(photo by Stephanie Woodard)
I'm involved in an exciting music project that has been brewing for several months and is just now seeing the light of day: a Persian rock band. Yes, you heard right. Iran had a vibrant pop music scene in the 1960s and '70s, before the Islamic revolution moved in. And now, 35 years later, vocalist/arranger/bandleader Yvette Perez is giving that music new life here in the Western Hemisphere.
The group, Mitra Sumara -- for that is our name -- had a test run at the Westbeth Center for the Arts last Sunday, and so far, all systems are go. Yvette sings all lyrics in Farsi. The lineup is as follows:
- Yvette -- vocals (Birdbrain, H.E.R.)
- Julian Maile -- guitar (Loser's Lounge)
- Sam Kulik -- bass (Talibam!)
- Jeff Hermanson -- trumpet (Stew and the Negro Problem, Yo La Tengo)
- Peter Zummo -- trombone (Arthur Russell, Lounge Lizards)
- Jim Duffy -- keyboard (Jim Duffy Combo, Martin's Folly, Rods and Cones)
- Bill Ruyle -- hammer dulcimer and tabla (Arthur Russell)
- Michael Evans -- drums and percussion (Alex Hacke, Anders Nilsson, God Is My Co-Pilot)
We'll have some public events coming up in November and December, so please stay tuned. This is some of the most challenging and rewarding music I have ever played. And to be on the bandstand with such high-caliber musicians is an honor. We have been rehearsing hard and often to get this music to bounce and shake the way it should.
Mitra Sumara. Say it a couple of times and it becomes natural.