This is my first diary entry in nearly 2 weeks. I’ve been busy adjusting to my new work schedule, and then watching the Tour de France in the evenings. However, I really do need to decide if I want to work harder at keeping this site updated regularly, or else change the design a bit.

Koyabu-Board player Yoshiharu was in Hiroshima this weekend, and we met for the first time on Saturday evening while he busked in the square in front of Hiroshima Station. Then, on Sunday night he came to the World Music Event at Barco and performed a set of about 5 songs. Not only is Yoshiharu very talented, he is an incredibly nice person, and several of my friends told me how happy they were that I had invited him to come and play. As a Stick player, I also appreciated the fact that when introducing his instrument to people on the street on Saturday night and again at Barco on Sunday night, he was always careful to mention that the Koyabu-Board design and playing method were based on the original designs and techniques created by Emmett Chapman more than 30 years ago. After the Barco event ended at about 1:30am on Sunday night (Monday morning), Yoshiharu left Hiroshima for his drive to Fukuoka, the next stop on his 5-week tour of Western Japan.

I think I’ve decided to cut back on my performance schedule a bit. One reason is simply that I had too much going on, and I really need to set aside more time for practicing and creating. (I need to look back on my calendar, but I believe I’ve performed at least once every weekend for nearly the past 3 months.) However, another reason is that I’ve been performing mostly at festivals and events where there is only about 20 to 30 minutes of stage time available per act. Although that can be fun from time to time and lets me hang out with friends and meet a lot of new people, I think I’m ready to start selecting my gigs a bit more carefully (rather than simply saying yes to any request that comes along) and try to focus on performances that will be a bit more valuable to me in my growth as a musician.