TP's First Ever Koto Song!

When Maz and Bryan approached me and asked if I'd be interested in composing a koto piece for TAIKOPROJECT, I'll admit, I was hesitant at first. I had never composed anything on the koto before, despite my many years of classical training. However, with their encouragement, I decided to give it a shot. I began by developing a few simple melodies of my own, and then playing them for Maz so that he could assist me in figuring out how to string them together. From there, Maz helped Jen and Bryan use their hands to generate soft beat patterns on the odaiko, sumo-daiko, and shime-daiko to add a percussive element. Soon after, Jenny came on board to help me on the koto. I had her pluck the "base" melody (which I originally played with my left hand, while simultaneously playing the other melodies with my right hand) to free up my left hand so that I could focus on playing more confidently and accurately with my right hand. I am so grateful to Jenny for all of her help! Without having to worry about playing two parts all by myself, I was also able to explore more with improvisation and sound accentuation. Finally, Maz added several fue melodies to complement the koto melodies, and at that point the song had pretty much come full-circle. 

I had my parents listen to a rough preview of the song that we had recorded at rehearsal, and my father made a humorous remark that it made him feel as if he was "riding a horse through a peaceful forest". One of my close friends said that it reminded him of a slow-motion battle scene from the movie "The Last Samurai". Personally, when I play this song I imagine that I am watching fireworks and shooting stars while standing in a vast, open field.

What's unique about this particular composition process is that I never really had a concrete vision for the song. Instead of me guiding it in such a way to fit a specific image or theme, the song somehow guided itself. Maz ingeniously came up with the title, "Seiza", meaning "constellation" in Japanese. Whether you envision green forests, epic battles, fireworks, or starry night skies, I hope you will all enjoy listening to what TP has nicknamed "The Koto Song". 

Vegas Baby, Vegas.... x 2!

Back in January, in the midst of our crazy Riverside show, some members drove out to Las Vegas, City that Never sleeps, on back to back Mondays.

1st- Monday Vegas gig:
6am we set off w/ 4 (Maz, Bryan, Jen, & Courtney) in a car, for a 10 o clock call time. This would be our quickest trip EVER made! Upon arrival, we load out and meet up with members of LV Kaminari Taiko, Jen & Wendy and head over to the Venetian hotel! A quick lunch and then we did short but efficient run thru tech. Then in it's time to change and perform our short 5 minute stint for the opening of the conference. Immediately we change back, and then it's back on the road!

Total driving time: 8.5 hours
Total actual time in Vegas: 4.5 hours

Short post. But there's only so much a person can write about a 5 hour span.

2nd- Monday Vegas gig:
Round 2. The same foursome, this time with more drums and a bigger van. We head off this time to the Wynn Hotel, where we met Vegas' version of Higashi's security guard, Rodney. He let us into the back of the hotel, where we loaded and then... waited.

While we waited, Jen did some work…


Maz got busy…



I did some homework…



and Bryan…



= D

3 hours later, we headed for the stage to rehearse our 1.5 minute piece, an abridged Expanding. Add one oroshii and you have a grand entrance for the executives of the conference. We called it a day and headed to our posh Wynn hotel rooms where we could unwind and relax. Then around 11pm, we had another LVKT reunion, this time with more members and food! We had an early call time so our time together was somewhat limited, but not without eating some delicious bacon wrapped mochi, ramen, etc… and ending our meal with Honey Toast!


There are many diverse personalities in LVKT, but one thing that many of them have in common…. is the name Jen.

Plus our Jen from Tp, they decided to take a traditional “jen” picture.

More on the UCR show!

Like Liz said, our first big performance with the group was a lot of fun! It was amazing to see how much equipment and manpower is required to put on each (re)generation show. There is so much to prepare, but I think the lights, videos, props, and other storytelling elements make (re)generation a lot different than most taiko performances.

When it came time for the actual show, I was a lot less nervous than I thought I would be. Nonetheless, it was still really exciting to perform in front of a big audience! My favorite part of the show had to be all of the chaos that occured backstage. I love all the running around and the last minute adjustments. It's such a rush when you have barely enough time to get into a new costume, move a drum, and get ready to play!

Aside from a few small mistakes, I thought the show went really well! It was really inspiring to see the older TP members do their thing and go through the show. It was Byron’s last performance with the team. I’m glad I had the chance to be part of it! I look forward to doing the show again!