This might be one of the more exciting music stories I’ve ever reported on the J-List Blog (Sorry, Pikotaro). On Friday, November 11th, a press release landed in my inbox that instantly made my eyes bug out with excitement (which soon turned to personal disappointment, which I’ll explain further down). The main purpose of the release was to reveal the formation of a new Japanese rock band called “The Last Rockstars” that will release some new music and launch a world tour. You might ask yourself, is this really a big deal? The answer is a resounding yes, as this might be the most stacked group of musical talent in the history of modern Japanese music.
The members of this band might not be household names in an average household outside of Japan. However, if you’ve paid even an average amount of attention to the rock music scene within their borders over the last decade or two, you’ve more than likely heard these names: Yoshiki (best known as the leader of X Japan and for his numerous solo accolades), Hyde (best known as the vocalist for L’arc-en-Ciel, Vamps, and for a successful solo career), Sugizo (a former member of Luna Sea, X Japan, and Juno Reactor), and Miyavi (nicknamed “The Samurai Guitarist”, who has multiple world tours under his belt). Four legendary figures in the Japanese music industry coming together to tour the world as one supergroup and create music together. It honestly doesn’t get much better than this.
In the promotional video above, the quartet previews two songs that will be released soon. The first song, composed and written by Yoshiki, is titled “The Last Rockstars” and starts as a soulful ballad. In contrast to this, the second song previewed in the video, “Psycho Love”, is much more upbeat, with an electronic rhythm driving the song forward. This was a collaborative effort, with Hyde composing the music and the lyrics written jointly by Hyde and Yoshiki.
Here’s the disappointing bit: The Last Rockstars will play a handful of dates in Japan and the United States, with tickets already on sale. Unfortunately, there was no word on if the band intends to announce more dates in the future, so if you don’t live near these areas, you might miss out. The only confirmed tour stops so far are:
1/26/2023: Tokyo, Japan – Ariake Arena
1/27/2023: Tokyo, Japan – Ariake Arena
1/29/2023: Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Garden Theatre
1/30/2023: Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Garden Theatre
2/4/2023: New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom [Tickets]
2/10/2023: Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium [Tickets]
Source: Resonance Media Press Release
