My Blog

"I Have a Dream Remake" Free Download on Global Noize

jameswhetzel — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:17:26 GMT

In celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America, my remake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech is being made available free from Global Noize (Global Noize is the blog of Six Degrees Records out of San Francisco). Click on this link to visit the site and download the track. http://globalnoize.blogspot.com/ Peace, respect and hope! James Whetzel

A Funke Year of Good Juju and Mean Deep!

jameswhetzel — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:15:04 GMT

Hey good peeps this is my record label's end of the year blog. I'll be posting my personal end of the year blog soon, but in the meantime please enjoy these tales of the continuing adventures of The House of Good Juju and Mean Deep Ladies and Gents it's been quite a year! The election of Barack Obama and imminent departure of the Bush administration is a great cause for celebration. At Funketabla we have additional cause to be jolly—the summer of 2008 was when we put out our two first funketabla releases. The first was DJ Baba James (James Whetzel) "The House of Good Juju," the second was Mean Deep "Mean Deep." Now it goes without saying if you do not yet possess these albums you must purchase them immediately; you can either download the music on itunes, amazon, rhapsody, or you can buy the discs here at funketabla: http://www.funketabla.com/store.php or at CD Baby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/whetzeljames3 http://cdbaby.com/cd/meandeep Both albums came out this summer and have been getting a lot of airplay across North America. Both albums also made it onto the charts! "The House of Good Juju" was #10 on the September 23rd top thirty overall list of KAOS radio in Olympia, WA, Evergreen College radio. On October 19th "The House of Good Juju" was #5 on the World Top 10 of Toronto, Ontario, station CIUT. Both Mean Deep and The House of Good Juju made the top ten weekly electronic chart for CJSF of Burnaby, BC. Mean Deep was #7 and The House of Good Juju was #8. Mean Deep went on to chart again on CJSF's electronic music charts at #3 on December 2nd, rating higher than Thievery Corporation! Each record has garnered one review each so far. "The House of Good Juju" was reviewed on October 25th by the interestingly named "Joel Shit" who is affiliated with KSCU radio in Santa Clara, CA. Our favorite part of his review was his description of the song Kitten, which includes a Super Mario Bros video game reference: "It is not clear to me why the song is called “Kitten,” but I am sure it is obvious to people that pay attention during the song. At any rate, I like it, because it is what Mario would be hearing if he touched a star and a mushroom at the same time. He’d be invincible and big together. It’s not just the Starman music. It’s got something extra. I bet Pee-Wee Herman would like this song too." You can check his full review at: http://joelshitshow.com/2008/10/25/dj-baba-james-james-whetzel-the-house-of-good-juju/ or on The House of Good Juju CD Baby page. Mean Deep was reviewed on November 21st by Sadie O at Stanford University's radio station KZSU in Palo Alto, CA. We liked her description of what we do: "Electronica/Indian/etc mashup – but probably not like what you’re thinking. First outing from a pair of guys (Shri Deepayan and James Whetzel), and tending towards the rave rather than trance end of club. Lots of energy and beat with layers of musical ideas from all over, although India is the strongest identifiable element. Most of the vocals are a bit goofy, but the music is killer." Her description of the track "Minuit" is also worth noting: "downtempo, deeply warped. Sort of the march of the large lopsided robots on opium." "March of the Large Lopsided Robots on Opium" sounds like a good name for a Das Dhoom track . . . hmm. You can check her complete review at the Mean Deep CD Baby page or directly at KZSU: http://zookeeper.stanford.edu/index.php?s=byAlbumKey&n=882299&q=10&action=search&session= We've been getting great play at other stations around North America, including KBCS in Seattle/Bellevue, KUNM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, KALX in Berkeley, California, KSJS in San Jose, California, KWCW in Walla Walla, Washington, KDVS in Davis, California, WNCW in Asheville, North Carolina, KSER, in Everett, Washington, WMNF in Tampa, Florida, and KTRU in Houston, Texas. Special thanks to Emch at WNYE in NYC, The Spice Route DJs at KBCS, Matt Kane at WZBC in Boston, and Darek Mazzone at KEXP. We would like to thank James Whetzel and our unstoppable volunteer Anita Darbo for getting this music out to the world. The work of sending the CDs out to radio is actually still ongoing and we look forward to connecting with more radio stations around the world in 2009. 2009 looks to be a good year for funketabla. James Whetzel is working on two very cool new albums: "Sarod & Beats" and "Everything Strange." Shree D. & James are collaborating with Sebastian Lange from EQlateral in a new project called Das Dhoom, which is making wild poly-rhythmic Indian Industrial music! James W. is currently in Seattle, WA, USA. Yas is currently in France, moving between Paris and Nantes and working with her new group Yas and the Lightmotiv. Yaw Amponsah is in the Northwest and leading a new drumming ensemble, and is also in demand as a session musicians for NW African performers. Shree D., pictured at top, is currently in Lyon, France acquiring new management skills and business acumen which he intends to apply to a several musical cultural projects when he returns to the Pacific Northwest. Best wishes and good juju to you in 2009 from all of us at Funketabla! May it be a good year for us all! Cheers!

The House of Good Juju

jameswhetzel — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:09:31 GMT

The House of Good Juju is my new album. It’s a summation of five years of my club oriented and electronic music. These are things I started out playing as James Whetzel and now spin primarily as DJ Baba James. The CD is now available through Funketabla, exclusively: http://www.funketabla.com/store.php Here is a quick breakdown about the music. It has fifteen tracks! 1. “About Love” is a mix of Bollywood, and Bhangra vibes with Hip Hop and West African beats, and the words for love in Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, French and English. C’est a propos de l’amour bebe! 2. “Space Tekyuman” is a re-interpretation of American Swing via the Tekyuman rhythm of Ghana, West Africa. I love the unique rhythm in this track, also I am proud of the lyrics, which are: Aliens send to me the mothership I need to take a trans-galactic trip My soul’s grown small living on oil and cash I want to fly to the sun and use no gas Nautilus, Captain Nemo, send her to me I want to go ten thousand leagues under the sea It’s time I made my life aquatic Because living on land is not doing it for me Solution for stopping the start of wars Shift violence to reverse, take a new course Builders of bombs no longer get paid in cash Demolished by their products are weapons plants Wars would work better if they were simplified With musical competitions we could decide Victory would not go to who can kill well But to whoever makes the music that is most beautiful! If there can’t be dance what purpose revolution? We need some fresh grooves and we need evolution And we sure could use another election Because we need a reality-based correction Oh Life is a free and a subtle phenomenon Happening everywhere and in everyone Infinite in number are the possibilities Every moment possesses new opportunities 3. “Sympathy for the 4/4″ is an instrumental which has a four on the floor beat supplied by a tabla bayan tuned down low. I play funk beats on tabla and break out some talking drums, West African rumba box (for the super low chunky bass), chimta, and keyboards. 4.”Theme From Beat On!” is a track which was made in honor of the Beat On! artists collective that produces the monthly Beat Council nights at ToST in Seattle. This track starts off with a Nigerian fuji influenced intro and then changes into some break beat. 5. “Washington State.” Many already know this clever little break beat track that is made up of the names of cities of the Evergreen State from Auburn to Walla Walla. An essential track for WA state residents and also for those who are Washington residents of the spirit. 6. “Sympathy for the Sarod.” This is an uptempo remix of “Sympathy for the 4/4″ featuring sarod and throat singing parts. 7. “Capitol Hill” is an ode to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, which is where I grew up. It references Sir Mixalot’s “My Posse’s on Broadway,” and is a break beat bhangra influenced track that was originally going to be called “my bhangra’s on broadway.” 8. “The Superstar Scene” is rocktronica track with a generous helping of tabla and sarod. 9. “From Freak to Freakshow,” based on a true story, this higlife-ified housey track song is about how it is OK to be freaky but how getting your freakiness in other people’s business can lead you to becoming a freak show. And should there be any doubt, it is always best to keep your clothes on at a dance party . . . 10. “Afro-Balkan House” is a track that mixes a snippet of the beautiful accordion playing of Erin Kurtz with a house beat made up of a mixture of acoustic and electronic sounds. A little bit of highlife and congolese music sneaks into the rhythm section and there is a clever bassline break down and also a pretty sarod solo. 11. “Kitten” is my own instrumental version of congolese electronica with sarod talking the place of the vocal part that appeared in the original version of this song 12. “Mr. Whetzel’s Extraordinary Intergalactic Fuji” is one of the more ambitious tracks on the album. Weighing in at Seven minutes and two seconds, it is an electronic version of Nigerian fuji music. The parts played by various drums and percussion such as bata, sakara, and shekere are all played as electronic drums and synthesizers. The parts interlock to create a very large melodic rhythmic composition (aka a delicious intelligent groove). Bringing in the western synth and electronic drum sounds makes the fuji ideas take on unexpected references. It begins with what may sound like polyrhythmic psytrance, and finishes up as 12/8 break beat. 13. “International Bossa” is brazilectro Whetzel style. This track began as music I made for Seattle Center for a video to promote the series of cultural festivals known as Festal. They specifically wanted a Brazlian style beat with sounds of music from around the world. So I started with the Brazilian beat on drums and mixed in North African/Middle percussion, playing the clave no less, and added touches of West African rumba box, South Asian dhol and sarod, and a little bit of retro flavored keyboards, bass and guitar. Definitely a fun one to chill out too! 14. “Hello (featuring Aaron Straight)” features the sounds and vocalizations of digeridoo player Aaron Straight. Aaron’s digeridoo is mixed with sarod, whale songs, and delayed out throat singing. The bass line is quite large and the beat is puncy with a suggestion of reggaeton. 15. “Goodbye” is a hip hopping instrumental with big strings, funky bass parts, and massively reverbed throat singing. I had wanted to end an album with this track for years and I am so glad I finally got to do it! You can preview “The House of Good Juju” at Funketabla. Here’s the link one more time: http://www.funketabla.com/store.php Alright, good juju to you! peace, respect, love, and cheers! James

"God Rest Ye Funky Bhangra" (ho ho ho . . . hai hai hai)

jameswhetzel — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:40:00 GMT

Ladies and Gents! I hope you all are doing well. Here are two links to a little bit of holiday cheer that I put together just in time for Bhangra-mas . . . http://ilike.com/artist/James+Whetzel (just scroll down to find the track and then download it) http://www.funketabla.com/jwhetzel.php (right click to download it) Cheers! Merry Bhangramas! James

New track "Tabla Poetry #3" up online

jameswhetzel — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:25:20 GMT

Hey Ladies and Gents, I have a new track up online called "Tabla Poetry #3." It's a mix of bhangra beats, West African bass, Indian classical melodies and Indian traditional Indian tabla compositions turned into rhythmic poetry in English. Whew! Yes that is all true, how could I lie to you and think I would get away with it? :-) You can check it these fine locations: http://ilike.com/artist/James+Whetzel http://www.myspace.com/jameswhetzel I'll be doing this piece for sure at the East of the Underground show this Friday, September 28th at Electric Tea Garden at Oseao, 1402 E. Pike. 9pm - 2am, Cover $5 I hope you enjoy the track, and I hope to see you at the show, cheers! James [photo attached to this blog by Rod Hoekstra, taken at Pike Place Market's Busker Fest 2007]

James Whetzel Serenading the Parks of the city of Seattle!

jameswhetzel — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:59:48 GMT

Mais oui, claro que si good ladies and gentlemen! I am playing in the City of Seattle's fine parks as part of the City of Seattle's Busker Program. i'll be playing sarod and singing in Waterfront Park, 1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101 Wednesday September 5th from 11:30am until 1:30pm And I'll be playing more sarod and singing in Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 in Chinatown/the ID on September 12th, from 11:30am until 1:30pm. Please come by and say hi! peace, cheers and best musical wishes! James

James Live at Westlake Park, Tuesday, August 28th, 11:30am - 1:30pm

jameswhetzel — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:59:39 GMT

Yes it's true good ladies and gents! As part of the City's Buskers in the Parks program, I am going to be playing in Westlake Park tommorow between 11:30am and 1:30pm. I'll be playing sarod, singing and mixing in just enough high style throat singing to keep it spicy! If you work downtown you know where to go for your lunch break! I think the place where I am going to play near to the Seattle's Best Coffee location that is near to 4th Ave side of Westlake. In case anyone needs the address, Westlake Park is located at: 401Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101 http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/westlake.htm Hope to see you there! Best musical wishes, cheers! James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com http://www.myspace.com/jameswhetzel

James Live in Hing Hay Park, Thursday, August 23rd, 11:30am- 1:30pm

jameswhetzel — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:11:02 GMT

James live at Hing Hay Park Thursday, August 23rd, 11:30am - 1:30pm Alright Ladies and Gents! It's a busy time, which as you know is a good thing for a musician to say! I'll be playing with the Beat Council Saturday, August 25th at the Electric Tea Garden at Oseao, 1402 E Pike. And I will also be playing at Wazhma's b-day celebration "We Can Dance If We Want To" August 24th at Nectar. And Thursday I will be doing a unique show playing at Hing Hay Park in the Intl. District/Chinatown. I'll be playing sarod and singing, probably doing a little throat singing too. I'll play for an hour and a half in the time from 11:30am until 1:30pm. This is part of the City of Seattle's Buskers in the Parks program. It is also going to be the beginning of a performance project of my own called 75 x Sarod. More on that very very soon. I hope that any of you who work or live near Hing Hay Park can come and see me do this unique show in a busy urban park. Hing Hay Park is located at 423 Maynard Ave S. For more about Hing Hay Park check: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=358 Best musical regards, James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com http://www.myspace.com/jameswhetzel

James on NPR and on Komo TV 4! Sum CD up at CD Baby!

jameswhetzel — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:58:25 GMT

James on NPR and Komo TV 4, "Sum" CD up at CD Baby! Category: Music Ladies and Gents! I hope you are doing well. I have been working hard busking at Pike Place Market. I am usually there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Usually play at 10 or 11am then 1pm or 2pm and 4 or 5pm. This last Friday happened to be the 100th anniversary of the Market. Pike Place Market wa one of the first markets of its type in the country and one of the oldest surviving markets of this kind also. In any case it is a very cool place and local media and media from across the country were here to document its 100th birthday. I managed to be lucky enough to intersect with some of this news coverage. You can hear some of my sarod playing at the end of this report by Phyllis Fletcher that aired on National Public Radio on Friday, August 17th. Here's the name of the article and the link. Click on "listen" to hear the piece and also hear a morsel of whetzel music at the end. "Seattle's Pike Place Turns 100 Years Old" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12873918 As I was playing on Friday there were several TV cameras around. Komo 4 ended up using me playing sarod as part of the background music for their report and there is also a brief glimpse of me as well. The Seattle Channel filmed me for a while and there were also cameras from another station that I didn't recognize. Woo-hoo! "Sum" CD Up on CD Baby "Sum" for those of you who don't know is my chilled out ambient CD that I put out in 2001. I just got it up on the online independent online sales spot CD Baby. If you don't have it yet please go check it out . . . http://cdbaby.com/cd/whetzeljames2 Alright, much more news to come . . . Cheers! Peace, Love and Respect, and as always best musical wishes! James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com http://www.myspace.com/jameswhetzel

I'm back in Seattle!

jameswhetzel — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:21:04 GMT

Yes! It was a wild wonderful trip that had me rocking New York, San Francisco, Greensboro, LA, Philadelphia, Baltimore and more. And now I am back and ready to instigate new musical fun for everyone here in Sea Town. I am not joking! :-) For instance check this new video Tabla Poetry #2 and see the Seattle Center rock for you: http://one.revver.com/watch/315790/flv/affiliate/69355 Cast in Order of appearance: yours truly, Maria Kesovija, Alma Plancich, Mitsu Sundvall and Steve Sneed. Produced and Edited by Gallixsee Media with invaluable assistance by NeoFX Media. I shot alot of videos on my tour most haven't been edited more to come very soon! Best wishes to everybody! James http://www.funketabla.com http://www.myspace.com/jameswhetzel PS Don't forget July 29th 9pm at The Tractor Tavern in Ballard, My CD release party with special guests Yaw Asare, Siendo, Dj Mau'Deep and Shri Deepayan. $10.

Where's Whetzel? New Mexico!

jameswhetzel — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:11:09 GMT

Ladies and Gents! I am writing this mail from somewhere near to Gallup, New Mexico. I've had a couple crazy days of travel. Yesterday I traveled from Alama, Arkansas through Oklahoma, through the top of Texas, all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The day before that I was sipping an iced chai on President Clinton Ave in Little Rock, Arkansas. That morning I drove through Memphis, Tennessee, and the day before I passed through Nash Vegas aka Nashville. A couple notes from the past three days: Little Rock, Arkansas is d-e-a-d! on a Sunday. Really cool library downtown though, with Lao Tzu's name etched next to Shakespeare and Dickinson on the outside of the building in large letters. Oklahoma appears to be composed almost completely of different Indian Nations and lands; IE this is the place many Indian Nations were moved to. I drove through the Cherokee, Cheyenne and Arapaho, Sac and Fox, Seminole, Shawnee, and Citizen Potawatomi lands. I stopped off in the Cherokee Nation and saw a sign that said "Cherokee Citizens don't forget to vote June 23rd!" When passing through Amarillo, Texas be on the lookout for overzealous law enforcement officers who might by chance nail for a speeding ticket if you are even briefly a bit over the speed limit. It happened to a close friend of mine . . . Best to drive under the speed limit by a couple mph. New Mexico is strangely beautiful. Which is to say that movies featuring aliens and their alien planetscapes could easily be filmed here, or perhaps they were . . .There's also a large native population here; it was interesting to be the only gringo in a convenience store where all the other customers and employees appear to be Indians or First Nations. Also interesting was that the guys in the store were cranking up Metallica, "Master of Puppets" the orchestral version. I got to share that I saw Metallica for both the Ride the Lightning tour, and the Masters of Puppets tour. Yeah, I'm old school like that, pre-short hair Metallica. I am getting closer to the Pacific Standard Time zone and I must say the thought of that is making me jolly. It's been two months and a week since I left Seattle, and I am a little homesick. I have very many exciting ideas of things I want to do when I get back. But before I get back, I am privileged to be rocking California! A little heads up to you Californians. I'll be doing a show in LA at Chop Suey on Friday June 15th, in San Luis Obispo at Linnaea's on Saturday the 16th and in San Francisco on Sunday June 17th. After that I will head North! Peace, love, respect and musical regards, cheers! James

Greats show in NYC and Videos from them!

jameswhetzel — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:19:58 GMT

Hey excellent people! I had a great time on the East Coast. Below are some links to some videos from my two shows in NYC. A special highlight was rocking The Living Room on a Saturday night in the headliner spot! oh yeah! Please enjoy. Prepare Yourself, Palmwine Guitar at The Living Room in NYC http://one.revver.com/watch/285288/flv/affiliate/69355 El Throat Singing Beats at The Living Room in NYC http://one.revver.com/watch/285272/flv/affiliate/69355 Life is Life, Sarod and Voice at Sidewalk Cafe in NYC http://www.veoh.com/videos/v556164J5Qd8TeM Wah Wah Throat Singing at Sidewalk Cafe in NYC http://www.veoh.com/videos/v556240sF722KRZ Beats for the Streets, Sarod and voice at The Living Room in NYC http://one.revver.com/watch/285313/flv/affiliate/69355 I'll be back on the West Coast soon. I'm doing a show in LA on the 15th at Chop Suey, a show in San Luis Obispo on the 16th at Linnaea's, and a show in SF on the 17th at Brainwash Cafe. Cheers! James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com http://myspace.com/babajames James

Subcontinental Palmwine Punk up on itunes!

jameswhetzel — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:15:34 GMT

Hey good people! Yes it's true my new acoustic album "Subcontinental Palmwine Punk" is now up on itunes. You can go to the itunes store and search on James Whetzel to get to it or you can use this handy link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=253880044 The actual official release of the CD will happy at the end of July in Seattle, but a limited number of copies of the CD are available though CD Baby. The CD design is quite elegant, and worth it in itself, but the disc include four bonus video tracks: "I Have A Secret," "Oh Yeah! (Six Beats)" "Tabla Poetry #1" and "Sarod Lang Syne" http://cdbaby.com/cd/whetzeljames Now you know what to do! Get out there and get some Subcontinental Palmwine Punk and make me and yourself very happy! Cheers from NYC! James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com james@funketabla.com

Upcoming James Whetzel Shows on the East Coast and West Coast

jameswhetzel — Wed, 16 May 2007 17:18:38 GMT

Ladies and Gents. I hope you are well. Here is the more definitive version of my schedule of shows on the East Coast and some shows I have set for my reutrn to the West Coast. There are two new shows on the East Coast listed! oh yeah! East Coast Shows May 24th Thursday 8pm. Acoustic show at Sidewalk Cafe, New York, NY. 94 Ave A, 10009 May 26th, Saturday, 12 midnight. Acoustic show at The Living Room, New York, NY. 154 Ludlow, 10002 May 27th Sunday, 8pm. Acoustic show, Shared bill with Jeb Lewis and Bianca at The Lost Bar, Philadelphia, PA May 29th Tuesday 8pm, Acoustic and Electronic show at The W.H.O.L.E. Baltimore, MD Upcoming West Coast Shows June 15th, Friday, 8pm Acoustic show, shared bill with Kyoshi Graves at Chop Suey, Los Angeles, CA, 347 East 1st Street, 90012 June 16th, Saturday, 8pm Acoustic show, shared bill with Kyoshi Graves at Linnaea's, San Luis Obispo, CA 1110 Garden St. 93405 June 17th, Sunday, 8pm Acoustic show shared bill with Kyoshi Graves at Brainwash Cafe, San Francisco, CA 1122 Folsom Street Cheers, best musical wishes from Philadelphia, PA! James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com http://www.myspace.com/babajames [photo by Michael Maccor, San Francisco Chronicle]

I'm in Tucson! I don't know anyone here! Please say hi!

jameswhetzel — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 18:24:18 GMT

Hey Good People! So yes I am on tour across the US, and now I am entering a part of the country where I don't know many people and I don't have anything booked. So I want to change that I want to know people here and they do shows here in the future. So I'll be staying in Tucson tonight send me an email at james@funketabla.com if you want to say hi. Especially you musicians who might want to collaborate. I am planning on spending more time touring now so I will be back this way for sure. For those who don't know what I do, I play live original songs in west african palmwine guitar style, I play the Indian fretless lute called sarod, and when I get electronic I make crazy innovative beats that will blow you friggin mind (yeah I realized being humble about that wasn't getting me anywhere so there it is! my beats are beyond icky), and I turn traditional tabla beats into rhythmic English poetry. Please check my audio links for confirmation. My schedule for the next couple of days is: April 22 Tucson, Arizona April 23 (probably) Santa Fe, New Mexico April 24 Austin, Texas April 25 Austin Texas April 26, Houston, Texas April 27 (probably) New Orleans, LA April 28 Tallahassee, Florida April 29 Sarasota, Florida Cheers, peace, respect, love and musica, James Whetzel (aka James Definitif to the tribe universe) http://www.funketabla.com james@funketabla.com

Representing for Susan Loewenherz!

jameswhetzel — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:16:33 GMT

This is a special video tribute to the Italy based American artist Susan Loewenherz. Her work is known for it's playful elegance. She made many beautiful pieces of erotic art like this small piece you can see here moving in the wind. http://one.revver.com/watch/234246/flv/affiliate/69355

James Tour Vlog #3 (SR 1 in California)

jameswhetzel — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:13:30 GMT

Oh yeah! the Pacific Ocean at last! http://one.revver.com/watch/234229/flv/affiliate/69355 Si and mais oui! Cheers! James http://www.funketabla.com

James drives through a Redwood! Tour vlog #2

jameswhetzel — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:11:13 GMT

Yes this is true and it's me near Leggett California! And I have bumping soundtrack rocking in the car courtesty of my instrumental track "Five Billion." See me almost thwarted but then ultimaterly successful in finding my way through the redwood tree . . . http://one.revver.com/watch/234323/flv/affiliate/69355 Cheers! James http://www.funketabla.com

James Whetzel US Tour Vlog #1

jameswhetzel — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:07:02 GMT

Alright, this is me in Portland after doing a show there April 5th. http://one.revver.com/watch/235590/flv/affiliate/69355 Yes I am on tour and drinking tea! Cheers! James

James Whetzel travel and tour schedule

jameswhetzel — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:06:38 GMT

Hey good people. I just wanted to let you know I am presently making my way across the US to New York City. I'll be making my way back from there in June. I am looking to do shows either way. i am focusing on booking stuff in the New York City area. I am planning on being there May 10th til June 4th. And then I really want to book things in the South and Southwest and the West Coast for my trip back to Seattle. I am going to be in Ashland, Oregon for part of tommorow and then I am traveling on to Arcata, California. After that I am traveling according to the schedule below. I will update this as things change . . . :-) Email me if you would like to get together with me. I would espeically like to connect with other musicians out there! Cheers! April 10 Ashland, Oregon - Arcata, California April 11 San Francisco April 12 San Francisco April 13 Santa Cruz April 14 LA April 15 LA April 16 LA April 17 Tucson, Arizona April 18 Durango, CO. April 19 somewhere Texas, perhaps Austin April 20 Austin Texas April 21 -23 Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama April 24 - 29th Sarasota, Florida April 30th - May 1st, Chatanooga, Tennessee, May 2 -3 Norris, Tennessee, May 4 Ashville, North Carolina May 5 Greensboro, North Carolina May 6 - 9, Virginia, Pennsylvania May 10 - June 4th New York area (I'll be able and down to rock Philadelphia, DC, Baltimore and more) June 5 - 12th East coast and the South June 13 - 20th The South and Southwest June 20th - June 30th California and Oregon

Tour Departure Date, Funketabla Update, and New CDs!

jameswhetzel — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 07:45:25 GMT

Ladies and Gents! I hope you are very well. Just a couple quick words to update you on what I have been/am up to. #1 At last I have a departure date for my tour from Seattle to New York and back again. I'll be leaving Seattle on the night of April 4th to head to Portland. My first show is in Portland at Milagros, April 5th. I will return to Seattle in the end of June. I'm presently looking for gigs in Eugene and Ashland, Arcata, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and LA. And points beyond from there to Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New York. #2 The funketabla website has been updated. We have cool new photos by Thomas Catry up and we have a new blog with all my videos up for easy viewing access. Please check and leave a comment too! Voila the link! http://www.funketabla.com/fnews/index.php #3 My acoustic CD "Subcontinental Palmwine Punk" is presently in the process of being manufactured. The official release will be in July but it will be available in advance exclusively from the Funketabla website as of April 3rd! And available directly from me on my tour. By the way it is looking especially cool and thanks and respect is due to Lydia Voiland for design and Rebecca Luke of Les Egoistes for excellent design and creative eyes and assistance. The CD will have ten tracks and four videos and will have all my pieces of tabla poetry transcribed with the tabla bols written in hindi and urdu and the english words transcribed in that very popular and famous roman alphabet . . . :-) #4 I have completed rough mixes of all the tracks for my electronic album. And am gearing up to rock those on my tour. In some places I expect to do only acoustic shows, in other places i will be doing only electronic shows, but in the coolest spots such as Milagros in Portland I will do some of both. #5 Mean Deep tracks are close to being done. Five of Eight tracks are done. We have all kinds of cool stuff from triplet feel African/Indian/French/Seattle hip hop to afro electro highlife and juju to straight up Indian Classical meeting Old School Hip Hop beats for b-boys and b-girls. And some neo-traditional congolese electronica and goodness one track that is practically gothic . . .how is this possible you ask? Well to that I say hey it's Mean Deep baby! Expect to hear more about this album in the next couple months. OK next time you hear from me it will be to tell you that the acoustic CD is done. whoo! (wipes brow) I have been very busy. And now I am getting back to all those preparations to get on the road. I am realizing now why I didn't go on the road before. It's difficult and takes lots of time, and it's hard to do on your own, but nonetheless I am so looking forward to it! Cheers! Peace and best musical wishes! James Whetzel http://www.funketabla.com

James on KAOS radio, tomorrow, Friday, March 2nd, 10am - 12noon

jameswhetzel — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:48:52 GMT

Hey good people! Just a little heads up, I am going to be on the "Spin the Globe" show on KAOS Radio, 89.3 FM in Olympia, tomorrow, Friday, March 2nd from 10am - 12noon. I'll be hanging out and chatting with Scott Stevens, the show''s host, and playing some live music and some *exclusive* (!) tracks from my forthcoming acoustic CD "'Subcontinental Palmwine Punk." To check out the show you can listen live from 10am to 12noon tomorrow: http://www.earball.net/spintheglobe/listen.htm And for more info about Spin the Globe and KAOS radio go to: http://www.earball.net/spintheglobe/ Cheers, best musical wishes, James http://www.funketabla.com

Tabla Poetry #1

jameswhetzel — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:19:07 GMT

Alright! This video is another cool collaboration between Funketabla with Gallixsee Media, and features me doing a tabla poetry piece called "Dhagenatin If You Find One." Seeing tabla poetry on video is probably the best way to understand what it is. I recite a tabla composition and then follow with a poem in English based on the rhythm and melody of the tabla composition. This was filmed in several locations in Seattle including the Volunteer Park Conservatory (the Volunteer Park Greenhouse). It features artworks by Francis Celentano and Parks Anderson. It includes both cacti and a snow angel. The lyrics in tabla bol-s and English words can be found in the attached image. oh and btw: snow directly on a bald head is really really cold! Here's the link: http://one.revver.com/watch/165090/flv

James Whetzel, Live and Acoustic, at SAAM, February 1st, 5 - 7pm

jameswhetzel — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 10:28:48 GMT

James Whetzel at Seattle Asian Art Museum February 1st, 2007 5 - 7 p.m. On Thursday February 1st the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park will present a special solo show by James Whetzel. James Whetzel is a uniquely eclectic performer. He has been playing music in Seattle since 1993, and has played everything from thrash metal, to experimental noise, prog. rock, pop punk, West African Palm-wine music, North African and Middle Eastern percussion, North Indian Classical music on sarod and tabla, Avant-Garde European and Avant-Garde African Classical music. He is also a highly skilled remixer, as well as a DJ and live electronic artist. And no description of Whetzel could be complete without mention of his highly developed Tuvan throat singing skills. This will be a show focusing on his skills on acoustic instruments and will feature his West African style palm-wine guitar playing and singing on original songs, and will feature new songs inspired by Indian folk and Classical music which he will sing while playing sarod. Also he will recite pieces of what he calls "tabla poetry," which are english poems set to the mesmerizing and brilliant rhythms of traditional tabla compositions. James will be touring across the US in March, on the way to doing a residency in New York City. This performance will be one of his last shows in Seattle for some time. For a sample of some of James Whetzel's acoustic music go to: http://www.funketabla.com/jwhetzel.html

Have a Happy New Year!

jameswhetzel — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 02:02:46 GMT

Funketabla and gALLIxSEE Media send you best wishes for 2007! Featuring yours truly playing a song you may have heard before . . . but probably not on sarod . . . http://one.revver.com/watch/130051/flv