[Exclusive] Matsushita Yuya brings down the house at FanimeCon 2011!

FanimeCon (May 27-30, 2011) may technically be an anime convention, but that hasn’t stopped Japanese pop from making a big splash at the event. Having hosted artists such as AN CAFE and LM.C in the past, the convention’s trademark concert, MusicFest, carried through yet again for 2011 with back-to-back performances by Matsushita Yuya and FLOW!


[Exclusive] Yoshiki meets fans for Q&A panel at FanimeCon 2011!

Yoshiki Hayashi, who has been hailed as the “Bono of Japan”, is on his own level when it comes to the Japanese music scene.

He has fathered the Visual Kei movement as the leader, drummer, pianist, and composer of X Japan, a heavy metal band formed thirty years ago that is still active and still selling out stadium concerts worldwide.

Yoshiki’s got …


[Exclusive] Relive FanimeCon 2011 with tokyohive!

With thousands of attendees swarming the San Jose McEnery Convention Center over the Memorial Day Weekend (May 27-30, 2011), it’s easy to see that FanimeCon is the premier go-to event for anime and gaming fans in Northern California and beyond. Launched in 1994, FanimeCon has since grown into one of the largest anime conventions in North …


[Exclusive] Interview with rock band, girugämesh!

girugämesh, one of Japan’s most hard hitting bands, made their stateside debut in 1999, and this year they made their American tour debut, called “Here we go!!“. The tour coincides with their newest album, “GO“, which was released on January 26th of this year and is the band’s fifth album.

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The band started their “WORLD TOUR 2011 ‘Here we go!!’” on March …


[Exclusive] Berryz Koubou’s interview with tokyohive!

On April 23rd, Hello! Project group Berryz Koubou made their U.S. debut in Seattle, Washington at the anime convention, Sakura Con.

As a treat for their fans, we were able to hold the girls down for a short but sweet interview regarding their thoughts on their first live in the U.S., what they think about each other, and more!

Additionally, if you were not able to attend the concert, you can check out tokyohive’s live report, here!


[Exclusive] exist trace live at Sakura Con 2011 in Seattle!

On April 22nd, all-female Visual Kei band exist trace made their debut in the United States at Seattle’s Sakura Con 2011.

Fans started lining up for the concert about an hour before the concert, and there were two lines: a priority line for those that had special pink wristbands, and a line for convention attendees. Everyone was getting pumped …


[Exclusive] Berryz Koubou live at Sakura Con 2011 in Seattle!

On April 23rd, 2011, Berryz Koubou of Hello! Project held their U.S. debut concert at Sakura Con 2011 in Seattle, Washington.

The concert for the most part started on time, but with lots of restrictions and boundaries placed on the fans, as staff members of the Con were very strict about places in line and what fans could and …


Win a pair of tickets to see Girugamesh on their 1st U.S. Tour!

Hard rock/visual kei band Girugamesh will be starting their first ever U.S. tour this weekend at Anime Boston on April 23rd. Afterwards, they’ll be heading off to perform in three other East coast cities: Philadelphia, New York City, and Springfield.

In collaboration with JHouse Rock Entertainment, tokyohive is giving away 3 pairs of tickets, one pair of tickets for each show!

So, what’s …


[tokyohive Exclusive] Interview with all-female Visual Kei band, exist†trace

Visual Kei band exist†trace will make their U.S. debut this month at the Sakura Con anime convention in Seattle, Washington. They are headlining the Friday (April 22nd) night concert, and have a Q&A and autograph session with fans on Saturday (April 23rd).

tokyohive got a chance to sit the band down and ask them a wide variety of questions, from the meaning of their band, their feelings on going major, and what they expect from their first U.S. live.

Check out tokyohive’s exclusive interview with exist†trace below!


A special message from Aural Vampire to tokyohive readers!

Last November, electro synthpop band Aural Vampire had their first North American tour. The band played 20 shows for the month of November, making three stops in California: Anaheim, San Diego, and San Francisco.

For those who were not able to attend one of their shows, they aired one of their lives via UStream. While there was footage filmed …


tokyohive goes one on one with URATA NAOYA

AAA’s URATA NAOYA released his first solo single last month with “DREAM ON”, and it was a collaboration with one of Japan’s most popular artists, Ayumi Hamasaki.

The single released on December 22nd of the last year and took the #1 spot on the Oricon Daily and Weekly charts for the week of December 28th. While this was only Urata’s first solo single, he did previously release a solo album titled, “TURN OVER”, on January 28th in 2009.

Although this is a bit late, Urata Naoya was generous enough to take a bit of time out of his busy schedule to answer some of our questions about his first single.

Check out the interview below!


Daichi Miura talks about his newest single, “Lullaby”, with tokyohive

He came from the famous Okinawa Actors School and debuted at the age of 10 in the group, Folder. Today, at the age of 23, Daichi Miura has released his tenth single, “Lullaby” which is labeled as his first ballad single.

Daichi is an R&B singer best known for his slick moves and smooth voice. This new single may sound like …


LUNA SEA’s “REBOOT To the New Moon World Tour” is history in the making

Over the past few years, Japanese bands have been slowly making their way to America. First the independent bands; then one by one, older bands such as L’arc~en~ Ciel, Dir en grey, machine, and more recently, X Japan. However, no one thought the day would come when one of Japan’s most impressive artists would reunite and play in the City …


tokyohive’s exclusive interview with Aural Vampire

tokyohive was fortunate enough to recently obtain an interview with the electro/industrial band, Aural Vampire, and through the interview, we discovered their favorite songs, their inspiration, impressions of the United States, and more!

The duo will end their first North American tour this Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio at Peabody’s Down Under.


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