12.5.07
BreathplayThis is exciting news. Byron Au Yong has just released a new CD titled "Breathplay" with Christofer Yohmei Blasdel. The CD is available at CDBaby.com.
Byron has composed a number of pieces for On Ensemble and his composition "2X4" appears as track 5 on "Dust and Sand". He's an amazing composer and musician and has had a big influence on us. His work is always innovative and evocative and is a constant source of inspiration.
Peace,
12.5.07
We're BACKWe're back online! Yeah. Had a couple of weeks of online troubles But am happy to report OnEnsemble.org is back in business.
It's been a very eventful couple of weeks. We're working on mixing our new studio album and designing the CD and DVD covers of our live CD project and new DVD. I'll be posting more about these projects soon!
I also made an appearance on the KTLA morning show with Hiroshima. We went on to promote the Annual Hiroshima Spriit of the Season concert. Check this Hiroshima website for more.
Peace,
11.18.07
Cudamani!Wow. Just came back from one of the most amazing concert experiences. Cudamani the Balinese gamelan group that I had the fortune of studying with over the summer just had a performance at UCLA's Royce Hall. It was breath taking in every aspect. The musicianship the dancing the staging the lighting... Everything was amazing. Inspirational to say the least.
Peace,
11.7.07
Rhythms of Life Wrap-up and San Jose TaikoA huge thank you goes out to Iris Levine and Vox Femina for having us guest at their concert series this past weekend. We had a wonderful time collaborating with Vox Femina and performing together and can't wait to do it again!
It's been a busy week for On Ensemble, besides the Vox Femina concerts we had lecture demo performances on Thursday and Friday of last week and have been spending many hours in the studio finishing our second album. We're also finishing mixing our first live CD and a new DVD. Whew.
San Jose Taiko is coming to Los Angeles to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center this Friday, November 9 at 8:00pm. On Ensemble owes a lot to San Jose Taiko. First of all it was because of a class that San Jose Taiko members taught at Stanford that Stanford Taiko got its start and that's where Kris and I met. Kris and I also spent a summer working as interns at San Jose Taiko and it was during that summer that we solidified our decision to move to Japan to deep our understanding of our art form so that we could start On Ensemble.
I can actually remember the moment we decided for sure to both go to Japan. That summer we sublet an apartment in Santa Clara and would run from our apartment to the San Jose Taiko offices. Along the way we would stop by a Ralphs for a drink and it was in the parking lot sipping limeade Odwallas that the fateful decision was made.
Peace,
10.18.07
Rhythms of LifeBack in LA after a couple of weeks on the road with Hiroshima. Went out to Detroit, Annapolis, New York and DC. Everything started well, then I got sick in NY and spent the rest of the tour dragging my sorry butt from city to city feeling like hell. Sigh.
But it's all good now! Next up with On Ensemble is a concert and collaboration with Vox Femina Los Angeles, an all womens choral group directed by Iris Levine.
We're super excited about connecting and collaborating with Vox Femina Los Angeles. Here's the info on the concerts:
Rhythms of Life
Saturday November 3rd, 8:00pm
Sunday November 4th, 4:00pm
Zipper Concert Hall
Colburn School
200 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles 90012$30 reserved seating, $25 general
Tickets available at: 310 922-0025 or www.vosfeminala.org
Peace,
10.7.07
41 point underdogsOkay so I'm on the road in Detroit with Hiroshima in the middle of our East Coast. It's a long day, we play two sets then there's the merch and the packing up and I get back to my hotel room at 2:00am and flip on ESPN. The Stanford USC highlights come on and I'm jumping up and down shouting in disbelief. I'm usually not a big rah, rah sports kind of guy but this is one for the ages... Wow...
Next stop Annapolis, then New York and DC before heading back to LA next Sunday. More later...
Peace,
9.22.07
The Untitled Concert Wrap UpA huge thank you goes to all to all of you who braved the crazy thunder storm on Friday to attend The Untitled Concert. Also a great big thank you goes out to Kaoru, June, Cynthia and Chris for all of their artistry. I feel constantly blessed to be working with such talented artists in all of my endeavors whether it be On Ensemble, Hiroshima or collaborations such as this.
A gargantuan thank you goes out to Leslie Chew for lending us his space at the Marina Sound Group to put on our performance. It was the perfect venue for this kind of exploration of sound and dance.
We were able to get a decent recording of a couple of the pieces that I'm posting here for your listening pleasure:)
Flute Loops.mp3 - 12.3 MB
Kametron : Laptop/Effects/Loops, Kaoru Watanabe : Flute, Chris Spilsbury : Electric Guitar, June Kuramoto : KotoPaper Present.mp3 - 7MB
Kametron : Laptop/Effects/Loops, Kaoru Watanabe : Nohkan, Chris Spilsbury : Electric Guitar, June Kuramoto : Koto, Cynthia Lee : Paper Tearing
I had a little epiphany through this experience. This is the birth of my alter ego Kametron, the transformable turtle robot. More later...
Peace,
9.20.07
The Untitled Concert part 2The Untitled Concert is tomorrow! Kaoru, Cynthia, Chris, June and I have been having fun collaborating and coming up a lot of new fun material. It is going to be very different from anything I've done with Kaoru up to this point and a great change of pace for On Ensemble and Hiroshima fans. Come out and see us perform tomorrow at 8pm at the Marina Sound Group Studios. Here's the skinny:
The
Untitled Concert
Friday September 21st, 8:00pm
Tickets: $10 at door
Marina Sound Group
4121
Redwood Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Peace,
9.12.07
The Untitled Concert
Kaoru is coming back to Los Angeles next week and we are going to put on an evening of experimental music and dance with June Kuramoto, Chris Spilsbury and Cynthia Lee. Kaoru, June, Masato and myself put on a concert back in May and Kaoru also performed with us for our annual concert series this year. Chris Spilsbury is a frequent On Ensemble collaborator and amazing guitarist and Cynthia Lee is a fellow APPEX artist and recent MFA graduate from the World Arts and Cultures program at UCLA.
I'll post more info later but for now here is the time/location:
The
Untitled Concert
Friday September 21st, 8:00pm
Tickets: $10 at door
Marina Sound Group
4121
Redwood Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Peace,
9.11.07
AADAPIt's a busy weekend! Kelvin is coming down to Los Angeles and Kelvin, Kris and Maz will be performing at the Asian American Drug Abuse Program's 14th Annual Benefit Concert this Saturday at the Japan America Theatre. Meanwhile I'll be up in the Bay Area playing at Yoshi's with Hiroshima. We're doing two sets a night starting on Thursday and going till Sunday.
Peace,
9.5.07
Recording Paradise
Today, we're at the Firehouse recording studios recording taiko parts for a Paradise Lost demo. Kris and I are drooling over the studio's amazing mic and pres...
Next week I'm heading up north for a run at Yoshi's with Hiroshima and On Ensemble is performing at the Asian American Drug Abuse Prevention fundraiser. The on Friday Sept 21st I'll be performing with Kaoru, June and few others for a night of experimental electronic, koto and fue music. More details soon!
Peace,
9.2.07
End of Paradise
Today is the final performance of Paradise Lost : Shadows and Wings at the Theater at Boston Court. If you missed this run of Paradise Lost don't worry too much I'm sure this musical will continue on... It has been amazing to be a part of this production and we'd like to thank Eric, Michael, Greg and the entire cast and staff for letting us be a part of this production! We've had a blast and look forward to the future possibilities.
Next for On Ensemble is a performance at the Asian American Drug Abuse Prevention fundraiser at the Japan America Theater and I'm heading up north to Yoshi's for a run of performances at Yoshi's with Hiroshima. More later...
Peace,
8.30.07
New Contact Number
Just a quick update. We're changing our contact phone number. From now on Kris will be On Ensemble's main contact at: 310 350-8825.
Peace,
8.26.07
WAA
It's that time of year again! Time for the Western Arts Alliance Annual Booking Conference. We had a little performance for some WAA members hosted by the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. A big thank you goes out to Johnny Mori for involving us.
We have two showcases tomorrow:
Tuesday,
August 28
8:00pm, 11:25pm
Mediterranean Room
The Biltmore Hotel
If you are interested in learning more about us come talk with our booking agent Rachel Cohen at the Cadence Arts Network Booth 338 in the Crystal Ballroom.
Peace,
8.26.07
Heroes and moving...
It's the month of moving. All three On Ensemble members moved to new places in the past month. The one nice thing about being a taiko group is that we are well prepared with all the necessary things for making large moves. Vans, check, moving dollies, check, moving blankets, check.
Maz, Kris and Kelvin performed for Remo drum days last weekend and I had a Hiroshima performance this weekend for the Gardena Jazz Festival. This is also the last week of Paradise Lost! The remaining shows have been sold out for a few weeks now so if you didn't see it this time you'll just have to wait till it hits Broadway.
Last week I got a call to record taiko and voice parts for the television show Heroes. I was totally excited because Heroes is one of the two tv shows I actually watch. I laid down some taiko grooves, kiais and Tuvan throat singing so keep you ears open for me when the new season starts. Now if only the Battlestar Galactica people would call...
Peace,
8.14.07
2007 Taiko Conference Recap
What a weekend! Kris and I just returned from Seattle where we lead workshops for the 2007 North American Taiko Conference. Because of our Paradise Lost schedule we were only able to send one On Ensemble member at a time to the conference. Maz was a trooper and stayed in Los Angeles to cover the weekend's performances. Kris lead a workshop on timing Friday and I led a discussion session and workshop on Saturday.
It was great to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. It's hard to believe that the first taiko conference was 10 years ago! I remember the first taiko conference very vividly. Maz and I were studying with Kenny Endo at the time and we were so excited to perform at the first Taiko Jam. Endo sensei made everybody trim their Yodan solos so that they were 45 seconds a piece. We practiced like crazy and had the honor of playing in the first first song of the very first taiko jam. It was such an amazing experience to have the taiko community come together for the first time. After the concert there was a great big jam session in the JACCC plaza filled with music and dance. It was a magical moment. And that night after I returned to my hotel room and decided that this is definitely what I want to do with my life...
So yes... I have the Taiko Conference to thank (or blame) for my chosen profession. I hope that the conference continues to have the same effect on the next generation of taiko players. A huge thank you goes out to Lesley Honda, Yuta Kato, Crissy Sato and Terry Nguyen for all of their work in making the conference happen. Also a big thank you to Stan Shikuma and the Seattle Taiko Community for being such great hosts this year.
Peace,
8.4.07
Shasta Yama
Another busy week for us. Maz is up in Mt. Shasta for the 3rd Annual Shasta Yama Taiko Festival. It's organized by Maz's taiko pioneer parents, Jeanne Mercer and Russel Baba. It's really an amazing event and by far the coolest thing happening in Mt. Shasta. This year features taiko master Kenny Endo and Maz, Mich and Toru and special guests. I'm bummed about missing Shasta Yama this year but Kris and I are in LA busy with Paradise Lost.
Paradise Lost opened last week and will run through the middle of September with performances Wed-Sun. There has already been a number of positive reviews from LA Times, Variety and TheaterMania. It's been a blast to be a part of and if you are into martial arts, techno, taiko, anime or musical theatre you should definitely check this out.
Next week is the North American Taiko Conference. Kris and I are both leading workshops at the conference and we're looking forward to reconnecting to the taiko community. There are also more pictures from the Cudamani study program I participated in by Jorge Vismara at his website. More later!
Peace,
7.25.07
Paradise Lost : Shadows and Wings
So I get off the plane from Bali and it's straight into preview performances for this world premiere musical we are involved with called Paradise Lost : Shadows and Wings. It's kind of hard to explain but I'll give it a shot if you'll use a bit of imagination. Okay... Say Trinity ditches Neo travels back in time and falls in love with John Milton and they have a boy. The boy grows up addicted to Mortal Kombat then while trying to escape a war gets shot down over a tropical island in a plane full of boys his age. The boys survived but their civilized behavior slowly descends into savagery. Let's say the boy somehow survives joins a taiko group then decides that musical theater is his true calling. This would be his musical.
Okay... In real life it's written by Eric Whitacre and directed by Michael Michetti and opens this weekend at the Theatre at Boston Court in Pasadena. We're super excited to be working with Eric, Michael, Greg and the great creative team they have assembled for this musical. It'll run from now till Sept 16th with performances Wednesday through Sunday. Check out the website for show times and tickets.
I was also interviewed for an article in the Rafu Shimpo recently. Nice to have good things written about you from time to time. So... That's what has been happening for On Ensemble. I promise it won't be 3 weeks between the next update.
Peace,
7.24.07
Back from Bali
I don't even know where to start. Apologies for not updating the site recently but it's been a crazy couple of weeks. The night of the last performance of UKIYO I boarded a red eye flight to Bali for a two week summer study program with Cudamani.
It was an amazing experience. Truly inspiring really. Cudamani is a world class ensemble of amazing musicians. I learned so much from being around them and studying from them, it's as if a whole new world of musical possibilities has opened up before me. I'd like to thank Dewa, Emiko, Marcia, Judy, Anu, Sabrina and everyone at Cudamani who helped make this program possible.
Cudamani will be touring the US and Canada this Oct-Nov. For you locals they'll be at Royce Hall on Nov 18th. You can check out their website for more tour dates. This is a MUST SEE performance. If the come to your city you must go. No excuses, just go.
Besides studying gamelan I had time for a few adventures. I saw amazing performances, got to do some sight seeing, ate like a king, even found myself pushing a moped through streets of Ubud when a friend (who shall remain anonymous) ran out of gas. Also went to the Bali Arts Festival which showcases artists from all over Bali. I witnessed a crazy trance dance that culminated in three dances putting themselves into a trance a running through a pile of burning coconut husks. Sparks and bits of flaming husk went everywhere then the dancer ran into the crowd at which point all hell broke loose. People running to the stage to see more, people running away from the stage to get away... crazy.
Another crazy experience was witnessing the gong kebyar competition at the Bali Arts Festival where every night two full gamelan orchestras face of against each other in the huge stadium like performance space. I couldn't get a good picture of it at night but here's what it looked like during the day:
Now imagine it's packed with fans who show their support for their favorite group by cheering the jeering when the other side makes the slightest mistake. I was amazed by the musical sophistication of the audience. The music is so fast, complicated and intricate yet the slightest mistake will be met with jeers and hollers. It's really a lot of fun, like a gamelan super bowl.
Peace,
BUY
TICKETS FOR ON : '07: UKIYO
7.2.07
UKIYO Finished!
Well ON '07 Ukiyo has come and gone already! A huge thank you goes out to all of our tech staff, volunteers, and fans whose support makes our annual concert series possible. We just a little shy of our FoundatiOn Team goal and are looking for a few more late donations to help us reach our mark.
A special thank you goes out to our great guest artists! It's so great to work with musicians like Kaoru and Patrick and it was great to welcome Michelle and Toru back to the On Ensemble how ever so briefly.
I forgot to add Patrick's website to the programs and kept forgetting to mention it during the concert series, so for those of you who came and would like to learn more about all the of different groups Patrick plays with check out his website at: www.patrickgrahampercussion.com
Though the concert is finished there is no time to rest. Maz and Kris are headed up north to perform with Kelvin at the World One Festival in El Cerrito. Then they are coming back down to LA to perform with Kevin Higa at the Ford Ampitheatre for their family program series. Check out the calendar for more information.
I'm heading out to Bali for a few weeks to participate in an intensive study program with Cudamani. Cudamani is an amazing group and I'm really looking forward to this opportunity. I'm actually writing the update from the airport and they just called my flight number to board so I'm off... More later.
Peace,
6.30.07
Foundation Team Update : $6241.51 raised $758.49 to go!
We're so close to meeting our fundraising goal this year! Just a bit more! A huge thank you goes out to our donors thus far:
FoundatiOn Team 2007: Lois, Marie, Ibuki, Berit, Bonnie, Del, Judi, Donna M, Donna U, Helen, Charlie, Julia, Kathryn, Larry, Sherri, Cindy, Vivian, Yuki and Yukio, Laura and Tadashi, Tony, Val, and Preston, Sonya, Jonathan, and Julian, Michael and Joyce, Alpha and Mary, Gabe and Kara, Jimmy and Glenn, Russel and Jeanne, Jerry & Carol, Hiromi, Shozo, Margie, Vera, Louis, Chris, Diane & Jon, Dan & Chris, Ken, Steve & Linda, Kiyo, Nelson & Naomi, Mikko, Toshizumi, Rosh & Joy, Sue & Ray, Andy, Dishi, The Maharam/Kimura family, Hiroka, Cheryl, Carolyn & John, Linda, Michelle, John & Linda, Chester, and Julie.
Peace,
6.22.07
Foundation Team Update : $5,166.51 raised $1833.49 to go!
One week to the opening of ON '07 : UKIYO and the foundatiOn team keeps growing! A huge thank you goes out to our donors thus far:
FoundatiOn Team 2007: Lois, Marie, Ibuki, Berit, Bonnie, Del, Judi, Donna M, Donna U, Helen, Charlie, Julia, Kathryn, Larry, Sherri, Cindy, Vivian, Yuki and Yukio, Laura and Tadashi, Tony, Val, and Preston, Sonya, Jonathan, and Julian, Michael and Joyce, Alpha and Mary, Gabe and Kara, Jimmy and Glenn, Russel and Jeanne, Jerry & Carol, Hiromi, Shozo, Margie, Vera, Louis, Chris, Diane & Jon, Dan & Chris, Ken, Steve & Linda, Kiyo, Nelson & Naomi, Mikko, Toshizumi, Rosh & Joy, Sue & Ray, Andy, Dishi.
Thank you thank you thank you and thank you again! The FoundatiOn Team is absolutely essential to producing our annual concert series and this years series promises to be the best one yet! If you'd like to be sent a FoundatiOn Team invitation letter call Kris at: (310) 350-8825.
UKIYO is just around the corner! Preparations are in full swing and we are really looking forward to this year's concert series. We've also been working on a new musical that we'll tell you more about very soon. On top off all of this i'll be heading to Bali for 3 weeks at the beginning of July to study gamelan with Cudamani and Kris and Maz will be headed up to the Bay Area for gigs with Kelvin.
AND... Kelvin is a dad! Amazing! Blaise Underwood was welcomed to the world a few days ago and is a healthy beautiful baby boy. Kelvin and his wife Rosie are both doing well and we are sending them our best wishes.
Wow, amazing huh? Life moves quickly!
Peace,
6.9.07
Foundation Team Update : $2,340 raised $4660 to go!
The FoundatiOn Team drive has is off to a great start! We're 1/3 of our way to our $7000 goal. We'd like to thank all of our donors thus far:
FoundatiOn Team 2007: Lois, Marie, Ibuki, Berit, Bonnie, Del, Judi, Donna M, Donna U, Helen, Charlie, Julia, Kathryn, Larry, Sherri, Cindy, Vivian, Yuki and Yukio, Laura and Tadashi, Tony, Val, and Preston, Sonya, Jonathan, and Julian, Michael and Joyce, Alpha and Mary, Gabe and Kara, Jimmy and Glenn, Russel and Jeanne.
Thank you thank you thank you and thank you again! The FoundatiOn Team is absolutely essential to producing our annual concert series and this years series promises to be the best one yet! If you'd like to be sent a FoundatiOn Team invitation letter call Kris at: (310) 350-8825.
Peace,
6.2.07
Foundation Team Update : $1,015 raised $5985 to go!
The FoundatiOn Team drive has began and we've already raised $1,015. Thank you to those who have joined this year's FoundatiOn Team, our goal is to raise $7,000 and your contribution whatever the amount makes a big difference!
If you'd like to be sent a FoundatiOn Team invitation letter call Kris at: (310) 350-8825.
Peace,
6.1.07
ON '07 : UKIYO
First of all a big thank you goes out to all of our loyal fans that showed up for Wednesday's performance of KAME WATA KURA BABA. Another thank you goes out to June and Kaoru for all of their amazing artistry and finally a big thank you goes out to our volunteers Keisuke and Darren! The performance was a lot of fun we'll be doing more of these kinds of more informal improvised concerts in the future.
Now all of our energy is focused toward ON '07 : UKIYO, our annual home concert series. Tickets are on sale now! They are $20 presale and $25 at the door and you can get them by calling: 323 960-7726 or online at: www.Plays411.com/UKIYO.
We'll be bringing Kaoru back as a guest artist along with our favorite Canadian, Patrick Graham. Michelle and Toru will also be making a special appearance. Should be fun.
One last little bit. Tomorrow is Yukai Daiko's annual concert. Yukai Daiko is a student taiko group at UCLA. If you've ever been to one of our performances you've met Yukai Daiko. They always come to help out at our concerts, they set drums up, they sell tickets and CDs, pass out programs etc. etc. We've come to really rely on Yukai and to start to repay our debt Kris and I will be volunteering at their concert. It's going to be held at 2:00pm at UCLA's Northwest Auditorium and its FREE! Seating is limited so be there when the doors open at 1:45.
Peace,
5.24.07
KAME WATA KURA BABA
Next Wednesday Maz and I will be collaborating with Kaoru Watanabe and June Kuramoto for a special one night performance at the Unknown Theater.
K
A M E
W A T A
K U R A
B A B A
Wednesday May 30th, 8pm
Unknown Theater
1110 Seward St.
Los Angeles
Tickets: $15 available at door
Kaoru is an amazing fue player based out of New York. He has spent the last eight years as the principle fue player for the world famous KODO and is the artistic director of KODO's world music festival, Earth Celebration.
June is a true pioneer and an inspiration to all of us involved in Asian American music. She's spent the past 30 years as front woman and driving artistic force of the grammy nominated jazz fusion band Hiroshima.
I've had the privilege of performing with Kaoru and June but this will be the first time the four of us take the stage together. I've got no idea what we'll do but it should make for a fun night of music.
Peace,
5.23.07
Juneau Recap
Just got back from a great trip up to Juneau! A huge thank you goes out to Pam and Linda and Juneau Jazz and Classics for bringing us up to Juneau. Also a thank you goes out to Teri for having us on her "Global Edge" radio show.
First of all Juneau is an amazingly beautiful place. Maz and I felt at home in the mountains and the weather was amazing. Apparently Juneau only gets 60 days of sunshine a year but it was beautiful the entire time we were there. Note to self: fresh air is not overrated.
We had a family oriented concert on Sunday afternoon that went really well. Afterwards we made a guest appearance on Teri Tibbett's "Global Edge" radio program. We talked about music all night long and played all of our favorites from Saul Williams and Semba Kiyohiko to The Bad Plus, Cornelius and Indonesian Bala Ganjur. Much fun was had and we even played some yet to be released On Ensemble cuts.
The next couple of days we spent doing residency programs at the local schools. At one of the schools we held a hand-on workshop in the school library. I know I'm getting older but it is still so much fun to make a ton of noise in a library. Oh... and I think the kids liked it too. We even inspired a little poetry:
We even had a little time for some sight seeing. Maz and Kris took the "Blues Cruise" and the three of us took a tram up to the top of Mount Roberts and had a snow sledding adventure that rivals the infamous Maui waterfall lagoon adventure. So there you have it, On Ensemble's first foray to Alaska. Thanks again to Pam, Linda, Teri and all of our new friends in Juneau!
Peace,
5.18.07
FoundatiOn Team
Our 2007 FoundatiOn Team drive has officially started. This year's goal is to raise $7000 for our annual concert and upcoming projects. As always there will be lots of great perks for joining the FoundatiOn Team. The letters have gone out so keep an eye out for them and if you don't receive your FoundatiOn Team letter of would like to receive one of it you have any questions feel free to call Kris at: 310 350-8825.
We're headed up to Juneau Alaska this weekend for a performance on Sunday and residency activities. Should be a lot of fun! Will keep you posted! Also don't forget about our special concert featuring June Kuromoto of Hiroshima, Kaoru Watanabe, Masato and myself at the Unknown Theater May 30th!
Peace,
5.11.07
I love NY
So corny to say but it really is true. NY is one of my favorite places in the world. So much happening in this city. Kaoru and I went to see Brand on the Brain wednesday night, Japanese art pop god Cornelius on thursday night and this amazing jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda tonight. Quite a week.
If you are in NY our performance is tomorrow (Saturday 12th) at 4pm at the American Museum of Natural History. It's free with the price of admission to the museum so come check us out if you are in the area.
Also Kaoru will be coming to Los Angeles at the end of May and we'll be putting together a concert at the Unknown Theater with Maz and June Kuramoto from Hiroshima. Should be lots of fun. Tickets will be on sale soon!
Peace,
5.8.07
Off to NY
Just a quick update. I'm heading out to New York today for a collaboration with Kaoru (fue specialist) and Zulsar a Mongolian throat singer. Should be a lot of fun. If you are in the New York area we are playing at the American Museum of Natural History on Saturday May 12 at 4pm at the Kaufmann Theater. Admission is FREE! The Triangle Project, an amazing collaboration between PJ Hirabayashi of San Jose Taiko, songwriter Nobuko Miyamoto and folk singer Yoko Fujimoto, will be performing before us at 2pm.
After NY On Ensemble will be headed up to Juneau Alaska for a performance and residency activities. Then it's back down to Los Angeles for the Collegiate Taiko Invitational and a hands-on workshop at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum.
On 8pm on Wednesday May 30th Kaoru, June Kuramoto (koto player from Hiroshima), Maz and myself will be putting on a concert at the Unknown Theater. I'll be posting more about this soon! Tickets go on sale this week and will be available online soon!
Peace,
4.23.07
Videos and Free Performance in Santa Monica
I just updated the website with videos from our performance last month at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. We also started a YouTube channel so you can watch the videos there comment on them and even add them to your own website. Enjoy!
Our next performance is Saturday May 4th at Santa Monica College. We're splitting the bill with a Korean drumming group for their Asian Pacific Islander Celebration. Should be fun. The best part is that the performance is FREE! Seating is on a first come first serve basis you can call (310) 434-4303 for details.
After Santa Monica we'll be heading out to Juneau Alaska then we'll be gearing up for our annual home concert series. More info soon!
Peace,
4.14.07
In2In Thinking and Trip Dance
A huge thank you goes out to everybody who came out to our ON:TRIO performance! Also a big thank you to Chris for having us at the Unknown Theater and to Charlie and Monica for helping us make the performance possible. And once again thank you to all of our volunteers who stuck around to help us load out. You guys are the best!
Maz, Kris and I have a performance at the In2In Thinking conference tonight and some more gigs coming up next week. Then Kris heads back up to Portland Taiko for their tour and Maz heads out with Taikoproject.
Trip Dance Theater opens their 3 week run of "Poisoning the Well" this weekend. Trip Dance is a great group filled with some of our favorite people. Charlie is our studio mate and serves as Trip Dance's musical director and both Charlie and Monica are APPEX alumni.
I finally updated the images and press kit areas of the website with new photos from Cerritos and from Montreal. Here's a sample:
Peace,
3.24.07
ON:TRIO
We just added a performance to the calendar on APRIL 12th! It'll be a one night only concert of On Ensemble in TRIO form at the Unknown Theater. This was kind of a last minute addition hence the late warning. It should be a fun performance. We'll try a few new things and the Unknown Theater is a wonderful intimate 99 seat space in the heart of the theater district.
Tickets are $15 presale and $18 at the door. You can get them at: 323 466-7781 or online at the Unknown Theater's website.
Peace,
3.22.07
QADIM
Apologies for the gap between updates. I've returned from Malaysia which was an amazing experience and once again have many thank yous to give out. A huge, huge, gargantuan thank you goes out to Joseph Gonzales for bringing me to Malaysia for the performance of QADIM.
The performance was awesome. It featured six of Joseph's amazing contemporary dance pieces and the premiere of the title work QADIM, a collaboration between 10 of the most well respected dancers in Malaysia. All of Joseph's work is amazing and really has to be seen to be fully understood. My lame attempts at explaining great works inevitably fall short with adjectives like "awesome" that betray my West Coast roots rather than enlighten.
Perhaps a little background will help. Joseph is the head of the dance department at the National Arts Academy and was instrumental in its foundation. The dance training at the academy reflects the multicultural multi-religious nature of Malaysia. Dancers get trained in traditional Malay, Indian and Chinese dance as well as Western forms of dance such as ballet and jazz. Students are encouraged to explore all of these different forms in both traditional and contemporary contexts. The result is amazing beautiful dance that is both old and new, deep with layers and meaning.
The title work QADIM was inspired by the APPEX process that Joseph and I went through over the summer. The piece centered on the relationship between the different religions and races that call Malaysia home and wove together personal stories, religious allegories and dance styles ranging from ballet to bharatanatyam. All put to sound and motion by ten amazing dancers. It is always so inspiring to see work that really breaks new ground artistically and its always a blessing to be able to be a part of it when it happens.
Peace,
3.11.07
Malaysia here I come!
One last quick update before I head out to Malaysia. I'm actually doing this update from the airport. Really looking forward to this trip. I've been invited by Joseph Gonzales, head of the dance department at the National Arts Academy, whom I met over the summer at APPEX. Hopefully I bought the right power adapter and will be able to post some pictures... but don't hold your breath.
We got a really nice review of the SYTE/ON TAIKOX2 performance at CerritosInk. You can check it out on their blog. Everyone is quite busy this week. Kris is on tour with Portland Taiko and Maz on tour with Taikoproject.
More later!
Peace,
3.6.07
Cerritos Center Success
Our performance at the Cerritos Center was a sold-out success! It was the debut of our TAIKOX2 collaboration with Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble and we have many people to thank. First a big thank you goes out to our great Yukai volunteers; Adrian, Courntey, Kathy, Ryan, Scott and Mike who once again came through for us. A huge thank you goes out to Michael Wolf for bringing us to Cerritos and to the amazing tech staff at the center.
Photo Credit: Jason Lew
Jason Lew a San Francisco based photographer was at the performance and has posted some great photos on his website. Here's a little sample:
Kris and Maz just started a new set of taiko classes. You can download a pdf of the class schedule here. It's a 3 MB file so it'll take a little time to download. Next week Maz is off to Washington with Taikoproject and I'll be going to Malaysia for a collaboration with Joseph Gonzales an amazing choreographer I met over the summer at the APPEX program.
We also just added a concert date on April 12th at the Unknown Theatre. Details are coming soon!
Peace,
2.25.07
Winnipeg Weekend
It's been a great weekend up here in Winnipeg. First we had the most amazing dinner at Glutton's. If you are ever in Winnipeg and you appreciate art you must have a meal here. It really is an amazing experience. Makato is a true artist. Period.
Tonight was the concert at the Pantages theatre. The concert was a fundraiser organized by the Japanese Canadian community for the proposed Museum of Human Rights. It was really great to see all my friends at Hinode taiko again and be a part of such a great cause.
I have to give a special shout out and thank you to Pam Okano for all of her work in organizing the concert and bringing Chieko, Kaoru and myself to Winnipeg. Thanks a billion Pam!
Next up is On Ensemble's debut of TAIKOX2 a collaboration with Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble at the Cerritos Center March 2nd. The performance has been sold out since mid January but we've been told that there might be some tickets that become available the week before the concert so if you interested in tickets contact the box office this week!
Peace,
2.20.07
Next up Winnipeg!
Had a great performance with Kaoru and Chieko over the weekend. A huge thank you goes out to Donna Ebata for all of her work in putting the concert together!
Next up another performance with Kaoru and Chieko in Winnipeg with Hinode Taiko. I'm especially looking forward to a dinner at Gluttons! Congratulations to Makoto who just won honor of Canadian's top chef. Amazing!
Peace,
2.15.07
KASA performance
The Kodo performance over the weekend was awesome. Nobody puts together and executes a taiko performance like they do. Inspiring for sure!
Speaking of Kodo... I'll be performing with Chieko Kojima and Kaoru Watanabe this weekend at the JACCC. Chieko is the principal dancer of Kodo and Kaoru is the former flute player and a current artistic director of the group. Kaoru and I collaborated back in the fall of 2005 for another KASA sponsored event at the Japanese American National Museum. Kaoru will also be featured at our annual concert this year!
I'm looking forward to the challenge of performing and collaborating with such a talented duo. Hope to see some of you at the performance!
For those of you in the inland empire Maz will be performing with Taikoproject in Rancho Cucamonga this Saturday. Lots of taiko this weekend!
Peace,
2.8.07
SYTE/ON and KODO!
We're back in Los Angeles after a weekend of reheasals with Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble for our March 2nd performance at the Cerritos Center. It just so happens that Kodo is currently on tour in the US and they were able to stop by and watch our rehearsal with SYTE. For those of you who don't know, Kodo members are like gods to anyone who plays taiko. They are the golden standard by which all other groups measure themselves and they are big supporters of the North American Taiko Community. It was great to reconnect, meet the new members and make new friends!
Kodo performs this weekend at the UCLA's Royce Hall. If you're reading this you probably know already but they are not to be missed.
We also have to give a big shout out and thank you to SYTE and the extended SYTE family for putting up with us for yet another weekend. Also a big thank you goes out to the Kato family for all of their support.
Peace,
1.30.07
Work 6 and 7
Back in Los Angeles after a great weekend of rehearsals with Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble. Also time to post the last two songs from our "Works in Progress '07" concert.
Work6.mp3 - 5.93MB : This piece was inspired by the APPEX program I had the fortune of participating in over the summer. It was a life changing experience. Six weeks of being able to collaborate everyday with amazing artists from around the world.
Work7.mp3 - 6.18MB : This piece was a bit of a break through for us. It is On Ensemble's most group composed song to date and under went massive changes to get to its current form and instrumentation. Kelvin brought the first verse he had written then Maz, Kelvin and I wrote the rest of the lyrics over a large Nicky D's pizza.
As always send us your suggestions for song titles! Here are the audience suggestions from the concert:
Work6
Lay It Down
Afloat, Sinking
Kashira
Slipknot
Me
40-0 (Love)
Tight!
Disc of ln(x)sin(x)
On
Beat As One / Synchro
Essence of Attitude
Mizu No Kami
Fans Alive
Drum Fan
Crescendo
Wobble / Ripple
Buddha Bad Ass Angry Tempura Oatmeal
Boom Stop!
Balinese Marching Band in Thunder Storm
Fanfare
Jump / Idyllwild
Oratory Broken Rules
Too Fancy!
Undertow / Pacifica
Tengu Jam / Tengu Rumpus
Fan Drum 4
The Grind
Uchiwa Banashi
Heart Rhythm
Broken Rule / Breaking the Rules
Sync Pulse / Rising Edge / Leading Edge
Racquet Racket
Can't Catch Us Now!
Bubbling Fans
Monkey Fools
Uchiwow
Zero to Fifteen
Uchiwa No Shourai
Bali Taiko
Strut
Drum Fans
Water
Jumping Uchiwa
Summer Camp
Bedrock
Subway in NY
Uchi-wah!
Uchiwa Shaberi
Chit Chat / Stirring the Pot
StompWork7
In Time
Ume Ha
Poo
Ring
Opposites Attract
Hey, We're Drummers!
Picking Coconuts
World Search
Feeling It / Soon Come
Moments Are Miles
Turnaround
Airplane Coming
Cruising With an Amoeba
Hope
Spanish Dime
R2D2 Stole My Stuff and Went to Spain
So Long
Daybreak / Running
Composite / Collaboration / Composed of 4
On Rhythm
Walking Westward
In Time
Beyond to Finally Return
So Long
Celestial
Traveling
Coming Home from Vacation
Collaborate / Elaborate
All As One
Clouds Clearing on a Sunday Afternoon
Collaboration
Repetition
Walking, Waiting...
Life After Midnight
Eh-ie-eh-i-ya
Waiting for You
Guatemal Ensoku
Kelvin Sings Too?!
So Long / In Time / The Other Side
A New Journey
Tap Dance
Yes to You
Vacation
On the Beat
Delayed / So Long / One Step Closer
Train Ride Home
peace,
1.22.07
Work 4 and 5
We're still up in the Bay Area rehearsing with the Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble for our March 2nd performance at the Cerritos Center. The performance has just sold out so I hope you got your tickets:)
Time also to post more mp3s from "Works in Progress '07"!
Plantlife.mp3 - 6MB : This is the one song that actually had a title before the show. Every year we try to commission one piece from an outside composer and this year's piece comes from an upcoming taiko artist Joel Mankey.
Work5.mp3 - 5.7MB : This is a piece that I originally wrote for a movie score I was working on and was one of the pieces that was regected. I showed the piece to Maz who thought it would be fun to turn it into a longer piece. We are planning on developing this piece into our next open source piece for the taiko community.
Here are the title suggestions we gathered from the feedback forms:
Plantlife:
As the Spirits March
Journey of Life
Broadchest
Mach Cheese
Saturday Morning is Bizzar
Born
Rhythms of Growth
Ents + Huorns
Reach
Growing Plants
Oncoming
Fish Eggs Almost Never Become Fish
Sayonara
Plant Life
Natural Spicy
Korean Counterpoint
Art School
Dormant / A Wakening
Midnight Wonders
Cultivate
Peas in a Pod
On the Horizon
Unity / Mother Earth
Life's Rough Road
All That Jazz
Synthesis Metamophosis
Concrete Bamboo
Survive
Work5:
Winging Wild and Free
Children's Festival for the Spirits
Uchi Ni Kaeru
Happy Feet
Zoro
Twins Not of a Feather
Groovy Breakfast
Walk in the Park
Recess Party
To See You Again
Spring Steppin
Running Away Child
Rock and a Hard Place
High Road / Journey
Kissing on the Bullet Train
Blame it on the Flute / Flute Boogie
Million Glass Marbles Falling Down a Spiral Staircase
Side By Side
Cutting Room Floor
On the Road to Somewhere
Dance Without Shoes
Ants Can Dance
Get Off the Ground
Free Ride
Movie Rejects
Ni To Ni
Dancing in the Meadow
Birds in Rush Hour Traffic
Cutting Room Floor #1
Fiefdrum
Happily Unloved
Every Day Gets Better!
Score!
We Did It!
Cho Cho in the City
Side By Side
Soarin'
Festival Reflection
Far Away Together
Celebration March
I Want to Take Courtney's Hand and Run Around
Hope / A Better Tomorrow
Dancing Streamers
Happy Journey
Static
Kaeri / Kaeri Michi
Reel Time
Reunion
Two Peas on a Pod
Playground
For Megumi
Odoribue
Screaming in the Wind / Binka Binka
Holding Hands
peace,
1.19.07
Visalia
We had a great performance at Visalia's College of the Sequoias tonight and have some shout outs and thank yous. A huge thank you goes out to Christian, Steve and Steve for all of their work in bringing us to Visalia. Also a gargantuan taiko goes out to Colin, Eddie and David from Stanford Taiko who drove all the way from the Bay Area to volunteer at the concert!
It's great to see the next generation of Stanford Taiko as crazy about taiko as ever. There are a bunch of ST alums playing taiko all over the US from Texas to Hawai'i and with the taiko community's most prominent groups like San Jose Taiko and the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble. Adam Toda who recently moved to Hawai'i to study with Endo Sensei even has a blog.
Tomorrow we head back to the Bay Area for rehearsals with the Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble for our upcoming performance at the Cerritos Center. I'll also be posting the next "Works In Progress" mp3s soon!
peace,
1.18.07
On Ensemble's Favorite Restaurant
What does On Ensemble do whenever we are in the Bay Area? Go to our favorite restaurant!
Amazing vegetarian Chinese food! If you live in the area you gotta check it out:
Garden Fresh
Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant
1245 W. El Camino Real
Mountain View, CA 94040
(650) 254-1688
Also a huge thank you goes out to Susan Horn of Emeryville taiko for letting us rehearse at her amazing dojo. Emeryville taiko also gets the award for best taiko bumper sticker:
peace,
1.17.07
College of the Sequoias
Were up in the Bay Area right now rehearsing for an upcoming concert at College of the Sequoias. Here are the details:
College of the Sequoias
Friday January 19th, 7:00pm
$10 general admission, students free
COS Theater
915 S. Mooney Blvd.
Visalia, CA 93277
tix: 559-730-3700
Also time to post the next couple of mp3s from our "Works In Progress 07" concert! Enjoy!
Work2.mp3 - 6MB : Maz's new song, a mostly improved piece featuring voice and fue. It's a tribute to his father Russel Baba who has been a huge musical influence on both Masato and myself. Russel has a sound that is uniquely his own on whatever instrument he plays and inspires us to search for our unique voice.
Work3.mp3 - 8MB: Kris' new piece. I'll have Kris explain this one in a post as my explanation will not be sufficient. It's a solo piece on a 4 part taiko set featuring some new techniques Kris has developed for taiko set.
As always we are welcoming feedback from you all on these embryonic pieces. Tell us what you thought, what do did you think the piece was about, what you liked or didn't like etc. etc. If that's too much just send us a suggestion for a song title! Here's what we have so far:
Work2:
The Happy Haunting
Imash-Kya
Bird in Flight
My Pooy Poo
Funky Fun
Early Riser
Flute Study for Dad
A Father's Legacy
Beating Heart of the Moment
Trust in the Moment
Forest Suite
River and Rapids
Snow Egrets on New Years
In the Moment
Flyaway
Love Solo
Creative Process
Winding to Shelter
OK, Dad?
Tribute
Duality
Good Genes
Serenity
Newfound Home
Wind Over the Mountain
Always There (For Me)
This Moment
Father and Son March Together
I'm Listening
Celebration of You
In Da Moment
Steps
Family
Pennywhistle
Baba Fete
Inspired
Notes to My Father
Celebrate Seasoned LifeWork3:
Cut the Daisy Code
Digitally Binding
Maruichi
Norbit
Pie
Drunken Master
The Natives Are Encrypting
Soul of Code
Digital Ai
Cryptomaniac
Panic
Mano Solo
Daisy
Barefootin'
How Do You Remember All That?
Children Skipping Rope on a Moving Train
Code
Digital Dreams
111-37 72-100-37
Zig Tangent
Digital Wheel Invention
Binary Marriage
Hal 2007
Kris Is a Dweeb
Binary
Go With the Flow
Digital Daisy
Binary Complex
Complexion of Simplicity
Confus10n
Digital Drill
Tegami
Kris
Zeros and Ones
Cha Cha Thunder
Data Nerd / Ode to Turing / Binary in a Nutshell
Beats
Control+Alt+Delete
Musical Notes
peace,
1.15.07
Work1
As promised I've uploaded our first mp3 from "Works In Progress 07". A huge thank you goes our to our good friend Charlie Campagna who recorded the concert for us! Charlie is a great musician and producer in his own right. You'll be hearing some of his ambient guitar work on our our new CD we are currently recording.
Work1.mp3 - 6.13MB : This is Kelvin's first composition for On Ensemble. It's also significant as another step in incorporating more electronic sounds into our palette. Listen to it tell us what you think and send us your title suggestions. Here's the list of title suggestions submitted thus far:
Complexity Simplified
Entrance
Thundering Haelstorm
Epic Movie
Orbitz
Freeway
SciFi Five
Video Game
Space Invaders
The Rhythms of Wanting More
Frenetic Bliss
Arcade Encounter
Thunder
Fireshow
Frenic JAM
Gorilla Pizza
It's the Bomb
Kevin Spacey Ate My Tambourines
Heartline / Desert Song
5 / Not 4, 6, or 8
Shaken' Rhythm
The Atomic Yard Sale
Soda Pop!
5 Degrees Kelvin
Horizon Line
Where Is My Spacecraft?
Space Odyssey
Textures of Commitment
Deconstructed Rhythm
Beyond and Back
Entropic
Flatline
Galactic Trip
Funky Chaos
Growing Up
Out-Worldly
Jungle Madness
Flowing Together
Undertakings
Space Blender
Pew, Pew, Zomg! / Taiko in Space
Long Journey
Music Culture Mix
Commitment
VFO
Tuning
peace,
1.13.07
Works In Progess finished!
A huge thank you goes out to all of you who came out to our "Works In Progress" concert. A very special thank you goes out to all of our great Yukai Daiko volunteers who did everything from take tickets to stack chairs.
At our concert we had audience members suggest titles for the 7 new compositions and as promised we will post all of the submissions as well as mp3s of the songs. If you weren't able to make the concert you can listen to the mp3s and email us your suggested song titles. We'll be posting one new song every couple of days starting tomorrow so keep checking back!
peace,
1.13.07
Maui Taiko Camp
I thought I'd better make this post before I get too far behind. Last weekend Zenshin Daiko brought me to Maui for a weekend of workshops at their annual taiko camp.
It was a ton of fun! Zenshin Daiko is one the premiere children's taiko groups. This past summer they brought On Ensemble to Maui as a guest artist for their annual concert and we learned that when Zenshin Daiko puts on an event they do it right. The taiko camp had everything, fabulous location, great food, desserts and even dodge ball!
My thanks to Tony and Val and the entire Zenshin Daiko crew for a great weekend of food and taiko!
peace,
1.12.07
14 tickets left!
There are only 14 tickets left for tomorrow's "Works In Progress" concert! Tickets available online at Plays411.com or by phone at: (323) 960-7789.
peace,
1.11.07
Happy New Year and Works In Progress 07!
Happy New Year! Can't believe it's 2007 already! 2006 was a great year for On Ensemble and its members. We released our first DVD, had great tours to Montreal, Wisconsin and Hawai'i, collaborated with great artists, released our second EP, started a series of taiko classes, and composed music for another documentary film.
We're getting 2007 started with our annual "Works In Progress" concert this Saturday, January 13th at 8pm at the Miles Memorial Playhouse:
Works In Progress : 2007
Saturday January 13th, 8pm
$15 general admission
Miles Memorial Playhouse
1130 Lincoln Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90403Tickets available online at Plays411.com or
by phone at: (323) 960-7789
Personally this year has already been quite eventful. The biggest news is that I'm an uncle! My not-so-little-anymore-little-sister had a baby girl on Jan 3rd! I also just returned from Maui after leading workshops at Zenshin Daiko's taiko camp. It was tons of fun and I have some pics to post soon!
peace,