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We had our last performance of our New York trip today. Maz, Kaoru and I performed a short set at the Saint Marks Taiko Festival. Yesterday we had a great performance at DROM with Kaoru, Yuka Yamamoto, Shanir Blumenkranz, and Barbara Merjan. Yuka and Shanir started the show off with a great couple of songs featuring Yuka’s beautiful and playful voice and instrumental touches backed by Shanir’s great bass playing. Kaoru joined them for a song then the Barbara, Maz and myself joined in and provided a fun groove for their last piece. (more…)

Our next performance is in Phoenix, AZ at the new Musical Instrument Museum. The Musical Instrument Museum ordered a whole set of Miyoshi taiko and we’re excited to see them at the museum. Our performance is this Saturday the 26th. We have a hands-on demonstration at 11:00am and then a full concert performance at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25-$30 and are available at the Musical Instrument Museum’s website or by calling the box office at: (480) 478-6001.

Maz and Shoji will be performing in the East Village tonight at DROM with some really great guest artists: Yuka Yamamoto, Shanir Blumenkranz, Barbara Merjan and Kaoru Watanabe! Should be a fun performance come check it out if you are in NY.

Saturday June 19th, 9pm
General admission: $10
DROM
85 Ave A (b/w 5th & 6th)
212 777-1157

I spent a large part of the day wandering through the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  My strongest memory of the last time I visited the Met was being completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume and variety of the art displayed.  Complete sensory and intellectual stimulation overload.  So this time I had a different strategy.  I didn’t worry about seeing everything in the museum.  My plan was to just wander around lost until I came to something that caught my attention and then spend some time with that piece and see what happened.  (more…)

Wow now I can say I performed at Carnegie Hall and I wouldn’t even be lying.  The concert version of Eric Whitacre’s Paradise Lost : Shadows and Wings was quite an event.  The choir was massive, the beats were massive, the soloist were amazing and much fun was had.

Yesterday I taught a workshop to Kaoru’s taiko center and we rehearsed for our upcoming gig at DROM.  I’m planning on spending the next couple of days seeing as much music and eating as much good food as I can.  Kaoru and his wife Mari have also got me hooked on Lost.  Though they are at the end of season 5  and I can’t really imagine anything being more confusing than starting to watch this show from this point.  I spend every episode confused beyond imagination but find the whole experience oddly compelling.

Yamasong the movie had it’s premiere at the Florida Film Festival and has been accepted to several other festivals including: “Plastic Paper” Festival of Animation & Puppetry in Winnipeg, Canada, the World Festival of Puppet Art in Prague, Czech Republic, the San Francisco United Film Festival, the Fear No Film Festival in Salt Lake City and the World Music & Independent Film Festival in Washington DC.  We also just received word that Yamasong was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Original Sound for a short film at the World Music & Independent Film Festival in DC!

Maz and I will be performing at DROM in New York this month with Kaoru Watanabe (flutes and taiko), Yuka Yamamoto (vocals, ukele), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass) and Barbara Merjan (drums and taiko).  Kaoru has been faciliting a performance series at DROM ever since we performed there together back in January of last year and he always gathers together a great group of interesting musicians.  Should be a lot of fun come check it out if you are in NY.

Maz and I are headed to New York this month!  First we will performing Tuesday June 15th at Carnegie Hall for the New York premiere of Eric Whitacre’s Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings.  We were lucky enough to work with Eric two years ago when he premiered Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at the Boston Court Theater in Pasadena.  The New York performance will be the concert version which probably means no elaborate fight to the death angel battle scenes but it’ll be an experience none the less!

Then on Saturday June 19th at 9pm we’ll be performing with at DROM with Kaoru Watanabe (flutes and taiko), Yuka Yamamoto (vocals, ukele), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass) and Barbara Merjan (drums and taiko) as a part of NakaNaka a performance series that Kaoru facilitates.  Should be a lot of fun!