Over 7,000 miles away among the stunning scenery of Aso-Kuju National Park in Kyushu, Japan, members of the taiko drumming act, Tao: The Art of the Drum (say “dow”) have been training for their upcoming United States tour at a facility they call Grandioso.

Located on beautiful, mountainous terrain, this complex is the home base for an elite cadre of performers who will bring their modernized interpretation of an ancient art form to Bend on Tuesday, Feb. 7. These performers embrace a life of isolation to bring audiences a moving and energizing experience. To learn more about the Tao culture and the troupe's traveling performance, we overcame a Pacific Ocean's worth of communication barriers to bring you this verbatim Q&A:

1. Youth Lagoon, The Year Of Hibernation: Ambient lo-fi backdrops with flowing pop drum beats and honest storytelling fill out the debut album from this Boise band.

2. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues: Still soul searching, this Portland/Seattle act offers up another folk opus with echoing vocals that beg for

self-discovery.

3. Shabazz Palaces, Black Up: Dark experimental hip-hop from Seattle, dipped in electro-beats and wicked flowing verse.

4. The Cave Singers, No Witch: Rousing simplicity and deep harmonies ride crisp violin and guitar strings with occasional blues tributes on this open road soundtrack.

1. Sleeper Agent, Celebrasion: On riffy rockers like “Proper Taste” or “Force a Smile,” Sleeper Agent sounds like The Who on speed. But just when you think you have a fix on the band’s sound, out comes a sweet pure pop tune like the ballad “That’s My Baby” or a Strokes-ish rocker like “Get Burned.”

2. Centro-Matic, Candidate Waltz: Though its music falls under the roots rock/Americana umbrella, Centro-Matic is more sonically adventurous and creative than most such acts. There’s crunchy rock  (“All the Takers”), lovely but sturdy balladry “Shadow, Follow Me” and ghostly, grainy, yet pretty pop-rock (“Estimate x 3”). No newcomers, (the band dates back to 1995 and its frontman, Will Johnson, is a member of Monsters Of Folk), Centro-Matic should be vastly better known than it is.

On Friday night, Ben Harper will appear at the Les Schwab Amphitheater for his first Central Oregon show in five years. Touring in support of the classically rock and roll album, Give Till It’s Gone, which came out in May, we wanted a chance to chat with Harper – one of the most skilled guitarists and songwriters of the past 15 years – about coming back to Bend, his big album and what’s in store for one of the busiest men in rock. Our request for an interview, however, was turned down. But we weren’t going to let that stop us…

the Source Weekly: Give Till It’s Gone is an excellent album and might be the best thing you’ve done – with or without the Innocent Criminals – in about a decade. Did you sit down and say, “Damn it, I’m going to write an awesome fricking album,” and then just go and do that? Because that’s sort of how it seems.

Ben Harper: Unavailable for comment.

tSW: I hate to bring up a sore subject, but you and actress Laura Dern split recently after five years of marriage. The divorce was public, as these celebrity breakups tend to be, but there’s also been indications that Give Till It’s Gone, your recent incredibly strong blues-rock-meets-everything-else-tour-de-force, tackles some of the emotional fallout from that split. I would imagine that divorce was, and still likely is, quite awful, but it sure as hell gave you material for a great record, didn’t it?

BH: Unavailable for comment.

Ryan Hayes is about to head out on an 11-day tour with his band, Hurtbird, but he’s not spending this particular Thursday morning packing or making sure the Portland band’s set list is ready for the road. Sure, that might be on his to-do list, but at the moment, he’s in the middle of building a bar. Out of wood – coincidentally - for a live music venue called The Woods, which is partially owned by Loch Lommond front man Ritchie Young, a frequent collaborator and longtime friend of Hayes.

In addition to writing the highly cerebral and poetic lyrics for Hurtbird, a hip-hop-meets-every-other-type-of-music-this-side-of-Yanni band, Hayes is also a carpenter who builds items out of reclaimed wood. Since work building and remodeling houses dried up in recent years, Hayes has refocused his talents, making use of his college fine art education to make creative custom furniture. He likes the autonomy the solo venture allows him, making things like, say, setting out on a tour with your increasingly popular band a hell of a lot easier.