J (musician)

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J
J in Singapore, 2013
Background information
Birth nameJun Onose (小野瀬 潤)
Born (1970-08-12) August 12, 1970 (age 53)
Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan
GenresAlternative rock, post-grunge, punk rock, hard rock
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, bass guitar, guitar
Years active1986–present
LabelsUniversal
Avex Group/Blowgrow
Member ofLuna Sea
Formerly ofZilch
Websitewww.j-wumf.com

Jun Onose (小野瀬 潤, Onose Jun, born on August 12, 1970, in Hadano, Kanagawa), better known by his stage name J, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as bassist and co-founder of the rock band Luna Sea since 1986. After they disbanded in 2000 he focused on his solo career, for which he performs lead vocals and bass. He rejoined Luna Sea when they reunited in August 2010.

Since 1997, J has had prominent names in the music industry playing either on his albums, as his backing band, or showing up as guests at some of his concerts including Raymond Watts (PIG), Ray McVeigh (Zilch), Takashi Fujita (Doom), Scott Garrett, Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury (all three from The Cult), Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols), Duff McKagan and Slash (both from Velvet Revolver), Franz Stahl (Scream, Foo Fighters) and Youjeen (Cherry Filter).

Early life[edit]

J said he started going to concerts when he was in middle school, and truly started playing in bands in high school.[1] As a teenager, he was a roadie for the thrash metal band Aion for about two years.[2][3] The members of Luna Sea later provided backing vocals on Aion's 1991 album Aionism, and J played bass on five songs for the 2008 self-titled debut album of Aion leader Izumi's death metal band, The Braincase.[4]

Career[edit]

1986–2009: Luna Sea and solo debut[edit]

During middle school through high school J became good friends with Inoran, and in 1986 they formed a band called Lunacy.[5] In 1991, the band changed their name to Luna Sea and released their self-titled first album. They went on to become very successful, having sold more than 10 million certified units in Japan, and are considered one of the most influential bands in the visual kei movement. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Luna Sea at number 90 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.[6]

In 1993, J teamed up with Inoran and X Japan guitarist hide to form the group M*A*S*S.[7] Their only material released was the song "Frozen Bug" on the sampler Dance 2 Noise 004 (the song would later be remixed by hide and put on his debut solo album Hide Your Face). When Luna Sea took a brief break in 1997, J signed with Universal Music Group and began a solo career. Because he felt the public no longer thought of Luna Sea as a rock band due to their popularity, J said that he wanted to play the music he grew up listening to in his solo career and express his own view of rock.[1] On selecting his band members, he explained that he recruited Scott Garrett on drums because he is a huge fan of The Cult, and Takashi Fujita (Doom) on guitar because he wanted to play with a guitarist who plays heavy riffs.[1] His first single, "Burn Out", was released on June 25 and contained a cover of the Blondie hit song "Call Me". J gave his first three concerts, titled Ignite, in the second week of July.[8] His first album, Pyromania, was released on July 24 and reached number 9 on the Oricon chart. It features guitarists Billy Duffy and Slash and J's Luna Sea bandmate Shinya as guests.[1][9]

In 1999, J remixed Zilch's song "Electric Cucumber" for their remix album, Bastard Eyes. Throughout 2001, he performed and toured with Zilch as part of the Fire Wire 2001 concerts that he organized.[1][8] The concerts also featured The Cult, Loaded and Steve Jones.[1][8] J did some arranging, writing and composing work on Youjeen's albums and singles released 2001–2002, together with Franz Stahl. In 2002, he played bass on the track "I Hate You" for Tomoyasu Hotei's album Scorpio Rising.[8] Hotei remixed J's song "Perfect World" for the "Go Crazy" single released that same year. J's January 2003 concert at the Nippon Budokan was the first in the venue's history to be standing only, something he specifically requested and accomplished after a long negotiation period with the venue's staff.[1]

J participated in the making of South Korean musician Seo Taiji's 2004 album 7th Issue, by playing bass.[8] Since November 9, 2005, starting with the "Break" single, J has been signed to Blowgrow a division of Avex Group. J covered Buck-Tick's song "Iconoclasm" for their tribute album, Parade -Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick-, which was released on December 21, 2005. Later on September 8, 2007, he performed at Buck-Tick Fest 2007 on Parade, the finale of the tour for the album.[8]

In 2006, he played bass in a collaboration with other musicians the song "Pursuit", under the name Aggressive Dogs Death Note Allstars "N-Crew", on the Death Note manga's tribute album, Death Note Tribute.[8]

On December 24, 2007, J reunited with Luna Sea for their concert God Bless You ~One Night Dejavu~ at the Tokyo Dome.[10] The band would reunite and perform again at the hide memorial summit on May 4, 2008, along with X Japan, Oblivion Dust, Takanori Nishikawa, and many more. In April 2009, J made the announcement, in his fan club issued Pyro Magazine Vol.21, that he had gotten married.

2010–present: Luna Sea reunion and continued solo career[edit]

In August 2010, he appeared with the other members of Luna Sea at a press conference in Hong Kong, where they officially announced their reunion and their 20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon-.[11]

J (left) performing with Luna Sea in Singapore, 2013.

To celebrate his 14-year anniversary as a solo artist, J released the self cover album Fourteen -The Best of Ignitions- in January 2011. March 8, was the debut of Pink Spider, a musical based on and featuring hide's music, which J performed a supporting role in.[12] The production ran from March 8 to the 27 at the Tokyo Globe Theater and was then brought to Fukuoka, Kobe, Nagoya, Niigata, Sendai, and Sapporo in April.[13] From May 5 to 9, J held five consecutive concerts at Shibuya-AX titled J 14th Anniversary Special Live Set Fire Get Higher -Fire Higher 2011-, each day with different bands such as Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, Nothing's Carved in Stone, Avengers in Sci-Fi, Pay Money to My Pain and The Hiatus.[14]

On August 10, 2013, J began a series of concerts titled Tokyo 10 Days!! - 5 Months a Blaze -, which had him performing two consecutive nights in five locations, in five months.[15] This is in addition to his nationwide tour J Live Tour 2013 - Believe in Yourself - from August 24 to October 27, 2013, which included 11 shows in 10 different cities. The band also participated at the year's Rock in Japan Festival and Monster Bash.[15] J released his ninth studio album, Freedom No.9. on October 23.[16] His former support guitarist masasucks appears on the album, as does drummer Masuo Arimatsu from Back Drop Bomb.[16] The album was released on vinyl on April 19, 2014, for Record Store Day.[17] Takashi Fujita, J's backing guitarist since he launched his solo career in 1997, retired at the end of the year and masasucks officially returned in his place.[18] In spring 2015, J held a short tour and announced a new album was nearly completed.[18] Eternal Flames was released on September 2, 2015.[19]

J's eleventh studio album, Limitless, was released on July 24, 2019.[20] He collaborated with Takanori Nishikawa on the songs "Real×Eyez", the theme song he composed for the Kamen Rider Zero-One TV series,[21] and "Another Daybreak", the theme song he composed for the Kamen Rider Reiwa: The First Generation film. Both tracks were released as a single on January 22, 2020.[22] The two musicians collaborated again on "A.I. ∴ All Imagination" for 2020's Kamen Rider Zero-One the Movie: Real×Time.[23] J released the album Lightning on November 3, 2021. A national tour was initially planned to support the album, but this was changed to a four-date tour with reserved seating only due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[24] In 2022, J celebrated the 25th anniversary of his solo career and the 20th anniversary of his fan club with special concerts.[25] For the former, Pyromania is Back which took place on July 24, he recreated his setlist from 25 years earlier.[26]

Equipment[edit]

J was endorsed by ESP Guitars for 28 years until May 2019.[20] His many signature model bass guitars with the brand, most of which had his trademark phrase "WAKE UP! MOTHER FUCKER" painted on them, have sold over 50,000 copies.[27] J explained that he originally handwrote the English words on one of his bass guitars to "encourage myself and to encourage everyone who came to my concerts, but at some point it became like my catchphrase."[28] The abbreviation "W.U.M.F." is also used in relation to the bassist, such as in the title of his 2017 compilation album.[28] Before his contract with ESP expired, the special event "J × ESP 28 Years Trajectory ~28 Toshi no Kiseki~" followed J's spring tour displaying his signature models and other goods.[29] At the end of May 2019, it was announced that he had signed an endorsement contract with Fender. They gave him a custom model built to his specifications based on the Fender Precision Bass.[30] Based on that specific custom model that he had been using, J's signature model was released on August 12, 2020 as part of their Heavy Relic line, which gives an aged and heavily played look. It has a reverse headstock, a 1.65 inch nut width, a one-piece maple neck, and an ash body.[31] Its Black Gold paint job was modeled after a 1970s motorcycle helmet he owns.[31][32] On November 25, 2002, Fender released a J signature model through their Made in Japan line.[32] In addition to the Black Gold color, a limited Champagne Gold color was only available online and was named after J's song "Champagne Gold Super Market".[32] Very similar to the previous model, it does not have the worn appearance and has a neck plate with Maria on it. J has used images of Maria on the cabinets of his guitar amplifiers for decades. Having always been a fan of automobiles and religious illustrations and books, he said he got the idea from the lowrider car scene.[28] Regardless of endorsements, J uses various different brands when recording.

Support band[edit]

  • Kazunori Mizuguchi (溝口和紀) – guitar 2009–present (Nunchaku, Superhype)
  • masasucks – guitar 2005–2008, 2015–present (The Hiatus, Fullscratch)
  • Masao Arimatsu (有松益男) – drums 2016–present (Kemuri, Back Drop Bomb, Pontiacs)
Former members

Discography[edit]

Studio albums
  • Pyromania (July 24, 1997), Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: #9[33]
  • Blood Muzik (December 27, 2001) #34[33]
  • Unstoppable Drive (November 27, 2002) #18[33]
  • Red Room (May 19, 2004) #24[33]
  • Glaring Sun (December 7, 2005) #39[34]
  • Urge (March 14, 2007) #39[34]
  • Ride (April 23, 2008) #36[34]
  • On Fire (March 21, 2012) #24[34]
  • Freedom No.9 (October 23, 2013) #31[34]
  • Eternal Flames (September 2, 2015) #15[34]
  • Limitless (July 24, 2019) #33[34]
  • Lightning (November 3, 2021) #17[34]
EPs
  • Igniter #081 (July 18, 2002)
  • Crack Tracks (August 21, 2002) #28[33]
  • Go with the Devil -Crack Tracks II- (July 9, 2003) #26[33]
  • Stars From The Broken Night (August 5, 2009) #20[34]
  • Here Comes Nameless Sunrise (December 16, 2009) #36[34]
Live albums
  • The Live -All of Urge- (December 19, 2007) #62[34]
Compilation albums
  • Blast List -The Best of- (December 22, 2004) #43[33]
  • Fourteen -The Best of Ignitions- (January 26, 2011, self-cover) #28[34]
  • J 20th Anniversary Best Album ＜1997-2017＞ W.U.M.F. (March 22, 2017) #41[34]
Singles
  • "Burn Out" (June 25, 1997), Oricon Singles Chart Peak Position: #6[35]
  • "But You Said I'm Useless" (October 22, 1997) #31[35]
  • "Perfect World" (July 25, 2001) #19[35]
  • "Go Crazy" (March 20, 2002) #23[35]
  • "Feel Your Blaze" (October 30, 2002) #17[35]
  • "Nowhere" (April 14, 2004) #18[35]
  • "Get Ready" (July 6, 2005) #32[35]
  • "Break" (November 9, 2005) #22[36]
  • "Fly Away/Squall" (July 12, 2006) #43[36]
  • "Twister" (February 7, 2007) #24[36]
  • "Walk Along ~Infinite Mix~" (August 22, 2007) #42[36]
  • "Reckless" (March 19, 2008) #31[36]
  • "Now and Forever" (June 30, 2018, limited single)
  • "Real×Eyez" (January 22, 2020, credited to J×Takanori Nishikawa) #8[37]
  • "My Heaven/A Thousand Dreams" (August 12, 2020)
Home videos
  • Pyromania Tour'97 ~Crime Scene~ (VHS: October 22, 1997, DVD: December 18, 2002)
  • Film The Blood Muzik 80min. Riot (June 26, 2002), Oricon DVDs Chart Peak Position: #34[38]
  • The Judgment Day -2003.1.4. Live at Budokan- (March 26, 2003) #51[38]
  • Blast List -The Clips- (December 22, 2004) #158[38]
  • Crazy Crazy ~Live & Document~ (March 26, 2006) #59[39]
  • Crazy Crazy II ~Road on Flames~ (December 6, 2006) #48[39]
  • Live And Let Ride (April 2009)
  • Crazy Crazy III -With The Unfading Fire- (March 17, 2010) #49[39]
  • -Complete Clips- (November 13, 2012) #220,[39] Oricon Blu-rays Chart Peak Position: #84[40]
  • Crazy Crazy IV -The Flaming Freedom- (March 26, 2014) #147,[39] #121[40]
  • Crazy Crazy V -The Eternal Flames- (March 16, 2016) #99,[39] #57[40]
  • J 20th Anniversary Live Film [W.U.M.F.] -Tour Final at EX Theater Roppongi 2017.6.25- (November 15, 2017) #45,[39] #17[40]
  • J Live Streaming Akasaka Blitz 5 Days Final -Thank You to All Mother Fuckers- (February 10, 2021) #38,[39] #16[40]

With Luna Sea[edit]

Main article: Luna Sea discography

Other work[edit]

  • M*A*S*S; Dance 2 Noise (1993) - "Frozen Bug"
  • Nav Katze; Out (1994) - bass on "Arabian Night" (アラビアの夜)
  • hide; Hide Your Face (1994) - composer (as part of M*A*S*S) on "Frozen Bug '93 (Diggers Version)"
  • Zilch; Bastard Eyes (1999) - remixed "Electric Kyōdai Jingi Cucumber" (ELECTRIC 兄弟仁義 CUCUMBER)
  • Zilch; "Charlie's Children" (2001) - bass on track 3
  • Zilch; Skyjin (2001) - bass on tracks 1–3, 5, 8, 11 & 13
  • Youjeen; "Hey Jerks" (2001) - arrangement & bass on all tracks; lyricist on tracks #1 & 3; composer on track #2
  • Youjeen; "Someday" (2001) - arrangement, bass, guitar, lyricist and composer on all tracks
  • Youjeen; The Doll (2001) - arrangement & bass on all tracks except #12; guitar on tracks #1, 4, 6, 8-11; lyricist on all tracks except #4, 10, & 12; composer on all tracks except #2, 3, 5, 7 & 12
  • Youjeen; "Beautiful Days" (2001) - arrangement & bass on all tracks; lyricist on tracks #1 & 2; composer & guitar on tracks # 1 & 3
  • Tomoyasu Hotei; Scorpio Rising (2002) - bass on "I Hate You"
  • Dice; One (2003) - producer
  • Seo Taiji; 7th Issue (2004) - bass
  • Various artists; Parade -Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick- (2005) - "Iconoclasm"
  • Various artists; Death Note Tribute (2006) - "Pursuit"
  • The Braincase; The Braincase (2008) - bass on tracks #3, 4, 7, 9 & 11
  • Aggressive Dogs; Aoki Garou (蒼き餓狼) (2009) - bass on "Seize the Day"
  • Various artists; Ma Waga (真我) (2009) - bass on "Aoki Garou" (蒼き餓狼-Aoki Garou-)
  • Various artists; Jack Rocks (2010) - "Miss Dizzy"
  • Tokyo Girls' Style; "Get The Star / Last Forever" (2013) - composer on tracks 1 & 2
  • Various artists; hide Tribute VII -Rock Spirits- (2013) - "Flame"
  • minus(-); G (2015) - guest vocals on "Peepshow"
  • lynch.; Sinners (2017) - bass on "Trigger"

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "【独占インタビュー】J PART.1". LikeDis (in Japanese). 2014. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "LUNA SEAフェスにDEAD END、D'ERLANGERらレジェンド陣6組追加". Natalie (in Japanese). May 8, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  3. ^ "【インタビュー】SUGIZO × J、＜LUNATIC FEST.＞を語る＿第四夜「みんなの狂気が必要」". Barks (in Japanese). June 25, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "The Braincase". Tsutaya. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
  5. ^ "LUNA SEA: God Bless You". JRock Revolution. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.90". HMV Japan (in Japanese). September 2, 2003. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "The Men of LUNA SEA: A Closer Look". JRock Revolution. September 3, 2007. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Profile". J Official Website. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Shinya biography". jame-world.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "「いつかどこかの空の下でまた会おう」LUNA SEA復活ライヴで意味深発言". Barks.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  11. ^ "LUNA SEA海外ツアー開催！12月には東京ドーム2DAYS公演". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  12. ^ "hide musical "Pink Spider" in the works". tokyohive.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  13. ^ "Minamisawa Nao to star in rock musical, "Pink Spider"". tokyohive.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  14. ^ "J Celebrating 14th Anniversary with 5 Days at SHIBUYA-AX!". musicjapanplus.jp. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  15. ^ a b "J Begins Their National Tour! Also Announces Participation in Summer Festival". barks.jp. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Details on J's New Album". jame-world.com. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  17. ^ "J will release his first vinyl album on RECORD STORE DAY 2014". barks.jp. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  18. ^ a b "J announces new release and spring Japan tour". barks.jp. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  19. ^ "J's 10th solo album, "eternal flames" set for September release". barks.jp. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  20. ^ a b "New Album from J". jame-world.com. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  21. ^ "「仮面ライダーゼロワン」LUNA SEAのJと西川貴教が主題歌担当". Natalie (in Japanese). August 18, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  22. ^ "J×Takanori Nishikawaの主題歌使用、映画「仮面ライダー」飛電親子の絆描く新映像". Natalie (in Japanese). January 5, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  23. ^ "劇場版仮面ライダー「セイバー」「ゼロワン」主題歌流れる新映像が到着". Natalie (in Japanese). December 18, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  24. ^ "J、ニューアルバム携え全席指定のライブサーキット4公演開催". Natalie (in Japanese). August 20, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  25. ^ "Jのソロデビュー25周年記念ライブ開催、恒例のFC限定バースデー公演も". Natalie (in Japanese). April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  26. ^ "Ｊ、ソロ25周年記念ライヴを映像作品化。バースデーライヴの生配信も決定". Barks (in Japanese). July 25, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  27. ^ "Ｊ、楽器メーカーESPと契約終了、そして2019年「新たな挑戦の始まり」". barks.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  28. ^ a b c "J ソロデビュー20周年を紐解く"J"から始まる20のキーワード". Spice (in Japanese). March 20, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  29. ^ "＜Ｊ× ESP ラストツアー＞間もなくスタート、限定商品が続々". barks.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  30. ^ "LUNA SEAのＪ、フェンダーとのエンドースメント契約を発表「乗りこなしたい一つのサウンド」". barks.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  31. ^ a b "Jの誕生日にシグネイチャーベース数量限定発売、本人使用モデルと同じ仕様で完全再現". Natalie (in Japanese). June 29, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  32. ^ a b c "フェンダー、LUNA SEA・Jの日本製シグネイチャーベース『MADE IN JAPAN J PRECISION BASS』を11/25に発売". Barks (in Japanese). October 25, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
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  35. ^ a b c d e f g "Ｊのシングル売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  36. ^ a b c d e "Jのシングル売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  37. ^ "REAL×EYEZ J×Takanori Nishikawa". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  38. ^ a b c "ＪのDVD売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h "JのDVD売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  40. ^ a b c d e "JのBlu-ray売上ランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved January 26, 2021.

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