Montana Folk Festival

I know it’s a little late to post about SFTD’s trip this summer to the Montana Folk Festival, but our time there was so epic that it just seems right to start a Dojo blog with this story.

There were ten of us who went to perform at the Folk Festival in July 2012 – Sensei, Taiyo, Michelle, Irina, Kai, Hiroki, Hideki, Elias, Miwa and myself.  When we got to the airport, we had our first great surprise – Kumu Kawika Alfiche and his traditional Hawaiian Halau (whose real name is Hālau o Keikiali`i but is endearingly referred to among Dojo members as “The Hawai’i Group”) was also travelling from SFO to the Folk Festival, and we were on the same plane!  They spotted us all sitting in our matching jackets and stopped by to introduce themselves before we even got on the plane.  Sensei was very impressed.  We later learned that their Halau is just a few blocks away from Dojo in South San Francisco.  What are the odds of so many awesome people being in such a small square footage of space?

Once we landed in Montana, we all climbed on a charter bus to ride the 1.5 hours from Bozeman to Butte, where the Folk Festival is held.  Michelle had never been outside of California, so it was fun to see her amazement at the Rocky Mountains when we arrived in Montana.  What was even more amazing was that it was just us and the Hawai’i group on the bus – and they sang and played music the WHOLE drive.  They started with traditional songs, but worked their way into familiar songs that we all knew (they sang with BEAUTIFUL, heart-rending harmonies, I must add), and by the end of the trip, we had a big sing-a-long going.  The only thing missing was the campfire and S’mores.

When we got to Butte, we met the folks from Montana Taiko and Spokane Taiko who had traveled many hours to lend us their drums for our three performances over the weekend.  Melissa and Tina from Montana Taiko knocked my socks off with their can-do attitude and ability to get things done quickly and efficiently.  It felt like an almost instant sisterhood!  And they gave Sensei a bottle of Montana-grown whiskey, which we had the pleasure of enjoying for the next two nights.  Aaron from Spokane Taiko was brilliantly shy, Johanna the exact opposite, and I’m pretty sure Marcia studied back episodes of MacGyver to come up with some of her great ideas. 

We also got to meet Marian, our hospitality contact for the Festival.  She was downright awesome! Whatever crazy request we made of her, she pulled out her phone and made it happen.  With a smile.  And often some deadpan remark that sent me into inappropriate laughter.  She became a trusted source of information, an excellent ally, and an instant support staff of one. 

So with this cast and crew, plus the Hawaii Group staying in the same hotel, we pretty much had it made.  Our first performance went smoothly, and it became very clear very quickly that many people in Montana had never seen anything quite like Taiko Dojo! The sound guy at the first stage told us afterward that the event producer came over during our performance and told him he needed to turn our microphones down because other performers were complaining.  The sound guy’s response, “Uh, they’re not miked.”  That’s taiko, baby!

We were on the cover of the local newspaper!

On Saturday morning, before our first show, we strolled around
the town of Butte

Our first performance was on Saturday at the Granite Street Stage

Following our first performance, Sensei, Irina and Taiyo were invited back to
the stage for a discussion and demonstration of world percussion with other performers

Sensei, Irina and Taiyo demonstrated Taiko Drumming

The crowd loved the demostration

After the discussion and demo, Sensei is captured with well-known percussionists

Marian tracked us down at dinner that night to let us know that there were thunderstorms rolling in.  As luck would have it, we were scheduled to perform on the only covered stage that night – the tent had walls and everything.  When I told her I was unconcerned about the weather, she said, “But how are you going to get the drums to and from the stage?”  I laughed and told her that she hadn’t yet seen the ghetto side of Dojo.  With the permission of both lending groups, we ended up wrapping all of the drums in trash bags and transporting them that way. 

That evening’s show was off the hook crazy!  The tent was packed with people who were buzzing with energy.  And they were DRU-UNK!  It was so much fun to drum for them, though they were so loud and enthusiastic that we couldn’t hear some of our cues.  It was a wild, exhilarating night, and it was one of the most fun and exciting performances of Tsunami that I remember doing.  Yum.

Our final performance was to be Sunday afternoon on the main stage, which happened to be built around a giant metal structure used for mining in the past.  Turns out this is not such a good place to be when there’s a lightning storm, which turned into a rain storm just before we were going to start our set.  We ended up huddled in a nearby building waiting for the rainstorm to pass.  At first, they talked about pushing back all the rest of the performances so that we could still do ours, but as time dragged on, they began to lean toward cancelling our set.

The most amazing thing happened next.  Melissa from Montana Taiko asked whether there was an alternate venue where we could perform.  Someone nearby knew the principal of the local Catholic high school, which has a 400 seat auditorium.  Half an hour later, the school had been opened, the drums had been transported, and way more than 400 people were packed into that little room.  They were sitting on the floor, lining the aisles, packed in the back.  No one worried about fire code or liability, they just knew people wanted to see taiko and they made it happen.  It was amazing. 

Sensei decided that instead of doing our 45 minute set, we would do a whole show.  We were all floating so high that almost every song felt like it was the best one ever.  Even the song we totally screwed up felt great.

That evening was filled with celebration.  We had an excellent dinner with the Montana and Spokane taiko groups, at which Sensei asked each of us to say a little speech.  Afterward, we went with the Hawai’i Group to the Silver Dollar Saloon (!!!), where there was live Latin music and dancing.  Sensei blew all of our minds by being an amazing salsa dancer, then later getting up on stage and rocking out on the drum kit during a Reggae set. 

The following morning we said our goodbyes and set off for the airport, where we received our last gift from the Hawai’i group.  (At least during this trip.)  The night before, one of our members learned that his grandmother had passed away, and Kumu Kawika sang an incredible song that he wrote for his father, who has also passed.  It was beautiful and heart-breaking, all at the same time. 

Through the Montana Folk Festival, we met some folks with whom we have created amazing memories and life-long friendships.  I know that all of us who went felt like our lives were somehow changed by this experience, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we are grateful.  Here are pictures to prove it.  

Written by:
Laurie Lynn Hogan

Tanaka Sensei & San Francisco Taiko Dojo, Montana Taiko, and Spokane Taiko