アロハ みんな様
ここにブログ記事を書いてから本当に久しぶりです。2020年３月以来、本当にステージをしてません。あちこちに小さなステージがいつかありますが、あんまり少ないです。だからアルバイトを見つけました。
ハワイでは、パンデミックが発生しているのにもかかわらず、多くの人々がマスクを使いたくないので、大変でした。このパンデミックに終わりはないようです。
最近、ふたつのワクチンを入手をしました。
ワクチンを接種してから約１ヶ月前、病気になり、声を失ってしまいました。ゆっくりと声が戻ってきますが、今はハワイアンファルセットを歌うことはできません。ヤバイです。
しかし、ポジッティブなメモのひとつはある。８月に自分のフラクラスをはじめます。
演歌をあきらめませんが、ハワイでは今のところ歌うことは不可能です。
去年(２０２０年)は４番のシングル "みれん川" & B面 "津軽恋じょんがら" をリリースしよしたがパンデミックのため物理的なコピーを販売するステージがなっかた。そして、デジタルダウンロードはも再び遅れています。もう一年くらい面倒でした。
パンデミックの始めにインスタグラム配信をやっていた。でもインスタグラム、Venmo、& CashAppで円からドルへの換算のため支払い&チップ(おひねり) を受け取ることはできませんでした。つまり、毎週末、約３ヶ月間、他のステージ無しで無料でインスタグラム配信で歌いました。最初はとても楽しかったですが、家賃を払う必要があり、当時は仕事は少なくなっていきました。
この時までに、このパンデミックが発生しないことを本当に望んでいました。
白木屋が再開しないという噂は本当だと思います。
白木屋とアラモアナショッピングセンターの間で進行中の訴訟についての最近のニュースがありました。とても大変でした。
今はフラの道だけを考えています。
世界が変わるのが待ちきれません。
とりあえず演歌から休憩しなければなりません。
みんな様が俺の決定を今すぐ理解してくれることを願っています。長年 俺とつきあってくれたファンのみんな様、ありがとうございました。
これは一時的なものです。これはさよならや終わりではなく、俺の人生の新しい章をはじまりです。
応援してくれて誠にありがとうございます。
いつまでも、これからも ありがとう
- とらお
Aloha Everyone,
It has been a while since I posted on this blog. Since March of 2020 I really have not had too many performances due to the pandemic. Sure I have had a few here and there but in reality its been pretty limited. Because of that I have been put in a position of having to look for a part time job.
In Hawai'i there doesn't seem to be an end to this pandemic either. There are many people who still do not follow guidelines, complain about wearing masks, and refuse to get the vaccines which in turn makes it hard for the rest of us to get back to "normal life". At this point it doesn't seem like an end is in the near future.
However I have been vaccinated.
About a month ago after I took the second vaccine I got really sick and lost my voice. It is slowly coming back but at the current time singing Hawai'ian Falsetto is impossible.
However there is positive news. In August 2021 I will be opening my own Halau.
I am not giving up Enka but in the current state that Hawai'i is in now I will have to take a step back.
In 2020 I was supposed to release my fourth studio single "Miren Gawa" & side B "Tsugaru Koi Jongara". However will no performances anywhere to see physical copies I have sold close to nothing... Trying to get the digital downloads has also been difficult. Through the company I usually use for digital distribution, communication has been difficult since no one is in the offices. It has been more than a year and still online distribution has been delayed.
At beginning of the Pandemic I figured that this would become a problem so I started doing Instagram live shows. This was fun for a while until I realized most of my fans are in Japan. There is no yen to dollar conversion for apps such as Instagram, venmo, or cashapp. So for online shows I couldn't recieve payments or tips. Of course I need to pay my rent and live so I had to stop doing those free online shows. Which then left a lot of people wondering "what happened?"
At this point I was feeling very defeated by the situation.
Then to top it all off, rumors about Shirokiya (my main place of work) not re-opening started to surface. You have to remember I am mostly a Japanese singer, living in Hawai'i, where most of the Japanese community are older and dont want to come out during a pandemic, and the tourist from Japan aren't really coming either. Just the idea of Shirokiya not re-opening gave me some anxiety.
And then the news broke out a few days ago regarding a lawsuit between Ala Moana Shopping Center and Shirokiya Japan Village walk. The article paints the whole situation as if there is no resolution, and franky speaking I'm starting to believe that too.
Therefore I will be focusing on my Hula at this time.
I cannot wait for the world to change. For the time being I am going to have to take a step back from the Enka world. I hope that everyone will understand this decision I have come to. Thank you to all the fans who I call "family" for all the things you have done for me all these years. I really do love you guys. Can you believe its been ten years!?
This will be temporary. This is not "goodbye" or "the end" it is a new chapter in my life that I am excited to begin.
Forever and ever thank you from the bottom of my heart.
- Torao
