Kelvin's Blog
Dancing With People
Sunday, January 24th, 2010Last night was the last of two performances with the Dancing People Co. of Ashland, OR. These performances marked the end of their two week workshop residency at Crater High School in Central Point, OR. It’s always great working with these guys. I hope to post some photos as soon I get them.
MLK Celebration
Saturday, January 9th, 2010Every January in Ashland, Oregon there’s a celebration for Martin Luther King and the ideals of civil rights, inclusion and social justice through non-violence, compassion and courage. For this event I’ll be peforming taiko with Sue Lundquist of Hand in Hand Drumming on West African and Afro-Cuban drums, and Brent Florendo and Dancing Spirit Ensemble on Native American percussion. We had our first rehearsal today and we had so much fun! We’ll only have to perform for about 15 minutes, but we’ve begun to develop way more than 15 minutes worth of music. This is going to be really great, these guys are really cool people and musicians, and I hope to collaborate more with them after the MLK celebration.
Terry and Todd at Stanford University
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009t-squared (Todd Barton and Terry Longshore) will present a performance of Mark Appleabaum’s “The Metaphysics of Notation” at Stanford University’s Cantor Art Center this Friday, Dec. 18, at noon. The performance will last one hour. If you’re in the Bay Area this weekend you should definitely try to check these guys out.
Kelvin
Dancing People Company
Saturday, October 24th, 2009This week I had my first rehearsal with the Dancing People Company based here in Ashland, OR. On December 19th, ‘09 they will have their 4th annual winter solstice dance celebration and I’ll be collaborating with them on one piece with taiko. We met this Wednesday and had an improvisational session. This was a really great experience for me since I’ve never collaborated with dancers before. Check out their website for more information dancingpeople.com
Ondekoza CNBC Interview
Saturday, October 24th, 2009My sister has unearthed an old CNBC interview of me and Ondekoza. I had totally forgotten about it. It’s funny how choppy my English was then due to speaking Japanese and broken English the whole time I was in that group. Here’s the link:
Special cymbal
Thursday, July 9th, 2009I’m excited to begin using a new ride cymbal in my setup in On Ensemble. It’s a Zildjian K Custom 21″ Special Dry cymbal. What does that mean? Well, when one strikes the bow of the cymbal all of the articulations project really well. Also when you strike the edge of it you get a crashing response with a quick decay effect. Recently I’ve been making a switch from bright, sibilant cymbals to those with darker, earthier tones that compliment the sound of taiko. This particular cymbal has deep undertones and I believe it’s perfect for the music that On Ensemble produces.
Horseman closes
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Death and the King’s Horseman closed on Sunday July 5th. I had a really good time working with the other musicians and actors in the play. It was a great way to have been introduced to the Yoruban culture in Nigeria. Thanks to those who came out to see the play.
Taiko in Ashland
Thursday, May 14th, 2009For the last three months I’ve been offering taiko classes in Ashland, Oregon. Currently classes are being held on Monday afternoons 12:30-2PM and Friday evenings 7PM-8:30PM. All levels are welcomed. A variety of traditional rhythms and really useful techniques are covered. If you happen to be in the area and you’re interested in lessons just contact me at kdrumlab@hotmail.com or give me a call at (541) 488-5503 for more details.