Chris Berry & Panjea

You're 18. You go from your home in California to Zimbabwe. And get lost. Lost in the music, lost in the culture, lost in the magic. Only when the elders of the community there tell you - "What are you doing here? There are lots of misguided people, lost and confused people, in your country. They’re killing each other there. It’s time for you to take what you’ve learned and bring it to your own country because they need it more than we need it here. That’s your job. You’re the bridge maker" do you wake up. You are Chris Berry.

And so now, 10 years on, we find him today back on his native soil preaching an uplifting transcontinental message of hope to contagious, dance beats based in the Zimbabwean mbira and sacred Congolese ngoma drum rhythms.

Chris Berry's story is one that I have often fantasized about, and I know I'm not alone. Not only did he get lost in the music, but this amazing talent came back "funkier than James Brown", as one of my friends put it. Check out his music. Funky, fresh global music, most of it just straight up super dance energy, and most of it with strong messages.

Probably the most powerful message comes from the song "Why Do We". In the song, he asks "Why do we kill people who kill people to show people that killing people is wrong?"

Download some of his music, and read more about this amazing story. You'll be uplifted.

jamie catto's album

check out my boy jamie catto's album. recorded in 3 days. non-stop. no going back. just one long super sweet take.

testing testing

so part of my having this blog is also to test out features for my company and my general knowledge. so therefore all these playlists that are embedded as well as the new meebo box on the right. you can IM me using all the available IM platforms using meebo, and even better, you can IM (using meebo) me right from this page without signing into any of your own IM accounts! wicked!

Test Playlist

this it the fun new player that we built for our french partner mondomix. nice eh?

adventures in love

just beginning a new adventure today . . .
that of being e n g a g e d!
yeah!!
pictures soon . . .
thanks to all who have been supportive and who we will continue to rely on for love and support.

on second thought . . .

i don't love google.
at least right now.
i can't edit my posts since i migrated my blog to this new google/blogger beta thing!
i'm trying to turn off the automatic sound on my playlist by updating the code, and i can't do it!!
ahh.
google - if you are reading this, please help me.

zune, major label hell, and, of course, the news

wow. a new version of blogger in conjunction with google. so my love affair with google continues. . .
they will soon control my (online) life, i'm afraid.

anyway, until they do, i still have some independent thoughts.
like this deal with the major labels and microsoft. microsoft is giving them $1 for each Zune device they sell! which, of course, they will NOT share with artists, further screwing artists on majors, and further (imho) digging their own grave. what artist in their right mind going forward is going to want to do a deal with a major? the only benefit is money up front. everything else is pointing towards sending artists out on their own or to work with great creative indies like Nettwerk (my fave) and others.

there is a nice blog on the zune tax, and i've pasted the meat of his argument is here:
"What UMG has done is lay the first piece of framework for putting the kibosh on the democratization of the music industry. The RIAA labels have owned distribution in the United States (and made it difficult if not impossible for many small labels to get distribution) for decades and, just as a market for distribution sprang up that existed outside of their domination, they've managed to secure a loophole that will again put small independent labels on the sidelines."

i agree with the first part, but since i'm such a relentless optimist, i think that his last sentence fails to take into account the ability that indies have to influence their own destiny. I believe there will be two types of consumers in the future - those who have bought into the system, pay their zune tax, listen to britney forever, AND those who have "tuned out", those who are paying artists for music (either through paid downloads, ads, or live show returns), those who are using alternative (or hacked) devices and alternative services. viva la counter culture!

news of the day

i'm constantly coming across interesting bits of information in my role(s) at calabash music, and most of the time, when one of us finds something, we just send it by email to everyone in the company. where the information then gets buried in our inboxes, as they tend to be quite stuffed every morning. so i thought i'd start to bury them here, on my blog, as a way to perhaps better show stuff off, and as a way for others to also get ahold of some of this info. it's my own little digital music news. enjoy.

part 1 of soungalo's music news starts . . .
NOW.

• From the Economist, courtesy of a South African Blog, some news on sales of music across the world. He is surprised that SA is in the top 20 of sales world wide. Which matches our internal sales data, also showing the ZA domain in the top 20 of sales world wide. Way to go Mzantsi! Not only does your country produce great music, but you also buy it!

• From Ireland, another world music blog. Posting about West African music. The sweet sounds of globalization.

• Roswell Rudd with Toumani Diabate. Now this is why you live in NYC. Read about 3/4 of the way down the page.

• Calabash Music is discovered in Australia. Nice one. And on a political blog no less. Even better!

• Our man Damon Albarn (of the bands Blur, Gorillaz) is spreading the gospel of Malian music to the world. Big ups to Damon for his work!

That's it for today's news. Stay tuned for more. . . .
peace.

Playlist For Peace - Listen Here!

relaxing weekend and busy week!

Hello everyone!
greetings again from South Africa! It's been a busy and fun time.
live music most nights, fun times with old and new friends.
i'll try and pick up where i left off - thursday last week.
thursday i was on a panel with a guy from a label here and we were talking about the ways to make money of digital downloads. we're both a bit bullish on the download market, so the panel wasn't quite balanced, but we had a good discussion with the people in attendance anyways. there was also an interesting panel on the ways to exploit and preserve indigenous music.
thursday night we had a dinner with all sorts of government folks. it is amazing to look at the people now serving in government and think of all they (and the whole country) have been through in the past 15 years. inspiring to say the least.
and afterwards, this group "stimela" played. wonderful. i'd met their guitarist and singer earlier in the day, courtesy of my new friend andrew, and they played an inspired set for the enthusiastic crowd of 200. great music, great messages, including one song where ray, the lead singer, was basically chanting "use a condom" the whole chorus. that and some funny plays on words around playing with ones self were quite amusing and also inspiring. artists need to speak directly to people about AIDS and these important issues facing south africa.

friday morning i was out of the hotel by 6 am headed to SABC studios for a tv interview with nic, the head of SAMRO and moshito.
showed up, went to the green room, to make up, back to the green room and then straight onto the set. the anchor man was reading the paper during commercials, they had nic and me mic'ed within 1 minute flat, and then the anchor read the news and came straight to us. some good questions, and i think we had some good answers. hempza and his mother both watched and gave me good feedback, and i think it went well. got to plug calabash a bit and deliver our "obscurity is a worse threat than piracy" line, which is a great one.

later in the day, i was on another panel, spur of the moment, which went ok. i also got a chance to look around the museum africa, where the conference was held. great exhibits, showing the history and struggle of south africa, as well as a special music exhibit set up for the conference and the heritage month, which we are in the middle of right now here.

friday night we got to see a show by the artist philip tabani (i know i'm spelling his name wrong, but i'll fix it when i find my ticket). anyway, great guitar player, did some seriously funky blues style stuff, as well as gimmicky but great playing of the guitar with his teeth and head and other fun ways.

after that, hempza and andrew and i headed out to a club to check the launch of adrian's new band. nice stuff, but indy rock is tough after such sweet blues. managed to have some great interesting talks with adrian and hempza and hempza's friends as well though.

saturday was a rest day. some shopping around and wandering around and then off on saturday night to see a show by "arts alive" (http://www.joburg.org.za/artsalive/calendar.stm). they featured 3 zulu acts, and had as opener a male chorus in the style of ladysmith black mambazo. they had been having a competition all day long, and this group won the competition and got to open for:
Phuzekhemisi, Shwi Nomtekhala, Ihashi'elimhlophe (they played in reverse order)

awesome stuff. traditional music and dancing, and these are 3 of the top selling groups in south africa.

sunday was again to rest a bit. more shopping about and then on to a studio to hear some of vusi khumalo's new tracks for his new album (http://vusikhumalo.calabashmusic.com)
great stuff. so much great south african music.

then the engineer and i went out to dinner and a bit of house dancing later with some of his friends which was a good time.

yesterday was a national holiday, and i planned to spend the day with hempza. we met up around noon, and as it was his birthday, his mom had prepared a picnic lunch, which we took to the zoo, and chilled on the grass there on some of their vast open space at the zoo. we met one of hempza's aunts and one cousin there. and got to wander around after lunch and check the animals. i've got lots of pictures for you all later.

hempza and i had dinner and then met up with sipho and os12 for drinks later.

this morning i did an interview with a bbc reporter staying at the same guest house as me, and then i headed out for my meetings. finished 4 meetings by 1.30 and have been chilling since then. i'm supposed to do another interview later today and then have dinner with my south african cousins.

whew.

i'm tired writing all this stuff i've done.
anyway, i have a mix of fun and work left here, and at least 1 more show to go to.
i'm bringing back lots of music and photos, so i'm excited to share that all with you.
peace. and love.
e

SA update 1

whew!
tired me. it's been a busy busy week.
i arrived on tuesday after leaving early monday
morning. over 24 hours door to door.
got picked up at the airport and taken to my (4star)
hotel. unpacked, wandered around the mall next door,
got some food, and hempza showed up for a second to
say hi and hang.
wednesday early we got picked up and driven downtown
to newtown to the museum africa in joburg.
the conference is good. large and enthuiastic folks
from all parts of the music industry.
my speech went well, wasn't quite sure if i connected
with people where they are at with their knowledge of
the digital music industry, but i've been getting good
feedback from folks so far. after the conference, we
headed to dinner at another hotel. we = the out of
town/international invited guests, who are an
englishman, a couple germans, an american living in
germany, a south african from durban and me. dinner
was with the organizing committee. i got picked up
from dinner and we went down to the bassline to see
sipho's new artist "zulu boy" launch his new album.
nice stuff. hung out with hempza, and saw some friends
from the last trip, including a canadian artist oz12,
who is guesting on zulu boy's album.
today is more busy conference, i was on a panel, and
then live on a SABC radio interview. nice.
tomorrow, i'm on live SABC television, morning live,
early in the morning. so here's to coffee! as we're
headed to another concert/dinner tonight.
hope all is well with you.
peace.

SA Redux

So i get to be in South Africa for a big holiday!
Whee!

24 September: Heritage Day
Nelson Mandela coined the phrase "rainbow nation" to describe South Africa's diverse cultures, customs, traditions, histories, and languages. This day is a celebration of that diversity.

I'll let you all know how that goes. See if SA can show the world a peaceful rainbow nation, which we here in the USA have so far failed to do . . . .

A Playlist for peace. . .

PLAYLIST FOR PEACE

As a Quaker, I grew up in a culture of peace. My grandfather was a Conscientious Objector in WWII, and life long activist for peace and social justice, giving me an amazing example of the commitment needed to create lasting peace and the value of the peacemakers among us. There are many ways for each of us to bring peace into our own lives and into our communities. Many of the musicians on Calabash Music use their music to bring peace into our world, and I've put together a small selection of these artists here. Some of them are from war zones, one was a child soldier, some are calling for peace based on religious reasons, some for personal reasons. All are unified in one goal – peace. As we mark the 5th anniversary of 9-11 and as we face continuing violence in conflicts around the world, let this music sustain you in your personal quest for peace.

Peace Be with You – In 2005 Marcel Khalife was awarded the UNESCO's Artist for Peace award. In his many albums, Marcel is constantly addressing the issue of peacemaking, and uses his music to bridge divides, show similiarities and work for peace.

Give Peace a Chance w/Winston Mankumku Ngozi – All of South Africa is filled with hope for a peaceful future, and with the groundwork laid by Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and many many others, South Africa’s future looks bright. Here is a jazzy musical taste of peace from SA.

"A Song for Peace," This song is a direct call for peace, for ending wars, for hope... Not originally written by Shlomo Bar, but newly arranged by him in the mid-90s. This was the last song sung at the Peace Rally in which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. The words to the song were on a piece of paper in his shirt pocket, and after the shooting it was shows on TV with the bullet hole through it and Rabin’s spilled blood. It became the anthem of the Israeli peace movement for many years.

Ya Salam – A song of peace from a former child soldier in the Sudan. When I heard Emmanuel Jal’s story at a conference in South Africa live from his lips, I was crying along with everyone else in the audience. You know you are in the presence of a peacemaker when you hear Emmanuel speak.

Zaman el Salaam/Time for Peace – A Live Recording from a Peace Concert in Oslo, Norway in 1994. Yair Dalal is another artist like Marcel Khalife who is tirelesslly making peace with his music.

Ya Oud – A haunting beautiful song by Elizabeth Ayoub sung in homage to an instrument spanning tribal/racial/religious divides. This young lebanese singer is working with Marcel Khalife’s son Rami to rebuild Lebanon through music.

Shalom Aleykhem (Peace Be With You) - The ultimate of what brass bands can give to sound and soul: Thousands of years after the fall of the tower of Babel; Jews, Moors and Gypsies finally reunite. Masters of brass from New York, Cairo and the Balkans meet to celebrate the rediscovered traits of their common past in mystic knowledge - and lung power.

Gazelle, my heart is parched - 'Gazelle' is a seamless and engaging collaboration by Kol Oud Tof that combines Hebrew liturgical poetry, Ladino and Arabic classical modes in a beautiful blend.

Salaam 'Alaykoum (Peace Be With You) – A plea for peace from another lebanese artist, Emad Sayyah. Music for peace that you can bellydance to!

Salam – A plaintive call for peace by Gigi Shibabaw from East Africa.

Maa el Salama [Go in Peace] – More music for peace that you can bellydance to! This time by Hossam Ramzy. What could be better?

Salam Malakum – A plea for peace from a Pan-West African band, Kabudu.

Dunya Salam - Baaba Maal – A cross cultural cry for peace by many musicians, with Baaba Maal singing georgeous suras from the Koran on top of everything.

I Will Fight No More – From the north american native tradition, here are words that we can only hope politicians and soldiers will make their mantra in the future. From Peter Kater's eloquent albums.

Peace Be With You – Another cry for peace from South Africa, this time from Sipho Gumede, another of the young guard.

Don't Fight – A cry for peace from Nigeria. Tony Allen was featured as our free single in early September, check our blog archives for more on his work.

Ya Adili Bilah – Another of the younger generation of artists, Eliyahu Sills, who plays with Shlomo Bar, is creating peace through his music and teaching of children. This song is a love song to God, an old arabic song sung in an Andulusian dialect of arabic. May our love for our gods shine through in the peace of our lives.

Ya Salam - A cry for peace from Senegal, West Africa and Ouza.

The Serpent - Two voices of harmoniously cry for peace and an end to the violence in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. The distinct harmonies of this song are a call for an end to endless violence. This duet between Maurice Chedid and Dorit arranged by Richard Khuzami is a plea for sanity in an insane part of the world. If we all practiced the basic tenants of our related religions, then all the manipulations of demigods on all sides would have no success: Respect and tolerance: with it we can move mountains, without it we only destroy...

Get the Music . . .

Return to Calabash Music

peace

Mili Bermejo - Live Show

On Friday July 14th, I had a double pleasure. First of all, I got to see my girlfriend dance a solo piece that she had created. Which was awesome. Such great energy, humor, and creativity. She danced to a piece of music I had hipped her to, which was also cool. A piece called "Pink Freud" by The Pinker Tones.

Second, I had my love of live music confirmed. Mili Bermejo did a live set. Mili is a great artist from Mexico/Argentina, and I've heard her music before, as she is on Calabash and she is the aunt of Jimena, our friend. However, there is something about live performance that is just amazing. Mili's voice was captivating, and her strength and confidence on the guitar grew through the short 4-5 song set she sang.

The occasion of all of this joy was a benefit fundraiser for two great local choreographers - Jimena Bermejo and Julie Pike-Edmonds. They'll be performing at CMAC this fall. So stay tuned for details . . .

Denied

So just finished reading my second sister's blog. She's gotten me all fired up. Especially that quote across the top of the page. Good one Seems.

This on top of the latest news out of our borders. First M.I.A. and now K'naan.

I couldn't understand why M.I.A. was denied a visa to come here and work. Some bs about her father's involvement with the Tamil tigers, etc etc. Google her or read this if you want the full scoop. She was headed here to do a new album produced by Timbaland. Come on you folks over at INS/Homeland Security. Get your shit together. It's not like you didn't know she was coming. And it's not like she has never been to the US before.

And now K'naan! He was supposed to play a show in NYC on Wednesday, but got turned back at the border. WTF! I met K'naan and his manager Sol at the Global Hip Hop Summit in Jozi last fall. This was an event sponsored by the UN, not your typical terrorist organization. K'naan is a Canadian as well, for gods sake. So he gets turned around at the border on Wednesday. Again, not like folks didn't know he was coming . . . . and again, he just finished a rippin tour with Mos Def, Talib Kweli and many others that went all over the US. Sponsored by SonyPSP for gods sake. So perhaps you can only get in as an artist if a huge corporation wants you to hype their latest goods.

Word to the wise artist - forget a record label, sign up with Exxon to sing their latest theme song.

The atmosphere for artists get more and more poisoned. Although never easy to get in if you are African, poor, melanin-rich, political, muslim, or some ungodly combination of the above, it is getting worse. A couple years ago, the band Mamar Kassey from Niger got 2 (!) of it's 12 piece band through. And those 2 spent upwards of 10 hours in questioning inside the airport. As our (Americans) exposure to various places gets more and more limited, we lose our basic sense that there is more out there than us. And we've never been good with that one anyways. Closing the borders to artists doesn't really seem to encourage dialogue, peace and a reduction in terrorism. In fact, I believe that it is just one more step that will increase the resentment against the USA worldwide.

Word to Bush - Leave the artists alone and go get Osama. Or maybe Osama's just keeping a cave warm for you over in Afghanistan/Pakistan so you have someplace to go after you're impeached.

Siren Song of Mali - My Thoughts

So a couple weeks ago, the NYTimes published an article on Mali. Which was great. Except the author missed a few things and got a few other things wrong. I've held off on putting this here so that the Times would have a chance to publish some corrections or publish this as a letter to the editor. But they haven't. (Well, they did this but it's not really anything). So you get to read it here. I'm also creating a playlist to go along with Jon Pareles' accompanying article. Check it out on Calabash.

Anyway, here's my letter:

Dear Editor,
I am writing in regards to the article in the Travel Section from April 2, 2006. (http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/travel/02mali.html?pagewanted=all)

Overall, this was an amazing article, and was a great read. I am both an avid Mali-phile who has spent 6 months living in Mali studying the dance and music, and someone who is working professionally to help Malian musicians reach a wider audience as the VP of Artist/Label Relations for Calabash Music (cited by Jon Pareles in his partner piece). As part of that work, I am working with Paul Chandler (Mr. Hammer's guide in Mali) and other music producers in Mali to directly work with, and compensate artists.

However, I was filled with mixed feelings reading this piece, as there were a few significant factual errors in this piece. I am quite happy that Mali is getting positive publicity, and is being recognized for the quality and quantity of music and culture. I, of course, do want this culture and music to be represented accurately.

The first mistake I caught is in the first paragraph: "A jembe fola ("he who talks with the drum") pounded on a bongo fashioned from sheets of horsehide stretched over a gasoline can."
In fact, a djembe (or jembe) is a specific type of drum carved from wood that is somewhat hourglass shaped. It is covered by a goat-hide (and in very very rare cases, cow-hide). It is neither a bongo, nor covered with horse-hide, nor is it made with a gasoline can. And while "fo" can mean "talk" it also means "to play", so a more accurate translation of djembefola would be simply "djembe player". This term is generally reserved for a good player, as opposed to just any person who picks up a drum. Also, this type of writing ("pounded on a bongo") seems like that which would come from someone wholly ignorant of Africa and its music, rather than someone based in South Africa, and presumably familiar with basic instruments.

Second, later on, the article reads "The city has become a cultural hothouse, in which singers and instrumentalists from Mali's myriad tribes — the Tuaregs of the Sahara, the Sorhai of Timbuktu, the Malinkes from the border region south of Bamako, the Dogon cliff dwellers, the Wassalous near the Ivory Coast, the Peuls of central Mali — mix and fertilize one another's art."
Wassalou (or Wassulu or Wassoulou) is a region, it is NOT the name of a group of people. Wassoulou stretches across areas of Mali, Guinea and Ivory Coast and is home to Bambara, Peul (Fulani), Malinkes, and other groups of people. Wassoulou is famous as it is the home region of such famous artists as Oumou Sangare, Ramata Diakite, Coumba Sidibe, etc. The style of music from Wassoulou started it's rise to prominence in the 1970's, and changed the music scene in Mali forever. It brought out themes of love, women's empowerment and other previously unheard musical subjects. At Calabash Music, we've devoted a whole section of our site to the music from this region (http://music.calabashmusic.com/world/Wassoulou).

Additionally, the Peul (also known as the Fulfulde, Pulaar, Fulani, Peul, Fula) people are nomadic herders who have settled all across West Africa and are not restricted to central Mali, as the article implies.

Thirdly, later on, the article reads "Four percussionists stood in the front row, beating on jembes and dununbas, slim tapered drums that fit snugly in the armpit." Dununbas are NOT slim tapered drums that fit beneath ones arms. I believe that the author is referring to drums known in Mali as "Tama" or "Tamani", which are known in the west as "talking drums." Dununbas are large double headed drums played with sticks in ensemble with djembes. Tama are typically reserved for griot music, though their role is expanding as fusions grow as with all music in Mali now, as Mr. Hammer correctly points out.

And finally, the article misses Mali's rich cultural boat in several significant ways. I appreciate the difficulty of putting a whole culture into one article, however, I expect more from the New York Times and it's fact-checkers. For example, the article reads "The griot still ranks low on the social hierarchy, however: Salif Keita, a descendant of a royal Malinke family, earned his clan's scorn when he chose the career of the griot."
Griots occupy a very interesting role in Malinke/Bamana culture. Griots are both respected and scorned. They are found at all levels of Bamana culture, from the kings bedroom and boardroom to the common streets. This duality is rooted in their historical place in society, and is the subject of many books, academic articles, and discussions, all widely available to the casual reader.

Salif Keita faced scorn from his family not because he chose the career of a griot (since one cannot choose another role in a casted society), but because he became an artist, traditionally the realm of many different castes (including griot), but definitely NOT the realm of a noble. Many other artists coming of age in the 1970s faced this same scorn from their families for becoming dancers, drummers, or musicians.

Finally, the article reads "Mali musical tradition goes back to the height of the Songhai Empire, in the early 16th century, when a caste of itinerant entertainers — oral historians called griots — emerged in the villages along the Niger River, the third longest waterway in Africa."
Again, this is slightly problematic historically. The consensus is rather that griots "emerged" in the Empire of Mali in the 12th and 13th centuries, and a quick review of the historical literature (or even the net) will show that griots are almost always associated with this earlier Empire and the first ruler Sunjiata Keita (many spellings exist also for Sundjata's first name). The Empire of Mali was founded and ruled by the Bamana people, from whom the Songhai seized power and formed this new powerful empire in the 16th century, by which time, the tradition and caste of griot was well established.

I hope that some of these corrections can be passed on to the public and/or to the printed record of the NY Times, and I also hope that the Times continues to cover West Africa and its culture in such depth and color. We are all richer for it, and hopefully we can help make Mali a bit less poor as well.

Technorati Tags : mali, west+africa, music, griot, wassoulou, djembe

Ali Farka Toure

Today news comes from Mali that Ali Farka Toure has passed from this world to the next. Our ancestors are now blessed with the musicial genius of this man whom some call "The lion of the desert" or "The lion of Niafounke".

We had heard several months ago from our friends at IMN that Ali Farka was ailing, and had been praying for him. So today's news, while not unexpected brings a heavy heart to us all.

Mr. Toure was the first African artist to receive two Grammy Awards, the most recent for his collaboration with Toumani Diabate on an album called "In The Heart of the Moon."

While some folks (in the US and Europe) might say that Ali Farka found new ways to combine the Blues with Malian Traditional Music, Ali Farka was always adamant to say that he was merely playing his musical heritage, and that the music he was playing (Blues) came from Mali initially.

We are a richer world for Ali Farka's presence here, and we celebrate his legacy as we mourn his passing.

 

See here for IMN's biography of Ali Farka Toure.

 

 

 

Technorati Tags : Ali, Farke, Toure, Mali, Blues, Grammy

Habib Koite in Providence

So then after Neba left, we welcomed another Malian great to New England. Habib Koite showed up for a week of appearances at high schools in Providence and finished up the week with a benefit show for GAIA (an organization working on an AIDS vaccine).
Again, I was lucky enough to show the guys around and help out a bit. But I got to ENJOY this show! without working! awesome. but madou (the tama player) made me work a little bit, he brought me up on stage and made me dance. fun fun stuff.
always fun to see people you meet on your travels back in your area. you get to return the favors they gave to you on their turf. 

neba solo in boston

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in so long. (Similar opening sentences are often written in my diary.) Anyway, after returning from Jozi, my life has been super hectic. Good and bad as well. It all started well on the return, with an immediate jump into helping out Neba Solo, who was brought to Harvard U to do an artist residency and perform a free (!) show.
I had a great time hanging out with the guys, showing them around town, and then got roped into being their stage manager. I can't seem to get thru a show without doing some work. Anyway, this is a pic from backstage thru the beautiful wood moldings. It was a fun show, and a fun week. You can see a video from the show on Calabash.