Over the past few years, TCA has begun building a compendium of knowledge about and for our taiko community. But of course, we are not the first. Since the age of The Rolling Thunder Taiko Resource, taiko artists and enthusiasts have taken it upon themselves to find, collect, and share taiko knowledge with our broader community – often volunteering their own time, money, and passion to do so.
Even for a team of passionate taiko folx, such a resource is an incredibly demanding endeavor, and those demands only grow as our community grows. TaikoSource is one such resource that has continuously grown since its inception on July 3, 2013 thanks to the thirst for knowledge and dedicated efforts of its founder, Ben Pachter.
Today, we are excited to announce that Ben is passing the torch to TCA where we will use the workforce we’ve spent almost a decade building to sustain and cultivate the next iteration of Taiko (Re)Sources. Here’s a preview of what you can expect:
Born as the TaikoSource Group Map and fueled by TCA's Taiko Census, The Taiko Directory is a comprehensive listing of taiko artists, groups, ensembles, schools, vendors, and more.
November 2021
What was that song played by that person in that place on that date? We might not be able to tell you, but we can help you try to find out. Search through listings of compositions by artists, song use permissions, copyleft repertoire, and tools to start creating your own works. (Let us know when we can add them to the database!)
February 2022
While you're not playing the drums, why not spend some time reading about them? The Catalog will be an ever-evolving listing of books, articles, and any other literature related to taiko. (And yes, that includes the limited edition Dennis the Menace comic book featuring San Francisco Taiko Dojo.) If they're not available online, we'll point you in the right direction to get a copy of your own.
April 2022
Behind each entry in the database, each song in the directory, each publication in the catalog – there's a story. Through all of this work to uplift and advance the art of taiko, we can't forget to also empower the people. In 2022, we'll launch a new initiative to collect taiko stories – your stories – and share them throughout the community.
So, what's your story?