5.20.08
Triple Door Coming up
Our performance at the Triple Door is coming up on this Thursday May 22nd at 7:30pm. Kris and Maz are at the CD release party at Kobo at Higo's today. I'm actually in Washington DC for a Hiroshima gig and am flying into Seattle tomorrow for our workshops with the Seattle Taiko area groups.
After the Triple Door performance we're headed down to the Bay Area for the Collegiate Taiko Invitational. More later!
peace,
5.18.08
Portland Taiko
We had a great workshop with Portland Taiko today.
A huge thank you goes out to Michelle for bringing us to Portland and to all the PT members who were such great workshop participants.
peace,
5.16.08
WWU
Had a great performance and lecture demo at Western Washington University today! A huge thank you goes out to Courtney Hiatt for all of her work in bringing us to Bellingham. Also a big thank you goes out to Fred Ramage and the rest of the WWU staff for making our concert a success.
peace,
5.15.08
Yeah California!It's not often that I'm proud to be a Californian but today is one of those rare days. Not having the institution of marriage open to same sex couples completely cheapens it in my opinion. Today the California supreme court took a big step in setting things right. Yeah California!
peace,
5.14.08
Meet Blaise Underwood, 11 months old and On Ensemble's newest member! He's got great time and plays the heater, floor and cat.
Finished up rehearsals at Somei Yoshino's studio yesterday and ended with a great meal together. Made our way up to Portland today and will drive into Bellingham tomorrow for our performance Friday at Western Washington University. Check us out if you are in the area!
peace,
5.11.08
First stop Berkeley to rehearse with Kelvin. We arerehearsing at Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble's amazing space in Oakland. I know I've mentioned this in a previous post but it bears repeating; their space is AWESOME! It's a dream space for artists. Someday we too hope to have a converted warehouse fit for rehearsals, performances and recording. Till then it's LA apartment life for us... but we're not complaining at least we've moved the drums out of the apartments...
peace,
5.9.08
Elsie Awards for 2007Cerritos Center for the Arts reviewer Glen Creason gave On Ensemble the "New Star" Award on his CerritosInk blog. Here's what he said:
New stars: On Ensemble- these young men had ideas and musical vision that really opened the ears and eyes of audiences at the Center in March. Riffing off the Taiko tradition the men appropriately took “Turns” (a marvelous composition) to another level altogether while keeping the intense taiko drumming at the foundation of their show. The ON Ensemble is a group I hope to see again at the Center.
Quite flattering really. He's also in luck since we'll be back at the Cerritos Center with Kenny Endo in Spring of 2009!
peace,
5.9.08
Zuh Zuh Zuh
Maz flew back from Japan yesterday, got off the plane and went straight to our gig at the opening of the Shinjo Ito exhibit at the Westwood Art Forum. Crazy. It was a fun gig.
My latest musical obsession has been this track Zuh Zuh Zuh from Moe Pope and Headnodic. My brother-in-law turned me on to a group called the Crown City Rockers and it looks like these guys are Crown City Rocker alums. Anyways, this track is just sick. It kind of reminds me of the Latch Brother's Bangra remix of the Masters of Illusion track "The Bay-Bronx Bridge". Anyways... listen and be enlightened.
peace,
5.6.08
The Northwest Tour is coming upWe're adding more dates as we get closer. We'll be having a CD release party at KOBO at Higo's on Tuesday May 20th from 6-7pm. We'll also be doing some residency activities at Western Washington University and Washington University as well as workshops with the Seattle Taiko community and Portland Taiko. Then we end it all in the Bay Area at the Collegiate Taiko Invitational, should be a lot of fun.
We also have a performance tomorrow evening for the opening of the Shinjo Ito exhibit at the Westwood Art Forum. More later!
peace,
5.5.08
Noodles , like music need to be taken seriouslySeriously. I don't usually like to spend these post complaining, life it too short but this really has to be addressed: Why isn't there a decent ramen place in Sawtelle? There are an abundance of shops and even some that make an attempt an artful bowl of ramen but I'm telling you none of them, I mean none of them approach ramen greatness. It's a serious art peoples! First of all you can't have more than three items on your menu and be taken seriously. Why have 18 choices if they all suck? Just do one thing and do it well...
There is one bright spot for ramen lovers in LA, Orochon at Weller Court in Little Tokyo. Three choices, all well done. Good and solid, 5 stars for LA, 2.5 stars if it were in Tokyo actual. Okay... enough complaining. Seriously though if anybody has a decent ramen place to recommend on the west side I'm all ears, but if it sucks I won't be your friend.
peace,
5.1.08
Birthday, new album and Pacific Northwest tour...First of all it's my birthday! Yeah. 32 and counting. I freaked out about turning 30 on my 29th birthday (always like to be ahead of the curve) so now the thirties are starting to feel more like home. It's been quite a year full of all of the highs and lows life can through at you. Definitely a year of emotional growth. When I turned 30 I think I posted how I'm still waiting for that day when I wake up and feel like an adult. For better or worse I'm definitely having more of those days although as I write this I notice I'm wearing my Decepticon t-shirt and old school Nintendo belt. Oh well...
Our new studio album "Ume in the Middle" is almost finished. I had a mastering session with Leslie Chew the day before yesterday and the album is sounding really great. Miles Endo is working on the cover design and then it'll be done! We're planning on releasing it late 2008 or early 2009 more details soon...
This month we are headed up to the Pacific Northwest for a performance at Western Washington University and another performance at the Triple Door in Seattle. We're also planning on connecting with the Taiko community with workshops in Portland and Seattle. If you are in the area come check us out!
Kris and I have started work on redesigning the website. It's going to be a major improvement it terms of look and functionality. We're moving to a Wordpress powered site and are very excited about OnEnsemble.org 2.0. We're hoping to expand the scope and the interactive abilities of the site. Should be a lot of fun...
peace,
4.22.08
In2In ThinkingKris, Maz and I had a week of school performances with Performances to Grow On followed by a performance at the In2In Thinking forum this past weekend. This is the third time we've performed at the In2In forum and it's become one of our favorite convention gigs of the year. A huge thank you goes out to John Bergstrom for all of his support over the years and for bringing us to the In2In forum.
Maz is leaving for a trip to Japan on Thursday and we're starting to look forward to our May tour the Pacific Northwest with performances in Bellingham and Seattle. We'll be performing at Western Washington University on May 16th and the Triple Door on May 22nd.
peace,
4.14.08
Because tax day sucksIf you are like me you've put off taxes till the day before they are due and am now hating life for procrastinating for 4 months. I need lots of music and caffeine to do taxes. I can't help with the caffeine but I've just posted a new mp3 for all you procrastinators out there.
Loops/AfterRain.mp3 - 17.7MB: Track number 6 from "Ukiyo LIVE" (2007) featuring Patrick Graham and Kaoru Watanabe.
At 19'24" it's the longest song we've ever recorded. May it numb some of your tax day pain.
peace,
4.11.08
Chris Tin (see post below) and I have been attending ASCAP's "I Create Music " Expo for the past couple of days. It's been a great experience full of informative workshops and seminars on almost every element of the music industry.
One of the highlights of the expo has been an interview with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Now I've never really been a Bon Jovi fan but hearing him them talk about their approach to music and how they have managed to stick together and stay true to their ideals through 25 years in the music industry was inspiring. I found myself agreeing with everything they said and came to realize that the passion, drive and philosophy it takes to create meaningful music is basically the same whether you are a mega successful rock god or an obscure genre defying taiko fusion group.
peace,
4.8.08
In the studio with Chris TinLast Saturday Kris, Maz and I recorded taiko parts for Chris Tin's upcoming album at Sage and Sound Recording Studios.
It was a fun day and it was great to be involved with Chris' exciting recording project. It's a album of 12 songs about life, death and rebirth written in 12 different languages from Maori to Swahili. Back in January he went to London to record the orchestral parts to the album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the famed Abbey Road Studios. I don't want to give too much away but what we've heard so far sounds amazing.
peace,
4.4.08
Where did March go?Yikes, apologize for the lag in website updates. Just returned from Hiroshima gig in Phoenix and tomorrow we headed into the studio to record parts for Chris Tin's upcoming album. I won't give too much away here but it's a great project to be involved and we'll definitely be posting more about it in the future.
Kris and Maz had a school performance at John Muir Middle School in Burbank today. We have several local performance in April and in May we'll be headed up to Bellingham and Seattle for a little Washington tour. More details soon...
peace,
3.3.08
-
UKIYO
LIVE on iTunes
Our new live album is available at iTunes! If you have the album write a review of it on iTunes or CDBaby. Customer reviews are a great way to spread the word and even if you hate the music, it still makes us feel good that someone actually sat down and listened to it.
peace,
3.2.08
Back from North CarolinaMaz, Kris and Kelvin returned from North Carolina on Sunday. Sounded like the residency was quite a trip. They did three lecture demos a day for a week the topped the whole thing off with a performance at the end of the week. A huge thank you goes out to everybody at the ArtsCenter who made bringing On Ensemble out to North Carolina a possibility.
They also had a chance to connect with Triangle Taiko with a workshop in the middle of the week. It's really amazing how you can go almost anywhere in the country and find a taiko group not too far away. The community keeps growing and growing and it's a great thing to be a part of.
peace,
2.28.08
On Ensemble in North CarolinaOn Ensemble is in North Carolina! After a week of workshops in the Carrboro area Maz, Kris, Kelvin and our favorite Canadian percussionist Patrick Graham will be performing at the ArtsCenter. The concert is tomorrow Friday the 29th at 7:30pm. Come check us out if you are in the area!
Kelvin's family is actually from North Carolina and I'm a bit bummed I won't be meeting them this trip. Guess I'll have to wait till the next North Carolina trip.
It's been a busy start of the year with two trips out to the East Coast in two months and we're finalizing our next tour up the West Coast in May. I'll post more details soon...
Peace,
2.17.08
New LIVE CD and DVD!We are really excited about our two new releases! The first is our new DVD "Live at the Cerritos Center". It features our sold-out performance with members of the Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble at the Cerritos Center of the Performing Arts in March of 2007.
The second is our first live album "Ukiyo Live", which was recorded over the summer at our annual home concert series. It features our two amazing guest artists, New York based fue specialist Kaoru Watanabe and Montreal based multi-percussionist Patrick Graham.
It really helps to have user reviews of our CDs and DVDs so if you've got either of the new albums be the first to post a review on CDBaby.com!
Peace,
2.16.08
Stanford University Performance
We just finished a great residency with Stanford Taiko that culminated in a concert performance. The performance went very well and we ended the concert by performing a piece that Kris had written for Stanford Taiko with members of ST. We had a great audience and as always we have many people to thank. A big thank you goes out to the Stanford Department of Music, the Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts, Steve Sano and Linda Uyechi for providing the funding and for making this residency possible. Thank yous go out to Jun Daiko, Talisman A Cappella, Mark Applebaum, John Arima, Jonathan Berger, Mario Champagne, Mark Dalrymple and Sascha Retailleau for all of their support. A huge thank you goes out to Stanford Taiko for being such wonderful hosts and for all their help in promoting the concert. A very very big thank you goes out to our loyal group of friends, fans and family (you know who you are) who come out to support us every time we are in the Bay Area and who even end up helping us pack our equipment and load the van!
Peace,
2.9.08
Upcoming Stanford University Performance
Our next performance will be at Stanford University this coming Friday the 15th. We're looking forward to being back in the Bay Area and sharing the stage with Stanford Taiko. Stanford Taiko is where I met Kris and where I met my wife so I always feel a special connection to the group and the University. Tickets are available at: 650 725-2787. Hopefully we'll see some of you there!
Peace,
2.9.08
The Cross Country TripOn Ensemble has been off to a very busy start this year. Kris and Mas drove cross country to showcase at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference in New York. Along the way they taught twelve workshops for taiko groups from Los Vegas to Toronto. They also had a performance at the Loft in Brattenboro with Kelvin and Patrick. Maz kept a blog of their travels on our MySpace page, you can check it out here.
Also just a quick note about an upcoming taiko performance happening at the Japan America Theater here in Los Angeles. We haven't seen him perform before, but Shuichi Hidano, a taiko soloist from Japan, will be performing with a number of other musicians on Feb 16 at 8pm. More information at http://jaccc.org/hidanosupertaiko.htm.
Peace,
2.8.08
New Year ReflectionsHi all. This year has been off to a very unreal start. As some of you know Emi and I have been dealing with the loss of our baby Sophie Maiyu Kameda who died in utero on January 1st of this year. It's been a hard month for us but we've been extremely grateful of the support and love we've received from our friends and family. We'd like to thank all of you who have reached out to us. Your thoughts and words of support have meant a lot. Thank you.
Peace,