Hey there, friends,
It’s been a while since I’ve written a newsletter. So sorry if any of you have felt
neglected. Wow, three CDs in a year! I think I must be crazy. But I’m really happy with
all of them, and they’re all so different. First there was Bhakti Bazaar with Ben
Leinbach, then Queen of Hearts, and coming in October, Kirtan Kids!
Have you guys heard Queen? It’s often difficult for me to listen to my own music till
many months later but I’ve been listening to Queen Of Hearts almost everyday and it’s
a total joy. The reggae and ska grooves just wake me up and make me want to dance in
my car, which can be a bit dangerous… Anyway, I haven’t done a CD release party for
any of my CDs for quite a long time but I’ve decided to do one for the Queen! But what
should it be? After so many years of interactive Kirtan, the idea of a ‘concert’, where
there are ‘listeners’ and ‘musicians’ and no meeting between the two, is kind of boring.
So for at least one gig, on September 14th, I’ve created ‘the Queen Of Hearts
Orchestra,’ an ecstatic Reggae-Samba-Kirtan band, for your listening, singing and
dancing pleasure. And most of all, to glorify the true Queen Of Hearts, Srimati
Radharani, the bestower of Divine Love.
So come join us for a Bhakti Dance Party at Yoshi’s in San Francisco. The band will be big and loud, kind of a first cousin to the late, great Pagan Love Orchestra, and, Goddess-willing, we’ll be granted a few moments of grace in the heavenly abode of RADHE SHYAM!!!!!
Come one come all!!!!!!
Here’s the band:
Jai Uttal – harmonium, guitar, vocals
Jose Neto – electric nylon string guitar
Ben Leinbach – keys and percussion
Vishwambhar Sheth – Mridanga
Krsna Kishore – kartals and flute
Daniel Paul – tablas, vocals, harmonica
Prajna Vieira – vocals
Sandy Cressman – vocals
Tina Malia – vocals
Mark Gorman – bass
Peter Apfelbaum – drums and sax
Sounds like super fun, doesn’t it?
Lots of love,
