I just returned from a very quick trip to Los Angeles, where I spent some time with my brother Bryan and his fiancee Chiemi. The trip was very successful: after being in LA for less than an hour, I was enjoying a Double-Double from In-N-Out.
My brother has been kindly storing two of my new taiko drums, so we packed up one of them for my return trip. I watched TaikoProject as they rehearsed for the Higashi Obon Festival and it was great seeing all the talented, young taiko players again. The present cast includes some of the best taiko players in North America: Masato Baba, Yuta Kato, Julia Kato, Jen Baik, Byron Yamada, Bryan Yamami, and Yuri Yoshida.