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The Checkerboard Guy
Born: July 28, 1968
Place: Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Citizenships: Canadian/New Zealand
Though born in New Zealand, I only actually spent the first two months of my life there...that and a couple of visits since... For the most part my brain and sensibilities are Canadian, and I’m quite happy that way.
I started Performing in 1981 at the age of 13. At the time I had no idea that I’d be doing it 20 years later, but here I am still doing it 20 years later. My introduction to performing came from simply putting out my hat while I practiced... As there weren’t a lot of other jugglers in Ottawa where I grew up I had no idea of what was possible in the way of a Street Show... I think this was in part what helped me develop my own style... I just ‘was’, and when things worked, I remembered them and grew from them.
Along the way I was exposed to various other Street Performers to whom I owe a great debt. Waldo and Jonny Toronto came through Ottawa in 1983 and told me about the IJA and the Juggling convention. My Mother in her wisdom (or stupidity depending on how you look at it) put me on a bus and sent me off to New York to get myself to the convention that year in SUNY Purchase... It was an adventure to say the least, and a very humbling experience.
From that point on, it (performing) started to make more and more sense... I started touring extensively with my show in 1988, and moved out to Vancouver in 1990. 1990 was also my first exposure to performing in Japan a country I now consider my second home.
I met Jim in 1996 before Smirk or Performers.net existed and we talked web stuff and it’s potential. I enlisted the assistance of Brian Jorgensen to get my vision for my site mounted, then took over it’s maintenance about a year later. One of the things I’m most happy about is the creation of the Yellow Page Data Bases on my site. This free service was created as a place for people to list their info so others could track them down... Seems to have been fairly successful, and was done in part to give something back to the community that has given so much to me...
1997 was also the year I became a Father... Number 2 (Owen Masao Aiken) arrived on December 5, 2000... Two boys... Amazing how priorities shift... 5 years ago I was all consumed with touring, promoting and the career...these days I’m quite content to play with my 3 year old Koji and watch as he gets influenced by his environment...he’s a natural comic and makes me laugh almost every day... Life is good.
Jim helped me start another project in 1999, a build your own trading card scheme which now has it’s own home on the web at: http://www.superstarperformers.com The year 2001 card design is up and ready for people to order them...many thanks to Jim, Brian Wilson and Mike Wood for the assistance with this year’s design...I think it’s the best yet, and to top it all off, it’s the cheapest the cards have ever been to produce...do check it out.
Don’t plan on giving up performing any time soon...still love it too much, but now my life is full of many more things that I love and the challenge becomes to find a good balance between the various responsibilities life seems to throw at me. I’m not complaining though...I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Cheers,
d.
Place: Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Citizenships: Canadian/New Zealand
Though born in New Zealand, I only actually spent the first two months of my life there...that and a couple of visits since... For the most part my brain and sensibilities are Canadian, and I’m quite happy that way.
I started Performing in 1981 at the age of 13. At the time I had no idea that I’d be doing it 20 years later, but here I am still doing it 20 years later. My introduction to performing came from simply putting out my hat while I practiced... As there weren’t a lot of other jugglers in Ottawa where I grew up I had no idea of what was possible in the way of a Street Show... I think this was in part what helped me develop my own style... I just ‘was’, and when things worked, I remembered them and grew from them.
Along the way I was exposed to various other Street Performers to whom I owe a great debt. Waldo and Jonny Toronto came through Ottawa in 1983 and told me about the IJA and the Juggling convention. My Mother in her wisdom (or stupidity depending on how you look at it) put me on a bus and sent me off to New York to get myself to the convention that year in SUNY Purchase... It was an adventure to say the least, and a very humbling experience.
From that point on, it (performing) started to make more and more sense... I started touring extensively with my show in 1988, and moved out to Vancouver in 1990. 1990 was also my first exposure to performing in Japan a country I now consider my second home.
I met Jim in 1996 before Smirk or Performers.net existed and we talked web stuff and it’s potential. I enlisted the assistance of Brian Jorgensen to get my vision for my site mounted, then took over it’s maintenance about a year later. One of the things I’m most happy about is the creation of the Yellow Page Data Bases on my site. This free service was created as a place for people to list their info so others could track them down... Seems to have been fairly successful, and was done in part to give something back to the community that has given so much to me...
1997 was also the year I became a Father... Number 2 (Owen Masao Aiken) arrived on December 5, 2000... Two boys... Amazing how priorities shift... 5 years ago I was all consumed with touring, promoting and the career...these days I’m quite content to play with my 3 year old Koji and watch as he gets influenced by his environment...he’s a natural comic and makes me laugh almost every day... Life is good.
Jim helped me start another project in 1999, a build your own trading card scheme which now has it’s own home on the web at: http://www.superstarperformers.com The year 2001 card design is up and ready for people to order them...many thanks to Jim, Brian Wilson and Mike Wood for the assistance with this year’s design...I think it’s the best yet, and to top it all off, it’s the cheapest the cards have ever been to produce...do check it out.
Don’t plan on giving up performing any time soon...still love it too much, but now my life is full of many more things that I love and the challenge becomes to find a good balance between the various responsibilities life seems to throw at me. I’m not complaining though...I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Cheers,
d.
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