KIOKU in California, 7/26 to 8/6

Please help us spread the word about KIOKU’s California tour. We will be performing in San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton, Los Angeles and San Diego, and our debut CD Both Far and Near, will be available prior to the official release on Quiet Design Records. Thanks again and we hope to see you at one of our shows!

Based in New York City, the experimental music group KIOKU creates a new terrain between traditional Asian music and collaborative improvisation. The trio consists of Wynn Yamami (taiko and percussion), Christopher Ariza (live electronics), and Ali Sakkal (saxophones). While grounded in historical musical practices, KIOKU (Japanese for “memory”) embraces the plasticity of tradition and freely employs improvisational and avant-garde musical techniques.

Jul 26, 8PM (KIOKU goes on at 9PM)
Edgetone Summit @ Community Music Center
544 Capp Street and 20th St.
San Francisco

Jul 27, 7PM (KIOKU goes on at 9PM)
Works/San Jose
451 South 1st St.
San Jose

Jul 28, 8PM (KIOKU goes on at 9PM)
Yosemite Sound Festival @ Blackwater Cafe
914 N. Yosemite St.
Stockton

Aug 3, 8PM (KIOKU goes on at 9PM)
Dangerous Curve
1020 E Fourth Place
Los Angeles

Aug 4, 8:30PM
Vinbladh’s
4561 Park Blvd
San Diego

Aug 6, 8:30PM
LAND
366 E 2nd Street
Los Angeles

For more information, see our websites:
main website
myspace site

KIOKU CDs

We just received our debut CD Both Far and Near in the mail. It looks great and we have a lot of people to thank: Michael Vernusky and Quiet Design Records, Flexatone HFP, The Outfit, Issue Project Room, NYBC, Soh Daiko, Evi Abeler, Ryan Dorin, Suzanne Fiol, John Ko, and all our friends and family.

SOH DAIKO at the Seabrook Obon, 7/21

It’s time to make our annual pilgrimage to the historic town of Seabrook, New Jersey for their Obon Festival. SOH DAIKO will be performing and I’ll be bringing my chindon down for the bon-odori!

NYBC Obon Festival, July 8, 12:45–5pm

The New York Buddhist Church will be holding its annual Obon Festival in Bryant Park (42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas) this Sunday, July 8 from 12:45 to 5pm. There will be three rounds of bon-odori dancing as well as performances by HAPPYFUNSMILE, SOH DAIKO, and the TACHIBANA DANCE GROUP. As you know, I perform with all three groups, so it’ll be a busy day for me. Plus, it’s my birthday!

Update: Even though the weather hit the low 90s, it was still a great day at Bryant Park. The humidity was low and a breeze was coming in. Here are some pictures of HAPPYFUNSMILE in action taken by our friend Steve:

SOH DAIKO performs Kenso:

TACHIBANA Dance Group performs Mugiya Bushi: