Newsletter – Autumn 2012

Hello, Everybody!

Before I get into things, I want to say a big thank you to everybody who has signed up for our newsletter from Jango.com, reverbnation.com, our website at juanaghani.com and in person at our shows.  You are all so beautiful!  Thank you all so much!  And welcome to the family!

Now on to the good stuff!  It’s been an amazingly busy and wonderful summer for Juana Ghani.  We’ve played some fabulous events and venues and met some incredible people.  And we released our first full-length CD “Shall We Live Forever” in July.  We are so touched and feel so much love from all the wonderful people who have bought the CD and had such incredibly nice things to say about it.  

  

Along with the release of this CD, Brian published a book – “Kasojeni Bay” – at the same time.  

 

You can pick up both at any of our shows or buy them on the web from a multitude of online retailers including our own Juana Ghani store – http://juanaghani.com/shop.htm

Right on the heels of an amazing summer, we have an incredible autumn in the works.  In fact, it seems October will be the Month of Juana Ghani.  Here’s the schedule:

• Wednesday, September 26  -  Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 E.)  -  We have the mind-blowing opportunity to play with the world-renowned Bloodshot Records artist Firewater who are touring the United States for the first time in 4 years!  Firewater has been one of our biggest inspirations since day 1 and we are so excited for this show.
• Tuesday, October 2 -  Bar Deluxe (666 S. State)  -  We’ll be sharing the night with the darkly quirky Hellblinki who are coming to SLC all the way from Asheville, North Carolina.  This will be the perfect night to kick off your Hallowe’en season!
• Friday, October 5  -  Fat’s Grill (2182 S. Highland Dr.)  -  The entire night will be Juana Ghani!  And admission is FREE!  It doesn’t get much better.
• Saturday, October 13  -  Bar Deluxe (666 S. State)  -  Utah’s most exciting and mind-blowing Gypsy punk bands will be coming together for the very first time to bring you TRIFECTA!  We are teaming up with other local legends Hectic Hobo and FOLK HOGAN for a night of complete mayhem.  It will absolutely be a night to talk about for ages and ages to come!  You can buy advance tickets at http://www.folkhogan.com/the-shows/trifecta/ and a get a free song download from each band in the process!


• Saturday, October 20  -  Crone’s Hollow (2470 S. Main St.)  -  Our only “family friendly” show of the month.  This night will be a Gypsy Masquerade, so make sure you come in full costume!
• Saturday, October 27  -  Bar Deluxe (666 S. State)  -  We are super excited to play this year’s Witches Ball at Bar Deluxe.  This is the spookiest, sexiest costume party of the year!  This year’s theme:  White Magic and Black Lace.

Beginning in November, we will be working on brand new material with some brand new members of our Juana Ghani family!  It’s a very exciting time, indeed, for all of us and we can’t wait for the grand unveiling.  

Have a wonderful autumn!  Come to a show!  And absolutely come up and say hello to us!

JUANA GHANI


PS - Not signed up to our mailing list, yet?  You can do so here:

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Thanks!  And we love you!

JG

Bring On the Holidays with Juana Ghani!

Sastipe!

The early tentative breaths of winter are whispering sotto voce along the Wasatch Front of the Rocky Mountains.  The dramatic monochrome of early morning snows glisten against the storm gray skies, tempting us to remain inside by the fire, wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping hot cocoa as we look ahead to all the wonderfully exciting happenings to come in the near future.

We have begun recording our debut CD for a hopeful spring/summer release.  The percussion on this is, as Tony says, “epic!”  We are really very excited to share it with you all!  

We also have some very exciting shows coming up over the next couple months, everything from dive bar mayhem to supporting high class Grammy award winners to an international music festival.  Pull out your calendars and take note!

December 3  --  We’ll be playing at The Woodshed (60 East 800 South) in Salt Lake City along with good friends Tabla Arabia and new friends FOLK HOGAN.  The scuttlebutt around town is that this show is going to be the one people will be talking about for quite some time … once the hangovers are gone.  

December 12  --  We are incredibly excited to be opening for the Grammy award winning band The Klezmatics at the State Room (638 S. State St.) in Salt Lake City.  Klezmer and underground Gypsy edge!  This is going to be an amazingly fun night!

December 18  --  It’s a private party.  We’d love to tell you about it, but we’re sworn to secrecy.

January 13  --  The Underground Gypsy Cabaret is returning to Bar Deluxe (666 S. State St.) in Salt Lake City!  The night will feature Juana Ghani, underground jazz band Haywire Outfit and the Gypsy vagabond Americana of Hectic Hobo along with a wild assortment of dancers, aerialists, and macabre magicians.  It’s a perfect way to celebrate Friday the 13^th.  And it’s Leisl’s birthday to boot!

January 15  --  Juana Ghani has been invited to play at the Orion Independent Music Festival!  We will be playing with David Hayes at Molly Bloom’s (1680 Ute Blvd.) in Park City.  We are so very honored be a part of this prestigious international festival.

In other news, the song “In My Thoughts You Were Mine” (lyrics by Jason Crannell, music by Brian and Leisl Bonell, performed by Brian and Leisl Bonell of Juana Ghani) is featured at the end of the independent film, Christina’s Kiss.  

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving here on Thursday.  There’s a bit of controversy over this holiday (there seems to be controversy over every holiday these days) as people polarize and politicize the events that lie behind its creation.  We won’t get into any of that here, as we choose to focus instead on celebrating any opportunity to gather together with friends and family and to give thanks for all the wonderfulness that fills our lives.  With that in mind, here are a few of the things we are thankful for:

Nick  -  I am thankful for unusual instruments, the key of 'C', and my families, both my band family and my actual family, for their love and support.

Leisl  -  I’m so thankful for my family, my friends, my band, my music … and coffee.  And a good wooden spoon.  And cannoli.   I LOVE cannoli! 

Bryan  -  I'm thankful for music, for a job that keeps me off the street, for friends who put up with me in spite of my astounding stupidity.  Thank you.

Byron  -  I am thankful for friends, family and MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC! :)

Tony  -  Thankful for love and the accordion.

Brian  -  I am thankful for boomy drums and A minor, ‘cause it doesn't hurt my thumb. Mostly all my wonderful friends who make such wonderful music together!

Jason  -  I'm thankful for my really fast right foot, and thankful for the friends who think of me when they don't have room in their house for really cool gear. :)

Happy holidays and much love to you all!

Budmo!

Juana Ghani

September 2011 - Newsletter

Hello, wonderful people!

What a busy summer this has been for us!  And so much fun, too.  We’ve played some fabulous shows and exciting festivals and have met some truly wonderful people along the way.  And through it all, we’ve experienced the camaraderie of friendship and family as we’ve gone through a few changes in our line-up. 

We’ve had to say farewell to Naiya this summer as she and her husband have taken jobs and moved to southern Utah.  Being the band-family that we are, however, she will never truly be gone from us and may very well join us on occasion in the future whenever she returns north to visit … or we head south.  Until then, we wish them both the very best of happiness in their new life adventures!

We are thrilled to welcome into the family double-bass player Allen Mautner, drummer Jason Deamer, violinist Jean Mautner, saw and percussionist Byron Owens (of La Decollatage) and Allison Martin (of Bellrave and The Last Look) on flute, percussion and vocals.  That’s what I call a growth spurt!  We are so incredibly happy to have each and every one of them in our midst!

Now that the season is winding down, we have some very exciting things in mind as we begin to focus on a completely new stage show, writing new music and heading into the studio to begin work on a full length CD.  We will still be playing a few shows during this time, but the bulk of our energy will be focused on creating a new and wonderful creature that I am sure will take your breath away!  We are very excited to begin on this next leg of our journey.  A small taste of this direction can be experienced in the Underground Gypsy Cabaret, next appearing at Bar Deluxe in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 23^rd. 

Until then – and as always – here are a few of the things we love:

 

          Cucina Vanina - http://www.cucinavanina.com - We do love authentic Italian cuisine!

          Honig Sauvignon Blanc - http://www.honigwine.com - Mmmmmmmm!

          Katzenjammer - http://www.katzenjammer.no - Hot Norwegian band with a new CD on the way!

Much love to you all!

Juana Ghani

P.S. – We have new shot glasses!  These are frosted glass 2 fl.oz. beauties tinted with a hint of purple.  $5 each.  Make sure you get some at our next show! 

Earth Jam ... and stuff

Oh, Earth Jam!  What fun that was!  And what better way to celebrate Mother Earth than by experiencing, embracing and celebrating Her in all Her glorious moods ... and all in one day!  We began the morning with snow, creating a bit of a costume panic amongst the belly dancers, then moved into a soft rain that enhanced the smells of fecund earth and Creation, and by performance time found ourselves illuminated by an early afternoon sun.  Personally, I think it was a perfect day.

We'd like to extend our love and gratitude to everybody who came out to celebrate with us that day: Our dancers, as always but especially, for braving the inconsistent weather to bring that extra something special to our set and for sharing their joy with us and with the audience; Our band for just being so damned fabulous;  Byron Owens and his oh-so-sexy saw for sitting in with us (we love it when he does that!); Our audience for loving what we do and for coming out to support us regardless of the weather conditions; Circus Pandemonium for letting us sit in with them and share their celebration of Earth.

Check out this fan-made photo montage of our Earth Jam set:  (Thanks, Dick Marler!  Wonderful photos!)


Earth Jam was also our last show with brother Travis Pierce who has been playing baritone saxophone and bass with us.  He has been such a gift to us and is so amazingly talented!  We are really going to miss him being a part of our kumpania and we wish him the very best!  Perhaps we can persuade him in the future to join us for an occasional tune or two in a ninja capacity.

We are welcoming new brother Allen Mautner to our family on stand-up bass.  Born and raised in Rome, Italy, he is a world traveler and gifted multi-instrumentalist.  He is coming to us straight from San Diego, California, and will be joining us onstage for the first time at our upcoming show at The Woodshed in SLC on Thursday, May 19th.  Come out, check him out, and welcome him to the kumpania alt-Gypsy style!  Budmo!


Before I step outside to enjoy some of this beautiful spring weather in my garden, here a few dates to circle on your calendar (check our EVENTS page for more info):

• Thursday, May 19 - Juana Ghani with special guest N.I.N.A. at The Woodshed
• Friday, June 3 - Underground Cabaret at Bar Deluxe - Juana Ghani, La Decollatage, belly dancers, fire dancers, and more!
• Saturday, June 4 - Baktalo Drom at Utah Arts Alliance - Juana Ghani, The Wicked, and Gypsy dancing
• Sunday, June 5 - Juana Ghani will be on the international stage at the Utah Pride celebration, downtown SLC
• Saturday, June 11 - Juana Ghani will be at the Ogden Arts Festival
• Saturday, June 25 - Juana Ghani will be at the Utah Arts Festival, downtown SLC

Have a beautiful day!

Spring Festival Time Has Begun! (newsletter - 4-15-11)

Hiya!

Ah, spring!  That beautiful bi-polar time of year is in full swing here, with each day dancing between drenching rains, blinding bright sunshine and yes, even winter’s last grasping snows.  To be perfectly honest, this is my favorite time of year.

Just as the wheel of the year turns, ushering in changes and new beginnings, so spins the world of Juana Ghani.  We had so much fun playing the last few shows with Filthy McWhiskey that he has brought along his banjo and joined our family full time.  He brings so much creativity and texture to our performances and we are beyond happy to have him.  Unfortunately, due to some circumstances beyond everybody’s control, our fabulous bari-sax man, Travis, has had to step down.  We are going to miss having him with us, but we are all confident that there will be times he’ll still join us on stage as a very special guest performer.  While Travis can never be replaced in our hearts, we are looking at bringing in someone new to fill out our low end.  We have been in talks with some very talented people and hope to make an announcement about a new family member soon.  Keep watching our facebook pages and our blog for more on that.

And finally Festival Season is upon us!  The dates are coming in and there will many opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to see Juana Ghani play this summer.   We are thrilled to be invited to play at The Meeting of the Tribes on April 23 at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple.  The show will begin at 1:00pm, tickets are $7.

The next week, April 30, will find us playing on the Earth Stage for Earth Jam at Salt Lake City’s Liberty Park.  We will play from 1:30-2:15pm and admission is free for everybody.

May 19^th we will be headlining at The Woodshed located at 60 East 800 South in Salt Lake.  Joining us for the evening will be our special guests N.I.N.A. (No Irish Need Apply).  Cover is $5 at the door, must be at least 21-years old to attend.

You’ll find us at Bar Deluxe (666 South State St in SLC) on June 3, along with our good friends La Decollatage.  This will be a night of dancing and mayhem as only Salt Lake’s alt-Gypsy underground can bring.

That same weekend we’ll be playing on the International Stage at the Utah Pride Festival.  Come out Sunday, June 5 and help us celebrate!  Our set begins at 4:00pm.  

This is shaping up to be a very busy summer as more dates continue to come in.  Still in the wings we have Utah Arts Festival, Night at the Casbah and Autism Awareness fundraiser, Park Silly Sunday Market and more!  Keep watching our Events page to stay up to date with where we’ll be next!

And now, a few recommendations:

• Strawberry Risotto – Perfect with a salad of mixed spring greens and tall glass of honey sweetened iced herbal tea!
• Walking – Nothing clears the mind and calms the spirit like a long, leisurely walk in the spring sunshine.
•  
• Daffodils – Seriously.  How can anybody look at daffodils and not feel like smiling?

Oh!  I almost forgot!  JUANA GHANI shot glasses!  These 2 fluid ounce frosted glass beauties will be available for purchase at our shows for $5 a piece.  

Have a beautiful day!  Budmo!

Juana Ghani