On July 20th Me, Blues guitarist and songwriter Chic Streetman and South African guitarist extraordinaire Mongezi Ntaka collaborated for a Green Show. The Green Show is a concert series held here in Ashland, Oregon on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus during the summer and is free to the public. It was Chic’s gig and it was my pleasure to perform with him outside of our usual performance setting. You see, Chic is the guitarist for the play “Ruined” in which I’m also cast. Mongezi is Chic’s understudy. Mongezi will be here for another week subbing while Chic completes a short tour of performances and workshops throughout the US.
Mongezi Ntaka is an amazing man and guitarist. He plays every style of African guitar, Reggae, R&B, and Jazz, and is the guitarist for other musical artists such as Kuku and Vusi Mahlasela. Vusi Mahlasela is gaining more and more popularity and has collaborated with artists such as Dave Matthews and Taj Mahal.
On Ensemble has a Green Show here in Ashland, Oregon on August 28th, 2010. If you’re in town come check us out.
I’ve just received my MacBookPro computer and I’m really excited!!! Yesterday I installed Logic software and I also bought a mic stand and mic cable. I still need a little more gear, but I’m on my way to getting set up to record some music! Me and the other guys in On Ensemble have been talking for a couple of years about how we all could record our musical ideas, share them with each other on line and make progress with our creativity even though I’m many miles away. I’m looking forward to many long, late nights of wrapping my head around the Logic program and exploring a new realm of music making. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
We’re excited to be returning to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Kelvin’s home turf to perform in the free, outdoor Green Show series, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:15pm. We’ll be performing in the beautiful surroundings of the Festival Courtyard Stage. You can see the whole schedule of free concerts here. The Green Show was one of our favorite performances last year. If you’re in the Ashland area, join us Aug 28!
Come see Kris and Maz perform this weekend as part of TAIKOPROJECT in Rhythmic Relations 2010! The concert will be on July 10th and 11th at the Ford Amphitheater in North Hollywood.
We will be debuting SIX new songs! I am also proud to announce that we will be releasing the new album at the concert which I produced called “Surrounding Suns”. I’m so excited for this moment!
The previous leader of my shamisen school, Kineya Katsusaburo 7th, passed away on June 27, 2010 at the age of 82. My teacher, Katsuyukie, studied under him for more than 50 years, and considered Katsusaburo one of the greatest players and teachers of all time. He is the Iemoto who granted my natori, and I had the pleasure of spending time with him on a few occasions in Japan (Maz met him too!). He was always supportive and generous, and interested in getting the latest news on things in the United States, having travelled the world extensively.
When I spoke with my teacher on the phone, she said that although she’s sad about his passing, “It’s a rare treasure to complete such a dramatically successful and fulfilling life.”
On Monday I took a trip to the fabulous Bicycle Kitchen for a 12-speed tune-up. The Bicycle Kitchen is a not-for-profit organization that hosts a public bike shop and arranges volunteers to help bike lovers repair their own bikes. You make an appointment, show up with your ride, and the Bicycle Kitchen has helping hands, tools, and spare parts to get you set up. Ken helped me adjust my rear derailleur which has been giving me issues. Thank you Bicycle Kitchen!
Shoji gave a great workshop on Omiyage to members of Fushicho Daiko in Phoenix. They did a fantastic job learning the core of the piece, with its complicated rhythms and movements. Emma even made vegan chocolate cake so we all had a treat after the workout. Thank you Fushicho!
The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) was a wonderful treat! We got to see the drums that MIM commissioned from drum-maker and On-Ensemble-friend, Mark Miyoshi. In the image below, Maz is talking with him on the phone.
Mark’s drums are located in the “North America” section of the museum. As I was walking around the museum a staff member approached, recognizing me from that morning’s performance. He said, “Can I ask you a question?.. Sometimes people come up to me and complain that these taiko drums are in the North America section, versus Asia. What do you think of our decision to put them here?” I told him On Ensemble was very pleasantly surprised that the Museum had taken the more honest and complicated approach of representing Mark’s instruments as American. I explained how his finger-jointed-stave construction technique is uniquely his own, and how it was a reaction to the challenges of building taiko with the woods available in the US. The staff member said, “I’m so pleased to know how to explain it now… teaching moments!” Go MIM!!!
