Behind-the-Scenes: Cowboy Versus Samurai

In Mu's latest video on our YouTube channel, you will find interviews with some of the cast and hear them talk about working together on such a fun play as Michael Golamco's Cowboy Versus Samurai. You will also hear Sun Mee Chomet bring up one of the more poignant topics of the play: the role of race in romantic relationships.





On Wednesday, November 17th following the evening's performance of Cowboy Versus Samurai, we will be holding a special discussion about the realities and challenges of inter-racial versus intra-racial relationships. The discussion will feature a panel of actors and special guests, and you! Hear from the experts and have your say next week at the Guthrie's Dowling Studio.

Hiroshima mon amour

A few weeks ago, in late September, Hiroshima, the legendary Asian American jazz/pop band, performed at the Hopkins Center for the Arts (view our preview about it here). I say legendary because they've been together since 1980, have received many awards from such respected sources as Billboard, Soul Train Music Awards, and Performance Magazine, and recently received their second Grammy nomination for their most recent CD, Legacy. They have had the kind of artistic success and international renown that most Asian American artists in any field dream about.

Their concert was a terrific mix of their classic and newer songs. For me, it was a trip down nostalgia lane. Hiroshima was a part of the exciting times in the 1980s when many other Asian American artists were emerging, like David Henry Hwang and Philip Gotanda. It was exciting because the band has had the same leaders, Dan and June Kuramoto, through all those years, but have been open to involving a new generation of players like Shoji Kameda of On Ensemble, who Mu Daiko members know very well having worked with him as a taiko performer.

But the most fascinating part of seeing Hiroshima again was the discussion Dan and June led on the night before their concert. It was an open forum where Dan and June donated their time to share their experiences and perspectives on being Asian American artists. They were hungry to contribute and to learn about our community here in the Twin Cities. It was so enlightening to hear them talk about the challenges they've faced over the years, from agents and others thinking they couldn't succeed, to the problems of the music business. They talked about agents trying to put them in coolie hats and ninja outfits, even though their major audience base is actually African American. They talked about how they once toured with Miles Davis. They spoke of famous mentors encouraging them when they were down and of standing ovations in response to their music. They shared stories of how they have faced resistance in Japan, because the very name of their group conjures up so much painful history. Their long journey, like so many of ours, took them from the ridiculous to the sublime, from the worst stereotyping to the finest artistry.

The most inspiring part of the evening was seeing how truly enthusiastic and energized both Dan and June were about Asian Americans working together to deal with the issues facing us all. After the concert, Dan spoke to me about a project he is working on to create a national calendar website for Asian American arts events. I told him Mu would love to be a part of any such planning and was amazed that after all these decades he continues to burn with a deep and palpable passion for the cause of Asian American culture. I realize that not only do we need more talented and passionate leaders like Dan and June Kuramoto, who have had great success in their field and are anxious to share their stories, but we also need more often to celebrate them and their contribution to our culture.

by Rick Shiomi