Sunday, February 27, 2005
Cairo Feb 26, 2005
“Erda Magnuna” - My New Arabic Name
It’s a beautiful hot breezy sunny day. Today I have my Rababa lesson
in the afternoon.
Our landlady is here now in the apartment putsing around. She feels
very comfortable here and comes here often. The other day we came home
from the market and she was sitting here in our apartment with two
other people watching TV!
Last night we were at Saiid’s again until the morning. We usually drive
over there at around midnight because traffic is not bad then, and we
sit with him until the morning call to prayer. I know its time to go
when he comes around and puts perfume on everyone in the room.
He is showing me some really difficult stuff that I’ll have to sit for
hours to practice! It’s the kind of stuff I could never get from
listening to recordings or even from seeing him play live. He told me
he hardly shows anyone this stuff cause they wouldn’t understand it. I
feel so honored to be receiving this precious knowledge! He hasn’t
written a book or made a DVD or anything like that, so this stuff
hasn’t been documented yet. I’m filming, recording and writing down as
much as possible.
It’s amazing for me to have found the source of the music I’ve been
dedicating myself to. I’m still having trouble speaking and
understanding Arabic, but as soon as I pick up the tabla I have a
crystal clear connection and communication with the people here.
Speaking of communication, last night we brought Andrea Zembehiko to
Saiid’s. She sat there and kindly translated everything that Saiid
said for me. The problem is that she doesn’t really speak Arabic, so
most of the things she translated were from her imagination and then
Rami had to tell me what Saiid really said. Her most successful
translation attempt was when the composer was speaking to us in
English, and Andrea translated everything he said in English (this time
correctly). For example he would say, “this song has a lot of feeling”
and she would say to me “this song has a lot of feeling”.
Oh – Saiid gave me a new name in Arabic – “Erda Magnuna” which means
“Crazy Monkey”. Believe it or not, it’s a compliment, cause they call
someone clever a monkey.
It’s a beautiful hot breezy sunny day. Today I have my Rababa lesson
in the afternoon.
Our landlady is here now in the apartment putsing around. She feels
very comfortable here and comes here often. The other day we came home
from the market and she was sitting here in our apartment with two
other people watching TV!
Last night we were at Saiid’s again until the morning. We usually drive
over there at around midnight because traffic is not bad then, and we
sit with him until the morning call to prayer. I know its time to go
when he comes around and puts perfume on everyone in the room.
He is showing me some really difficult stuff that I’ll have to sit for
hours to practice! It’s the kind of stuff I could never get from
listening to recordings or even from seeing him play live. He told me
he hardly shows anyone this stuff cause they wouldn’t understand it. I
feel so honored to be receiving this precious knowledge! He hasn’t
written a book or made a DVD or anything like that, so this stuff
hasn’t been documented yet. I’m filming, recording and writing down as
much as possible.
It’s amazing for me to have found the source of the music I’ve been
dedicating myself to. I’m still having trouble speaking and
understanding Arabic, but as soon as I pick up the tabla I have a
crystal clear connection and communication with the people here.
Speaking of communication, last night we brought Andrea Zembehiko to
Saiid’s. She sat there and kindly translated everything that Saiid
said for me. The problem is that she doesn’t really speak Arabic, so
most of the things she translated were from her imagination and then
Rami had to tell me what Saiid really said. Her most successful
translation attempt was when the composer was speaking to us in
English, and Andrea translated everything he said in English (this time
correctly). For example he would say, “this song has a lot of feeling”
and she would say to me “this song has a lot of feeling”.
Oh – Saiid gave me a new name in Arabic – “Erda Magnuna” which means
“Crazy Monkey”. Believe it or not, it’s a compliment, cause they call
someone clever a monkey.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Cairo, February 25, 2005
Sabine, Mahmud Hamuda, Mango Guava juice and Television Gig
I had a few amazing discoveries yesterday – Sabine, Mahmud Hamuda and
mango guava juice.
Sabine
Sabine is the wife of the legendary Misirli Ahmet the incredibly fast
dumbek virtuoso from Turkey. The day before yesterday I was jamming in
this store and the owner called her so that she could hear me play over
the phone.
She came over yesterday and she ROCKS! She has that Turkish double
thing down! She only plays dumbek and I can tell she’s put lots and
lots of time into practicing.
She lives between Turkey and Egypt (where her family is) but she’s also
French and Syrian (or something like that). She travels all over the
world performing. She’s very beautiful and classy. She doesn’t have
her own band yet, but she’s talking about putting together an all
female band.
Anyway, this girl has CHOPS! Very different style from mine. We
jammed on the maksum and then in karsilama. She has long long fingers
like Natalia. She speaks very highly of her husband and calls him her
“master”. She describes him as very modest, humble and devoted. He
doesn’t teach lessons – he just has a few disciples who he chooses to
teach for no money.
She only plays the clay drums with the skin heads. She buys them here
from that guy I wrote about in my last blog. I’m seriously thinking of
getting a dumbek from him. Its $400 which seems like a lot here, but
its actually not so much for a great instrument. I might try to
bargain with him.
I showed her my notation and she got a big kick out of it. She said I
should e-mail her some samples of it and she’ll show it to her husband!
She only stayed for an hour or so, but we exchanged contacts and if I
come here again or go to Istanbul I’ll call her and if she comes to NY
she’ll call me.
Mahmud Hamuda
I’ve also been hearing a lot about this guy Mahmud Hamuda. He died two
years ago, but everyone speaks about him as the master of the classical
style dumbek playing . Rami’s riq teacher was over yesterday and he
used to play with Hamuda and he started showing me some of his
technique on the dumbek. They do the dum differently, the finger roll
differently, and they do a pop with the right hand. Very cool stuff.
I wrote down a bunch of stuff and I planned another meeting with him to
get more material.
Mango Guava Juice
Yesterday I also discovered half mango half guava juice. It’s like
heaven. A large one costs about 10 cents. I’m gonna drink as many as
possible while I’m here.
TV GIG
I got an interesting phone call from my Rababa teacher, Fikry. He
asked if I would play with him on this very poplar television talk
show! On the Rababba! After only two lessons! I said of course I
would. He’ll find out the date and let me know.
Henkish
We were supposed to meet with this Henkish superstar dumbek guy
yesterday but we had to blow him off cause we were so busy with other
stuff! Hopefully we’ll see him today.
Rami's Cousin's Party
Rami's cousin had an engagement party last night so instead of going to
Saiid's we went to the party. AMAZING food and very fun group of
people. Rami's cousins are all gorgeous. We played for them and they
were so into it - they were all clapping and ululating and dancing.!
Rami and his cousins
I had a few amazing discoveries yesterday – Sabine, Mahmud Hamuda and
mango guava juice.
Sabine
Sabine is the wife of the legendary Misirli Ahmet the incredibly fast
dumbek virtuoso from Turkey. The day before yesterday I was jamming in
this store and the owner called her so that she could hear me play over
the phone.
She came over yesterday and she ROCKS! She has that Turkish double
thing down! She only plays dumbek and I can tell she’s put lots and
lots of time into practicing.
She lives between Turkey and Egypt (where her family is) but she’s also
French and Syrian (or something like that). She travels all over the
world performing. She’s very beautiful and classy. She doesn’t have
her own band yet, but she’s talking about putting together an all
female band.
Anyway, this girl has CHOPS! Very different style from mine. We
jammed on the maksum and then in karsilama. She has long long fingers
like Natalia. She speaks very highly of her husband and calls him her
“master”. She describes him as very modest, humble and devoted. He
doesn’t teach lessons – he just has a few disciples who he chooses to
teach for no money.
She only plays the clay drums with the skin heads. She buys them here
from that guy I wrote about in my last blog. I’m seriously thinking of
getting a dumbek from him. Its $400 which seems like a lot here, but
its actually not so much for a great instrument. I might try to
bargain with him.
I showed her my notation and she got a big kick out of it. She said I
should e-mail her some samples of it and she’ll show it to her husband!
She only stayed for an hour or so, but we exchanged contacts and if I
come here again or go to Istanbul I’ll call her and if she comes to NY
she’ll call me.
Mahmud Hamuda
I’ve also been hearing a lot about this guy Mahmud Hamuda. He died two
years ago, but everyone speaks about him as the master of the classical
style dumbek playing . Rami’s riq teacher was over yesterday and he
used to play with Hamuda and he started showing me some of his
technique on the dumbek. They do the dum differently, the finger roll
differently, and they do a pop with the right hand. Very cool stuff.
I wrote down a bunch of stuff and I planned another meeting with him to
get more material.
Mango Guava Juice
Yesterday I also discovered half mango half guava juice. It’s like
heaven. A large one costs about 10 cents. I’m gonna drink as many as
possible while I’m here.
TV GIG
I got an interesting phone call from my Rababa teacher, Fikry. He
asked if I would play with him on this very poplar television talk
show! On the Rababba! After only two lessons! I said of course I
would. He’ll find out the date and let me know.
Henkish
We were supposed to meet with this Henkish superstar dumbek guy
yesterday but we had to blow him off cause we were so busy with other
stuff! Hopefully we’ll see him today.
Rami's Cousin's Party
Rami's cousin had an engagement party last night so instead of going to
Saiid's we went to the party. AMAZING food and very fun group of
people. Rami's cousins are all gorgeous. We played for them and they
were so into it - they were all clapping and ululating and dancing.!
Rami and his cousins
Cairo, Sat Feb 25
We’re now officially on the sleep schedule of Saiid- we go to sleep at
dawn and wake up at 2 pm.
Last night was the best night I’ve had at Saiid’s so far. They
finished the recording they were working on so it wasn’t so crazy and
there weren’t many people around, so Saiid was in hang out mode. When
we arrived, Saiid was playing badgamon with this other great - a
violinist named Alfred Gamil. I actually met him in the states years
ago at Simon Shaheen’s music camp. He remembered how I play the bones
and told Saiid about it, so they really wanted to hear me play them,
but I forgot to bring them to Egypt, so they asked the boy to bring
four spoons and I tried to do my bones solo on the spoons (with not
much success). They really want me to play bones now on the concert,
so I hope the girls can bring them for me.
Saiid was really inspired last night and he was showing us some cool
shit on the dumbek! He has another dum that’s higher and it sounds
really cool when he plays it back and forth with the real dum. He said
that the 2nd dum is like how a beginner students tries to play the real
dum. We have this joke now that after he shows off his stuff on the
dumbek he says, “so, what do you think – can I play tabla?” and I
answer, “nus nus” (so so).
He also played for us some of his old recordings – AMAZING drum solos.
He’s really an incredible composer and I’m not the only one that rips
off his compositions- drummers from all over the world copy his stuff.
Hafla Last Night at Saiid’s Studio
From Left to Right Ali, Shlum, Saiid, Me, Miles, Dr. Alfred Gamil
Saiid also talked about his philosophy of drumming – he said the dumbek
is like the sea. You can always catch the same kind of fish (dum, tek,
ka) or you can harvest the bounty of the ocean and look for all kinds
of different fish. He’s really opening my mind.
We met the other guy Henkish yesterday – very nice man and he had some
cool stuff on the dumbek as well. We’re filming this stuff as much as
possible and I’m writing stuff down. I can’t believe how much material
I’m collecting!
Today I want to go over stuff and figure out what I’m doing in the
concert.
dawn and wake up at 2 pm.
Last night was the best night I’ve had at Saiid’s so far. They
finished the recording they were working on so it wasn’t so crazy and
there weren’t many people around, so Saiid was in hang out mode. When
we arrived, Saiid was playing badgamon with this other great - a
violinist named Alfred Gamil. I actually met him in the states years
ago at Simon Shaheen’s music camp. He remembered how I play the bones
and told Saiid about it, so they really wanted to hear me play them,
but I forgot to bring them to Egypt, so they asked the boy to bring
four spoons and I tried to do my bones solo on the spoons (with not
much success). They really want me to play bones now on the concert,
so I hope the girls can bring them for me.
Saiid was really inspired last night and he was showing us some cool
shit on the dumbek! He has another dum that’s higher and it sounds
really cool when he plays it back and forth with the real dum. He said
that the 2nd dum is like how a beginner students tries to play the real
dum. We have this joke now that after he shows off his stuff on the
dumbek he says, “so, what do you think – can I play tabla?” and I
answer, “nus nus” (so so).
He also played for us some of his old recordings – AMAZING drum solos.
He’s really an incredible composer and I’m not the only one that rips
off his compositions- drummers from all over the world copy his stuff.
Hafla Last Night at Saiid’s Studio
From Left to Right Ali, Shlum, Saiid, Me, Miles, Dr. Alfred Gamil
Saiid also talked about his philosophy of drumming – he said the dumbek
is like the sea. You can always catch the same kind of fish (dum, tek,
ka) or you can harvest the bounty of the ocean and look for all kinds
of different fish. He’s really opening my mind.
We met the other guy Henkish yesterday – very nice man and he had some
cool stuff on the dumbek as well. We’re filming this stuff as much as
possible and I’m writing stuff down. I can’t believe how much material
I’m collecting!
Today I want to go over stuff and figure out what I’m doing in the
concert.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Cairo, February 24th, 20005
Wow – this place is really blowing my mind.
First of all, in the morning we had a meeting with the head of the AUC
(American University in Cairo) music department. What a nice guy –
he’s a pianist and composer. He kindof reminded me of an Egyptian
Gershwin.
As unbelievable as it seems, he’s had a hard time finding someone to
teach dumbek! He said that there’s a lot of amazing players here but
that they can’t really teach in English. He organized a master class
for me to teach. He’s making posters a fliers and really advertising
it.
He was very interested in my notation system and he fipped out when we
showed him a video of our Avenue B concert.
He said that he wants to arrange for me to come next year for 8 weeks
and teach a course in middle eastern drumming! Those gigs are sweet,
cause you make an American salary, but your living expenses are next to
nothing! I told him, lets make it for the winter – the weather here is
just perfect.
Also we hung out on Muhammed Ali street and jammed with some amazing
dumbek players! It was a blast.
We went to this store that has the nicest dumbeks in Egypt. They are
$400 each, but GORGEOUS – I’ve never seen a nicer dumbek. Anyway, I
was playing one and the owner of the store, Hassan Ali Amediit rushed
to the phone and dialed a number and held it up to me as I played.
Then we handed me the phone and it turns out it was Misserli Ahhmed’s
wife Sabine! I’ve heard about her that she’s a really good drummer!
She said “was that you playing? I want to meet you!” So she’s coming
over today or tomorrow. By the way for those of you who don’t know,
Misserli Ahmed is the number one dumbek player in Turkey! She sounds
very cool and classy. She’s part Egyptian, part Syrian and part
Turkish.
Then we went to Saiids and I had an AMAZING rabbaba lesson. Saiid came
downstairs in the middle of the lesson with a woman in a higab (head
scarf) who he said was one of the greatest dancers in Egypt Fikry and
I played the rabbaba, Saiiid played the dumbek and this woman danced –
WOW , what a hafla! The dancer was so different from American dancers.
She was something else - very subtle and the dancing was all about the
music.
Fikry, my AWESOME Rabba Teacher
Today we’re having a riq lesson and we’re supposed to meet this guy
who’s the other great tabla player here besides Saiid – his name is
Henkish.
The people here are the most charming and hospitable of any country
I’ve been to. We hang out in Saiiids studio and people are constantly
bringing us tea, cofffe, fruit juices, ect. And if we stay late enough
at the Studio at around 3 am, Saiid orders these Egyptian pizza- like
things called ‘fatiras” – filo dough filled with all kinds of things.
It reminds me off college kids getting the munchies and ordering pizza
in the middle of the night. Last night after the fatiras he took out
this bottle and went around the room putting sandal wood oil on
everyone – now everything I have smells of it.
Last night Saiiid and I had a meeting about the concert. We decided
that we will play a few numbers together, I’ll play some one my Raquy
and the Cavemen material with Shlum and the girls, and he’ll do
something with that kid Hummus and he’ll also do his famous drum solo
on his cheeks (He plays his cheeks like a drum into the microphone and
gets AMAZING sounds!). We’ll do like an hour show – I think it will be
very nice. I asked about having the girls dance and he said “NO WAY”.
It would have been nice for the girls to dance, but they’ll still get a
chance to drum with us.
Gotta go – its 3:00pm – time for breakfast!
First of all, in the morning we had a meeting with the head of the AUC
(American University in Cairo) music department. What a nice guy –
he’s a pianist and composer. He kindof reminded me of an Egyptian
Gershwin.
As unbelievable as it seems, he’s had a hard time finding someone to
teach dumbek! He said that there’s a lot of amazing players here but
that they can’t really teach in English. He organized a master class
for me to teach. He’s making posters a fliers and really advertising
it.
He was very interested in my notation system and he fipped out when we
showed him a video of our Avenue B concert.
He said that he wants to arrange for me to come next year for 8 weeks
and teach a course in middle eastern drumming! Those gigs are sweet,
cause you make an American salary, but your living expenses are next to
nothing! I told him, lets make it for the winter – the weather here is
just perfect.
Also we hung out on Muhammed Ali street and jammed with some amazing
dumbek players! It was a blast.
We went to this store that has the nicest dumbeks in Egypt. They are
$400 each, but GORGEOUS – I’ve never seen a nicer dumbek. Anyway, I
was playing one and the owner of the store, Hassan Ali Amediit rushed
to the phone and dialed a number and held it up to me as I played.
Then we handed me the phone and it turns out it was Misserli Ahhmed’s
wife Sabine! I’ve heard about her that she’s a really good drummer!
She said “was that you playing? I want to meet you!” So she’s coming
over today or tomorrow. By the way for those of you who don’t know,
Misserli Ahmed is the number one dumbek player in Turkey! She sounds
very cool and classy. She’s part Egyptian, part Syrian and part
Turkish.
Then we went to Saiids and I had an AMAZING rabbaba lesson. Saiid came
downstairs in the middle of the lesson with a woman in a higab (head
scarf) who he said was one of the greatest dancers in Egypt Fikry and
I played the rabbaba, Saiiid played the dumbek and this woman danced –
WOW , what a hafla! The dancer was so different from American dancers.
She was something else - very subtle and the dancing was all about the
music.
Fikry, my AWESOME Rabba Teacher
Today we’re having a riq lesson and we’re supposed to meet this guy
who’s the other great tabla player here besides Saiid – his name is
Henkish.
The people here are the most charming and hospitable of any country
I’ve been to. We hang out in Saiiids studio and people are constantly
bringing us tea, cofffe, fruit juices, ect. And if we stay late enough
at the Studio at around 3 am, Saiid orders these Egyptian pizza- like
things called ‘fatiras” – filo dough filled with all kinds of things.
It reminds me off college kids getting the munchies and ordering pizza
in the middle of the night. Last night after the fatiras he took out
this bottle and went around the room putting sandal wood oil on
everyone – now everything I have smells of it.
Last night Saiiid and I had a meeting about the concert. We decided
that we will play a few numbers together, I’ll play some one my Raquy
and the Cavemen material with Shlum and the girls, and he’ll do
something with that kid Hummus and he’ll also do his famous drum solo
on his cheeks (He plays his cheeks like a drum into the microphone and
gets AMAZING sounds!). We’ll do like an hour show – I think it will be
very nice. I asked about having the girls dance and he said “NO WAY”.
It would have been nice for the girls to dance, but they’ll still get a
chance to drum with us.
Gotta go – its 3:00pm – time for breakfast!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Cairo, Tuesday, February 22, 2005
NEWS UPDATE!!!!!!!
TABLA EXTRAVEGANZA CONCERT on the NILE!
MARCH 11TH, 8:00 pm
STARRING SAIID EL ARTIST AND MOI!
With Rami, Dumbek Girls Gone Wild and Saiid’s Troupe
SAKIA EL SAWY CULTURAL CENTER
UNDER 26 OF JULY BRIDGE, ZAMALEK
www.culturewheel.com
Tonight I’m staying home – hallas!
It hit me last night at Saiiid’s that I haven’t had any off time since
I got to this country! First we had to run around to get the apartment.
Then we had to run around to organize this concert. And every night
we’ve been going to Saiid until the wee hours of the morning. It’s
been amazing. Some of the best musicians in Egypt hang out at his
place – playing backgammon, eating lib (seeds), jamming and smoking
stuff. At the same time there’s this composer who is recording his
music in Saiid’s recording studio. The music is so cool – very
difficult and interesting and he’s getting amazing musicians in to
record. No other women hang out there, and no other pink people
besides me. Im learning a lot about music and about what to say in
Arabic when you pass a ....... (censored by Egyptian police).
Last night I jammed with this kid “Hummus” – Saiid’s adorable 15 year
old nephew who is quite good on the dumbek!
Hummus Jamming Under the Surveillance of Uncle Saiid
I also had my first lesson on the Rababa – the Egyptian version of the
kemenche. It’s even more loud and obnoxious than my loud kemenche.
Fishky’s gonna hate it.
Saiid got the best Rababa player in Egypt to come to the studio and
give me a lessons, This guy is so kick ass. I’m gonna take a lesson
every other day. He doesn’t speak a word of English. The funny thing
was that he came to give me a lesson and he didn’t bring his
instrument! I said “ how can we have a lesson if you don’t have a
rabbaba?” So for the first lesson we passed mine back and forth and
next lesson (Ein Shallah) he’ll bring his own. But what a musician!
I’ll see if I can put a sample of his playing on the blog.
The big news is that we have a concert in the best possible place – an
outdoor theater on the Nile in the middle of downtown Cairo!!!!!! Yay!
I’m so happy! It’s underneath a bridge that used to be a garbage dump
but this guy Mr. Sawy made it into an amazing cultural center with
different stages and art galleries,ect. We met with him and I showed
him footage from a Raquy and the Cavemen concert and he loved it. He
also loves Saiid so he said we could play there! Yay! (For details
see above). I’m very excited. Our’s is the outdoor stage – its very
big and the space can easily hold a few hundred people. It’s just
perfect!!!! Said is excited about having the “Dumbek Girls Gone Wild”
perform with us. Yay!
Now I can relax a little – I just have to rehearse with Saiid and
anyone else who’s playing with us. Today this guy Miles from LA came
over who plays upright bass. Very nice and very tall and very good
musician! We jammed all day – he’s learning the bass part to Dust and
Raquin – Ein Shalla he’ll play with us on some concerts.
Rehearsal with Miles in our Luxury Apartment
Oh – a few interesting things I’ve learned about the dumbek!
1 – In the old days these guys used to come around to the Egyptian
neighborhoods with cars and yell “Bring out your old clothes” and in
exchange for old clothes, the people got a dumbek! That’s why so many
people in Egypt play dumbek! (according to Saiiid)
2- When I studied in India I learned the importance of respecting your
instrument – for example you should never put your feet on the drum.
This theory was shattered for me when Saiid el Artist, the greatest
dumbek player in Egypt, plopped his butt down on my drum in order to
stretch the skin – he sat on it for about 20 minutes!
By the way, is anyone reading this? Please write to me with your
comments! I’d love to hear from you!
TABLA EXTRAVEGANZA CONCERT on the NILE!
MARCH 11TH, 8:00 pm
STARRING SAIID EL ARTIST AND MOI!
With Rami, Dumbek Girls Gone Wild and Saiid’s Troupe
SAKIA EL SAWY CULTURAL CENTER
UNDER 26 OF JULY BRIDGE, ZAMALEK
www.culturewheel.com
Tonight I’m staying home – hallas!
It hit me last night at Saiiid’s that I haven’t had any off time since
I got to this country! First we had to run around to get the apartment.
Then we had to run around to organize this concert. And every night
we’ve been going to Saiid until the wee hours of the morning. It’s
been amazing. Some of the best musicians in Egypt hang out at his
place – playing backgammon, eating lib (seeds), jamming and smoking
stuff. At the same time there’s this composer who is recording his
music in Saiid’s recording studio. The music is so cool – very
difficult and interesting and he’s getting amazing musicians in to
record. No other women hang out there, and no other pink people
besides me. Im learning a lot about music and about what to say in
Arabic when you pass a ....... (censored by Egyptian police).
Last night I jammed with this kid “Hummus” – Saiid’s adorable 15 year
old nephew who is quite good on the dumbek!
Hummus Jamming Under the Surveillance of Uncle Saiid
I also had my first lesson on the Rababa – the Egyptian version of the
kemenche. It’s even more loud and obnoxious than my loud kemenche.
Fishky’s gonna hate it.
Saiid got the best Rababa player in Egypt to come to the studio and
give me a lessons, This guy is so kick ass. I’m gonna take a lesson
every other day. He doesn’t speak a word of English. The funny thing
was that he came to give me a lesson and he didn’t bring his
instrument! I said “ how can we have a lesson if you don’t have a
rabbaba?” So for the first lesson we passed mine back and forth and
next lesson (Ein Shallah) he’ll bring his own. But what a musician!
I’ll see if I can put a sample of his playing on the blog.
The big news is that we have a concert in the best possible place – an
outdoor theater on the Nile in the middle of downtown Cairo!!!!!! Yay!
I’m so happy! It’s underneath a bridge that used to be a garbage dump
but this guy Mr. Sawy made it into an amazing cultural center with
different stages and art galleries,ect. We met with him and I showed
him footage from a Raquy and the Cavemen concert and he loved it. He
also loves Saiid so he said we could play there! Yay! (For details
see above). I’m very excited. Our’s is the outdoor stage – its very
big and the space can easily hold a few hundred people. It’s just
perfect!!!! Said is excited about having the “Dumbek Girls Gone Wild”
perform with us. Yay!
Now I can relax a little – I just have to rehearse with Saiid and
anyone else who’s playing with us. Today this guy Miles from LA came
over who plays upright bass. Very nice and very tall and very good
musician! We jammed all day – he’s learning the bass part to Dust and
Raquin – Ein Shalla he’ll play with us on some concerts.
Rehearsal with Miles in our Luxury Apartment
Oh – a few interesting things I’ve learned about the dumbek!
1 – In the old days these guys used to come around to the Egyptian
neighborhoods with cars and yell “Bring out your old clothes” and in
exchange for old clothes, the people got a dumbek! That’s why so many
people in Egypt play dumbek! (according to Saiiid)
2- When I studied in India I learned the importance of respecting your
instrument – for example you should never put your feet on the drum.
This theory was shattered for me when Saiid el Artist, the greatest
dumbek player in Egypt, plopped his butt down on my drum in order to
stretch the skin – he sat on it for about 20 minutes!
By the way, is anyone reading this? Please write to me with your
comments! I’d love to hear from you!
Monday, February 21, 2005
Cairo, Sunday February 20th
I’m sitting in an Ahawa (nargila café) with my laptop. It’s a dusty
hot morning. Rami went to settle a dispute between the guy who took us
to the guy who took us to the guy who took us to the landlord and the
guy who took us to the guy who took us to the landlord. We made the
mistake of giving them a big bill and telling them to split it – now
one of them is banging on our door every day complaining that he didn’t
get enough.
Yesterday I had my first meeting with Saiid!
I spent all day practicing in the park in order to get ready. A group
of kids gathered around me to listen and I ended up speaking to them
for quite a while. It was the first time I was on my own speaking
Arabic with no English speakers around to help me. It was amazing - we
actually talked about many things and understood each other! But it
was exhausting.
We got to the Artistek Studios and waited for Saiid. He has a building
with an office, a recording studio and a practice space. The place is
full of dumbeks! He has a bunch of guys that work for him and just
hang out in the studio and answer the phone and make tea and stuff.
Rami positioned himself with the video camera so that he could film the
meeting between me and Saiiid.
Finally he came. He's probably in his mid fifties. He's very handsome.
He's pretty thin and he chain smokes. He goes to sleep every day after
the morning prayer (6 am). All night he sits in his studio and hangs
out , rehearses, records, smokes,ect.
He was very excited to see us. We spent the first few hors listening
to the stuff he’s been working on and he listened to the stuff I’ve
been working on. He showed us this TV program where they interviewed
him about the tabla (dumbek) and he played with a big ensemble. The
ensemble has violins, ouds, singers, all kinds of percussion ect, but
everything centers around him on the dumbek. He stands in the middle
of everyone with the dumbek on his knee and a flashing smile and
everyone else is there to accompany him. The funniest thing is that
all the words of the singers are about the dumbek, for example, “where
is the Dum? Here is the Dum!” and stuff like that. He definitely has
“star” quality. Even yesterday, he lit up whenever Rami turned on the
video camera.
At one point we listened to his version of “Osama” (the song that I
play that I learned from Osama that was actually written by Said) and
then my version of the same song from my new cd. He didn’t seem to
mind that I ripped off his tune, especially after I told him that we
gave him credit for the composition. Every time he showed me a new
composition I jokingly said, “Great, now there’s another song for me to
copy!”
It’s nice to be able to joke in Arabic. My first attempt was a flop.
I met a guy named “Arrfa” and arrfa also means “to know” so I said
“Delwati ana arrfa arrfa – cha cha cha” (Now I know Arrfa – ha ha ha”)
and was met with a blank stare.
Oh – back to Saiid. So after shooting the shit for a few hours (and in
hailing unbelievable amounts of second hand smoke) I asked him when
will we start practicing. He said tomorrow. But I knew that if I
egged him on he would play so I asked him to tune my drum and we ended
up jamming! It was really fun. He showed me another piece called
“Alexandria” (that’s where he’s from). We really hit it off playing
wise. I can mimic him well and he has some new techniques that are
really cool. He said “I wasn’t in the mood to play but you draw it out
of me”
Oh and about the concert. He’s still saying “ein shalla”. Apparently
he had a falling out with the Cairo Opera House which is the most
prestigious venue in Egypt (they haven’t paid him for his concert
there). He’ like to play there again, but his pride prevents him from
calling there. But he really wants to have a concert. He was
especially excited when I told him about my troupe of girl drummers
arriving next week (he also wanted to know what they looked like and if
they were married). He’s also excited about the kemenche. I’ll bring
it tonight when I go there.
Saiid did call Channel One while we were there and told them about me
and told them to come tomorrow to the first rehearsal. So I believe
there will be a concert (Eih Sh’alla) but its not clear when or where.
He basically said that we should come to his studio every evening and
hang out there until the morning with him. That will be interesting,
especially since Rami is experiencing some kind of bizarre reverse jet
lag – he’s up putzing around humming songs every morning at 9 am! This
is the same Rami who usually can’t form a coherent sentence before
2:30pm. But I figure that after a few nights with Saiid, Rami will
adjust to the night schedule, which is actually more like New York
time!
Well that’s it for now – Rami and I decided that having shisha in the
morning before breakfast is kind of like having a glass of apple juice.
Oh – did I mention that we live in a luxury apartment in the center of
town? I LOVE our apartment. And our neighborhood. It takes about 25
minutes to drive to Saiid – not bad. And we can walk to all the
downtown hot spots. There are tons of great cafes and restaurants here
and there’s a beautiful park where I can practice right in front of our
house! Its just perfect. I’m planning a big party for our last week.
You’re all invited!
hot morning. Rami went to settle a dispute between the guy who took us
to the guy who took us to the guy who took us to the landlord and the
guy who took us to the guy who took us to the landlord. We made the
mistake of giving them a big bill and telling them to split it – now
one of them is banging on our door every day complaining that he didn’t
get enough.
Yesterday I had my first meeting with Saiid!
I spent all day practicing in the park in order to get ready. A group
of kids gathered around me to listen and I ended up speaking to them
for quite a while. It was the first time I was on my own speaking
Arabic with no English speakers around to help me. It was amazing - we
actually talked about many things and understood each other! But it
was exhausting.
We got to the Artistek Studios and waited for Saiid. He has a building
with an office, a recording studio and a practice space. The place is
full of dumbeks! He has a bunch of guys that work for him and just
hang out in the studio and answer the phone and make tea and stuff.
Rami positioned himself with the video camera so that he could film the
meeting between me and Saiiid.
Finally he came. He's probably in his mid fifties. He's very handsome.
He's pretty thin and he chain smokes. He goes to sleep every day after
the morning prayer (6 am). All night he sits in his studio and hangs
out , rehearses, records, smokes,ect.
He was very excited to see us. We spent the first few hors listening
to the stuff he’s been working on and he listened to the stuff I’ve
been working on. He showed us this TV program where they interviewed
him about the tabla (dumbek) and he played with a big ensemble. The
ensemble has violins, ouds, singers, all kinds of percussion ect, but
everything centers around him on the dumbek. He stands in the middle
of everyone with the dumbek on his knee and a flashing smile and
everyone else is there to accompany him. The funniest thing is that
all the words of the singers are about the dumbek, for example, “where
is the Dum? Here is the Dum!” and stuff like that. He definitely has
“star” quality. Even yesterday, he lit up whenever Rami turned on the
video camera.
At one point we listened to his version of “Osama” (the song that I
play that I learned from Osama that was actually written by Said) and
then my version of the same song from my new cd. He didn’t seem to
mind that I ripped off his tune, especially after I told him that we
gave him credit for the composition. Every time he showed me a new
composition I jokingly said, “Great, now there’s another song for me to
copy!”
It’s nice to be able to joke in Arabic. My first attempt was a flop.
I met a guy named “Arrfa” and arrfa also means “to know” so I said
“Delwati ana arrfa arrfa – cha cha cha” (Now I know Arrfa – ha ha ha”)
and was met with a blank stare.
Oh – back to Saiid. So after shooting the shit for a few hours (and in
hailing unbelievable amounts of second hand smoke) I asked him when
will we start practicing. He said tomorrow. But I knew that if I
egged him on he would play so I asked him to tune my drum and we ended
up jamming! It was really fun. He showed me another piece called
“Alexandria” (that’s where he’s from). We really hit it off playing
wise. I can mimic him well and he has some new techniques that are
really cool. He said “I wasn’t in the mood to play but you draw it out
of me”
Oh and about the concert. He’s still saying “ein shalla”. Apparently
he had a falling out with the Cairo Opera House which is the most
prestigious venue in Egypt (they haven’t paid him for his concert
there). He’ like to play there again, but his pride prevents him from
calling there. But he really wants to have a concert. He was
especially excited when I told him about my troupe of girl drummers
arriving next week (he also wanted to know what they looked like and if
they were married). He’s also excited about the kemenche. I’ll bring
it tonight when I go there.
Saiid did call Channel One while we were there and told them about me
and told them to come tomorrow to the first rehearsal. So I believe
there will be a concert (Eih Sh’alla) but its not clear when or where.
He basically said that we should come to his studio every evening and
hang out there until the morning with him. That will be interesting,
especially since Rami is experiencing some kind of bizarre reverse jet
lag – he’s up putzing around humming songs every morning at 9 am! This
is the same Rami who usually can’t form a coherent sentence before
2:30pm. But I figure that after a few nights with Saiid, Rami will
adjust to the night schedule, which is actually more like New York
time!
Well that’s it for now – Rami and I decided that having shisha in the
morning before breakfast is kind of like having a glass of apple juice.
Oh – did I mention that we live in a luxury apartment in the center of
town? I LOVE our apartment. And our neighborhood. It takes about 25
minutes to drive to Saiid – not bad. And we can walk to all the
downtown hot spots. There are tons of great cafes and restaurants here
and there’s a beautiful park where I can practice right in front of our
house! Its just perfect. I’m planning a big party for our last week.
You’re all invited!
Saturday, February 19, 2005
February 18th, Cairo
Hello Everybody.
Well, I splurged on a flat, and I'm thrilled about it!
We ended up the first night staying in a hotel in a neighborhood called
Garden City, which is right on the Nile, very centrally located. It's
walking disctance from downtown and Mohammud Ally street with all the drum stores, ect. Very bustling but comfortable - big sidewalks ect. We were supposed to go to Saiid's brother near the Pyramids to find a place, but I said, lets look around here for the hell of it even though everybody said its very expensive.
We walked around and started asking the Boabs - they are the guys that sit in the buildings (kindof like the super) and take care of things. So after we asked about 6 different ones, we got one that called his friend, and he took us to his friend, and then his friend got his dad, and his dad made some calls and we ended up with a parade of guys following us around helping us find a place.
So this place is in a luxury building right in front of a big beautiful public park. It has a gorgeous marbel entrance and a beautiful elevator. The flat is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!! It has a huge living room with all kinds of different lighting options that the landlady showed us one by one. It has a nice big bedroom with big windows looking over trees. The kitchen is fully equiped and nice, there are two nice bathrooms. Its so wonderful. After some bargaining, we agreed on about $350 for the month (which came out to more like $400 after we tipped everyone who helped us find it), which is more than we expected, but I am totally thrilled. I couldn't imagine a nicer neighborhood or a nicer apartment!
Last night we just walked all over the city. Cairo by night is so cool - its alot less crowded, but there's still stuff happening. For example at 3:30am we were walking up this little ally and we came upon an open barber shop! It was great cause I've been nagging Rami to get a haircut for a couple months now. The guy seemed inspired - he cut Rami's hair as if he was working on work of art. Rami said he never had such a nice haircut.
We also had a very nice meal. It was the standard stuff - ful, falafel, ect, but they gave us each a huge pile of arrugala, scallions, lime and an entire head of lettuce. We crunched away.
Today is the first day I really feel relaxed now that we have a flat. The plan is to visit Rami's grandmother. I also have to practice. Saiid is coming back from Jordan tonight, so I need to be in top shape. I tuned the mystucal drum and it sounds AWESOME!!!
I still don't know what to do about my hair. Now its part dread locks, part braids, and I just stuffed the whole mess in big braids. I'm afraid to touch it. I think I'll go to a beauty parlor here and have them wash and comb it.
Oh - the Arabic - I haven't learned the alphabet yet, so I can't read or write, but I've been speaking quite a lot. My problem is that I can usually say what I want, but if the person answering me uses one or two words I don't know, I cant understand them. But I feel a difference even after one day its getting easier.
Oh, and the weather. Its HOT out today, probably in the low 80's. At night it gets down to the low 60's. Absolutely perfect!!!!! I don't understand why this is the "off" season in Egypt. I can't imagine nicer weather.
Here is my phone number:
My Cell phone - 011- 2012- 592-8254
To be continued!
Well, I splurged on a flat, and I'm thrilled about it!
We ended up the first night staying in a hotel in a neighborhood called
Garden City, which is right on the Nile, very centrally located. It's
walking disctance from downtown and Mohammud Ally street with all the drum stores, ect. Very bustling but comfortable - big sidewalks ect. We were supposed to go to Saiid's brother near the Pyramids to find a place, but I said, lets look around here for the hell of it even though everybody said its very expensive.
We walked around and started asking the Boabs - they are the guys that sit in the buildings (kindof like the super) and take care of things. So after we asked about 6 different ones, we got one that called his friend, and he took us to his friend, and then his friend got his dad, and his dad made some calls and we ended up with a parade of guys following us around helping us find a place.
So this place is in a luxury building right in front of a big beautiful public park. It has a gorgeous marbel entrance and a beautiful elevator. The flat is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!! It has a huge living room with all kinds of different lighting options that the landlady showed us one by one. It has a nice big bedroom with big windows looking over trees. The kitchen is fully equiped and nice, there are two nice bathrooms. Its so wonderful. After some bargaining, we agreed on about $350 for the month (which came out to more like $400 after we tipped everyone who helped us find it), which is more than we expected, but I am totally thrilled. I couldn't imagine a nicer neighborhood or a nicer apartment!
Last night we just walked all over the city. Cairo by night is so cool - its alot less crowded, but there's still stuff happening. For example at 3:30am we were walking up this little ally and we came upon an open barber shop! It was great cause I've been nagging Rami to get a haircut for a couple months now. The guy seemed inspired - he cut Rami's hair as if he was working on work of art. Rami said he never had such a nice haircut.
We also had a very nice meal. It was the standard stuff - ful, falafel, ect, but they gave us each a huge pile of arrugala, scallions, lime and an entire head of lettuce. We crunched away.
Today is the first day I really feel relaxed now that we have a flat. The plan is to visit Rami's grandmother. I also have to practice. Saiid is coming back from Jordan tonight, so I need to be in top shape. I tuned the mystucal drum and it sounds AWESOME!!!
I still don't know what to do about my hair. Now its part dread locks, part braids, and I just stuffed the whole mess in big braids. I'm afraid to touch it. I think I'll go to a beauty parlor here and have them wash and comb it.
Oh - the Arabic - I haven't learned the alphabet yet, so I can't read or write, but I've been speaking quite a lot. My problem is that I can usually say what I want, but if the person answering me uses one or two words I don't know, I cant understand them. But I feel a difference even after one day its getting easier.
Oh, and the weather. Its HOT out today, probably in the low 80's. At night it gets down to the low 60's. Absolutely perfect!!!!! I don't understand why this is the "off" season in Egypt. I can't imagine nicer weather.
Here is my phone number:
My Cell phone - 011- 2012- 592-8254
To be continued!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
February 17th, 12 pm, Cairo
Good Morning Cairo!!!
It’s a beautiful day! Whoopee! We’re sitting outside having coffee
and its WARM OUT!!!!!
The hafla at the airport was amazing. We got it all on film. Osama’s
family was just as I expected – adorable. His mother has his face! Or
should I say he has her face! She presented me with a bright orange
robe and a bright orange scarf – very sweet.
And the drum!!!!! I’ve never seen such a drum! It’s tuned too high now
– I must find a tuner and tune it – its small but incredibly heavy. I
think the sound will be amazing!
Other than tuning the drum and fixing my hair, the first priority today
is finding a flat. Right now we’re at a hotel in Garden City which is
about $28 a night for two people which is not bad, but it will be much
better to have our own place.
Last night after the airport hafla we got our wheels and cruised around
Cairo by night. We found an open restaurant at 4:30 am and opened a
huge table of delicious veggi stuff – foul, falafel, all kinds of
potatoes, salads, ect. Then we had my favorite barley tea. The whole
thing came to $1. Then we fell asleep to the sound of the morning call
too prayer.
Gotta go! Lots to do today!
It’s a beautiful day! Whoopee! We’re sitting outside having coffee
and its WARM OUT!!!!!
The hafla at the airport was amazing. We got it all on film. Osama’s
family was just as I expected – adorable. His mother has his face! Or
should I say he has her face! She presented me with a bright orange
robe and a bright orange scarf – very sweet.
And the drum!!!!! I’ve never seen such a drum! It’s tuned too high now
– I must find a tuner and tune it – its small but incredibly heavy. I
think the sound will be amazing!
Other than tuning the drum and fixing my hair, the first priority today
is finding a flat. Right now we’re at a hotel in Garden City which is
about $28 a night for two people which is not bad, but it will be much
better to have our own place.
Last night after the airport hafla we got our wheels and cruised around
Cairo by night. We found an open restaurant at 4:30 am and opened a
huge table of delicious veggi stuff – foul, falafel, all kinds of
potatoes, salads, ect. Then we had my favorite barley tea. The whole
thing came to $1. Then we fell asleep to the sound of the morning call
too prayer.
Gotta go! Lots to do today!
February 15th, 7:30pm, Amsterdam
So we made it back to the airport in plenty of time!
It was actually a pleasant flight to Amsterdam. There was a nice movie
and I had luckly brought left over tofu stuffed with mushrooms a la
Rami which was good since there was no veggi food.
My only mistake was that I decided to start taking out my braids on the
flight – you see, once I start I become obsessive about it and cannot
stop until they’re all out. So now the braids are out and my hair is
totally knotty and staticky, and I don’t have a brush or a scrunchy!
What will I do!?!? Every one and his brother is coming to meet me at the
airport and I look like the Wild Woman of Hangui!
Amsterdam was nice – Rami and I made it out of the airport in record
time – he was determined to have as much quality Amsterdam time as
possible so we raced through. The airport is one of the nicest I’ve
seen – it works well – no long lines and everything’s convenient. We
put all our carry ons in a locker so we didn’t have to shlep them
around the city. There is a tram from the airport terminal to the
center of town.
Rami knew exactly which Coffee Shops to go to and we spent the day
going from one to the other. It was quite cold, much more so than New
York but I felt ok with a wool sweater, a hood, a hat, a pashmina
scarf, and Rami’s scarf. We sat in smoky coffee shops filled with
blurry – eyed people and drank tea after tea. Rami was in Heaven,
Now we’re on the plane to Cairo. My goal is to learn the Arabic
alphabet on this flight from a book I have but I’m pretty tired.
When I arrive I need to make a bee line for the ladies room and try to
fix my hair somewhat presentable for the airport hafla.
It was actually a pleasant flight to Amsterdam. There was a nice movie
and I had luckly brought left over tofu stuffed with mushrooms a la
Rami which was good since there was no veggi food.
My only mistake was that I decided to start taking out my braids on the
flight – you see, once I start I become obsessive about it and cannot
stop until they’re all out. So now the braids are out and my hair is
totally knotty and staticky, and I don’t have a brush or a scrunchy!
What will I do!?!? Every one and his brother is coming to meet me at the
airport and I look like the Wild Woman of Hangui!
Amsterdam was nice – Rami and I made it out of the airport in record
time – he was determined to have as much quality Amsterdam time as
possible so we raced through. The airport is one of the nicest I’ve
seen – it works well – no long lines and everything’s convenient. We
put all our carry ons in a locker so we didn’t have to shlep them
around the city. There is a tram from the airport terminal to the
center of town.
Rami knew exactly which Coffee Shops to go to and we spent the day
going from one to the other. It was quite cold, much more so than New
York but I felt ok with a wool sweater, a hood, a hat, a pashmina
scarf, and Rami’s scarf. We sat in smoky coffee shops filled with
blurry – eyed people and drank tea after tea. Rami was in Heaven,
Now we’re on the plane to Cairo. My goal is to learn the Arabic
alphabet on this flight from a book I have but I’m pretty tired.
When I arrive I need to make a bee line for the ladies room and try to
fix my hair somewhat presentable for the airport hafla.
JFK February 15
Here I am at the airport! At the last minute I decided to take my
laptop even though I was so tired of my laptop! For the last month
I’ve been working on my book all day because I wanted so much to finish
it before my trip! And I did! Today I mailed in my book to be made
500 copies! What a great feeling!
Also today we turned in the final copy of the new album “Jordan” to be
duplicated. Hopefully when I return I’ll have a new book and a new cd
out!
Osama actually took us to the airport, which was very sweet of him. He
felt obliged to do so because he had asked me if I could take a small
package for him to his family in Egypt and I said “sure” and he showed
up with two huge suitcases that I could hardly lift!
It’s a good thing they didn’t ask the standard security questions they
usually ask. Imagine if they asked “Did you pack your bags yourself?”
and if I replied, “Oh no, my friend Osama asked me to take these two
big suitcases for him- I have no idea what’s inside.”
I’m expecting an interesting hafla when we arrive at the airport in
Egypt at 1:00am. Among the people who may be there to meet us are:
Osama’s father mother and brother, bringing Osama’s mystical first
dumbek as a gift to me. Every since I met Osama he’s been telling me
about this drum – how they don’t make them like that anymore and how I
would sound so good on it. I look forward to trying it.
Saiid El- Artist’s son
Saiid El Artist, the famous dumbek player I’m going to perform with
will actually be giving a concert in Jordan when I arrive so he’s
sending his son to pick me up. Apparently he has organized an
apartment near him for us to rent.
Rami’s Cousins
Rami’s cousins are supposedly bringing us Rami’s late grandfather’s
Fiat so that we’ll have wheels for the month.
Andrea Zembehiko
She also offered to come to the airport. She arrived in Egypt a few
days ago and she’s been calling me and speaking English with an
Egyptian accent. Every time she calls she has 50 seconds on her phone
card so we get cut off after a few sentences.
But before that I have seven hours in Amsterdam with Rami! I hope we
make it back to the airport in time!
Xoxoxo
Raquy
laptop even though I was so tired of my laptop! For the last month
I’ve been working on my book all day because I wanted so much to finish
it before my trip! And I did! Today I mailed in my book to be made
500 copies! What a great feeling!
Also today we turned in the final copy of the new album “Jordan” to be
duplicated. Hopefully when I return I’ll have a new book and a new cd
out!
Osama actually took us to the airport, which was very sweet of him. He
felt obliged to do so because he had asked me if I could take a small
package for him to his family in Egypt and I said “sure” and he showed
up with two huge suitcases that I could hardly lift!
It’s a good thing they didn’t ask the standard security questions they
usually ask. Imagine if they asked “Did you pack your bags yourself?”
and if I replied, “Oh no, my friend Osama asked me to take these two
big suitcases for him- I have no idea what’s inside.”
I’m expecting an interesting hafla when we arrive at the airport in
Egypt at 1:00am. Among the people who may be there to meet us are:
Osama’s father mother and brother, bringing Osama’s mystical first
dumbek as a gift to me. Every since I met Osama he’s been telling me
about this drum – how they don’t make them like that anymore and how I
would sound so good on it. I look forward to trying it.
Saiid El- Artist’s son
Saiid El Artist, the famous dumbek player I’m going to perform with
will actually be giving a concert in Jordan when I arrive so he’s
sending his son to pick me up. Apparently he has organized an
apartment near him for us to rent.
Rami’s Cousins
Rami’s cousins are supposedly bringing us Rami’s late grandfather’s
Fiat so that we’ll have wheels for the month.
Andrea Zembehiko
She also offered to come to the airport. She arrived in Egypt a few
days ago and she’s been calling me and speaking English with an
Egyptian accent. Every time she calls she has 50 seconds on her phone
card so we get cut off after a few sentences.
But before that I have seven hours in Amsterdam with Rami! I hope we
make it back to the airport in time!
Xoxoxo
Raquy
