hide and hyde

Hideto Matsumoto (松本 秀人, Matsumoto Hideto, December 13, 1964–May 2, 1998), better known by his mononymous stage name hide (ヒデ, written in capital letters, HIDE when he was with X Japan, and written in lowercase letters with hide in other projects), was a popular Japanese musician. He was primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the heavy metal band X Japan from 1987 to 1997. He was also a successful solo artist and co-founder of the United States based band Zilch.

Early years and Saver Tiger: 1964–1987

Hideto Matsumoto was born in St Joseph's Hospital in Midorigaoka, Japan, on December 13, 1964 and went on to attend Yokosuka Tokiwa Junior High School. He was first exposed to rock and roll music at the age of fifteen, through the album Alive! by Kiss. In the same year his grandmother bought him his first electric guitar, a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. On March 11, 1980, Matsumoto graduated from Tokiwa Junior High School. He then entered Zushi Kaisei Senior High School in Zushi, Kanagawa, where he entered the school's brass band as a club activity. He quit the band after a short time because he was assigned the clarinet while he wanted to play the trumpet. After this, he concentrated on guitar and in 1981 formed the band Saber Tiger. A year after their founding, they started playing shows at live houses in Yokosuka, such as Rock City. In April 1983 he started attending cosmetology and fashion school at the Hollywood Beauty Salon in present-day Roppongi Hills, from which he graduated in 1984. Later that year he took a nationwide examination and successfully obtained a beautician license. In July 1985 Saber Tiger released their self-titled EP, which included two songs, "Double Cross" and "Gold Digger". In November, the band contributed the song "Vampire" to the Heavy Metal Force III sampler, which also included songs by X and Jewel. Years later, Jewel's guitarist Kiyoshi would join hide's solo band. In 1986 the group changed its name to Saver Tiger to avoid confusion with a similarly-named band from Sapporo (see Saber Tiger). Their first appearance with the new name was on the sampler Devil Must Be Driven out with Devil, with their songs "Dead Angle" and "Emergency Express". They continued to perform in live houses and night clubs such as Meguro Rokumeikan, Omiya Freaks and Meguro Live Station. Until January 28, 1987, when hide became tired of changing members and decided to end the band (vocalist Kyo and drummer Tetsu would both go on to D'erlanger). Around the same time hide was invited to join X.

 X Japan: 1987–1997

Main article: X Japan

hide joined X Japan (then called X) in early 1987. He became the band's lead guitarist and occasional songwriter, composing songs like "Celebration", "Joker" and the single "Scars". Shortly after the release of the album Art of Life, the members of X Japan took a break, to start solo projects. Around that time, the group also dropped most of its original visual kei aesthetics, the exception being Matsumoto, who would still perform in wildly colorful outfits and with his trademark pink hair.

 Solo career: 1993–1998

In early 1993, Matsumoto was featured on the sampler Dance 2 Noise 004, with the song "Frozen Bug", which he recorded with Inoran and J of Luna Sea, under the band name M*A*S*S. He also starred in an art film titled Seth et Holth, along with Tusk of Zi:Kill. In 1994, hide recorded and released his first solo album, Hide Your Face. In addition to songwriting, he played most of the guitars and bass on some of the tracks, and provided all lead vocals. The cover art was based on a mask designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger. The album's musical style differed significantly from the speed metal anthems and power ballads of X Japan, leaning more towards alternative rock. Matsumoto then went on the "Hide Our Psychommunity Tour", for which a live band was hired that would later become part of his primary project, hide with Spread Beaver. In 1996, Matsumoto oversaw the production of the first release on his own label LEMONed (founded in 1989), an album from the band Zeppet Store. His second solo album, Psyence, was released on September 2nd, also followed by a tour, "Psyence a Go Go". After X Japan disbanded in 1997, hide formally titled his solo project hide with Spread Beaver. He also formed a second band, named Zilch in 1996, which apart from him and Spread Beaver programmer and percussionist I.N.A., was composed of American and British artists, such as Joey Castillo (formerly in Danzig), Paul Raven (of Killing Joke and Ministry) and Dave Kushner (of Velvet Revolver).

 May 2, 1998: Death

The grave of hide

Hideto Matsumoto died on May 2, 1998. After a night out drinking, he was found hanged with a towel tied to a doorknob in his Tokyo apartment. Authorities officially deemed Matsumoto's death a suicide, and this verdict was reported in the media. Within one week, three fans had died in copycat suicides, and of the 50,000 people who attended his funeral in Tsukiji Hongan-ji, nearly 60 were hospitalized and about 200 received medical treatment in first aid tents. Later that month, the single "Pink Spider" was released, entering the Oricon charts at number one. The song would also receive that year's MTV Video Music Award in the category "Japan Viewers Choice". Sales were also strong for the follow up single "Ever Free", while those of a single released previous to his death "Rocket Dive" would also see a substantial increase. American Journalist Neil Strauss commented on the trend saying that: "In just a few weeks, pop culture in Japan had gone from mourning hide's death to consuming it." Popular interpretation of the lyrics to hide's "Pink Spider", which he had performed on the day prior to his death, fueled speculation of a premeditated suicide, because of clear autobiographical elements, and the song's theme of escape from the vicissitudes of life. Meanwhile, several of hide's friends and colleagues stated that they believed the auto-strangulation to have been an accident, among them X Japan co-founder Yoshiki Hayashi and former X Japan bassist Taiji Sawada. This notion is supported by the fact that no suicide note was left and Sawada theorizes in his autobiography, that at the night of his death, hide may have been practising a technique to relieve upper back and neck pains which guitarists can suffer from continuous use of a shoulder strap. The technique involved was practised by the X Japan members during their touring days and required the use of a towel and a door knob or handle. According to Sawada, Matsumoto may have fallen asleep in his intoxicated state, becoming caught and strangling himself. Zilch bassist Paul Raven commented that hide was "under a lot of stress", due to recording schedule for the Ja, Zoo album. He went on to question the ultimate degree of hide's involvement in the finished record, stating that only three songs had been completed before he died. Ja, Zoo was released in November of the same year with the artist listed as not just "hide" but as "hide with Spread Beaver", making it the only original studio album to bear the "hide with Spread Beaver" handle. Zilch's debut album 3.2.1. was also released and the group continued to perform and record for several years. While they never achieved mainstream success in the United States one of their songs was included on the soundtrack for Heavy Metal 2000.

 Posthumous

The hide museum

On May 1, 1999, a tribute album was released, titled Tribute Spirits. It features covers of hide's songs by several bands (such as Buck-Tick, Luna Sea and Oblivion Dust) and solo artists. The album was released to coincide with the anniversary of hide's last-ever live appearance, which included "Pink Spider", on May 1, 1998. This song was covered on Tribute Spirits by the hard-rock group Siam Shade. A hide museum was opened in his hometown of Yokosuka on July 20, 2000. It remained open, past its original three year plan, for five years, before closing its doors on September 25, 2005. The remaining members of X Japan recently reunited and recorded a new song, titled "I.V.". It contains a previously unused guitar track by hide. X Japan performed at the Tokyo Dome on March 28, 2008, during the performance of "Art Of Life" hide's image (taken from footage of the "Art of Life" performance at the Tokyo Dome in 1993) played alongside the band. This was made possible by the use of Musion Eyeliner hologram technology. As far back as July 8, 2007, Yoshiki Hayashi announced to be in talks with several musicians regarding a hide tribute concert set for 2008, in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his former band mate's passing. The "hide memorial summit" was held on May 3 and 4, 2008 at Ajinomoto Stadium, where X Japan, Versailles, Dir en grey, D'espairsRay and many others performed, bands such as Luna Sea and Phantasmagoria even reunited for one day to perform. hide with Spread Beaver also performed, using studio and live recordings for hide's vocals. There are still tribute shows held every year, where bands perform on hide's birthday and on the anniversary of his passing. As with many other late musicians, re-issues, remixes, compilations and previously unreleased portions of Matsumoto's work continue to be published. The most recent being "The Devolution Project", a release of his original eleven singles on picture disc vinyl, throughout 2010.

Hyde (ハイド, Haido?)HIDETO TAKARAI is the singer for the Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel as well as the singer for VAMPS. He joined L'Arc~en~Ciel in 1991 after leaving the band Jerusalem's Rod for which he was the guitarist. In addition to being the lead singer and main lyricist of L'Arc~en~Ciel, Hyde has released 4 solo albums and 8 singles, as well as started his own independent record label called VAMPROSE. Music career  Solo history After L'Arc~en~Ciel released the single, "Spirit dreams inside" in 2000, the band went on an unofficial hiatus as each of the members began work on solo careers. This was Hyde's debut as a solo artist. In October 2001, Hyde released his first solo single, "Evergreen." After two more singles, "Angel's Tale" and "Shallow Sleep," Hyde released his first solo album, Roentgen, on March 27, 2002. An overseas edition featuring English lyrics was released in July the same year. Hyde's next two singles, "Hello" and "Horizon," were released June and November 2003 respectively, and second solo album, 666, was released on December 3, 2003. "Horizon" was used as the ending theme in Ryuhei Kitamura's film, Sky High. In 2003, Hyde starred alongside Gackt in the Japanese film Moon Child. In a duet as part of the project, Hyde and Gackt sang "Orenji no taiyou", and when sang live, Hyde could not be there because he was on a music tour. The song was also released on Gackt's fourth full-length album, Crescent. In December 2003, Hyde's song "Shining Over You" from his 666 album was used as the commercial song for Namco's Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. In 2004, Hyde took on the role of the guitarist Adam in the movie Kagen no tsuki/下弦の月 (Last Quarter), a movie based on the manga by Ai Yazawa. The movie's theme song, "The Cape of Storms", came from Roentgen. L'Arc~en~Ciel revival After a three-year hiatus, L'Arc~en~Ciel reunited for a series of seven concerts titled "Shibuya Seven Days" in June and July 2003. At the conclusion, they announced a new album, Smile, which was released in March, 2004. In the summer of 2004, L'Arc~en~Ciel had their North American debut (as part of their Smile tour) in Baltimore, Maryland, at Otakon the performance was later released on DVD, as Live in USA. L'Arc~en~Ciel's next album, Awake, was released in June 2005. It was accompanied by a Japanese Awake tour in August the same year. A second, larger tour titled Asia Live 2005 was held shortly thereafter. The single "Link" was released in July 2005. It was then used as the opening theme for the anime movie FullMetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa.  Return to solo work In the summer of 2005, Hyde composed the music for the song "Glamorous Sky." The song was used in the movie Nana, another film based on a manga by Ai Yazawa. The song was sung by fellow Japanese artist Mika Nakashima and the lyrics were written by Ai Yazawa. In August, Hyde and his solo band performed the song on Music Station with Mika Nakashima, Hyde being on guitar. The single "Countdown" was released on October 5, 2005, with a track list including Japanese & English versions of the song "Countdown" made for the Japanese release of the movie Stealth and also a special rock version of "Evergreen" (originally from Roentgen). A cover of the single "Countdown" was used as the "semifinal" stage in the Nintendo DS rhythm game Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. Later that month, Hyde hosted Halloween of the Living Dead, a three-night event held at Club Citta on October 29, 30th & 31st. Each night featured performances by Hyde himself, a guest artist/band and Jack-O-Lantern. Artists/bands who took part in the Halloween performances are Monoral, UVERworld, Olivia Lufkin, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, Yasu (of Janne Da Arc), & Mika Nakashima. The group Jack-O-Lantern consisted of Hyde and the group Monoral playing many Halloween favorites such as the Ghostbusters theme. Starting in January 2006, Hyde's single "Season's Call" was used as the second opening theme to the anime show Blood+. This single was released on February 2, 2006. Hyde's album, Faith, was released on April 26, 2006. International career Faith was accompanied by a five-month tour with many locations in Japan, some exclusively open to members of his fanclub. After signing on with Tofu Records as a solo artist, a US debut concert was scheduled as part of the Faith tour, which was held at Slim's in San Francisco, California on July 5, 2006. Tickets for the event went on sale online at 1 p.m. EST on April 2, 2006 and sold out in three minutes. The second round of sales was held April 9, also online, and also sold out. A second concert, held at House of Blues in Anaheim, California, on July 2 was added and tickets were sold out, as were two more US concerts (the Fillmore, San Francisco and House of Blues, Hollywood). The overseas version of Faith was released on June 27, 2006 and included a bonus DVD featuring music videos for both "Countdown" and "Season's Call". In Faith, Hyde uses a sunburst Fender Jaguar as his main guitar; contrary to 666 album version, where he uses a Gretsch Duo Jet. Hyde also made a brief appearance at the Tofu Records booth at Anime Expo 2006 in Anaheim, California on July 1 for a question and answer panel. Following the completion of the FAITH tour, a DVD of the concerts was announced and was released November 8, 2006. Hyde returned to work with L'Arc~en~Ciel which on 31 May 2007 released their first single in two years, Seventh Heaven. VAMPS In the spring of 2008, Hyde rejoined with guitarist K.A.Z (Oblivion Dust), who had previously worked with him on his Faith album, to form the rock unit VAMPS on Hyde's own record label VAMPROSE. Donning red contact lenses and fake vampire teeth, the two released "Love Addict," their first single under their new moniker, and began a 46-date tour, playing mostly music from Hyde's previous albums. Following two more single releases, VAMPS' self-titled debut album dropped in May 2009. The album covers a range of rock territory, from metal to grunge to punk to pop. The band launched a ten-date tour in the United States, performing in New York, Hartford, Columbia, MD, Baltimore, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Their appearances in Hartford and Columbia were part of the Vans Warped Tour, making them the only Japanese act on the lineup. Their final performance in the States, taking place at the historic Wiltern Theatre in L.A., was recorded and is set for a DVD release. The band now has planned a Japanese arena tour, which will be their first. They are then set to perform on the USS Missouri in Hawaii in early September as a conclusion to the VAMPS LIVE 2009 Tour. After the band's successful live tour in the U.S.A. they have now been awarded in the category "Billboard Japan Ranking International 2009" in recognition of their success overseas and in appreciation for their efforts to go on a world tour in 2010. The award had been handed over on January 31 at the first "Billboard Japan Music Award".