Taiji Sawada
Taiji Sawada ( Japanese 沢 田 泰 司 Sawada Taiji ; born July 12, 1966 in Ichikawa ; † July 17, 2011 in Saipan , Northern Mariana Islands ) was a Japanese bass player , singer and songwriter . He was best known as the bass player in the successful Japanese rock band X Japan , with which he was active from 1985 to 1992. After leaving, he was briefly active in several bands for a long time - including Loudness - before founding Otokaze in 2003 . Afterwards he was a member and founder of DTR , Cloud Nine , Taiji with Heaven's and TSP (Taiji & Shu Project) . After an incident on July 11, 2011 in which he was alleged to have been violent on an airplane, he was rushed to hospital on July 14 after trying to hang himself in a US remand prison. He died from his injuries on July 17, 2011.
biography
1982–1992: Early Bands and X
After Taiji left high school without a degree, he formed his first band Trash , where he tried his hand at playing guitar. In 1984 he switched to bass and called himself Ray. He also joined the band Dementia , with which he stayed until 1985. He also played briefly with Prowler until 1986 and supported X (former name of X Japan ) on some gigs. He then joined the short-lived band Dead Wire , in which the Kyo and Tetu, later members of the bands Saver Tiger (early band of X Japan's guitarists hide ) and D'erlanger , played. At the end of 1986 he officially joined X as a bassist.
He wrote many songs for X, but only "Phantom of Guilt", "Desperate Angel" and "Voiceless Screaming" were released. In 2001 some previously unreleased songs were released on the "Rose & Blood -Indies of X-" CD. Taiji left the band in 1992, officially for musical reasons. In his autobiography, however, Taiji claims he was asked to leave the band after confronting band leader Yoshiki about the huge difference in income between Yoshiki and the rest of the band members. His last concert with the band was the last of the three days in a row sold out concerts in the Tokyo Dome in 1993, which was immortalized on the DVD "On the Verge of Destruction 1992.1.7 Tokyo Dome Live".
1992-2006: Loudness, DTR, Cloud Nine
In April 1992 he was invited by the extremely successful heavy metal band Loudness , which he left again in November of the same year. He recorded a studio album and a live album with them.
In July 1994 he founded his own band DTR , which is to be called "Dirty Trashroad". Members were Mitsuo Takeuchi (ex- Joe-Erk ) as singer, Taiji Fujimoto ( The Dead Pop Stars , ex- Judy and Mary ) as guitarist and Toshihiko Okabe on drums.
In 1995 Taiji joined the short-lived supergroup Kings , with Shuichi Aoiki (Night Hawks) as vocalist, Luke Takamura (Seikima-II) on guitar and Satoshi "Joe" Miyawaki ( 44 Magnum , Spread Beaver ) on drums. Guitarist Tomoyuki Kuroda later joined the band, but the group split up due to various issues. It was a difficult time for Taiji as he separated from his wife, whom he married in 1989, and became homeless.
In 1998, Taiji founded Cloud Nine , which he left in 2001. With his sister Masayo as a singer, Taiji then founded the band Otokaze, which released the album Otokaze in 2004.
In 2005, Taiji had a motorcycle accident in which he seriously injured his leg. At the same time, DTR resumed their activity, this time with keyboardist Kenji Shimizu and former support drummer Kazuhisa "Roger" Takahashi as official members.
2006–2009: Taiji with Heaven's, The Killing Red Addiction
In April 2006, Taiji also formed a new band, Taiji with Heaven's . Taiji played bass, Dai was a singer, and later guitarist Ryutaro joined them. In 2009 they officially started their activities and in May 2011 drummer Takanori, with Taiji on bass and Dai on vocals, later guithin joined. The band's first mini-album came out on January 13, 2010.
In 2007, Taiji decided to return to Cloud Nine . In 2009 Taiji announced that he would once again play in a supergroup, this time with The Killing Red Addiction with guitarist Tatsu ( Gastunk ), drummer Kenzi ( Anti Feminism , The Dead Pop Stars , ex- Kamaitachi ) and singer Dynamite Tommy (ex- Color ) . [6] Her first performance took place on June 22nd at Whiskey A Go Go, Los Angeles . Then they played in Osaka and in the Shinjuku Loft in Tokyo. Since then it's been quiet around the band.
In December 2008, Taiji's blog announced that the bassist's physical condition had deteriorated and that Taiji was hospitalized on December 2nd as a result of a fall injury. Taiji had long suffered from epilepsy and necrosis as a result of a hip joint transplant; he was also considered a chronic stroke patient.
In 2009, Taiji DTR officially dissolved, as all members except guitarist Tomoyuki had left the band due to musical differences. The main reason, however, was that someone on their taff had secretly sold the copyright for the band so that the members would not get any income from their releases. Nonetheless, Taiji and Tomoyuki decided to revive the band under the new old name DTR , which this time would stand for "Death To Rive".
2010–2011: TSP, Reunion of X Japan
In 2010, Taiji founded the band TSP (Taiji & Shu Project), with Taiji on bass and Shu ( Cloud Nine , Crazy Quarter Mile ) on guitar, singer Dai (Taiji with Heaven's) and drummer Hina (Crazy Quarter Mile) .
On August 12th, Taiji attended a press conference with Yoshiki and Toshi of X Japan to announce that Taiji would be making a guest appearance at X Japan's concert at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on August 14th and 15th .
On October 9th it was announced that Dai would leave the band TSP and Hiroshi "Tazz" Maruki would take over the position of singer in his place. The sales start of the band's first album had to be postponed.
On January 23, 2011 it was announced that Ryutaro had to leave Taiji with Heaven’s due to health problems. on February 17th guitarist Tokiya was added and the spelling of the band name was changed to Taiji with Heavens , without an apostrophe.
2011: arrest and death
On July 11, 2011, Taiji was arrested after allegedly violating a stewardess on a plane to Saipan . However, he did not appear in court because he had to be rushed to hospital by hanging on July 14th after attempting suicide. Taiji succumbed to his injuries on July 17, 2011.
Discography
- "Jungle" (June 15, 2000)
- Supplement to Taiji's autobiography Uchuu o Kakeru Tomo e: Densetsu no Bando X no Sei to Shi .
- "Rain Song" (December 12, 2000)
- Supplement to the Photobook Photograph .
with trash
- "Toramaturi Ondo" (1982)
with dementia
- Dementia Live! (June, 1985)
with X Japan
→ See main article: X Japan
with loudness
- Loudness (June 10, 1992)
- Once And For All (April 25, 1993, live album)
with DTR (Dirty Trashroad)
- Dirty Trashroad - (July 1, 1994)
- Dirty Trashroad ~ Acoustic (July 1, 1994)
- "Chain <絆> / I Believe ..." (May 25, 1995)
- Daring Tribal Roar (May 25, 1995)
- Drive To Revolution (August 1, 1996, live and remix compilation album)
- "Wisdom / Lucifer" (November 10, 2007)
with kings
- "Misty Eyes" (October 25, 1995)
- Kings (November 1, 1995)
with Cloud Nine
- "Bastard" (November, 2000)
- "1st Demonstration" (February, 2001)
-
Hard 'N' Heavy Religion 2 (March 2008, with the song "Hells Rage")
- Various artists compilation album in Vol. 3 of We Rock magazine
-
Hard 'N' Heavy 2010 (February 13, 2010, with the song "Bastard")
- Various artists compilation album in Vol. 15 of We Rock magazine
with Otokaze
- Otokaze (November 9, 2004)
with Taiji with Heaven's
- Taiji with Heaven's (February 13, 2010)
-
Hard 'N' Heavy 2010 (February 13, 2010, with the song "Keep the Faith")
- Various artists compilation album in Vol. 15 of We Rock magazine
with TSP (Taiji & Shu Project)
-
Hard 'N' Heavy Religion 2011 (May 14, 2011, with the song "Rest in Peace")
- Various artists compilation album in Vol. 21 of We Rock magazine
Other works
- The Inner Gates (Baki, December 16, 1989, bass on "Taste of Flower", "A Kiss In The Storm" and "Flying")
- Cozy Powell Forever (Various Artists, September 1998)
- Attitude the Original Soundtrack -Fuck the System- (July, 2008, music director for the movie)
swell
- Uchuu o Kakeru Tomo e: Densetsu no Bando X no Sei to Shi (宇宙 を 翔 け る 友 へ: 伝 説 の バ ン ド X の 生 と 死) by Taiji Sawada, Tokuma Shoten , 2000, ISBN 978-4198611743
Web links
- Official blog
- Band websites:
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Taiji Sawada: Uchuu o Kakeru Tomo e: Densetsu no Bando X no Sei to Shi . Tokuma Shoten, 2000, ISBN 978-4198611743 .
- ↑ a b c Biography . In: taiji-tsglaston.com . Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ↑ a b c d TAIJI With HEAVEN'S - In The Blood . In: carlbegai.com . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ↑ DTR . In: jame-world.com . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ↑ a b THE KILLING RED ADDICTION - Japanese "All Star" Band Featuring Ex-LOUDNESS / Ex-X JAPAN Bassist And DIR EN GRAY Executive Producer Announce Live Date For West Hollywood . In: bravewords.com . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ↑ Ex-X JAPAN / Ex-LOUDNESS bassist TAIJI SAWADA Hospitalized . In: bravewords.com . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ Dai leaves TSP . In: jackup.co.jp/tsp/index.html . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ Former “X” member, TAIJI arrested in Saipan + attempted suicide . In: tokyohive.com . Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ Sawada tries to kill self in jail . In: saipantribune.com . Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ↑ Unruly plane passenger brought to ICU . In: mvariety.com . Retrieved on July 15, 2011. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Musician Sawada dies . In: saipantribune.com . Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sawada, Taiji |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 沢 田 泰 司 (Japanese); Taiji |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese J-rock musician, bass player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 12, 1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ichikawa , Japan |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 17, 2011 |
| Place of death | Saipan , Northern Mariana Islands |