Here’s another video from the July 17th show; voila Dubblestandart with special guest Emch from Subatomic Sound System showing off his guitar skills; Emch did double duty that night as Subatomic DJ and guitarist for Dubblestandart. . . video captured by the notorious C.R.I.S.P.Y.

A video excerpt from James Whetzel’s live Sarod & Beats performance at the Amaani Lounge @ King Kat Theatre in Seattle July 17, 2008. This was part of the fantastic Euro Asia Dub Special Session show with Emch from Subatomic Sound System from NYC and Dubblestandart, live 4-piece dub band from Vienna. Thanks to Crispy for shooting the video, and extra special thanks to Robbie and Eddie from Dubblestandart for extra dubs to the sarod. The pieces James plays here are “Closer to Wonder,” based on Raag Kafi and “On the Eve Of,” based on Raag Bageshri.

Funketabla’s Shri Deepayan and James Whetzel are acting as musical directors for the finale performance of the 2008 DANCE This. James will be doing a live electronic set for the finale, which will feature Mean Deep’s track “Lindjo Remix” as well as parts of James’ tracks “Sympathy for the 4/4,” “Everything Strange, “Color Me Impressed” along with additional original music, including kathak padhant by Shri Deepayan. Also featured will be live performers from the eleven (!) different dance groups participating in this special 10th anniversary edition of Dance This.
Featured live performers include Roberto Arguedas (guitar), Yaw Amponsah (percussion), Jon Lovrich (lijerica), and Evan Shay (sax).

The lead choreographer for the finale is Daniel Cruz.

Groups taking part in the 2008 Dance This include: Ethnic Dance Theatre, Fillipino Youth Activities Drill Team, Kalalaya School for the Performing Arts, Leela Kathak, Morning Star Korean Cultural Center, Northwest Tap Connection, Radost Folk Ensemble, Rainier Vista Cambodian Youth Dance Program, The Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, Slieveloughane Irish Dance Company, & the Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble. And the choreographers are: Etienne Cakpo, Lora Lue Chiorah, Daniel Cruz, Chris and Edna Daigre, Sonia Dawkins, Jamel Gaines and Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, Petur Iliev, Amy O’Neal, and Luis Sandoval.

About Dance This:

DANCE This

brings together intergenerational performers from diverse communities and backgrounds for collaboration and to share their culture through the art of dance.More than 150 diverse youth, ages 13-22, participate in this multi-layered program each year.Program components include:

* Dance Training Intensive in diverse styles
* Cross-cultural workshops and rehearsals
* Youth matinee and public performances
* Year round opportunities to participate in master classes and attend dance performances at the Paramount and Moore Theatres.

Nationally renowned professional guest artists work with local youth and are significant to the program’s success and impact. Artists from past years include: Savion Glover, legendary tapper; Joffrey Ballet from Chicago; Abdel Salaam from Forces of Nature in New York; Jamel Gaines from Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn; Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Napoleon & Tabitha D’umo from Los Angelesand nationally recognized, Seattle-based choreographers Donald Byrd, Sonia Dawkins, Pat Graney and Amy O’Neal.

For more on dance this go to http://www.theparamount.com/education/dt_2008.asp

Dance This: July 19th at 7:30pm

The Paramount Theatre

911 Pine Street

Seattle, WA 981010

Tickets: Advance: Adults $23 Students $12. Day of Show: Adults $26, students $15

This is going to be a great one of a kind show!

Coming from Vienna (!) is Vienna’s top live-dub group Dubblestandart. Coming from NYC is Emch from Subatomic Sound System who will be treating us to a DJ set and funketabla’s own James Whetzel will bring a sweet Sarod and Beats set.

Here’s a summary of what’s going down. It’s all happening at the Amaani Lounge at the newly renovated and re-opened King Kat Theatre in downtown Seattle.
Euro Asian Dub Special Session

Dubblestandart, Emch, & James Whetzel

Thursday, July 17th, 9pm

Amaani Lounge at King Kat Theatre

2130 6th Ave (6th & Blanchard)

98121

206-448-2829
Want even more info check: www.cultureyard.com/

Also:
www.dubblestandart.com/
www.subatomicsound.com/
www.ilike.com/artist/James+Whetzel/

Mean Deep is doing a special show for the Fourth of Jul-Ivars celebration at Myrtle Edwards Park on the Seattle Waterfront.

Our set is from 4pm til 5:30pm

We’ll do some chill sarod and dhol, and also some downtempo beats, and of course we will not neglect to bring some high energy funkelectronik beats and tablificacion so that you may get your dance on!

Mean Deep (aka Shri Deepayan & James Whetzel)

Myrtle Edwards park is located at 3130 Alaskan Way on the Seattle Waterfront just below the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Phylum Unknown is a collaborative piece created by dancer/choreographer/performer Liz Erber and James Whetzel. James plays sarod, playing three different ragas in succession in three different rhythms as Liz moves about and dances as an animal of unknown species. The movement begins with the creature, as it could be called, exploring its surroundings becoming aware of itself and it’s location. As it explores its world further it begins to dance.

Some of the movements are not only surprising but unique, as Liz explores the evolution of types of movement.

Phylum Unknown will be performed twice at On the Boards, On Sunday June 15th and Monday June 16th as part of 12 minutes Max. There will be 7 other performances at these shows. Shows begin at 7pm, tickets are available an hour before the show and are $8.

For more info check: http://www.ontheboards.org/index.php?page=12mm

Best musical and dance wishes!
Funketabla

The House of Good Juju is my new album. It’s a summation of five years of my club oriented and electronic music. These are things I started out playing as James Whetzel and now spin primarily as DJ Baba James.

The CD is now available through Funketabla, exclusively:

http://www.funketabla.com/fnews/?page_id=155

I am doing a CD release party for this album, Saturday, June 14th at ToST, I’ll be doing a set of music from the album from 9pm - 10pm. Also on the bill are DJ Muad’deep, Geminitrix and Jeronimo.

OK now back to the album, here is a quick breakdown about the music. It has fifteen tracks!

1. “About Love” is a mix of Bollywood, and Bhangra vibes with Hip Hop and West African beats, and the words for love in Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, French and English. C’est a propos de l’amour bebe!

2. “Space Tekyuman” is a re-interpretation of American Swing via the Tekyuman rhythm of Ghana, West Africa. I love the unique rhythm in this track, also I am proud of the lyrics, which are:

Aliens send to me the mothership
I need to take a trans-galactic trip
My soul’s grown small living on oil and cash
I want to fly to the sun and use no gas

Nautilus, Captain Nemo, send her to me
I want to go ten thousand leagues under the sea
It’s time I made my life aquatic
Because living on land is not doing it for me

Solution for stopping the start of wars
Shift violence to reverse, take a new course
Builders of bombs no longer get paid in cash
Demolished by their products are weapons plants

Wars would work better if they were simplified
With musical competitions we could decide
Victory would not go to who can kill well
But to whoever makes the music that is most beautiful!

If there can’t be dance what purpose revolution?
We need some fresh grooves and we need evolution
And we sure could use another election
Because we need a reality-based correction

Oh Life is a free and a subtle phenomenon
Happening everywhere and in everyone
Infinite in number are the possibilities
Every moment possesses new opportunities

3. “Sympathy for the 4/4″ is an instrumental which has a four on the floor beat supplied by a tabla bayan tuned down low. I play funk beats on tabla and break out some talking drums, West African rumba box (for the super low chunky bass), chimta, and keyboards.

4.”Theme From Beat On!” is a track which was made in honor of the Beat On! artists collective that produces the monthly Beat Council nights at ToST in Seattle. This track starts off with a Nigerian fuji influenced intro and then changes into some break beat.

5. “Washington State.” Many already know this clever little break beat track that is made up of the names of cities of the Evergreen State from Auburn to Walla Walla. An essential track for WA state residents and also for those who are Washington residents of the spirit.

6. “Sympathy for the Sarod.” This is an uptempo remix of “Sympathy for the 4/4″ featuring sarod and throat singing parts.

7. “Capitol Hill” is an ode to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, which is where I grew up. It references Sir Mixalot’s “My Posse’s on Broadway,” and is a break beat bhangra influenced track that was originally going to be called “my bhangra’s on broadway.”

8. “The Superstar Scene” is rocktronica track with a generous helping of tabla and sarod.

9. “From Freak to Freakshow,” based on a true story, this higlife-ified housey track song is about how it is OK to be freaky but how getting your freakiness in other people’s business can lead you to becoming a freak show. And should there be any doubt, it is always best to keep your clothes on at a dance party . . .

10. “Afro-Balkan House” is a track that mixes a snippet of the beautiful accordion playing of Erin Kurtz with a house beat made up of a mixture of acoustic and electronic sounds. A little bit of highlife and congolese music sneaks into the rhythm section and there is a clever bassline break down and also a pretty sarod solo.

11. “Kitten” is my own instrumental version of congolese electronica with sarod talking the place of the vocal part that appeared in the original version of this song

12. “Mr. Whetzel’s Extraordinary Intergalactic Fuji” is one of the more ambitious tracks on the album. Weighing in at Seven minutes and two seconds, it is an electronic version of Nigerian fuji music. The parts played by various drums and percussion such as bata, sakara, and shekere are all played as electronic drums and synthesizers. The parts interlock to create a very large melodic rhythmic composition (aka a delicious intelligent groove). Bringing in the western synth and electronic drum sounds makes the fuji ideas take on unexpected references. It begins with what may sound like polyrhythmic psytrance, and finishes up as 12/8 break beat.

13. “International Bossa” is brazilectro Whetzel style. This track began as music I made for Seattle Center for a video to promote the series of cultural festivals known as Festal. They specifically wanted a Brazlian style beat with sounds of music from around the world. So I started with the Brazilian beat on drums and mixed in North African/Middle percussion, playing the clave no less, and added touches of West African rumba box, South Asian dhol and sarod, and a little bit of retro flavored keyboards, bass and guitar. Definitely a fun one to chill out too!

14. “Hello (featuring Aaron Straight)” features the sounds and vocalizations of digeridoo player Aaron Straight. Aaron’s digeridoo is mixed with sarod, whale songs, and delayed out throat singing. The bass line is quite large and the beat is puncy with a suggestion of reggaeton.

15. “Goodbye” is a hip hopping instrumental with big strings, funky bass parts, and massively reverbed throat singing. I had wanted to end an album with this track for years and I am so glad I finally got to do it!

You can preview “The House of Good Juju” at Funketabla.

Here’s the link one more time:

http://www.funketabla.com/fnews/?page_id=155

Alright, good juju to you! peace, respect, love, and cheers!

James

Hey Ladies and Gentlemen.

Just a fun little blast of some live music for ya!

Here’s the story my good pal, and musical cohort from the group Mean Deep, Shri Deepayan, was in Seattle. And thus I invited him to join me for an impromptu set for the City of Seattle’s Busker’s program at Westlake Park in downtown Sea town. So here is a link to a snippet of live sarod and dhol.

http://flickr.com/photos/60058591@N00/2553170315/

Now this is probably something the people of Seattle don’t see every day! People did seem to enjoy though. We’re going to make sure that this happens again for sure.

Super big props to Lara! for shooting the video and taking the photo.

Hey Good People!

Ah! it is finally spring in Seattle, and I have some exciting events coming up starting this Saturday May 10 and continuing through Friday May16th.

First of all I am playing at the Seattle Art Museum Saturday May 10th from 7 - 9pm, and again Sunday May 11th from 2 - 4pm. These performances are part of the big party the Seattle Art Museum is throwing as their exhibition of “The Art of Rome”
concludes.

Follow this link for more on this extraordinary exhibition and the 35 hour marathon party the museum is throwing:

http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/calendar/eventDetail.asp?eventID=13882&sxTitle=&WHEN=&month=4&day=10&year=2008&sxID=

Also not to be missed is The Beat Council on May 10th 9pm - 2am at ToST in fremont. I am not playing this time, but there is a stellar cast of electronic performers including guests: Quartertone and Kid Amiga and Spec, and residents Crispy and Lara.

For more info about The Beat Council please check:

http://nwtekno.org/vb/showthread.php?threadid=125680&eventid=32723

And then on Monday May 12th at 7:30pm there is a big big show! This is the opening night celebration for the 2008 Seattle International Children’s Festival. I am going to be the MC and will also be performing live sarod and beats, singing the Washington state song, and performing a special track designed for the occasion that begins in bhangra, goes to beat boxing and hip hop, becomes rocktronica and then finishes as Congolese soukous. Mais oui! Claro que si!

Also peforming that night are other performers from the 2008 festival lineup including the Australian Circus group Circa, Japanese puppeteer Jo Taira, seattle based flamenco artist Savannah Fuentes, and the massive all female master drumming group from Guinea, West Africa, Les Amazones de Guinee.

For more info and to get tickets to the opening night celebration check:

http://www.seattleinternational.org/seattle/performers/opening-night.html

I will also be performing at the World Samplers at the Festival on Thursday May 15th and Friday May 16th at McCaw Hall at 10am and 12noon. If anyone has the day off, come and check it out, even if you don’t have kids!

Here are links to the schedule of shows at SICF for Thursday and Friday:

http://www.seattleinternational.org/seattle/showtimes/thursday.html

http://www.seattleinternational.org/seattle/showtimes/friday.html

Alright I hope to see you out there! Wish me luck with my busy week!

best musical wishes, peace and love,

James Whetzel

PS Here’s a summary of all the shows that are going down:

Saturday May 10th, 7- 9pm, James Whetzel,l Sarod & Beats at Seattle Art Museum. This show is free with museum admission.

Saturday May 10th, 9pm - 2am The Beat Council at Tost with Quartertone, Kid Amiga, Spec, Crispy and Lara. $3 cover.

Sunday May 11th, 2pm - 4pm, James Whetzel, Sarod & Beats at Seattle Art Museum. This show is free with museum admission.

Monday May 12th, 7:30pm, Bagley Wright Theatre, Seattle International Children’s Festival (SICF) Opening Night Party with James Whetzel, Circa, Jo Taira, Savannah Fuentes, and Les Amazones de Guinee. Tickets to this event are $18.

Thursday, May 15th 10am, McCaw Hall, SICF Europe sampler with Comerford Dancers, Savannah Fuentes, Orkestar Zirconium, and MC James Whetzel.

Thursday, May 15th, 12noon, McCaw Hall, SICF Asian sampler with Fillipiniana, Kabuki Academy, Huayin, and MC James Whetzel,

Friday, May 16th, 10am, McCaw Hall, SICF Africa Sampler with Gansango, Eritrean Youth Dancers, Les Amazones de Guinee, and MC James Whetzel.

Friday, May 16th, 12noon, McCaw Hall, SICF Latin America sampler with Mariachi Huenatchi, Correo Aereo, Petrona Martinez and MC James Whetzel.

http://www.funketabla.com/jwhetzel.php

http://www.ilike.com/artist/James+Whetzel

Operation Cell Phone is a new track that I have uploaded on Funketabla.com. First it is funk and then bhangra and then congolese with cell phone vibrate, cell phone flipping open, and dial tones sounds.

Now I didn’t just make this track for fun–though it was fun to make–it was designed for an open public dance performance called Operation Cell Phone that is going to happy Tuesday, April 29th at Westlake Center at 12:25pm. This performance is to honor International Dance Day, which just so happens to occur on April 29th!  Preceding Operation Cell Phone will be a performance of the “Seeds of Compassion Flocking Dance Score” at 12 noon.
The Operation Cell Phone dance was created by Dancer/Choreographer Liz Erber in collaboration with James Whetzel.

If you would like to participate the next (and last rehearsal) is this Sunday, April 27th at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill, or if it rains 4th floor in the Chamber Theatre in the Oddfellows Hall, which is across the street from Cal Anderson Park on Pine Street.

You can check rehearsal video and the dance score on You Tube:

Operation Cell Phone - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDq1hnxf0SI

Operation Cell Phone - Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4zwOMqaDh4

Operation Cell Phone - Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32qbcsz7RHA

And to listen to the music please go to my artist page:

http://www.funketabla.com/jwhetzel.php

And for more info on the event and why the heck we decided to make a dance piece based on things people do with cell phones check:

http://www.internationaldanceday.com/

Hope you enjoy the music and hope to see some of you Seattle people out there! Cheers!

James Whetzel