Howdy,

Due to a rather sudden business trip to Japan, this edition of the Rolling Thunder Taiko newsletter was largely written while being whisked along at high speed on the Komachi shinkansen (bullet train). Any typos will have to be attributed to having been distracted by the beautiful mountain scenery.

First, an important note - due to a computer error, all email sent to at my wateya@taiko.com address from May 21 to June 4 was erased from the mail server. If anyone sent me email during those dates, please send it again as I did not receive it.

The Matsuri Shu tour I mentioned in the last newsletter went off very well. The group put on great shows in the face of varied and unexpected technical difficulties. In fact, they received standing ovations everywhere they went.

The pace was a little grueling, with a show every other day and considerable traveling, but the members of Matsuri Shu, being seasoned pros, handled it all without any complaints - except perhaps for Yoshihiro, who hates flying.

The tour started off with an unexpected snag - upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport, the United Airlines folks told the group in no uncertain terms that their Odaiko would not fit on the airplane to Denver. In fact, it took some juggling of schedules just to get all of their equipment and taiko to Beaver Creek, CO, as the airplanes out that way were mostly small 24 seat aircraft. The end result was that the shows on the west coast had an Odaiko piece, and the shows in Colorado did not. Not a big problem as Matsuri Shu's show is not dependant on having an Odaiko, and they have an extensive repertoire. Whether the taiko can fit on the transportation or not is something to definitely keep in mind, as I found out myself (and will explain below).

The concurrent workshops that Matsuri Shu gave also went very well, and the group was very happy to be able to meet get to know so many American players. There is the possibility that a Taiko Center (Matsuri Shu's parent organization) instructor will come out to American for a week or so in August. Any groups interested in this possibility and willing to pay expenses, lodging and some stipend should contact Dave at wateya@taiko.com.

Being the Tour manager/gofer/interpreter/tour guide was tiring, but it was a real pleasure to be able to get to know the members of Matsuri Shu better. Unfortunately, in my meticulous preperations for the tour, I forgot my camera and don't have any photos to post on the Taiko Resource.

If you didn't have a chance to see Matsuri Shu's wonderful performances, they will likely be touring the US again next year.

Shannon Davidson, of Kaji Yama Taiko hosted a workshop with Matsuri Shu and wrote the following diary of his group's experience with Matsuri Shu.

24 Hours with Matsuri-Shu

When the Matsuri-Shu performers sitting in their hotel room received the call that "someone was in the lobby waiting to drive them to their workshop" they did not know that it was Tadashi Davidson who was waiting, and Tadashi did not know that Tatsuya Kobayashi would be the performer selected to lead this workshop, so both were surprised and elated to see each other. This was an exciting reunion for both of these young men who had once performed together for San Francisco Taiko Dojo and now have moved on to different groups in difference worlds. Significantly, both have chosen to perform with very contemporary and innovative groups as opposed to maintaining older Taiko traditions. It speaks to the creative and artistic interests of both of these young men that they have set forth to find new styles suited to their own younger life-styles.

Tatsuya Kobayashi, Junpei Itano, and Yasukazu Yamada decided to teach us to play a folk-song in "Miyake Style." After Tadashi lead the limbering exercises, the class began. They started with a brief but amazingly dramatic demonstration and then it was time for the rest of us to attempt this very strenuous style.

The workshop, scheduled for a total of 2 hours, went by in a flash. We had spent 90 minutes learning a very short piece and concentrating on a new and very stylistic form. Our bodies were in pain but everyone was on an emotional high and most wanted the class to continue longer - though every student I talked to said they could barely walk two days later due to the sore and tired muscles.

Tatsuya and his associates appeared to be having as much fun as the rest of us. Taiko is certainly demanding and strenuous but these people brought so much enthusiasm and joy into the room with them. They obviously love performing and teaching and they were supportive and encouraging to every student. With three teachers and 15 students, everybody got plenty of personal instruction which was always offered with a smile.

After the workshop was over, we had the honor of sharing dinner with the three performers. Everyone at the table (3 from Matsuri-Shu and 4 from Kaji Yama) were bi-lingual, except for me. So the conversation was lively and constant with occasional time-outs to translate for "the guy at the end of the table." It was a wonderful evening with Tatsuya and Tadashi sharing a few old-tales from the times they played together and much conversation about his new life as a professional performer in Japan. Eventually, the restaurant was preparing to close and Tadashi and Sean drove Tatsuya and his friends back to their hotel.

The next night, six members of Kaji Yama Taiko went to see the performance by 7 Matsuri-Shu performers at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. This show is two hours of non-stop energy and excitement with a dash of humor and an occasional bit of delicacy in the form of a song or a flute. Junpei surprised us with the power and purity of her voice which had not been evident at our workshop our at the dinner table. She also proved to be a powerful drummer with much flair and grace.

All of the performers seemed to make personal contact with every member of the audience. The staging focus moves from one to the next very quickly and each performer, in their moment, seems to be playing-smiling-looking directly to each person in the theater. This same "personal touch" atmosphere was continued right to the exit door where the performers stood to thank everyone for coming to their show.

If energy, skill, and excitement are the building blocks of a great Taiko performance, then staging is the finishing touch. In a theater where perhaps one third of the audience had met Tatsuya at one time or another, the stage director saved his appearance for the last portion of the show. Needless to say, the audience wildly appreciated his entrance and his energetic performance. Tatsuya is a bit of a star for many of us in the SF Bay Area and the applause certainly showed it.

Just as we stayed until the restaurant was closing the night before, we now found ourselves alone with Matsuri-Shu and the theater managers who were turning off lights and closing the doors. There were more hugs and hand-shakes and smiles and then it was time to go.

Kaji Yama Taiko wants to say "Thanks" to Dave Leong for co-ordinating these events. We also want to thank the members of Diablo Shinmu Daiko from Concord who joined us for the workshop. And of course we want to thank Matsuri-Shu for the most exciting 24 hours of Taiko we have experienced in a very long time.

By Shannon: Kaji Yama Taiko

I would like to thank Shannon not only for writing the above, but for allowing me to repost it here as well.

In other news, I have been asked to act as a consultant to the Remo corporation for their new line of synthetic taiko drums. As readers of this newsletter know, I have been reporting on the development of these taiko over the last couple of years. The decision to accept this role came after a lot of careful thought. In the first place, I have the utmost respect for the skill and craftsmanship that a real taiko requires. Rolling Thunder sells taiko made by the Asano company, which is celebrating it's 390th anniversary this year, and I am very proud of that relationship.

On the other hand, taiko are expensive and out of the reach of many player's budgets. Obviously, a reasonably priced entry level instrument is a neccesity for the continued growth of taiko in North America. While wine-barrel taiko have been great instruments for the art, many people can not invest the time or labor neccesary to make their own.

Taiko with synthetic heads and/or bodies are one answer to this question, and development has been ongoing in Japan for over ten years. Here in America, Remo, Inc., has been quietly working on a taiko for their world percussion line. A recent breakthrough in head material technology has allowed Remo to create a incredibly lifelike head for their upcoming taiko line. While still in prototype status, these Remo taiko show promise.

In addition to the lower cost compared to a real taiko, these synthetic taiko will be completely impervious to weather: sun; rain; snow, all have no effect. Many groups who have to play outside in festivals will surely appreciate this feature.

Hopefully, my involvement will help Remo to become aware of the cultural aspects of taiko, both in Japan and in North America, and their taiko line will improve as a result.

This bring me back to my trip to Japan. As part of the ongoing research and development, I took prototypes of a Remo nagado-daiko, okedo-daiko heads and shime-daiko heads to Japan to show them around and get feedback. The response was pretty positive overall, and I was able to get a lot of valuable criticism.

As mentioned above, I also found out that travelling with a large boxed taiko on the Japanese train system is not undertaken lightly. While the constant climbing of stairs at every train station is something of a given, I was surprise to find the box would not fit through the doors on certain express trains, while on others it would. Picture me trying my best to ram the box through the door while the buzzers are going off signalling that the train is about to depart. While eventually I managed my box problem, pity poor Matsuri Shu and other groups that have to tour with Odaiko weighing a quarter of a ton or more.

As for Remo Taiko, the development continues, and there is a possibility that some of them will be shown at this summer's upcoming Taiko Conference in Los Angeles.

Speaking of The Taiko Conference, there are less than one hundred vacancies left, so people interesting in attending should contact Brian Yamami the JACCC (yamami@jaccc.org) to reserve space as soon as possible. The dates are from July 30 to August 1, 1999, and a terrific line of workshops and events are scheduled. There will also be a concert featuring San Jose Taiko, Kinnara Taiko and Uzume Taiko, among others.

In a related note, Sonoma County Taiko has sent out registration packets for their second Taiko Camp, September 17-19. This weekend retreat is nestled in the beautiful camp in the coastal redwood forest. Workshop leaders include Tanaka Sensei from San Francisco Taiko Dojo, Marco Lienhard (formerly of Ondekoza), Kenny Endo and Tiffany Tamaribuchi. Contact Arn Shimizu (arntak@sonic.net) for more information.

Recently we have been seeing a boom of new taiko groups. Many have registered their contact information with the Taiko Group Database, so please take a look to see if there is a new group in your area. You can find the Taiko Database at: http://www.taiko.com/database.html. If you are a member of a new group, I invite you to submit information about your group to the database so other interested folks can find you. You can use the handy submission form at http://www.taiko.com/sub_form.html

This is Sacramento Taiko Dan's 10th anniversary, and they are going to have a Gala Concert. July 24, 1999 at 7:00pm. Featuring from Japan the Hanayui ensemble of Kodo: Chieko Kojima, Yoko Fujimoto & Mitsue Kinjo with Yoshikazu Fujimoto. Special guests include: Seiichi Tanaka and the San Francisco Taiko Dojo; Kenny Endo; Marco Lienhard; Portland Taiko; Sonoma County Taiko. For more information (916) 444-5667 or email SACTAIKO@aol.com.

As usual, the summer promises a lot of great festivals and opportunities to see taiko, so keep your eye out.

Best,

Dave