I had the chance to visit Okinawa, Japan several years ago, and one of the things I’ll always remember is what one of the locals said to me, “musicians are outcasts, they are not respected, especially female musicians.” Like many of you, I am absolutely in love with the Japanese culture. Japan is a contradiction of old traditions and customs mixed with some of the craziest street fashion and music that I have ever seen/heard. That being said, I would like to introduce GACKT… one of Japans hottest Rockstars!

There are many worthy performers around the world who manage to fly under our radars, and I feel that it is my duty to introduce these gems to the public. I’ve known about Gackt for some time now, and while I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan (yet), I do believe that he is someone we should keep our eye’s on.

Gackt Camui (birth name, Gackt Oshiro) was born in Okinawa, Japan on July 4. It states on IMDB that he was born in 1971, however that may not be accurate; the year he was born isn’t even listed on his official website (*insert twilight zone theme here*). Though his year of birth may be a mystery, his talent and drive is not.

He has mastered the piano (among many other instruments), is an actor/voice actor and a J-rocker baby! His voice acting roles include: Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII, and Fist of the North Star. I’ve also read that Final Fantasy’s Cloud Strife and Genesis are roughly modeled after the singer… sheesh, he must love FF more than me.

OK, he isn’t totally exclusive to FF… here’s an interesting tidbit I found on IMDB:

Contributed a series of advertisements for the popular video game ‘Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty’ and was rewarded for providing the publicity by having his name put into the game on one of the dog tags the player can collect from enemy soldiers.

Other than lending his voice to games and anime’s, he can also be heard on Gackpoid; a vocaloid software application that sings when the users type in words and musical notes *fun*! This new toy should drop sometime this June.

I would like to take this time to plant a seed in your minds. In 2009, Gackt will star in the film, Bunraku, with Josh Hartnet, Ron Perlman, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson. It will be a spaghetti western/samurai/gangster mix set in a papier-mâché world; a mix between Sin City and Kill Bill…. Oooooooo!!!

Dirge of Cerberus with theme song - Longing (by Gackt)