The forthcoming documentary about the rock star was screened in New York.
On October 6, Stephen Kijak’s documentary about Japanese metal band X Japan, titled We Are X, was screened at Cinépolis Chelsea in New York. Following the screening, Yoshiki, the film’s undeniable star and the front-man of the band, sat at a grand piano in the theater to play a private concert for the audience. He played a Tchaikovsky concerto followed by the Star Spangled Banner in a moving reference to his concert at Madison Square Garden that features majorly in the film.
After, a reception was held at MEGU, the upscale Japanese restaurant and lounge at the Dream Downtown hotel near the theater. The reception featured fruity-flavored cocktails and a variety of Japanese appetizers, including the restaurant’s famed ‘edamame lollipops’. At the party, we had an opportunity to speak with Yoshiki himself about his decision in making the painful documentary and his songs at the piano concert.
You said in the film that it was very difficult for you to agree to make this documentary. What was the deciding factor to finally change your mind?
Yoshiki: My agent convinced me it’s very important for us to spread this story because our story can give people courage to keep going. So even though it’s a sad story, you know, we can kind of give them dreams and hope. I mean, eventually, we’re gonna die, but we wanted to tell the story before that happens.
And the two piano songs you played tonight, how did you come to choose them?
Yoshiki: First of all, I love Tchaikovsky, he’s one of my favorite composers. I also played that song when I played Madison Square Garden – talking about Star Spangled Banner. Recently, I started thinking it’s such a beautiful song. So I wanted to kind of thank people in America who gave me a chance to do all these things.
Photo credits: loudwire.
