Pizza, beer, friends, and great music. Life just doesn't get much better than that! And this past Saturday we were lucky enough to have just that.
photo by Todd Cole
We had such an amazingly fun time playing a show at Brewskis in Ogden with our good friends FOLK HOGAN. We were surrounded the whole night be wonderful friends and fans who have become like family to us, and we met many more fabulous new friends that we are so looking forward to seeing at future shows. "Mayhem" just doesn't even begin to describe the fun!
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
