Odaiko New England

Bringing Taiko to Young Audiences

There’s a yellow suitcase marked ‘YA’ in the equipment closet. During our practices, we regularly borrow equipment from the suitcase. But more often, the yellow suitcase tags along as we help load equipment into and out of Juni‘s car before and after practices.

‘YA’ stands for ‘Young Audiences of Massachusetts’. It also represents a major […]

Organizing a Gig… for the first time!

Loaded up and Ready to Go

So, here we are, coming out of our anniversary concert, and there isn’t much time to rest.

It’s my first chance to organize a gig.

I rashly volunteered to organize a performance for the Waltham Riverfest. Megan Gleeson of the Waltham Cultural Council approached me about this […]

Poems celebrating ONE’s 15th Anniversary

For Juni:

She will paint you a musical story, Of troops in all of their glory. But tales of daring Are not all she’s sharing. She’ll throw in some goofiness, too.

On Yui, she’s totally groovin’ She’s got the whole audience movin’. With a flip of a stick, And her grin that’s so quick, She […]

More reVISION Haiku

Shin-En Revisioned Doing fast triplets is hard Most of us couldn’t

Colorful obi We debated at great length Finally, yellow

I wait nervously When do I come in again? I think I missed it

Cello, take, gong Hira, vocals, Thunder God It’s Kaminari

Senryu stands waiting Sheilarae and Greg spaced out All’s well that ends […]

Post-Concert Haiku

reVISION concert a powerful performance Mark and Juni proud

—Dave Buerger

Lying on sofa Strong coffee, good book and cat. Nothing else to do.

—Sheilarae Lau

Counting my bruises Bags and circles under eyes When is my massage?

—Kate Jurow

Carry Odaiko on Saturday and Sunday Muscle pain Monday

—Dave Buerger

[…]

Odaiko New England Helps Celebrate the Harvard Lampoon Castle’s 100th Birthday

As Mark said, “The Cool Factor was definitely on the high side!” How often do you get to drum in the middle of Harvard Square amidst a laser light show with fog machines and a confetti storm – all while staring down a 2-3 story float shaped like a Harvard Prof??? That’s […]

National Anthem with Tiger Okoshi

Tiger Okoshi warms up before the show.

David Wiggins pre-sets a hira.

Diane and Cat putting on their brand new happi.

Kristen and Tiger during the concert.

Weary travelers, Diane and Juni, arrive at the hotel.

Lunch!

 

Our national anthem, The […]

Good Vibrations at Northeastern

Diane perfecting her mischievous stage look.

Matt getting his groove on…or maybe his tabi…or perhaps both.

One thing that made Kokyo especially festive–the addition of Cat on fue and Joy on chappa.

The New Snuggie Spokesperson!

 

For the second year […]

Taiko, Old and New

Bachi flew everywhere. So did bananas and the chicken, making its plaintive cry as it flew through the air. […]

The Makings of a Great Taiko Performance: Attitude

This past weekend was a whirlwind of taiko events, and has already been written about in one or two other blog posts. However, being the sort of person I am, who always has to insert her opinion into the conversation, I’m writing yet another. Enjoy!

For me, the weekend stressed the importance of Attitude […]