The Adventure Continues

You might be asking, where is Gustaff and his compadre- Ali? Where are they?
Yes we are on a Musical Adventure through the Western States, and if you can't guess where we are, then you've not been reading this blog.

Anyways! I am Happy to know your eyes are perusing these lines for some juicy stories, Oh boy! do I have some juicy stories!!!

Seriously though, We have been Blessed and Bountifully enriched during these travels and its quite a momentous task to describe. I will give you some glimpses of happenings since we left that Afro-Jam packed session of dancing at the home of Jaime and Cellas in Fresno-CA.

Visalia: At the Montessori School, we whaod those cute and most precious gift a community can have- People! I am talking about Kids. They were so cute, adorable, and attentive, we wanted to take all of them on our Journey.



In the evening we had a performance at the home of Daria and Atissa. It was a fantastic session. We got the opportunity to play some Persian Classical music during a Jam session with Daria.


The next morning, we had an early breakfast and took Amtrak to San Francisco.



In San Francisco we had too much fun, BBQ at Eddie's place, And on the day we were leaving, Camille was our tour guide of the city.









Our luggage in the train, and that is pretty much what we had in the bus for Portland-OR

Marathon

Human Faces bright with Smiles

This picture epitomizes the feelings we've had on our journey-- Music for the Soul tour.

We started in Santa Fe-NM, now in Visalia-Ca and Looking forward to the other cities. Everywhere we've been, the reception of the friends has been amazing with each city adding its own flavor.

Since Thursday, it has been a marathon of events. At the Baha'i Center in Encino we had the opportunity of giving a Talk on the Nobility of Man, intertwined with songs, quotations from the Sacred Writings and a good doze of quiz and humor. At the end of the presentation, we got everyone dancing.


Group Photo Encino Bahai Center

In San Clemente, also at the Baha'i Center we played for the friends and they loved it. We had a stage, back drop and good sound system, that we had to figure out ourselves as soon as we got there.

The next morning we drove to Fresno- CA for a house warming party of dear Jaime and Cellas. We met friends,socialized for a while and then got with program of the evening. Starting off with us sharing some music with the friends who sat out in the yard on picnic chairs, surrounded by the aroma of potluck food, and braving the high temperatures of the day.

After closing that part with a prayer, from then on it was full swing non-stop African drumming, dancing and singing. The drums sounded out and the friends danced their waists off-- some of them. Fun, fun, fun it was.

Tourist in Los Angeles

Yes I am a tourist, tourist in Los Angeles, with a camera and a smile on my face. Looking at places with wonderment and captivated by some facts and a measure of fascination by my surrounding.

Yesterday afternoon, Ali, Amelia and I went to check out the Getty Center by recommendation from our hosts- Mandy and Kalim. Good to say they were right on!!!

I will just share with you a selection of photos and you can guess how amazed I was by the beauty of the place. Although I spent most of my time outdoors, I did make it indoors to take a look at the works of Art on display-- after all I had come to a museum. From European Art to a display of photographs and Art collections of Women in Art and Science, and the Greek bronze sculptures, I got myself cultured- Hahahahhaha.

Car Trouble?

After a hearty breakfast and a champion pool game between Ali and I, we had planned to leave Scottsdale in the afternoon and make it on time to Tucson by 4pm. On our way we stopped at a gas station to fill up Nicholas' car.

As we pulled into the gas station we realized the car was overheating. Ali and Nicholas took a look at the car after the hood was opened and had cooled off. There was no anti freeze. Well, they got the anti freeze. Another realization, the car was leaking. More problems than we anticipated, so we needed a mechanic.

We got to a shop and the mechanic was ready to fix the problem, and he needed a lot of Benjamin's.Talk about major credit card swiping. We had no choice, so we stayed there for close to an hour to get the problem taken care of.

Fixed and off we went, a quick stop at Chandler mall for lunch on the go. From then on it was a smooth drive to Tucson.

Arrived just in time for the evening performance at the Baha'i Center. The friends welcomed us with so much love. It was a nice program, we sang for about 20 people. It was such a spiritual atmosphere. Some people were dancing in the back to our songs, others had the pose of meditation throughout the performance.

So touching was: There was this young guy about 11 years old, who welcomed us, and when we got into the building he brought us cool water refreshed with lime, then he came back and offered us lemonade, midway to our performance, he brought us more cool refreshing water.

A lady came up to us and said,
"I woke up this morning,I wanted to do something prayerful and meditate, but during the day I didn't get to it, and now you guys are here. Your music uplifts. I am so Thankful for your presence and music."

From the Baha'i Center we left for Navid and Chandra's-- our hosts who treated us to fine Indian dishes, in addition to bread, Persian tea and sweet cookies. They were such gracious hosts. We had a great time laughing to our humorous discussion on various topics.

Group photo Tucson Baha'i Center

Tempe

In the afternoon, Nicholas took us to one of the apartment complex in the north side of Scottsdale for a home visit( an activity where Baha'is visit friends and new believers at their homes to share prayers and sacred writings)

This was in the company of Ali with the guitar, Nicholas our guide, Anya and Jessica from Chicago with their voices, and I was with my djembe as always. We went to the first apartment the guy wasn't ready for us, we then went to the next apartment. As we were searching for the right apartment number, a lady with a Jamaican accent, her head peering through her door, asked us which apartment we were looking for. We told her and she pointed at the next door. We knocked, the guy was not ready for us as well. As we were about to leave, the Jamaican lady said, "He didn't want to listen to your music?"

She came out of her apartment. She invited us. We sat at her porch and shared some prayers with her. We improvised music to accompany a prayer for Forgiveness and an incredible rendition of a Healing prayer. These were prayers of her request. Our harmonies and on the spot compositions were such a lift to our spirits. The lady had tears flowing down her face-- she was moved, we were moved. We did a Caribbean calypso song Ali had written long time ago on Unity and Peace-- the core message of the Baha'i Faith. The lady loved it and sang along.

I saw the power of music at work, especially with the use of Music in conveying the message from Sacred Writings.

Third Concert

In the evening was our third concert for Music for the Soul. It was at the Baha'i Information Center in Tempe-AZ. There were about 70 people in attendance. The acoustic of the room was amazing.

We started the show with a Persian prayer, then went into full swing with the music for Music for the Soul. The crowd was digging our songs. The response was enthusiastic. Smiles on peoples faces, others came and wanted to learn some of the songs to share with their communities and others asked us to come up with the next CD as soon as possible.

One of the noted points of compliment was that people thought the three of us, Ali, Amelia and I had been singing together for a long time. To their surprise, actually we started performing as a group as of May 29 2008 when we had the first Music for the Soul concert in Santa Fe-NM.

Just like a Boabab

Imagine you are in Africa.Think of a Baobab tree. You know that tree famous on most pictures of Africa? That big tree with branches which provides shade in most hot and desert-like places in Africa?

Under that tree where you'll have a school meet, elders sit down and decide on important matters of the village, or transformed into a center of festivities as the occasion demands? A tree! Yes its like City Hall.

Now come back to the U.S.A, fly to New Mexico's largest city-Albuquerque and drive down a neighborhood, go to the side of a house, a modest house with a nice big yard,green grassy area. Look! There are two sky blue drapes hanging on a line, blocking the sun to form the backdrop of a stage. Three seats, potted plants on a carpet--That is the stage. Blankets spread out on the grass. All these under the shade of one big tree.

Now take in a whiff of the air, an aroma enlivens your sense of smell, its barbecue, grilling is happening on the far corner at the back of the house. All kinds of foods that make your taste buds jump and your mouth watery is laid out in front of you. Ice water and drinks, fruits and plenty of snacks that accompany barbecuing is set for your enjoyment.

You meet smiling faces, over 30 of them and make good conversation. You converse and take your place on one of the blankets, or if you prefer being at the back to lean on the wall of the house. You settle down.

A solo Djembe rhythm is played- its your welcome to an Under the tree Concert- Its Music for the Soul's second stop.

For about an hour, the musicians captivate you with soothing music, charming harmonies and their songs uplifts your spirit and warms your heart .

Ali

Gustaff

The Dynamic trio- Amelia,Ali and Gustaff

The concert is over, but some people want more, so the musicians give an encore performance of three songs, a rap and two Spanish songs--one of them being a prayer.

There is more food to eat, people to meet and acquaintances to know. You interact with new friends, catch up with old ones. You become part of this atmosphere of camaraderie. You are excited and then participate in a photo taking session,

Die hard fans who stayed till the end for a group photo
with cameras clicking here and there. Still more food to eat and people to talk to. So you walk around and make more conversation.

You go and give the musicians hugs, and compliments, thanking them for a job well done. Before you know it you are on your cell phone telling loved ones about the two CD's One Step Away and Village Nights you just got for a good deal of twenty dollars.

There is big smile on your face as you get into your car. You bring out the CD's, put one on and starts listening to it. You turn to your darling or children and say, "Wasn't that a wonderful concert?"
They reply,
"Oh, absolutely Amazing! It was like having a concert in the park, but this time it was at the yard of Caroline and Patrik Nkouaga. Ah! they are such a wonderful family. We are so glad they organized this."
And you conclude,
"And that tree! Just like a Baobab tree in Africa, so much importance, so much Blessing for the Village (Our community in Albuquerque)."

That is the story of our Performance in Albuquerque. Lovely photos courtesy of Sjona Bro.