StrungOut

I am meant to write Strungout once a week. It’s been about a month since I last wrote, which according to the “how to be the best/most read blogger” blogs I have been reading, is a cardinal blogging sin. I have a good excuse though, sort of. I went on a very intense tour of Japan, and then got back and worked like a dog. The last few weeks have also been occupied by my impending nuptials (6 days to go until I am officially off the shelf.) In short, I’ve been knackered, barely capable of conversation, let alone writing down sentences.

The intense tour in question was an 8 day trip to Japan with a reduced contingent of the London Metropolitan Orchestra. 11 string players flew out to Tokyo to play with Japanese multi-instrumentalist and all round cool dude Joji Hirota on the BEYOND THE REQUIEM TOUR. Joji lives in London and he sings, he raps, he’s an incredible Taiko drummer, composer and flautist. The tour was a charity one and the objective was to try and provide some form of musical comfort to the communities of Tohoku, one of the worst affected areas of Japan by the tsunami of March 2011. We took it on knowing that it would be emotional, intense and difficult in places. This sounds a bit dramatic but it felt even as I was there, like a life changing week. There is so much to tell you that this entry is a part one of a two parter.

THE PLAYERS

ANDY BROWN: Conductor LMO. Also, tour camera man. He filmed footage of the entire tour. (soon after his arrival in Japan, he was known as Andy Brown-San, meaning “honorable, respected, Andy Brown.” Charmingly the Japanese attach a complimentary adjunct to everyone’s name, whether it’s san, or chan, meaning “friend”. Andy Brown-San stuck for the entire tour, much to his amusement.)

RAVEN: My quartet. All four of us. (If your memory needs refreshing read this.)
RITA: Irish leader of LMO. Tour dispenser of plasters, paracetamol and in extreme cases, Night Nurse.
MARTIN: Swedish, devilishly handsome violinist. Frighteningly good at speaking Japanese.
JAMIE: Welsh, sunny natured violinist. Despite her tiny frame, managed to eat 45 bowls of soba noodles in 1 sitting. (They were small bowls, but still.)
ANDY M: Double bassist. Can normally be found in the pit, not mining, but playing in Les Miserables in the West End. Strawberry blonde.
IAN: Violinist, seasoned traveller to Japan. Despite this, we lost him at Ikebukuro bullet train station. Luckily we retrieved him an hour or so later.
CHRIS: Viola player, remarkably tall, softly spoken. He too had an ill fated bullet train journey. Stood in the coffee queue at our destination, he suddenly went green and said quietly, “I left my phone and wallet on the train. I might be sick.” As we were in Japan, he got them back two days later, untouched. Clearly, this would never happen in England.

This a picture courtesy of aforementioned Jamie, of the whole band, and our new friends, who were traditional dancers with swords and crazy vertical ponytails.