"Chasing Trane" The documentary film of John Coltrane

Another beautiful day in LA! 😄☀️

I just watched Chasing Trane, the documentary film of John Coltrane. He is a super famous tenor sax player in jazz world. He brew new aspects and new life into jazz and, at the jazz schools like Berklee which I went to, we study his music a lot. To be honest, I don't know much about his life. The only thing I knew was that he had passed away young around 40. My friends who loves Trane or even who know a little bit about Trane, this movie is highly recommended. Now I'm going back home and listen to Love Supreme.

Musicians Union in Hollywood!

Musicians Union in Hollywood! 🤗

As always, I rocked out the studio and danced whole way through. Oh I had a blast! The band members changes all the time in this band and today the trumpet player who used to live in Japan for 25 years came in! He was sitting in front of me, turned around and said "hey, where are you from in Tokyo?" in Japanese! My jaw was right on the ground.

I'm hoping to collaborate in the near future; him on trumpet and me on shamisen or sanshin!

It's spring! 🤣👍

Spring is here! 😆

How are you, friends? The spring equinox had passed a couple of days ago and the Northern hemisphere is officially in spring now! Well, I am really surprised that it was actually winter all this time. For the first time in my life, I almost got heat stroke in the middle of winter.🤣

I just made the first noise in spring at the Musicians Union in Hollywood! Ah yes, I felt so good to play loud in a big band! I was just too happy playing and dancing and doing both at the same time!

Aaaaa, I so wanna play more….. I need more of the good stuff…. I’m like suffering from withdrawal…..

All Saints Church in Pasadena!

I'm about to play at All Saints Church in Pasadena! Look at the cool robe! 😄👍

Grand Annex in San Pedro!

Hello my brothers and sisters in Boston and New York. I've heard another big storm had hit you guys. Oh well, watch yourselves in there. BTW, I'm enjoying nice iced latte at a Starbucks under lots of sunlight right now. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! 😆 Last night, I played to open the famed bluegrass musician, Wille Watson, as a part of the French group I toured with before🇫🇷

Willie really packed the venue and the show was sold out. I was a bit nervous to play non-bluegrass music in front of full-house of hardcore bluegrass fans. I was bracing myself for a few beer bottles thrown this way. There was only one thing I could do, that was to feel confident of ourselves and decided to have lots of fun on the stage as always! Well, the audience was super nice and they did enjoy our performance! I certainly enjoyed playing in there and also enjoyed the Willie's show very much along with everybody in there! That was awesome! 😄👍

Back in Musicians Union in Hollywood!

This is the first time to come to the musicians union in Hollywood after the tour. Well, I felt totally different tension in there from the stage because I need a different skill. Our job on the stage is to entertain our audiences for whatever it takes. Our job in the studio is to read the charts precisely and play as the composer imagined or even better. I have been almost only playing on stages and I am now trying to change my career to be a studio musician.

I was thinking I had to choose one or the other, but that's not true. I’m going to do both. I can do it. It just takes more time. That's all.

The 23rd anniversary of quitting alcohol!! 🎉🎈🎊

My quitting-drink anniversary! Cheers with non-alcoholic beer! With a little Japanese sushi roll!

I have not fallen off the wagon for 23 years. In those days, my life was so messed up. The self-destructing young & stupid luny that I was, I don’t even know how I even allowed some of the things to happen and I really do want to apologize to everybody if I think back. Then I quitted alcohol when I was 20, lived through this tough music business and I think I have cleaned up a bit and straightened up a bit. Although it took me 23 years…..

The most miraculous thing that happened to me in this long period of time without alcohol is that somehow I kept myself being a musician. I have loved and hated music so much. Well, if you have been a musician so long, you have more reasons to quit than to continue. It’s just hard to keep believing in a bright future being an artist. In the last few years, my mind became much clearer and I made some big moves. Now I think, even if I fail in this music world, I’ll find a part time job and continue doing my music in some local pubs. Even if I became a homeless or something, I’ll just spend the rest of my life going to library and read good books. I don’t have to worry about the future. I won’t die. So I’ll do the music I love. I’ll keep playing and dancing on the stage. It’s called self-confidence. For the first time in my life, I’m not repressing my feelings. I’m free.

I want to thank my friends that I met in the last 23 years. I am leading a happy life that I cannot even compare to the life when I was still drinking. Because of you guys, I’m here and I can continue to be a musician. Thank you!!

Done with the tour!

There wasn't a snowstorm ❄️ We didn't hit any deer 🦌 Therefore it was a very very good tour! 😄👍

We drove ten hours back to Seattle from Great Falls, Montana last night and I'm about to jet to LA.

It was a short tour but definitely was a productive, connected me to lots of great people and sure is leading me to future. The funny thing is that I kind of decided to retire from this touring business a while ago but I realized on this tour that I'm still in love with touring.

I am going to seek the way to somehow do both touring and recording. I just enjoy standing on the stage in front of audience.

Montana Performing Arts Consortium!

I've been touring with Russian 🇷🇺 /Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 group. We are about to play at a conference in Montana and the next 12 minutes will decide our future in 2018 & 2019.

The moment of truth! Tension is maxed out, but I'm still smiling because I am an entertainer. Even if I'm getting cold feet, having 100 butterflies in my stomach and almost peeing in my pants and I'm still smiling, because..... yes, that's right. Because I am an entertainer!

We are going to kick some ass.

The books of Okinawa!

I started studying about Okinawa. Although I am an Okinawan sanshin player, I know almost nothing about the history and culture of Okinawa. I'm reading the books of Okinawa while I still have a time to do it!

Recording Sanshin!

Just put the sanshin track down with my brother Adrien! 😆 That was a fun recording session! I'll bring shamisen next time!

My stuff finally arrived.

My stuff that I sent from Boston arrived today finally. The movers promised me to deliver it in 7 days but might take 21 days for the worst case of the scenario, but to end up with, it took 33 days. Oh well, I have had a bad feeling since they came to pick up my stuff to my apartment in Boston 10 hours late. Even today, the movers came to deliver 8 hours late, but that neither surprised me nor disappeared me anymore. I should feel happy that all of my instruments are unharmed. That is the most important factor.

I realized that I have much smaller room now and there is no way all my stuff is going to fit in in my room. Mmm, as a (ex-)master of Tetris, I should be able to make this impossible task possible. But how? Mmmmmm.....

Well, I need to relax before organizing the plan very carefully, so I'm having an ice cream! 🍦 Bon appetite! 😆👍

Finished packing up!!

I fought for almost 14 hours straight. I'm finally done with the packing. I bought 15 boxes and used up 14 of them. Phew, that was close. Now I'm just waiting for the movers to come.

I am so glad you guys cannot smell me right now because I smell like s....

iPad on rehearsal!

I was rehearsing using my iPad. I've been taking full advantage of iPad in my everyday life and I am loving it, but I've been thinking maybe what I shouldn't be thinking.

For rehearsals and gigs, I think I should have gotten bigger 12.9-inch instead of this smaller 9.7-inch. Mmm, am I just seeing the greener grass on the other side of the fence?

With Composer Hiro

Back in NYC after two days of absence.

Today I made a visit to the studio of the great composer, Hiro. When I was still attending at a music college (which is an ancient history), he was already teaching at the same college. I was saying hi at the corridors and also I went to see his faculty concerts.

Wow, look at all the vintage keyboards racked up on the wall!! He said all keyboards are hooked up and all can be controlled on one central keyboard. I love this kind of stuff and so wanted it at some point but price tags were astronomical so I gave up in .5 seconds.

I had a great conversation with Hiro. It was not only so informative but a good reality check for me. He has been working on much much bigger productions in totally different caliber from what I have done. My jaw dropped right to the ground a few times because what he was saying was ridiculously bigger or more harsh than I could imagine. People, I might have said this before but music is NOT an easy business.

Hiro-san, I learnt a lot today. Thank you!!

PageFlip Firefly Bluetooth Page Turner Pedal

Just got myself a Bluetooth page turner!! 😆😆😆

If you step on these pedals, you can turn the pages forward and back, so it's great when you have to read music while you are playing. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!! So far, it's working beautifully on every app that I want to use this page turner with. I got another weapon. Well, I don't really need to deploy this arsenal till this weekend so I am reading a Japanese novel with it. Well, to read a book, it's much easier and quicker to slide or just tap the screen with a finger, but that's not the point today! I'll step on to the pedals, and I'm gonna enjoy every time the page turns and laugh like a winner!

My friend, Kay-ta!

I enjoyed a little reunion with my old buddy and the great guitarist, Kay-Ta Matsuno!! He is touring with Greg Adams from Tower of Power! The band was outstandingly groovy! His guitar solos were super powerful! 😆😆😆 I already miss you, bro!

SPEAK UP HOPE --- the charity event for Taiwan earthquake

I came back to New York City after almost six months of absence! I'll perform voluntarily at the charity event for the recent earthquake in Taiwan.

Then afterward, I'm going to Japanese bookstore and Japanese used bookstore! I'm staying in NYC for only eight hours. Let's see if I can go both places!



(Postscript)

I did have time to go to two of my favorite places in New York, BOOK OFF the Japanese used bookstore & GO GO CURRY the Japanese curry shop! I'll go to KINOKUNIYA the Japanese bookstore and lots of other pastry shops on the next visit!