Spring has arrived in Southern California, and with the new season comes the beginning of music festival season. The West Coast’s most prestigious musical gathering, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, is set to take place over the weekends of April 13-15 and April 20-22.
The festival is celebrating its 19th year with a claim of being bigger and better than ever. Last year, ticket sales were increased to 125,000 per year versus 90,000 the year before. The festival also added an eighth stage, the Sonora stage.
The festival has moved increasingly toward mainstream pop for its headline acts. This year, Beyoncé, Eminem and The Weeknd top the bill. For the first time, there is no headline rock act at the event.
Coachella has continued one tradition, however, that has set it apart for other musical gatherings since its beginning. Looking midway down the page displaying the enormous lineup of the 2018 festival, several prominent names in world music can be found. Coachella has always prided itself in bringing great music across the globe to its young audience mostly unfamiliar with the bands.
Two names stand out at this year’s Coachella in the world music vein. French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre will be bringing his spectacular multimedia music extravaganza to the polo fields in Indio. The 69-year-old Jarre had his first mainstream success with the release of the breakthrough electronic music album, Oxygen, in 1976.
But the French composer is perhaps better known as the biggest live music star in the world. His rare and unique one-off multimedia concerts have attracted audiences of a million or more people. In fact, Jarre holds the world record for the largest audience ever, attracting 3.5 million to a 1997 concert in Moscow. Last year, Jarre launched his first mini tour of the United States ever, with a futuristic multimedia light and laser show tailored to indoor arenas. Jarre will be bringing the spectacle to Coachella over the two weekends.
Although there are no headline rock acts at this year’s Coachella, there are some fine rockers on the bill. Making a rare appearance in the United States, the hard rock band X Japan will appear both weekends at the festival. The veteran group has been rocking their homeland since 1982. X Japan has released five studio albums, six live albums and 21 singles, and sold more than 30 million albums. The band sings mostly in Japanese but is working on their first all-English album, scheduled to be released shortly.
The following is an interview with Yoshiki, co-founder of the band.
• • •
Paul Mann: Hi, Yoshiki. First let me ask you about your health. I know you had a serious operation last year. How are you feeling?
Yoshiki: Yes, last May I had an artificial disc replacement in my neck. I think it’s OK. It feels still weird. The doctor told me to be careful when I play drums. He didn’t give me a green light to play, just sort of a yellow one. I have to change my style how I play. I used to do a lot of head banging, and that’s how I wore out my neck. But I think I am OK. I want to play as hard as I can still, just no more head banging.
PM: You have been playing a long time. You started your first band when you were 11?
Y: Yes, I started playing drums when I was 10. Then I started my first band at 11 in 1976.
PM: The name of your band formed in 1982 was originally X before you changed it to X Japan. Did you know there was a band in the United States named X at the same time?
Y: I completely found out when I moved to Los Angeles 25 years ago, about the American X. I really like them. I am a big fan of the band now, really cool punk rock.
PM: Who were your musical influences? Your music has changed over the years from early punk rock sounds to what sounds like to me a strong Iron Maiden influence. Your more recent ballads on the piano remind me of the rock group Kansas.
Y: Yes, I was influenced by Iron Maiden a lot. Early on we did a lot of cover songs of bands like Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden. I love Iron Maiden. Also, at the same time we were influenced by punk rock, too, like the Sex Pistols. Also David Bowie. When we formed X when I was 14, we played mainly Iron Maiden covers.
PM: You mentioned David Bowie. Your visual style is kind of unique and an integral part of your live performance. How much of your influence was English glam rock, and how much of the style is influenced by Japanese kabuki?
Y: I liked punk rock a lot. I used to have all spiked hair. I was also influenced by David Bowie and Kiss. I am Japanese so definitely kabuki style also.
PM: Fashion is an important part of your live show. You were actually on the cover of Vogue magazine and have your own clothes line, don’t you?
Y: Yes, I created a special Japanese kimono. My parents used to own a kimono shop in Japan. Usually in tradition, the oldest son takes over the family business, but I became a musician. Several years ago, I decided to create a rock-and-roll kimono.
PM: In 2016, the documentary film We Are X was released worldwide to good reviews. Is that a good place to start for people curious about your band that don’t really know your music?
Y: I think so. It was really hard to make. Our band story is almost too crazy and painful to be true. I lost my father when I was 10. Our guitar player passed away. Then our vocalist got brainwashed by a cult and was away for almost 10 years. Then our bass player committed suicide. So there is a lot of tragedy in our history. But somehow we are still here. We are physically a five-member band now, but in the heart there are still seven of us.
PM: You are working on your first English album?
Y: Yes, our first English album after all those years. It’s almost done. I just have to mix the songs. Its about 99 percent done, and hopefully we can release in several months.
PM: So X Japan is coming to play Coachella?
Y: Yes, playing Coachella is like a dream come true for us. At the same time, I am a bit nervous because Coachella is not like a rock festival. It’s more mixed music. When people try to categorize our music, they say hard rock. But we do have a lot of different styles as well. I am actually a classical music pianist as well. I played Carnegie Hall last year. Hopefully, the audience at Coachella will be open to our music.
— L. Paul Mann is a Noozhawk contributing writer. The opinions expressed are his own.