Immediately, we
were drawn into the exhilarating world of taiko.
Jo
means "passion" and
taiko means "drum."
Strung together, it is jodaiko
[pronounced: joh dai' koh, when combined with another
word the "t" in taiko becomes a
"d"], meaning "passionate
drumming."
It is an apt name for this student-run
and self-taught Japanese taiko group at the University of California,
Irvine (UCI).
It is one of the first collegiate taiko groups in
America with the explicit goals of learning the art of taiko and
sharing that knowledge with UCI and its surrounding communities.
>>
Jodaiko
Website with Upcoming Performances by Paul
Shintaku
Meet the group members, review their
repertoire, and read up on their backgrounds.
Click the link below for
pictures of the performers with an audio clip:
>>
Jodaiko:
Cultural Night 2002
~~~
A Brief
History of Jodaiko
In the summer of 1992, the group's
formation was the brainchild of UCI undergraduate, Peggy Kamon,
who became passionate with the ancient art form. It
started with five people learning the basic strokes in
Kamon's backyard. Without drums or formal instruction, the
original members practiced on tire and phone books, as the cost
of the drums was and continues to be
prohibitive.
A smaller drum costs approximately $7,000 to $10,000
and the larger ones for $20,000 to $25,000. Gulp!
A year later, this
grassroots group was given a huge leg up by Dave
Shiwota, who with the help of Victor
Fukuhara of
Kokoro Kara Taiko and owner/operator of a
lawnmower shop in Long Beach, resourcefully
built four
taikos out of wine barrels
(traditional taiko are made out of hollowed out tree
trunks) and stretched cowhide held in place by byo
(nails).
It is a painstaking process that can take as many as 50
hours per drum.
~~~
Today
Jodaiko's Mon
(Crest or Logo)
Today, Jodaiko consists of
about 30 members. Succinctly, Jodaiko's audition process
and selected membership is no cakewalk. The online UCI
newspaper's interview with head director, Darren Endo,
gives us more insight:
"To
play for Jodaiko, one must apply at the start of the year
and begin attending a Wednesday night practice and
audition for five weeks on how to stand, how to strike the
drum and how to hold the stick. New members must also
attend the workout session of one of the regular Jodaiko
practices.
Anyone
is invited to join the club, but they must meet strict
regiments in audition and practice requirements. One must
be fully dedicated to Jodaiko, its practices, its unity
and its performances.
The
club performs at an average of four to five events per
month. The practice begins with an hour and a half of
running, sit-ups, push-ups and endurance drumming. The
last two and a half hours are used to rehearse the works
in progress or build technique." ~ Bryan
Zuetel, New University News, UCI
A quick glance at their schedule reveals that they've come a long way from Ms. Kamon's backyard. They are HOT,
HOT, HOT!
Between
now and summer break, they will be performing at a Pacific
Islander dinner, an elementary school, Cal Poly
University, City of Santa Ana, UCI and the annual UCI
Lū`au. And on
May 24-25, 2002, they will be hosting the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational
at their own UCI Bren Events Center.
This group began and
persists without formal instruction, improvising, creating and passing
down its own unique vision and sound. And
they wholeheartedly live up to the group's name: Jodaiko,
passionate drumming.
Jodaiko is PASSIONATE!
~~~
If you would like
Jodaiko to perform at your event,
contact its officers here.
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