Thursday, December 13, 2007

HIDE!

It was at the age of 15 during his second year of Secondary School that hide (pronounced "hee-deh") was introduced to metal and modern rock music, when one of his friends lent him some albums consisting of such bands as KISS and BowWow. hide was instantly in love with the extravagant look, sound and style of music, and immediately he was hooked. At the time, Japan's music industry had just been invaded by squeaky-clean pop music, so the new and hard sound of foreign artists like KISS were quick to growing a dedicated underground fan-following there. It was bands like these that ignited an interest in music for hide, and he dreamed of learning to play the guitar as well as starting his own band someday. Later that year, hide went to an American air base and bought himself a used Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, which he taught himself how to play. hide didn't even know the basics of high or low key, but he learned by mimicking his favorite songs and playing by ear. hide's peers at school soon began calling him by the nickname "Gibson" shortly after. hide's dedication grew, and in 1982 he formed a band consisting of his close friends: Saver Tiger. The band had a heavy metal influence reminiscent of hide's idolized KISS, with hide acting as leader of the group as well as composer and lead guitarist. Saver Tiger was more a learning and defining experience for hide, but unfortunately the band couldn't practice at hide's school because it was one of many at the time which had banned electrics. Undeterred, hide set about getting small gigs for Saver Tiger in bars and live houses. Perseverance paid off, and eventually Saver Tiger grew in popularity to become one of the most popular bands in Yokosuka. However, the band was constantly facing problems as a result of continuous member changes. After the 8th member change, hide gave up trying to make things work, and in 1987 Saver Tiger disbanded. Shortly after Saver Tiger disbanded and his interest in music was put on the backburner, hide received a call from a man by the name of Yoshiki, leader of a band known as X. Yoshiki needed a guitarist, and Saver Tiger's popularity had led him straight to hide. hide went along with the offer half-heartedly, totally unaware of the monumental affect this band would have upon his life in the years to come. That January in 1987, hide became an official member of X. Around 1993, many of X's members began focusing upon their solo careers on the side following the band's immense success. hide had already shown his skill was not limited to simple guitar playing with such X-Japan songs as "Celebration", "Scars", Drain", "Orgasm", "Standing Sex" and "Joker"; and that August he debuted his own solo career with two singles: "50% & 50%" (a song done in a style reminiscent of Speed Rock) and "EYES LOVE YOU" (a slow, emotional song like late 70's Glam). While hide's voice wasn't exactly very polished in light of his two singles, the distinguishable diversity of his style was there. One would think being the guitarist of a major band like X, that hide's music would be all too similar and limited to the style of the band; but with the debut of his first two singles, hide was putting an end to such pre-conceived notions in regard to the extent of his own creative talent. hide wasn't going to limit himself to being the artist he was in X, "hide of X-Japan"; no, hide and his style were going to become something entirely different when working outside the band. As he would demonstrate over time, hide would not be limited by musical style or genre, and he would break all the boundaries when it came to mixing everything from SKA to Industrial Metal along with fun-filled Punk and old-fashioned Los Angeles Rock. "50% & 50%" and "EYES LOVE YOU" were both instant hits on the Oricon (Original Confidence, Japan's music industry trade journal) music chart; "EYES LOVE YOU" winning the Viewer's Choice Award on MTV Japan. Motivated by such immediate success, hide entered a promotional joint venture with TUSK from the band ZI:KILL (of "Fuck the Idols" fame) to create their own video production: "Seth et Holth". Both worked together on the story and soundtrack, and in September the video was released, ranking top on the Oricon Video chart. Afterwards, hide went back to focusing his attention on X-Japan, but he would continue to focus on the possibilities of his growing solo career. In February of 1994, hide released his first solo album - "hide YOUR FACE" - and in March he organized a band and went on his own national solo tour: hide our Psychommunity. Two videos were released aftwerwards documenting the event. While all the members of X-Japan were focusing on their own solo careers, hide was almost despite himself quickly becoming the most successful of them all. Like the other members of X, hide was a creative and revolutionary artist in and outside of the band. When he wasn't working with X, hide was actively focusing upon his own rising solo career. When X-Japan did eventually break up, hide had already released two albums - "hide YOUR FACE" and "PSYENCE" - along with a string of top-ten hit singles: "Misery", "Beauty & Stupid" "HI-Ho/Good Bye" and "MIX LEMONed JELLY". hide mixed every music style under the sun to make his own unique sound blends. There was Speed Rock with "Dice", 70's Glam with "Misery", hide's love for heavy Industrial Metal with songs like "Squeeze it!", "Bacteria" and "Doubt". Then there were your all-around fun songs that were like a mixture of Rock and Skater Punk with "Genkai Haretsu", "Rocket Dive" and (my all-time favorite if you couldn't tell) "Pink Spider". hide even dabbled in Pop with balled-esque songs like "Tell Me" and "Goodbye" (which surprisingly enough, weren't as bad as I had expected them to be). Then there were his (un)usual zany Punk songs such as "Ever Free", "Hi Ho" and "Lassie" (a song which never ceases to crack me up with the barking whenever I listen to it). Some songs like "Atomic M.O.M." are too odd to be defined in words, usually added into hide's line ups to break any small resemblance of repetition, or close an album by adding just an extra bit of hysteria to it all. hide's music was very much like himself: energetic, flamboyant, exciting and at times just downright strange. After X disbanded, hide made the solo band consisting of his close friends that played at his solo tours and concerts official, naming it: hide with Spread Beaver. hide focused most of his attention on promoting the band and getting it off the ground, and in January they released their first single. "Rocket Dive" epitomized the fun and energetic nature of the band and what was in store with their music, and was a quick hit, ranking 4th on the Oricon music charts. Afterwards, hide left for L.A. to record his upcoming third album. hide had a-lot planned: Spread Beaver's first album, his second album following with two more singles ("Pink Spider" and "ever free" in May), and that summer another MIX LEMONed JELLY along with the start of Spread Beaver's own national tour. Aside from focusing on *cough* Spread Beaver (HAH, I will never get used to that name), hide would also be working with American-based band Zilch: an Industrial heavy metal band he formed with his friends he met in L.A., and was both the lead singer and guitarist of. hide had high hopes for Zilch, and the band was going to be a big step for him, bringing his musical talents into the American music scene. Their first album was planned for release that summer as well. hide was enthusiastic about 1998; it was going to be the busiest and biggest year for his career. He had no-where else to go but up. On April 27th of 1998, hide returned to Japan from L.A., and immediately began promoting his upcoming singles with Spread Beaver. On May 1st, he was taped at Fuji TV studios and his segment was scheduled to appear on ROCKET PUNCH!, a popular Fuji TV music program; the last promotional work towards his career he ever did. Afterwards, hide and his brother went out to celebrate with friends, and after becoming drunk, returned to hide's Tokyo mansion at 6:30 AM; now May 2nd. hide went to his room, and his brother assumed he went to sleep. It was the last time hide was seen alive. Later, when hide's girlfriend (who was living with him at the time) went in to check on him, she found hide with a towel wrapped around his neck; the other end tied to the bathroom doorknob. No note or sign of possible struggle. In a drunken state, hide had killed himself. hide's death sent a shockwave amongst fans and the industry in Japan; they had lost what many considered to be their greatest contributor to the nations music industry. Over 60,000 people gathered in Tokyo's Tsukiji district, where the funeral was being held at Honganji Temple. All of hide's friends and family were there, including X-Japan and Spread Beaver, as well as many other bands and artists who were admirers of hide such as Luna Sea and Glay. Toshi and Yoshiki performed "Forever Love" at the wake, and X-Japan chose to dedicate it's song "Tears" to hide in remembrance. Outside the temple, a line stretching over a kilometer in length and consisting of over 50,000 fans gathered at the entrance, with reportedly 12,000 actually attending the wake. Over 200 officers and other public security personnel were brought in to keep everyone under control. Many people were injured as a result of the crowds, and 2 girls even committed suicide to follow hide. It was a sad time. After hide's death, I.N.A (the mixer/computer synth expert of Spread Beaver) was determined to release hide's third album. hide had already completed much of the recording before his death amongst demo tapes which I.N.A was capable of editing and completing, but there was still one song which hide had not recorded. hide's closest family member, his brother, did the vocals for it. That December, hide's (very) post-poned album - Ja,zoo - was released, which sold like mad despite the fact it was built up from low-quality demos for the most part. Later that year, Spread Beaver said goodbye to their fans, and concluded with their national tour as planned; not a single concert wasn't sold out. In 1999 on May 2nd, there was a special convention in Seibu Dome in Tokyo to commemorate hide's death. hide's brother, Hiroshi Matsumoto, attended to announce a museum would be erected in rememberence. hide Museum was completed that next year in 2000, and opened on May 2nd hide's death is one that left many people asking "Why". Why would such a vibrant and enthusiastic person, with such an energy and love for life and music, who was so influential and talented with such a successful music career, commit suicide? I suppose we'll never know.. but more importantly than "Why", fans are left to ask themselves "What". What could have been? hide was arguably one of the most innovative, if not totally revolutionary artists of the past 20 years. What he released prior to his death was just the tip of the iceberg in comparison to what he had planned to come, and he was just starting out with two very promising bands each on opposite ends of the globe. I believe there are many great artists, but hide was truly unparalleled in his genius, optimism and motivation; he let nothing deter him, and went against all odds to make things happen. Whenever I listen to his music, its just hard for me to believe that such an energetic and influential person is no longer here; but hide's contributions and influence remain, and I guess as cliché as it may sound, in that way he continues to live on with his music. Happy birthday Hide!! you will be forever loved and missed!! FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS!!!

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