Yes, Sartre was right; Hell IS other people. Admittedly, without other people, there are no bands, only millions of isolated singer-songwriters hogging the stage at open mic nights all over the world. So, in that spirit ...

To Hell with Hell ... WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN MY BAND?

Yes, BALKANIZE!, Richmond, VA's ONLY existing Old World Turko-Balkan folk music ensemble is currently auditioning for a LEAD FEMALE VOCALIST, a BACKING FEMALE VOCALIST and a BACK-UP RHYTHM GUITARIST (please note that we are particularly interested in lead and backing vocalists who can also play rhythm guitar).

Passion for and knowledge of traditional Balkan, Turkish and Near Eastern folk music is a nonnegotiable requirement!

A strong singing voice, creativity, open-mindedness (especially with regard to the Macedonian Question), maturity, responsibility, independence, knowledge of basic music theory, a desire to put in hard work, and a willingness to sing in many different languages all tie for close second. We rehearse for several hours every Sunday afternoon and perform live AT LEAST once every six to eight weeks.

We play acoustic folk music from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey using a combination of Western and traditional Eastern European folk instruments. We have been playing together since December 2006; in that time, we have performed publicly many times for local folk dancers, belly dancers, and other audiences. Live recordings from our performances have been broadcast during the World Music shows on Richmond's independent radio station WRIR, 97.3 FM.

If you are interested or need more information, please contact Geoff at stupidroom@verizon.net. Also, please visit our web sites at www.balkanize.net and www.myspace.com/balkanize for more info and a better idea of what we're all