Sunday, February 24, 2008

secret song

Last night, Mari was putting Luka to bed and while I was turning the lights off in the rest of the house she started singing this song. It was very beautiful and lilting in a natural way. It seemed to spill out like honey or sweet butter. I asked her whose song it was and she told she just made it on the spot. She was worried that it might have been too broadway- it was nothing of the sort. That's all, it was very powerful.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

About me

So, I finally have some time this morning...Melanie from over at My Life as a Gaijin tagged me so here goes...

What I was doing;
10 years ago

I had just graduated college and that summer moved to New York City, where I attended a recording engineering school in the afternoon and worked fixing computers at Baruch Mari and I got married. We had been living together in Japan for about two years. The ceremony was in Hawaii at tiny chapel. Everything was perfect. One of our classmates from the recording school, Yuki and her mother came, and my parents, grandparents and my aunt and Mari's parents and friend Ai were able to come. We swam in the ocean with the giant sea turtles. I was working teaching English in the afternoons and writing and practicing in the mornings. I had my first real paid commission- Takashi Nakamura asked me to write a piece for harp and tenor. My piece "October Dream" was in the works to be published by HomaDream. I also met my mentor, Yoshio Nomura,who has been basically responsible for all of the great musical things that have happened to me here in Japan.

1 year ago
Teaching. Taking care of my one year old son. Writing and performing a piece for two guitars with Nomura-san. Riding my bike to work every morning. Waking up early to write music. Mari opened up her bellydance studio, Yasalam in downtown Nagoya.

Yesterday
I found some time after work to begin putting my orchestral piece "prayers and sighs" into the computer. Had some wine with Mari. Talked with my in-laws over dinner. My Japanese skills are in a down swing- 'been speakin' to much English.


5 snacks I enjoy

1.chocolate
2.hot red bean soup(zenzai)
3.roasted chestnuts
4.chestnut cake(marron braun(sic)
5.rice cakes

5 books I like

1. The Wind-up bird Chronicles- Haruki Murakami
2. Vineland - Thomas Pynchon
3. Against the Day - Thomas Pynchon
4. The Mind's Ear: Exercises for Improving the Musical Imagination- Bruce Adolphe
5. the new Haruki Murakami book


5 things I'd do with $100 million

1. Buy a house on the water in Hawaii with a studio overlooking lots of palm and fruit trees with a small coffee-bean garden in the back.
2. Establish a water based energy source company
3. Charity
4. Give it away- too much responsibility
5. Dig my own hot spring in Gifu


5 places I'd love to run away to


1. Kauai
2. Saipan
3. Vietnam
4. Santa Barbara, California
5. (anywhere that is warm and quiet)


5 bad habits and pet peeves I have

1. PP people who rush in front of you in line to get on the subway
2. BH drifting off into my own world
3. PP people who are mean or rude
4. PP people who take advantage of other people
5. BH being an occasional hermit


5 things I like doing

1. Writing
2. Dreaming
3. Talking with Mari
4. Playing with Luka
5. Traveling


5 things I would never wear

1. A piano tie
2. A candelabra
3. A mullet
4. A sweatsuit of all the same color
5. A football jersey


5 TV shows I like

1. Zenmai Samurai- it's a cartoon created for kids but it's absolutely amazing
2. ojarumaru- another crazy cartoon

3. I rarely watch TV so for now just the above two.
4. ""
5. ""

5 movies I like
1. Wings of Desire
2. Kamikaze Girls(Shimotsuma monogatari)
3. Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no issho)
4. Adaptation
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

5 famous people I'd like to meet
1. Martin Bresnick
2. Bob Dylan
3. Haruki Murakami
4. Thomas Pynchon
5. Tetsuya Nakashima

5 favourite toys
1. Laptop
2. Ukelele
3. Ipod
4. Toy Piano
5. guitar

5 people I'd like to see complete this
1. Ritchie
2. Glenn maybe he could write about his band

3. my son
4. myself in a past life
5. my other self in a past life

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Rolfe's Barber Shop