I mentioned in my last post that I received confirmation that I'd be going on the brief performance tour on Kauai...Well one thing that I failed to mention was that I'd be leaving two days after writing that post. So, that meant I had a lot of learning to do so I could participate in the concert (yes a full-length concert) that would be taking place there. The two day tour would start on Wednesday morning, and there was one...ONE practice before then on Tuesday evening.
I spent most of Tuesday afternoon studying notes on the possible pieces that I'd play in on the tour, and I was actually able to "learn" two new parts before practice Tuesday night. I put learn in quotes because I didn't really learn the parts per se, which was evidenced by the practice later that evening where I botched up all of the new parts in the one chance I had to play them. In a way, I feel like I'm just cramming for an exam (a fun exam mind you) where I don't really know the material at all and about to fake my way through the entire thing. It's pretty crazy, and quite stressful in many ways, but I am learning a lot and I definitely want to do my best in everything taiko-related.
So after my one practice session, we went to Sensei's house (Kenny Endo's house) to pack up the equipment for the trip. Practice ran late, and packing ran even later. I didn't get home until after 1 am, and after that I still had to work on putting together instructions for the lighting for a full-length concert that we were having on Kauai. Interestingly enough, I got put in charge of the lighting earlier that evening at practice. So, I was up until 4 am working on the lighting details and I had to get up the next morning at 7. Believe me, when I got up the next morning...I definitely was not a happy camper.
The flight to Kauai was really short, only 23 minutes. Ai-chan, another member in the group told me the good side of the plane to sit on to get a good view of Kauai as we began landing, and I was able to take some pretty nice pictures of the island on our approach to the airport.
Hello Kauai!
Indeed lots of green on this little island
We got in to the (very small) airport, and got rental vans to haul around some of our equipment and the group. Carol (don't know her last name), who was our main contact on Kauai and the person who setup the main concert we were putting later that evening (which I found out was only set in stone a month prior to our arrival), met us at the airport and helped load some of the larger equipment (including a very large Odaiko and stand) in her van. She also recommended a place for us to get lunch near the airport. (We got lunch, but I was so tired that my stomach wasn't awake yet, so I barely was able to eat, and my lunch ended becoming part of my dinner).
At the airport, we split up into two groups, one which went to check-in at our hotel (the Kauai Inn), and other went to go pick up some drums that we would be borrowing from Taiko Kauai, a local taiko group on the island. Kelsey, myself, and Sensei went to pick up the taiko on the west side of the island at a Buddhist Church where the group practices.
I'm gonna tell you right now that they don't call Kauai the Garden Island for nothing. It's green and it's really beautiful.
Coming from LA, green is a really foreign color. Brown is more of an LA color- it's color the landscape, the buildings, the sky... Kauai was so green and very jungle-like at times. The mountains, like those on Oahu, are also very green, and in some respects even more so (if that's even possible). Kauai actually has the rainiest place on earth, which I could spot because it was a mountain top that was continuously covered by gray clouds my entire time on Kauai. =P
greeeen!
Paradise Baby!
We arrived at the Buddhist church and selected the drums that we would use, all of which were made by members of the group, and thus had their own personalized looks to them. Some of the drums had little carvings in them, such as a gold gecko on one, a family crest on another, and some of the stands even had hibiscus flowers painted on them. Very Hawaiian. We met the group's leader, Ray (I don't remember his last name either), who actually is very accomplished carpenter. He built many of the groups drums, and even built his own house and 90% of the furniture in it!!!
Picking up some drums with Sensei
We spend most of the afternoon prepping for the concert, including doing sound checks, spiking (marking where the drums would be for each set with small pieces of tape), and running through some of the songs. Yeah...there's not a whole lot to tell about that.
Deciding which drums to use
Unpacking the equipment
Figuring out how to transition between pieces
Discussing the nuances of a piece
Sensei taking a moment to rest
The concert itself actually went pretty well despite my serious lack of preparation. I didn't have any huge screw-ups in pieces I was in, and the solo I performed in Yodan Uchi (a piece where you hit two different drums simultaneously) was well received by the crowd (I got applause during my solo =) . Carol even commented that I was like Spiderman during my solo....which I'm not sure is necessarily a good thing. I wasn't exactly sure how to receive that comment.
There were a lot of people that talked with me after the concert, and the wife of one couple I met said that her maiden name was Toda! She said that she had never met another Toda before and was wondering if we were distant relatives. She took a picture with me because she said that I looked a lot like her grandfather. Hmmm...I may have relatives in Hawaii.
After packing up most of the equipment, we headed out to our hotel for some well-deserved rest. The hotel was actually in a strange area because you had to go past a very large recycling center to get there. I was a little worried about what this hotel would be like, but it actually turned out to be not too shabby. Large rooms, pool (which I didn't get to enjoy), nice landscaping with coconut trees all over... Definitely felt good to shower and sleep after a very long day.
...But, my rest didn't last long. After about 5 hours of sleep, I had to get up at 6:00 am (I actually woke up at 6:35) to make a 6:45 meeting time to prep for our next two performances the next day. The performances were just me, Kelsey, Yoko, and Sensei, and they were lecture demonstrations at two schools on Kauai. Even though our itinerary said that we were supposed to be at the school at 7:30, Sensei wanted to eat breakfast beforehand, and we actually were eating breakfast at the time we were supposed to be at the school! That definitely made for an interesting experience because we arrived at the school 25 minutes before the show started- which meant that we only had 25 minutes to unload the drums, setup the drums, and change.
Now, coming from LA, I definitely haven't experienced what it's like to live in a small town. I definitely discovered the small town syndrome while in Hawaii at the place we ate breakfast at because our waitress had gone to the concert! Even other random people in the restaurant would come up to us and say they went to the concert. It was pretty amazing, and in a way it makes you feel kinda famous because people know about what you and what you did. Kinda weird...
As a performing artist, I really thought I would be a starving artist, however, it's been anything but that thus far. Before and after both school shows that day, I had some kind of meal. by the time it was 2:00, I had already eaten 3 meals!! All I can say is...that's pretty awesome. =P
The performances themselves went well, although Sensei was getting sick and so he lost his voice. So, we actually gave the lecture parts and he did more of the demonstration. It was pretty amusing to hear him try to tell us what we would talk about because he was so limited on words. He would say things like, "Yoko....Kabuki. Adam...audience participation." At times his voice was so inaudible that I just didn't understand what he was saying, and he would have to repeat himself. Of course, that didn't help his voice any.
A little gift from one of our school shows
Our brief Hawaii tour came to an end with our 4:00 flight back to Oahu. Despite being exhausted from waking up really early that day and performing twice, we still had to go taiko practice in the evening....and then after that, I had to get up early today to go to another performance. *phew*
As you can see, my schedule has been hectic; and that really is the best way to describe it. I've played taiko almost everyday I've been here. If it's not practice, it's a performance- lecture demonstrations at various schools, kick-off events, commemorative events...the list goes on and on. In a way, I really am beginning to experience what it's like to live the "professional" taiko lifestyle. It's busy and it's tiring. Gigs meet early in the morning, and many times, and you really have to rely more on your ability as a performer to take over during a performance because you may not be comfortably prepared for what you're about to do, but you have to do your best to (at the very least) pretend that you are comfortable with what you're doing and that you do know what's going on...even if you have no clue what you're playing (which has already happened to me on more than one occasion). I remember at my second performance, which was for the University of Hawaii's Centennial Celebration, another performer in the event was talking to me as I was getting dressed. I told her that I was nervous about my parts because I wasn't well-aquainted with them and they were in songs I hadn't really learned yet. In response, she told me, "When you go out there, everything will be okay. You're a performer, and when you get on stage, your performer instincts will just take over. You won't even have to think about anything. You'll be fine." I'm really beginning to realize the truth behind those words with so many performances and learning so many new parts. I have to rely on my instincts as a performer, and although preparation is important, being a performer is as important, if not more so.
This has been another novel-esque post, but I assure you that these things will start getting shorter during my stay (mainly because I'll start getting lazy). I just want to leave you with a little taste of paradise with my last picture. I took this on my outing to Waikiki this evening. Enjoy, and much Aloha!
Don't you wish you were here?
1 comment:
love the photos and yes, the last photo is such a big tease! Brag, brag!
sue
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