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An Interview with the NightDancers

Music for Meditation, Reflection or Therapy, Day or Night
An Interview with the NightDancers
By Mark Kirby

When you ask someone why he or she likes a band, performer or style of music, the usual response is either, "they're awesome," “they rock" or "it's fun stuff." And as for musicians, the reason they play music either involves "the call" to do so or the ego-driven need to stand in front of a crowd. But why do we even have music? Is it, as Shakespeare stated, "to soothe the savage beast"? It's not like it's life or death. Or is it? For Gera Clark and John Sarantos, who perform on Native American flutes as the NightDancers, music is that deep. Mr. Santos started with the simple desire to express himself musically, but discovered that the Native American flute takes one beyond pigeonholed functions, including new-age "meditation" music.

[Mark Kirby] What kind of music was played in your home when you were growing up?

[Gera Clark] My mother played classical music on the piano as an escape from her existence as an urban housewife raising four children. My father fancied himself as being Bing Crosby and I would catch him now and then trying to learn the cha cha. We also listened to some of my relatives' records, one being Seamus Ennis, my grand uncle who played the Uilleann pipes.

[Mark Kirby] How did you come to start playing the Native American flute?

[Gera Clark] After the death of my husband and a quick rebound marriage and divorce, followed by a prolonged critical illness, I began to put my life back together. I also began searching for beauty.

One day, I found myself about a hundred miles west of New York standing outside a Tibetan Buddhist Temple, when suddenly I heard the most beautiful sound. I discovered it [was] emanating from a Native American flute, played by Ed Callshim (Ponca Sioux). After this experience, I finally found a flute of my own. Later, a deep desire to connect with my earlier travels in the southwest was awakened. On one particular journey, I found myself exploring the canyons along the Rio Grande. Eventually I was led to the mountains and the Taos Pueblo, where I heard that haunting sound drifting through the air. I followed it to its source, a little adobe. Looking inside, I met a kind gentleman who encouraged me to play the native flute. That gentleman, unbeknownst to me at the time, is one of the finest Native American flute players in the world, John Rainer, Jr. (Taos/Creek).

On my birthday, I flew out to an R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo/Ute) concert with the San Francisco Symphony, where I learned about the Renaissance of the Native American Flute workshop in Montana. I came back to New York and booked myself a flight to Montana, which was where I met John Sarantos, and our musical partnership was born.

[John Sarantos] My mother, who was 84 years old at the time, introduced me to the Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai duo. I went to their concert in Chicago, where Nakai mentioned a week-long workshop in Helena, Montana. I had a choice of paying $1,200 for the flute workshop taught by Mr. Nakai, or going to Japan for two weeks, all expenses paid by the school where I was teaching. I chose Montana.

Photo by Sandro Lamberti

[Mark Kirby] What led you to play meditative music?

[John Sarantos] We don't think of it as only meditative music. We worked hard to stay away from falling into that stereotype. Although a lot of people use our record for meditation, they also use it for healing and relaxation. Several people who have cancer told me that they find inner peace while listening to ‘Montana Crossings'.

[Gera Clark] After John had his cancer surgery last year, we decided that 10% of the gross sales from ‘Montana Crossings' would be used to buy flutes for cancer patients. So far, we have donated flutes to cancer flute circles and individuals in New York City, Chicago, Lansing, Michigan and Jefferson City, Oregon.

[Mark Kirby] How did you arrive at the name of NightDancers?

[Gera Clark] One day John and I discovered that we both used to walk around our individual houses in the middle of the night without any lights on. We came up with the name Night Walkers.

[John Sarantos] However, most people we talked to thought that the name sounded too much like vampires or ladies of the evening.

[Gera Clark] After discussing a variety of names, we came up with NightDancers.

[Mark Kirby] How are your track titles indicative of what the music is supposed to evoke?

[John Sarantos] Hopefully, each person will have their own emotional response to the music depending on their own journey.

[Gera Clark] One of our goals is to help spread the beauty of the flute to others, whether it be playing our music or sharing our knowledge on how to play the flute.

[John Sarantos] We play in a variety of venues for all types of events. You can view our schedule at: http://www.nightdancersmusic.com and http://www.myspace.com/nightdancersmusic.

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Hit Me Music Releases First Ever Studio Album From DJ Reset

Hit Me Music proudly presents DJ Reset's first ever studio album, "Speaker Bunny" available now digitally worldwide. The highly anticipated set includes original music written, produced, and performed by DJ Reset, the critically acclaimed recording artist and producer who made history with the first commercial mash-up released on a major record label.

http://www.hitmemusic.com/Crush.mp3

"Speaker Bunny" is out now on Hit Me Music and available at iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, GroupieTunes, mTraks, Last.FM, Audio Lunchbox, Ruckus, Mbop, Lala, and Track It Down

For more information and licensing inquiries, please email marat@hitmemusic.com

About Hit Me Music
Hit Me Music, LLC is a music-based content and talent management company with the mission statement to establish and build a global entertainment brand. For new media and latest news on Hit Me Music, visit the label online at http://www.hitmemusic.com

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Koko Dozo at Nublu, NYC - July 29th

www.kokodozo.com

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Best Of The Batch: Primitive Sound System - Just Jazz

* Album: Just Jazz
* Artist: Primitive Sound System
* Genre: Jazz... "like sipping a Grand Marnier at the end of a long day!"

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REVIEW: Lorraine Reid - How Can I Keep Him

A Review by Mark Kirby

Over a decade ago, rappers Chuck D and Public Enemy asked, "Who Stole the Soul?" Today, after Christina Aguilera's R&B-infused Back To Basics double CD and the Amy Winehouse soul explosion, the real question is, "Who stole it back?" Part of the answer can be found in Lorraine Reid's single "How Can I Keep Him Lovin' Me?"

It always comes as a surprise when I hear a modern R&B singer who has both the pipes to belt out with intensity and the good taste to let the song tell the story, choosing to not over-saturate a classic melody with vocal gymnastics. Reid dazzles her listeners with the perfect balance of vocals, just like the classic soul, rock and pop singers did back in the day. This timeless track by the Canadian, 7-time Juno nominee would fit right in with the best of soul and funk in any age.

"How Can I Keep Him Lovin' Me?" begins to amaze listeners with its instrumentals -- the keyboard starts with mellow soul chords and is followed by gently plucked guitar and sparse bass that flows with restrained energy even while in ballad mode. The drums play a beat that has previously anchored old pop and soul songs as well as bawdy stripper show tunes; it's a beat that is part-waltz, part-easy-going phat back groove. While this stew is bubbling, Ms. Reid tells the story: "No more than 15 but grown before her time / This young girl was seekin' love from men who would dim the lights / How can I keep him lovin' me? / Here she was still seeking love / it was no where to be found." Aside from the modern beat of the drums and the contemporary soul sound, the track is undeniably old school because it deals with real people and real-life issues, concepts that are often lost in mainstream music today.

The sales of R&B records -- as with those of hip-hop and most other genres -- continue to slump. Illegal downloads aside, the vast majority of these records deal with unattainable fantasies of sex, glamour, white linen suits and matching Bentleys. People who have just been laid off, had their benefits run out, or their home foreclosed don't want to hear about such lavish topics. And they can't even afford to buy overpriced CDs, anyway. That's why real people, especially women, like Mary J. Blige's tales of being a survivor. Like Blige, Reid tells a tale of survival and, like the best soul and gospel singers, past and present, she goes beyond this simple tale: "At 22, a mom of two, but she was still a child / Her mama's advice to her was a message meek and mild / what this baby boy sees in you I tried my whole life to find / so dry your tears, my baby girl, you're lookin' at piece of mind." Throughout the song, Reid's vocals follow the lyrics and melody on a rollercoaster of emotion, saving the soaring peaks of her sweet yet powerful voice for the pinnacles of the song, especially the last lines. By the end of "How Can I Keep Him Lovin' Me?", the sadness becomes both redemption and a spiritual epiphany -- all because of the power of love. Now ain't that what soul music is all about?

www.myspace.com/lorrainereid

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