Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

"PIPE DREAMS

There's nothing like a bit of variety in your musical taste. Brian Ritchie, best known as the bass player for the indie punk rockers Violent Femmes, boasts another, lesser-known talent: playing the shakuhachi.

The Japanese bamboo flute, used by the Fuke branch of Zen Buddhists in meditation, makes the kind of sound often heard on CDs featuring the snooze-inducing sounds of frolicking dolphins, tinkling streams, rolling waves and pan flutes. Rather unlike the indie anthem Blister In The Sun - or anything else in the Femmes' back catalogue.

Ritchie, who calls Tasmania home these days, is one of the guest performers

in the World Shakuhachi Festival starting in Sydney next Friday. Held in a different city every four years, the festival is the equivalent of the bamboo flute Olympics, with concerts, panel discussions and workshops expected to attract about 400 international visitors.

Its artistic director, Riley Lee, said if mother nature could talk, the shakuhachi would be one of her voices. And while the instrument is known for its meditative qualities, not all aficionados are chilled out all the time.

"These people would probably be less calm if they didn't play it," says Lee, adding: "There's all kinds. There are some extremely agitated people who I think it is a good job they are doing this and there are other people who are almost too calm."

The World Sahkuhachi Festival runs from July 4 to 8. See worldshakuhachifestival08.com."

Nice quote Riley!

The stuff about snooze inducing dolphin sounds.............don't know about that!