Ninja Academy

It was on a stormy night, some years ago, when two ninjas were born in the 626 (then 818). It wasn't until their formative years when these two young ninjas would meet and become musical partners and collaborators, honing their skills first on rock music, later on jazz under the name bra'ka dOm. As any good ninja knows, it would take them years of practice and patience to get where they are today.

Now, Indo-Ninja (bass) and Outdo-Ninja (drums), or Ninja Academy as they are collectively known, execute their unique style effortlessly with the precision of a Katana blade. Their instrumental compositions, which go by names like Neckface, Kung Fu Grip, and Ninja Ho Down, sneak up on you and kick your ass with the short, swift strokes of a skilled ninja. These Ninjas don't mess around. They work mostly alone, but they sometimes invite guest ninjas to step up and show what they have learned.

Ninja Academy has surprised people at almost every club in Los Angeles, including The Viper Room, Spaceland, The Echo, Hangar1018, Mr. T's, and CIA, once opening for Banyan at DiPiazza's. They have toured the West Coast and played shows in Boise, Idaho. In the summer of 2005, Ninja Academy was invited to perform at the 9th annual piNoisepop Festival in San Francisco, playing alongside bands like The Skyflakes and From Monument To Masses. They have had a majority of their songs from their first album, Enter The Ninja, played on MTV's "The Real World and Real World/Road Rules Challenge". They also hit the airwaves on KXLU 88.9FM (Los Angeles, CA), KZSC 88.1FM (Santa Cruz, CA), KUCI 88.9FM (Irvine, CA), as well as online radio stations Killradio.org, (Mike) Watt from Pedro show, and KBEACH (Cal State, Long Beach). In November 2005 they were Artist of the Month on la.yourlocalscene.com. As Indo-Ninja so eloquently puts it, "You never know when a Ninja is going to show up."

The summer of 2005 saw the independent release of Ninja Academy's second album, bra'ka dOm. This effort truly captures the essence of this duo. If this doesn't blow you away, their live show certainly will. If their live show doesn't, you should just stay home anyway.