Ninja Academy (band)

Ninja Academy is an instrumental rock duo consisting of Indo-Ninja on bass and Outdo-Ninja on drums. They have performed at almost every club in Los Angeles, including Spaceland, The Echo, Safari Sam's, The Viper Room, The Roxy, and The Whiskey. 2009 also saw their first 33-city national tour. They will follow-up with another national tour later this year. Notable past performances include a 5 week, sold out residency at the Silverlake Lounge; a sold out show opening for Rx Bandits at The Roxy; performing alongside famous actors such as Tim Meadows, Andrew Daly and Matt Walsh at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in L.A.; performing with live painter/artist, Norton Wisdom; playing an acoustic set at a private party for Rickie Lee Jones' birthday; and performing on the KTLA Morning Show at the Queen Mary. One of their most important shows was the farewell show for their martial artist, Donkey Punch at The Echo in Los Angeles. This show was sold out beyond capacity and filmed and recorded by Spaceland Productions. It is distributed and available for purchase internationally. Other notable artists they have opened for are: Mike Watt & The Secondmen, Nels Cline Singers, Banyan (with Stephen Perkins), and Donita Sparks (L7). In 2008, Ninja Academy was awarded the 'Hear in L.A.' prize for original composition, by the City of Los Angeles' Department of Cultural Affairs and the Center for Cultural Innovation. Most recently, Ninja Academy was awarded a grant by the City of Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the Division of Cultural Affairs, to perform in Spring 2009's ArtNight Pasadena. All these performances have gained Ninja Academy a loyal and large fan base, in addition to numerous "Go" mentions in LA Weekly.

Although Ninja Academy is mostly a bass and drums duo, there are many guest ninjas that join them on stage. Gongis Khan is their high-priestess who bangs on the Taiko drum and dances beautifully. Ninjamamalickum executes vocal destruction every time she steps up to the mic. There are many other occasional guests, varying from violin to guitar to martial artist. It may be interesting to note that Indo, Outdo and the two ladies are all of Asian descent and yes, they do dress like ninjas. Indo and Outdo are also in-demand musicians in their own right. Indo-Ninja has toured internationally with Rickie Lee Jones, while Outdo-Ninja has recorded with Devo and toured the United States with the circus (Spiegelworld).

Ninja Academy has three releases under their belts; two studio albums (one of which has cover artwork by Chet Zar, Tool's live video artist), and the above-mentioned live album. These CDs have been played on various radio stations (terrestrial and Internet) around the country, as well as having been licensed to MTV, Quicksilver and other productions. 2009 will see the release of their fourth album.

External links

• http://ninjaacademy.com/