Sonata In Me

Greetings from the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York.  I am enjoying my last evening here along the Hudson River.  We have been performing on the same bill as Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Deva Premal and Miten, Manose, Carioca, and others.  It has truly been a fantastic weekend filled with chanting, joy, and great music.  We performed Friday night for 45 minutes— a very deep, relaxing set, and then again yesterday morning for an hour and a half. Tonight Deva Premal and Mitel performed a beautiful set where they brought up each of the other artists to play a piece.  At the very end, we were all up on stage singing together! I am hoping to get pictures… Guru Ganesha, Jai Uttal, and I were all singing harmony with each other in a group.  There was so much happiness on stage and in the room.  It was an incredibly wonderful experience.

It has been very nice to get to know the other artists as people— we hear them on recordings all the time, but to get to know them  as people really helps me understand where their music comes from and what their intentions are.  I got to know Jai Uttal’s tabla player, Daniel Paul, at dinner this evening.  He is a wonderful man who understands the relationships between western music and Indian music and has wonderful stories of Ali Akbar Khan and Zakir Hussein.  We also connected on a very personal level and by the end of the evening I would like to say that he is a new good friend.

Tomorrow we will play our last concert here at 9AM.  We’ll invite Deva Premal, Miten, and Manose onstage with us for the set.  It should  be good!  After the set, we will drive to the Newark airport where we will catch our flight to Zurich! My travels to Europe are finally happening…

Until the next time inspiration strikes,

Peace.

On the Celebrate Peace Tour we use our music to inspire others to create peaceful communities. Music is the one true universal language—it is the one medium that has the greatest chance of creating a peaceful world. Recently I was inspired to start a non-profit organization that will give grants to arts programs in public schools so that students at an early age will be exposed to the powerful tools of music and the arts and can in turn use those tools to bridge societies and cultures together in harmony.

I owe everything of where I am now to my past education and those that supported the arts.  I realize that I have had a unique experience in my education.  I do not believe, however, that I am alone in my experience, and I firmly trust that we can create a country where the majority of students can have similar experiences to mine.

I am sad to say that as I have visited my former schools, I have noticed a dramatic decline in available arts classes and performances.  In a mere three years, the changes are very apparent.  We cannot wait any longer.  Instead, we need to inspire a renaissance in the country.  It is necessary that art be found in every profession and activity.  I ask for your help in creating this shift to a new renaissance.  In doing so, we inspire the country to stand for what it means to: independent thought.  We would be injecting vitality into American culture and helping the country remain independent yet a vital peaceful contributor to the global community.

If you would like to be involved or need more information on my project, please email me at ramdass@mac.com.

Tonight we dedicated our concert to the families of victims and all of the students and faculty at Virginia Tech.  Things like this just go to show how much the world is in need of massive healing.  My prayers go out to those at Virginia Tech as well as for everyone else in this country.  This type of violence can happen anywhere at any time.  The shooter could be anyone.  So everywhere you go, practice random acts of kindness.  If the student had received more kindness and love, the attack could have been totally avoided.  Say hi to the man on the street.  Let your friends know you care.  You could save a life.

“Delight the world with compassion, kindness, and grace.”- Yogi Bhajan

In the spare hours that I had free today, I went to Washington DC to visit one of my best friends at The George Washington University. We had a great time, ate Thai food, and watched an incredible mini-series that was shot in high definition of some of the amazing parts of nature on the earth. I also got my first tour of the National Mall. I visited all of the memorials from Vietnam to Korea, World War II, and the Lincoln Memorial. I have always seen pictures of the Vietnam Memorial, but I never realized it was so big. With each panel, I kept thinking “there are too many here.” There are 58,249 names on the Vietnam Memorial.

When it was time to go home, I took the Metro back to Virginia and caught a cab. It was the second cab in a line of four. My cabdriver was an older man from Egypt. He had very short facial hair. It was all white. He had a concerned voice and pronounces every “th” sound as a “z”. At first I had trouble understanding him, but I quickly caught on. Toward the beginning of the 25 minute ride home, he answered his phone in Arabic and had a short conversation. He chuckled at one point and I heard the words “police car” slip into the Arabic. Soon, he was off the phone and let out a big sigh. I asked him if he had a long day.

“Long day?” He asked me as if he didn’t quite understand the expression. “Yes, it has been long day. Taxi driver is a very hard job.”

I told him that I appreciated the service very much. He explained to me that he has been driving for six years and then said that it is very difficult to make money because President Bush is directing so much money toward the war. He waved his hand in the air and said “useless.” It was at this point that I asked where he was from. I told him that I have always wanted to go to Egypt. He told me that it is a beautiful country. Much more beautiful than in the pictures. This is when I started to realize that I picked the right cab. He began to rattle of facts about the war in Iraq— things I had no clue about. He told me that 350,000 Iraqis have been killed. And the way he put it was that they were killed not by Saddam Hussein or any Muslim organization. This was an American organization. 350,000. And then there was the censorship. Our government was not allowing journalists to go in to see the crimes being committed. He said that troops were sent in and were told to shoot anyone that got in the way. He also added that he is sad to see the American soldiers die because they are also innocent. He understood that most people don’t sign up for the army to fight. They sign up because it’s a good job and get good benefits. “There is no reason for this to have happened. It is so sad. Now we cannot leave without leaving Iraq without a government. And no money. And no electricity. And no food. But if we stay, more innocent people die. There is no way out. Bush is in a place for critical decision.” My driver knew the whole situation. He kept trying to say how Muslims are innocent people. There will always be extremists in every country. There are white people who hate any person who isn’t as white as them. But that does not make all white people the same as the extreme ones.

By now we were on the tollway that leads to the Washington Dulles Airport.

“Here is something I bet you do not know. Over fifty percent, maybe sixty percent of security at Dulles Airport on 9/11 were Arabic or Muslim. I worked security at the time. It would have been so easy for a security guard to let someone in. They could cheat. But no Muslim cheated during these attacks. No one let another person in.” Gears clicked into place for me. The driver has been driving taxis for six years. After September 11, the government got rid of all of the security workers at Dulles and he was forced to try a different career. I do not know if his religion or ethnicity was involved, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

He asked me where I was from. I told him that I’m from the west coast and that I’m a traveling musician who plays in a band supporting world peace. He said, “ZIS is good thing.” At that point we made our final turn toward the house. I handed him a ten dollar tip. He told me, “No. I am satisfied. Please.” As I was getting out of the car he said, “You wait. I have something for you.” He reached into a plastic bag and pulled out two packets of date filled cookies with Arabic writing on the front. “Because you fight for peace, I give you this.” I thanked him and told him how thankful I am to have met him. I gave him my best wishes and walked inside. We both waved to each other as he drove off.

When I visited the National Mall, my friend Noah kept saying that he was disgusted by how our country is built on wars. Most of the memorials represented wars or people involved in wars. Our memorials are pristine and serene as if saying that war itself is pristine and serene. This is only true for us who stay at home and have no connection to what is going on. There is nothing serene about war. There is nothing glorious about war. I could not help but think that every name on the Vietnam Memorial was unnecessary. No one had to die. That is still the case. I hope that we never have to construct another war memorial. 3241 US deaths so far. 23,417 reported injured. After this one, that is.

It is now two weeks before my first tour of the year starts.  I’m currently in the Herndon, VA area ready to begin a week of practicing with Snatam, Guru Ganesha, Manish Vyas, and Krishan.  It has been a busy break with some huge plans in the works.  I am currently spearheading a project to start a non-profit organization that would give funds to arts departments in public schools as well as lobby politicians to provide funding for the arts in our education system.  I have written to all available politicians as well as many artists seeking support.  This will be one of my big projects both on and off tour.    I feel that even though playing music for others is a great service, it is not enough.  I want to make sure that future generations have opportunities to be regularly exposed to the arts.  I feel that arts education is the most crucial part of learning and that it is being lost very rapidly.  I will post regular updates concerning the organization, its principles, and its development.

I am also  working on a solo album with Krishan which we’re planning on releasing at the end of summer.

I woke up at 5AM Western time so that I could fly to DC, so I am now going to bid you adieu and update soon.

What do you do when 3 out of 5 tour members are hit with a cold, it’s 17 degrees outside, and you have a concert at night? You sit in the motel room with the heat all the way up, drink lots of water, take baths, take medicine, drink hot tea, and update your blog.

Yesterday we drove from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Asheville, NC and found ourselves in the middle of a snowstorm and deep freeze. The temperature in Winston-Salem was about 60º yesterday. The temperature including windchill is 5º here in Asheville. At least the co-op grocery store is within walking distance!

The concert in Winston-Salem was amazing. Not only was it a concert, but the organizers arranged for a free vegetarian feast before the show. The crowd was in the most blissful mood for the concert. It’s a great idea!
KP and I started to get sick while we were still in Virginia, so our wonderful hosts Arci and Dulal served us a special tea which felt like fire when we drank it. It turned out to be a tea made from jalapeño, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, and cardamom. Very intense. I think we’re on the tail end of the sickness though. Everything will be fine.

Again, it’s been a while. The five of us are now in a town called Newport News, Virginia— just a few miles from Langley Air Force Base. We’ve played at the A.R.E. center founded by Edgar Cayce and the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Peninsula in the Virginia Beach area. It has been a tremendous weekend full of warm hearts and some of the best music to date. This tour we are headed from Virginia through the Carolinas, Georgia, down to the Miami area, and back up to Winter Solstice in Lake Wales, Florida. Right now I am sitting with Guru Ganesha and Karta in a local Panera (another great establishment with WiFi) while Krishan gets Miracle fixed. Yes, our reliable van has gone to the auto shop. We have been noticing a funky smell coming from under the hood after drives and eventually the “get engine serviced soon” light came on. We haul a lot of weight with that engine. I’m surprised that it does so well.

Thoughts that have been coming up so far on this tour are about the mind. One of our producers said something very interesting. We tend to associate and attatch emotions to things. We link certain states of mind to external situations. What happens if we choose to be positive no matter what is going on outside? The entire world changes and all you can do is laugh when chaos is sent your way. As a reminder, my blood type is B Positive. We’re happy to have a little relaxing time. Winston-Salem, NC here we come!

Pictures coming soon!

Last time I updated, I was in… Connecticut? Since then we have played shows in New York, New Jersey, Toronto and London, Michigan, and now we are in Evanston, Illinois. We are staying in a beautiful house in Winnetka, IL which is about ten minutes from our venue in Evanston. It is amazing how generous each host is in each town. I am so grateful for the generosity each family has shown us. Tonight is the last concert of the tour… I am relieved and at the same time very excited. We have been on the road for almost a month now and have covered a lot of ground. DC to Ottawa back to the northeast, up to Toronto, down to Michigan, and now the greate Chicagoland Area!
Touring has thoroughly reinforced my belief that worrying is pointless. Yesterday we left Troy, Michigan at 10:15 eastern time expecting to arrive in Chicago for a 4:00 children’s program with extra time to warm up. We got to Gary, Indiana at around 1:30 and hit hard rain and traffic. It took another 4 hours to get from Gary through the city traffic. I don’t think we got to the venue until maybe 5. The entire way, we saw huge flashes of lightning and felt the heavy winds. Last time I was in Chicago, the weather was so peaceful and beautiful. This time we heard weather reports for wind and snow. We have decided that there is no such thing as an “easy” travel day. We DID get to our venue and put on a great half-hour program for about 50 kids. They were all excited to see Guru Ganesha’s guitar, hear Snatam’s stories, see my clarinet, and of course, hear Krishan’s tablas. Snatam asked the kids if they knew what instrument I played. One boy up in front immediately yelled “CLARINET!” It made me very happy. Anyway, worrying… It’s pointless. We could have easily freaked out about our delay. It almost happened. But you get to a point where you have to realize that there’s nothing you can do about it. You get there when you get there and it will be great. That’s just the way it is… To quote Billy Preston, “That’s the way God planned it and that’s the way God wants it to be.” It’s much more exciting when he sings it though.

So off we go into the wild blue yonder. The tour is still going strong through the end! I will have many funny stories to post after the tour is over.

We have now finished over half of our tour. We’re in Island Park (Long Island), NY, and are quickly getting ready to go to Toronto, Ontario. I’m using this as an update to say that yes, we are still alive, and yes, the tour is going very well. We’ve all been sick now… Krishan is the latest member to deal with illness. The fact is that we are using 110% of our energy all of the time and because we are so dedicated to the tour, we often forget about our own bodies. We forget about them until they tell us that we need to rest. So hopefully we can rest a lot in the van today. We’ll be back in the states in about 5 days. Hopefully I’ll have wireless in Canada!

Greetings from the small town of Torrington, Connecticut. We made an 8 hour drive from Ottawa to here yesterday. We passed through beautiful upstate New York and a small chunk of Massachusetts. We are all dealing with sickness… It seems that the cold weather of Ottawa and a rigorous schedule were very hard on our bodies. I saw the picture of myself on Snatam’s blog and was shocked and how tired I look. The good news is that we are all having a wonderful time. It’s a great family we have here. Snatam is resting in a motel room all day today and the rest of us will be setting up for this evening’s concert in about an hour. At the moment, Guru Ganesha and I are sitting in a McDonald’s because it’s the only place in town that has wireless internet. It’s surprising how cozy it is here. They play decent music, and there aren’t many distractions. This morning GG and I did our vocal warmups and yoga with our host Bret and the cook, an amazing japanese man, for these couple days. They are loving people who have really treated us well. Everywhere we go, we are treated like the best of family. It is amazing how humble and grateful people are for the presence of this tour. It’s inspiring to see and really what this tour is about: Celebratig Peace. I would personally like to thank all of our friends in Ottawa again for all that they did for us. We all appreciated the service so much.

Here are some pictures from the past few days:

The Celebrate Peace gang at the Canadian Border

Krishan and I ventured off before Canadian Peace Prayer Day and found the City Council room. Krishan had a lot to say about Canada.

Canadian Peace Prayer Day with all of the children.

Sunny Ottawa

Soundcheck at a church in Ottawa

Rainy Ottawa

Snowy Ottawa

I will update tomorrow probably. Perhaps Ganesh and I will come back to McDonalds. Otherwise, I will post again when in NYC.