Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hello friends,
     What an incredible discovery this site has been.  Hailing from Columbia, MO (well not really, but why split hairs... I live here now, and that's the important part), community is a hard thing to come by in the realm of Shakuhachi.  Thus, this site is a blessing to both my ability and my enthusiasm for the instrument.

     My musical life began in gradeschool with the Trumpet and various other brass instruments, and I graduated to the guitar and bass in my teens (Slayer proved to be exceptionally difficult on a French Horn).  I have continued to play both guitar and bass up to the present (I am now 31).  The Shakuhachi (though I didn't know what it was called until recently) has always grabbed my attention.  So, while at a Rennasaince Festival in Kansas City, MO, I made a spur of the moment purchase of a student grade bamboo shakuhachi.  Imagine my suprise when I didn't instantly start spurting out those hauntingly beautiful tones.  In this world, I am a three year old with a floaty testing the water at the pool with my big toe.

     And that brings me to today.  I "played" for a couple hours today and thought I would do a bit more research (I offer my own definition of research as 'wandering aimlessly on the web hoping to find something cool') and happened upon this forum.  I immediately recognized Phil James (whom I've spoken with in emails recently), James Schlefer, and Brian Ritchie (I still don't have that Add It Up baseline down ), and knew this was the place to be.

     I would like to end by saying thanks to all those involved in getting this forum together and on the web.  As I probably won't have much to offer in regards to the shakuhachi for a good long while, I would like to help in other ways if possible (I'm computer savvy and make one mediocre cappuccino).

Thank you all again,  I hope to talk to you all soon!