Hi all!

Tickets now available for ON ENSEMBLE '08 : YOBU

Tickets for ON '08: YOBU, our fifth annual home concert are now on sale! This year's concert will be held at the Aratani/Japan America Theater in downtown Los Angeles, on Saturday November 8th.

YOBU is extra special for us because Kris will be receiving his natori for nagauta shamisen! Kris' sensei Kineya Katsuyukie will be flying from Japan to perform with Kris in his natori debut. Getting a natori (professional stage name) from a nagauta school is a big deal. There are only few artists in the United States with a natori in nagauta and the only taiko player in the United States with a natori is the legendary taiko pioneer Kenny Endo. We're very proud of Kris as he makes a bit of taiko history and hope you'll be there to celebrate with us!

ON '08 : YOBU
Saturday, November 8th, 8pm
Aratani/Japan America Theater
244 S San Pedro St
Los Angeles CA 90012

Box Office: (213) 680-3700
$30 Orchestra/$25 Balcony
$25/$20 for JACCC Members, Seniors, Students, and Groups of 10+

BUY TICKETS ONLINE

Hi all,

Just got back from our trip up to the Pacific NW! The WAA conference was a success! Our hard work at making efforts to come to the conference has finally paid off and people are finally beginning to see that we are a serious group.

Our next performance is this Saturday, September 13 in Oceanside, CA at the Oceanside Public Library. Please check it out! Especially for those of you in the San Diego area. You can also follow links from our homepage OnEnsemble.org.

Also, our good friend Kaoru Watanabe is in town. On September 13 and 14, he's performing at:
Rosalie & Alva's Performance Gallery
1417 W. Eighth Street, San Pedro, CA 90732
Admission: $15 at the door
For reservations, email YearofQi@yahoo.com or call (310) 408-2020
Visit www.LeeWangDance.org/calendar.html

On September 19, he's performing at the JAT for Mare Serenitatis.

-Maz

They're all famous (well maybe Shoji is not quite as famous, but nevertheless, he's famous to us) and are making appearances at the Democratic National Convention in Denver next week Thursday!!! Shoji is super excited and already got to go rehearse and meet Mr. Wonder at his Wonderland Studios and is looking forward to this awesome opportunity.

So please tune in and check it out Shoji playing alongside Stevie Wonder in support of Obama and the Democrats.

Good luck Shoji! And Obama.

-Maz

Hello all,

We've got a new website!!! When it's up, I'll let you know. How exciting for us!

Also, check out our updated upcoming shows. We have a busy Fall/Winter so far! Driving, driving, and more driving...

We're really excited about our home show, On '08 : Yobu, on November 8 at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre. Please come out and support us!

-Maz

Aww… I didn't get a chance to take many pictures of Shasta Yama, but once again my parents and Mario Rubino (the producer) delivered. It was a very successful show. Mario thinks there were over 1,000 people who came! Even with all the smoke from the insane wild fires around the area and the rising gas prices, people came! What a special event this has become. Shoji said that this is the biggest outdoor taiko festival in the nation and I'd have to agree with him.

I have a lot of thank yous. First and foremost, my dad and mom, Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer for putting on this awesome event every year and, of course, for believing in us and supporting our vision. Mario Rubino for believing in my mom and dad. Michelle Fujii for the constant vision and role she has played in our path. Mark Miyoshi for the beautiful drums and constant support. And, thank you to Laura Masunaga and Tadashi Kameda (Shoji's parents) who were the reason why my mom and dad moved up to Mt. Shasta in the first place. What an awesome community that rallied behind Shasta Yama. I am honored to be back here every year to make awesome music.

The Shasta Taiko flags. My dad irons every single one of these flags. They're huge and there's like 14 of them. Beautiful. Also the white balls are actually lanterns which lit up at night.


Shoj checking out Shasta Yama's lighting check.


On setting up. Kelving wearing sunglasses??? Since when??? Kelvin with a haircut??? Since when??? I got bit by some bug this day. Right near my eye! Hurt like hell...


The creators!


-Maz

Happy July!!!



Shasta Yama is right around the corner!!! My mom and dad are, yet again, putting on the awesome, outdoor taiko festival again in my beautiful home town of Mt. Shasta. This year, On Ensemble, will be featured with guest artist and former member of On Ensemble, Michelle Fujii. My parents will sit in on a couple of numbers with us as we will with them. This is going to be really special because we've grown so much since the last time we performed in Mt. Shasta. I think I can confidently say that we now consider ourselves one of the first "taiko bands" formed. Please come check it out!

Shasta Yama

-Maz

Long time no Blog. Sorry about that!

Kris, Shoji, and I are driving up to Berkeley to meet up with Kelvin today to rehearse for our Pacific Northwest Tour.

We've got performances at Western Washington University on May 16, The Triple Door in Seattle on May 22, and a CD release party at Kobo at Higo on May 20.

On the way and way back, we've also got workshops with Portland Taiko, Seattle-based taiko groups, Stockton Bukkyo Taiko, and in Stanford for the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational.

Please come check it out!

We just released a new live CD, "Ukiyo", from last year's annual concert and a new DVD from our performance in Cerritos last year! I'm going to try to create links to buy them, but haven't been able to figure that out quite yet, so check our website out for more info!

-Maz

Hi all,

Stanford was a great success! Besides Kris and I getting sick, everything went smoothly. Big thank you to Steve and Linda for all your hard work to make this successful. Thanks to Stanford Taiko for being great students and for making the Amaterasu (now dubbed Nanaterasu because it was in a meter of seven) rewrite a success! Hope they keep performing it.



Kris and I are flying out tonight and meeting Kelvin in North Carolina for a series of lecture demonstrations and workshops to schools in and around Raleigh. Kelvin is from NC, so we're excited to meet them finally! The culmination is a concert and Patrick Graham is flying down to meet us.

On the road again!
-Maz

Facts about the road trip:

Miles we drove – 7,169.8
Days we were gone – 21
States we drove through – California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Quebec (not a state, I know), Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Delaware, New Jersey
Cities/Towns we visited – Las Vegas, Denver, St. Louis, Oberlin, Toronto, New York, Stony Brook, Bellows Falls, Grafton, Brattleboro, Philadelphia, Oreland, Seabrook, Deptford, Cambridge, Collinsville
Number of Taiko groups visited – 8
Number of workshops taught – 12
Number of performances – 3
Number of spin-outs in the Rockies – 1
Number of accidents viewed in the Rockies – 5
Number of nights with 4 or fewer hours of sleep – 8
Number of packets of ready-made, boil-in-the-bag Indian curry we ate – 15
Number of days Kris wore pants outside – 0!

Pics:
Kris and I at our first stop with Las Vegas Kaminari Taiko


In Oberlin, OH with Icho/Mame Daiko


Kris teaching Manhattan Taiko


Kris being Kris at the City Museum in St. Louis!




Me at the arch in St. Louis


Me teaching the last workshop with Las Vegas Kaminari Taiko


Enjoy!

-Maz