New Video "Starwalk" - January 7, 2008
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Stephan Mikes: News/Videos
Hookahville to Harrisburg - May 29, 2007
Wow, what an experience! 3 days of
Peace,Love and Music at Hookahville!
Special thanks go out to Steve of
Legend Valley and Ekoostic Hookah
for inviting me to play. I had a Sitar
Side stage where I played afternoon
'tweener sets and the highlite was the late night set with my good bud
Dana Keller on pedal steel and insane, trippy video projections
by our new friend Rob from Ann Arbor. My road manager Bruce said that his favorite part was when Lisa Simpson morphed into a
monster during "Shiva's Bolero"
It's hard to say which was more fun though, the late night set or
the guest peformances I did with
four different bands, each with unique styles. On Friday I sat in with the MOST excellent jam/bluegrass band Hot Buttered Rum.
I played on their song "Sweet Honey Fountain" which has a very trippy Eastern break in the middle, and the traditional bluegrass song "Norwegian Wood"
With six stringed instruments on stage, including fiddle, banjo, mandolin,guitar, bass, and sitar, we thought it was a possible world
record for most twang on stage at once. The result was labled
HinduGrass.
Saturday was very busy starting
out the day was a sit-in with the
MacPodz from Ann Arbor,who lable their music as "Disco Bebop"
These guys Rock and can make a 23 beat pattern dancable! I started their first song with the Invocation Raga Kalyan, which then morphed into a very heavy groove!
Later in the day I did a short Afternoon solo set on the Sitar Stage, and then watched excellent sets by the Wailers and Rusted Root. After that is when things got very interesting. A last minute hookup resulted in me getting to sit-in with Ekoostic Hookah during thier last set of the
weekend.They graciously gave me lots of space, and we possibly went where no sitar has gone before. Sitting on a high riser surrounded by smoke, it looked like I was floating on a cloud above the band as i played.
Then it got even MORE interesting as I got a chance to play with one of my Favorite new
bands, the most excellent TEA LEAF GREEN from San Francisco.
We did a ripping version of their song "5000 Acres" and then went into "Morning Sun", where the band surprised me with extended space and I had a lot of fun trading
lines with Trevor on keys.
We had scheduled one more late night set with video, but after TLG we were all toasted, and the energy started to dissipate, and Hookahville 27 wound down to the end.
On Monday, it was East to Harrisburg for a day playing at
the Harrisburg Artsfest. Thanks to all my friends and fans who waited patiently for my late arrival on Monday. A very secial thanks to my great friend and benefactor Vishnu of Passage to India. If you are in the area don't
miss a chance to eat at what i consider to be the best Indian restaurant in the country.
More later,Peace Out!
Peace,Love and Music at Hookahville!
Special thanks go out to Steve of
Legend Valley and Ekoostic Hookah
for inviting me to play. I had a Sitar
Side stage where I played afternoon
'tweener sets and the highlite was the late night set with my good bud
Dana Keller on pedal steel and insane, trippy video projections
by our new friend Rob from Ann Arbor. My road manager Bruce said that his favorite part was when Lisa Simpson morphed into a
monster during "Shiva's Bolero"
It's hard to say which was more fun though, the late night set or
the guest peformances I did with
four different bands, each with unique styles. On Friday I sat in with the MOST excellent jam/bluegrass band Hot Buttered Rum.
I played on their song "Sweet Honey Fountain" which has a very trippy Eastern break in the middle, and the traditional bluegrass song "Norwegian Wood"
With six stringed instruments on stage, including fiddle, banjo, mandolin,guitar, bass, and sitar, we thought it was a possible world
record for most twang on stage at once. The result was labled
HinduGrass.
Saturday was very busy starting
out the day was a sit-in with the
MacPodz from Ann Arbor,who lable their music as "Disco Bebop"
These guys Rock and can make a 23 beat pattern dancable! I started their first song with the Invocation Raga Kalyan, which then morphed into a very heavy groove!
Later in the day I did a short Afternoon solo set on the Sitar Stage, and then watched excellent sets by the Wailers and Rusted Root. After that is when things got very interesting. A last minute hookup resulted in me getting to sit-in with Ekoostic Hookah during thier last set of the
weekend.They graciously gave me lots of space, and we possibly went where no sitar has gone before. Sitting on a high riser surrounded by smoke, it looked like I was floating on a cloud above the band as i played.
Then it got even MORE interesting as I got a chance to play with one of my Favorite new
bands, the most excellent TEA LEAF GREEN from San Francisco.
We did a ripping version of their song "5000 Acres" and then went into "Morning Sun", where the band surprised me with extended space and I had a lot of fun trading
lines with Trevor on keys.
We had scheduled one more late night set with video, but after TLG we were all toasted, and the energy started to dissipate, and Hookahville 27 wound down to the end.
On Monday, it was East to Harrisburg for a day playing at
the Harrisburg Artsfest. Thanks to all my friends and fans who waited patiently for my late arrival on Monday. A very secial thanks to my great friend and benefactor Vishnu of Passage to India. If you are in the area don't
miss a chance to eat at what i consider to be the best Indian restaurant in the country.
More later,Peace Out!
Whats Up - May 12, 2007
Latest News--
I am currently getting ready to leave for Ann Arbor and Hookahville
(that actually sounds like fun!) this week after 2 private gigs at Ngala
and Vizcaya. Hookahville is going to be VERY cool with my own side stage for the entire festival. Joining me will be my good friends Dana Keller on Dobro and Pedal Steel guitar
and Dave Simon master of sax and flute.Also possibly an appearance by Daveed Korup, percussionist
extrodinaire www.drumfest.com
Also check out my new myspace
page at www.myspace.com/stephanmikessitaristcomposer
I'll be putting up new pix and music regularly.
namasté
Stephan
I am currently getting ready to leave for Ann Arbor and Hookahville
(that actually sounds like fun!) this week after 2 private gigs at Ngala
and Vizcaya. Hookahville is going to be VERY cool with my own side stage for the entire festival. Joining me will be my good friends Dana Keller on Dobro and Pedal Steel guitar
and Dave Simon master of sax and flute.Also possibly an appearance by Daveed Korup, percussionist
extrodinaire www.drumfest.com
Also check out my new myspace
page at www.myspace.com/stephanmikessitaristcomposer
I'll be putting up new pix and music regularly.
namasté
Stephan
Back from NAMM - January 25, 2007
i just got back from the NAMM show in LA on Monday and am finally a bit rested up .It was great to see and connect with many friends both old and new.A BIG shout out to Jose of Paradise Records, Good to see you after such a long time.Greetings also to those who got thier first sitar lessons,and some their first sitar.
Keep in touch!
I also made connections with Relix Magazine and GlobalRythym
Magazine, and gave the final outline for my new book to Mel Bay.
Also, a big HEY to Mitch from HEAR for the great work he is doing to save musicians fine ears!
If you are lucky,you'll also catch him playing bass with Iko-Iko (maybe the sitar soon).
A few of the g-rated pix from the show will be in the Photo Gallery soon.
Later and Namasté
Stephan
Keep in touch!
I also made connections with Relix Magazine and GlobalRythym
Magazine, and gave the final outline for my new book to Mel Bay.
Also, a big HEY to Mitch from HEAR for the great work he is doing to save musicians fine ears!
If you are lucky,you'll also catch him playing bass with Iko-Iko (maybe the sitar soon).
A few of the g-rated pix from the show will be in the Photo Gallery soon.
Later and Namasté
Stephan
Off to NAMM - January 15, 2007
Day after tomorrow I'll be heading out to Anaheim , CA to do some performances for Mid-East on a Radha Krishna Sharma sitar. Performances will be in their booth from 1 to 3 pm.
If you are in the biz, come and say hi. We'll be in the shadow of WallyWorld right across the street.
If you are in the biz, come and say hi. We'll be in the shadow of WallyWorld right across the street.
Just Back From My Tour of Sitarmkers in India - January 10, 2007
WOW!! The most amazing trip of a lifetime! We traversed the subcontinent to meet some of the best sitarmakers in India.I was able to witness and at times take part in the entire process of making a sitar from a log that was almost 25 ft.long and a raw gourd to the final steps of finishing and adjusting the frets.I'm starting to post some initial photos now in the photo gallery, have a peek, more to come soon.
My Favorite Article! - December 16, 2006
Favorite article about my music ever written (so far); especially the last paragraph!
From the Charlotte Sun newspaper
"Sitar Player fuses East and West in music"
by Sandy Copperman
One of the perks of a music writer is the opportunity to find new genres of music, especially when one least expects it.
Last Saturday, when I visited the Sullivan Street Spring Craft Festival in Punta Gorda, I saw and heard a sitar player sitting in a booth a block from Retta Esplanade.
He was sitting cross-legged with his feet tucked under him, and he was rocking to and fro in rhythm to the Indian music he was playing. The sound of the sitar combined with the background provided by the synthesizer was beguiling, yet relaxing, so I stopped and listened to this intriguing and unique music.
As I listened, fascinated, I read a poster, set up front, which announced this artist's name, Stephan Mikés, and the many favorable critical reviews he's received. He performs, composes and records his own compositions. His many CDs were displayed on the front rack for sale.
After he'd completed playing the song, I introduced myself and asked him some questions, which he answered cordially.
I asked him how he became interested in music, especially the sitar.
"I started as a rock musician in the '60s," he said. "In the '80s, I studied sitar under the instruction of a student of Ravi Shankar, Roop Verma. After six years of rigorous training, I began to blend the classical Indian music that I'd learned with many ethnic music influences into my own personal style. Part of this is a fusion of Afro-Cuban jazz with Indian music."
"There are different types of sitar playing," Mikes continued. For example, the lively vs. the mellow. Ravi Shankar espoused the lively style, while my teacher, his student, developed his own mellow style, just as I am doing."
Mikes said he was about to leave on a tour of 13 U.S. cities.
Listening to two more selections of this pleasant music while sipping hot coffee, I heard first a jazzy piece called "Shiva's Bolero." I could feel a sinuous, sensuous energy that permeated the music and relaxed one's soul.
The next selection, called "Blue Largo," was lethargic in mood. Like a tropical breeze, the rhythm's swaying and the melody's swinging felt calming to the mind and uplifting.
While I listened, I read the flier that had Mikes' biography. A native of Chicago, his family moved to Pennsylvania, where he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, majoring in philosophy and anthropology.
The flier said he combines his knowledge of Eastern music with the influences of Latin, Middle Eastern, Afro-Cuban and Caribbean music.
"My music is a kind of microcosm of the different cultures in Miami rolled into one," he said. "I took all of their rhythmic and melodic influences, combined it with my classical Indian training, and that's how the music came together."
"(My music teacher) taught me one of the most basic tenets: What is your intention when you create your music? Whatever your intention is behind your music, that's what people are going to get, no matter what kind of music it is."
Besides many nominations for Florida music awards, Mikes has been featured on various commercial and public television programs. He has composed for a ballet company, a TV soundtrack and for studio recording projects.
His performance credits include playing for President Clinton's 50th birthday celebration in 1996 from the Biltmore in Coral Gables. He also performed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and in Boston at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.
He has performed at many of Ivana Trump's black tie events, and he has played for prestigious gatherings at upscale art centers, museums and art festivals. He has also performed at most of the major jazz and rock clubs in South Florida.
There is a satisfaction in discovery of a unique artist. Original music is never created in the music factories of large record companies, on network TV or in major movie studios. As with artists in general, true musical creativity can only happen with independent artists like Stephan Mikes.
From the Charlotte Sun newspaper
"Sitar Player fuses East and West in music"
by Sandy Copperman
One of the perks of a music writer is the opportunity to find new genres of music, especially when one least expects it.
Last Saturday, when I visited the Sullivan Street Spring Craft Festival in Punta Gorda, I saw and heard a sitar player sitting in a booth a block from Retta Esplanade.
He was sitting cross-legged with his feet tucked under him, and he was rocking to and fro in rhythm to the Indian music he was playing. The sound of the sitar combined with the background provided by the synthesizer was beguiling, yet relaxing, so I stopped and listened to this intriguing and unique music.
As I listened, fascinated, I read a poster, set up front, which announced this artist's name, Stephan Mikés, and the many favorable critical reviews he's received. He performs, composes and records his own compositions. His many CDs were displayed on the front rack for sale.
After he'd completed playing the song, I introduced myself and asked him some questions, which he answered cordially.
I asked him how he became interested in music, especially the sitar.
"I started as a rock musician in the '60s," he said. "In the '80s, I studied sitar under the instruction of a student of Ravi Shankar, Roop Verma. After six years of rigorous training, I began to blend the classical Indian music that I'd learned with many ethnic music influences into my own personal style. Part of this is a fusion of Afro-Cuban jazz with Indian music."
"There are different types of sitar playing," Mikes continued. For example, the lively vs. the mellow. Ravi Shankar espoused the lively style, while my teacher, his student, developed his own mellow style, just as I am doing."
Mikes said he was about to leave on a tour of 13 U.S. cities.
Listening to two more selections of this pleasant music while sipping hot coffee, I heard first a jazzy piece called "Shiva's Bolero." I could feel a sinuous, sensuous energy that permeated the music and relaxed one's soul.
The next selection, called "Blue Largo," was lethargic in mood. Like a tropical breeze, the rhythm's swaying and the melody's swinging felt calming to the mind and uplifting.
While I listened, I read the flier that had Mikes' biography. A native of Chicago, his family moved to Pennsylvania, where he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, majoring in philosophy and anthropology.
The flier said he combines his knowledge of Eastern music with the influences of Latin, Middle Eastern, Afro-Cuban and Caribbean music.
"My music is a kind of microcosm of the different cultures in Miami rolled into one," he said. "I took all of their rhythmic and melodic influences, combined it with my classical Indian training, and that's how the music came together."
"(My music teacher) taught me one of the most basic tenets: What is your intention when you create your music? Whatever your intention is behind your music, that's what people are going to get, no matter what kind of music it is."
Besides many nominations for Florida music awards, Mikes has been featured on various commercial and public television programs. He has composed for a ballet company, a TV soundtrack and for studio recording projects.
His performance credits include playing for President Clinton's 50th birthday celebration in 1996 from the Biltmore in Coral Gables. He also performed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and in Boston at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.
He has performed at many of Ivana Trump's black tie events, and he has played for prestigious gatherings at upscale art centers, museums and art festivals. He has also performed at most of the major jazz and rock clubs in South Florida.
There is a satisfaction in discovery of a unique artist. Original music is never created in the music factories of large record companies, on network TV or in major movie studios. As with artists in general, true musical creativity can only happen with independent artists like Stephan Mikes.
I ran across this posting and it moved me,thanks, - November 13, 2006
Have you learned to speak with your soul?
This weekend the family and I we went to a festival in Ferndale and had a wonderful time. We have finally located an artist to do the "Mother and Child" sketches we want to get done. Her pricing is very reasonable and we were very pleased with what we saw of her work samples. I ran up on an artist, Stephan Mikes (sitar player), playing World Jazz and was taken on a ride to another land. I was so moved by his music I began swaying in the streets and getting lost in the mixture of sounds. We must appreciate it all Good People. Life is not about being black or beige, its not about being in the bubbles that we are constantly screaming we are oppressed into and cant get out. Its not about living in a box of can'ts because we couldnt and the theys that wont let us, because its all bull and limitations we stick on ourselves. I used to get so tired of hearing it (Ive removed those elements from my life) and being in the presence of the ignorance preached about over and over by slaves about being enslaved yet they fail to realize they are shackled by an ignorance all their own. Be black, if you want to. Be Open, if you want to. But for the goodness sake, be human and live. If one thing was created for only one, it would be given to only one. But music, and literature, adventures, lands, languages, foods, cultures and lifestyles...they are all free. I am most glad I have reached a point in my life where I know the meaning of this. Brother Stephan sat barefooted with his leg folded beneath him, in passion with his own creations as they entertained us. He looked me in my eye when I handed him money. He spoke thank you clearly and continued playing his music for me. I turned to see my family enjoying it as much as I was and again was reminded that we are one in so many things. I love them so. Peace to Brother Stephan~ Stephan Mike, Dakini Beach - Sitar, World Jazz So I purchased his CD, Dakini Beach and am enjoying this fall day with the sounds of it filling my home. Peace!~Nia
This weekend the family and I we went to a festival in Ferndale and had a wonderful time. We have finally located an artist to do the "Mother and Child" sketches we want to get done. Her pricing is very reasonable and we were very pleased with what we saw of her work samples. I ran up on an artist, Stephan Mikes (sitar player), playing World Jazz and was taken on a ride to another land. I was so moved by his music I began swaying in the streets and getting lost in the mixture of sounds. We must appreciate it all Good People. Life is not about being black or beige, its not about being in the bubbles that we are constantly screaming we are oppressed into and cant get out. Its not about living in a box of can'ts because we couldnt and the theys that wont let us, because its all bull and limitations we stick on ourselves. I used to get so tired of hearing it (Ive removed those elements from my life) and being in the presence of the ignorance preached about over and over by slaves about being enslaved yet they fail to realize they are shackled by an ignorance all their own. Be black, if you want to. Be Open, if you want to. But for the goodness sake, be human and live. If one thing was created for only one, it would be given to only one. But music, and literature, adventures, lands, languages, foods, cultures and lifestyles...they are all free. I am most glad I have reached a point in my life where I know the meaning of this. Brother Stephan sat barefooted with his leg folded beneath him, in passion with his own creations as they entertained us. He looked me in my eye when I handed him money. He spoke thank you clearly and continued playing his music for me. I turned to see my family enjoying it as much as I was and again was reminded that we are one in so many things. I love them so. Peace to Brother Stephan~ Stephan Mike, Dakini Beach - Sitar, World Jazz So I purchased his CD, Dakini Beach and am enjoying this fall day with the sounds of it filling my home. Peace!~Nia
Welcome! - October 10, 2006
Greetings and Warm Salutations!
I'm checking in from my summer tour, and will be updating my schedule as dates are solidly confirmed. I will also be adding anecdotes and 'road stories' about each of the shows, and let you know what to expect coming up in the near future.
In the meantime, all of my recordings are up at the CDBaby site, the link is on my products page. Thanks for visiting,and please sign my guestbook and e-mail list.
Namaste!
Stephan Mikes
I'm checking in from my summer tour, and will be updating my schedule as dates are solidly confirmed. I will also be adding anecdotes and 'road stories' about each of the shows, and let you know what to expect coming up in the near future.
In the meantime, all of my recordings are up at the CDBaby site, the link is on my products page. Thanks for visiting,and please sign my guestbook and e-mail list.
Namaste!
Stephan Mikes
Indian Cultural School Program - September 13, 2006
“kalakar”
St. Paul’s School celebrate India
In India, Kalakars are folk artists whose tradition of extraordinary artistry, creativity and craftsmanship date back hundreds of years. At St. Paul’s school in Jacksonville Beach, India was the featured country in a daylong cultural immersion for teachers and students.
Stephen Mikes of Miami demonstrates the art of making music with a sitar to a group of third grade students at St. Paul’s School in Jacksonville Beach.
Each year students choose a country and learn its customs, cuisine, arts and religion to celebrate the annual art festival held during Catholic Schools Week. The gymnasium was transformed into a bazaar with exhibits on display presented by volunteers from the Hindu Society of Northeast Florida. Throughout the day, students were able to taste Indian food, dress in native costumes and have mehndi, a temporary body art, applied to hands and forearms.
Sitar player Stephan Mikes sat cross-legged in front of the altar inside the church playing for groups of students. Inside the school, Sangeetha Subramanian performed an Indian classical dance to Ganesh, the elephant-face god symbolizing intellect and wisdom. Guest lecturers gave presentations to the older students on the history of the Hindu religion and the culture of their country for a day.
St. Paul’s School celebrate India
In India, Kalakars are folk artists whose tradition of extraordinary artistry, creativity and craftsmanship date back hundreds of years. At St. Paul’s school in Jacksonville Beach, India was the featured country in a daylong cultural immersion for teachers and students.
Stephen Mikes of Miami demonstrates the art of making music with a sitar to a group of third grade students at St. Paul’s School in Jacksonville Beach.
Each year students choose a country and learn its customs, cuisine, arts and religion to celebrate the annual art festival held during Catholic Schools Week. The gymnasium was transformed into a bazaar with exhibits on display presented by volunteers from the Hindu Society of Northeast Florida. Throughout the day, students were able to taste Indian food, dress in native costumes and have mehndi, a temporary body art, applied to hands and forearms.
Sitar player Stephan Mikes sat cross-legged in front of the altar inside the church playing for groups of students. Inside the school, Sangeetha Subramanian performed an Indian classical dance to Ganesh, the elephant-face god symbolizing intellect and wisdom. Guest lecturers gave presentations to the older students on the history of the Hindu religion and the culture of their country for a day.