Cardamonics Practice in the Forrest

Rahul and Zamir practice in the forest of Coquitlam BC

Top 10 Behind the Scenes storylines/points of interest at the Olympics

What is not being seen on TV coverage of the Olympics is also worth appreciating. The side stories that are making up this adventure are a worth a some retelling. To name my top 10:

1. Protests and silent protests-Lots of Vancouverites who refuse to watch the games due to its impacts on the homefront
2. General cacophony - the overall acoustic outcome of having over 200, 000 visitors come from all over the world into tiny Vancouver. The linguistic outcome of this, mixed with patriotic upheaval in those their native language can be a sonic journey.
3. Coffee culture - people grounding themselves in a cup of joe is worldwide phenomenon. When people are away from home on an adventure like this, what is that feeling they get when they sip a good Vancouver coffee? You know, that feeling of the first sip of the perfect coffee in a far away land? It's incredible, even if you are homesick, coffee relinquishes a sense of homefulness instaneously, if only momentarily.
4. High Fives - The high five hardly remains a gesture limited to the sport stadium. It is a gesture we use to communicate a collapse of the ego for one split second in time. The "clap" sends equal shivers and shockwaves of enthusiasm down the bodies of the people involved, a bridge if you will, between souls. Now imagine this happening by the thousands, every hour and minute here in Vancouver....between strangers! Imagine you had a giant ear that could hear all of them once?
5. Red - I would generally regard red as a fairly intense colour. Deep red is even more intense. Now consider that most of the merchandise available is that deep patriotic red copious like blood in the body and that every fourth person I come across here is draped in redness., However there does seem to be a scarcity of these collector gloves http://blushstopshere.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/2010-red-mittens-flying-off-the-shelves/).
6. Tent City - A makeshift city of tents was devised near the downtown core to to show the solidarity of the homeless in Vancouver. The hundreds who stayed there were all housed in small tents and given access to clean water, food and sanitizing stations.
7. Helicopters - lots of them over Vancouver. Doing what helicopters do:being noisy, invasive and sometimes good in times of emergency (case in point, did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci is credited with the first helicopter blueprints http://www.livescience.com/history/davinci_bestideas_top10-1.html)
8. National Anthem spontaneous outburts - about 12 Canadian national anthems heard a day on the streets can be a little much considering the alcohol usually associated, and the fact that no one seems to sing the Quebecois version
9. Amateur Photographers: everywhere! With the advent of affordable digital SLRs comes the inevitable tabloid effect. Everything is being photographed here.
10. Dancing in the Street: Spontaneous outbursts of kinesthetic enthusiasm and flash mobs that involve dance are a good thing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzVuLTPYtk4)

5 Cool Inventions Promoted via the Olympics:
1. Brainwaves in Vancouver controlling CN Tower lights in Eastern Canada (http://watchermeetup.50.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3222&start=0)
2. Peak to Peak technology chairlifts
(http://www.examiner.com/sitemaps/x-36901-Vancouver-Infrastructure-Examiner~y2010m2d1-2010-Olympic-Peak-to-Peak-Gondola)
3. The Canada Line, a revolution in passenger transportation, at least for BC
(http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/TransLink+carried+million+passengers+during+Games/2715010/story.html)
4. Inner City Cable flying spider man antics
(http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/764372--dimanno-flying-on-a-string-and-a-prayer)
5. Sustainable Dance Floor Technology
(http://www.nicernews.com/2010/02/olympics-attraction-sustainable-dance-floor-at-club-energy/)

It's 2am and the night is still alive. Vancouver has digested an extra dose of caffeine (which could be justified by the extra care this city's baristas put into their coffee) and it doesn't seem to sleep. The late night fireworks in the streets, parties everywhere in the downtown core, and all the hubs hosting afterhour everythings! A mangle and mingle of many languages rolled into a single auditory stroll down the street, can leave your linguistic centres in a knot. Yet the collective slogans of the games seem to be "Wooooo" and "Go Canada Wooo", which I reckon are agreeable statements and messages which should resonate in the consciousness of many. Yep patriotism runs strong, if the red clothing and face paint didn't prove it, how about all the collective gatherings around projection screens in Yaletown? Of course the spontaneous outbursts of Oh Canada on Granville street are a force to be reckoned with, especially with pizza slices in hand and mouth!

I am having an afterhour jam at the moment, with friends who have deep interests in the musical magic mayhems of the shakers. This is just the wind down from two amazing days performing. The first was spent in front of the Vancouver Public Library with Zamir's brother Shak on the beatbox, playing some sweet beatbox panpipes. We were at Stanely Park today and played beautiful music at Prospect Point to a wide range of locals and visitors. The air was fresh, the sun was high, the sky was blue, and the ocean too. Nothing beats playing music in natural settings, parks and forrests are truely musical homes for the hang and flute. It helps having a battery powered amps to boost and cut through the blowing wind and into the inner ears of listeners. We seemed to move many into dancing, sitting and taking photos! It's fun to play music in places I used to walk on as a child. I totally loved hearing the eagles call after we played.

Playing music for adoring crowds in Yaletown, Vancouver






On the mean, drunken streets of Granville, a belly dancer and some rhythm to accompany the late night parties. Dangerous combination.


Woke with friends Zamir and Mariko, we all went for a beautiful run through the forest to start our days energized. The sun is beaming like it was spring, tricking all the flowers and cherry blossoms into their seasonal bloom. Our first official day street performing was yesterday...what an experience. People from all walks of life...Chinese, Indian, Dutch, Italian, English (it's the Olympics so I would hesitate to list all the worlds cultures here) roaming the streets searching for a connection. We chose to experiment performing with two mindstates: first where we were the flowing rivers, and if the fish were thirsty they would find us and rejuvenate. Secondly, when night struck, we were in search of the fish. Our search yielded juiced up and rowdy crowds, willing to watch and share in the excitement, but less willing to donate! We are trying to pay for our album here! That's ok, we had an adventure...performing for the world.

We woke up in Coquitlam BC (Zamir on left, Rahul on the right), surrounded by suburban houses that are situated on an upward scaling mountain. Zamir's backyard is essentially a forest, hence we trotted in the morning hours into a green region where streams and trees complimented the sounds of the flute and hang.


In the studio...Working with the guest artists.


Zamir lays down a little Dumbek rhythm to compliment the new track.

We were motivated by the mixing of our producer, the quality of sound coming out of the speakers and the SUN which came beaming through the windows, and gave that boost of energy in the session. You need that sometimes, they say recording sessions can be the hardest place for a musician to be, because you're under the microscope. Hence the best recordings come out of a place of feeling natural. We felt most natural both playing in the same room, feeding off the harmonies of eachother and not working in isolation.

OLYMPICS! Vancouver I'm here to Busk the Streets!

Ceremonies

Patriotism

Performances
Protests

People


The Olympic games are here is Vancouver, there is a shot full of the espresso of life, and the raw sugar of a truly westcoast experience. Witnessing my hometown undergo this urban shift, is like witnessing a kind of puberty: mixed emotions, changes in appearance, altered landscapes. But like anything that has the ability to transform, we can only hope that the changes that are undergoing are meaningful and facilitate a positive change. I am here to record a CD, and perform for thousands on the streets of Vancouver as a street performer!