Defeat and Victory marry to make: Orlando

Okay, so we were, at first, deeply bummed that we didn't manage to win the Toyota minivan. But then we realized what we'd had in mind was a HYBRID minivan, so we figured it just wasn't our time..., yet.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Karen, Rome had actually been meditating deeply upon our upcoming team building session at the ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) Conference. (This is why we drove all this way and why we are in Orlando.)

Thus, our team building session this afternoon went well... a smashing success, I believe....

Honestly, it's what we do: we get people to remember they make something cool happen and have fun at the same time.

Details: We're at the Days Inn off International Drive, which is not a "conference hotel" but is close to the convention center, a Walgreen's and a neighborhood market. It's clean, has door that open to the great outdoors (in case we need to sand some bachi or something) and is old enough to have a real-size swimming pool.

I had written a bit more, about how hard Rome was going to work as I sat by the pool reading Jane Austin, but the network choked and all my words were lost. Now I must sleep. So, your intrepid taiko adventurers call it a day, and hope you've had a good one, too.
K

Rome’s turn to blog.

Today began in Junction, TX, and it’s ending in Gulfport, MS. If you know your US geography, you know we drove nearly 800 miles today.

Ugh.

After driving nearly 800 miles yesterday.

Double ugh.

But, on the up side, we only have about 600 miles to cover tomorrow to get to Orlando.

Um….yay?

Today was actually a good day, 800 miles aside. It’s easy driving, all freeway, and we only got lost once (missed an exit in San Antonio, and it only took about 10 miles to notice the signs said “West” instead of “East.)

There’s just not much to say about a day of driving, though. I still remember all the words to “There is a Sucker Born Every Minute,” the original Broadway cast of Chicago is still the best, and I learned I can play Angry Birds in the car without getting sick.

Um…yay?

We’re looking forward to arriving in Orlando tomorrow and settling in for a few days. I really am looking forward to the ASTD Conference, and I’m glad our session is on the first day. It’ll leave me free to enjoy the rest of the Conference (and Sea World and Harry Potter world. No wands at the former, no Shamu at the latter)

Today we passed Iowa—y’know, the one in Louisiana.

Whenever I’m far from home, I ask my hotel clerk where I can find a delicious meal I just couldn’t get in Tucson, AZ. Tonight, we didn’t hit Gulfport until after 10 PM, and all of the restaurants our clerk wanted to send us to were already closed. Rather than a restaurant we COULDN’T go to in Tucson, we had to settle for one we WOULDN’T go to in Tucson. I don’t want to plug the place here; suffice it to say I think I’ve lost every shred of feminist cred I ever had.

Tomorrow, Orlando!

Junction, TX

A long day of driving, to be followed by a similarly long day of driving. The minivan is filled to the brim with drums and other sundry items, including bags of bachi we still need to finish, and some swag to assemble.

We drove through Texas Canyon in Arizona, completely through New Mexico, and then over Michigan Flats in Texas. It's windy and getting more vast, more humid, and more green, in that order. Rome and I have (possibly) already exhausted our collection of cds. (I say "possibly" because I know our moods will change and that tomorrow, Alanis Morrisette or the original Broadway recording of Chicago might be just the ticket).

Our books on tape are a bit questionable. The narrator for the Yiddish detective novel talks really fast and has an overwhelming penchant for clever, lurid detai, so that we can't relax at all while it's playing. And the wizard novel is strangely oblique and badly written (which can never be narrated into goodness). And I think we're already halfway through the savory road snacks!

We're excited about seeing the Mississippi River and New Orleans tomorrow. We'll get there through Houston, drop off a couple of drums for a buyer, and then shoot for Gulfport. I looked online to make sure I-10 is open as we head into the flood zone.

Tonight, we're in a little mom & pop hotel called the Legends Inn. It's cute, apparently favored by avid recreationalist outdoorsy types and serious bikers, and has a new free breakfast!

I'm going to try to figure out how to link Facebook and the blog, so the pictures I upload show up here. I got some nice ones today.

Must sleep. Must wake and drive drive drive again tomorrow.

Rome & Karen's Excellent Adventure begins mañana mañana

The lull in Taiko Time Blog activity ends tomorrow, as Rome and Karen hit the road, DRIVING to Orlando, Florida. They will be presenters at this years American Society for Training and Development Conference. Stay tuned!

NATC Day 2: Immersion

Opening Ceremony

Marketplace opens

Taiko Games at lunch

First workshops

Daihachi Oguchi-sensei tribute

Taiko Ten concert

WOW!!! Did we have a FULL and FANTASTIC taiko day!!  It's 10 pm and we're on a high from the Taiko Ten concert ... ten groups from around the country performed tonight in a celebration of our gathering.  It was wonderful to see a variety of different styles as well as a diversity of ages and ethnicities ... everyone playing with great energy ... sharing our love of taiko.

But that was just the icing on a memorable taiko day.  After the opening session there was a mid-day demonstration of taiko games ... from Taiko Pirates (aarrrrr!) to Tic Tac Don (cool stuff!!).  Then an afternoon of amazing workshops.  Just when we thought we'd had a full taiko day, many were brought to tears as our taiko community remembered and paid tribute to Oguchi Sensei.  The tribute ended with a joyful and stirring performance in honor of Oguchi Sensei.  

Now time for bed to get ready for another wonderful taiko day at the 2009 North American Taiko Conference!

—Tracy

NATC Day 1: Amenities

I must admit, this entry may be less about the conference and its goings on and more about my fascination with our hotel room.  If you know me (it's Nicole), you know that I love to travel, and this is one of the reasons why.

   

One of the most exciting things for me abaout any trip is getting to stay in new and exciting places, the Miyako hotel does not disappoint.  If you know me, you also know that I have a fascination with photographing interesting signs.  In this realm, too, the Miyako hotel does not disappoint.  Let me tell you what awaited us!

We have your obligatory two beds, a night stand, a desk, a coffee maker, etc.  But the bathroom, oh the bathroom.  We have a BIDET!  Yes folks, I never knew that a toilet could be so complicated.  The picture shows the daunting controls that await you on a modern bidet.  I suggest those trying one for the first time to make sure that the water temperature is not all the way on cold.  Use your imagination.  And, like any good Japanese appliance/fixture, it comes with friendly little pictures under the toilet seat warning you not to tug on hoses or splash water on the seat.  This picture shows my favorite piece of advice.  You should know if you have sensitive skin.  Proceed wisely.

That's all for now, I promise I/we will write more about yesterday's leadership forum, welcome reception, and all the friends we have seen.  For now, yummy Japanese baked goods await us in Little Tokyo.

—Nicole

Little Tokyo: first day of North American Taiko Conference (NATC)

Well, the Odaiko Sonora advance guard (Rome, Karen, Nicole, and Kate) have arrived in LA, with Tracy and Sonya arriving later today. We just had an-pan and curry doughnuts for breakfast at Yamazaki Bakery in Little Tokyo, and are digesting whilst blogging.

Yesterday was uneventful. I mean, 8 hours of driving, how eventful can that be? Our highlight was to be letterboxing-- Karen thoughtfully printed out the directions to 3 letterboxes on the way. But, it was 109 degrees when we passed through Avondale, and experience has taught us that letterboxing when it's over 100 is a recipe for a cranky Rome. So we passed that one up. 

Then, in reviewing the other directions Karen printed out, we realized one was in a public library that was going to be closed by the time we reached it. That left only the box at the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, CA. We pulled in at 4:45 PM, excited to walk their grounds, see some tanks up close, and stamp our books. Alas-- they had closed at 4:30 PM! See our distress for yourself in the photo below. (Kate's not quite as upset at Nicole and I. She hasn't letterboxed before, she doesn't understand.)

The disappointment sent Karen back to Atlas Quest to find another box. Within minutes she was fuming about some box in Redlands with the directions "Drive to California. Park by the Oak Tree." I mean, seriously, we'd been in the state for 3 hours by then, and seen hundreds of Oak Trees, THIS was a clue?!? But, when we got to Redlands, Nicole noticed Tennessee Street. Then Alabama Street. Soon, California street! Karen cut across 4 lanes of traffic to make the exit, and we headed into town, scanning street signs. Maybe there was an Oak Tree Street?

After about 8 minutes of driving, we turned around-- no Oak Tree street had been found. Nicole: "Hey, wait a second, guys-- could that huge tree in the distance be an Oak?" It was! Karen parked illegally by the side of the road, Rome stayed with the car, and the others went to scrabble around the 40 foot base of the tree to look for a box.

Here's the punchline: we didn't find it. But we did find the Oak Tree in California, and that's kind of good enough. 

Our sound track for the drive included Beatles, india arie and, of course, Chicago. The musical, not the band. Rule #1 of road trips with Rome: Chicago will be played. Original Broadway cast recording. Accept no substitutes.

We checked in, and went for a drink in Little Tokyo. We wound up at the "Sports Bar," which is nothing most Americans would identify as a sports bar. Up 2 flights of red velvet stairs, with the steps individually wrapped in industrial strength saran wrap (I'm not kidding), to a small dingy room with shabby overstuffed furniture, a karaoke machine, and 6 Japanese men. There were 4 TV screens, and 3 were dedicated to the Karaoke video-- only 1 was showing sports. They put on a Madonna retrospective CD just for us. 

That's about all so far. Leadership forum this afternoon. The reunions have started-- so far, we've run into Meg from San Jose, Joe Small, John Paul from Edmonton, Linda, the Stanford Taiko advisor, and Jon and Skyler from Smokin' Bachi. Which is why we all love conference. Along with the great workshops, and great discussions, and amazing workshops, it's a time to catch up with all those other crazies who just don't feel right without a pair of bachi in their hands. 

—Rome

'twas the night before NATC, and all through the house...

Some of you may know the song "Soma," that we often play as a finale at our performances. The title means running horse. The composer is Moko Igarashi, who lives and teaches in Tokyo, Japan. This April, at the end of the Shidara residency program, Karen was able to visit Moko-san at one of the schools where she teaches. Karen was able to express our thanks in person for being able to play "Soma," and to give Moko-san a small gift: a picture book of Tucson.

Apparently, Moko-san takes a couple of months to motorcycle across some continent or other each summer. This year, she was inspired by the picture book to visit Tucson, even though she landed in North Carolina (where she picked up her new BM) and was bound for Vancouver, B.C. (seriously). So after crossing the entire country diagonally, she headed straight down through Nevada to Tucson! 

She arrived Sunday afternoon, after having driven days through the staggering heat, and we treated her to our favorite carnitas tacos at Taqueria Juanitos. 

We were lucky to have her here for the next day and night. We took her out to the Tanque Verde trailhead that night. The next day, after showing her Rhythm Industry Performance Factory, we walked 4th Ave, hit Antigone Books, and then met other Odaiko Sonorans for a Korean lunch at Takamatsu. After that, it was fulfilling her mission to Kokopelli charms, and then west for the sunset at Gates Pass. She took off this morning, headed back to North Carolina. The woman has some serious huevos!

Now we're packing our bags for the North American Taiko Conference. We leave at 1pm tomorrow for L.A. Stayed tuned for more images and words. You can follow us on Twitter to find out when we update: http://twitter.com/tucsontaiko

—Karen

Web update 4/24/09

See tucsontaiko.org

Karen's latest email

Here's what Karen has to say about her past few days with Shidara:

aaaaaaah no time no time no time!
There's a video and blog at
www.myspace.com/shidaradrums
www.youtube.com/1shidara

I wrote last night's blog.
I'm sorry. The schedule here is more than rigorous. We're going going going every minute. And the internet is slow.
I'm going to find time today to write more, or my name is....
oh whatever.
K

Sounds like we'll just have to wait for more. In its own way, this is a completely accurate assessment of the experience!

Live From Toei

Hi everyone,

You may know that our own Karen is in Japan right now, participating in a residency with Shidara. There's an official residency blog being kept on Shidara's MySpace page (here's the link I followed to get to it: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=296778693&blogId=482139407. You can probably subscribe to it from this page.)

Karen posted the latest entry to the official blog, and has had time to send one email. I've pasted both below. Happy reading!

From Karen's email:
April 5, Tucson

Left on United flight at 6:54am. At SFO, all residency participants met in the International Terminal, at our gate. There are 9 women from Moab Taiko Dan, Teresa and Brian from Seattle, Karen Young and Kelly from Boston, Shane from British Columbia, Kristy and Tiffany. Robin and Martha, who I think are from Santa Fe, and Miranda were scheduled to meet us at the hotel in Tokyo.

I think we landed in Japan around 5pm, but by the time we gathered everyone and their luggage, exchanged currency, and found one participant who had mysteriously flown into the other wing of the terminal, it was probably around 6:15. In fact, we only found our missing person because we decided to split up and get the takkyubin process started, and the path to those counters went past that exit. Phew!

The takkyubin is one of the most civilized comforts of traveling, if you have a specific destination for some days. It ranks right up there with the good-sized shelves behind all the toilets I've thus far used. Hooks are fine and good if whatever you're carrying has a strap and can be easily re-moved and hung. Shelves are better.

We lined our large bags up at the takkyubin and they were processed and sent on to Shidara for about $18. We got our Japan Rail Passes, trained to Tokyo Station, grabbed snacks and caught the subway to a stop near our hotel, the Sakura.

Sakura hotel is down a very narrow street—almost just an alley, really. It has a nice little porch with incredibly uncomfortable but kinda snazzy looking aluminum chairs, and, weirdly, a wall arrangement of tiny cactus plants. It obviously has a large number of foreign guests—most of the tourist brochures in the racks and many of the flyers were in English—but it maintains a sense of Japanese tradition in that there are tiny towels and fabulously starched and precisely folded yukata on each bed.

I slept great until about 3am, but then only slept fitfully till 6:00am, at which point, I gave up and started getting up, as did most of us. I set out to find coffee. I bought coffee at the hotel and joined the other Moab ladies to walk to the Imperial Palace grounds. It was really spendid. The streets were much quieter than I expected, thinking back on Korea. But it is still a very stimulating Asian city.

We crossed the river, whose surface was coated on the sides with fallen blossom petals. Only a few blocks aways, we began to see signs of a tourist destination, added signage and the hint of a tapestry of Sakura trees behind the others. It was breathtaking. We climbed the hill. There were many more people now, walking, running, heading to work, even walking dogs, which surprised me. But nothing really prepared me for the onslaught of cherry blossoms that covered the bowl around the reservoir. We stopped to take photos. And when we climbed a bit further and got to the gate entrance, I was stunned. It was like a filigree tunnel of cherry trees; it felt like walking through snow covered trees in a forest, and despite the city noises (which were much less intense than I remember in Seoul) there was a bit of that same snow-quiet.

Even the Japanese were as enamored of the sight, taking photos, strolling. We passed through the massive wrought iron framed gates and the palace (which looked strangely modern) to the park where people were walking and running their dogs. A passel of Cavalier St. Charles! Some photos and more strolling, then we returned the way we'd come. I was feeling antsy because I wanted to get back to the hotel and send this email. I left before the others, but got lost. Found some Cows on Parade. (Editor's note: I have no idea what this means, but we can ask when she's back.)

We left the hotel for a battery of subway lines, then emerged in a totally lovely little section of town, little backpack laden ducklings waddling down narrow streets to the Asano showroom.

After that, it was more subways, to trains and a lunch at the shinkasen station, the bullet train to Hamamatsu, where Owaki-san of Shidara waited with a rented van. We did a little shopping as people changed money, then headed into the mountains. Shidara greeted us as we rolled into Toei-cho, in their usual exhuberant way.

We lodged for the night at a very old ryokan that was originally a geisha house. We all bunked on one large floor, but divided by shoji screen doors that created 2-3 people rooms. The family lived right down stairs that were open to our area. We are being treated royally by the townspeople and Shidara.

From the official Shidara residency blog:

Thursday, April 9

Hi! This is Karen Falkenstrom. I was the road manager (or asst. rm) on both the 2006 and 2008 Shidara tours, and will be again for the 2010 tour. I'm also participating in this first, fantastic Shidara Residency program. Yesterday, Megan warned us we'd be living and training alongside Shidara, experiencing their life as it is. And even though I know they are taking it easy on us, it's an intense experience to be
working so hard on so many things... for so long.

Today was our first morning of stretching and running together. Fortunately, it's been easy to wake early, since I'm still partially on Tucson time, so I've been popping awake at anywhere from 3–4am each day anyway.We met down in the large open area in front of the school at 5:45am. Together, we did taiso, warming up, and then split into running and walking groups. I started off with the runners, but had few delusions that I'd stay there.

Down the very steep driveway to the road, and then up, up, up through the forests of cedar and bamboo and sakura, Japanese flowering cherry trees. There was a little mist, of course, and we passed quiet houses—some very old—beautifully laid stone walls and a Buddhist temple surrounded by sakura. The blossoms are falling now, like snow flurries whenever the wind picks up a little. I can really understand now, what
Shidara members mean when they speak with such love of their home. It is an extraordinarily lovely place on earth.

I'm embarrassed because I finished my road loop and climbed the steep drive back to the school..., and there wasn't anyone around. That's a really bad sign because it means I'm not where I'm supposed to be. I found out later that we were supposed to run the loop as many times as we possibly could in one hour, not just run it once. Some Shidara members got around 4 times for my lazy one. I'll do better tomorrow. I didn't see them, but there were reports of deer and a fox and a monkey sighted
on the run.

I managed to put my shamisen together before breakfast, which included, among many lovely dishes, a refurbished dish made of last night's festive spaghetti dinner. There was so much spaghetti, I'm told we'll be seeing variations of it appear on the table for the next few meals, until it's all gone. It appeared at breakfast with some cheese on top, and at lunch with cheese and egg, and then again at dinner, roughly in the same form as lunch. Alongside the spaghetti, we've had many other
fabulous dishes: soups and chicken and fish, daikon salad, tofu noodles..., but since I'm not a foodie, I'm sure my descriptions will not do them justice.

As in keeping with the spirit of the residency, we are doing everything right along with the Shidara members, so we can see what it's really like to live and work here. After breakfast, we split into four teams and cleaned the studios, main areas and the bathroom. I got bathroom duty and spent most of the time scrubbing the large trough-like sink and then wiping windows. Then in a flash, and right on time as all
things are here, we grabbed our taiko gear and assembled in the downstairs studio for a workshop on how to care for and maintain our instruments. I actually feel like I can tie a shime and an okedo now, which is kind of miraculous.

Lunch (during the end of which the 2010 tour staff met) and another workshop session. This time we got basis on atarigane, chappa and, for those who wanted, fue. I saw some of the Shidara apprentices scribbling notes during this, and learned later, as I suspected, that they don't get that kind of instruction normally, so were taking advantage of the opportunity to hear many techniques explained for the sake of the residency participants that they might otherwise never hear all at
once.

Then next session was kind of a revelation to the other participants, though I kind of knew what to expect from watching one of their rehearsals back in 2003 after the concert in Sacramento. We were allowed to observe an actual Shidara rehearsal. They played what we all thought was a totally ass-kicking Hono Kuni. Then Chabo-san critiqued them, and it seemed, as one residency member put it later, severe. But that's how it is. That's why they are so excellent That's how each member gets to
that place where they can conjure up all of their ability and give it to the world. It was something anyone who thinks they want to play taiko seriously should witness. Megan said later, on a scale of light to severe, this was just a normal practice. I think it gave all of the residency participants something to think about.

It's too late now, and all my bunkies (14 other women) are trying to sleep in this room with me clacking on my computer. So, I won't go into tonight's onsen (bathhouse) visit, or dinner, my private shamisen lesson with Tago-san! and the 9pm nightly residency participant meeting. I know it's a long day when what I've done is too much to write about. And I know it's special enough to steal a few precious
hours of sleep to post something at all, so folks who are not here can read about it. oyasuminasai!

April 19 — New Mexico

Farmington
Socorro
Las Cruces
Silver City

New Mexico has been wonderful in many ways. At each site, Shidara has done workshops or school shows, for kids from age 5 to college students. The outreach has enabled Shidara to have significantly more contact with the communities. And the communities themselves, being small, have been much more aware of our presence. At the grocery or the local microbrewery (which is kind of a goal to find at each site), people say "oh, you're the group playing tomorrow!" This morning, boarding the bus at the hotel, Shidara was thrilled to find a picture taken at yesterday's school show on the front page of the paper.

PHOTOS
View from the balcony of the Socorro's Macey Center Theater
Sound check in Socorro
Chabo-san tests the wireless mic
View from the tech booth
Cramped quarters backstage at the Las Cruces Rio Grande

Sweating the little things

Somewhere around Escondido my camera went on a fritz and the screen became a bunch of vibrating lines in 70s colors. And my cell phone reception really sucks, which makes it hard to advance the shows or line up things like times for volunteers to report for work. We've been on the go so consistently since then—never at any site for more than the day of production and performance—that I've had a hard time emailing (or blogging). Plus, my email program doesn't work well remotely, and I have to use the webmail interface, which is annoying and inefficient. Fortunately, most of the big stuff was already in place, so I know we have hotel rooms and transportation.

After Escondido, we played San Luis Obispo, CalPoly's Harman Hall. The group got to sign the wall backstage where KODO's name and drawings peeked out from behind some kind of backing board they had installed along the lower 6 feet of wall. Shidara members climbed a ladder and signed high up on one of the pillars, which probably means their names will be there for a long long time. They. What am I saying?! I got to sign the wall also, along with the other staff.

SLO won the award for the best production room, with lovely fabric-covered couches and chairs, nice lamps, and an integrated theater-wide AV feed. When I was setting up our online banking interface, the customer service rep on the other end of the line overheard the triple fue harmony on Koganenokaze and asked what it was. I had just explained we were a touring performing group, so told her it was the group doing sound check. She was in awe, asked if she could find the music anywhere, said, "it speaks; it tells a story." I gave her the Shidara website address.

At the last few sites, the company is being recognized in public now. The hotel clerk has been hoping to see the show because her brother plays with San Diego Taiko, and ends up volunteering to help at the merchandise table; we'll be shopping at the grocery store, and the clerk and bag boy will say, "oh you're the ones playing tonight, aren't you?"; The man at the Radio Shack where I bought a new cell phone charger for Megan was married to the woman who catered our dinner, etc.

SLO sold out, Wickenburg sold out (the presenter actually had tears in her eyes at the end), and here in Farmington, we have two completely sold out shows in an 800 seat hall, with a third well on its way to selling out. It feels like everyone knows about the concert, and everyone in town is coming....

PHOTOS
Kristy maintains the blog in the background as Sarah contemplates the universe.
Kristy and Megan on the pier
Noel of Las Vegas Kaminari Taiko, visiting his sister in San Diego, helped at the Escondido show.

Oh, and I am embedding a video here from our first site. Understand the group does this with about 6 shime before every single show!



Add to My Profile | More Videos

April 7 — Escondido to San Luis Obispo

A near disaster upon arriving at the Escondido Comfort Inn to find the reservation had not been sent down from the national reservation bank to the location. My fault, I think. I keep confusing Escondido and San Luis Obispo, the details and names blending, even as I read them off the page that has the location printed at the top. It's the shuffling back and forth; one moment arranging meals in Chico, the next answering tech questions in Farmington, next sending the rooming list to Wickenburg, then arranging shipping to Fairbanks and gathering sales figures for Mesa. I forget what city I'm actually in at moments, which is really not conducive to doing my job well. However, 99% of things go right, and I'm learning to shake off the 1% and let it go.

Donuts have become an important part of each 16 hour tech/performance day. Sarah is a veteran of TV and stage production, and knows how to work with the crew and stage managers. Donuts are our offering to them on the first morning, to ensure a happy working relationship for the hours, or even days that follow. Before we arrive (or on the night we arrive), we google the hotel and hall, and the use the "find businesses" function, searching on "donuts." We prefer shops that specialize in donuts, as opposed to grocery store ones. If a businesses has the chutzpah to focus entirely on donuts, you know the donuts will be good.

We've discovered among the staff a strong affinity for Dunkin' Donuts, but those aren't the kind you'd deliver to a tech crew break room. For these guys, the donut boxes should be the generic white or pink fold-them-youself kind, sometimes with a rubber stamp of the shop name. In Chico it was Helen's Donuts. In Esdondido, Savoy Donuts, only half a block from the hotel. I arrived at 5:30AM, which is prime donut time. They're coming off the conveyor, warm. We just ask for an assortment. It's kind of beautiful, when you lift the lid, to see the various, sometimes surprising, sometimes garish glazes and sprinkles in a variety of shapes, from your classic round-donut-with-hole shape, to twists and rosebuds, to elongated flat bar-shaped ones with their mysterious cream fillings.

Next tour, I'll get broadband, so I can use the internet on the bus. Then I can look up the donut shops, groceries, Wells Fargos and possible sights and activities as we're driving. These are quiet hours, most of Shidara sleeping, Martin playing music of the Andes or the Canyons quietly in the background. The landscape from Chico to San Diego is picturesque. Today, we'll drive along the ocean. I'm excited about this, the same water that laps both shores of our group's homelands.

As you scroll down now you'll see I've decided to add some photo captions at the bottom of the blogs.

PHOTOS
The Shidara 2008 US Tour bus
left to right, back: Megan, Kristy, Nobu, me, Fumiyo. front: Chabo, Mana at the Oceanside pier

April 4 — Chico to Escondido

721 adults and 2,439 kids later and we're on the long road back down the I-5 spine of California to Escondido. I didn't have time to write about the Karaoke drama at our hotel night before last. I was trying to figure out how to get Fumiyo from the bus to the Holiday Inn, and ended up waiting for their contracted cab to bring her. A hubbub arose around the front desk: a woman was close to crying, gazing at the seemingly unimpressed turbaned man who runs the Indian restaurant there, saying, "For you, I'm gonna do this..., but only for you!" An angry woman came out of the bar, stating loudly that the place was full of people waiting for the karaoke and if they didn't get the karaoke soon, they were all going to walk. The angry woman went to support the long-suffering DJ, who assured all present that she was going to take this setback in stride and bring her stuff in: karaoke for the people!

Apparently, the DJ had not been paid, and had been waiting for the manager to arrive to pay her before she began. The crowd was there for her—all fans and friends. Now they were filled with a sense of mission, threatening to leave if the DJ didn't get her $200. It was very dire.

In the midst of this, the manager walked in, like a king into his kingdom, besieged by a tiny protesting mob. They parted for the little man—for he was rather small in his suit—and hurled oblique insults at him. He ignored them, and walked slowly through their midst and down the hall, not saying a word. I admired his dignity. It somewhat dampened the ire of the tiny mob, and, frankly, they didn't come out look any better for it.

In the end, there was no karaoke, and the crowd broke up, leaving in twos and threes, discussing bar options for the waning night. I had been impressed with their sense of mission and indignation. However, as usual, it dissipated into complaisance. Fumiyo arrived by Liberty Cab, finally, and we also got on with our business.

April 3 — SAC to Chico, CA

We had a pleasant drive up to Chico, the level fiields of crops and grassland stretching from the roadside out to very distant hills. Most slept, and we checked into the Holiday Inn Express around 2:30pm. We like the Holiday Inn Express. as we like La Quinta and Comfort Inn. Not only do the sausage and egg, waffle breakfasts make us all happy, these hotels always have a large community room where we can gather after the show to eat. Plus, there's free wireless, laundry machines and strange things like the "Pillow Menu" in our current room. I ordered one of each: medium firm synthetic, medium down, firm down and u-shaped. The idea was to have a test session with the group members, and discuss, in both English and Japanese, the attributes of each. But we probably would have had to do that last night. Now were in production at Chico. It's going slowly, and it doesn't look like we'll have time for a run-through.

PHOTOS
Shidara experiences the classic "Car Wash" dance sequence at Joe's Crab Shack.
Nobu's Special Brand "Monster World" shirt
Chabo-san explores the American do-it-yourself mentality at Macy's

Second stop Santa Clarita

Saturday, March 29
It's days later—or so it feels. Two, only, but long ones. The first night was a success on so many levels—a gorgeous hall, a full house, a standing ovation, strong merchandise sales. On the other hand, there were hard lessons and realizations. The crew were weirdly indifferent to the performance, some sat backstage reading as Shidara played their hearts out; the merchandise would not reckon out, and actually took longer to resolve than to load the 6,000 pounds of drums on the truck; my plan for the post-show group meal went seriously astray; and so on.

I pondered all of this the next day because I was disconcerted. Now that they are playing in the major leagues, was the tour going to be this way? Were they being made into a commodity, and would that eventually reduce them to not investing so much in their performances the way countless other artists have? Whereas each event in the last tour only happened because of a highly invested audience, now that anyone could check Shidara's name out of curiosity on a subscription series list, would the experience of their playing shift from transformative to purchased? I pondered this, briefly, and then realized it would never happen. Each concert for Shidara is like the big game towards the finals.They challenge each other, root each other on to do their best, taking the hits and the golden moments as a team. They will always do their best.

The next morning, a bus picked us up in Cerritos for the day drop in Santa Clarita (meaning, since the company is local to the L.A. area, they send a bus out to just pick us up, drop us off and go back to the lot. It's significantly less expensive than having contracted the touring coach a day early). It was a frightening ride, reminding me of the Night Bus in Harry Potter movies. The bus needed shocks, and the driver mumbled under his breath, swerved repeatedly into the other lane and had other driver laying on their horns at us. I was terrified that the next four and a half weeks would be like this.

We arrived in Santa Clarita at around 8:30AM—early, of course, and finally people started arriving. At first glance I was worried: they looked way too relaxed for our bus full of highly intense Japanese artists. However, what I learned as the day unfolded is that Santa Clarita is populated by many people who work in the movie and production industry (our sound guy had just gotten done doing tech for Alanis Morrisette or something like that). They are wacky genius types, a world apart from the respectable union guys employed by the City of Cerritos. The Santa Clarita crew put together an incredibly tight show, improved on the sound, fed us copious amounts of food, and even whipped out a big baltic plywood frame to reinforce the merchandise board. What I learned is that for them, as with the crew at Cerritos, mounting Shidara's show is a job. This is their job, and they've seen the best artists in the world. Hard to impress. This concert ended for me with a sense of validation for Shidara: by the end of the show, the crew were leaning forward in their seats, really watching. Coming from them, it was a great compliment.

On March 30, our Fast Deer touring coach arrived, and was blessedly fabulous. It's beautiful, new, white (like our previous rental fleet) and has drop down dvd screens and a great driver, Martin. He will be our commander and chief for the next four weeks. I began feeling like this would really work out okay.

PHOTOS
Our new tour bus home for the next 5 weeks.
Ichiban Driver: Commander Martin Idior
His co-pilot, Mitsu.

First Night—Cerritos, CA

We were up early this morning, anticipating our first tech, run-through and performance. It was all going smoothly, from the moment we walked through the stage entrance (early, of course) and found that the Cerritos hospitality staff know how to make guests happy. For Shidara, it was a simple, but perfect breakfast of scrambled eggs and white toast.

There's been a very relaxed feel to the start of this tour, unlike the desperate hours before their first concert in the 2006 tour. But sometimes being relaxed isn't exactly the best way to be. At about two o'clock, we were informed, by a similarly surprised and unhappy stage manager Jeff (although he was exasperated and resigned, while we were more alarmed and dismayed), that there was to be a reality TV show video shoot in the concert hall at 6:30pm. Apparently, someone in the uber-offices of the city felt it would be good marketing and public relations to allow "Wife Swap" to come in for a half hour and film their contestants sitting and clapping, walking into and out of the theater, etc. The camera would not be aimed at the stage, Jeff assured us, but we would have to be silent during the shoot, which might last a half hour, which might start at 6:30pm, or they might come in later....

On their Japan tours, there are simply no surprises like this. It's one of those strength/weakness things—the ability to make quick adaptations—and we United States dwellers are (relatively) sort of expect the unexpected. We kind of like it. However, laid back often looks a lot like indifferent. I learned that much of this tour will be swimming back and forth between the cultures. All in all, It was pretty stressful for Shidara, and for those of us who had to mediate the situation.

In the afternoon things turned that flavor of grim that only comes as one is staring at a non-negotiable drop deadline, knowing there simply is not enough time. And yet, they determinedly walk through each detail where lesser groups would compromise or cut corners. At 5PM, they begin a run-through of the second half..., only. They won't have time to run the entire show. The backstage crew is worried, the house manager is telling us they must end at 6PM, it's a union house. 6:30PM is the absolute latest, and then he'll have to yank his crew or get in trouble. Maybe there won't be time to mop the stage....

The people come. The show starts. When I take my place backstage, I remember why we're here. Watching them is like watching something so imperfectly perfect it could only have arisen from nature itself. Yet, more marvelous when you fathom how hard humans must work to even begin to emulate the casual perfection of nature.

I anchor backstage, feeling that with Kristy in the lobby at merchandise, Sarah at the sound board mid-hall, and me standing in the wings, the staff created a spine of support for every aspect of the event. Chabo-san, when she was not performing, watchees the monitor and uses the headset to send messages to the sound and light board. She watches her performers on screen as would a coach in sports, silently acknowledging a strong moment with a small nod or a hand gesture, ("yes!"), grimacing a little if something goes wrong. At one point, as Aya-san does a funny little twirl to the yoko-uchi okedo during Kazanomichi, Chabo whips around and hads to bend over, she's cracking up so hard, trying not to laugh out loud, her hand over her mouth. In Niebuchi, she sent signals to the players, to raise their energy, to have them change their facial expression and mood, and give more... more... a little more, and yes!

PHOTOS
5,414 lbs of drum shipped from Japan, plus the Sacramento hira and stand is our load.
Shiidara members waste no time in unpacking the shipment and preparing to tech.
Shime tightening is just the start of 8-hr or more of intense preparation for a performance that same night.
Backstage at Cerritos as our first tech day arrives.
Shidara's opening number, Murasamenone, from the wings

Best part of my day

Yesterday, I arrived at LAX, met Sarah, the tour intern, then spent an hour or so getting our rental car. It's spring break, so very busy in the rental car industry. Or maybe it's just L.A.

We drove back through the arrival lane just in time to sweep up Megan and Kristy, who had arrived from Sacramento (Megan had flown from Japan on the 20th). The Shidara 2008 US Tour has begun!

I'm still recovering from the nasty flu thing that I got two days before leaving Tucson. It's definitely put a damper on things for me, but there's so much going on, and so much of it good, that it doesn't hold me back much.

This has been a very gentle beginning, quite lovely, actually. We've got rooms at the Sheraton across the court from the Performing Center, which is gorgeous. The colored tile and long flags high up in the damp breeze. There' huge expanses of grass, thick and green. Bugsy would love it.

There's vast up-scale suburban mall across the street the other way, with Borders and Walmart and a food court. We scored a printer/scanner/copier for $49, and picked up various other little necessaries for the tour: a plastic measuring cup, a new toothbrush, a case of water, etc. Plus, my priceline karma (car-ma) has held steady. I decided to upgrade the compact vehicle I'd gotten (for less than half the going rate!) because we were going to try to make it back from the airport the next day in one car and one 15-passenger van (there would be 11 international travelers, their luggage and several shime, and two U.S. staff to fit. So I asked for a full-size car (which the guy only charged me $12 more for) and found, once we'd gotten a lift in a passing golf cart out to our rental, that it was a Rav4. Pretty. Clean. White. New.

And it was the same story with the van this morning (although that was more due to Megan's good eye than my car-ma) she spied the van-to-pick-up-Shidara-in-of-her-dreams a little off in the distance, and managed to talk the guy into swapping out the old van he'd assigned us for brand new one..., so new there was still plastic covering the carpets..., and clean and white to match the Rav4. We made a very well put-together caravan.

It's about 28 miles from LAX to our hotel, and that can take anywhere from 35 min to a couple of hours, depending on the traffic. I stayed at the hotel and kept working on details while Megan and Kristy went to the airport. By the time they returned it was lunchtime in Japan, so they stopped to eat at Wendy's (see Kristy-cam image above)

They pulled into the hotel entry around 3pm or so, bringing me a kid's burger. There were quick greetings, a few hugs (which are not typical for them, but they learned really fast on the last tour that we hug all the time over on this side of Pacific. Kristy and I took the car back to LAX and got stuck in traffic as we exited 105. We were texting (me from the Rav4 and her from the van) as we sat there, not moving, "crap. I need gas," "me 2," "must fill b4 return car," "im almost mt" "crap. if no gas, will return car. gas less $ than late fee," (we were pushing past the 24hr rental period at that point) "my light just hit mt," "crap... did we pass hertz?" "dn't knw," "crap." Then I saw a gas station ahead on the left, "crap." and got over one lane of four. Kristy got the van over too. Then I saw a gas station to the right "crap." (which I now have programmed as a text message template), and changed back into the right lane. From there it was easy sailing, though. We both gassed up, pulled u-turns (which was strangely easy to accomplish) and dropped the rental car off late, but were not charged.

When we got back to the hotel about 40 minutes later, I did an hour-long soak in the poolside hot tub while the company and other staff went to a grocery store to pick up dinner and breakfast. This is one of our strategies for keeping within budget. Everybody picks what they want--sandwiches, salads, yogurt, bagels, juice, etc--throws it all in one cart, and then Mana-san pays with the company card. It's much less expensive than eating out, and everyone can get what they need to stay healthy.

I took a short nap, sweating off the soak and clearing my lungs a bit. Then it was back to work, with a meeting on the finances between the Japanese and U.S. staff in the lobby, and then a U.S. staff meeting as we ate our dinners in the room. A few more emails about loading times, workshop details, interviews, verifying shipments, and then I was ready to get to bed.

The phone rang in our room. It was Fumiyo (Japanese lighting tech who studies in the U.S.). The sink had clogged, or the toilet, or something. I called the front desk for a repairman, and then went to meet him at the girls' room, because my job is to make things as easy as possible for them. And think about it: If you were in Japan, and didn't speak Japanese, and your hotel room sink were stopped up, and no one there spoke English, what would you do? Not that this is the case now, because Fumiyo speaks English wonderfully, but still, it's my job to keep them from feeling uncomfortable, and a big repairman in their room this late at night (11pm) might be uncomfortable for them.

Okay, so here's where I get to the best part of my day: I had analyzed the problem was that the sink stopper control had become disconnected from the stopper, so the repairman was only there for about 5 minutes. And since Fumiyo was there, I got to say (and have her translate for Aya) how happy I was to see her again. We exchanged a few similar phrases with Fumiyo's help, and then Aya lifted up the front of her sweatshirt so I could see what she was wearing..., and it was the Odaiko Sonora t-shirt we'd given her two years ago. And if that's not a good best-part-of-my-day, I don't know what is!

Yoko Fujimoto & Cien Fuegos

Yoko Fujimoto's visit to Tucson beautifully coincided with the Yaqui Easter ceremonies. We were able to reciprocate somewhat for the gift of her extraordinary voice and knowledge of Japanese vocal tradtions by taking her to Old Pasqua and Barrio Libre to see a small part of the ritual: the Gloria and the night of festivities that follow. Saturday, in particular, was magical, as we seemed to keep arriving places at just the right time (which, for those of you familiar with the ceremonies know is not usual). Yoko-san witnessed the most dramatic moment of the Gloria, the maypole dance, and, most amazing, the renowned deer dancer Cien Fuegos, who normally doesn't begin till after midnight, but who this night began dancing around 10PM.
I like to think this was special for Yoko-san, who is so very special herself. Her voice is unparalleled in it's passion, skill and technique, and it's clarity..., as is her spirit and intelligence. It was an honor to be able to spend time with her.
Soojin Kim was back in town for the ceremonies, of course. It was she who told Yoko about the Yaqui ceremonies while in L.A. during the Hanayui concert. But I had already planned to take her there. The interest by our Japanese friends in Native American culture has been strong. I think there must be the echo of some kinship, ancient..., but—if you watch the folk dances of northern Japan—unmistakable.