UPDATE: AUCTION FOR YOSHIKI'S "CRYSTAL" PIANO RELAUNCHES MONDAY, 4/25 Bidding to Start at $512,231.70, The Last Confirmed Sum

LOS ANGELES, CA ­ Friday, April 22, 2011 -- Yoshiki, leader of X Japan, the biggest rock band in Japan, put his "crystal" piano, a see-through Plexiglas Kawai grand, up for auction on April 17 to raise money for the Japan Relief Fundraising Auction in conjunction with Yahoo! Japan. About eight minutes into the auction, the bid shot from $.01 to $42,000; within hours, an online bidder pledged a staggering $73-million.

On Tuesday, 4/19, Yahoo! Auctions temporarily suspended the auction, citing an overload of unexpected high volume of traffic on the site, high bidding prices, and the time required for bidder confirmation procedures. Yahoo! Auction's systems have now been restructured, new bidding policies are in place, and Yahoo! has identified the last confirmed bid for the piano as $512,231.70.

The auction is set to resume on Monday, April 25, and will run through Thursday, April 28.

The Japanese-born Yoshiki, who lives in Los Angeles, felt the earthquake tremors while in a Tokyo recording studio working on X Japan's first North American album, and was shocked by the large-scale damage across Japan. Yoshiki and his X Japan band mates decided to postpone the March 15 release of their first U.S. single, "Jade," so they could focus their time and energies helping with the recovery.

In addition to the auction of Yoshiki's "crystal" piano, Yoshiki, through his Yoshiki Foundation America, is spearheading a major celebrity auction to benefit the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. The Foundation has already received items from Marilyn Manson, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis, comic book legend Stan Lee, Robert Pattinson, James Franco, and Reese Witherspoon.

For more info on the Yoshiki Foundation America, go to: www.yoshikifoundationamerica.org

Credits: yoshikibg

UK and Berlin Shows Sell Out in 30-minutes
Shows Moved to Bigger Venues

This year, for the first time ever, X Japan will bring its long-awaited, epic rock'n'roll to Europe, with four special concerts set to take place in London (June 28), Paris (July 1), Amsterdam (July 2), and Berlin (July 4). Go to www.xjapanmusic.com for ticket info.

The London show was originally scheduled for the O2 Academy, and the Berlin venue was Huxleys, but with both of those shows selling out in about 30-minutes, the shows' promoters have moved the concerts to larger venues (see below for specifics).

More X Japan concerts are currently being confirmed around the globe and will be announced shortly.

"We are all so excited to finally come and play in Europe," said Yoshiki, X Japan's leader/drummer/pianist/songwriter. "Because we've never played Europe before, we didn't know how many fans we had there, so we're so excited to have this kind of support."

With many more dates coming, X Japan's 2011 global concert schedule is as follows:

JUNE
28 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, UK

JULY
1 Zenith de Paris, Paris, France
2 Tivoli, Utrecht, Netherlands (Amsterdam)
4 Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany

AUGUST
13 Summer Sonic Festival, Osaka, Japan
14 Summer Sonic Festival, Tokyo, Japan

Credits: yoshikinet

JAPANESE ROCK ICONS X JAPAN CONTINUE THEIR WORLDWIDE EXPANSION
WITH FIRST-TIME EUROPEAN CONCERT DATES
PLUS SPECIAL GUEST SLOT AT "SUMMER SONIC" FESTIVAL

­ They've sold more than 30-million records and DVDs, filled the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome a record-breaking 18 times, made their North American concert debut last summer at the Lollapalooza festival, and sold out their New York City debut at the famed Roseland Ballroom. And this year, for the first time ever, X Japan will bring its long-awaited, epic rock'n'roll to Europe, with three special concerts set to take place in London (June 28, Islington O2 Academy), Paris (July 1, Zenith de Paris) and Berlin (July 4, Huxleys). Tickets go on sale today, Friday, April 15. Go to www.xjapanmusic.com for ticket info.

More X Japan concerts are currently being confirmed around the globe and will be announced shortly.

"We are all so excited to finally come and play in Europe," said Yoshiki, X Japan's leader/drummer/pianist/songwriter. "This is something we've wanted to do for many years, and we are ready to rock our European fans."

In addition, X Japan has confirmed they will play a special guest slot at the two-day "Summer Sonic" festival set for August 13 in Osaka and August 14 in Tokyo. Although on its own, X Japan sells out Japanese venues twice the size of the "Summer Sonic," it is a big honor for the band to be part of this bill as the annual festival features the biggest and most-buzzed about international artists. This year's headliners also include the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Strokes.

In Asia, X Japan - Toshi (vocals), Pata and Sugizo (guitars), Heath (bass), and Yoshiki (drums, piano) - plays arenas and stadiums, bringing in elaborate production including lasers, catwalks, and holograms. For these upcoming European dates, X Japan will tailor its "stadium-sensibility theatrics" to the more intimate venues, focusing primarily on its "Queen-meets-Guns-N-Roses-meets-ŒThe-Matrix'" rock assault.

"We had a wonderful time last fall on our first North American tour, playing theatres, something we hadn't been able to do in Japan since the early days," Yoshiki explained. "We were able to make a strong connection with our audiences because they were right there, just feet away from the stage. I even crowd-surfed a few times! So, we're looking forward to the same sort of close-up-and-personal but intense experience on these dates."

Yoshiki and X Japan's vocalist Toshi were in Paris last July, making a special appearance for more than 5,000 fans. The duo performed a handful of X Japan songs "unplugged," and had the entire audience singing the chorus to one of the band's most exquisite compositions, "Endless Rain."

The members of X Japan have been writing and recording what will be their first album to be released outside of Japan with English lyrics. According to Yoshiki, about half of the album will feature some of the band's most popular songs from throughout their career, with nearly all of the lyrics re-recorded in English, and the other half, brand new songs written specially for this album. The album's first single will be "Jade," and will be on the 2011 European set lists as well.

Yoshiki, who launched his Yoshiki Foundation America last year, has been focusing attention on his Japan Relief Fundraising Auction, a major celebrity auction to benefit the survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The first item to go on the auction block is Yoshiki's own "crystal" piano, a see-through, Plexiglas Kawai grand. The auction for Yoshiki's "crystal" piano begins April 17 and will run through April 24 through Yahoo! Japan. For more information, log onto www.yoshikifoundationamerica.org

With many more dates coming, X Japan's 2011 global concert schedule is as follows:

JUNE
28 Islington O2 Academy, London, UK

JULY
1 Zenith de Paris, Paris, France
4 Huxleys, Berlin, Germany

AUGUST
13 Summer Sonic Festival, Osaka, Japan
14 Summer Sonic Festival, Tokyo, Japan

Credits: yoshikinet

YOSHIKI LEADS JAPAN RELIEF EFFORT WITH YAHOO! JAPAN IN CELEBRITY AUCTION FEATURING ITEMS FROM ROB PATTINSON, JAMES FRANCO, REESE WITHERSPOON, STAN LEE, ANTHONY KIEDIS, MARILYN MANSON AND MORE



X Japan Founder to Auction Famed "Crystal" Piano
Bidding for "Crystal" Piano Begins
April 17, 2011 (in Japan) / April 16, 2011 (in USA)

April 11, 2011, Los Angeles, CA‹Japanese music and fashion icon Yoshiki, is spearheading the Japan Relief Fundraising Auction (JRFA), a major celebrity auction to benefit the survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The JRFA is in conjunction with Yahoo! Japan, and is the company's first worldwide auction. Yahoo! Japan will have an internationally accessible web page with translations in English, Korean, Chinese and also, through j-Grab, Russian, Italian and French.

The Foundation has also reached out to celebrities to donate auction items. To date, the Foundation has received items from Marilyn Manson, Anthony Kiedis, Stan Lee, and through some members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, donations from Rob Pattinson, James Franco and Reese Witherspoon, and others. In addition, Yoshiki, leader of X Japan, the multi-platinum Japanese rock band, is donating his beloved "crystal" piano, a see-through Plexiglas Kawai grand. The JRFA for Yoshiki's "crystal" piano runs in Japan from April 17, 2011 until April 24 through Yahoo! Japan in conjunction with Yoshiki Foundation America Japanese Relief Fundraising Auction or through the Yoshiki Foundation America Auction Page. Additional celebrity auction items will be added each week.

Yoshiki, who now lives in Los Angeles, was in Tokyo recording a new X Japan album when the recent 9.0 earthquake struck. The quake and resulting tsunami have killed over 12,000 people, injured and displaced tens of thousands more, damaged nuclear power plants and destroyed homes, marine life and critical infrastructure. After witnessing the devastation first-hand, Yoshiki decided to devote himself to the relief effort. Since then he has taken an active role in reaching out to celebrities, dignitaries and the media who can help make a difference. Yoshiki is also partnering with other organizations involved in Japan's recovery.

"The situation in northeastern Japan is desperate and the need is tremendous," said Yoshiki. "Not only have thousands lost their loved ones, homes and jobs, but entire neighborhoods and towns have been swept away. More recently, thousands more have had to evacuate their homes because of radiation from damaged power plants. We can't turn our backs at such a desperate time."

In addition to the auction, Yoshiki Foundation America has been actively soliciting contributions through its website. The organization has also partnered with The Japan America Society of Southern California, which recently announced it had raised a million dollars for earthquake and tsunami relief.

The JRFA, organized by the Yoshiki Foundation America in association with Yahoo! Japan, will benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society's earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.

History of Yoshiki Foundation America
Yoshiki Foundation America is a California non-profit, public benefit, 501(c) Corporation founded in 2010 by Japanese musician Yoshiki of the multi-million-selling rock band X Japan. A number of personal experiences brought Yoshiki to the launch of his foundation beginning with the loss of his own father when he was just a teenager. Like so many people around the world, he read news accounts and was deeply moved by the devastating effects of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe; in 2009, he paid an emotional visit to an orphanage in Sichuan, still reeling in its recovery, with so many children still displaced and orphaned. Additionally, and as a tribute to Yoshiki's late X Japan band mate Hide, who embraced the support of children with bone marrow disease, the Yoshiki Foundation provides funds to offer assistance through music to children with this debilitating illness. The Foundation, which has supported such causes as St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels, Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Grammy Foundation will, for the foreseeable future, be 100% dedicated to assisting in the relief efforts of Japan.

Credits: yoshikinet