Glay many years back. X Japan has been trying to get these stadiums to change their policies. For big news announced at the concert, YOSHIKI stated that the two days for Tokyo Dome has been decided. They will be held at May 2, and May 3. He then reiterated that they haven’t given up on playing in Osaka even though venues like Kyocera Dome said don’t play the song “X” (before the demand was don’t have the audience to the “X Jump” but that could not be enforced). They might do an attempt at Universal Studios. He also said they will be coming to France, tentatively planned for July but looks like there are no more hurdles to overcome for a French performance. Beijing’s concert will take place in the fall, most likely October if everything goes as planned.

YOSHIKI will not be able to make it to the first race because it will conflict with their Korean performance but he will come to the April 11th race. He then made a slip and said that he will drive. He said “hashiru” which in Japanese has dual meanings, run and drive. The event host tried to play it off that he would be running on his feet, but the gaff had already been made.

The press conference then moved to fan questions. The first fan asked when there will be the announcement for the sixth member? YOSHIKI responded, “when we’re ready to make it, we’ll make it.” Another fan requested an auction system to get tickets because it’s almost impossible to get tickets. YOSHIKI said that there won’t be one for the Tokyo DOME concert/ Also there are copyright problems with that and he added that he needs the money. The last question was about how much added money he gets after drinking ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK. He said it makes him drum much faster and that it really hits. Ignoring the fact that that was a planted question, the press conference overall had little to offer in new information but it presented a new avenue for YOSHIKI.