ShastaYama 2010

A few weeks ago we took a roadtrip up north to Mt. Shasta,CA where we had the honor of sharing the stage with Russel Baba, Jeanne Mercer, Michelle Fujii, Toru Watanabe, Shasta Taiko, and Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble at ShastaYama 2010.

Thursday 7/29/10

Bryan, Jen, Darren, Courtney, Tomomi, Emily, Andrew, and I arrived in Shasta. Maz and Kris had left earlier in the week and were already there.

The log CASTLE!...where we stayed while we were in Shasta.

Friday 7/30/10

Since we had some down time in the morning, we decided to go hiking to Mossbrae Falls. Although it was quite a walk to get there, it was totally worth it! It was soo gorgeous!

After our hike, we headed over to tech rehearsal. The stage was set up on a large open field facing Mt. Shasta. It was really refreshing playing taiko while surrounded by such beautiful scenery. Shasta Taiko also taught us a fun dance that we were going to perform with them at the concert.

Tech rehearsal went ok overall but we did have two injuries. One of them resulted in Jen being sent to the ER! We were all really worried but after about an hour and a few stitches on her leg, Jen was back on her feet. She even played during run-throughs! Go Jen! The second injury was another leg injury. Kris accidently cut his leg on stage. Thankfully, he did not have to go to the ER! I think everyone was being REALLY careful after that so that we would not have any more injuries.

Saturday 7/31/10

Today was the day of the concert. After a deliciousbrunch at a local cafe and some souvenir shopping earlier in the day, we headed back out to the concert venue. There were about 1,300 people in the audience! Over 1 thousand people, Mt. Shasta in the background, Taiko drumming, and Shasta Taiko banners waving in the wind…the concert was very epic! :)

Sunday 8/1/10

After an eventful few days in Shasta, we headed back home to LA. It took us 12 hours and Bryan drove the ENTIRE time!!! Thank you Bryan! Otsukaresama!

Here are some more pictures from Shastayama 2010 :

http://picasaweb.google.com/TAIKOPROJECT/ShastaYamaFestival#

Thank you very much Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer for inviting us! We had a fantastic time!