RIZE's JESSE and KenKen Arrested

In two separate messages on rock band RIZE's official website, it was revealed that frontman JESSE and bassist KenKen (real name Kensuke Kaneko) have been arrested for alleged marijuana possession.

While RIZE has been relatively quiet in recent years, JESSE is also the vocalist of The BONEZ and he has appeared as a guest on releases by many rock artists. KenKen has also been performing with a number of other groups for several years, most notably the popular rock band Dragon Ash.

The messages apologized to the band's fans, stating that their management will decide how to deal with the situation once the investigation is complete and all the facts have been revealed.

In the meantime, the solo performance at Yakiniku Rock Fes JESSE had scheduled for today has been cancelled. In addition, Dragon Ash's label Victor Entertainment released a statement saying that while KenKen is technically only a support member of the band, they have halted both shipping and digital distribution of any Dragon Ash music and videos featuring him to show that they are not taking the situation lightly.

KenKen first began performing live with Dragon Ash after the sudden death of the band's original bassist IKUZONE, who was a close friend of his, in 2012. However, Dragon Ash frontman Kj recorded the bass for all of the band's works after IKUZONE's passing until their 2016 single Hikari no machi.

RIZE just celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2016. A video compiling footage from throughout their career can be viewed below.