Argh! The On Ensemble email server seems to be down. Messages sent to OnEnsemble.org are being bounced back. We’re on tour at the moment so I can’t reboot the machine. We get home on July 3rd so I’ll fix it then.
In the meantime, if you need to contact us, please call me at 310-350-8825. My apologies for the inconvenience!
Bryan from TAIKOPROJECT has been obsessed with finding a warehouse for TAIKOPROJECT’s new home. We’re close. This might be it!
It’s a great space. It will take a bit of work to fix the place up to our satisfaction, but once it’s finished, this will be a great space to be in. Practices, rehearsals, small concerts, recordings, retreats… this will be a great resource! And hopefully On can help pitch in to use it too… =)
A taiko group always dreams of having a nice, big, open space. I hope this works out.
(click images for larger ver)
We’ve made progress on the mobile home design. Take a look and help us find a name for the home!
Last weekend Bryan from TAIKOPROJECT and I went to Japan to celebrate Asano’s 400th Year Anniversary. I can’t believe there has been a company (let alone a taiko company) that has survived for 400 years. Can you believe that?
The weekend was filled with performances, drum sales, merchandise sales, meeting many taiko people, and a reception. Congratulations Julia Asano!
Here’s Bryan in front of a huge odaiko. At the end of the weekend, there was a fun odaiko jam where we got to play this odaiko. It was probably the biggest taiko I’ve ever hit in my life and in the process, Yoshikazu Fujimoto, lead odaiko player from Kodo, lent me his odaiko bachi and I totally broke one! I’ve never done that before. Maybe I should take lessons from him…
Hiro and I played a game today during a walk (”sampo” in Japanese) around our neighborhood.
Can you guess the game?
My old koto slip cover was so old and worn, the fabric would rip with the slightest tug. So Hiroka and I sewed a new one with material we had around the house and it turned out surprisingly well.
Old cover (click for larger ver)
New cover (click for larger ver)
With the hopes that it will be helpful to someone else, here is a quick howto for sewing a custom soft cover for a Japanese 13-string koto.
Our music is being used for Jon Goldman’s submission to Netflix’ Find Your Voice competition! Jon is one of 10 Semi Finalists picked from thousands of applicants and he used “…Strikes 13″ a track we did with Patrick Graham for his preview submission! Jon’s film is called Paul Sussman’s Eleven-Step Guide to Self-Actualization.
The films with the highest number of stars will move on the final round and the winner of this competition will get $150,000 plus resouces like film stock, processing, camera rental, and post-production services for a total value of more than $350,000 to make his/her film.
So Jon needs your votes! You do NOT need to be a Netflix subscriber to vote. The 5 films that move on to the next round will be determined by the total number of stars. So go to the Netflix Find Your Voice website, watch Jon Goldman’s 3 minute trailer and be sure to vote at the end!
Yoko Fujimoto, Kodo member and amazing singer, is performing works from her new CD this Saturday at the Japanese American National Museum at 2pm and 8pm. Yoko gave On Ensemble an amazing private workshop a while back and we’ve been die-hard fans ever since. Her grace and composure on stage is amazing. Have a great show, Yoko!
