Kametron has three modes. In "Kametron" mode he just sits in a corner listening to music with a pair of headphones, not terribly exciting. In "Taiko Kametron" mode he stands up and removes a pair of batchi from a secret compartment. In "Giga Kametron" mode massive speakers come out of his fore arms pounding music. The resulting energy surge usually shorts out his CPU causing him to twitch and dance uncontrollably.
Wow my first Grammys was amazing! Walking down the red carpet was a totally surreal experience. We ended up losing out to music legend Booker T. Jones. Still it was an honor to be nominated and a great experience.
Seeing the Grammy performances live was quite thrilling. One thing you appreciate being there is just how complicated the logistics of the whole thing is. The entire stage gets changed over in a matter of minutes with each configuration more complicated than the last. It’s complete sensory overload and quite awe inspiring. A personal highlight was the Dave Mathews Band performance and a performance during the pre-telecast portion by the Montreal trip-rock band Beast. Now the next task will be get On Ensemble to the Grammys!
I picked up my Grammy tickets today! Getting excited about going. There’s a nominee reception on Saturday then the big show on Sunday. Emi is making a dress for herself to wear out of two of my little sister’s bridesmaid dresses and I had to go shopping for a jacket and some respectible clothes. Hiroshima was nominated for “Best Pop Instrumental Album” for Legacy and will be given out during the pre-telecast portion of the Grammys which will be streamed on-line and will be available afterwards at the Grammy website.
Several years ago a friend and mentor of mine (thanks Steve!) gave me his old stereo set up that was taking up space in his garage. The set-up I inherited was a Marantz 4140, a Yamaha GE-60 graphic equalizer and a pair of Infinity Column II speakers. His cat had clawed the bottom woofers in the column II’s and the foam had long since deteriorated. I set them up in my apartment and immediately got a complaint from the downstairs neighbor so I disconnected the system and have been lugging it around Los Angeles for the past couple of years from tiny apartment to tiny apartment just biding my time…
Happy New Year! The beginning of a new year is a hopeful and reflective time. Last year was filled with some amazing experiences. I was blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with amazing artists from around the world and got to perform in new places like Yogyakarta and Ulaanbator. I started two new musical ventures: Khoomei Taiko Ensemble and Stereo Alchemy. I also took a big step toward full adulthood and bought my first home!
It was also a great year for On Ensemble. We kicked off the year with the release of Ume in the Middle and followed it up with several successful tours and a lot of great performances. Some personal highlights from 2009 include performing out in Brattleboro with Patrick Graham, performing at the California Worldfest, and performing at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts with the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble. Another high point was facilitating the Summer Taiko Institute, performing at Taiko Jam and catching up with the taiko community at the North American Taiko Conference. The year also ended nicely with a great works in progress concert and our most successful FoundatiOn Team drive ever!
I’m looking forward to all the new opportunities and experiences 2010 will bring. So far it’s off to great start. Next week we’re starting our FoundatiOn Team funded hands-on workshops for Glassell Park Elementary and at the end of the month I’m headed to my first Grammys!
Back in February I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of four fellows for a month long residency in Yogyakarta Indonesia. I’ve been interested in the music of Indonesia for some time and during my time there I bought a set of bonang to bring back. While we were working on the piece I jokingly started calling it “Gamelgong” as a place holder thinking that I’d come up with a proper name when the piece is finished. I tried to rename it but now it’s stuck in my mind as “Gamelgong” so here it is:
Gamelgong – Kristofer Bergstrom: bonang & melodica, Masato Baba: fue & taiko, David Wells: taiko, Kelvin Underwood: drums, Shoji Kameda: fue & chappa.
“Silverback” was a track Kelvin and I wrote for Ume in the Middle based on a groove that Kelvin came up with for “Turns”. Originally we meant to just record “Turns” but late one night Kelvin started doing all of this crazy vocal grunting and it just turned into something completely different. We renamed the song “Silverback” because we imagined that this would be the kind of track that gorillas would make if gorillas made hip-hop.
I’ve been wanted to do a live version of “Silverback” ever since and this is our first attempt. This performance is pretty rough and the piece is still in its proto phase but there’s a good song in there somewhere. Enjoy:
Silverback – Kelvin Underwood: drums & vox, Masato Baba: taiko & vox, Shoji Kameda: taiko, vox & chappa, Kristofer Bergstrom: turntable, Russel Baba: alto sax.
Ever since we collaborated with Patrick on “…Strikes 13″ a few years back I’ve been wanting to write a song in 13/8. For last year’s FoundatiOn Team Ep I tried a couple and came up with the basic groove and baseline for this song then Maz and I went into the studio and recorded all of this guitar feedback and the beginnings of Bizarre Heroes was born.
Russel and Kaoru really tore it up Saturday night! Listening to them together is like holding two seemingly incompatible truths in your mind simultaneously… it’s a complete mind #$%#^ but somehow it all makes perfect sense. Enjoy the track:
Bizarre Heroes – Russel Baba: Alto Sax, Kaoru Watanabe: Fue, Kelvin Underwood: Drums, Masato Baba: Bass, Kristofer Bergstrom: taiko, Shoji Kameda: laptop
This is exciting news! Hiroshima, the Jazz fusion group that I play percussion and taiko for was just nominated for a Grammy! The band’s newest album Legacy was nominated under the “Best Pop Instrumental Album” category. We also have our annual “Spirit of the Season” concert at the Japan America Theater this Saturday. It’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit!
