joined on 03/18/06
last updated 01/15/10
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about me
I am a visual artist and a musician. I am a college art teacher with about 30 years experience teaching on the college level. I am a fairly well known painter and I am also a percussionist that plays for Middle-Eastern dancers and I also play lead djembe for a West African dance company (I teach percussion at the dance academy also). Those are both my day jobs, so I am certainly not wealthy (financially that is).
!!~MYSTIC HIPS GOTHIC BELLY DANCERS,
(*)(*),
**Tribe Marrakech & Elevation BD Fest**,
*Aveyanda Skye-Tribal Fusion Bellydance*,
*~* Bellydance Video Enthusiasts *~*,
*☆ Sonia the Beautiful ☆*,
Ak-Ana,
Alchemy Performance,
Ansuya,
Arabic Musicians,
Archery without hunting,
Ariellah: Yoga, Dance, and Expression,
Armor and Garb,
Asharah,
Ask Wildcat,
Ass Lover,
Awalim Dance Co & TRIBALCON!,
Baraka Mundi,Mezmer Society & Tribo,
Barbary Coast Shakedown,
Belladonna,
...
I think that there are just too many of us on-line posting way too much about our daily mundane lives. Facebook is acting as wanky as tribe does. Nice to know that tribe has company in the insanity.
Come on lil' tribe, pull ahead, you can do it.
Thu, September 10, 2009 - 1:47 PM
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I really loved this place, but something has happened. It seems to have had a meltdown. I still love the format the best, but a lot of the people have gotten frustrated with the constant "downtime" and lost posts and all-in-all screwy server, and they've gone elsewhere. I now keep in touch with a lot of those folks on facebook. It's an okay site, but it isn't the same format as tribe.
This is a true shame. I hope this place can rise up.............. but who knows...........
Mon, June 1, 2009 - 2:50 PM
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Last night was the performance of "Brooklyn Hafla" at Alia Restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I've taken over the organizing of this venue to give Shahrazad a chance to "chill out" a little bit and I am relatively even tempered (har har) and can handle stressful situations. Everything was in place, the talent was booked and contacted and knew when to be there, my friend Zorikh was w`orking the door, Joe and crew from Alia were very helpful in setting things up, we got there early en...
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Sun, November 23, 2008 - 9:21 PM
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Okay, so by now you've probably noticed that I only post things in my blog that are positive in nature, well, get ready, here comes another one:
After our last show in Brooklyn and the sale of Sultana and the horrible way in which we were treated by the new owners, we weren't sure if we could land on our feet with a new venue............... well, we really really did!
Shahrazad's Showcase has a new home. It's Alia Restaurant on North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. It is beaut...
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Thu, October 2, 2008 - 12:49 PM
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Sultana has been the home of the monthly Shahtazad's Showcase ahows for the past year, but that has come to an end. Ayman who owned Sultana in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with his partner Coco, sold Sultana to a new owner and it is just not the same venue. We had our last show scheduled for June 21st (last week) and had an elaborate functioned planned (it was Shahrazad's annual birthday show) and when we got there to set up the stage at 7 pm we were informed by the new owner that she decided to b...
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Sun, June 29, 2008 - 10:24 AM
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Re: T. Roy?
(in Middle Eastern Percussion)
Mark,
I agree that the rhythms are wrong and yeah, the nawari is totally off. The ayuob however IS an ayoub and not really a maqsoum. The interesting thing is that it follows a zar which is also an ayoub (and always has been) the felahi that is p...
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discussion post on Fri, February 5, 2010 - 8:31 AM
Re: Wooden flutes in SCA life
(in Society for Creative Anachronism)
End blown wooden fripple flutes existed in European society. After all what is a recorder?
discussion post on Wed, February 3, 2010 - 7:55 AM
Re: Edgy Gawharet Drum Quality?
(in Middle Eastern Percussion)
Charles wrote:
"My experience with cast aluminum drums is annoyingly simple: every single drum is different.
There seems to be no rhyme, or reason, or logic, to why one drum sounds fantastic, and another drum sounds terrible.
The only way...
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discussion post on Tue, February 2, 2010 - 8:19 PM
Re: Edgy Gawharet Drum Quality?
(in Middle Eastern Percussion)
Egy Gwahara(jewel of Egypt) is a company that was started by people that were previously involved in making the drums for Gwahret El Fan(jewel of the art). Many of us have noticed that the quality of GEF drums has slipped somewhat in the last coup...
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discussion post on Mon, February 1, 2010 - 3:13 PM
Re: New line Skyndeep heads for Egyptian and Turkish darbuka's/ doumbek's.
(in Middle Eastern Percussion)
I like the idea that the metal hoops are smaller. That's the one thing that I have had the most difficulty with fitting the SkynDeep heads onto all of my derbekkes. (And I do use them on all of my aluminum derbekkes). They usually fit, but it's re...
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discussion post on Tue, January 26, 2010 - 7:32 PM
"They act like good friends, not just merchants"
"A good spource for buying percussion instruments"
May 23, 2008
I am so fortunate to have Jeff to work with. He is filled with energy and creativity, you can tell he loves what he does. He is my personal drummer at the Kemia bar, also at Sultana our monthly shows and any other time I can get to work with him. He is so on point, and he really makes my students feel at ease. We connected immediately as friends and it took off from there. He is a pleasure to work with, I am so lucky to have the opportunity to have him as a friend and to be able to work with him as much as I do. If you have not had the opportunity to work with him it is a must.
February 13, 2008
In addition to being a warm and jovial person- with a big heart and creative mind- Jeff is also a very communicative, in tune with dancing drummer! His beats all come from the heart and eye! Usually I stay very far away from drum solos- but Jeff has a knack and a half for drumming with me instead of just for me. He really knows his beats and chooses a perfect fit each time. I look forward to dancing with him each and every time. It's like our bodies are having a conversation- more than just reacting to a dum tek. I love it!
September 25, 2006
What can I say of this wonderful human being? He is, at once, extremely humorous, confident, creative, kind....oh yes, and an unbelievable genius on a drum. Any drum. Particularly on darbek, darbuka, djembe...anything African and North African. This most likely is the result of 30+ years of experience with them. If you are looking to work with the master(s) then his East Winds Tribal Company is it. They (he and Casey Bond) know the rythms, know how to work them, know how to work a crowd, know how to work with dancers.
Away from that arena, he is a fabulous visual artist, theater person, and a genuine human being with great heart for other people. I am so blessed to know this man on a professional and personal level, and I suspect you will feel the same when you meet him, too :)
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