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Riverside Lunar New Year Festival!

On Jan. 28th, we packed up the van and drove out to Riverside for their Lunar New Year Festival! Maz, Andrew, Candice, Kevin, and I met in Little Tokyo to drive together and we picked up Jen near her home on the way. It was super windy once we got closer to Riverside and Maz had to drive carefully to make sure we were all safe.

This is a great festival!! There were so many different stages with lot of entertainment and activities, along with many booths set up by different organizations and food vendors.

Our first set was in front of the library and then we moved our equipment to the main stage for our second set. I really liked how the different stages have their own unique feeling to them. The library "stage" was actually on the ground, level with the audience. Many people were sitting on the ground in front of us and people gathered all around. It was a nice, intimate feeling. The main stage was quite different. We were definitely much higher then the audience where they sat in chairs. There was a big tent behind the stage for the performers to store equipment and change. It had a more of a "concert" feel. One thing that remained constant from stage to stage was the amazing audience. :) We also saw fellow taiko players from UCR Senryu Taiko! Hi Senryu!

There were lots of funny moments and I only took one photo, which I would totally share with you... but it's a picture of 4 of the members that fell asleep in the van... at the same time. It's not the most attractive photo, and since I'm such a nice person, I won't post it. :D hah!

Happy lunar new year!!!!

Ending 2011 and Starting 2012 with TAIKOPROJECT!

Normally during my winter break from work, I am bustling at the mall doing last minute shopping, catching up with friends and family and resting after a long year. BUT NOT WINTER 2011-2012! It has been a holiday season filled with 3 major TAIKOPROJECT performances of all different types.

Christmas Eve was spent playing backup for Mansour at Persian Xmas at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. We learned lots of new and super exciting material to supporting his fabulous music which was be loved by all in attendance! He is truly an artist committed to his fans and his work...and who can complain about a trip to Vegas! Merci!

Then onto New Year's Eve at First Night Fullerton which is a big deal. There were soo many couples, families and friends out in the freezing cold, celebrating the end of 2011. We played 3 sets to more than packed houses! Thanks Fullerton!

And a hometown favorite of mine, Oshogatsu New Year's Day celebration in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. New Year's is such a rich holiday in the Japanese culture, filled with tradition, family and celebration! Truly and honor to ring in the new year at this awesome event!

Happy 2012 everyone!!! Love, Darren

TP End-of-Year Taiko Marathon

During the last few hours of the last day of 2011, Bryan, Darren, Emily, Jason, Tomomi and I dared to complete the Taiko Marathon. We had three 30-minute shows in a row, with enough time in between to watch a few of our favorite YouTube videos backstage. The six of us were cozied up inside the First Christian Church in Fullerton, CA with the attendees of Fullerton's 21st annual First Night event. First Night is a tradition of Downtown Fullerton's. The event brings community members together to celebrate the new year in a safe environment. First Night had food of all sorts, entertainment stages in every direction, ample seating and even an ice rink!

When we arrived and found out we'd be playing inside the church, away from the hustle and bustle of the night outside, we initially expected a quiet evening. After all, who would venture inside and away from all of the fun (and more importantly, food) outside? Well, much to our surprise, the evening attracted a dense fog and chilly conditions, resulting in a long line of people waiting to come inside to hang out with us!

Our first show went quite smoothly. I remember a bachi flying somewhere, but we handled it well. :)

Our second show was going just as smoothly until I started feeling the first signs of fatigue during our last song, Many Sides. All that cardio after 2 weeks of vacation was intense! All of a sudden, I was hungry. It was like approaching mile 12 and really wanting a burger. Mitchell read our futures and knew we'd be starving, so he arrived after Show #2 with six delicious corn dogs! Thanks Mitchell!

The third show was difficult, exhausting and a piece of cake all in one. It's tricky to describe the feeling of fighting to get through, yet knowing you could do it all over again at the end. By that time, we were on auto pilot. We had made whatever mistakes we were going to make, and we were looking at the finish line. Once again, bachi went flying. However this time, the bachi came back to us! See what I mean about it being a piece of cake? A youngster in the audience was victim to one of our sticks, and after a bit of encouragement, he gracefully tossed it back up onstage so we could finish our set. How wonderful. I'll never forget what a great throw he had!

All in all, First Night was a success. I'm thinking about going back at the end of this year! Have a great 2012 everybody!