Tsuchi's "Taiko Strange Story" 12th | Things that are important regardless of the changes of the times

Hello everyone reading the JPC newsletter.
The time has come for the familiar Taiko story.
According to Mr. Nishio of the editorial department, who always sends polite emails requesting manuscripts,
When I received an email saying, ``This is the 12th time this series has been published, which means it's been going on for three years now! Thank you for your continued support, I look forward to your continued support!'' I felt an indescribable feeling of resignation, wondering if I had been writing about Yota stories for three years already, and before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep from the exhaustion of the tour. This series continues because of the unique readers who enjoy reading even the most sloppy stories. The other day, I received a message of praise from a reader.
Thank you very much, Mr. Toyosawa. We look forward to your continued patronage.

So, as with this Taiko Kidan, I was worrying about what to write, what to write, what to do, what to do, what to do, what to do, etc., and the time was passing by so quickly, and the deadline was just around the corner. I finally got up and headed for my Mac's keyboard, but nothing came to mind...
No, actually, I have a lot of things I want to write about, but I'm just trying to figure out where to start and how to summarize them...

I'm currently writing this manuscript in the waiting room of the Shinkansen platform at Shin-Yokohama Station, and as for why I'm there, well, that's it. We're going on a tour and we're going to Kobe.

“So, what kind of tour are you on?”

"Are you kidding me? We're sneaking into Eikichi Yazawa's spring tour."

"That's a bit of a problem. Just be careful."

"Thank you. I'll give you a little something."

So, the tour that started after Golden Week in May will end in Kobe.
I would like to write that I had fun this time too, but I have mixed feelings.
The stage, the band, the crew, and of course the man himself are the best...

It was April 14th, when we moved to Kokura after our first day in Kumamoto. During the day, we took a walk around Kokura's old market and ate some delicious food. After taking a break, we met up in the young tour crew's room and had a drink. It must have been a little after 9 o'clock, when everyone's smartphones suddenly sounded like earthquake warnings, and we were all shocked when a huge tremor hit. Honestly, it was pretty scary.
Throughout the night and morning of that day, large tremors struck again and again. The epicenter was Kumamoto. It makes me think, ``Maybe tomorrow's performance will be cancelled.'' A large stage has a lot of batons hanging from the ceiling for hanging lights and stage curtains. If a major earthquake occurs, this mechanism may become unusable. Even if it doesn't seem like anything is wrong at first glance, if it's distorted, it could cause a major accident. This could lead to a secondary disaster. However, fortunately or unfortunately, the Kokura performance was held successfully. Of course, the customers in Kokura also had a great time.
Perhaps some of those customers were affected by the disaster near Kumamoto.
What we saw and heard was the devastation of Kumamoto, where we lived until just the day before yesterday. The first day in Kumamoto was a really wonderful first day, and all the guests really enjoyed themselves and had a great time with big smiles, making us happy and having a great time.It was a great night.
It all happened overnight...I have no words.
"Why? Everyone was smiling so nicely just now..."
"How cruel is fate?"
It's easy to put it into words, but it was truly a heart-wrenching feeling.
And as expected, the first thing to do is the east of Tohoku.JapanRemembering the Great Earthquake, I thought about the Sendai and Genkai nuclear power plants.
I feel helpless and unable to do anything for the people who are forced to live a painful evacuation life, with no homes to live in, and cold winds still blowing at night even though it's early spring.
Should I continue the tour? I remember Mr. Yazawa himself saying this on stage.
At times like these, the voices of local people are sure to be heard.
“Continue touring,JapanBring some energy inside! ”
"Don't stop!"

What is the most important thing that this country lost from the 3.11 earthquake? There are so many things going on that I don't understand, but I think what I feel is ``an ordinary everyday life.''
eastJapanEven in Kumamoto, everyone who is still forced to live a life of inconvenience since the great earthquake.
A government that indulges in completely misguided policies at a critical moment.
Citizens demonstrate in front of the National Diet with shameful feelings.
Those who denounce the citizens. Racism, discrimination, and all kinds of discrimination are rampant.
The people are fed up with this country and are stressed out.
Moreover, the truth is that in reality, we are too busy with daily life to focus on politics.
I've been thinking a lot lately.
What should humans do to get along well with each other?
Why do we spend all our time fighting wars, making money, and discriminating? and.
How many people can be saved just by having that one heart of “consideration for your neighbor”?
How many lives will be saved?
I'm not a member of any particular religion, but don't the gods of this world exist to spread such things? I think so.
eastJapanDue to the great earthquakeJapanI may have written before that we have reached a major turning point. It makes us realize how fragile and fleeting our ordinary daily lives are. That may have been the case.
I heard that if the Median Tectonic Line, an active fault that extends from the Oita Prefecture side of Mt. Aso, begins to move during the Kumamoto Earthquake, the Chugoku region, Shikoku, Kansai, Tokai, and Kanto regions will be at risk of a major earthquake.
The Nankai Trough also lies on the Pacific side.
I also heard that Kumamoto's rich and pure water sources are undergoing major changes due to the earthquake. I'm very worried.
The Kumamoto Civic Hall, where we held the first day of our tour, suffered catastrophic damage and was forced to close for a year.

It is truly heartbreaking to see the place where I saw so many smiling faces look so pathetic.
However, the people of Kumamoto are now holding on, determined that they will not lose. This is probably due to the strong competitive spirit unique to Kyushu. I just pray that you don't push yourself too hard, take care of your body, and recover.
eastJapanI would like to once again express my heartfelt sympathies to all the victims of the great earthquake and tsunami in Kumamoto.
I would like to go to Kumamoto and Tohoku again and help deliver wonderful music.
That's all we can do, so we sincerely support good music so that you can go to the cities you live in and have a good time listening to the music.

Now, the story has completely changed.

The other day, I went to Yabu Soba near Kaminarimon to eat some soba in Asakusa on a sunny day in early summer.I thought I'd go home completely satisfied, but I thought I might have forgotten something. I thought for a few seconds...
that's right. For us percussionists, we have to visit JPC, a place as important as Sensoji.
It is a temple-like place where the Jedi masters of the percussion world gather.
In fact, as I'm sure you all already know, Drum City's manager Nishio has been transferred and is no longer in the store.
When I say this, it sounds like an older geisha has withdrawn from a tea ceremony, but I believe that the Jedi Master Nishio, the store manager, is able to master the skills of lost drummers of all ages and genders who come here to ask for guidance.
Of course, a young Jedi is now in charge of the store, so I was filled with anticipation and decided to take a rest for the first time in a long while when I entered Drum City... There was a familiar person vacuuming... and there was another Jedi Master, Mr. Man! What's more, someone even called out to me, ``It's Tsucchi-san, isn't it?'' From there, we started talking about nostalgic old stories, and the time passed quickly, leading to an interesting situation where we were so excited that we couldn't make any progress in paying the bills.

Now that I think about it, I can't tell you how many times I've been to this restaurant since I first came to this restaurant at the end of 12 years old... If I piled up all the packets of yakisoba from the flower shop I ate at each time, it might be as big as Kasumigaseki Building... lol
(Editor's note: A flower shop...or more accurately, a flower house.As you can see in the image at the beginning, the building still stands, but it went out of business a few years ago...It's sad...)
Of course, the Sky Tree had no shadow or shape, and I feel like it wasn't as major a tourist destination as it is now. About 35 years ago, Asakusa felt somewhat lonely and closed to outsiders. Ueno, next door, is the terminal station for the Keisei Skyliner and Shinkansen trains, so there are a lot of domestic and foreign tourists flocking there, but I remember Asakusa being quiet and having a bit of a gloomy atmosphere, kind of like the downtown area you see in movies, and even a little scary.
After all, it's through the eyes of a child, so there's bound to be a lot of misunderstanding.
Nowadays, it's crowded with young people and visitors from all over the world, and the Kakiwari-like Sky Tree is erected across the Okawa (Sumida River), giving it a somewhat stylish townscape.
That naughty feeling doesn't really exist anymore.
Hoppy Street has also become quite a tourist destination.
As we often go to rural areas on tour, we are often told by our elderly neighbors that we can go all over the place, but the truth is that no matter where we go these days, the big city remains the same.
All the commercial facilities are the same, there's Starbucks, Apple Store, Tower Records, Uniqlo, ZARA, etc. I feel like no matter where I go, things don't change, but even so, if you walk into a back alley, you'll find a place that still has a strong local flavor.

Do you know Asakusa Onsen, which is located behind Sensoji Temple? It's a very dilapidated, or rather old-fashioned building, but the boiler is broken and the building is currently closed, but it has a nice atmosphere.
It's not the kind of atmosphere that most people would casually drop by, but it's a place I'd like to visit someday.
Too bad, the story ended up being so pointless.
That's always the case.

Quiet topic Q.

The other day, Bob Dylan's new album arrived and I spent some time listening to it carefully in my room.

This album is said to be Dylan's cover of American standards from the old days, and it's very rich and wonderful. As I wrote on Twitter, I had a comfortable time with the music, which had a similar feel to Haruomi Hosono's recent sounds.
Although it doesn't do anything new, it's very modern and fresh.
The performance and singing conveyed a soulful and passionate feeling even though they were completely exhausted. Rock and roll, music that only old people can do, may have matured into music for old people.
Of course, it is also important to have a rebellious spirit for young people.
I guess the space has expanded. I think that's a wonderful thing.

Let me introduce you to two more wonderful records.

One of them is James Blake's new work, "The Color in Anything." How long have you been waiting for this record?

When you first listen to their first full-length album in three years, it has the same atmosphere as usual, but then you suddenly realize that they have made tremendous progress, and you start to get deeper and deeper into it.
He is my favorite musician at the moment in music called electronica and dubstep.

The other one is of course the well-known Brian Eno.
The genius of the original hikikomori, a masterpiece that immerses music in cold air, music for airport is music that you will definitely take with you on tour.
Eno's new work is also wonderful. I haven't gotten to the point where I can follow the liner and lyrics yet, but my first impression is that I'm already taken with it. The title is "The SHIP".

I also heard that this album is dedicated to my best friend, David Bowie, who passed away to heaven in January of this year.
There are almost no live drums in these two discs, so there are no difficult techniques or difficult procedures.
Just immerse yourself in the music and listen. In my private time, I often listen to music that doesn't include a drum set. I guess my ears get tired of hearing it because I'm working so hard at work lol
Sometimes I'm happiest when I'm listening to electronica, prewar boogie woogie, jazz, blues, and other soft sounds in a dark room.
I think everyone is the same. Once you get out of your cozy bed and step outside, you'll find yourself in a world that's harsh.
These days, I really feel that it is precisely in times like these that it is important to be considerate towards strangers.
It's even more important if you know someone.
``Even though we rub each other's sleeves, we have a connection from another life, and aren't you and I, who met here, also connected in some way? Rather than fighting each other, let's drink tea and talk.'' While I was thinking that it would be nice to have people around town lively, let's end this series with a perfect punchline of a Yota story.

Well then, everyone, good luck. We look forward to seeing you again on this page.
This summer is said to be extremely hot, so please take care of yourself.