"(Re)generation" in Riverside, CA

What a great way to start 2010! On January 15th at UC Riverside, Andrew, Jenny, Emily and I (new trainees) participated in our first ever big big show with the group. It was amazing, to say the least. My favorite part, aside from being on stage with everyone else, was the level of organization and efficiency when setting up and preparing for the show. I know, I know... that's probably not the first thing one would think of when describing a show, but I really was impressed. Overall, it was an amazing experience that I hope to repeat over and over and over, etc.

I stole a picture to post here from the TaikoProject website. If you'd like to see more of them, visit www.taikoproject.com!

LA Holiday Celebration

This year, TP was invited back to perform at the L.A. Holiday Celebration. So on Christmas Eve, Emily, Liz, Brian, Tomomi, Yumi, Bryon, Courtney and Jen packed up the van, and headed over to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in LA. This holiday program has been around for over four decades and we were very happy be a part of it again this year. Thank you LA County Arts Commission for inviting us back this year!! We had a great time!

Every year, the Holiday Celebration program features a number of guests that participate in a six-hour live performance. We did a short rendition of our song, Omiyage and even had the audience participate with us. The show was broadcast live on KCET. Did you get a chance to catch a glimpse of us..?

Now, all the TP folks are spending some quality time with family and loved ones for the holidays. Hope everyone is having a warm holiday season too!!

Happy Holidays from TAIKOPROJECT! EI...YA...SA!!! =)

TP Holiday Time at Disneyland

This past week, TAIKOPROJECT visited the awesome Holidays at Disneyland! Luckily for us, when we walked into the park, the very fun "A Christmas Fantasy Parade" began right in front of us! We first hit up Space Mountain. Many of us really think it goes faster now for some reason. Very proper first ride!!

Throw in Big Thunder Mountain, dinner at Pizza Port, cream cheese filled and Mickey pretzels, Haunted Mansion, and of course...FIREWORKS, and you have some of the best times at Disneyland.

Of course one of the challenges groups face at the Magic Kingdom is navigating efficiently. I never knew strollers could be so dangerous... I can commit to the fact that TAIKOPROJECT has some of the best Disneyland walkers out there.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!! =)

TP Holiday Gifts now available!

What's the perfect gift for taiko players? How about TP DVDs, shirts, and bachi? Order before Dec. 15 and get FREE SHIPPING and FREE PERSONALIZATION for all gifts! Check out our new TP shirts in purple and teal, as well as in classic black, and our DVDs, a great addition to anyone's taiko DVD library! Check out our 2009 Holiday Order Form!

Open House a Success!

Today TP hosted an Open House to show our new studio off to the general public and thank you to everyone who came out to see it! Actually, last week, our donors got to come check it out first, but today, we opened up to the public!

The studio is still under construction, as the owner has been delayed by city processes and permits, but lots has been done. When we first moved in, it was just a concrete box (with flames on the walls). Since then, we've installed theatrical drapes around the perimeter of the space to absorb some of our noise and improve acoustics, we've hung up some of our show banners from past Rhythmic Relations shows, we've built and started storing our equipment on industrial shelving in the space, we've installed a sound dampening wall on our shared wall and installed a 32' x 6' wall of mirrors, and a 32' x 32' raised, insulated stage. In the next couple of weeks, we'll have two new bathrooms and drywall will be installed in the space, which should insulate our sound pretty well. After that,we'll just have a few other projects that will complete our renovation and we'll be ready to go!

Thank you to all the Long Beach and South Bay folks who came out (as well as my Aunty from Huntington Beach)--and all the taiko groups that came out--folks from Togen Daiko, Kishin Daiko, Kodama Taiko, Touzan Taiko (the new collegiate group from Pomona), UCI Jodaiko, Shin3, TCLA, Kinnara Taiko, and Kitsune Taiko! Stay tuned for more photos and updates about our new studio!

Kris' first performance with TP

Last weekend was my first performance with TaikoProject since beginning rehearsals with the group a few months ago. We performed at the beautiful Aquarium of the Pacific. I'm still learning the pieces so it was a bit nerve-wracking for me, but thanks to Liz, Yuri, Bryan, and Maz, I survived and had a great time. Looking forward to more!

We took a quick photo after the gig... Liz was off changing, as you can see... :)

Building New Taiko!

Bombu Taiko is one of the groups that TAIKOPROJECT has taught since the group started at Higashi. They've been building new drums for the past few weeks and have been working really hard. I think there's about a dozen barrels that they're working on, which will really add to what is already there. I helped with some sanding about 2 weeks ago and it's a lot of work! Still, I found the sanding to have sort of a ... meditative feeling. I kind of zoned out. It really is a lot of work, with so many different steps. The part that I helped out with was just a tiny part of the process for one drum. I'll be going back to help out some more!

I'm really excited to see and hear the new drums. There's lots of Bombu love going into them! :)

- Quick remider: our open house for the brand new studio is coming up!

Sunday, 10/11 - Encino Folk Music Festival

Encino Folk Music Festival - Encino Park, Encino, CA

Today we ventured into "the Valley" (as Californians call it) for a performance at Encino's Folk Music Festival! Bryan, Maz, Yuri, Liz, Andrew, and myself were attendance and with high spirits as we were prepared to play a somewhat longer set than we had lately been playing.

We arrived amidst the hustle and bustle of a booming festival, complete with jester-like entertainers and line-dancing. There was even a standing taiko that anyone was free to jam on!

After dropping off our fearless navigator, Maz, to find the unloading entrance for performers, we finally circled around the block and found the correct entrance. Unloading was a breeze, as the cheery staff was eager to help. As we got to the stage and started to lay out our equipment, the Polynesian Paradise group of Tahitian dancers were getting ready to perform. We were really feeling their groovy beats, and we could tell by the hip-shaking shuffle of some of the audience members, that they were too. After the Tahitian dancers cleared off, it was our time.

We set up on what was a surprisingly small stage, and crossed our fingers that we would not hit the awning directly over our heads, or each other. The set went pretty well and based on the positive feedback we received afterward, we could tell many of the Long Beach patrons in attendance were intrigued by the announcement that we were moving to Long Beach soon (if you haven't already checked out the promo video below, be sure to do so!). Like I said earlier, we played a longer set than usual - about 7(?) songs - so we were thoroughly juiced by the end of it.

The entire volunteer staff at the festival was very welcoming, encouraging, and extremely helpful! They made the unloading and loading process very easy, which was good since we were all pretty tired!

As we finished packing up our gear, we knew that while our stay at the gathering was over for the day, the festival would go on......for about another 2 hours.

And with that, I leave you with some pictures from the festival in 2003 (b/c we didn't bring a camera)











Yay Encino Folk Music Festival!

-Kevin

Support the Cause!

Hi everyone! We're launching an end-of-the-year fundraising campaign to help renovate our new warehouse into SoCal's only dedicated taiko studio. Check out our website for all the info you need. Also check out this video that Bryan and I put together at the warehouse:

We have doors!!!

This is Jen about two weeks ago next to our yellow wall outside by the parking lot. No doors, no windows, no way to get inside from this wall. It's actually the other side of the wall with flames.

Last weekend, as I was driving home late at night, I stopped by the warehouse and we had new doors installed! Two to be exact! Here's one of them!

Please excuse the bright light at the bottom... that was my car. :p

Bryan recently went inside to take a look at the renovations. He said there's a lot going on in there! Can't wait to see it in a few weeks!

:)