Ken Tanaka and Takeo perform "No job" song tonight in Los Angeles

May 24, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Monday, May 24th 2010 Takeo and I (Yamato Natadekoko) will perform our song from youtube at 2nd Street Jazz in Los Angeles.
We go on at 10pm with our friends, Japanese grunge band Nirf. There are two other bands too. Tickets are $10....PLease Tell them you are there to see Ken Tanaka and Takeo.
This is the song

2nd street Jazz is located in LIttle Tokyo.
www.2ndstjazz.com
366 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-0047

AFtershock La Sneak Peek

May 14, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Saturday May 15th is the art auction event at Royal-T in Los Angeles to benefit Build Change.
Bid on work by James Jean, Clayton Brothers, Audrey Kawasaki, Yumiko Kayukawa, Edwin Ushiro, Mari Araki, Remi February, and many more.

Yumiko Kayukawa

JOn Measures

Audrey Kawasaki

James Jean

Click Here for more info.

Charity Art Auction with James Jean, Clayton Brothers, Remi February and me

May 7, 2010 Tanaka Ken

May 10-May 15th Royal T Art Cafe in Los Angeles will have a Earthquake charity art auction featuring art by The Clayton Brothers, Ken Tanaka's friend and neighbor James Jean, the very handsome Remi February, Mari Araki, Friedia Niimura, Edwin Ushiro and many others.

This is a benefit for Build Change, which builds EArthquake proof housing in developing countries.
Bidding starts on May 10th and ends with a party on May 15th.

I will have two pieces in the show. If you are interested in bidding, it may be possible to make satellite bids. Please contact info@cafemode.com for more information.

Jacob the Polar Bear is Acrylic Ink on Rives BFK print paper and is about 21x28.5 Read more about it here.

Hesitant Descender is Mixed Media collage and is 9 x 11 REad more about it by clicking here.

Great Mazinga Self Portrait

May 5, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Great Mazinga has been my friend since I was 4 years old. He often watches me draw, and he makes silent suggestions.

I guess a lot of my drawings are influenced by his opinions. He is a pretty artistic robot.

Yesterday I gave him some pens and paints before I went to the zoo. When I came home, I found this picture he drew of himself.

I was going to get him a blow up giraffe balloon as a souvenir at the zoo (he loves giraffes), but they were sold out. Instead, I got him some animal crayons with colors named after animals, like Lemur brown, and hook worm yellow.

I'm hoping that he does a lot more drawing.

Here is a photo of Great Mazinga watching me type this blog.

Big Robot Casts Big Shadow.

Letters from a Super Hero. Atomic Atom Episode 1

May 3, 2010 Tanaka Ken

(For some reason the above video player cuts off 1/3 of the screen...double click the video to see it on youtube in full.)

Atomic Atom is based on this drawing I did called "Letters From a Super Hero".

He is real, but I didn't know he was real until after I made the drawing. He is a very good neighborhood hero. This morning I saw him refilling a hummingbird feeder.

If you have a problem, contact Atomic Atom. He might be able to help, but I think he has a bad back.

He can't do heavy lifting, or anything that requires him to bend in a funny position.

Letters From a Super Hero- Acrylic Ink and collage over canvas

Flowers Everywhere

May 2, 2010 Tanaka Ken

It's April and that means it's flower season. Back home, we spend Spring doing Hanami (flower viewing), where we sit in a park under the plum or cherry blossoms and have picnics and sake all night long. In Los Angeles I haven't met anyone who goes flower viewing, but it rained a lot this year and there are flowers all over.

This weekend, I went to Hondo Canyon Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica mountains to meet some of them. I met about 30 species of flower and also some friendly bees. It made me think of Judge, who is always thinking about flowers.

This was my favorite flower. He is soft and fuzzy and looks like he is from a Dr. Zeuss book. When I grow up, I'd like to be a flower like this one.

While I was hiking, I almost walked into a giant rattle snake (Jacob) who was sunbathing on the trail. I stopped and waited a while for Jacob to disappear into the grasses. I was afraid he would mistake me for a delicious field mouse, I've been told I look like one. Luckily Jacob didn't bite me, he probably just wasn't hungry.

I also saw a small, friendly ringneck snake (Jacob). Jacob moved so fast that I couldn't really get a look at him. He was tiny and shy.

I'm hoping to go to the poppy reserve soon, where they have hills covered in beautiful poppies and other purple and yellow flowers. I went a while ago and you can see the video here.

Song Improvisation and Evolution

April 28, 2010 Tanaka Ken

I got a few emails yesterday asking about how we improvised the song "No Job" that I posted yesterday. So today, I uploaded the original raw video of the improvisation that led to this song.

The video is on my Kentanakajapan channel.
It is just a webcam video of me and Takeo-Kun making up the song as we go...
Then we did a few more recordings like this and finally I wrote some extra lyrics and Takeo made some guitar licks to go with the song.

Hopefully this video can answer your questions :)

Thanks everybody for your nice comments about the song. We had a very good time making it, and will make some more soon. Actually, Takeo-kun is on the way over right now to play music with me. そう言えばおそいなたけお君。

New Japanese Song - Yamato Natadecoco

April 27, 2010 Tanaka Ken

I made a new Japanese song with my Friend Takeo, who you might know from some of my other videos. Takeo is a white man, but was born and raised in Chiba, Japan. He comes from a family of musicians.

Takeo plays guitar in the song and I sing. We made this song through improvisation.

He played, and I sang to it a few times. Afterwards, we changed the lyrics from the improvisation and arranged it a little bit.

Improvising music is one of the funnest things in the whole world.

We will be making more songs soon. I hope you can enjoy this one :)

Hesitant Descender

April 22, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Junpei caterpillar was born in an old and handsome oak tree named Jacob.

He has lived in Jacob all his life.

Junpei has travelled quite a bit. Once he went from his home on the north side of the oak tree, to the branches of the south side of the tree, where the moss is drier, and the oak leaves are green and juicy.

Last week he climbed up to the very tip of the highest leaf, on Jacob's highest branch and he napped under spring sun.

On Tuesday, Junpei woke up to find that all of his friends were gone. Every caterpillar he knew had disappeared and he was left all alone on Jacob.

He asked Jacob what had happened, but Jacob would only answer "it happens every year".

Junpei cried caterpillar tears. He cried and cried and cried and he didn't finish crying until he was all done.

And when his last tear had fallen sploosh on the ground below, Junpei slowly caterpillared down Jacob's bark.

Down and down all the way to Jacob's bumpy trunk stump, far far far lower than Junpei had ever been.

And he sniffed the air,
and lifted his head
and looked out at the green grasses below.

Junpei is made of collaged print making paper and acrylic ink. He will be auctioned off at the Royal-T art show benefit for Earthquake rebuilding in May. I will write more details about it soon.

Everyday, Natto day, Natto day everyday.

April 22, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Have you met Natto? He is a very friendly soy bean. He is left out to rot until he becomes sticky and fermented.

Lately I have been eating this Natto Gohan bowl for breakfast everyday, and sometimes for dinner. I stir up the natto with raw green onion, and then put a fried egg on top and mix it up, and then put some shredded nori on top.

It's so yummy. It's a great way to enjoy rotten food.

Some of my favorite foods are moldy and rotten, like cheese.
In Japanese a Brie or Camembert cheese is called "Shiro Kabi" which means white mold....but in English they don't talk about the mold much when people discuss cheese.
I think Americans don't like to eat rotten things.

You can see a video of me eating Natto here.

Another favorite thing of mine is Ika no shiokara.
It's fermented squid and squid's guts. It is very salty and good to eat with beer and sake.

I can't understand why it's not popular in America. When I first went to an American bar, I ordered a beer and asked for rotten squid guts.

The bartender told me I had to bring my own.

Monster Destruction

April 20, 2010 Tanaka Ken

This is Monster Destruction Koala. He is another Koala that I drew by accident.
Monster Destruction Koala has adjustable head.

This Koala is Toby Sr. He has always been a hungry bear.

He got hungry one day and ate an entire eucalyptus tree. It fattened him up and he got hungrier, so he ate a small grove of eucalyptus trees. This made him even hungrier.

Next he ate a whole forest of eucalyptus trees. He got bigger and bigger, and bigger, and bigger until he was bigger than any eucalyptus forest in Queensland or New South Wales.

He wandered the world looking for a giant eucalyptus tree big enough to fill his tum. Finally, he found a whole forest of giant trees, shooting high up in the air.

They were unlike any eucalyptus he had ever seen. Toby crawled up the trunk of one and took his first bite. It was sharp and crunchy and metaly and didn't taste like other eucalyptus he had eaten.

He decided that the glassy leaves on the trunk might be too young, so he decided to climb higher, and higher, but all the leaves tasted the same.

I hope Toby finds what a yummy tree soon.

Koala appears

April 19, 2010 Tanaka Ken

I don't know much about this Koala. He's very quiet. I accidentally drew him last night. I didn't mean to. I was trying to bake a cake but around the time when I would've been taking the cake out of the oven, I realized I had painted a koala instead.

I'm not sure if this painting of a Koala is done. I feel like he is trying to tell me something, but I'm not sure what. If I find out what he's saying , I might write it in above his head.

Last night, I thought I heard him say "Hell is other bears." But I wasn't sure if I heard him right.

It's so hard to listen sometimes.

Monkey awaits your arrival

April 16, 2010 Tanaka Ken

You probably don't know Nicholas Spider Monkey, but he knows you. He can see what you are doing, and feel what you are thinking, and think what you are feeling.

There are 6,895,062,216 people in the world, and each day Nicholas Monkey hears and sees 6,895,062,216 different stories.
It's a lot for a single monkey to handle.

I've been very silently told that everybody will meet Nicholas Monkey someday, but I don't know if it is true. I guess I will find out one day.

He must be a very special monkey.

Maybe I will carry a small amount of monkey food with me everywhere I go.

My First Play- Getting Frankie Married by Horton Foote

April 16, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Last Sunday, I went to my first American Play called Getting Frankie Married and AFterwards by Horton Foote at the Open Fist Theater in Los Angeles.
I had never seen an American theater show before so it was very exciting.

It is the story of a man in his early forties. He lives with his mother, who is old and sick. He also has been living with the same girlfriend since high school but hasn't married her. He has an affair with a very young woman and lots of sad things happen and babies are made. Babies are happy, but the story is still sad. I cried sometimes, and then I got embarrassed, but the theater was very dark so nobody could notice.

The mother is played by Judith Scarpone and her performance is very handsome and funny and sad....it is like a Thai Banana flower salad with many different flavors at once. Bjorn Johnson plays Carlton Gleason, who is a very kind man. He walks with a limp because his mother used to get drunk and beat him when he was a baby. I'm glad Mr. Gleason's mother wasn't in the play because I don't like her. Mr. Johnson brings Carlton Gleason to life with a good mixture of dignity and innocence that made me feel like I would like to be friends with Carlton Gleason. I would invite him to breakfast if he were not fiction.

If you are in Los Angeles, I hope you will go to see this play through May 15.
The theater's website is. http://www.openfist.org/index.htm

April 14, 2010 Tanaka Ken

This picture is based on true events. I ate a lettuce leaf yesterday with a giant worm on it. I almost ate the worm (Bruce) but I noticed him just before I tasted him. Bruce looked at me, and I could tell he was frightened.

Coming that close to death has made him appreciate his life so much more. I think he is very thankful. I keep him in a small yogurt jar now.

He is eating an artichoke stem.

I wonder if he will always be a worm or if he will one day become a dusty winged butterfly. If that happens, I may change his name.

April 13, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Toby Matthew Jacobson was born 10 years before his tenth birthday. He didn't want any presents. He didn't want any cake.
He was bored by parties. He was bored by birthdays. In fact, Toby Matthew Jacobson was bored by everything except the idea of "After". And so he lived from one after to another after, and the days slowly passed.

Against his will Toby grew up, and exactly 32 years after the day he was born, Toby turned 32 years old. After going from after to after for so long Toby Matthew Jacobson had grown bored of Afters. Having lost interest in the idea of after, Toby turned his thoughts to It. What would it be and when would it come, and how would it feel when it did. And so, Toby began waiting. And he waited for it to come. And eventually, I suppose it did.

The Sad Banana

April 12, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Some people think that fruits have no feelings, but I know this is not true. I am eating a very happy Tangelo fruit as I type this post.

This morning, I had a waffle with fruits for breakfast, and you can see that the banana in the photo (Jacob) was very sad. I don't know if I did or said something that hurt Jacob's feelings.

I understand that when you are a banana you have good days and bad days. It's normal for a banana, or other fruit to feel sad sometimes, but I still felt bad about it. Some people say that if you eat a said fruit it will make you sad too, but Jacob's flavor made me very happy. I hope that as I chewed on him, his frown turned into a big, banana flavored smile.

So long, Jacob.

You Tube Japan Awards video

April 8, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Today I got my award for the Youtube Japan Video Awards 2009. Thanks to everybody who voted for my film I Am Robot.

I got this handsome, glass trophy.

Here is the video if you haven't seen it.

EArthquake in Los Angeles

April 4, 2010 Tanaka Ken

It is Sunday and the Easter holiday in Los Angeles and I just felt a very long earthquake [Update: NOw people are saying it was a 6.9 - 7.2 magnitude quake in Baja Mexico). It was a pretty big quake, and went on longer than most Earthquakes i have felt in Japan and California. It just happened a few minutes ago, but people on twitter are saying that they felt it in Phoenix Arizona which is 600 km away or so. I am scared that it might have been very big somewhere. I hope everyone is okay. In Japan, old myths say that earthquakes are caused by a catfish in the center of the world who keeps flopping around. I wish he would go to sleep.

A LITTLE BIRD COMES AND GOES

April 3, 2010 Tanaka Ken

Aka Shobin is a bright red kingfisher bird. His beak thick and handsome and red. He flies in the forest of Izumo, and sits on old temple tops at night. Bright red, but not so easy to see because he hides in trees and grasses.

Koyuki was at her window and looking out at the sun. It was rising up and there was dew dropping from the flower petals as ume was starting to blossom. Aka shobin was perched there, and was heavy and made the plum branch droop. Aka shobin's neck moved in jerky, robotic bird movement, and with his eye he saw Koyuki and she saw him.

Koyuki was larger than any bird aka shobin had seen before, and her feathers were long and stringy like a kosagi's mating plummage....and they only sprouted from her head, the rest of her was naked and bare, like a vulture in reverse. Aka-Shobin felt bad for staring and flapped on into the forest.

Koyuki watched the ume tree shake as aka shobin pushed off, and the dew drops rained down all at once like a solitary storm. and the aka shobin became a flash of red that blurred away into the cedar forest.

Now, Every spring morning, when ume is in bloom, Koyuki stands at her window and watches for Aka Shobin.

Koyuki was drawn at a figure drawing class when I got bored. She is charcoal and pastel on fancy french charcoal paper from garage sale.

Aka Shobin looks like this.

Ume blossom looks like this

Kosagi's mating plumage looks like this