Interview: Mike Penny talks shamisen, taiko, viral videos, and the Kubo movie

I recently had a fun conversation with Mike Penny, a fantastic shamisen player based in Los Angeles. I was introduced to Mike by our mutual friend and colleague Kyle Abbott of Bachido, and when I started to check out his online lessons, youtube videos, and eclectic array of music, I became more and more intrigued to talk with him. One of the reasons I can relate to Mike’s approach to music is his ability to incorporate a diverse mix of influences, from European classical music to odd-meter Balkan music to Frank Zappa to the traditional style of Tsugaru shamisen. In the interview, we talk about how Mike got into shamisen as well as his involvement with Bachido, playing with taiko players, creating his many viral videos, and the controversy surrounding the new movie Kubo and the Two Strings. He sent me some of his music and I have included them in the recording. The titles in the order you will hear them are: Sou Da Ne, Leavin’ Fo’evah, It’s a Good Day, and Gan Barou.

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About Mike
Mike Penny has received several awards for his innovative performances and compositions using the Tsugaru Shamisen. In 2007, he received the Japan Foundation’s Uchida Fellowship which allowed him to study with one of Tokyo’s most highly respected Tsugaru shamisen instructors, Toyoaki Fukushi. Mike has given hundreds of public performances and continues to perform regularly as both a solo artist and in various ensembles. He has become well known through his many viral video performances on YouTube, and has gained a following for his unprecedented style of shamisen playing which combines traditional and extended techniques in a variety of musical contexts including jazz, Balkan folk, Western classical, and popular music in a fusion of both east and west, past and future. In addition to performing and teaching private shamisen lessons in his hometown of Los Angeles, Mike is also heavily involved with Bachido.com, the online international Tsugaru shamisen community which holds semi-annual international shamisen camps around the world at which Mike participates as an instructor.

With Mike Penny in Hollywood, July 2016

Mike's YouTube channel

Mike's Bandcamp page

Mike Penny Orchestra Facebook page

Bachido

Interview: radio professional Paolo Pietropaolo talks music, taiko, culture, and audio

Paolo Pietropaolo

I recently talked with my friend Paolo Pietropaolo about ethnomusicology, taiko, radio, audio, and cultural immersion. Paolo is a freelance journalist, broadcaster, and composer who hosts radio shows and has produced award-winning documentaries. We met in Vancouver, BC shortly after I relocated there, and immediately I could sense how like-minded we were. Paolo and I have had many interesting conversations over the years and I think his passion and thoughtfulness come through clearly in this recorded interview. Paolo's body of work is impressive in quality and diversity, and I especially appreciate his attention to detail. You can find his radio documentaries at the links below and I would encourage everyone to check them out. Paolo sent me music samples from his tinnitus documentary we talked about so I have included them in the interview. He told me they “consist mostly of recorded electronic hums (ie, my fridge, computer, etc.), processed hums, keyboards, bassoon, and various other electronic musical elements.”

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About Paolo
An inveterate baseball fan as well as a musician and composer, Paolo has spent much of his life trying to explain the intricacies of the arcane to the uninitiated. After one year of undergrad science at the University of Toronto, Paolo gave up on his marine biology dreams in favour of that most secure of career paths: music. Shockingly, this strategy somehow worked when a taiko drumming gig led to a career in radio. Since 2012, Paolo has been the host of In Concert, the award-winning classical music performance program on CBC Radio 2. Paolo is a Peabody-Award-winning audio documentary producer, sound designer and writer/broadcaster passionate about building bridges through storytelling. He is also a two-time winner of the Prix Italia, most recently for The Signature Series, and previously for the documentary series The Wire: the Impact of Electricity on Music.

Links
Twitter: @paolopp
Website: paolopietropaolo.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paolopp
CBC Show: cbcmusic.ca/inconcert
The Wire documentary is archived here: http://bit.ly/1pBEv9l
Kiyoshi Nagata's taiko ensemble: nagatashachu.com

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Interview: Isaku Kageyama talks taiko, music school, and teaching

Isaku Kageyama

Since meeting Isaku several years ago, I've been interested in his unique career path as a professional musician. In this interview, he talks about learning from his first teacher Kenny Endo, becoming a member of Amanojaku, attending Berklee College of Music, music education training at Longy School of Music, teaching at Los Angeles Taiko Institute, and performing with UnitOne (Asano Taiko US taiko ensemble). I have included some music from Isaku's album IK: Yatai, Sanctuary (Featuring Yoshinori Kikuchi), Mr. KE (Featuring Swavek Kowalewski), and Winchester's Groove (Featuring Cari & Winchester Nii Tete).

After we got through my questions, Isaku asked my thoughts about the topic of his upcoming talk for Japan Foundation Los Angeles: asking whether there is such a thing as 'Japanese taiko' and 'American taiko.' Because this was his topic, we decided to post the conversation on Isaku's website. I would encourage everyone to check it out and comment on whether you agree or disagree with either of our opinions. Isaku's website is full of useful information including articles, music samples, and so much more.

Conversation on Isaku's website

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Isaku Kageyama is an eclectic and versatile taiko performer, hand percussionist, and drummer, currently working with groups such as Asano Taiko UnitOne, film-scoring extravaganza The Masterpiece Experience, world music group Rhythm of the Universe, anime band Soulandscape, and the LA Japanese Music Ensemble. His resume includes major corporate events and TV commercials for global brands such as Boeing and Toyota, performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and tours including nations such as Brazil, China, Thailand, United Arab Emirates. Formerly a principal drummer of premiere ensemble Amanojaku, he holds a Bachelor of Music from the Berklee College of Music and a Master of Arts from Longy School of Music of Bard College. He is also a two-time National Odaiko (large drum) Champion, becoming the youngest person to win highest honors at the Mt. Fuji Odaiko Contest in 2000, and Hokkaido in 2003. 

Isaku's website

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Interview: Manman (Yeeman Mui) talks teaching kids, Orff, and taiko

I first met Manman (Yeeman Mui) during Kyosuke Suzuki sensei's Summer Taiko Intensive in 2011. She is now teaching and performing at the Taiko Center of the Pacific in Honolulu, where we performed together during my recent Hawaii trip. A certified Orff instructor, Manman is becoming known as a taiko teacher specializing in young children. In addition to offering classes at Asano Taiko US in Torrance, she is an active performer involved in multiple projects such as Spall Fragments, the upcoming production by Joe Small. Manman kindly spent time with me to talk about her background, Orff training, working with kids, incorporating dance and body percussion, and her current projects. I would encourage everyone to check out the links below for examples of what we talked about in the interview.

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Website
www.yeemanmui.com

TaikOrff
http://taiko.la/event/introduction-taikorff-workshop-taiko-teachers

San Francisco International Orff Course
https://sforff.org

Taiko Trek
http://taikotrek.wix.com/2016#!workshops/ds2sj

Body Bayashi
https://yeemanmui.com/body-bayashi/

Spall Fragments
https://youtu.be/9sftrNNFlEg (2015 video clip)
www.facebook.com/spallfragments/

Yeeman Mui (aka Manman) Originally from Hong Kong, Manman graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2010 with an MPhil in Musicology. She is a dedicated taiko practitioner, performer and teacher. Since becoming a certified Orff instructor, her vision is to continually find new ways to celebrate the essence of teaching of taiko through the mind, body and spirit. In 2012 and 2013, she was awarded a fellowship to study with Kenny Endo at the Taiko Center of the Pacific (TCP). Since then she has been working as a performing member and teacher at TCP. Outside of TCP and Hong Kong, She has also taught at the Los Angeles Taiko Institute (LATI), curated the Youth Program at the North American Taiko Conference in Las Vegas 2015, and conducted a series of music teacher workshops in Macau 2015. 

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Ranjo, master Japanese bamboo flute maker, with Daniel and Kaoru

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photo credit: Daniel Torres

Ranjo flutes I'm currently using

My first experience with a Ranjo shinobue (horizontal Japanese flute made from shino bamboo) was more than 10 years ago, when I bought a number 6 flute from Kaoru Watanabe. I started playing fue seriously upon moving to Honolulu in 2001 for graduate work at the University of Hawaii and to play taiko with Kenny Endo. Since that initial introduction, my fue collection has grown and I have had the opportunity to visit Ranjo san's workshop multiple times. Visiting him is always a wonderful experience, not only because I can play and handpick any flute in the shop, but especially because of the opportunity to see him work, ask questions, and experience his warm enthusiasm and complete dedication to his craft. My musicianship has grown largely due to Ranjo san's high-quality instruments and knowing him personally. Kaoru also continues to support me and provides constant inspiration. He introduced me to Daniel Torres last year because of our common interests, and I wanted to feature his thoughts and photographs on this blog. I asked both of them 5 questions.

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Daniel Torres interview

photo credit: Daniel Torres

When and where did you first meet Ranjo san?
I met Ranjo san for the first time on June 2013, thanks to Kaoru san, who was kind enough to make the necessary introductions. I spent a whole day photographing him at his workshop in Chiba. 

What makes his flutes special?
There are at least two things that make Ranjo san's flutes special. First, his hearing and sense of tuning is extremely accurate, and since the tuning of a fue is done by hand, he has the required skills to create very precise instruments. Second, his craftsmanship has been perfected over more than forty years of practice, so there is almost no compromise between form, aesthetics, and function. Ranjo san is quite ingenious when it comes to his crafting techniques and he is constantly improving upon his own designs. Kaoru can describe some of this better. 

How can someone order a Ranjo fue?
I believe Kaoru san is the only person that sells Ranjo fue in North America. In Tokyo, you can go to Mejiro (a well known shinobue and shakuhachi store located near the station of the same name) and place an order.

What advice do you have for fue students?
Practice every day. There is no substitute for dedication and discipline. It is going to take a long time, it is going to take a lifetime. Sometimes it will be frustrating, but every now and then you'll have moments when it will be clear that you are going somewhere. Get used to playing in public as early as possible. Look for a mentor that can correct your technique as often as possible.

How can people learn more about Ranjo san?
Through Kaoru, perhaps? That is a bit of a difficult question. People who play fue know Ranjo through his craft, but to get to know him personally, you'd need to have access to him. Ranjo san is an amazing person, extremely generous, humble, and easy going. Perhaps some day we could convince him of doing a talk about his own life as a fue maker?

Daniel Torres

About me: 
I'm a video game programmer, sake brewer, and occasional photographer. I've been studying fue for about three years so far, and played Taiko for about ten years as member of Kita no Taiko in Edmonton, Canada. My photography page can be reached at http://photography.dantorres.net, and my sake blog is http://sake.dantorres.net.

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Kaoru Watanabe interview

photo credit: Daniel Torres

When and where did you first meet Ranjo san?
I met Ranjo san the first time while I was on tour with Kodo in the early 2000. Either I visited his studio as a young member of kodo or perhaps he came to the concert hall where we were performing. 

What makes his flutes special?
The quality of material, the quality of craftsmanship are, first of all, superior to other flutes. He does certain things while making his fue that most others don't do - such as obsessing over the intonation of the overtone series and octaves. He has a curiosity and love of experimentation that propels him to improve upon his technique, even after nearly four decades of making fue. He once recreated a Polynesian nose flute I showed him but using aged bamboo and Japanese urushi. 

How can someone order a Ranjo fue?
Contact me if you don't speak Japanese or contact him directly by phone or letter. He is a very friendly person. Also, his wife and daughter both speak a bit of English as well. 

What advice do you have for fue students?
Listen to and try to imitate as many different styles of fue playing you can, even if you don't know what's going on. Listen to the music of noh, gagaku, kabuki, minyo, nagauta, various festival and folk musics, and shakuhachi music. This all of course is if you don't have access to someone who knows about traditional fue playing. Don't worry as much with the music of contemporary taiko groups in my opinion. It's difficult to make the shinobue sound like a Japanese instrument, as opposed to a vaguely "Asian" sounding instrument - so I strongly encourage people to study and listen to the traditional music (if that's what they're trying to do).

Kaoru Watanabe

How can people learn more about Ranjo san?
Just like studying Japanese music in general, nothing can compare to going to the source. To visit his workspace is to see first hand what it means to strive for pure perfection. To see him make fue and ask him questions about the process is always incredibly inspirational to me. I've had lessons and worked with many of the great fue players around but I've learned from him as much as any of them. His generosity and support of my career cannot be overstated. I have vowed to continue to strive to improve my playing with the same fervor that he strives to improve his fue. 

Kaoru's website

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2010 visit to Ranjo workshop

2013 visit to Ranjo workshop, with Shoji, Maz, Yasuo