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

Yoshiki, drummer, pianist and songwriter for legendary Japanese hard rock band X Japan, is auctioning his "crystal" plexi-glass piano, according to a recent press release. The reason? He's raising funds for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.

L.A.-based Yoshiki was in Japan at the time of earthquake, where the band had been at work on what will be their first full-length album to be released in the U.S. They have already released five studio albums. Just days before a 9.0 earthquake hit northeastern Japan, Yoshiki hosted the Asia Girls Explosion fashion event in Tokyo.

In the statement, Yoshiki said, "It took awhile to locate my mother, but she is, thankfully, OK," adding that his X Japan bandmates-- Toshi (vocals), Pata (guitar), Sugizo (guitar, violin, also of the band Luna Sea) and Heath (bass)-- are alright.

"I am praying for the people here who are still trying to locate their family and friends," he said in the statement.

As for the piano, it's something easily recognizable to X Japan fans. It's called the "Yoshiki Signature Piano by Kawai," a custom piece with the musician's name engraved on it, which you can see in the photo.
Yoshiki will also be fundraising through Yoshiki Foundation America. The charity launched last year with an event at Club Nokia.
Though the band has been together for over twenty years, it was only in 2010 that they began courting their U.S. audience, first with a string of music video shoots in January and continuing with a high-profile appearance at Lollapalooza, followed by a fall tour. X Japan's first U.S. single, "Jade," was set for release today. According to the statement, it has been postponed due to the situation in Japan.
Marilyn Manson appeared at the opening party for Vivienne Westwood's Melrose Avenue shop where he said that he will be working with X Japan founder Yoshiki on a forthcoming project to benefit earthquake/tsunami relief in Japan. "He's a good friend of mine," said Manson in the red carpet Q/A of the famed drummer.
"I am also working with him on helping out with the benefit for Japan," he said, "only because I like their clothes. I got these glasses from Japan."
He added, "My fashion and charity ties together in that I'm very selfish."
Several weeks ago, Manson appeared at Yoshiki' s Asia Girls Explosion event in Tokyo. "I just narrowly missed the tsunami by one day," said Manson.

Credits: LAWeekly, LAWeekly