Ghosts and Girls

"Ghosts and Girls: The Legend of Morning Glory" was a great show. For those who missed it, it was a collaboration of storytelling, music and dance. It was something of a love story, but then since Brenda was telling it, it was so much more. Mark played bass and sho, Christopher gave everyone goosebumps on shakuhachi, KK danced, and Maze Daiko were on percussion. I don't even know where to begin. It was really wonderful to work with such great people. Brenda and Mark and KK are such pros at this, and it was magical to watch their process and the way the show developed and unfolded like the petals of, well, a morning glory. We had two great shows. Nothing went obviously wrong, and I thought all our performances were solid. It was a good mix of the different genres and I think people appreciated it. Everyone worked really hard week in and week out, but now that it's over it didn't seem that hard. Maybe because we worked so well together and because everyone put in so much effort to put together a really great show.

Part of the neat thing about this experience was that this was my first time I've performed in a theater that was set up just for us. I mean, yes, I've performed in theaters before, but usually it's a mad dash to move the taiko onstage, perform, and then just as madly, pack them up and get out. But this time we had the luxury of having a dressing room, and our own lighting person and stage manager and all those wonderful staff people who make sure everything goes smoothly.

And because I'm such an amateur, I got the greatest kick out of the dressing room. This is a huge step up from having to change behind someone's minivan. There were couches and a fridge and food everywhere and TWO bathrooms and mirrors and cabinet, and best of all: a jiffy steamer! I'd never used a jiffy steamer before, but if you ever come across one you have to give it a try! They're magic! I ended up steaming everyone's costumes. Of course I'm someone whose idea of relaxation is ironing all my clothes for the upcoming week.I didn't have a lot of time to take pictures. Plus there was a photographer there who was taking pictures of everything. I was trying to practice my kanki solo but it was hard because he was standing there for like 5 minutes snapping away. Here are a few shots I managed to get:

Crissy and KK rehearsing their dance

Preset for the show

Bachi station

View from stage right

Group photo

Here are a few lessons I learned:

1) There's a lot of hurry up and wait. I don't mind, since that's when all the interesting tech stuff happens. It's also the time you use to squeeze in all the other things you meant to do. Crissy and I cranked the shime again. She's really good at explaining and teaching things, and she was showing me great technique, like how to not hurt your back and when to pull. She and I snuck out during one of those waiting times to crank, and half way through Janet and Elaine came out, thinking they were sneaking out to crank shime. Ha ha, we beat them to it.

2) Never ask a child how old they think you are. It's not good for your ego. They will say things like, "forty-five!" (I am not anywhere near that, just FYI).

3) Learn to improvise and be cool. There was a moment where I had to run onstage and frantically push my drum around to simulate a particularly intense part of the story, but Brenda wasn't quite there yet, so I was kind of swirling around in circles all by myself, kind of stalling until she figured out what the heck I was doing up there. Janet said she felt horrible for me, but the director said it worked. I was on-cue, just for the record.

4) Your first lessons are your most important. Waaaaaaaaay back, when I was still playing with E-ville and Janet was guest-teaching us, she gave this little speech about composing solos. The gist of it was write it, set it, and then no matter what you think of your solo, PROJECT it. I've had my Kanki solo set for a couple years now, but I think for these shows, I've really embraced the projecting part. The first night it was really good, but the second show was my best Kanki solo ever, I think.

I feel very lucky to have been a part of this. I feel lucky to be able to work with all the great members of Maze every week. I feel lucky to have the privilege of making music and all that learning. I look forward to more of it. But today I need a nap. And maybe a giant bowl of noodles. And maybe the dumb Sunday afternoon movie on TV.

We do it all again on May 31st at RCW. Hope to see you there!

Cranky

Last night before teaching my taiko class, Elaine showed me the two-person method of cranking shime. We tightened two shime and now I know how real taiko players feel since the die-hard groups crank all their shime right before they play them. It's a good warm-up and there's nothing like feeling the sting of rope-burn on your hands.


Here is how the professional group Shidara tightens shime. We didn't look quite like this, but you get the picture:

Are we there yet?

We had rehearsal until 10 last night. I'm tired and have a headache today--I guess I have a taiko hangover! But it's good. The show is coming along really well. We had the entire gang there, including the shakuhachi player who just came in from Tokyo. We ran the whole show from start to finish and finalized (ha! Nothing is ever really finalized I'm discovering) our transitions. I think we're ready. Well I'm ready, anyway. I feel confident. Prepared. Excited!

On Thursday we'll be able to get into the theater, and then the show is on for Friday and Saturday. They'll all be long days, but the best kind! Hope to see you there.

Get your tickets soon: Ghosts and Girls: The Legend of the Morning Glory.

Phew. [with new editorial comment]

Eight-hour rehearsal yesterday. It was a good one. Worked out lots of stuff. One of my favorite things about this upcoming show is that KK, a young hip-hop dancer (among his many talents), is joining the show and adding youth and vitality and taking away from the always oh-so-seriousness we taiko players seem to always impose on ourselves. It'll be fun. I'm not nervous, but a part of me reminds me that I should be. I have stuff to work on.

I wanted to work on my drum rolls so went into the chasm when it was still daylight and came out later in darkness. When did it become 9:21? Also worked on studying my transitions and helping a student out on the big trip to Sado and I don't know what else. Time flies when you're in a chasm. It's past 11 now. I swear I'm in a time-warp. I wanted to be in bed by 10! Oh well. I tell my students the joke about saying "Oyasumi Nasai!" when we leave class (the joke is that musicians stay up late playing their music, so you say "Oyasumi nasai" first thing to greet your fellow taiko players--which is Japanese for "good morning"--no matter what time it is, because the stereotypical musician wakes up sometime in the afternoon), and I think it's actually kind of true. Well, it would be true if I didn't have a day job. Today in particular I had to wake up early and be at work early, dressed in a suit with my hair blow-dried and everything so we could make a nice impression on the incoming students. It's exhausting, but eh, I'm game.

[EDITORIAL NOTE: I totally got that mixed up. "Ohayou gozaimasu" is "Good Morning," and "Oyasumi nasai" is Good Night. Obviously when I was writing this post I had no idea if I was coming or going. I'm not even sure what my point was supposed to be]

Next Sunday our rehearsal is scheduled to go to 9:30pm, but I know better. My only wish is that I could actually wake up at noon, but I guess that's what Saturdays are for. Too bad Saturdays are as far away from Sundays as you could possibly get.

My Stomach is a Bottomless Chasm of Complete and Asbsolute Nothingness

Why am I so hungry lately? Yesterday I devoured my lunch, and I was still so hungry I went and ate another lunch. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon trying not to think about the box of donuts left out for everyone in the room next door.

I can already tell today is going to be another day like yesterday. All I can think about is sinking my teeth into a giant pepperoni pizza.

Go With It

Tonight's taiko rehearsal was a little confusing to me. Actually it was a lot confusing, but I didn't let it show. So I've been do ro tsu ku-ing my butt off, but turns out were not doing any of those, and we're just doing some dramatic rolls and other stuff instead. In my head as we were working on this I was like, huh? I thought we were going to be doing something completely different. When will that other part I've been practicing come in? But of course it didn't, and the one thing I'm noticing about this process is that it's very organic and always in a state of becoming, and I doubt anything will be set in stone by the day of the show.

But I've learned this lesson a long time ago: Just go with it. The more flexible you are the better. It's like jazz. Just be cool, man. Well, that's how I am during rehearsal anyway. Plus it's interesting to see where you wind up when you go off the road map. The only thing I asked for was a wink. I was like, Janet I'm gonna need a wink to let me know we're going to change from one thing to the other, and then she would make funny googly eyed faces at me and then it was cool, man. Smooth as jazz, yo.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed we won't be do ro tsu ku-ing, not because I practiced so hard, but I heard a sample of a performance with the sequence in it and it sounded way cool. But I'm really glad I spent all that time practicing because now it's a new skill in my box of tools. But whatever happens for the show is going to sound just as cool and amazing as that sample. Now I guess I better start practicing my rolls.

Ghosts and Girls

I don't know how to post pics on my side bar so here is a plug for our big show. Get your tickets soon!

Do ro tsu ku update

No one will care about this except me, but I'm at 156 bpm, yo! I started out at 90 a week ago. I think part of getting something like a rhythm into your body is just working everything out--all the things that you get hung up on or hypnotized by, or the distracting thoughts you think when you're trying to learn something. Once you learn to break those bonds then you can just flow and go with it. Kind of like when you pour a glass of water and slowly fill it to the point where it's brimming over and should spill over, but doesn't because water likes to hold together in that very precarious surface-tension way. All that tightening up of shoulders and having your mind race and your heartbeat getting all fast and sweaty palms, all that just needs to happen and processed and experienced so you can put it behind you. Then there's that point where the water releases its hold upon itself and overflows and you don't think about those things again. I think that's the point I'm at. Just tonight I was at 152 for 25 minutes, and if you want to count it out, I played the do ro tsu ku pattern 152 times a minute, multiply that by 25 and you get (getting out calculator) . . . 3,800 times. Then I cranked the metronome to 156 and did another 30 minutes so that's . . . 4,680, and add that up . . . 8,480. And that's just tonight! Boy, I'm a slow learner. But it's good practice. When you play things that many times it just gets into your body and you never forget. Sometimes I'll be asked to play a pattern that I don't immediately recognize but my hands and body remember that I had diddled that or whatever and it is easy. It's all about learning skills. And practicing.

On other fronts, last night my car threatened to overheat itself as I was driving home from tai chi. I've been having a leakage problem for over a year now, and it finally just bubbled over (get the analogy!??) and after hissing angrily and leaving puddles all over the place, I decided that I needed to get it fixed pronto. I searched the internet and read reviews and was lucky to find a wonderful shop just around the corner from where I live, and am happy to report that I was made to feel very comfortable and not-scammed at all. I have a distrust of all mechanics whom I don't call "Dad." Dad of course is the best mechanic in the world, but since he lives 400 miles away, I needed to find someone to fix my dear Yaku (my faithful jeep). If you live in or near Berkeley and need a reference, let me know. (Does anyone actually read this blog?)

Oh, and I started a new session of taiko classes. The class was giganto--we used every single drum. Good energy in that class. One of my concerns is that I will bore my returning students by going back to basics. I asked them to do my drill with the opposite hands, but I think I will need to find more ways to keep them challenged. I love my returning students and would hate to see them leave. I am offering a "continuing" taiko class next session. Not sure what I want to call that class yet. We've been throwing around the name "intermediate" class, but I'm not sure anyone is really an intermediate yet. I have so much I want to teach, and I hope that I can focus more on skill, technique and kata in that class, whatever it's called. Maybe etiquette too. I'm not a big one on bowing and all that, but I just cringe at the thought that my students go out into the world and not understand why we bow, or how to bow, or why we show so much respect. I, for one, truly believe that respect (for teachers anyway, or maybe I can only speak for myself as a teacher) must, in a certain respect, be earned, and not insisted upon. I hope one day I can earn it from my students. But also there are the wonderful people out there in the taiko world who you just show respect to. But that is a difficult thing to explain to students, so my thoughts on this are still not fully formed. Stuff to think about.

Direction

Tonight we met with the director of our big performance, Jael. I've never worked with anything like a seperate director before (artistic direction for me has always come from within the group of people who are performing), so it was really interesting to me to see the process. He came in with fresh eyes and asked the important questions like, why are the characters doing that? How does that work with the story of the piece. Sometimes when you work hard on something, it's a little difficult to hear questions like that, but I think overall it's a good thing. This really is an important learning process for me.

I have so much to practice. Every time we run something I make mental notes to myself like, you have to work on this, and you have to work on that. I am so going to be making best friends with my metronome, and I need to stand in front of the mirror. But I think I am making a lot of progress. Everything is a lesson to me, and that is really wonderful. I mean if I just think of where I was a couple of years ago, then it becomes obvious that I've come a long way, but the further I come, the more I realize how much there is to learn, and how much harder I'd really like to work. It's these times when we are working really hard on things that I think I really grow the most. Lots of growing. That's my goal.

Body Lessons

My body is reminding me that I need to relax when I play by causing me annoying pain. I've had a problem with my upper back/neck for years now, and I think I finally know what is causing it. Actually it started about 10 years ago when I joyfully hopped down the last couple of steps with a fully loaded shoulder bag and I felt something rip when I landed and I was in so much pain I had to lie down on the floor to sleep. Now it comes back every now and then, sometimes caused by a strange turn to reach for something or doing something normal like making the bed. I just feel a warmth and sudden tightening and I know the next 2 or 3 days will be excruciating. Or sometimes it just comes on gradually. Just a tight spot that needs stretching but ends up leaving me back on the floor. Once it was solved when I was driving and made a turn that pulled my body one way while my hands held on to the steering wheel and I felt something tug and free itself. I have a theory that this may be caused by my extra rib, but that's just a theory. I've thought about seeing a chiropractor or something, but I know no chiropractors, and how would I get an appointment to see one anyway? Help??

Anyhow, since I've been working on my do ro tsu ku's so much, I think that I've been tensioning up my shoulders, which is bad. You should always play relaxed. Relaxation comes after you've cranked up the bpm on your metronome and have played for a long time so that the pattern comes naturally. Yes, natural happens, but then I crank up the bpm again, repeating the cycle. This whole back thing is just a reminder that I need to play relaxed.

Tonight I was do ro tsu ku-ing with Janet and it was a lot of fun. Just easy noodling and whatnot. She's fun to play with. I think maybe we have a similar sensibility. I have a better idea on what we're going to be playing for the show, but until we rehearse with the bassist, it's still up in the air. Which is good. Because I'll practice. Relaxed. But I feel more confident now and I think my bpm's are up to speed, but wouldn't mind cranking it up a bit more. Plus I need to build up endurance, since the do ro tsu kus' are still for a yet undetermined length. It was funny because Janet asked if I would get tired and if we would need to come up with a cue so one of us could rest, and I was like, Huh? Rest?? How long are we playing them for? 20 minutes? I don't think I'll need a rest. And that's because of my metronome training, yo. But now my next goal is playing without tensioning up my shoulders, which is important, as I am just now finding out. Usually someone else tells you these things, but I think my body is catching on and letting me know before hand. Until then, playing relaxed. Yep.

Do ro tsu ku

I am practicing my do ro tsu ku's (that's the taiko way of saying "big-big-small-small"). It's not a hard pattern to play, but I have to learn how to play it fast. Not just fast, but fast-fast! And not just fast-fast, but we're going to be playing along with a jazz bassist, who can play as slow and cool as he wants, as long as we play fast-fast. I am of course a little intimidated by this idea, but that's a good thing, because that makes me obsess, and when I obsess, I practice really really hard. I like to turn on my metronome as well as a stop watch, so I can say, ok, I'm going to play it at 120 bpm for 20 minutes. And then I crank the metronome up a notch and do it again for another 20 minutes, or however long. It's also challenging because playing this pattern for extended periods of time makes me hypnotized, so I have to fight that. Plus we are going to be playing it with mallets, which I've never used before. I have to get used to the different balance and sound. I haven't decided if I like the bigger or smaller ones yet. I've been playing on the practice pad which makes hardly any noise at all, so it's also been difficult to tell if my do ro's are markedly different than my tsu ku's. Everything sounds like sput sput sput sput to me right now. The good side is that I have 4 weeks to perfect this. The bad side is that at this moment I still have no idea what this mystery song is, but tomorrow I will learn more.

Oh and check out the poster behind my practice pad. It's a giant display of gobos, which are surprisingly interesting to space-out to when you're practicing. They're like little amusement parks for the eyes.

All right. I think it's time for TV now. Practicing hard is good, but I've been at RCW every day this week since last Sunday, and tonight is my only night off besides next Saturday so I think I will take the time to veg out. Pass me the remote, yo.

Gearing up

I'm having a hard time thinking of a title for this post. We are currently in rehearsals for our big show in April. This was our second week with Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu. I am so happy just to be a fly on the wall of this whole thing, although I'm very quickly learning that I'm not a fly since I've got parts and transitions now. When I pushed my drum off stage the wrong way, Janet was like, take the moment to turn your drum and push it off this other way. And I thought to myself, man, I already KNOW that, why didn't I do it correctly?? It's like I have to be this professional now, and though it was nice in the earlier days to be a beginner and not have so much expected of me, I need to start thinking of myself differently. I don't think of myself as a pro yet, but I know that having the correct stage presence and professionalism is expected of me. I don't know when I'll allow myself to think of myself that way. Not yet. I'm still learning whole worlds of things. I haven't earned it yet, not in my mind anyway.

And tonight I went into rehearsal thinking Ok, Kathryn. Just come into with a very open mind, and don't say anything and don't let your own opinions influence the way you look at how things progress. These guys know what they're doing so sit down, shut up and watch these people do the thing you so admire already and you'll learn something. Not that I talk much anyway in rehearsal, not that I argue or try to insert my opinion very often. But I do think things--in my head, even if I don't say them. Things that I know probably hold me back and that I try to block out from my thought processes when we're in the midst of a rehearsal or whatnot. This is my time to learn. I know that. That's part of this journey. When I started playing with Maze, my first goal was to learn everything they could teach. Then it was learn how to learn, particularly things that weren't taught. I had to look at things and say to myself, well I don't know that, so I'll have to teach myself. It's not like I've totally graduated from those things. But now I think my next lesson will be how to learn to think for myself, but I don't feel like I'm there yet, since I think in order to think for yourself you have to learn what there is out there, and the possibilities, and what the process it is to get from the possibilities to the finished product. Maybe once I start to get familiar with those things, then maybe I can start thinking for myself. Wait, that doesn't sound quite right. I do think for myself. Maybe what I'm trying to get at is that I need to try to be more of a contributing member, but before I have the confidence to do that, I have to be able to form opinions that are more open-minded and experienced. Do you see the difference? Maybe that's what my next goal should be. Experience.

Anyhow. Part of Brenda's magic is to invoke the spirits--the spirits of our ancestors, of ghosts, of our community. She's a very wonderful storyteller. Amazing, actually. There was an eerie moment in rehearsal today. We were playing Chikara, and I was thinking to myself, wow, this is a really pretty song. I think my Mom can hear it. I think she's right here listening to me play it. I'm playing it for her. And while I was having this moment, I saw Brenda talking to someone and nodding her head yes, and after we were done with the song, she announced: I know what the role of Maze is! (The story for this whole performance follows a motherless girl wandering the world) You are the mothers of this girl because she has no mother! Isn't that weird? Isn't that weird that I was thinking Mom is here, and at that very same moment Brenda comes to a realization that the taiko drummers represent a motherly ancestral role for the performance? Ok eerie. I will say no more.

I have lots to work on. Janet has given me a mysterious part playing with just her and Mark doing some "really hard" patterns. I don't quite know what that means yet. I have to go buy some mallets though--I've never played taiko with mallets. Hmmmm. But on the brighter side, we have cut Mokuyobi from the set. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief when that was suggested. That's kind of funny since I spent a good amount of time this weekend before rehearsal trying to get my Mokuyobi solo in order. I actually can live with it. For now.

Ok, gotta get to work now. I've been summoned to Jury Duty next week, and I'm crossing my fingers I get on a jury since I've already been on juries twice and I know that part of the service requires two-hour lunch breaks (for practicing "really hard" taiko) and going home at 4. We'll see.

Inspirations and Goosebumps

The Hanayui visit was awesome. I don't mean awesome in the tubular sense of the word, but awe-some. As in, inspiring awe. They embody what it means to be an artist. They take their passions and lift them to the greatest levels. Yet they are still human and accessible and humble. Just wonderful people. Their workshop was fabulous. We learned dance, song and taiko playing. It was fun and worked for people at different levels and I don't think anyone walked away from the workshop without a smile on their face. It was completely sold out and I'd never seen the RCW space so crammed with students--we would have had more if we had more drums and space. It was so much fun to be dancing and singing and playing taiko with everyone.

But the greatest highlight was getting to see them perform later that week. All I can say is wow. No, there is so much more than I can say. Or maybe not. Maybe you had to be there as they transformed from being mortals like the rest of us into the greatest, most other-worldly, most professional and, I'll say it again, awe-inspiring performers. Their grace and sharpness and wit captivated the audience. At one point, Chieko-san was doing an intense dance, and the fan that she had tucked into her obi fell out. I would almost swear that she had dropped it intentionally because of the very precise and intentional way she picked it up later in the piece. It was like part of the performance. Just a quick gesture before a new movement in the piece, but so graceful. Something like that speaks volumes about the decades of experience and presence of mind she has as a performer. Maybe she did drop it intentionally? I could be convinced either way. Not that I want to focus on that. Not when there were the haunting and beautiful voices filling the room, or the powerful gestures of Okinawan dance, or the twirling beauty of Hachijo. Kaoru Watanabe added much with his expert and emotional fue and flute playing.

I have to say that I am very inspired by all this. I reallyreallyreally want to go on the trip to Sado now. I'd like to be out there, experiencing once again what this briefest of visits had to offer.

And while the visit had to end, the taiko doesn't stop. Maze Daiko is preparing for a show in April with Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu entitled Ghosts and Girls. It's at a wonderful venue in the City. Details here. Tonight we had our first rehearsal with everyone and we played a piece called Chikara, which recalls the experience of Japanese Americans in the internment camps. I've always thought of it as Janet's most beautiful piece, but tonight Brenda was reciting some of the poetry that inspired the song, and Mark added his instrumentation, and I just got goosebumps all over my body. The only thing that gives me goosebumps is music, and then only the most certain and rarerest pieces of music, and tonight I really felt, deep down, the honor and privilege it is to be performing this piece of music. It was really special. It all just makes me feel very humbled and small. Someday I am sure everyone will find out that I have no idea of what I'm doing, and that I am such a beginner at this and they will say, what the heck is she doing here? But until then I will continue to try to experience the world as best I can. I have to try it, right?

This past week has inspired me and I am very, very happy to be here.

Bachi

Today my friend and I made about 20 pair of bachi. I volunteered to make bachi because I've been telling my class for weeks that I needed to do that, since our communal bachi are beginning to splinter. Also there is the Hanayui visit. I just want to be sure we look as sharp as possible for our visitors from the Bay Area and Japan. So, I had my reasons for bachi-making, but at the end of the day, I'm sure my friend was questioning her decision to help me in the first place. She did all the sawing--by hand!--and I was the bachi-tip sander. We had the option of using a table saw which would have been quick and easy, but since neither of us had any experience using such a dangerous piece of machinery, we opted for the good old fashioned method. This morning I was looking on the internet for table saw instructions, and I just came up with lots of warnings that if used incorrectly, you could lose a finger. My friend made a very good point that sealed the deal: I use my fingers at work for typing, so I can't afford to lose a finger! Good point. Me neither. But boy oh boy is bachi-making hard work. We're both sore. But yo, we have no reason to complain. I saw a video once of someone making their own pair of bachi --from two rectangular blocks of wood! That's hardcore.

I'm a A-MER-i-can!

Sometimes when I want to be sure to remember something, I send myself an email. I've had an email in my inbox dating back to July 7, 2006 reminding me to renew my passport, which expired in '05. My main excuse for not renewing my passport was bad hair. But anyway, the stars aligned and I simultaneously got a haircut, remembered that I needed to renew my passport, and walked into a passport-picture-taking shop, and long story short, I have a passport. I still don't like my passport photo, despite the fact that I had a decent haircut and that I, GASP, am wearing lipstick. There will be no blogging of my passport photo, but just take my word for it. This photo is a vast improvement from my last passport photo, which was taken right after I had been numbed up for cavity repair by the dentist, and I kid you not, on a windy day. That picture was horrible.

Anyhow, I wanted to renew my passport because of the possibility of me taking a trip to Japan to study on the lonely island of Sado at the Kodo apprentice center. Yes, this is kind of a plug. But really. KASA/Mix puts on a really great tour to Japan that I've heard is life-altering. Actually I think of it as more of a rite of passage if you're a taiko player. You get to eat, sleep and play taiko in the world's most renowned place for taiko playing with some of the most dedicated taiko musicians in the world. My main hurdle is, will my job let me take the time off? That's the only thing. Nothing else can stop me. Next week's visit by Hanayui is only a sample of the great things offered by the KASA tour. Really, check it out. RCW's staff have been working really hard to create meaningful relationships and community and all the sticky technical stuff like the lowest flight fares possible in order to create a trip that will change your life. If you play taiko, go on this trip.

Hanayui

I won't get busted for stealing this picture, will I? Props go to rhythmix.org

We're gearing up for a special visit by world-renowned Hanayui. They are a trio of dancers and vocalists hailing from the famous island of Sado, home to the infamous taiko group, Kodo. Two members of Hanayui are also founding members of Kodo, and they are touring with master fue player Kaoru Watanabe, a former Kodo member himself. They'll be holding a workshop at Rhythmix Cultural Works on March 11, but if you haven't signed up by now, I'm sorry to say it's sold out (I signed up already!). They will also be holding a performance on March 13th, and if you don't get your tickets in like 2 seconds from now, they will be sold out too. Information about Hanayui's visit can be found here.

One of the reasons the workshop sold out is because we have a limited amount of drums. The other night Janet and I spent some time putting some love into our practice drums, which have held up surprisingly well given the fact that my taiko class has been pounding them for the past 8 months. We pulled miles of rope and I'm sure we both walked away with bulging water-blisters (Well I did, anyway). A couple of them needed extra TLC, so I brought them home for a nice stretch and extra packing-tape repairs. That's right people, I said packing tape! These drums are made out of water barrels, metal rings and packing tape, all strung together with rope. And yo, they sound good! A big improvement on old tires. Not that there's anything wrong with tires. I played drums covered in nasty old carpet scraps, so it really is an honor to have the space to make noise and drums to make noise with. Here's a pic:

I can't wait. Get your tickets if you haven't already!

Paying the Piper

I did my taxes last night and to my dismay: I owe the government something like 600 bucks. What a bummer. All that independent contractor work takes a giant bite out of my standard deduction, or whatever it is. They don't take out taxes when they pay you for indie work, so it's really nice to have this big paycheck, but you have to know that it comes with some very expensive strings attached. This year I'm logging mileage and everything it takes to bring down the bottom line. Anyone out there know of any tax tricks for musicians, let me know. A friend said I ought to claim zero exemptions at my regular job. I think I'm gonna.

On a happier note, I sent off my last check to the student loan people, so I am officially debt-free and boy does that feel good! Now I am going to start doing some serious saving, people.

Tai Chi is Awesome!

My tai chi class is so cool! We're learning applications for self-defense based on the moves used in the tai chi form (the movements that make up tai chi). My teacher is probably a good 6 inches taller than me (not to mention all his man-strength and experience), but he showed us a move tonight and I was able to use it to throw him off balance and neutralize his (fake) attack. We are working on a sparring style called "push hands" and basically it's a game where you have to try to throw your opponent off balance without moving your feet. Yes, he probably let me get him, but it was fun and confidence-building nonetheless. It really is great as a woman to be learning ways of defending myself. Not that I've made the physical and mental commitment to learning a martial art, but it's nice to know that if someone had grabbed me by the neck that at least I know of a move to release myself, in theory anyway. I hope I never have to actually use anything I'm learning.

I went in early to RCW today so I could finish stretching the head on Janet's drum. Everything went absolutely smoothly. I am really getting this stretching thing down. I spent a long time massaging the head and jumping up and down and digging my knees into it. I don't know if that makes for a better head. I think this one is going to sound good. I pulled and pulled and cranked those jacks pretty hard. I decided to stop cranking when one of the mimi looked like it was going to rip, but I think I did good on pushing those boundaries between safety and a good-sounding drum. We'll see. The last head I did is sounding better after a few weeks of playing it. When you first put a head on a drum it has a tinny sound. Not sure why. But it goes away after a while and mellows into its own unique voice.

I'm sorry to say that I forgot my camera so I don't have any pics. I'm very proud of my straight rows of tacks and even mimi. Just take my word for it. I can't wait to work on another head.

After stretching the head, we had rehearsal. It went well. I started sweating, which is nice, seeing how winter has been cold and wet. A nice sweat feels good every once in a while. But now I am so, so tired, and I have so much work to do in my life. I need to make a list and start attacking my projects one by one.

Yesterday I played hooky to a class I've been taking and playing hooky has never felt so good. It was a beautiful day, yesterday, with temperatures reaching the mid/upper 60's and me and my friend went wandering up to Telegraph Avenue and into the bookstores and music stores. I've been curious about getting a record player (I grew up listening to records--even though they had better technology by then--and No, I am not that old, in case you were wondering) and I am convinced that I need to get a turntable. Used records are only a couple of bucks each! Plus you have to admit that you can't beat the earthy, raw sound of a scratchy record. But that is another adventure.

Rainy Day Project

Since I have nothing noteworthy to blog about, here is what I did yesterday before rehearsal. I got a new knife and I had no idea what wonders a new sharp blade will do to a hide. I just thought the hides were hard to cut!I'm getting this skinning down pretty good. There are still things I'd like to perfect, such as, when do you stop cranking those jacks? I know that when you hit the drum and the sound goes up, then that's the general guideline of when you've pulled enough. But come on, why not just a little bit more? None of my mimi have ripped yet, so I think I can pull more. I think I'm just scared. I think I'm less scared abou the mimi ripping than I am of the rope snapping. I'm scared of those creeky noises you hear when those 2-ton jacks are doing their thing and you've got your face down there right next to the ropes as you're pumping those jacks. I'm one of those people who watch those dumb tv game shows where people can either move on to harder levels or just take the quarter of a million dollars and go home, and I'm the one yelling "Go home! Go home!" I just need to find a co-conspiritor who will tell me "Keep cranking! Keep cranking!"

3 Hours!

Tonight I taught for 3 hours. Three hours, people! Actually what amazes me was that I talked for 3 hours! Me! Talk! For 3 hours! I'm totally blowing my reputation as a shy recluse. But it was good. Good for me. Plus I think the classes went well. I got called in to sub for a class at the last minute, so I taught a seat-of-my-pants "Introduction to Taiko" class to people who thought they were coming for a hand-drumming class. And the nice thing was that I was completely prepared and not at all nervous. Then it was straight into my own taiko class. My students rock. They look awesome and have great attitudes. I'm lucky to be able to teach them.

But now I'm tired of my own voice and I think I will eat dinner and watch TV and try my best to veg-out like a parsnip.

I Disappoint Myself

Today we ran through Mokuyobi, and for an entire weekend a few weeks back I was working madly on composing a new solo. I wrote about 2/3 or 3/4 of a good solo, and drilled it, and was actually kind of happy with it, which is a new thing. But I didn't think we were working on it tonight, so I didn't practice, and when it came for my turn to play my solo, my mind went completely blank. Couldn't remember a lick of it. Couldn't remember a lick of any incarnation of ANY Mokuyobi solo I had ever composed, ever. It was awful. I was so mad at myself. Awful, awful. I will have to work on that some more. Plus my song. Plus everything else, which is piling up. Argh. Made a little progress on kata tonight though. I am learning how to learn, yet as a teacher I am also thinking on how to teach others how to learn, and how to teach others how to learn who learn different from me. That is my current challenge. Among other things.

Stubborn Head, Part 2

Oh I feel so awful! Tonight I finally pulled that head off the drum, but I had to commit a horrible act of vandalism to do so. That's what it felt like--a crime. After setting the drum up on the jacks and cranking them to a dangerous groaning, creaking point--nothing. So tonight I did the only other thing I could think of--I cut the head. At first I thought I could just cut right up the side and that would release the head, but there was no give whatsoever. The drum still sounded as good as it did before I took the tacks out. Then I made another cut and peeled off a section, and still nothing--plus it still sounded great! I think there was something about the initial stretching process that released animal goo-glue and binded the skin to the wood of the drum. It's not that the head was on tight, it's that it was glued on! So then I had to do the really awful thing of cutting the playing-part of the head right down the middle. It's a horrible feeling. Here I was working for my teacher, whom I respect tremendously, and whose instruments I respect tremendously, and what was I doing but the meanest most cruel thing you could do to a drum--cutting the head right down the center. And then in quarters! It was like burning books! Like stepping on flags! Like kicking kittens! Eventually, using muscles and pliers, I was able to get the head off. But sheesh. I hope I never have to do that again. I hope that my apologies to the cow and to Janet were heard on some sort of karmic level.

I hope I can redeem myself by putting on a really great new head. Yes.

Stubborn Head

I thought *I* was stubborn!! I'm working on re-heading a drum, and the old head is on so tight that I can't pull it off the drum--even after pulling all the tacks out! In fact, even after I pulled all the tacks out, the head sounds as good as it did before I pulled the tacks out! I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to get that old head OFF! Tonight I enlisted some help and we put the drum on the stretching rack and I used 4 hydralic jacks and 3/8" manila rope to try to yank that head off, but all to no avail. When we had the head cranked down, it was making all sorts of mean and impending-doom-sounds, but OMG--nothing. I hit it with a heavy mallet over and over (plus I hit my own hand too--NOT GOOD) but nothing. I can't think of anything so stubborn!

Help! Anyone have any experience with this? I might have to try putting it back on the stretching rack again and what--maybe apply some WD-40 on it? I have no idea. Until then, that's what I'm doing with my spare time.

Listening

Lately, I've been doing a lot of listening. There has been some really great music coming my way. Interesting stuff just seems to flutter down from the ether to my window sill and like birds they sing to me. There are great multi-layered songs that arrive and and spawn ideas. The gears in my brain are turning. Here is my favorite song of the week:


You've heard it before, I'm sure. But doesn't it just make you happy? That's how I feel. Happy and inpired.

Song Writing

I need to write a song. I have no idea how to approach writing a song. But I have a number of diddles, and I have recordings of my diddles, so I've been listening to my recordings, and I think I have some ideas on how to put the diddles together. The most basic, ghostly outline of the structure has been roughly sketched-out/suggested to me. So now it should be easy, right?

Do you know what I need in order to write a song? Time to write it in. But you know what I'm discovering lately? The less time I have, the more productive I am. I knocked out a nice rough draft of a Mokuyobi solo last weekend. I thought we'd work on it on Sunday (but we didn't. Oh but who cares?) Coming up with a Mokuyobi solo has been popping up on my list of to-do for like a year now. No, wait. More than a year. I kinda like what I came up with. I'd like to have this New Song in a week or two. I think I can do that.

Tonight I had my first Tai Chi class of the year. I like the class. One of the nice things about the class is that after the deep breathing and all the excercises we do to get in touch with our bodies, you can kind of get a feel of what your body is really thinking. It's like you live in your body and move along through the world and your life in it, but you don't really get to feel what it's saying. I mean, not unless you injure it, but then it's too late. But after class I was listening to my body, and it said, I think that if you don't write your Mokuyobi solo and your Song and come up with a solid syllabus and long-term plans for your class, OH! and review all those songs we've already worked on, then we're going to have a nice ULCER. In college, when I was stressed out and over-caffienating myself, I developed what the doctor called a "pre-ulcer." A "pre-ulcer" is painful. A pre-ulcer had me doubled over with a bottle of the pink stuff in one hand and a telephone with my Mama on it in the other. Tonight my stomach was like: Listen to me, yo. Do the work and it will be ok. If not, then we'll be in touch again, are you (nudge nudge, wink wink) listening to me?? I believe my tummy.

A friend of mine told me that writing a song is a matter of trust (with yourself), and that I had to let myself relax into the creative process. Yes, this is probably true. But I think there is more going on here. I think I thrive a little off the stress. If I'm not creating these lofty and slightly out-of-reach goals for myself, then I won't do the work. So yes, all these tasks are TOTALLY out of reach (nudge nudge, wink wink).

But I can do it. I know it.

oy

I have to write a song out of some random diddles I was messing around with. And it's due in like--what time is it?--NOW! We have a concert coming up in April and we are aiming to have this (yet unwritten) song performance-ready by then. Not to mention I am elbow deep in new applications at work and my boss keeps coming in and smiling politely and asking what they can do to help, which is unnerving. And I have to have something ready for my own taiko class next week. Plus I have to revisit chekere, write a Mokuyobi solo I can live with, learn how to project, and go over all the songs we already know in our reperatoire.

I have to admit that this is pretty darn stressful. But really, if I just take a step back and look at what I have wanted for my life, what I have wanted to accomplish with it, what my goals are, what my dreams and aspirations are, then this is the best kind of stress. I mean, look. Everyone I care about is strong and healthy and relatively happy, there are no clouds of impending doom on my horizon, and I have the time and energy to focus on this. It's not bad. I just want to scream a little.

I think the most effective way I can get through all this is to shut the *@# up, hunker down, and start knocking all these things off my to-do list. SHUT UP. Yes. Now, what to do with a diddle???

Happy New Year!

Last blog entry of 2007! Happy New Year everybody! 2008 will be filled with new adventures!! Go get yourself some punk!

New Pots

During my visit home to LA I decided to repot my mother's plants. Those are hardy beings--those plants. They managed to survive a couple of years without any TLC. It's either natural selection or stubbornness that kept them around so long. I'm sure they haven't been watered regularly--they've just been sitting out there waiting for the next rain. Anyhow. She kept wonderful cymbidiums, orchid flowers that blossom spectacularly in the spring time. That first year they bloomed with a vengeance, but I don't know if they did so well last year. I repotted what was left of her collection, and hope for the best:

But there are spikes of hope. That baby right there is going to be a string of blossoms:

She also had shelves of what I think are called "Christmas Cactus." These are orchids that bloom in furious and bright shades of fuchsia and violet during the holidays. There was no sight of blossom when I was there, but perhaps with new soil and a generous watering, they'll come back. They have mean, nasty thorns that break off into very fine tendrils that just grab onto your skin with the slightest touch and hold on like false eyelashes wherever you brush by them. The thorns are almost invisible, and they sting. I actually dug into an old, spidery pile of work gloves and chased out any inhabitants of the fingers in order to get some sort of protection against the thorns. At one point, as I was tweezing out the thorns, I asked myself, is this worth it? But it was. Here are her shelves, renewed:

And I also took home a few cuttings I hope to grow into all their former glory. That one on the bottom is the tiniest nubbin of Christmas cactus that was poking up from the soil in an overflowing pot. It has great potential and promise. If I can get a blossom out of that someday then all this will be totally worth it.

That circle of ceramic men are my Dad's. They get to stay home with him in their strange, naked football huddle of a dance. Or whatever it is they're doing.

Happy Merry Christmas!!

Have Elmo or Cookie Monster ever made for a Merrier Christmas than this one?

Happy Holidays everyone!! Lotsa updates to come!

Rope Splicing--ARGh!!

I've never been so frustrated with two pieces of rope in my life! I'm trying to join two pieces of rope togther, but ARGH! The picture above makes it look so easy, but gaddangit, I can't get those two pieces of rope to come together like that for the life of me. And I think part of the reason is because it is for the life of me. Or maybe a finger or an eye. I read that knots decrease the strength of rope significantly, but splices are way stronger. So I want to be able to splice the ropes instead of using all the wonderful bends I've learned to join two ropes together. I went to Home Despot tonight and tried to find a 100' length of rope but they only had 50' lengths, so I was like, well I'll just get two and then splice them together. I mean, in theory and in pictures it looks so easy, but it's not. SHeesh! There's something wrong with my brain that prevents me from following one strand of rope through those twists and turns. I'd like to say I have ADD but it's been confirmed time and time again that I have OCD.

How could it be so hard to keep 100' lengths of 3/8" manila rope in stock?!!

Stretch

Got the hide onto Janet's drum today. Things went really smoothly. It was good that I totally documented everything last time with pics. The only du-oh moment I had was when I realized I had brought the wrong rope with me. I can't, for the life of me, figure out what I did with the right rope. Had to use the old rope from last time, but need to get a new one since I have doubts about its strength when I start applying the real force with the hydralic jacks and then when I'm standing on top of this whole contraption. Having the rope snap when I'm up there is a scary thought.

Oh, and did I ever say that Janet has so graciously leant me a corner in her new space at RCW? It's all mine to stretch drums and pound nails and saw things without the fear of bothering the neighbors. It's such a sheer joy to have that. She also brought in a workbench for me to use (you have no idea how hard it is to saw things in between the arms of a chair). This is great.

Tonight we diddled and played a pattern that we call "Ju Ju Bees" (for the pnenomic we use to remember the pattern). Playing Ju Ju Bees is hard work, but my tai chi training helped and added a power to it that I hadn't used before. It's all about using your body efficiently and utilizing your core. Anyhow, it gave new life to the diddles I had been working on, so we'll see. The holiday season is kicking my butt, and I will be glad when it's over. The one thing I'm looking forward to is spending time with my family and seeing my one-year-old niece and maybe making cookies. Oh, and cleaning the house--but I'm not looking forward to that.

Re-heading

I volunteered to re-head Janet's drums. This suits my OCD personality, as well as gives me somthing to do during these long, long, cold winter evenings. Plus, it's the least I can do to repay the gift of my own drum. Anyhoo.

Re-heading consists of taking an old, worn-out taiko head off a drum, and putting a new one on. You go to the internet or the (remember these?) telephone and ask people to send you new hides and tacks to secure the hides to the drum. You also shove toothpicks into the holes left behind by the tacks you pulled out to get the old head off. That's a pain. Because I wanted to do things correctly, I sawed the toothpicks down, and then sanded them flush, and left myself with the dilemma of fixing the sanded parts of the drum with new coats of sealer and tung. Luckily, I have exhaustive (boy, do I mean, exhaustive) experience with sealer and tung. It looks something like this before the tung oil:

Oh sheesh, zoom out, it'll look more like this when I'm done:

Anyhow. That's what I'm up to. I have a hide that I will start marinating in my bathtub tomorrow (in between showering, of course), then on Sunday I get to do the first stretch. You've seen all these chronicles documented in depth already on this blog. But I like this. I wish I could quit my job and re-head drums for a living. Oh, and play taiko. And maybe make bachi.

College students are all starting to apply to college, so that leaves little free time in my life. Or rather, it leaves me with little free energy beyond processing college applications, reheading drums, and maybe stealing in a moment here and there to do stuff like brush my teeth, blog, and watch Ugly Betty. Oh, and sleep. But it's all good. The holidays are coming up, and I look forward to the free time. Gotta get there first.

Frost

The weather forecast predicts "patchy frost" for this evening. That's it. I give up on winter already. If you need me I'll be hibernating under a large pile of blankets.

I'd never survive an East coast winter.

Las Vegas

Spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas this year. I really, really needed the vacation from my regular world to go to the strange, surreal world of Las Vegas. Actually, I needed a break from my regular world to go anywhere, but Vegas was on the calendar, so Vegas it was. Growing up, we went to Las Vegas on a semi-regular basis, so the flashing lights and gimmicky pyramids and general gaudiness weren't exactly the draw. There are plenty of other deadly sins to indulge in.

After I leave Vegas I always feel icky and a little disgusted by myself, but you know what they say: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Let's just say I self indulged and payed generously (but not too much so,) for it. After I got home today, I took a long, hot shower and scrubbed and scrubbed and breathed in the hot steam and enjoyed the tingle of Doc Bronner's Peppermint soap.

This is just a recap, since I'm too tired to go into too much detail. One of the best things about going to Las Vegas is the journey there. I like the starkness of the desert, and while it's nice travelling by car, it's more spectacular by air:

I think the desert is so beautiful. I always seem to find my way to the seaside in my travels, but one day I'd like to spend some time in the wrinkled heat of the high desert. After we landed we drove along the freeway that basically parallels the sinful parts of Sin City. They've been busy with construction since I've been there last. But I guess Vegas has always been a work-in-progress:
And look at those cranes below. I was wondering if they lit them up to go with the rest of the neon decor of the town, or if they work at night, or if they just don't want the planes to crash into them:And here is the lovely view from my room:At some point I'd like to get out to those mountains for a look-see. I'd like to feel the crunch of rock beneath my feet. Feel the heat rise up from the ground while the heat of the sun beats down on me. See the flash of lizard, the glint of quartz. Ah, next time maybe. . .

And yes, I gambled and enjoyed many buffets and stayed up way past my bedtime: I swear I'm never going back again. But that's what I said last time.

Horrible Childhood Memory Flashback:

I remember I would wake up at 5:30 in the morning and make myself bread and mayonaise sandwiches--which I would devour. Three or four at a time. What was I thinking???!!

Yuck.

Suckiness and stuff

Had a mini gig tonight. The Chamber of Commerce (I have no idea what a chamber of commerce is, by the way) was meeting at RCW and we had some of the teachers give little plugs for our classes. There was tai chi and dance and we were the taiko drummers, of course. It was just one song--my favorite with the most solid solo, but for some reason, my solo totally sucked tonight. Just couldn't pull it together. I blame it on the lights, which were flickering on and off, and the photographer guy who was flashing and getting all in our faces, and all those suits in the room. But no. I should have been more prepared. Or focused. Or, I don't know. I was totally not nervous about the song, but maybe a little fear is good. I've been performing that song for over 2 years now but I can't get cocky about it, I guess. Also tonight Janet made me talk. Yes, talk. Into a mic. In front of and to a bunch of people in suits. I spent a few minutes today going over what I wanted to say, but of course could not remember it. But I think I managed to say some coherent things. Talked about the song and my class. But I think I get all nervous and start sucking in too much air and get all out of breath. That happened last time. Or maybe I was out of breath. Eh. It's good experience though. Janet said nice things to me afterward so my ego is nice and puffy.

In other news, I've been reskinning one of the drums. It's going unbearably slow since I've been working on it in Janet's space and I have to schedule time to get in there. It's good to work there since I don't have to worry about our poor downstairs neighbor who can probably hear every sound I make, but slow. So slow.

Thanksgiving is next week, yo. I'm going to Vegas, and you know what they say: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Or I think it would be more accurate to say that the money you bring to Vegas, stays in Vegas. It's all about Kino people. Yeah. And video poker.

Obi Fight 2007!!

Went to Texuba again today. Texuba is a rare opportunity to buy kimono and obi at discounted prices. As taiko players, we wear obi as part of our costume, but they're really hard to find. You don't just go to Macy's and pick one out. You can't really make them. Anyhow, this time the Texuba orginizers swore they were about to go into retirement and that this would be the last time (again) that they would be holding this event. Ok, whatever. I don't know if you remember the last time I attended Texuba. I was green and inexperienced that time. But this time I knew exactly what to expect.

First off, you bring a friend. They're your back-up, your wingman, your right hand man (literally--you bring them to grab stuff for you). I brought Kris again this year because she has experience already and also because she's small, quick and nimble. Secondly, you get there early. Last time I was 5 or 10 minutes late and it was like showing up for an after-Christmas sale on MLK weekend--there's nothing left. Anyhow. We were there half an hour early and even that felt late. The first 20 people got some free gift, but there must have been 50 people there already. Thirdly, you go in there with a game plan. The night before I showed Kris some of the types of obi I was looking for and told her the colors we were looking for. Janet, who was originally going to be my wingman (or was it the other way around?), had to back out at the last moment but asked for black obi, so we added that to our wish list. I wanted green.

The competition: cut-throat resellers and pushy, elbowy crafter/artists.

When they opened the doors, we knew exactly what to do. I grabbed an empty laundry basket and went left and Kris went right. Then you go through the racks like the worst kind of crazy, rabid bargain shopper and start rifling through and just grabbing anything that looks remotely interesting. Every once in a while my basket would suddenly get heavier and I knew that it was Kris dropping a load of stuff in it. She's good. But man oh man do I hate shopping like that. You just have to go in with a sense of humor and know that the polite rules of society don't quite apply until you've signed the credit card receipt and take your nicely stapled bag full of goodies out the door. When I bumped into people I said sorry, but certainly didn't expect any sorry's coming back in my direction when I got pummeled. No harm no foul. After you grab everything that looks interesting, you sort through what you want and don't. We walked out of there with 10 beautiful obi:

Those two grayish looking ones on the bottom are actually green, so I'm happy. I don't think I want to do that again anytime soon though. Enough obi for now. And boy, are my elbows sore.

Full Day

Woke up today after the CIA gig with the most horrible back-ache. I couldn't even bend over to put my socks and shoes on, but managed to make it to our gig in Berkeley. It was a good show. There were lots of children and adults in the audience. I talked, people! I led the group in kiai and managed to say everything I rehearsed in my mind, even though I was totally out of breath from our last song. I had to stop a couple times to gulp air. But I think I did ok! We got the audience kiai-ing and I led them in a kiai contest. Fun.

Then afterward I had enough time to go home, eat and shower before heading off to Emeryville Taiko's 10th Anniversary Concert. I realized halfway through the show that I'd never actually seen Emeryville perform--I'd always been part of their shows. They've really polished up some of their pieces since I've been gone, and added some I've never seen. They've got a wonderful procession song with lit nebuta and a dozen fue players and chappa players and okedo players. It was arm-hair raising, that procession. They've got great players and I was excited to see how far some of have come since I'd last seen them as beginners. They also performed a version of Kai to Ryu and though there were hiccups here and there, there was no train wreck. Wonderful. And of course they're super genki. That's something I take pride in, being a former Etaiko player myself. It was a great show. Great entertainment.

Gig at the CIA

Had our gig at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa today. Had to fight off the snooze button several times, but made it to RCW in time to load up and make the trek to California's famous wine country. It's beautiful out there, people. The grapevines are golden in the November light, and the trees are turning too. To get there you have to drive by dozens of beautiful wineries with their classic, simple architecture, and then through a small town that looks like something out of the movies. It was also nice that today was a beautiful, sunny, 80 degree day. Betcha makes you want to live in California, huh?

Anyhow, the CIA is a former monestary in the heart of wine country. Our gig was to play a set during the 1 1/2 hour lunch break in what was called "the Barrel Room." I think it should have been called "the Odaiko Room," since it housed several gigantic wine barrels. All we need to do is find some cows big enough to skin these babies:
This gig was part of some sort of international cooking conference. Special guests included Yan Can Cook (I don't know his real name--but I saw him. He was wearing a pink shirt!) and one of the Iron Chefs (the guy with a ponytail. I don't get food TV, but when I go to LA I fall asleep to episodes of the Iron Chef. I saw that guy too!) There were also other cooking celebreties, and Meri's eyes would light up each time we saw one and she would be like, hey, that's so-and-so! That's awesome.

As I've said before, it's a lost cause to try to get people's attention if there's food involved, even if you're pounding away on taiko. But I think it was a good set. Yes there were mistakes. The floor was crookedy, and the drums would literally slide away because it was so uneven. Plus there were tons of extraneous mics to play around, and the stage (or dance floor) wasn't as big as they said it would be. We didn't get as big as an audience as you would think, especially since they said there would be 600 people there. But there was an old guy watching us, and he seemed pretty enthralled because half way through our set he dropped and broke his wine glass, and someone ran up with a broom to sweep it up. And during my Kanki solo, the professional photographers came right up in my face and were photographing me for what seemed the longest time. Good thing my Kanki solo is set and I have my happy-playing-face down.

After our set we got to wander around and eat at all the booths that were housed there. It was a free-sample grab fest, and I walked off with a few goodies, and a full belly. Such good food! Such great flavors!

When we were loading out, I noticed a bunch of baby taiko drums, er, I mean, wine barrels just sitting there. If it weren't for the darn marimba taking up all the space in my car I would have rolled one of those barrels right into the trunk of my car.

But take a look at that line of spotty stains right across the front of that barrel. Boy do I know what caused that, and what can remove it!

Off again tomorrow to the lovely city of Berkeley where we are headlining our next show. I have to talk, so that should be interesting. Wish me luck!

The CIA

Tomorrow we play for the CIA. No, not that CIA--but the Culinary Institute of America. Personally, competing against food for attention, even while madly beating taiko drums, is a lost cause. The food always wins. We've been working real hard for this show, though. It's an opportunity to work toward something, and we've been composing a new song that we're going to perform for the first time, and we've also been polishing old songs that could use some performance experience. I just wish I had my Mokuyobi solo down, since I've been #$%^ing it up every time I try to pull it off in rehearsal. Sigh. Someday I'll have a solo for that song that I'm proud of.

Flu Shot

That's me getting my flu shot, but there was much more whining and moping afterwards. I was achy and cranky yesterday and today my arm still hurts, but hey, I'm vaccinated now. Nothing like being constantly surrounded by hoardes of college students that teaches you to get your flu shot when they offer them. I figure the 25 bucks I payed to get the shot (yes, I could have gone to my own hospital and gotten it for free--but I'm a sucker for convenience) would offset the cost of, say, aspirin and snot pills and cough syrup and kleenex. Not to mention the chicken soup and orange juice. I remember once I was so sick I couldn't cook for myself and was too wiped out to go to the store and I lived off of top ramen for days. Thank goodness for my Aunty who figured that college kids live off ramen and bought me a small case of the stuff. I threw it in the closet and forgot about it until I really needed it.

Oh, but once when I was a kid (just before kindergarden) I had to get some sort of vaccination and I SO did not want to get it, and I tried to fight off the nurse who was administering it. OH MY GOD was she strong! She was the strongest person I have ever met, and I don't know how she did it, but she stuck that needle in me and vaccinated the hell out of me. I just remember her grabbing my arm and me fighting. It was very obvious that she was going to win the fight, but I gave it my all--I tried to pull away, but she held firm, I pulled, she held. I think I even got some sort of lollipop afterward which I sucked on begrudgingly. Lose the battle, win the war (on germs, anyway).

So when I get vaccinated, as I do every year, I just turn my head and whimper.

New Responsibilities

We're gearing up for the upcoming shows next weekend--two shows in that many days. We were setting up logistics and I get to be equipment-girl! Hooray! That's something I always wanted to do. Tomorrow I'm going to set up an excel document with a complete inventory of our equipment and checklists to use for each show. If you know me, then you know I can be kind of anal, and being equipment-girl appeals to me in a way that warrants my overly prolific use of exclamation points and italicized words. I can't WAIT!!

Oh, and I also get a speaking role in the demo/audience participation part. I'm not as excited about that, but I know it's a good thing for me to do. Heck, I teach my own class, so this should be a piece of cake, relatively speaking. I have to lead a crowd of middle schoolers in a kiai demo. Kiai's are verbal expressions of energy--if you've ever seen taiko before, then a kiai is when you hear the players shout to one another. Kind of like in martial arts--hiya! We'll get those kids yelling--I know they like doing that. This is actually a nice step for me, seeing how I've been a recluse for most of my life, trying to be as quiet and small as I could be. But now look, I'm going to try to lead a whole crowd of people yelling back and forth to one another! Ha!

Headlining, yo! Part II

So I opened up the second page of our local paper, and, LOOK! Maze Daiko! Right there at the top of the bill! Headlining! Yeah--you read it right! Right there next to children's fashion and wrapping paper designing--Maze Daiko, yo! Overuse of exclamation points??! YES! Way too much caps lock and italicism?! YES!!

well I'm smitten.

Conflagaration

SoCal is on fire. Kind of hard to believe. Actually, everything that hasn't been paved over by strip malls, skyscrapers or concrete is on fire, which kind of rules out LA proper and, luckily, the lovely suburban town I grew up in. Every year the Santa Ana winds (or Santana winds, as my grandmother used to say) blow in from the deserts to east, out to the Pacific Ocean to the west, super-heating the air and drying out everything in its path. I'm actually fond of the Santa Ana winds (except when they cause mass destruction, of course). They're kind of like the last gasp of summer before the long dreary days of winter set in. Up here in the Bay Area we've been having our own weaker form of the Santa Ana's and I've been trying to soak them up. I feel bad for all those people who lost their homes though. It's just such a surreal thing that's happening down there.

All I Wanna Do . . .

. . . is practice. I just want to sit there with my metronome and practice pad (a real shime would be nicer) and practice all day. It doesn't even have to be a song. It would be nice to play hooky for a day or two and do that. Why oh why did I spend all those years thinking I could be a better player just by practicing the songs we were working on? There is so much more out there to practice! There's diddles and dokos and do-dons--oh my!

I know, I know--I'm a geek. But who cares!

HEADLINING, yo!!

Headlining! Yee-ha! Yeah, you heard me right! Headlining!

Ok, it's not as exciting as it sounds. But it does sound great, doesn't it? I don't think anyone has actually called us headliners before. We volunteered to play at a friend's daughter's school's annual benefit/festival/something or other. Plus I discovered one of my boss' kids goes there too. We play for about an hour, with tons of audience participation, so it's probably going to be something like school-show format. Better get off my paradiddling butt and brush up on our repertoire.

Tai Chi for Taiko

I've been taking tai chi for the past 5 weeks and am loving it. Tonight we finally got through the whole form, and now we can work on kata stuff. I wanted to take tai chi to help me with balance and centering myself for taiko. The other day in taiko we were doing a movement within a song and all of a sudden I realized, hey this feels a lot like one of the tai chi moves, and I started working that into my kata and I think I looked (and felt) a lot better. Plus I think going into tai chi from my taiko background really helps, though I think it would have been easier the other way around. I want to get to the point where I have memorized all the moves and I feel pretty and grounded doing them. That takes practice I guess. There are millions of old people in parks who look way better than I do. I always thought it looked cool, and I think that's one of the reasons why I'm taking it. Plus the teacher is great. He's mellow and unintimidating and patient. He also knows kung fu and once in a while he'll demonstrate how our seemingly innocent tai chi moves can break a wrist or or knock a person down. Sometimes when he does that I get the urge to take his kung fu class, but I'm worried that I may get injured taking a martial art and not be able to play taiko, which would just be really sad. But wouldn't it be cool if I could flip a 200 pound man to the ground? Little ol me?

On the flip side (flip, get it?), my students seem to be enjoying their taiko class. I worked some paradiddles into a fun movement drill and I think they liked that. Last night a few of us were talking about the class and they seemed to be interested in learning more basics. I remember when I first started taking taiko I really wanted to just stand there and work on drills for long periods of time, although the emphasis was on learning songs. Maybe I should be less worried about them being bored and go ahead and work on drills. We'll see. I think I need to have a heart-to-heart with myself and try to plot the future of what taiko might look like at RCW. It'll involve more commitment and writing a song for them, no doubt. We'll see, we'll see.

But life is good. I'm doing what I love. I'm challenging myself. I'm trying to share what I love and challenging others to do it too. That's the whole point of it all, isn't it?

How to Make a Beat

Wow! See how easy it is to throw together a song?

Rain, Rain . . .

I've never liked the rain much, but since it hardly rained at all last winter, I've actually been craving it a little. I mean, I really enjoyed those long weeks of crystal-clear, blue, blue skies even though it was freezing, but give me a good storm with rain falling on the roof in buckets so heavy you wonder how the roof stays up. I always hate coming in from the rain chilled by wet socks and heavied pantlegs and soggy shoulders, but there is something nice about changing out of those clothes into something soft and warm and fuzzy.

There's a storm out there, and I just came in from being outside, and you can smell its heavy, earthy fragrance. Tonight as I was closing class with a soft oroshi, I said, come on, let's try to call that rain out from the sky. Do you know what smell I'm talking about? As a kid I remember saying once: it smells like rain! But my Mom was quick to say, no, that's the smell of the pavement. I guess as someone who grew up in Hawaii, she knew what real rain smelled like. But as a child of the city, with its miles and miles of cement and asphalt and roofs painted with hardened black tar, the rain smells like that to me. Stony, and porous, and filled with the latent heat of hot days and dry winds and the sounds of lazy cars passing by and the shouts of children and of August lawnmowers and the scrape of a rake on the sidewalk, papyrus shards of newspaper caught in chainlink fences, of small, forgotten, flattened shoes, all saved up, all ready to be released again by the rain. I know all too soon I'll tire of the leaden grey skies, its depressing horizons, of winter's brief, monotonous days of softened shadows and numbed toes. But give me a nice, big storm. Give me rain measured by the inch and of sudden 3 pm blackouts. I'll take it--for now anyway.

Counting to 12--The Funky Way

I've had days where this song would pop into my head and just not get out. Like today. There must be generations of us kids who learned our counting from this song. And the video is a trip in itself. Were they intentionally trying to make us feel like we were on drugs? I'm surprised watching this doesn't give children seizures.

Anyhow. Enjoy. Rock on.

I need my fix

If I don't get me some tempura udon SOON I will surely perish. Yes. I will. Really.

SOME Kind of Wonderful

"All I care about in this freakin' world are my drums . . .and . . . YOU!"

Oh boy, they don't make movies like they used to in the 80's! And where the heck are Lick the Tins? I so want that song from the soundtrack but I guess itunes has turned its back on really great 80's soundtracks. Mary Stuart Masterson is my hero!