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Spring Quarter is jam-packed for Bakuhatsu and we want to let everyone know how they can get in on the fun in these next few weeks of April.
APRIL 16th Cal Raijin Taiko's 10th Annual Showcase, Kakehashi The weekend after the Cherry Blossom Festival, Bakuhatsu will be hard at work practicing, but we're also going to take some time to visit our friends from Cal Raijin in Berkeley, CA for their 10th Annual Showcase, Kakehashi, on Sunday April 16th from 2-4 p.m. at the Chevron Auditorium, International House, UC Berkeley.  Cal Raijin Taiko's current members for 2016-2017. APRIL 22nd UC Davis' 103rd Annual Picnic Day During the third weekend of April, Bakuhatsu is going to make team history by participating in UC Davis' 103rd Annual Picnic Day Parade for the first time ever. For weeks, we've been building our float and we'll be decorating it with origami and lanterns from the Cherry Blossom Festival. We can't wait to show it off as we play our hearts out for the entire duration of the parade. We will also be performing at the Children's Discovery Fair stage at 11 a.m. the same day. Picnic Day takes place on April 22nd and is an all day family-friendly event with many other performers, activities, and foods. 
Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017
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Last year, Bakuhatsu teamed up with Sudwerk Brewery to host a Cherry Blossom Festival in Davis and it went so well we’re making it an annual event! This year there will be performances from Bakuhatsu, Cal Raijin Taiko, Stanford Taiko, Jiten Daiko, Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association, Katgruvs, and UC Davis Wushu. There will also be Mochi pounding, an Ikebana demo, lantern painting, origami making, food vendors, game booths, and taiko lessons. Sudwerk is also bringing back their sakura brew and making a plum and citrus brew as well, which will both only be available at the event! Check out the Facebook Event for more information and updates! Also, if you like the design below, we'll be selling shirts and posters of it at the event and there will even be special items with the design that can only be won in the raffle.  Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017
With all of Bakuhatsu's members being college students, we're all finishing Winter Quarter finals this week and then it's a week-long Spring Break. During that time, there's no mandatory practices or workouts so our Workouts Director, August Walker, has taught us a lot over the last couple weeks so we can exercise on our own and stay in top taiko shape. His advice is great for anyone who plays taiko, so here it is for all who might be exercising on their own or with a team. What are key muscle groups/areas that people should focus on when wanting to exercise for taiko, and why? "I find that the most important thing for taiko players is to be steady and focused, in body and mind. When you see a performance where every movement looks deliberate, or an unshaking yatai form, you as an audience become drawn in. That’s why I think that the core muscles, like your abdominals and obliques, are so important. While your core doesn’t move your body, it stabilizes it, letting the rest of your movements be beautiful and controlled. A strong core also means a strong posture, and a strong posture opens up the diaphragm, letting you breathe more deeply and really get oxygen to your muscles. There are just so many benefits."
What kind of schedule do you recommend for workouts? "For me, it’s definitely doing a little bit of exercise every day. You can set yourself a goal, like do 100 pushups every day, and work to that goal throughout the day. Throw in a plank, some HIIT, or even go on a walk, and you’re really working on the kind of balance that you want for taiko. If you supplement this with bigger workouts once, twice, or even three times a week, you’ll see a big improvement. Keeping it consistent is what’s important."
Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017 On October 26th 2016, Bakuhatsu welcomed its newest group of members, Generation XVI, after weeks of them learning taiko and trying out. Most of them had never played taiko before and some didn't even have prior musical experience, but they’ve all worked so hard to make themselves the best taiko players they can be.  The first performance of Shio no Michihi by Michelle Boutell, Daniel Lavados, and Yuki Igarashi of GenXVI in the Tercero Dining Common at UC Davis. Immediately after being accepted, the new generation dove right into practices to improve their form. They also started learning Matsuri Daiko, a festival song known by most North American taiko players, and they created their first solos for the song. Once they mastered Matsuri, they started learning songs written by Bakuhatsu’s past members. The first was Shio no Michihi, which is one of Bakuhatsu’s more fierce and serious songs and means “the ebb and flow of the tide”. It was written by one of Bakuhatsu's founders, Stacey Clark, in 1999 and is usually one of the first songs new members learn. Taiko has changed the way I approach new things. I used to be incredibly shy about trying things, but taiko has shown me that some of the most enjoyable times are often outside of your bubble!  Generation XVI posing after receiving their team track jackets. In January, GenXVI learned Utage, one of Bakuhatsu’s most well-known songs in the taiko community. It was written by Taiyo Onoda in 2013 and roughly translates to “after party”. It’s a high-energy piece that requires 110% energy throughout the entire six minutes of the song. Knowing how to play energetically along with good form is a key part of Utage and Bakuahtsu in general. The most recent song the new members learned as a group was Kick-it!, which was written by Jeffrey Suzuki in 2008. It’s a fun, groovy song where the new members got to learn more complex choreography and create more intricate solos. Joining taiko was probably one of the best decisions of my college career. The dynamic of the group is fabulous and I can't wait to grow more as a performer!  Tomoki Masukawa, Daniel Lavados, Yuki Igarashi, Michelle Boutell, and Thao Le Hoang of GenXVI practicing their form. As individuals, each member of GenXVI has been working hard to learn additional songs and instruments. A few have been practicing playing shime to help keep the backbeat in songs returning members will be playing while others have learned additional songs that they will be playing alongside returning members. All of them have learned how to play various auxiliary instruments like hyotan, chappa, and kane, and many of them have also learned how to play odaiko so they can play the backbeat of their graduating mentor’s senior solo. They've even been learning Matsuri on naname (slant) stands. I was afraid I wasn't going to make any friends and be myself when I first got to Davis, but I'm extremely grateful to have joined BTD since they allow me to do just that. I look forward to each practice even if it's early in the morning or at midnight because all my stress disappears when we start playing taiko together. I never expected taiko to become such a huge part of my first year college experience, but it was one of the best spontaneous decisions I've ever made. LETSU DANSU. Generation XVI will be performing everything they’ve learned so far at our 6th Annual Showcase on April 29th. Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017  Calvin and Taylor posing at Fall 2016 Retreat. For most of Bakuhatsu’s history, the club has had a typical leadership structure with one President and one Vice President, along with the rest of the board of directors. However, with the growing popularity of the club and the amount of duties its members take on as performers and board members, the club decided that having Co-Presidents was going to help everything run much more smoothly. After the team voted last spring, Taylor McDougall and Calvin Lee were chosen to be the first ever Co-Presidents of Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan. They have been doing an incredible job keeping our club running, so let’s get to know them a bit better! What made you want to be a president of the club? “I had been a part of Bakuhatsu for three years and I had picked up quite a lot of experience in that time. I figured that coming into a position of leadership would be the best way to directly improve the club and share that experience with all of the newer members.” – Taylor “I initially had no thought of becoming president, especially because I had only been in the club for one year prior to my presidency. When I realized someone nominated me for the position, I felt an obligation to that anonymous person who believed in my abilities and decided to try in the end. After some deep pondering, I truly felt that with my past leadership experience in other groups I could help guide the club on the right path.” – Calvin What’s a typical week like as a president? “I check our email, messages, and performance requests on a daily basis and try to respond to them as soon as possible. I also find myself checking on people quite often, whether it be with the board or individual members I worry about. As a leader of the club, I feel the need to constantly be supporting everyone, because the last thing I want to do is let them down. As busy it may get, I still enjoy the stress because it comes from something I feel passionate about.” – Calvin “There is certainly a lot of work involved. Before every practice, we coordinate with the practice directors to decide on the schedule of songs to work on so that we can most effectively use our time. During each of the practice sessions, we direct the members to their tasks and make sure everybody is focused and enthusiastic. Outside of practice, we answer emails and consider performance requests from outside parties. Of course, there is also lots of practice, practice, practice to stay in top taiko shape!” – Taylor  Taylor and Calvin playing okedou during a practice. How do you and the other co-president split duties/cooperate? “It all comes pretty naturally, actually. Calvin normally handles the communication between us and those who request performances, and I post the practice schedules and try to be the ‘mom’ of the group. Of course, we both direct everybody at practice and give advice equally.” – Taylor “Having Taylor alongside me is such a blessing because she has much more experience with the club than I do and can usually answer the questions that I have for her. We never actually split our duties officially, but it ended up becoming a system where I would focus more on emails and performance requests while she worked more on making practices structured and efficient. If there’s an important decision to be made for the club, we definitely come to a consensus before doing so.” – Calvin What’s the most rewarding part of being a president? The most challenging part? “As a president, I absolutely love that I have knowledge of everything that’s going on because it gives me a chance to admire everyone else’s passion for the club, which is shown through their hard work. But the most challenging part may be partly the opposite,where everyone expects me to have an answer to all questions and to make difficult, executive decisions.” – Calvin “Being in such a position of leadership has really opened my eyes to how to effectively lead a large group of people and how to communicate with each of them. I’ve been able to watch my team grow from working so hard, and that makes me so proud to be able to call myself their leader. Something I would call challenging is balancing taiko life with university and social life (even though taiko is basically my social life at this point). I want to give so much to the team I can call my family, but there are only so many hours in the day and college isn’t exactly a walk in the park!” – Taylor  Calvin and Taylor posing at Fall 2016 Retreat. What advice would you give to others who run a taiko group or want to run one? “I could say so much! One thing would definitely be to talk to each and every one of your members individually. Everybody can do so much, and finding their hidden potential is one of the most rewarding aspects of leading a group of talented people. Encourage everybody to try their best and have fun at the same time, and take some extra time out to give each and every member the push they need to really shine.” – Taylor “Really get to know the history of your taiko group and have a profound knowledge on how it operated in the past. If the actions of past leaders were successful, I’d advise you try to follow that path, and add some modifications, rather than starting with a completely alternate idea. Sometimes, past successes may not equal present successes, and that’s when you’ll need to have some discussion with your club to try out new methods.” – Calvin What’s your favorite Bakuhatsu song (and part in that song) to play? “It has switched a few times the past few years, but right now it’s a tie between shime-chu of Rakuen (since it’s just so fun and lively) and Odaiko in Shio (since it’s so fierce, and I can really let loose!).” – Taylor “Ikuzo on chu.” – Calvin  Taylor and Calvin in front of the whiteboard all the members decorated at Fall 2016 Retreat. If you could have our group do anything you wanted without money, transportation, or other limits or restriction, what would it be? “My Bakuhatsu Bucket List: 1. Play Shio no Michihi by the beach with the tides crashing in the background 2. Play Matsuri Hanabi with real fireworks shooting off in the background 3. Play Ikuzo on a large open-roof truck while driving down the highway 4. Play Utage after a real 'party' 5. Play Fubuki in a blizzard...No thanks, actually” – Calvin “I think performing at the Grammys would be pretty darn cool. Or performing in Japan, on a boat.” – Taylor Any last thoughts? “I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with in my final undergraduate years. Here’s to hoping Bakuhatsu is still playing taiko in the future instead of spending all day looking at memes.” – Calvin “Fun fact: Being a part of Bakuhatsu has completely erased any sense of stage fright I’ve ever had! It goes to show that facing your fears and trying new things will always reward you.” – Taylor “I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with in my final undergraduate years. Here’s to hoping Bakuhatsu is still playing taiko in the future instead of spending all day looking at memes.” – Calvin Written by Shai Nielson. BTD Historian 2016-2017
During Fall quarter, Bakuhatsu was quite busy from beginning to end. The quarter started off with a performance at the UC Davis New Student Celebration where they played alongside the Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association. The performance was received well by the huge crowd of incoming freshmen and transfer students. Many people who eventually tried out for the team were inspired by the performance.  August Walker and Calvin Lee posing with one of Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association's lions before the performance on Sept 18. Next came multiple promotional performances at the UC Davis Quad to publicize team open practices and team try-outs. Open practices started on Oct 8, and anyone was welcome to come and learn how to play taiko. Those who felt ready then went through our try-out process where they learned and eventually played Renshuu in front of the returning members of the team.  Returning members after evaluating try-outs on Oct 26. After much deliberation due to such outstanding candidates, we finally found our newest group of Bakuhatsu members, Generation XVI! Congratulations, Jonathan Gong, Blythe Nishi, Michelle Boutell, Michaela Tan, Tomoki Masukawa, Hiroya Mizobe, Quynhmi Nguyen, Thao Hoang, Christian Richmond, Cayce Badiola, Daniel Lavados, and Yuki Igarashi!  Generation XVI during Bakuhatsu's Fall Retreat Nov 10-12. The returning members along with the new generation then spent a weekend together in Dutch Flat cooking, hiking, learning how to tie shime, finding out about their mentors, and bonding through lots of laughs and good times, After Fall Retreat, the team got to work teaching Generation XVI their very first songs, Matsuri and Shio No Michihi, while also learning and polishing songs like Matsuri Hanabi, Inu Shoubu, and Kujaku. The team ended the quarter with a Secret Santa gift exchange before heading off in various directions for the month-long winter break. Full list of Fall 2016 performances: Sept 4 - Inuyama Sister City Race Sept 19 - UC Davis New Student Celebration Sept 23 - Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi, Middle Eastern Fall Welcome Sept 30 & Oct 7 - Bakuhatsu promotional flashmobs on the Quad Oct 5 - UC Davis Involvement Fair Oct 14 - College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Fall Welcome & UC Davis 104th Annual Pajamarino Written by Shai Nielson. BTD Historian 2016-2017 |
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