Wrapped up my final showcase with Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan with a rearrangement of a song I wrote with taiko buddies years ago. Within taiko-playing communities, we sometimes talk about where the boundaries of "taiko" performance are, and I'm not even sure if I would have thought of this as "taiko" when I first started playing. However, my journey as a taiko player over the last decade has fully shaped my approach to music and life and this is where it brought me. This feels like a good note to leave on as a performing member of Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, my home for a significant part of my life. It’s especially meaningful having performed this at our Davis Cherry Blossom Festival as an Obon odori arrangement, moving in community together. Bakuhatsu is a team that explodes with emotionality, and this song about letting out your feelings and authentic self in a world that can be quite tough reflects on what this experience as a taiko player has been for me. This team is also a community of young people brought together by music and I think you can see the love and support we have for each other in this performance. It's been such a fun time, Bakuhatsu!
Link to Full Showcase Video: • Shinki Itten (2022) - ...
Shinki Itten, Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan's 11th annual showcase was held at the Veterans Memorial Theatre on May 14th, 2022. It was the first live show after two years of online showcases due to the SARS-COV-2 pandemic.
Program Text:
Roar (2015, arr. 2022)
This song is a throwback to Bakuhatsu’s fourth showcase, Todoroki (“Roar”), where it was played by the “Ducks of the World,” a side project band by Bakuhatsu members Henry Knight, Issa Takada, and Gregory Wada. This new arrangement turns a new leaf and represents a personal journey with taiko, organically blending rhythms of Bon Odori and kumidaiko with a soulful song about finding your voice. Wada, who played with Bakuhatsu as an undergraduate and graduate student, now retires a long tenure as a collegiate taiko player.
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Lyrics (Wada, Knight):
Let me tell you something about life
Sometimes it’s gonna paint you like a loser
Don’t buy it, just fight it
Let loose a riot
It’s time to scream and shout
And let it all out
(Roar)
CHORUS
When life is rough and times are tough
And the world seems to get you down
Do you feel the need to scream and shout
Break the silence all around
Let your roar sound to the sky
And let them know the reasons why
Just let it all out
(Roar)
CHORUS
BREAKDOWN
When life get in the way
We’re gotta roar our cares away
The world it always seems to get us down
We’re gonna find another way
We’re gonna face a brand new day
We’re gonna reach down deep inside and find our sound
And let it all out
(Roar)
CHORUS
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0:00 Roar
6:43 Credits
7:04 Song learning clip
8:08 Davis Cherry Blossom Festival clip