Escondido School Show & HP Software Kick-off 2010 in Vegas

Last week we went to Escondido for a school show and Las Vegas for the HP Software Kick-off 2010. This was my first school show and the first time I got to travel with TAIKOPROJECT so I was excited.

We drove down to Escondido on Wednesday morning. The performance was at this really nice Center for the Arts. About 1,000 elementary and junior high school students came in from different schools in the area. We played a couple of songs, talked about the history of taiko, and demonstrated the different types of drums and instruments. It was really fun and interesting to see how much the kids enjoyed everything. Near the end of our performance we had some kids come up and try playing. Jenny and I went out into the audience to pick the kids. I felt bad though because there were SO many kids that wanted to come up, but I could only pick a few. It was awesome seeing the kids playing on the drums though and how much fun they were having. After the kids played then we asked if some of the teachers wanted to try. Some of the teachers looked even more excited than the kids. My favorite part was actually after the performance. After most of the students left, there were a group of deaf students that came up. They put their hand on the drum while Maz hit it so they could feel the vibrations. It was really amazing seeing their reaction when Maz hit the drum. Overall, it was a really fun performance and I'm glad that the schools could do events like this for the kids because they all seemed to really enjoy it.

Thursday morning we left for Las Vegas for the HP Software Kick-off 2010. We got to the Venetian and unloaded all of the equipment for the rehearsal. We were at the rehearsal for a couple of hours to figure out how everything would go for the next day. After the rehearsal, we checked in to our rooms. We each got our own room at the Venetian! I think I might've gotten a little spoiled for my first traveling experience. We had the night free so we decided to see the Jabbawockeez. The show was really good and it was a lot more theatrical than I was expecting. After the show we all went back to our rooms since we had a long day and we had to be up early for the performance the next day. For the performance, we opened the program to get everyone awake and pumped up. After we played, Bryan led an audience participation exercise. Each audience member got this small drum so they could play with us. There were about 200 people there so it got to be pretty loud in the theatre. Then we introduced the CEO and he came in playing an okedo. He seemed to have fun playing and the audience was really rooting him on. Then we hung out backstage while their program went on. We came on again at the end of the program to pump everyone up and get excited for the coming year. After the performance, we loaded up, stopped to eat something then headed home. Overall, the performance went well and it was fun hanging out with everyone.

Thanks to everyone involved in the Escondido school show and the HP Software Kick-off 2010 show!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Tanabe!

This past Saturday, 11/13... one more Deguchi sister was wed. And back by popular demand, TaikoProject was asked to perform at her wedding... or rather... my sisters took full advantage of their performing monkey...=( In either case, members of TP graciously came to celebrate the union of my sister and her new husband along with 300 guests (and 150 were from JAPAN!) The ceremony and reception was held at the beautifully expensive Langham Hotel in Pasadena and true to my sister's taste... it was an extravagant affair!

since no post is complete without a few visuals.. here are some photos from the wedding

The newest addition to our family of girls:

TP with their newest/youngest fans (my cousin's son and daughter, Troy and Kelli)



Back in October, Liz wrote about my mom's 60th birthday. And just like his auntie, my little nephew has just been CRAZY for the drums....So after our performance at my mom's party, he came straight to the drums and starting playing Expanding! (just kidding)
*Note: he requires no guidance to this drum... he went all on his own =D



After my sister's wedding performance, he wasted no time and just went straight to the drums. He proceeded to follow me even as we were packing up.

Presenting the future of American taiko






(Disclaimer: No drums were harmed or dirtied in any of these photos... =D)

Kris and Maz's Cross Country Adventures!

Day 1, October 31
Kris and I leave the group after a nice show in beautiful Fresno, CA! I didn't realize that we were going to pass by Kris' parent's place near Tehachapi until the night before. Kris called his mom and we met up with her for lunch (his dad was traveling to France). Kris usually brings "Takeru-kun", which is a small 2 cup rice cooker, and makes his own food when we're on tour, so I decided that I should join him and be healthier this time around since I always gain weight going through the midwest. Indian curry from Trader Joe's was on the menu today! Kris' mom made us a nice loaf of bread. We drive to St. George, Utah and try to go bowling, but it was closed!

Day 2, November 1
Drove to Denver, Colorado. It was a beautiful day driving through the Rockies. Snow had just fallen and it sparkled in the sun. We had a fun sling okedo workshop with Denver Taiko. Thank you Aiko and family for housing us and for feeding us well.

Day 3, November 2
Drove to Davenport, Iowa. This was a 13 hour drive... so long! Kris downloaded some podcasts from NPR which included Car Talk, This American Life, Film Week, and Science Friday to keep us from getting too bored. I decided that I needed to get my blood pumping, so I went running, went swimming, and sat in the hot tub.

Day 4, November 3
Drove to Novi, Michigan to have an Omiyage workshop with Great Lakes Taiko Center. We taught the main part of Omiyage in 2 hours! It was tough to get through it, but they hung in there! Thank you Brian, Mayumi, and their family for housing us. We begin to feel the weather getting colder.

Day 5, November 4
My gps took us through Canada to get us to Geneseo, NY. Bizarre! We got to the Canadian border with no passports, but they still let us in. Apparently the gps took us on the fastest route and apparently it happens all the time, so we were all good. We met up with Darren, Emily, and Scott (our technical director) for dinner at Applebee's! After eating with Kris who's a vegan and eating vegan food for the past 5 days, I kinda go crazy and get ribs. Yum!

Day 6, November 5
I got an oil change in the morning then Kris, Emily, Darren, Scott, and I loaded in the theater, set up the instruments, set lights, set up some costumes, spiked the first half of the show, did a sound check, and ran a public workshop. Jen, Yuri, Tomomi, Yumi, and Kevin fly in and we met up to eat pizza at Mama Mia's!

Day 7, November 6
Show day! Tech and run through went really well. We found ourselves with a lot of downtime which is really rare. The show went well considering it was only the second time we've done it. Only a few hiccups here and there, but for the most part I was happy with the show. After the show, we ate at Denny's in honor of Bryan. Then we went to my room and had fun stacking stuff on sleeping Darren. The crack from the rock chip in the van windshield started to grow to about four inches. I think the cold had to do something with it. Thank you Lindsey, Kellie, and Cary of the SUNY Limelight and Accents Performing Arts Series in for putting on the concert.

Day 8, November 7
Kris and I part ways with the rest of the group =( and drive to Dublin, Ohio to finish teaching Omiyage to the Dublin Taiko Boosters that Bryan and I started this past April. They learned it all! After the workshop, we had a two hour private lesson with Eric Paton who is a professor at Capital University and teaches percussion and taiko. Thank you Susann for organizing the workshop and to her husband for providing us a nice hotel room. The crack in the windshield grows to about 8 inches

Day 9, November 8
Drove to St. Joseph, Missouri. There's nothing out here!

Day 10, November 9
Drove back to Denver, Colorado on a small, two-lane highway through the north part of Kansas. Nothing but prairie out there. Boring!!! But, we passed through some interesting small towns with lots of character. Towards the end of the drive, we drove right through a blizzard. Scary! When we arrived in Denver, we played ping pong and pool with Aiko's sons, Matthew and Connor. Fun! Thanks again to Aiko and her family for housing us!

Day 11, November 10
Drove to Moab, Utah. I was a little concerned going over the Rockies because of the blizzard the day before, but it was fine. Nice and sunny, but quite cold, so the windshield wiper fluid hose froze. I had to stop to defrost it because the windshield was really dirty and I couldn't see very well. Had a good workshop with Moab Taiko Dan. Taught the new rhythms to Tomodachi To Isshoni which we taught when Bryan and I passed through in the spring. Thank you Hop and Sheila for housing us!

Day 12, November 11
Last day of driving! It was long and we ran out of NPR podcasts, but we finally made it back to Higashi to unload and practice a little bit. Otsukaresama deshita! The crack in the windshield ended up being about two feet!

Facts about the trip:
-5,509 miles driven according to google maps
-Passed through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Ontario (Canada), New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri
-40 NPR podcasts listened to
-Dishes created in Kris' rice cooker: rice and indian curry, Jamaican rice, chocolate cake, and oatmeal
-Besides being in Geneseo, we made all of our meals
-5 workshops and 2 private lessons conducted
-The crack in the windshield ended up being almost two feet long

Picnic time in the Rockies

Fun with snow in the Rockies

Somewhere in Missouri...

Desert in Utah

Geneseo, New York

Picture by Yuri Yoshida

This weekend TAIKOPROJECT went to Geneseo, New York with TAIKOPROJECT for a performance. We first stopped in Cleveland for 30 minutes or so then transferred onto a “putt-putt” plane that flew us to NY. When we left Los Angeles it was in the high 90's but when we reached Geneseo, it was in the mid-30's. 60 degrees difference! Brrrrr!

We got picked up and finally met up with Emily, Darren, Maz, Kris and Scott. We went to go eat pizza at Mama Mia’s. Then Saturday we arrived at the theater around noon and got to work. We spiked the rest of the second set and did some prep work before run throughs.


I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. Tours are always fun-creating and sharing new memories together. Can't wait for the next tour!

...And we're back from Geneseo, New York!

Darren, Kevin, Yuri, Jen, Yumi, Tomomi, and I just got back from a gig in Geneseo, New York this past weekend! (Maz and Kris also played with us, but they're currently driving back to L.A., holding workshops along the way until Thursday.) We performed TAIKOPROJECT's new Continuum show for the Limelight & Accents Performing Arts Series at the State University of New York (SUNY - pronounced "soo-knee") at Geneseo. The show was held on campus in the Wadsworth Auditorium, which seats nearly 1,000 people!

It all started on Thursday morning, when Darren and I flew out of L.A. with our lighting director, Scott. After about 6 hours of flying and a 40-minute drive, we finally arrived in Geneseo! We met up with Maz & Kris at the hotel and went to a late dinner at Applebee's. It was my first time eating there, even though I know there are plenty of Applebee's restaurants in southern California. Has anyone else not eaten there at some point in their life, or am I just a rare case...?

The next day, we prepped for the show as much as possible, loading in all the equipment, checking sound, spiking the stage, and setting & steaming costumes. I was amazed that we were able to do all that with only four people! The rest of the cast flew in from L.A., so Scott and I headed back to the hotel to help them settle in, while Maz, Kris, and Darren stayed at the auditorium to hold a workshop. We all met up afterwards and went to dinner, then headed back to the hotel to rest up for the show.

Saturday was the big day! The show went great and we were well-received by the big audience. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to watch! After the show, we got to meet and talk to the members of Yamatai, Cornell University's taiko group. Everyone was really nice, and I hope we keep in touch :)

On Sunday, we said our goodbyes to Maz & Kris (who left early that morning to drive out to Dublin, Ohio) and headed to the airport. After another long day of flying, we arrived home safely! A BIG thanks goes out to Lindsey Hebell and the rest of the Limelight & Accents crew. Thank you for having us! It was a pleasure working with you all and we had a great time in Geneseo!!

Fresno Concert Show

On Saturday we took a trip up to the beautiful town of Fresno, CA for the debut of our Concert Program, Continuum. We split into two groups for this show: group one drove north on Friday early morning to perform for a school show, while the remainder of the eight person cast followed early Saturday morning.

The show was sponsored by the Fresno Lively Arts foundation, and we played at the gorgeous Shaghoian Hall. When we got there, we took one look at the brand new Shaghoian Hall and were immediately impressed. The facilities were enormous! Not to mention the acoustics on the inside of the theatre got us all excited for a great show.

This was the debut performance of our Concert Program, so we were a bit nervous as to how well it would be received, but the crowd was amazing! So receptive, so welcoming, they not only welcomed us into their theatre, but were gracious enough to let us stay with them as well. A HUGE thank you to all of Fresno Gumyo Taiko as well as our homestay families: Sharon, Reba, and Kathy! (your food was delicious!!! )

After the performance, TP held a short 3 hour workshop with Fresno Gumyo and other neighboring taiko groups. We gave pointers on basics, stage presence, and taught a little of our very own Omiyage and it was all very well received.

All in all, the trip, performance, and community feeling we experienced in Fresno made this trip a huge success. Thank you to all for coming, for housing and feeding us, and for all of the fresh FRUIT! (I probably ate half of it on the way back, and that's saying a lot considering how many lbs we had...)

Feel free to check out the introductory article by Fresno's very own Fresno Bee. Thanks for the great introduction!

-Kevin