It's finally August! Actually, finally is probably not the best word since July really flew by. It was perhaps our busiest month yet, the past two weeks being the most intense. After our performance at the Concert of Colors, we had two more that week - one in Battle Creek and the next at the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts (pictured above).

Our DIA performance was actually rescheduled from May (also a busy month). We had planned to to perform outside, but as we approached our scheduled performance date, it looked more and more like it was going to rain. A day or two before the performance, a last minute replacement was found and we postponed our performance until July, when it was less likely to rain. 

Funny how things can be ironic. As it turned out, on the day in May that we were originally booked for it did not rain. In fact, it was a beautiful evening, if I recall. And, you guessed it, July 22 turned out to be a fairly wet day. As we were driving down, it started pouring rain. Obviously, the rain let up in time for us to perform, but there was a point where a few sprinkles started during the show, but not enough to cancel.　(Nothing like this video - rain starts around 2 min)

The following week we only had one performance at a library near Grand Rapids, but the week before we held our first Kids Summer Taiko Week each afternoon. We had a great time with two classes with kids aged 4 - 12 years. Altogether, we had 12 kids. To end the kids summer course, we held a mini-recital at Guernsey Farms Dairy on the lawn.

There was a good crowd on hand for the performance with many family and friends. After the performance, there was, of course...

... Ice Cream for all!

Yesterday Raion Taiko reached a major milestone (in my mind, at least) when we performed on the stage of Detroit's Orchestra Hall as a part of the 2011 Concert of Colors.  What a privilege and honor to be a featured performer at such a wonderful hall, one of the top 3 halls acoustically in North America. When Mayumi and I first formed Raion Taiko back in 2005, I never dreamed that we would make it to Orchestra Hall.

Orchestra Hall is the home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra and has hosted many national and international acts, which is evidenced by all the signatures on the backstage walls. Including one that we were especially delighted to discover yesterday ...

When I was in high school, I played violin in the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra and we rehearsed at Orchestra Hall every Saturday, so I was well aware of the hall's acoustic qualities and it's reputation. As we were setting up and preparing for our set, I stepped out into the audience to check the placement of the drums and I looked up and around at the hall and for a minute a wave of emotion washed over me as it sunk in that we were actually on the stage at Orchestra Hall.

The hall certainly lived up to its acoustic reputation. As a result, I think we were able to give one of our best performances yet.  It was hard to see very far out into the audience, but the response was good and I noticed several people in the front row who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves with big smiles on their faces. My cousin, who drove down from Saginaw to see us, told me there were even a couple dancers in the aisles in the back. It's amazing how the audience energy gives energy back to us on stage.

We ended with our arrangement of Yatai Bayashi (made famous through Kodo) and received a standing ovation, to our surprise.  Unfortunately, because of time restraints, we weren't able to end with our usual encore, Mushi Okuri.  We did get a big compliment after the show.  A man came down to the stage to ask me if we have ever seen Kodo perform to which I replied that we had several times.  He followed up with, "You guys are right up there with them, aren't you."  Of course, we know better, but it was still nice to hear.

If you missed us at Orchestra Hall, try to catch us at the Detroit Institute of Arts this Friday, July 22 at 7 and 8:30 PM.  You can always stay up to date on our performances through the Performances Page on this website and also by becoming a fan of our Facebook Page.

We wrapped up our intensive, two-week schedule on may 15 with a visit to Fort Wayne Indiana. We were honored to be invited as guest performers for the 2011 Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was the last of about seven performances over the course of two weeks. It was nice to be busy, but it was a relief to have it behind us as well. In contrast, June is looking to be a fairly quiet month as far as performances go. We do have a couple smaller events, though, so keep an eye on the performances page.

In Fort Wayne we were able to finally connect with the members of Fort Wayne Taiko. We had briefly connected through emails and so on, but this was the first time our groups got to really meet in person. We even had the added bonus of meeting Kaiju Daiko from Chicago. It is really exciting to finally be making some midwestern connections with our taiko neighbors. I look forward to connecting with the other groups from Chicago and from Ohio as well.

The Cherry Blossom Festival was quite large. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and it kept many people away and those that were there, chose to stay out of the cold and rain and partake in the indoor activities. Still, we had a tent and a band shell to keep us dry and there's nothing like a very enthusiastic audience to help you stay warm.

We played a half-hour set and ended with our usual closer, Mushi Okuri. There were three children from our kids class in attendance (thanks for making the long drive to Ft. Wayne) so we had them join us on stage for the final number.

In spite of the bad weather, we all enjoyed sharing taiko with the Fort Wayne community. We hope we can continue to build the taiko connections in the Mid-West!

Raion Taiko had two major performances this past weekend. First a fundraising concert at Garden City High School on Saturday evening and on Sunday afternoon, we were part of the Kodomo no Hi celebration presented by the Consulate of Japan, Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Arts. We've been looking forward to play at the Art Institute for a long time and were excited to finally get there. We performed in the Diego Rivera court, which is a really cool place to play taiko, but it also has a lot of very hard surfaces, making the volume very loud.  We had to really hold back because, for one, there is a decible limit for the art work, and two, because the back wall of the court is shared with a movie theater and there was a film going on at the time. It was difficult. We played about 25% and it was still quite loud.

We'll be back at the DIA for a Friday night performance on May 13. They are considering an alternative performance space, though, because apparently there will be another event going on in the theater again. Hopefully there will be a good space where we will not disturb the other events going on.

This week I am very excited for our Monday night kids taiko class for two reasons. First of all, the class is full! We have 8 kids and 8 kid-sized drums. We started our kids class back in February, but it was difficult to get it going. For a long time we only had one or two enrolled. But starting in the summer, the students slowly began to come and join and now there is no more room in the Monday class. Don't worry, we will work on starting another kids class.

The second reason I am excited, however, is even better. After practicing through the summer, this group ranging from 4 to 7 years old, is really starting to play well. Yesterday at the end of class, the students performed the song they are learning for their parents. It sounded great! They remember their parts, they're listening to each other and playing together. The moms and dads were very impressed with the progress they've made.

On October 3rd at Novi High School, our kids class will be able to perform this piece in public for the first time. They are very excited to be able to perform as a part of the Japan Festival in Novi, sponsored by JBSD.

We have two more weeks to practice hard for this event. I hope many people will come to see the performance!

Today we traveled our furthest distance yet to perform at the Japanese festival in Saginaw at their Japanese Tea House and Gardens. As Larry noted, it was most beautiful place we've played at yet. We had the honor of opening and ending the days events. Being the opening act, we also had one of the largest crowds of the afternoon. It was exhilarating to look out into the audience and see people enjoying themselves. It gave us extra energy to put into our performance.

We also had the privilege of having the Japanese Consul of Detroit in the audience. From the stage I could see that he was enjoying himself and when he talked with us after the performance I discovered why. As it turns out, he is a native of Fukui Prefecture, the neighboring prefecture to Ishikawa, where we lived and where Asano Daiko is located. He told us he felt very nostalgic as we played because he recognized the songs as being from the Ishikawa and Fukui area.

We had a great time performing today in Saginaw and I hope we will be invited back again next year.

Here are a few pictures of the garden...

This Monday (September 6, Labor Day) we are excited to be a part of Royal Oak's Arts Beats and Eats festival. We will be performing at 11 AM on Vince and Joe's stage. We are particularly excited about this because we will be debuting a couple new pieces and will also be joined by my brother, Andrew Sole, the drummer of Chicago's popular group, The Detholz!.

We have performance for a private event on Sept 11 and the following weekend, on Sept 19th we will be in Saginaw for a Japanese festival at the Japanese gardens. Details can be found on our taiko performances page.

Finally, we will be starting new taiko classes next week. If you, or anyone you know might be interested, please check out our taiko classes page and get in contact with us at raion.taiko@gmail.com

Last Friday we had the opportunity to visit a group of young Entrepreneurs at Schoolcraft College for their Kids on Campus program. We went there to talk about what it has been like to start up a new business, how we prepared and some of the challenges we faced (continue to face) and then they asked us questions.  Since many people in Michigan are still unfamiliar with taiko, we brought one of our drums and some videos to show them what it is that we do.  Everyone was very impressed with the volume of the taiko drum.  One of the questions we got: "Why is it so loud?" Actually, most of the questions from the kids were more about taiko than about starting a business, but luckily, the instructors kept them on track by asking a few important questions.  We enjoyed the visit and will be visiting another group of young entrepreneurs again this Friday.

In other news, after a somewhat slow month in July, we are now gearing up for what should be a busy August and hopefully a new influx of students for fall classes.  For the second time, we will be bringing along a group of students to perform at an event along with Raion Taiko. This time it is on August 14th in downtown Detroit.  Raion Taiko will be performing a 30 minute set at the Heidelberg Project's Dancin' on the Streets festival and at the end we will be joined by about 10 of our students for a big Mushi Okuri finale! See details for this performance on the performances page.  We are excited to play down in the city for the first time.

Finally, as the Great Lakes Taiko Center approaches the mid-point of our first year, we are making some big plans (with special guests from far away) for the fall and the winter next year.  More information to come as events are confirmed...

"Alright," I said, "Today we'll call it Mogura Okuri." (Mogura is Japanese for mole)

Later, as we were packing up our drums into the van, I noticed a rodent crawling out of the lawn and crossing the street. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be... you guessed it, a mole! I guess it worked. We sent at least one of the moles away. So... should you have a mole problem in your yard, just give us a call, we'll play "mogura okuri" for you and get rid of your moles as well!

Independence Day Parade, Plymouth, MI

A week before the mole episode we got up at the crack of dawn to participate in the Good Morning USA Independence Day Parade in Plymouth, MI.  The parade starts at 7:30 AM and is one of the earliest in the US. As difficult as it was to wake up at quarter to 5, I was grateful for the early start because it got pretty hot later on that day. Mayumi and I played Odaiko for about 45 min non-stop and that was hot enough as it was.

There was a lot of positive response from the spectators along the way and a few shouts of encouragement from people we knew. Overall it went very well. The good news about next year: the parade organizer said they will be moving back the start time.

Here are a few pictures from getting ready for the parade:

More pictures from the performance