About Us

Hi, I’m Aaron aka “Tsuru” and I’d like to talk about this whole Tsuru-thing Baby & I have got going on…

But first, I’d like to answer the question we get asked all the time…. “what’s a ‘Tsuru’ anyway”? This is usually followed by “and how the hell do you pronounce it”? Well after a couple years of this, it’s about time we put this to rest, shall we? Hopefully, we shall…

Tsuru is Japanese for Crane. It’s basically pronounced like “sue” as in “I’m getting sued by the RIAA”, quickly followed by a “roo” as in “kangaroo”, the “T” is relatively silent. Or, as I like to say, it’s pronounced “sü to the rü… yo.”

So, why use a Japanese Crane as our namesake for all our musical, design, and artistic endeavours? Great question…. The crane has been an ever-present “theme” in my wife & I’s relationship, beginning with the story of the Crane Wife (an ancient Japanese morality tale of love, trust, loyalty, respect, and appreciating what you have or it will be gone… forever) that was captured ever so perfectly by The Decemberists in their 2006 LP by the same name, continuing when I proposed at a little indoor picnic before we headed out ot a magical Decemberists concert (where we got commemorative t-shirts) and stays present in all our projects today (including my half-sleeve on my left arm).

Cranes are loyal, mating for life, they are represented in Greek, Roman, and Asian cultures as a bird of joy, of light, and youthful happiness, as well as symbolizing harmony & peace. One look at any of the family of sites, and you’ll see we strive to never take life too seriously, preferring personal happiness over popularity or wealth. And yeah, we intend to “mate for life”.

When TSURURADIO first went online on January of 2007, I wanted something that represented my love of music and the love of my life, and when it finally popped in our collective heads, it was just too perfect. Since then, my incredibly talented wife, Meghan Willis, who I always referred to on message boards and on my site as “TsuruBride” started taking her amazing designs online, first to Etsy, then facebook, twitter, and even tumblr to show her friends and fans what’s going on, it only made sense to keep the TsuruBride moniker that she’d become known as to the readers of TSURURADIO.

As if that wasn’t enough, eh? Earlier in 2008 I FINALLY got my photography porfolio back online, after a number of years in obscurity, first over at Born In A Bottle Rocket, as I was hesitant to share my real name in association with TSURURADIO so I buried it in the link love section of the site, but as my wife & I’s anonymity began to vanish, and my desire to have a more updatable format for my photography grew, TSURUFOTO was born! HOORAY!

Next up was getting my photography in a shop to make it available to you, to help support the Tsuru Family, and, who knows, maybe stop working for “the man” one day. Etsy, with it’s huge users and it’s desire to create a community of small artisans and craftsfolks, was so wonderful for baby, it was a perfect home for the TSURUFOTO shop and sure enough, TSURUFOTO: Etsy Edition was open for business!

Add in the twitters & the facebook, and finally, a tumblr to tie it all together, and things were looking pretty good!

Crazy, eh? But guess what….. we aren’t done yet. Because any fan of the site knows, I love to ride my bicycle! So, I joined up with my favourite local bike shop and started a cycling specific blog called roll:cycling, which, of course, has a facebook fan page, a twitter, and a tumblr to tie IT all together. Fun stuff!!!

So I hope this explains everything… what lies next? We have no idea, but I’m sure whatever it is, we’ll make the adjustments, let you know about it, and enjoy the hell out of it! Why? Cuz dat’s how we roll!!!

Oh and hey, feel free to drop me or the Mrs a line if you want to model for me, got an idea for her, or just want to say “hey”, we’d love to hear from you! Until then…

Cheers,
Aaron & Meghan aka Tsuru & The Bride

3 comments

Comments feed for this article

Trackback link: http://tsururadio.com/about/trackback/

blxl on March 18, 2010 at 2:32 PM

You might find this interesting.

We refer to it as “Analog Music from a Lost World” — previously unreleased post-punk experimental rock from 1981, unlike anything else recorded before or after.

“It’s amazing!” — Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock

“Here’s something lovely and odd from the Free Music Archive: the Karen Cooper Complex.” — No Rock and Roll Fun.com

“…some hefty grooves, and plenty of ‘holy shit” moments’. It’s a spacious but highly rewarding listen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some label makes an effort to press this on vinyl in the near future.” – ongakubaka.blogspot.com

Jason Sigal, Managing Director at WFMU said:
“This is amazing stuff and we would be honored to feature it in wfmu’s curated portal on the free music archive. I’m very sorry for our slow response, we have a lot of stuff to wade through to find gems like these.”

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Karen_Cooper_Complex/
Riley on July 20, 2010 at 8:17 PM

Longtime reader first time caller. Thank you!

If you haven’t, (I’m in no ways affiliated) listen to

Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell
featuring: Greg Brown, Justin Vernon, Ani DiFranco and Ben Knox Miller

tells the story of Orpheus gone to get his Eurydes in Hades. Dubbed a folk opera.
Know you’re a Decemberists fan, The Tain was something. This is another something wonderful.

I will swear to it.
Colin on July 27, 2010 at 4:54 PM

I appreciate what you are all about. And the music you are reviewing (Iron and Wine, Arcade Fire). The group I play with has just moved to Madison to focus on our art and music and we are looking for a “loving community” for feedback and exposure. We would all appreciate any posts or feedback you could give. Thanks.

Colin
Whim, Po and Emili

for quick tunes (I’d start with “Aldalome” off of the album ‘Whim Po and Emili’ and “Shadow Puppets” or “For Me” off of the album ‘Maybe Baby’):

http://whimpoemili.bandcamp.com/

for the website:

whimpoemili.com