Kiyomi

[he-day]

One of my friends in Japan sent me this link of video clip. (WMP)

Check this out.

http://asx.showtime.jp/asx....500.asx (http://asx.showtime.jp/asx/music/20040827/d02mcs000000275402367_0500.asx)



Hide Kawatsure
Santa Cruz, CA

I don't know what she is saying but I think it has to do with Bill Monroe.




http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Scott Tichenor]

Couldn't resist posting this pic from her web site.

[jasona]

Can't get it to play. Nice mandolin.

Edit: got it working. Odd the way the processed the sound of the mando. Still...ya gotta give it to Japanese Pop. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[mandolinquent]

Really neat...my 7-yr-old daughter is weirdly obsessed with asians and absolutely loved this. However, its a little strange that on her website it lists her blood type (which is B)! However, it reminds me of the CD I just bought for my daughter by "The Twelve Girls Band" Anybody else see this? They play some really interesting instruments! I'd love to know what the instruments that they play with a bow are.

http://twelvegirlsband.com/

[s1m0n]

However, its a little strange that on her website it lists her blood type (which is B)!

Japanese pop culture finds the same kind of significance in blood type as we do in horoscopes; certain combinations are seen as desirable for potential romantic partners, and others less so.

When you think about it, it's not any sillier than birthdates.

[Chicago]

I'd love to know what the instruments that they play with a bow are.


I believe it's called an Erhu, a two-stringed Chinese fiddle http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[fatt-dad]

I thought the mandolin in the Home Depot ad was better than that.

f-d

[ira]

not a fan of the song, but always a fan of mando in a non-standard format. and she is awful cute!
my fav part of the video was the school mando orchestra jumping around in slomo- what a paaaaaaaaarty!

[he-day]

Just for your information the tune she plays in the video is called "Rydeen". It was originally played by a Japanese techno pop band #"Yellow Magic Orchestra" including the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in early 80's. The original tune was instrumental.


Hide Kawatsure
Santa Cruz, CA http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[mandoJeremy]

First off, I think I am in love! Asian and plays mando....HOT! Okay, enough with the hormones! That very first shot looks like an Eastman case to me but the mando she is playing in the video and the different one on the live sections would not fit in that case. Also, anyone notice how stiff all of them hold their wrists? Looks painful but I am still in love.

[hellindc]

I think some banjos would add just the right flair, don't you think?

[mandoJeremy]

Only for satan and I am not him....how about...ummm...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[mandolinquent]

...That very first shot looks like an Eastman case to me but the mando she is playing in the video and the different one on the live sections would not fit in that case...
I was thinking it looked like a pegasus. If you go and look at the pictures on her website you can see that the case she has is for a bowlback mandolin, ya just cant tell its a bowlback case from the video footage.

[delsbrother]

Sorry, this is newTEKNO.

[chirorehab]

She kind of looks like Michael Kang.... mandolin player from String Cheese incident...

Eric

[mandopete]

Very cool Hide!

....but I think the scroll looks kinda odd http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Ted Eschliman]

A little trivia:
"Rydeen" is the Japanese "God of Thunder."
I hope she has a DVD coming out; my six-year-old daughter is hooked on Hillary Duff and Raven (could be worse...). She's about worn out her "Lizzie McGuire" Karaoke CD.
Maybe Kiyomi will spark her interest in mando.

[GBG]

MANDOLIN DISCO

[delsbrother]

She kind of looks like Michael Kang.... mandolin player from String Cheese incident...

Eric
Yeah, all you round eyes look the same to us too. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[chirorehab]

I was not kidding.... I even showed her video to my wife, (who agreed) some of her expressions were very similiar to Kang's... I have seen SCI over 50 times.

I did not mean to offend either... I just couldn't believe the similiarity in expression while playing a mandolin.

Eric

[he-day]

Ted,

You have amazing knowledge of Japanese language and culture. I think that even regular Japanese don’t know about “Rai-Jin” (God of Thunder). However, I am afraid that “Rydeen” of this tune has probably nothing to do with ‘Rai-Jin”. I think it's just a name.

[Jim Garber]

Odd the way the processed the sound of the mando.
Yes, her mandolin when she plays seems processed but perhaps you are also hearing the mandolin orchestra that backs her up on parts of this even when they are not on camera.

BTW she plays a Calace Classico A (http://www.calace.it/images/mandolini3b.gif), one of the highest end bowlbacks made by the company. The case is nice also.

I imagine that the orchestra is one of the more prominent Japanese ones that are popular today.

BTW the mandolin in Japan predates bluegrass: it goes back to around 1905 or so.

Jim

[Jack Roberts]

Anyone know more about this young lady? This (http://www.nakajimakiyomi.com/kiyomi.html) appears to be her web site but English readers are clearly not going to be reading much there.
Scott:

Her bio page (in loose translation) describes her as:

"...free spirited, not fitting into any mold, difficult to grasp..."

The bio goes on to say that she was brought up in a Christian household (unusual in Japan), her mother is a pianist and her father plays trombone, and that she sings hymns in the choir at church while her mother plays piano. She studies mandolin under Tadashi Aoyama, who is one of the top players in Japan.

She feel both mandolin and singing are, to her, a type of prayer.

She sounds like a good model for a young mandolinist.
If you want me to spend some time doing a decent translation of her web pages, maybe I can get to it later.

BTW, Japanese like to know blood types. The popular belief it that it correlates with personality. They say "Oh, you are a typical type O" or "you are very unusual for a type O". It's like knowing someone's national origin here in the U.S.

Jack

[Scott Tichenor]

Jack - thanks for the translation. Hopefully she'll have a successful career and we'll see more recordings from her.

Ted, my daughter really like the video too. She watched it about five times in a row the other night. She (my daughter) doesn't even know who Britney or the other pop princesses are but she knows her Django, Diana Krall and Don Stiernberg.

[vkioulaphides]

I do not believe that the mandolin she plays is a Calace Classico A but a Japanese instrument, modeled after Roman bowlbacks. Please note how the Calace does not have a slotted peghead, despite the scroll; the pegs face sideways, not backwards. Kiyomi's mandolin has a typical Roman peghead, a la Embergher, with pegs facing backwards, etc.

Also, the shape of the bowl, especially the manner in which it tapers into the neck-block is more Roman than Neapolitan.

Having said all that, she is certainly cute... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Songbird]

Think I'll watch the video with the sound off next time http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[Christopher Howard-Williams]

Very nice. I'll show my (Japanese) wife the video this evening and see what she thinks. We'll be out there in October and I'll try to find out how "big" she is.
There was a good band a few years back similar in style to this called "My Little Lover" - no mandolin, but a nice album calle "Evergreen" if anyone is interested. They have a cute singer too.

[John Craton]

[quote=jasona,Sep. 12 2004, 11:49]

BTW she plays a Calace Classico A, one of the highest end bowlbacks made by the company. The case is nice also.

There are some nice photos of a Classico A that can be found at www.mirai.ne.jp/~kaz/calace.htm. The text is mostly in Japanese, but the pix are great.

I noticed that nearly all websites that mention the classico are Japanese. Is this model even available in the US?

[Lane Pryce]

That tune was a real"toe tapper" and the mandolin was a hybrid Michael Kelly. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif Lp

[Jim Garber]

I noticed that nearly all websites that mention the classico are Japanese. Is this model even available in the US?
There are very few new bowlbacks available anywhere in the US. You can order this model directly from Calace. The mandolin has and is pretty big in Japan, bluegrass and classical etc.

Jim

[vkioulaphides]

Operaguy: As you will notice in the pictures on the site you linked, the Calace Classico does not (as I wrote before) have a slotted peghead. The instrument Kiyomi is playing may be a hybrid Calace-style instrument but not BY the Calace firm itself.

As for the Calace firm itself, it is located in Naples, Italy, but ships instruments anywhere in the world; I own a Calace (Model 26) myself.

[Jacob]

I was wondering if her mandolin might be an Ochiai (http://homepage3.nifty.com/ikegaku/Ochiai%20mandolin.htm)?

[he-day]

Kiyomi uses OCHIAI Mandolin Type S-S w/ custom inlay.

http://homepage3.nifty.com/ikegaku/Ochiai_SS.htm

The case in the video is made by Eastman Case Company.

http://www.eastmancasecompany.com/


Hide Kawatsure
Santa Cruz, CA

[Jim Garber]

I emailed one dealer of Eastman mandolin cases and he said it was very unlikely that they coule be able to order a bowlback case. Anyone know of a dealer who does sell them?

Jim

[mandoJeremy]

Finally, one thing I am right on!....she is hot and so is that Eastman case.

[Jacob]

Hide, thanks for the info.
Ochiai certainly makes beautiful instruments.

[EastmanGordon]

Gordon from Eastman here. We don't import this particular case into the US because we feel that the demand would not make it worth our while. Do you guys think there is enough demand for us to think about bringing some over here?
Where are all you bowlback owners?
G.

[Lee]

Gordon, hurry on down to the Classical forum and inquire there if anyone wants an Eastman case for their bowlback. I suspect there are a whole lot of vintage bowlbacks sitting around peoples houses inside unlined cardboard cases. I know mine is...

[vkioulaphides]

Indeed, Gordon: Several of us bowlback-owners would like an Eastman case, and on occasion several each; I have no way of giving you a figure of how many you might wish to import. Please stay on the track, though. There IS interest!

Thanks for posting.

Victor

[Jim Garber]

EastmanGordon:
There are quite a few of us on the classical board who are looking for good quality cases for bowlbacks. I have quite a few vintage ones but I specifically looking for one for my 2003 italian bowlback. I would need to know the inner dimensions or perhaps see one in person with my instrument. Any chance of that? Do you have one one hand as a sample?

BTW with the exception of custom cases, there are no makers I know in the US of cases for these instruments. One builder in the US has to import them from the UK.

Jim

[Jack Roberts]

He-day:
I saw your posting on Satomi's website, and her reply to you. She also mentions that Eastman offers that case in a number of colors: red, white, black, blue, green, orange, silver.

I'd like a blue one.

[EastmanGordon]

I had our case expert call our guy at the workshop to see when we can get some of these cases shipped to us. I know we had at least one here at one point because we displayed it at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim but I haven't been able to lay my hands on it yet. If it's here and I can find it I will post the dimensions. We will be getting these cases into the US as soon as we can, thanks to the power of Mandolin Cafe! I have never seen one in orange however, sounds pretty awful to me.

Gordon

[vkioulaphides]

Uhm, yeah, orange would be pretty awful, Gordon. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif Then again, there's no accounting for taste.

I would eventually buy such a case or two, as they (from your end) and disposable income (from mine) become available. Still, I think that white, red, blue, green, or anything-but-orange would be my choice.

Stay in touch!

[Bob A]

On the other hand, very few orange mandolin cases get left behind in parking lots, or otherwise overlooked. Even if the looking is painful, it doesn't hurt as much as that crunching twang.

I'll sign on for a few cases, or maybe even more, depending on how much they run.

[vkioulaphides]

True! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Besides, (this is where Victor eats his words), I do have a hard case with orange lining, and that looks just fine. The mandolin inside had this light, honey-hue varnish on a walnut bowl, which looks quite, ehm... peachy in orange.

Sign me on, Gordon, orange cases and all! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Scott Tichenor]

Gordon, a good place to find a lot of bowl owners would be at a CMSA convention (http://www.mandolincafe.com/cmsa/convention.html). One coming up next month, plus, they have a quarterly newsletter that one could inquire in. It's a pretty informal organization.

[Jim Garber]

Yes, Gordon... do you think you might have a few samples of the cases by the time of the convention. That would be great since I would have my Pandini there at that time.

Jim

[Unseen122]

That was interesting. Japanese pop is strange but they probably think American pop is strange. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[EastmanGordon]

Jgarber,
The CMSA Convention sounds like it might be something we should be attending and it's in Philly which is just a couple of hours drive from us. I went to the website to see who I should contact about a booth but there didn't seem to be anyone listed for me to contact. Do you have any info that might help. Sounds like a fun weekend.
Gordon

[John Craton]

Back to the topic of Kiyomi, I finally was able to obtain a copy of her CD. Some very nice picking on these tracks (six tracks total, two instrumental). I would offer the titles, but they're all in Japanese. Though my son is studying Japanese, he didn't recognize a couple of the kanjis. Doesn't matter, the songs sound nice anyway, in something of a light pop genre with definite Japanese flavoring.

For anyone interested, you can order the CD direct from Japan by going here (http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail.asp?sku=1846400). I've not found anyone who imports it to the US, so you'll have to buy direct. Shipping is a bit pricey, but not unreasonable. (The CD even includes a few bars of printed music from one of the pieces that features the mando.)

Would still like to know who made Kiyomi's mandolin. I feel quite sure it's Japanese, but I've no idea how to find out its maker. Anyone fluent enough in Japanese to write to her? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Eugene]

Would still like to know who made Kiyomi's mandolin. I feel quite sure it's Japanese, but I've no idea how to find out its maker.
Ochiai Mandolin (http://www.mandolino-web.com/otiai/mandolin.html.htm), as previously suggested by Hide Kawatsure (type S-S with custom inlay), seems likely.

[he-day]

John (Operaguy),

It's great that you got her CD. I should check it out when I am over there next time. If you have any questions on those Kanji, I might be able to help you. You can send me a e-mail to hidek@sbcglobal.net


Hide Kawatsure
Santa Cruz, CA

Interesting stuff. I dont have the time to play it but sounds pretty neat. Any thing fresh with the mandolin is bound to be on the likings of the many people here.

It surprised me a pop player was pickin a mandolin.

Can you picture uhh Brittany Spears playing a mando. Im sure some of the guys on here can. Ill behave now.

[John Craton]

If you have any questions on those Kanji, I might be able to help you.
Many thanks, he-day! With Hide's gracious assistance, we now can post the English translations of the tracks from Kiyomi's CD (plus a little commentary that helps explain a bit about some of the selections):

1 Rydeen
Mandolin & Vocal version
The tune was performed by Japanese pop techno band called "Yellow Magic Orchestra" including Grammy award wining composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in 80's. The original tune was a instrumental, so I assume she or someone added lyrics.

2 An Atelier
w/ mandolin chart

3 Forgotten Letter

4. Spare Key
I would be really impressed if your children figured this one out. The literally meaning of "Ai-Kagi" is a spare key and that kanji is 合鍵、but she uses 愛 instead of 合. 愛 means love. (Kanji probably won't appear on your screen)

5. From the beginning to now. (from drama "Winter Sonata")
"Winter sonata" is Korean soap opera which was very popular in Japan last year.

6. The shape of happiness.


Once again, thanks, Hide!

[Desert Rose]

Jack is right about the blood types in Japan and it has NOTHING to do with pop culture its over a thousand years old or more and believed to be a definate signal to ones personality. Much stronger than our use of horoscopes.

Her mandolin right hand technique is orthodox classical taught mandolin technique here in Japan just as her choice of a bowl back. Even in this day and age almost no one outside of bluegrass over here even recognizes an F style as a mandolin, they constantly come up during set breaks and ask what IS that instrument

Scott
Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan