Gigs, Gigs, Gigs!

I have a lot on my plate right now, and a part of me doesn't feel ready for any of it. I have a whole string of performances coming up, one right after another. Next weekend I take my taiko class to perform at a street festival in Alameda. It should be good, no pressure fun. I'm proud of my students--they can really rock out on the taiko, and they put such heartfelt effort into it all. Their spirit just blows me away.

After the street fair (next week already, ack!), I play at the Yerba Buena Gardens with Mark Izu and friends in a new rendition of his "Songs for Sensei," which we did at the DeYoung earlier this year. Performing with him requires a great feeling of the music, a trusting of instinct, and it's a challenge, but I really like it. The other day Janet asked if I wanted to do a second performance of this at Yoshi's in November, and I nearly jumped out of my chair. But gotta be cool, right? And then I was like, oh hell yeah!!! Woo! Yoshi's, people! Legendary jazz venue! OMG! But gotta put my cool jazz face on. Yeah, man, it's cool, I can do that gig.

Then it's off to Dance Mission to perform at the 2nd Annual Meigetsu (Harvest Moon) Taiko Festival. We have the privilege of performing with a number of other great taiko groups. Last night we spent some time rehearsing Naori for that, and afterwards I stayed late and provided groove for one of my Maze-mates, who is working on solo composing (boy, do I know what that's like). I just knelt there with my eyes closed and played bell forever for her--it was therapeutic and meditative and just what my heart needed. I think it was helpful for her too.

And then next we are off to the DeYoung again on November 20th to revive "Ghosts and Girls" with the Mark and Brenda team. This time Brenda is bringing in dancers from ODC who have been working with someone named Kimi Okada, whom I don't know but have heard is an amazing dancer and a really good person to know. I look forward to meeting her, and to see how the dancers contribute to the show. It's really exciting! Maybe we do the show again in April in Monterey. Wow!

So sheesh, I need to hunker down.