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On July 20th Me, Blues guitarist and songwriter Chic Streetman and South African guitarist extraordinaire Mongezi Ntaka collaborated for a Green Show. The Green Show is a concert series held here in Ashland, Oregon on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus during the summer and is free to the public. It was Chic’s gig and it was my pleasure to perform with him outside of our usual performance setting. You see, Chic is the guitarist for the play “Ruined” in which I’m also cast. Mongezi is Chic’s understudy. Mongezi will be here for another week subbing while Chic completes a short tour of performances and workshops throughout the US.
Mongezi Ntaka is an amazing man and guitarist. He plays every style of African guitar, Reggae, R&B, and Jazz, and is the guitarist for other musical artists such as Kuku and Vusi Mahlasela. Vusi Mahlasela is gaining more and more popularity and has collaborated with artists such as Dave Matthews and Taj Mahal.
On Ensemble has a Green Show here in Ashland, Oregon on August 28th, 2010. If you’re in town come check us out.

On Saturday I attended Southern Oregon University’s Day of Percussion where the amazing drummer Steve Smith (Journey and Vital Information) gave a drum clinic and concert. I’m really impressed on how his drumming has evolved over the years and how he’s incorporated southern Indian rhythms into his repetoire. I met him afterwards and learned that he and his wife would come to see “Ruined”. His wife had seen the play once before and was so impressed that she came again with Steve. I had a nice conversation with them after the play and learned that Steve lives here in Ashland! Cool, huh? For more information on Steve Smith check out his website vitalinformation.com

Here are some samples of the music in”Ruined”. Actor and MC Kacy-Earl David collaborated with musical director Aaron Meicht and created these rough and rugged tracks.  French is one of the many languages spoken in the  Democratic Republic of the Congo.Kacy-1-VOXKacy-2-VOX

Here's my percussion set for "Ruined". The guy in back ground is Mr. Chic Street Man.

Here's a homemade cymbal of mine based on some of my research of drummers in the DRC.

It’s finally opening night for “Ruined”! I’ve enjoyed every step that has led up to tonight’s performance. It’s a real treat to work with such a great cast, director and musical director. The play is based on recent events in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Due to civil unrest in the DRC people, particularly women, have endured suffering for several years. The play’s setting is in a brothal located in the jungle of the Congo where a number of these abused women have sought refuge. Me and guitarist Chic Street Man provide the music there. I’m playing a unique percussion set up which was developed by me and musical director Aaron Meicht. We arrived at my current set up after extensive video and audio research of the music of the DRC which is heavily influenced by Soukous, Haitian Compas, Afro-Cuban and Hip-Hop music.

Last night was the last of two performances with the Dancing People Co. of Ashland, OR.  These performances marked the end of their two week workshop residency at Crater High School in Central Point, OR.  It’s always great working with these guys.  I hope to post some photos as soon I get them.

Every January in Ashland, Oregon there’s a celebration for Martin Luther King and the ideals of civil rights, inclusion and social justice through non-violence, compassion and courage.  For this event I’ll be peforming taiko with Sue Lundquist of Hand in Hand Drumming on West African and Afro-Cuban drums, and Brent Florendo and Dancing Spirit Ensemble on Native American percussion.  We had our first rehearsal today and we had so much fun!  We’ll only have to perform for about 15 minutes, but we’ve begun to develop way more than 15 minutes worth of music.  This is going to be really great, these guys are really cool people and musicians, and I hope to collaborate more with them after the MLK celebration.

This week I had my first rehearsal with the Dancing People Company based here in Ashland, OR.  On December 19th, ’09 they will have their 4th annual winter solstice dance celebration and I’ll be collaborating with them on one piece with taiko.  We met this Wednesday and had an improvisational session.  This was a really great experience for me since I’ve never collaborated with dancers before.  Check out their website for more information dancingpeople.com