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OM!

I’m searching for a synthesizer player to join the Basement Bhaktis live show. Parts vary from defined melodies to simple washes of ambient sound, with plenty of room for improv and a “personal touch.” Your own synth(s) and transportation are a definite plus; the ability to follow a leader in an improv scenario is a must!

Contact me for more details!

Greetings everyone!

I hope that this message finds you well! The holidays were kind to me, and I hope they were for you as well. I was able to spend a significant amount of the time unoccupied and relaxing, which is not something that I do very often. I think that, regardless of our personal practices and beliefs, any time that draws together friends and family in the name of good and cheerful tidings is a good one, and that’s certainly what happened to me.

It also is a time of reflection. 2010 was a great year for me, musically and personally. The high point, obviously, was going on tour over the summer, where I was welcomed into studios and homes with open arms, and was given the fantastic opportunity to meet and sing with bhaktis all over the east coast. I certainly intend to visit the north east again this year, and hopefully this year work my way south (and west!) as well.

Right at the end of last year, I officially started working on the follow up to Waves. Waves was an album that I never really intended to make. The idea at the time was to just write tracks and upload them to MySpace (remember MySpace?) as they were written. Before I knew it I had 6 songs, two of which broke the 10 minute mark. I can’t remember if someone suggested that I make a record or if the decisions just came naturally on it’s own… but the rest, as they say, is history, and the record was made.

This time around it’s going to be remarkably different. When I was writing and recording those songs, I had never sang Kirtan live before. I didn’t even own a harmonium until a few months before the record was finished; a student model that can be heard on the album version of “Govinda Jaya” that literally fell apart a few days after the recording was completed. Since then (and with the purchase of a much more sturdy model), I’ve made the harmonium one of my primary instruments. Needless to say, it’s going to be featured much more prominently on the next album.

The other big difference is that Waves was performed entirely by me. I had discussed collaboration with a few different people, but scheduling conflicts made the actual process difficult, and in the end it just “felt right” for me to do everything. I think it gave the record a very personal, intimate feeling- one that I am very proud of to this day. I believe that’s why so many people, especially people who were not kirtan or yoga enthusiasts responded so positively to the album. I can’t count the number of times I heard “it really sounds like the record you’ve always wanted to make,” or “you’ve really found yourself.”

So, going into the making of this as-yet-untitled album, I have a very good idea of what songs I’m going to record, and a decent grasp of how I want them to sound. I also intend to record actual call-and-response this time, with a group of people. The logistics of how to do that have not been finalized, but I’m looking forward to it. I also intend to tap the resources of all the basement bhaktis I’ve played with since the release of Waves. I’m particularly excited about getting Tom Lynch to play some accordian and piano, and also Matt Hunsinger, a tabla player I’ve recently connected with.

2011 is also going to mark a shift in the name I use. In May of 2010, I was given the name Jayadeva at a ceremony in Yogaville. I intend to begin using it, gradually shifting from “Jdavyd Williams” to “Jdavyd Jayadeva Williams” and finally to just “Jayadeva.” It’s going to be a slow process, and involves some technical things such as updating the artwork for Waves, both on digital and physical copies. You can expect to see some adjustments on this website as well.

The first kirtan for the new year is going to be on Saturday, January 29th, at my “home away from home,” Shanti Om Yoga in Staunton VA. The event will begin at 7pm.

I’ll close this update with an expression of gratitude. Thank you for making 2010 such a fabulous year. I can’t wait to share 2011 with you as well.

I don’t blog here as often as I probably could. I try to keep the posts here focused on kirtan, and the experiences that I have in the practice of chanting. Sometimes that means there’s a lull… these are to be expected, and I’d hate to pop in once a day just to say “working on the album” or “preparing for the next gig!” I’d hate for it to become stagnant.

That said, I’ve had a few experience recently that motivated me to sit down and write. The first came a couple of weeks ago, when I received a cold contact from a person in New York City asking if I’d be interested in leading chants for 3 hours on September 11th. Initially I jumped at the opportunity; September 11th is an infamous day that effected everyone around the US, and the rest of world as well, in ways we are still coming to terms with (see the debate about the Park51 center if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about). Who wouldn’t want to spend an afternoon chanting the holy names in a place still so scarred by events of the past? What better way to promote interfaith understanding, and healing, but to chant together in the name of peace?

The thing that threw me was that the person who contacted me asked that I not perform any chants that said specific names of God, even providing a list of chants to work from if I didn’t have enough of my own that fit the description. I can’t definitively say for sure why they made this request. What I intuited from the website that I was pointed to was that this was done in the name of preventing anyone from feeling excluded or offended by the practice; as if to exclude all of God’s names, one could avoid interfering with or offending another person’s beliefs. In the end, I thanked them for offering and for the consideration, and offered to collaborate should they ever have an event where the kirtan I do would be appropriate.

Normally this sort of thing wouldn’t weigh on my thoughts long enough to compose a blog entry- though I might tweet about it . I had a similar experience today, however, that compounds the confounded feeling that the first email exchange made me feel. As I’ve mentioned, I am in the process of attempting to put together a south east kirtan tour for this year, in December. Unfortunately, the response has been a bit dry compared to the ease with which I made contact in the north east for the tour we did in June.

I contacted a studio that came recommended by a friend in the area, and the person responded happily that they would be glad to host a kirtan on the night I was looking for (great!), but not if I would be including deities like Shiva and Durga (huh?) in the chants that I performed. Sita-Rama and Radhe-Krishna were ok (incidentally, so were Jah, Jehova, Buddha, Allah, and others) but as “demi-gods” the rest were not appropriate. Don’t ask me why Jah is “ok” for kirtan but Shiva isn’t… I’m just not sure. As before, I responded politely, thanking them for writing back (it’s more than I can say for 90% of the places I’ve written to), and expressing that my kirtan was probably not the best “fit” for their studio.

I’m not sure if this is a reflection of the tense political climate that is currently gripping the US. It’s an election year, and because of the terrorist attacks in 2001, the wars overseas, and the media making dubious claims about the religious practices of our Commander in Chief, I think everyone is feeling a little bit sensitive. With an issue so personal as religion and spirituality, I think it’s easier than ever to accidentally step on the toes of our fellows, or for there to be perceived toe-stepping.

I sing kirtan because I was drawn to the practice. The first time I experienced kirtan, it shifted something in my view, both musical and otherwise. I had never experienced music in the way that I experienced it that night, and all I wanted to do was sing more and more. I know the basics about the practice, and about the pronunciation of the words. I do not claim to be a scholar of the hindu religion, or the sanskrit language. I am not a practicing hindu, but always do my best to be respectful to the traditions that laid the foundation for this bhakti practice.

I’ve never felt that my kirtan has been exclusionary. In the past, when I’ve done live kirtan with the basement bhaktis, we’ve included sufi chants, and even a few southern-style christian gospel tunes. Yes, when I sing kirtan it is primarily for Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Durga… but not because I feel these aspects of the divine are “better” than others. Actually, I don’t even consider them to be “different” from others. As I am apt to say in person, “I’m cool with all kinds of God.” My Guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda used the much more eloquent phrase, “Truth is One, Paths are Many.”

I (personally) think it’s very important that we all find an aspect of the divine, a higher power, who we feel some kind of connection with. For some, that’s Allah. Others say Jesus. Some say Nature. When I sing about Shiva, it’s because Shiva is an aspect of the divine that I resonate with, not because I think Shiva is “the best,” or because I think you should believe in Shiva instead of something that you’re more comfortable with.

As I have often said at live kirtans, the most important thing is that you feel good about what you’re doing. If you’re a sculptor but not a painter, you may be able to express your love for God, your fellow man, your country, your planet, and so forth by painting, but chances are you’re going to do your best work by sculpting. That doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you a sculptor. Because I resonate with Rama, I sing about Rama, but when someone uses another form of divinity to express their own feelings of devotion, I am still deeply moved and appreciate the experience. In fact, the person who motivated me to start singing devotional music with others wasn’t a kirtan singer at all, but the sufi singer Pir Shabda Kahn.

The best advice I could ever relay, as it was given to me is, “Always do what you love, and let that be your offering.” Love. Isn’t that what “bhakti” is all about? The names don’t matter. The details are all interchangeable. You don’t have to be a singer, a painter, a dancer, or any of that.

Love what you do, in every action, and surely only good will come to you for it.

OM,
Jayadeva

Ahimsa Yoga in Ithaca was one of the first studios on the tour to confirm. In fact, when I was putting the tour together, a friend told me that if I was going to NY State, I had to make sure that Ithaca was a stop. Ahimsa’s owner, Carol “Hawk” Saahas, told me in one of our first phone conversations that Ithaca was “10 square miles of paradise, surrounded by reality,” and boy was she right about that!

Hawk describes Ahimsa as Ithaca’s most “eclectic” yoga studio. The studio is attached to another room that is used as an art gallery/performance space. The art currently on display made for an incredible backdrop for our kirtan!

The response from the Ithaca community was one of the most enthusiastic we’ve sang with to date. We also met some of the members of a local Kirtan group, One Love, and set up tentative ideas for collaborating when they tour the south in the future.

Hawk had told me that if we didn’t stay an extra day in Ithaca, we’d regret it. Unfortunately our schedule didn’t allow for it, but the short time that I spent there made me think she was absolutely right, and we all agreed that we can’t wait to get back.

From Cambridge, we made our way to the great state of Rhode Island, which was a short drive. The tour was making 2 stops on RI; the first in Cranston, at the studio Raffa Yoga, and the second in Providence, at Tazza Caffe. The stop had originally been conceived as a chance to meet up with another friend of mine from the ilovefuzz.com forums, Jeremy Withers. We hatched a plan to put together a show that would feature his band, The Inclined, the Basement Bhaktis, and Seismic Feedback, the project of another ilovefuzz.com forum member, Ben Carl.

Flash forward, some logistical hiccups prevented Jeremy’s band, The Inclined, from playing the show. That did not stop him from going out of his way to take care of us for the entire RI stop. Jeremy’s Inclined band mate had recently sold his house, and since they had moved out already, but the closing was not till the middle of the week, they allowed us to take up residence in it. Since we knew we’d be there until Tuesday morning, we basically got to set up camp; a welcome change even just being a few days on the road.

The show at Raffa Yoga was conceived literally at the last minute. With a little more than 2 weeks until the start of tour, we still had a day off before the Providence RI show. Jeremy sent me a list of Yoga studios in Providence and the surrounding areas. I was instantly drawn to Raffa because of their website; there were numerous testimonials about the profound effect that Christine Raffa and her studio had made on the students. With just 2 weeks to set up and promote, Christine opened her studio to us and agreed to host our kirtan. Jeremy happily agreed to the use of his PA for the evening.

Me & Jeremy at Raffa Yoga

The Cranston community was one of the most enthusiastic of the entire tour. They easily filled the entire room with their voices as we all sang in glorious praise. A particularly powerful moment for me came when we played the song “At Sea,” – I just so happened to open my eyes and look out the window as I sang the opening line, “Rain outside the window pane…” and saw a storm.

At the end of the night we made our way back to our temporary home base in Providence. It was amazing not having to drive anywhere the next day. While Patrick had to head to Brown College to take a proctored test for one of his PVCC classes, the rest of us were able to kick around Providence. Jeremy showed us around, took us to get some amazing Falafel, as well as bubble tea.

We also made a stop at the All Vegan “Like No Udder” ice cream truck, a new staple of the providence area. We met the couple that owns and operates it at Raffa. If you find yourself in the Providence RI area, look for it!

Monday night we played at Tazza Caffe with Seismic Feedback. SF play instrumental electronic music that is a bit hard to pin down, genre wise. There are elements of industrial, but I wouldn’t classify it as industrial outright. They created some serious soundscapes; each song was like it’s own world, and the listener was invited to explore it. It fit very well with what we were doing, and I hope that we get to share a bill with them again.

Jeremy, Me, and Ben from Seismic Feedback

I have to take an extra moment to again thank Jeremy for his hospitality. He made the stop in Rhode Island one of my favorite parts of the tour. Hopefully next time we could through we’ll be able to play with The Inclined as well!