New Years eve

Hello friends. Thank you all for everything this year. I made a checklist to do all the cleaning, washing, shopping, cooking etc. like a can-do guy that I am, and I finished all! I am so kicking a…. The book I'm holding is Japanese bestseller how-to book of housekeeping. It's awesome! Oh yes, the over-grown mustache is gone. I got on a scale after I shaved it off and found out I lost four pounds (just kidding!). I’ll cut my hair as soon as possible too. The next step is to do something about my fashion. Well, maybe that’ll take some time. My friends, have happy new year!

Apron & I

Just got an apron from Amazon! This is man’s cooking time and I don’t take it lightly! I’ll put my blood, sweat & tears onto my cooking! Aaaaargh! So, who wants to eat it?

Jam with my buddy, Kenji

My friend, Kenji, kindly invited me for the dinner and the jam session! We ate tons of cakes then I rocked out on harmonica! That would be the last jam session of the year. Kenji said “let’s play this” and put the wicked tough music on the music stand. I broke into a cold sweat just by looking at it, then he saw my paled face and changed it to easy C major tune. Note to self: I’ll do some serious practice on my harmonica next year.

Checking out iPad Pro and the accessories

Came to Apple Store to check out iPad Pro! I have been waiting for this bigger-sized iPad for a long time because I wanted to read music on tablet on stage but the previous iPad was a bit too small for me. It's on the horizontal position on the pic but it's great to read music on the vertical position as well. This is just perfect size for me. Well, but I want to mention some (maybe a nerdy) stuff. First of all, the $800 basic model only has 32GB of memory which is really tiny. The next model up is souped up to 128GB but it costs $950 which goes over $1000 with tax. I don't know about a tablet for more than a grand. The smart keyboard on the pic works great but it is another $170 on top of the $950. You can buy a good MacBook Air with that money. The keyboard is really good so I wish they put not only iOS but OS X. That way, I would be able to use it on the road and leave my MacBook home. (BTW, I didn't even think about the Apple Pencil because it is another $100 for a pencil!). Conclusion: too expensive for a traveling musician. Apple, please bring it down to 90% off! Maybe I should go with iPad mini 4 just for now. Mmm, I have to sleep on it.

14 Steps Toward Improved Intonation

Great article for all non-fretted string players. Intonation is one of the biggest challenge on my instruments. 14 Steps Toward Improved Intonation

Pressure Cooker

Happy Holidays, friends! I spent this special day as pretty much same as usual day. The only special thing I did was that I got this huge 10-qt pressure cooker! Ah, it looks so beautiful. I cooked 7 pounds of chicken and 2 pounds of brown rice. Ha-ha. Although I bought this big pot to reduce the number of cooking, I now want to cook more with this beauty! I cooked so much already and I don't think I'll have to cook anything this year. Oh well. I guess my first objective is successfully achieved. Oh well.

Working out!

Yes, I'm wearing tank top in the middle of winter! Today, I completely destroyed chest muscle and triceps. Ha-ha-ha. I did the last gig of the year yesterday so that's it for the year 2015. Even though all the gigs are done, I literally have a mountain of things to do. Well, I'll chill a bit just for now. This is the great timing to watch Star Wars! Yey!

Harvard Faculty Club

I played a holiday party at the Harvard Faculty Club yesterday. The party was hosted by the founder of a super famous beer company. The party was just excellent. We were fed so well. I don’t know what I ate but it was great and that must be expensive. We were tipped well too. Yippie! Happy Holidays, everyone!

State Room, Boston

I played at the State Room which has one of the best night views in Boston! This is one of the musicians perk to see lots of great views in everywhere. Well, I don’t know if non-musicians even realize but actually “Rudolf” and “Frosty” are so similar without lyrics. Especially the chorus section is more than so similar; they are so same! I was afraid that I was going to accidentally mix them up, and last night I did it for the first time…..this year. Oh well, we bassists don’t always have to play the melody so I have never put too much time into memorizing them. Maybe it’s the time to do the overdue homework.

Center for Life Sciences in Boston

Jingle all the way! Another fun Holiday gig in Boston! I love the daytime gig. I was nonstop till today and half of the December has already disappeared. I didn’t do for my birthday either. Oh well, I have two-day off now so I’ll have some rest. First, I'm going to shopping!

Buddy from my music college

I chained myself to the recording booth at the studio from the early morning till late at night. It really was an exhausting marathon session. When we finished everything, the time was already passed 10pm. I was so dead. An old college buddy of mine was visiting Boston from Japan for a business trip and he was kind enough to make time for me around midnight. We graduated from a music college in Boston almost 20 years ago. He went back to Japan and I stayed behind. We both somehow survived in music business. It looks like we took totally different paths and were separated so far away to each other, but at the same time, we both have been in the same business and have been doing same kind of things, so, in that sense, we have never been separated. Life works out in funny way. It was so great to catch up with an old friend.

Very special birthday cake

My friend's ten-year-old daughter baked a birthday cake for Uncle Ippei yesterday. This is the best, the most delicious and the most beautiful cake I have ever had in my life. I want a daughter(s).

My birthday!

Hello friends! Thank you very very very much for the sweetest comments and messages! Love you all! I turned 42 today and I feel so blessed to have great friends like you guys! I’ll be locked in at the recording studio till tomorrow but I promise to reply to all messages! This last one year had been really upheaval time of my life (mostly in good way). Till last year, my life was in mess but I was okay with it because I am a touring musician and our lives are supposed to be messed up. I changed that crooked way of thinking and started doing self-coaching. I changed my apartment, things I eat, things I wear etc. I completely changed how I live. I am still on the process but now I am happier and healthier both in mind and body. The biggest change I made is that now I have unthinkably ridiculously big goal. I’ll make it.

Last rehearsal before the recording

Done the final rehearsal for the recording! We are going into the studio this weekend, shoot the video then put it up on YouTube. I think the video is going to hit 5 trillion views!!

Center for Life Sciences in Boston

The pic from today's gig. I lost weight and my suits is way too big now. Mmm, I have to get a new one. Just came back from a gig. It was a little background music in lunch time and I’m pretty much done for the day, so I have a lot of time today. I’ll practice for recording, study English pronunciation, then continue making my own web site. I’ve already put up snippets of the new web site. Well, it really is a snippet but that’s a start. I'll add lots more on that.

Rehearsal for a recording

Done with the rehearsal for a recording this weekend. Ten days had passed since I came back from the tour. Christmas season had already begun in Boston and my head is switched from the touring-musician mode to the party-musician mode. I have to switch it back once again and give my 100% for the recording. I needed something like this.

Boston Common

I’m at Boston Common, the biggest park in Boston! Merry Christmas, everyone! I am about to do some rehearsal and then baby-sit my friend’s daughters. I will do my best baby-sitting. This is going to be a tough but a fun mission.

Why our brains love music with bass

Interesting video. Now I know why I chose bass as my instrument for life.

Ellipsis Trio

I just saw the concert of the great piano trio, Ellipsis Trio. Wow! That was so really good!! The concert was one of the best concerts I've seen this year!
Ellipsis Trio

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

A party gig at a pharmaceutical company in MIT. I haven't been to MIT for a long time. Well, I was trying not to come to this area because one of my favorite sweets shops called "Toscanini's" is right around the corner. Ice cream and cakes are spectacular. I wanna go but am on diet, but I wanna go. Aaaaa.... Somebody stop the monster inside me!

Center for Life Sciences in Boston

The first Holiday gig of the year! So it begins! The harvest time for working musicians! Well, I used to come to Boston for this kind of gigs and, since I am here now, I can do a lot more gigs this year! Good to be back in Boston!

Pontiac, Illinois

We just hit the last note in snow-covered Pontiac, Illinois. That concludes our Midwest Tour 2015!

Perry Park Center in Perryville, Missouri

The second last concert of this tour was held in the town called Perryville, Missouri. We had lots of enthusiastic audience tonight!

Kenneth E Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon, Missouri

Great concert hall in Lebanon, Missouri! We loved playing in there!

Centerville, Iowa

The final Iowa show of the tour was a success!! Now the band is heading South to Missouri!