Many to Many

Joe - Bahrain. Let’s talk tech.  So how does this blog get here – this JRB blog, the blog that you’re reading right now? It’s easy, right? Just go to some beautiful places, play some cool music, meet some interesting people, pay attention, write down what strikes you, take pictures(be sure to ask permission & give credit) and upload it all to the blog. Easy. Well, not so fast. First you need a pile of high tech junk. Flip cams, Zoom Q3s, Smartphones, sim cards, hotel wireless,  blogging tools for each platform(Windows, Mac, iphone, Blackberry, Droid), maybe a soldering gun if things get really dicey and probably some other tools you left at home. My suitcase is always filled with tech junk I think I'll need. Even so, I always leave something I really need at home...

Some of the junk in my suitcase

Now, here are a few things that can go wrong: the photos are too big, the videos are  too long, the hotel wireless stinks, my battery’s dead, I left my charger in my hotel room two countries ago, the SIM card I bought has no data plan… And here’s what you do when something goes wrong: text Amy in Nashville, call Liz in Washington, call someone at the embassy if you can find a phone and remember where you put the numbers for your embassy contacts. Although I’ve learned that you can get Crazy Glue in the most remote regions of the planet, it won’t help your blog (but you can use it to fix your nails if you play guitar).

Every location you move to on a tour is a potential blogger blackout. But, if you do it right, you can post from the back seat of a van on the way to a gig – even videos if you are in the right country. You can post in real time from inside a canyon at Petra. 

I know. I did it. Johnny thought it was violating the sanctity of the place but I couldn’t resist. I had a 3g signal and I used it! Droid phone in front of the treasury at Petra. You know, the place where Indiana Jones went on horseback. 

Once the communications channel is worked out, then and only then, can you post your ideas, dreams, beautiful location photos, meals, bad jokes (maybe some good ones)  and most of all your musical impressions.

So, what’s the first thing I do when we get through customs and baggage claims at the airport? I hunt for a local SIM card to get my unlocked Droid phone on the internet and have local phone service. Once I can do that, I help the rest of the band get connected – two different iPhones and a Blackberry. I currently have six SIM cards – one for NY, one for each country we’ve visited up until now and a global SIM with no data plan just in case I forget what country I’m in. What’s the first thing I do when I check into a hotel? I check the wired LAN speed or wireless speed to get an idea of what we can upload. It’s an instinct. I can’t be out of communication for very long. I think data is becoming like water or air. We can’t live without it. Don’t have enough bandwidth? Sorry, no videos. Have still less bandwidth? Sorry, no photos. Have even less bandwidth than that? Sorry, no blog. And worst of all, I can’t Skype home.

5 of my 6 phone SIMs.

There are all sorts of cameras in this band both still and video - Zoom Q3, Zoom Q3 HD, smartphones, whatever. It’s all good if you can resize, change resolution and move your work from whatever recorder you use to a computer or directly to the web. 

Next are the blogging tools. We use Blogger at Blogspot.com because it has good support tools for computers and mobile devices and, it’s elegant and easy. It’s a Google product so it works well with Gmail, Youtube and Picasa. We wanted to be able to post from anywhere at any time. For example, on my phone I have a very cheap app that can post blogs over a cellular network directly. If I’m on 3g with a local SIM card I can post a video made right on the phone. I’ve posted photos from the van on the way to a gig in the UAE and Jordan.  As an aside, though not blogging, I even did a video Skype session over 3g and showed Allison, my wife who is in NYC, a venue we played at by turning on my phones rear camera. Silly, but amazing. We were at an outdoor venue in Amman, Jordan. 

We’ve stayed at very nice hotels but the wireless networks haven’t been stellar. On the other hand, I’ve been shocked by the quality of the cellular phone networks in Jordan, UAE and Bahrain. In many places they have HSDPA(3g+) and HSPA+(4g). In other words, my cell phone on the road has consistently had better bandwidth than my computer connection at the hotel. Actually, it has had better bandwidth than I have in New York most of the time. It’s no secret that a lot of countries are moving straight to cellular networks and skipping over wired networks to deliver internet services.

Ironically, after working on getting this blog up and running reasonably well, I haven’t had time to post very much. At the end of it all I ask myself, why do I like this technology so much? Part of the answer is this: I believe it’s good to connect people and connect with people. Connections are changing the world. They certainly are changing my perception of the Middle East and its people. I'm very fortunate to be able to help create connections between people through both music and technology. Many to many connections.

The island of Bahrain

Danny; Bahrain

We landed in Bahrain the night before last, the excitement of our Jordan trip, still fresh in out minds. We were met by a liaison from the Bahrain Ministry of Culture, who got us through the modern airport and it's challenges with ease. We got our local sim cards for our US smartphones, got them working and did the customary happy dance;) The challenge of being out on the road so far way from our families and friends, is eased by our modern connectivity. I have felt much more connected to my life situation at home not only because we have smarter phones, better networks, but because our bandmate Joe Ravo is our technical advisor and guru. He has made it possible for us to write blogs and upload photos in real time from our phones.

The hotel is five star and we have incredible views and local restaurants near by where we are staying. I have met many locals that work and live on this beautiful island. Many are from the Philippines, Central Asia and India. Everyone is so helpful and sweet. The Middle East in general is a very spiritual place and I sense that in every encounter I have here.
I've met many people who want to visit America and enjoy talking about how they came to be here in Bahrain. A Nepalese restauranteur told me that Bahrain is such a wonderful, safe and beautiful place to live. I saw a beautiful art gallery/cafe and the owner showed me the exhibit of four wonderful artists. I sensed his pride of the local culture and art scene. He said he'd play our CD in the space during the day.

Hotel

Flower Power

Nearby Mosque

Thai Heaven

Anchors Away

Today our Embassy liaison Shana, took us to the Fort Museum that we will be playing at tomorrow evening.
The museum sits on the Gulf, adjacent to the ancient fort site. Archeologists are still restoring and working on the project and are sometimes housed there during their visit.

Museum and site of outdoor concert

View of fort from museum

Everyone seems to "dig" the site;)

We were invited to do an interview with two journalists from the Bahrain Ministry of Culture. Coffee, tea and JRB. We all laughed and had fin together, telling stories about the band and our music.

We spoke about how breaking the fourth wall between the stage and the audience. How the show is honest, interactive and a two way street, very much like social networks, our blog, life.
We all agreed that it's all about the moment, laughing and having a good time with music. That there are more similarities and things in common with us all and that music bridges all language and cultural barriers.

Just Words

Joe - Djibouti (I’m in Bahrain now but thinking back) – We got off the plane in Djibouti and had to get visas attached to our passports to enter the country. We were sent to an office to meet with the customs officer who interviews foreigners for entry visas.

Johnny showed the officer our tour book which describes the details of our visit to each country - where we stay, embassy contacts, concerts, master classes etc. The conversation, in English, got bogged down. The officer acted a bit confused and annoyed. The situation was getting a little tense. There seemed to be confusion over our purpose in Djibouti. Were we in Djibouti to play at the American embassy or on behalf of the American embassy? French is one of the official languages of Djibouti so I decided to jump into the conversation to see if my fairly decent French accent, bad grammar and horrible vocabulary would help. Et voila! The customs official’s attitude completely changed. In a minute or so he was laughing. I told him how I learned French (I leave that story for another place and time – it’s complicated).

I thought about this experience over the next few days. What happened? I believe that this was an experience that can be easily misinterpreted. Before having spoken French to him it was easy for me to think, “Okay, this guy’s giving us a hard time because we’re Americans. Foreigners hate Americans”. I hear that a lot in the States these days. But, what I really believe now is that he was as uncomfortable speaking English as I am speaking French. When I spoke French, even bad French, the world shrunk. His English was probably better than my French but I could tell that he appreciated the effort on my part. I think he was actually happy to meet a bunch of smiling American musicians making silly jokes in his office.

As a side note I should say that it’s not uncommon to meet Djiboutiens who speak at least four languages fluently. Arabic and French are official languages in Djibouti while many people are also fluent in Somali and Afar. English is also widely spoken with varying degrees of proficiency. It’s humbling for me, an American who speaks one language and struggles by in a second language, to meet a Djiboutien kid who can switch in and out of four languages depending on the conversation.

Language is interesting in the sense that it can separate us as people or bring us together. Words can be tricky – to play at a place (an embassy) or on behalf of an entity (an embassy) is a subtle distinction if you are not speaking your own language. In fact, I’m getting a head ache thinking about this. I’ll leave this to linguists.

In the end, I believe that we would have gotten our visas a lot faster if we had just played “Hit the Road Jack” for the customs officer. But then again, I wouldn’t have gotten the free French lesson.

The Horn Of Africa

CREATION

IMPROVISATION

EDUCATION

CONVERSATION

COLLABORATION

INNOVATION
MUSICALIBERATION

Johnny:  DJIBOUTI

(Photos by Staff Sgt. Renae Saylock USAF)

You can tell a lot about a human spirit by the sound and tone that comes out of their instrument.  Some players are more lyrical and sweet, some more aggressive and edgy.  Tone, when it is truly unique and personal, is somewhat like a fingerprint, in that no two players sound exactly the same.

I encouraged the students at the Arts Center in Djibouti to bring their instruments to the master class.  Two students complied.

Although we certainly involved everyone with clapping, call and response, and vocal improvisations, these two students joined us instrumentally in our musical jam sessions.

The first was a guitar player and vocalist who shared a traditional local song with the class.  He had 5 strings on his electric guitar, but played them with the joy of all 6.  He led us in his own unique version of Ray Charles’ “Hit The Road, Jack,” which seems to be a favorite throughout the region, and Joe provided him with a full set of new strings for his guitar, a difficult thing to find in town.  This city has a high level of poverty and the equipment that is available to the local musicians is largely provided by US soldiers at Camp Lemonnier, a US Navy installation nearby.  Many of these soldiers are going above and beyond the call of duty to create opportunities for musical and arts educational programs to the local students.

The master class continued and one student was overcome with rhythm and began joyfully dancing to the beat.  I learned a few new moves!

Then something unexpected happened.  One of the only female students in the class, a woman in beautiful pale green clothing and scarves pulled out a tenor saxophone.  Her conservative dress were a stark contrast to the large horn she held in her hand.  I asked her to join us and she said she only played alone.  I said that would be fine, but she changed her mind.  After a bit of gentle coaxing, she finally agreed to come to the front and play.
She approached shyly and raised the mouthpiece to her lips, looking around somewhat nervously.  It’s very possible that she had never played in public before this moment.
She took a breath and blew into the horn.  A squeak...then a squawk.  Frustration crossed her face.
“It’s fine,” I assured her.  “There are no wrong notes.  Play what you feel.”
She redoubled her efforts, moistening the reed a bit more, looking around the room tentatively.  Then something clicked.  I saw something change in her eyes.

She took a deeper, more courageous breath, and then...
Out came a sound that was broad and clear.  She played a minute or two solo and her confidence grew with every passing note.  She soon seemed to forget her surroundings completely and tap into the source.

The band joined in with her and she played with a robust tone akin to a young John Coltrane.  I could hardly believe it, and I was loving every moment.
At one point she left the melody far behind and played with complete freedom, a musical self-expression of spirit that refused to be pinned down by any form or key signature.  True. Free. Jazz.

Finally, she opened her eyes, took the horn out of her mouth and I could see she was finished playing.  She shyly nodded to us and the entire room broke into applause. 
She quietly sat and put her horn away.

I have tremendous respect for her courage.  I wish her many more opportunities to play out with passion and with others in a public forum. 

Something special happened in that room,
Something I have yet to fully understand,
Something I am honored to have been a part of...

Jordan encore

Danny; Amman Jordan

After our amazing trip to Petra, on this fortuitous return to Jordan, we had the privilege to play four more events. We returned to the Al Hussein Cultural center for an encore performance. We had the honor to perform for the Prince Ra'ed and Princess Majda as well as US Ambassador Jones and his family.

We got to see some of our fans from our previous trip and some of our new Iraqi friends. It seems that people like to have their pictures taken sitting at my drums.

Earlier in the day, we played an event at a youth recreation center in Amman. The students were conducting interviews with us and asking some important questions about our trip and the music we shared.

In between the shows we went to a cafe/hooka bar for lunch. Lipton is the tea of choice over here and smoking Shishah is a favorite pastime during and after a meal. I bought a beautiful portable hooka to bring home with me.

The next day we played at the Princess Basma youth center in Aaman, but before the concert, Reem, our wonderful translator and event coordinator from the embassy, took us to a conservancy cafe that overlooked the Citadel and Roman ruins.

We had played at another Princess
Basma youth center in Irbid during our first visit to Jordan. It was wonderful to talk to the students and mentors about their facilities and projects. There are clubhouses all over the world and we spoke about staying in touch via webcast from their NYC clubhouse. They gave us some mix CD's that they made snd they were doing some great computer generated art.

Beautiful rosemary bushes were growing outside both centers we had visited.

We played a concert on a stage in their parking lot. They set up chairs and a homemade camera boom that they made from recycled materials.

The concert was so much fun and we played until the sun set. They turned on some car headlights and we continued to play into the evening. Some of the students posed with us after the concert for a group shot.

After a nights rest, we drove to Madaba, which means mosaic. There is a church there called St. Gregory,which is famous for it's beautiful mosaics. There is one on the floor near the altar. We played a concert at the St. George school community center. The concert was great and we had so much fun playing for the Madaba community.

Madaba reindeer;)

Joe Jammin out on Accordion
I heard what he was trying to do.
Never quite heard anything like it;)

Before the concert we had an amazing meal at this wonderful open air restaurant.

We drove back to Amman after the concert and packed for our flight to Bahrain. Everyone at the US Embassy; Ambassador Jones, Karin, Reem, our wonderful drivers, the Jordanian government and all the beautiful people we met in Jordan, made this one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives. I will always carry a part of Jordan with me in my heart and I will forever have Jordan on my mind.