Playing in the Taiko 10 will be particularly meaningful for me, as it’s somewhat of a personal homecoming– I left the warm sunny skies of Los Angeles almost 8 years ago, before I had the chance to learn how to play taiko. In my six years with Odaiko New England since then, I’ve probably performed close to a hundred shows. Yet most of my family and friends have never seen me perform, including my 92-year old grandmother, who has been an avid taiko fan for the past several years.

Me and Grandma at the 2005 Taiko Conference

She has macular degeneration and can now only distinguish shadows and shapes, but somehow she still gets a great thrill out of watching taiko. I guess that just goes to show the universal power of taiko to reach out and inspire people of all ages, cultures, and abilities– that, I think, is the true spirit of the Taiko 10, and it’s why WE’RE TOTALLY GOING TO ROCK THE JACCC PLAZA ON FRIDAY AUGUST 7!!! There’s no room for nerves, intimidation, or anything less than 110% when you realize it’s not about you or how many mistakes you make or whether you’re as good as all those West coast groups– it’s really about the 92-year old blind woman in the front row who is counting on you to awaken that raw, visceral, exuberant piece of her soul that’s still there somewhere inside, even after 92 years. So rest assured, we’re not flying 3,000 miles across the country to deliver anything less than 10 minutes of raw, visceral exuberance!

Want a sneak peek? Check out the audition clip that earned us a spot:

http://www.youtube.com/odaikonewengland#play/uploads/1/HgUEertBgvQ.

Karaoke with Kelvin

Odaiko New England just concluded an awesome week hanging out with Shoji, Maz, Kris and Kelvin from On Ensemble, one of the most cutting-edge and dynamic taiko fusion groups out there. I was blown away by their speed, technique, musicality, complexity, precision– but most of all by their interpretation of what taiko performance can be… hard to imagine that such elevated and inspiring art comes from such down-to-earth and inviting people. How fantastic that our members had this opportunity to not only take workshops with them and watch a killer performance, but also to just hang out and talk to them about their own approaches to the challenges and joys of taiko. It can be difficult for a group out here on the East coast to keep its finger on the pulse of a community that is largely based on the West coast, so having the chance to interact with other taiko players with such deep roots in the art form was a real treat for all of us.

Let’s see– the full recap– we spent 6 hours soaking in Kris’s thoughtful expertise on shime technique and timing, trekked 4.5 hours out to New York City to watch their performance at Drom (en route to DC for Obama’s inauguration– crazy!), sang karaoke with Kelvin till the wee hours, debated with Shoji about everything from the pros and cons of “community” to gender roles in cult sci-fi installments (ok, so maybe Shoji leans more toward esoteric than down-to-earth), allowed ourselves to be humbled as Maz, Kelvin, and Shoji all provided feedback on one of our own concerts– I think each and every one of us walked away from that week with a totally new outlook on who we want to be as taiko players and what we aspire to as a taiko group. Come on, Shoji, there’s your answer– community ROCKS!