Chapter 3: Joining X ~ Becoming a legendary band

I hate recording

Yoshiki's phone call was to tell me that X was going to participate in the omnibus album Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1, which was going to be released by Victor, and to ask me if I wanted to play guitar since he had fired his previous guitarist. I had way too much spare time without a band, so I told him: "Why not? I have nothing going on right now." Yoshiki helped me with Judy, and now it was my turn to help him with X. I felt like I had to return the favor.

Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1 was recorded at Kagurazaka Explosion. Takashi Fujita of DooM was the sound engineer, and I believe all the featured bands recorded there. This album was a major release version of Kagurazaka Explosion's series of previously released omnibus albums, Heavy Metal Force. Therefore, the bands that had made Kagurazaka Explosion their home ground were involved in Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1.

There were two bands whose members were also Kagurazaka Explosion employees. One of them was Hizumi, who was the head receptionist, and was in the band Jurassic Jade. The others were Fujita, the sound engineer, and Morota Koh, who was in charge of the lights. Both were members of DooM. Without makeup, Hizumi is the nicest person ever, but when she put her makeup on and went on stage, she's an entirely different person with the way she agitates the audience: "Let's go, ya damn kids, let's go!!" Her 'on' and 'off' switches are incredible.

I have some bitter memories of recording Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1. I was a shitty guitarist at the time, and I was very self-conscious of my mistakes when I heard them played back on the recordings. "Sorry, let me record that song again, please" I would complain and have Fujita come in early the next day to re-record it. But now that I think about it, there hasn't been a single time when recording wasn't a hassle. I have never experienced a single fun recording session. I really hate recording.

And after many hardships, Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1 became my first recorded work. But I don't remember being too impressed with it that I even listened to it all that much.

By the way, I think there's a personnel section on that album, and that was when I became "Pata". I already had that nickname for a long time, and so my common stage name also became "Pata". I believe most fans already know this, but the nickname Pata comes from the manga Patalliro!. A little after I started my part-time job at the Chiba Sakaecho repair shop, one of the other employees used to say my personality was a lot like Patalliro's. Probably because of my contrary personality. That was when people started calling me Pata. When we were discussing the member credits, "Tomo", from my real name, Tomoaki Ishizuka, was suggested, but it didn't feel right, so I chose to go by my usual nickname, Pata. Ever since then, I've always been Pata.

In the album credits, this is the only instance where Yoshiki is erroneously referred to as "Yoshi". I believe he said something like: "Well, then I'll be calling myself Yoshi" and it was left like that. He only realised when the album was already pressed and available for sale, and at that point there was nothing that could be done.

My first live show with X

I thought I would only record Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1 with X, but Yoshiki phoned me again not too long after that. This time, he said: "hide from Saver Tiger joined us, and I want another guitarist. Would you play live with us?" I was available at the time as well, so I thought I'd lend a hand to help X play live.

I had never seen hide's band, Saver Tiger. I did hear some rumors that an acquaintance from Chiba, Kyo-chan (now of D'erlanger) had joined Saver Tiger, but all I knew about them was just that they were a band from Yokosuka.

And so, the first time I met hide was at an X rehearsal. My first impression of him was that he was the guy wearing the hat and sunglasses. I don't remember the first song I played with hide at the rehearsal... Anyhow, I was so focused on playing X's songs, that I didn't pay any attention to hide's playing or sound. The only thing I remember is that hide stood in front of me at that rehearsal. Perhaps we played "I'll Kill You" and "Break the Darkness".

hide's favorite song, until the very end, was actually "Break the Darkness". He was always saying: "Let's play that song." It seems like "Kurenai" hadn't been played live for a while. And then, hide suggested the band play that song, and that's how the song got its new arrangement with that band line-up. Later, it became a regular part of the set list. You never know what the world has in store for you. If it wasn't for hide's comment, perhaps "Kurenai" would have not seen the light of day again.

At the time, I lived in Ogikubo and hide in Asagaya, so we both took the Sobu line train back home. We'd talk during the ride home, and sometimes hide would stay over at my place. I wasn't going to share my bed with him (laughs), so he would sleep in the kotatsu. He once said, "It was so cold I thought I was going to die."

We would often split guitar parts and practise together whenever he stayed over. I bought a metronome at the music shop and we would practise quietly while it clicked away. Yoshiki would write guitar and twin guitar arrangements on sheet music, but I couldn't understand the staff notation and musical notes, so hide and I would come up with ideas for guitar arrangements and harmonies together. Besides, hide was originally the guitarist in a twin guitar band, guitar harmonies were his speciality.

Taiji, the bassist, was also from Chiba, but I didn't know about him until then. The first time I met him was during the recording of Skull Thrash Zone Volume 1. My impression of him was that he was a curt, blunt kind of guy.

I already knew Toshi from before I played with X. I wrote about it in the previous chapter, about how a bald Toshi sang at the East West contest. When I asked Yoshiki to help with the drums for Judy, he also tagged along, just like a roadie. He wore beach sandals and had bleached hair, I didn't really recognise this weird dude at first, but that was just Toshi. The image of bald Toshi was stuck in my mind, so I couldn't believe this bleach-blonde guy was the same person. I don't remember speaking to him when I played with X for the first time. Later, when I officially became a member of X, we became friends little by little.

And then, I finally played my first live show with X. The venue was Kagurazaka Explosion. By then, X already had a large following, and I still didn't have a lot of concert experience, I didn't really know what to do on stage. I just played guitar as best as I could. The way I was introduced was funny as hell. The audience obviously knew who X were, hide was already a popular guitarist from his time in Saver Tiger, people cheered loudly for him when he was introduced. But when I was introduced as the support guitarist, you could hear a pin drop. Or rather, the atmosphere in the venue was more like the people in the audience snickering, like, "Who is this guy?" Even I laughed awkwardly.

I said "okay", and my fate was sealed

I don't remember if it was the first or the second live show, but at one of the after-show dinner parties, the question of whether I was going to become an official member of the band came up. Judy was very close to its natural end, I had enough time, so I just said "okay" without much thought, and that was when my fate was sealed. That's how I became a member of X. To be honest, I wasn't stoked to play in this band. Joining X officially was more a product of the timing and flow of that conversation.

Immediately after I became a member of the band, the story unfolded before my eyes. The concerts took us to Kansai, and even Hokkaido, while our days started to become more and more chaotic. X's Osaka tour was the first time in my life that I had ever been to western Japan. I had never left the Kanto region before that.

For the Osaka tour, we loaded the car with our equipment and left for our destinations. Other than us band members, George (Ladies Room) worked as our roadie, carrying equipment and helping out as live staff. Only Yoshiki and hide had driving licenses, so they became our designated drivers. hide disliked driving at night, so it was mostly Yoshiki behind the wheel. Around 70% of the time it was Yoshiki, the other 30% hide. Yoshiki didn't seem like he hated driving, so that was a relief.

Toshi was responsible for handling the money, kind of like a manager. He always carried a drawstring bag with the Yamaha logo on it, as it was where we kept the money for the band's expenses. Toshi handled all money matters and financial settlements after we played live.

Our touring vehicle was a long Hiace, and it had the catchphrase "Sexy Scandal Love Violence" painted on its frame. We often called it the 'Sexy Scandal-mobile' or the 'Love Violence-mobile'. I was working part-time at a video rental place in Ogikubo at the time, and through a connection from that job, I managed to get us a cheap parking space near Ogikubo station. However, there were a lot of complaints: "That's a shameful car!" I was the one getting the complaints, so I was the one who had to apologize. The parking space was the most visible from the street, so it's understandable that people would complain. After all, "Sexy Scandal Love Violence" was written in huge letters.

By the way, I have no idea how that catchphrase originated. It had already been painted on the car long before I joined the band. I heard that it was already there from the time Hikaru, the bass player before Taiji joined, was in the band. I went out to have a drink with Hikaru not too long ago, and we ended up talking about this car (laughs).

We loaded into the vehicle 3 Marshall amps, bass amps, drums, and some other equipment that I thought we wouldn't be able to fit in there. At the time, Yoshiki used to run wild during our performances and spray smoke at the audience with a compressed gas cylinder, so we also carried gas cylinders in our car since we were responsible for them ourselves. There were about 4 cylinders on the backseat floor, and those of us who sat in the back had to rest our feet on the cylinders. And adding to all that, we also had to carry stage costumes for the five of us.

What I remember about our costumes is that we used to put them all in a single sports bag when we went on tour. However, there was one certain person who had way too much luggage. I will not say their name, but you all probably know who it is (laughs). hide and I would ask that person: "Why do you need all these? There are so many clothes here that you never wear!" They replied: "Well, I might need them and I don't want to worry about that." A few years ago, when we met at the Tokyo station to go on the X Japan tour, he brought an incredible amount of suitcases. "Why did you bring so much stuff?" I asked, and he gave me the same reply from 30 years ago: "Well, I might need them," and I couldn't help but laugh. I may bring more luggage with me nowadays, but his has grown exponentially. This isn't cell division, you know.

Our DIY tour

While X played live and toured, we also made the video Xclamation, which was distributed for free. Back in the 80s, many bands played "merch shows", where they gave away stickers and demo tapes to the audience. That way, the band attracted fans and got good publicity.

So we decided we would also play a live show where we would give something away. We played Ikebukuro Penta, and Yoshiki made a nonsensical suggestion: "Why don't we give them all fridges?" Well, we didn't really want to deal with people complaining about being upset they didn't get a double door refrigerator, or that their fridge is broken so we have to fix it. We're not electricians. Refrigerators were impossible to distribute, so we settled on videotapes after discussing other ideas. I don't think there were any other bands at the time that were giving away free videotapes.

The video begins with the band riding chopper motorcycles to a live music venue. "Kurenai" was filmed at Meguro Live Station. We also included "Stab Me in the Back" and "Xclamation". I believe it was hide who did our hair and make-up. hide was a licensed hairstylist, after all.

We successfully filmed everything, and now it only had to be copied into the videotapes in order to be distributed. Since I was working part-time at a video rental store, that became my role. I spoke to my manager and he placed an order at the dubbing company. The labels on the tapes were handmade by me. While I was at work, I combined logos and designs to create a master label. I spent a lot of time printing addresses and other things on glossy stickers with the copy machine at work. Later, I feigned ignorance when my manager asked me why the machine's toner was running remarkably low. Around 400 copies were made and given away at Osaka Bourbon House and Meguro Rock-May-Kan.

As a side note, during the dubbing process, as a video professional, I decided to package our tapes in shrink wrap. Back then, tapes and imported disks used to be sold tightly wrapped in plastic, we thought it would be cool to do the same. If you put the tape in a plastic sheet and use a hairdryer on it, the plastic will shrink and become its packaging. However, it took a lot longer than expected, and I had to stay up working on that all night before our Kansai tour early in the morning. I remember I didn't get any sleep, just got in the car and we left for the tour. I was really a hard worker... Not really, I was just putting my video rental store skills to use.

For a few months, I got an empty paycheck because of that video we made. The money was deducted from my paycheck since my manager had to pay for some of the video's expenses. The band never paid me anything back, and I would still like to charge my fellow bandmates for compensation, to this day. Word on the street is that Yoshiki covered all the costs for that free videotape, but it was actually I who had to pay for most of the production costs out of my own pocket. I guess you could say I was conned by X.

Tickets for the free videotape shows were sold out instantly. I remember the Osaka Bourbon House concert very well. As I stepped on stage and looked at the audience, I was shocked to see the place packed with people. The venue was hot, but the stage was even hotter. Immediately after the show started, I was already dripping with sweat. Memories of that Bourbon House show are still very fresh in my mind. By the way, X holds the record for the concert with the highest attendance number at Bourbon House.

Genuine "group effort"

We played the free videotape shows in August 1987. We had been discussing recording an album for a while. The album that would become Vanishing Vision. In the autumn of 1987, we went to Madarao Kogen in Nagano to write songs. It was autumn, so skiing was off-season. For some reason, a hotel near the slopes had a studio, and it was rented to us by an acquaintance of Yoshiki or Toshi. There, we wrote a song that was provisionally titled "Madarao", which then later became "Give me the Pleasure".

Back in Tokyo, we arranged and rehearsed the songs until they were complete, and finally moved on to recording. What I remember about that time, was that I had no money. Electricity in my house was often cut, and while recording, we always discussed which bento was cheapest between nori bento and mixed vegetables tempura bento. With so little money to spare, I often wondered which one was the best. My go-to was the tempura bento.

We were still an amateur band, so we did most of the recording process, from setting things up to producing, all by ourselves. We used the same setup we used live, mine being my black Gibson Les Paul custom, and a Marshall. I believe I only used one distortion effect pedal. There was no way I could afford to revamp all my equipment just because I was recording an album, as an amateur musician with no money.

As for the process, we had to do everything on a tight deadline. Well, more like as far as the money would last. If we didn't wrap up by a certain date, we wouldn't be able to afford the studio fees. Since we were amateurs, we had to establish the release date. The president of Extasy Records was our drummer, after all, so at least we had control over that. But we barely had the money to cover the album production costs. But there was no way our recording schedule could have gone according to plan, it was doomed from the start. The guitar parts had to be added and layered, that would take time.

And all of us should have thought it was over when we finished mixing Vanishing Vision. Back then, we worked with 24 channel multi-tape recorders, and there weren't computer presets like mixers have today, the faders didn't move automatically. So we had to work it out between us: "At this point in this song, the faders should go up until here!", and work as a team to adjust the fader levels. I was in charge of a few channels. Mixing the album was arduous work for all of us. It felt like a true "group effort", with the work split between all of us.

Now that I've given it another listen, I think Vanishing Vision is an unusual album. But it is well-made, and the product itself has a lot of soul. There are so many flavors to it, possibly due to the fact that it was a new line-up. Well, maybe the flip side to that is that we just crammed everything we could in it.

And so, X's first album, Vanishing Vision, was released on April 14, 1988. It sold extremely well for an indie album of that time, and I've heard it was the first album from an indie label to chart in Japan.

Even though the incredible sales became a hot topic, my wallet did not see those profits right away. After the album's release, I still struggled without money like always. The first time I was paid anything for Vanishing Vision was only after we signed the contract with Sony and were rehearsing in their Shinano studio, long after the album's release.

Still, that was the largest amount of money I had ever been given in my life. I didn't have a bag, so I just casually slipped the envelope with the money in my jeans' pocket, and as you would expect, the envelope fell from my pocket. hide just so happened to be walking behind me and picked it up, and he was furious:

"Why the hell are you walking around with all this money in your fucking pocket! I'll hold on to this for you until we go home!!"

The most memorable date of the tour after

Vanishing Vision's

Our involvement with Sony began around the time of that Nakano Hall show, and later we would sign a contract with them to make our debut album with a major label. So we had the finest sound and lights team for that show. We were still an indie band then, but our environment was already that of a major band. Back then, a major debut was a big deal. The gate was narrow, only a very limited number of bands made it. When people heard about a band getting signed to a major label, all hell would break loose. But I always say something like: "Hmmm, I see," when reacting to news of a major signing. I'm not someone who's really interested in that type of thing.

Back then, we would often jam at

Studio Penta

I didn't really understand what it meant, what being signed to a major label was all about.

Trouble continues offstage

I've said many times already that my life wasn't easy (laughs). During the Vanishing Vision tour,, the electricity in my house was cut off. When I returned home after the tour, I found I had no electricity when I tried to switch the lights on and was met with darkness. I was completely exhausted, so I just went to bed.

I don't want to brag, but back then, there was a point when I had all utilities - gas, electricity, water - cut off. I often had to go to the Bureau of Waterworks to pay my overdue water bills. I should explain that I was touring the country, so I had no time to pay bills.

We mostly played music clubs on the Vanishing Tour. However, our audience had grown so much that there was an oxygen shortage crisis during our July 1988 Niigata Woody gig. The venue was so crowded, people started having trouble breathing. The audience were asked to leave the venue once, so that the venue could get fresh air. I tried to smoke backstage, but the air was so thin that my lighter couldn't produce a flame. After a short intermission, the stage was set again and the audience returned to their seats, and the show continued. It was an odd 2-part performance.

We also arrived 2 hours late to our show in Kitami, Hokkaido. We had to catch the ferry after that show, so we left the venue immediately and drove all night to Otaru. There were no smartphones, so there wasn’t much to do other than talk or sleep during the drive to pass the time. I read the sports paper. On the way, we also stopped by a laundromat, since hide said our clothes stank.

Around that time, we went on tour with two vehicles. One for the band, and one for the equipment. Compared to when we only had one car, we could now move around in a much more comfortable way. However, the car that took us had a weak battery, and the fan belt would come off while we were driving. Sometimes, the engine would also stop and we would get stranded.

It was a chaotic tour, an incident-filled journey with a lot of hardships. Most of what I can remember of it are things that happened offstage. Being offstage was tough.

Exploring visuals

After I joined X, my hair also went through a lot. I guess I didn't really have a choice, being in such a band (laughs). Right after I joined the band, I decided to change my hair color. Since everyone had bleached hair, I didn't want to be the same, so I thought I'd dye it red. Nori of the Tokyo Yankees, who was our roadie at the time, dyed my hair. He went to beauty school, but wasn't actively studying then. I called him to my apartment and asked him to dye my hair red.

When the apartment manager saw my red hair, they complained scornfully: "Ishizuka, how could you dye your hair red..." I just thought: "I pay my rent on time, so why should you care?" But it wasn't only the apartment manager who was shocked to see me with red hair. My fellow band members also got quite a surprise.

Before our major debut, I shaved one side of my red hair. X is not purely a metal band, there are punk elements in it, and I don't dislike punk. So instead of just having the usual long hair that metal band members have, I shaved the side. Before our major debut, I even went as far as getting a mohawk. But the former bass player, Hikaru, also had a mohawk. Thinking about it, I could say I was the second generation....

It's not in my nature to stand out, but if I didn't have something that brought attention to myself, I would have been overshadowed by the other band members. After I joined X, hide would always help me with trying many different things for my makeup and hairstyles. Before a concert, hide would help me put my hair up after he quickly finished his makeup. Then, I would help with Toshi's hair (laughs). During our indies era, we didn't have anyone else to help other than our roadie George, so any of us who had time to spare would help with whoever needed their hair done.

We still worked like that for a while after the major debut. Even during the Blue Blood tour, we still didn't have more roadies or makeup artists hired. That only happened in the Rose & Blood tour, and it wasn't the band's idea either. From that time onwards, we had professional techs like Saito (Toru)-san, who still works with me to this day, join us. It was also around this time when Ina-chan became our support musician.

In other words, X was like a crafty branch of Extasy, with the makeup and roadie duties, until even a little after our major debut.

When I had just joined X, hide was always lending me a leather jacket he loved wearing during his Saver Tiger days. Afterwards, I wore a long leather coat as part of my stage costume. The reason for that was Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" music video. Steve Stevens plays guitar wearing a long black coat, and I wanted to look as dashing as he does in that music video when I played on stage.

So I bought an old long leather coat from an acquaintance's second-hand clothes store. Since it was all real leather, it was still expensive, even though it was second-hand... But I only ended up paying maybe half the price. I remember I never paid for the rest, so I hope I'm forgiven, seeing that the statute of limitations has run out since then.

That's how I acquired that long coat. Still, it was just a black coat, so it was simple as far as stage costumes go. Then Taiji said he would draw something on the back of the coat. He took the coat home, and the next day he drew a very punk design on it. Now that it had Taiji's drawing on it, it quickly became my favorite clothing item.