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BAKUHATSU TAIKO DAN
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NEWS & FEATURES

Every End is a New Beginning

6/9/2017

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After almost ten months' worth of bonding, practicing, performing, building new equipment, traveling to new places, and making collegiate taiko history, Bakuhatsu is sad to say that the 2016-2017 season is over with our last practice of the school year last night.
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Bakuhatsu after the last practice of the 2016-2017 school year where we planned for the future and jammed until we were out of breath. Photo courtesy of Naoki Kanagawa
​Congratulations to our graduating seniors as they take the Bakuhatsu spirit with them in their future endeavors!
Allyson Beem
August Walker
Curtis Fan
Calvin Lee
Daniel Kim
Gloria Kum
Naoki Kanagawa
Rahi Suryawanshi
Shai Nielson
Also, a special shout out to our member Hiroya Mizobe who is heading back to Japan soon and who we'll miss very much!

The school year may be over, but Bakuhatsu doesn't give up on taiko that easily (or at all). The team will be back at it again with summer practices and performances resuming shortly after finals end. While we will be missing some members who are leaving Davis soon and will say goodbye to graduates as they leave Davis, we still have the summer full of song learning and performing to look forward to!
San Jose Obon, July 8-9
Bakuhatsu is incredibly honored to have been asked back for another year in a row to perform at our biggest performance of the summer, San Jose Obon—a festival where "generations of families and friends come together and enjoy a rich cultural experience in one of the three remaining Japantowns in the United States." There will be games, food, taiko performances from various groups, and lots of dancing. We can't wait to join in on the festivities and also perform on Sunday, July 9th!
2017-2018 Board Members
Congratulations to the new Bakuhatsu board members as they transition into their new positions over the summer.
Co-Presidents – Tomoki Masakawa & Braden Wong
Practice Directors – Issa Takada & Yuki Igarashi
Administrative Director
 – Quynhmi Nguyen
Treasurer – Jonathan Gong
​Equipment Managers – Michaela Tan & Gregory Wada
Publicity Manager – Michelle Boutell
Showcase Directors – Thao Le Hoang, Cayce Badiola & Quynhmi Nguyen
Workouts Director – Daniel Lavados
Relations Ambassador – Gregory Wada
Historian – Michelle Boutell
Webmaster – Daniel Lavados
Designer ​– Gloria Kum
Thank you to everyone—​family, friends, and all other supporters—who helped make this year as amazing as it was. We hope to make next year even better!
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Bakuhatsu members and guests after the 2016-2017 annual BakuBanquet. Photo courtesy of Naoki Kanagawa
Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017
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Oil & Varnish & Drumheads, Oh My!

5/25/2017

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In the last few weeks, Bakuhatsu has been amping up our equipment maintenance after having so many events and performances for the last two months. From building new stands to re-heading three drums, we've done a lot but we're always finding new projects to complete. This last weekend, members of the team came together to clean and varnish beta stands, varnish shime stands, oil and sunbathe drums, organize tools, and re-head one of our drums.

For Bakuhatsu, maintaining our equipment is more than just keeping things clean and working. We treat our equipment like living members of our club. They've all been built and maintained by past and current members and the soul of our club lives inside every piece of equipment. 

Sometimes live gets busy, especially for a group of college students, but we have to make time for our equipment and remember there is more to taiko than just hitting drums. It's also about maintaining the bonds between members and our equipment, as well as learning how to treat everything around us with respect and making sure we never loose sight of what makes us who we are.

​Below are some photos from our latest equipment meeting taken by Bakuhatsu's Equipment Manager, Issa Takada.
Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017
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The Road to Kizuna

4/21/2017

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Next Saturday, April 29th, is Bakuhatsu's 6th Annual Showcase, Kizuna. It's an event we've been consciously preparing for since since last September, but the road to Kizuna actually started many years ago. 
​
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Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan members, 2011-2012.
Our first ever showcase, Akebono or "dawn", was on April 29th, 2012. There were 20 members and 10 original songs written and performed by Bakuhatsu members. There were also special guest appearances by the UC Davis Popping Club, the UC Davis Breakdance club, the UC Davis Japanese American Student Society (JASS) Soran Bushi group, UC Davis Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association, and Hansori, a UC Davis Korean drumming group. However, this first showcase wasn't the real beginning to it all. In fact, Bakuhatsu was formed 11 years earlier in 2001. The club waited so long for a showcase because of the desire to put on the best show possible, which meant practicing hard, creating more equipment, and building up an exciting repertoire. 
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All of that work paid off and Akebono was such a success that showcase continued as an annual spring event with the second showcase, Ikioi or "momentum", on April 28th, 2013. At that time, Bakuhatsu had 22 members and performed 10 original songs with 3 of them being brand new songs to the club. The special guests were UC Davis's only K-pop group, SoNE1, JASS's traditional Japanese dance group, Jishin, Violin player Vanessa Dong, and UC Davis Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association. Watch the video below for a glimpse into what Bakuhatsu members were up to right before Ikioi in 2012.

​Bakuhatsu kept showcase going strong with the third one, Kokoro or "determination", on April 27th, 2014, with 25 members and 12 original songs performed, 4 of them being brand new to the group. The special guests were the UC Davis Liquid Hotplates A Capella group, UC Davis Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association, Zither player and Bakuhatsu member Yvonne Fu, and JASS's traditional Japanese dance group, Jishin. Kokoro was also the first showcase for two of our current members, Naoki Kanagawa (Co-Showcase Director) and Taylor McDougall (Co-President).
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Bakuhatsu members at the end of Kokoro.
Our fourth annual showcase, Todoroki or "roar", was on April 26th, 2015, with 26 members and 13 original songs performed with one being a brand new song. JASS's traditional Japanese dance group, Jishin, UC Davis Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association, and Ducks of the World, a band composed of Bakuhatsu members, were the special guests. This was the first showcase for our current members Daniel Kim (Practice Director), Issa Takada (Equipment Manager), Rahi Suryawanshi (Co-Showcase Director), and Gloria Kum (Designer). Watch the video below of Bakuhatsu doing a publicity flashmob performance of Utage at the UC Davis Quad for Todoroki.
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Bakuhatsu members at the end of Fushigi.
The most recent showcase was Fushigi or "wonder" on February 28th, 2016, with 27 members and 7 original songs performed, 1 of them being new to the club. The special guests were UC Davis Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association and UC Davis Wushu. This fifth showcase was a winter event instead of a spring one and was also a shorter show due to the fact that Bakuhatsu hosted the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational that year and needed to focus on that during the spring. However, the show was just as successful as the past ones and even sold out before the event. This was the first showcase for current members Calvin Lee (Co-President), August Walker (Workouts and Publicity Director), Curtis Fan (Webmaster), Shai Nielson (Historian), Braden Wong (Administrative Director), and Allyson Beem (Treasurer).

​It's clearly been a long road for Bakuhatsu to get to where we are today. We have 5 showcases to be proud of and we've been working our hardest to make the sixth one the best one yet. Kizuna will showcase 13 returning members, 11 new members, 10 old songs, 3 new songs, 3 different playing styles, a collaboration with the UC Davis Marching Band-uh, and a kizuna or "bond" that has been strengthening for 16 years. This show will honor the legacy of our alumni and exemplify the ever-growing kizuna amongst our members, alumni, drums, family, friends, and community. 

​Be a part of the Kizuna 絆
Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan's 6th Annual Showcase

April 29th at 4 p.m.
​Davis Veterans Memorial Center Theatre
$10 for general admission, online or in person
$8 for students, in person
​Tickets available at: https://bakuhatsutaikodan.yapsody.com/event/index/82496/kizuna-bonds
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Written by Shai Nielson, BTD Historian 2016-2017
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Checking in with GenXVI

3/17/2017

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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.​
PictureThe 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!
​- Jonathan Gong, GenXVI
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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!
​- Michaela Tan, GenXVI
PictureTomoki 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. 
- Cayce Badiola, GenXVI
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
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