“Woot!” – Don Godwin, Tuba

December 31: Raya Brass Band will be blowing in the new year with style, finesse and a whole bunch of hot Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek, Roma and original tunes. C’mon 2013!

After a few years off, the members of the Zagnut Cirkus Orkestar who now play in Raya Brass Band are pleased to be returning to Barbes to countdown to 2013 with chests stuck out, legs lifted high and arms overhead in true Balkan dance stylee. We will rock out to some Macedonian tuba music courtesy of Don Godwin, sweet Roma style licks by saxophonist Greg Squared, soaring Serbian and improv jazz stylings by Ben Syversen on trumpet, rock steady beats and surprises from special guest Matt Moran, and me, Max, on the accordion and if you’re lucky, the Farfisa Transicord Deluxe for some deep Balkan dub and funk.

Do join us. We start at 10 or so and will go to 1 or so depending upon the scene. Yes? You’ll be there? Good!

Barbes is in Park Slope
How can you not know where it is?
If you’re that person that doesn’t: http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/
$15 at the door

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Saturday, December 15: Raya Brass Band In Hot Water at the Steamy Dance Party at Russian Baths

Yes, this is THAT legendary party at the Russian baths.

7pm-2am, 21+ with ID (25+ suggested)
Brooklyn Banya, 602 Coney Island Ave bet Beverley Rd & Ave C, Kensington, BK (map)
2 blocks south of Prospect Park/30 min from midtown–NOT in Coney Island
Q to Beverley Rd, cross Marlborough/15th St & walk 5 blocks, left on Coney Island Ave

Save $10 on two tix with the discount code “raya”. Offer expires at midnight on Wed., Dec 12. Buy tickets | Event on Facebook

• “Best (and Only) Russian-bathhouse Dance Party” - Village Voice “Best of 2006″
• “A night of steamy fun” - TimeOut New York “Your Perfect Weekend” pick
• “Epic”…”One of the coolest cheap activities posted to our recession-proof list” - Brooklyn Based

Break out your bikini, swim trunks, flip flops and favorite floaty and get splashy in the pool with Raya Brass Band at the Russian bath house on Coney Island Avenue. You will see the words Banya written in Cyrillic on the outside, that’s how you’ll find the place. Raya Brass Band will playing sets at 10 pm and midnight.

We will have the newly remodeled & sparkling clean baths to ourselves, with a few hand-picked professionals on hand for the optional platzas and massages. Enjoy: Russian, Turkish and Swedish steam rooms, jacuzzi and cold plunge pool; poolside dance floor; rooftop smoking deck; hookah lounge and chillout rooms; authentic and delicious Russian food in a private restaurant room with a view of the dance floor.

Raya Brass Band blasting and & ethno-mesh DJs till 2am. Pierogies for everyone. There will be an open vodka bar 9-10pm.

Hey, this party is fun. You should come! It’s definitely one of the more unusual events in NYC and the weather and the season is perfect for svitzing to the Balkan madness that is Raya Brass Band. Is this some kind of weird holiday party? Maybe it is. The best one you’ve ever been to.

Buy tickets | Event on Facebook | And remember to use the code “raya” to save $10 off the price of two tickets.

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Saturday, April 7, 21 and 28 – Radegast Hall & Biergarten – Brooklyn, NY
Time: 4:30pm to 7:30pm. Address: 113 N 3rd Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 11211
map | info

Also today – a few members of Raya Brass Band and special guests Connell Thompson, Jake Garchik and Rich Stein will play for Opening day of the Brooklyn Flea Market at 1pmTime: 1pm to 2:30 pm. Address: 176 Lafayette Ave. (btw. Clermont + Vanderbilt Ave.), Brooklyn
info

And tell your friends about our mid-Atlantic tour next week – Baltimore, Charlottesville, VA, Richmond & Roanoke - Details

Raya Brass Band’s Mid-Atlantic Tour 2012

Thu, Apr 12, 2012 – 5th Dimension, H & H Building 5th floor – Baltimore, MD
Time: 10:00pm. Admission: $5. Address: 405 W Franklin St. With Balti Mare
map

Fri, Apr 13, 2012 – Black Market Moto Saloon – Charlottesville, VA
Time: 9:00pm. Admission: $5. Address: 1304 East Market St.
map | info

Sat, Apr 14, 2012 – Steady Sounds record store – Richmond, VA
Time: 3:00pm. Admission: free. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 322 West Broad Street. Venue phone: 804 308-2692.
map | info

Sat, Apr 14, 2012 – Balliceaux – Richmond, VA
Time: 10:30pm. Admission: $10. Address: 203 N. Lombardy St.
map | info

Sun, Apr 15, 2012 – Roanoke Public Library – Roanoke, VA
Time: 2:30pm. Admission: free. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 706 South Jefferson Street.
map

More NYC Shows in April

Fri, Apr 20, 2012 – Littlefield – Brooklyn, NY
Time: 10:00pm. Admission: $10. Age restrictions: No Minors. Address: 622 Degraw St. With Banda De Los Muertos
map | info

Bending the notes at Radegast most Saturdays in April

For the tables, on the tables, most Saturday afternoons in April

Saturday, April 7, 21 and 28 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm – FREE and ALL AGES

You’ll find us playing for and on the tables on Saturday at Radegast Hall & Biergarten from 4:30 to 7:30 pm as our weekly beer garden whirlagig continues. These afternoon shows are family-friendly and a lot of fun and the food and beer is really, really good. Stop on by if you’re in the area and take in the Eastern European soaked vibe that is Radegast.

“The more your beer garden feels like it’s a place where people have been hoisting giant mugs of ale for centuries on end, the better. And that’s why we adore Brooklyn’s Radegast Hall and Biergarten…”
–Village Voice: Best Beer Garden 2009

Radegast Hall & Biergarten
113 N 3rd Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn - map

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Direct Link

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BARBES and ELECTRIC COWBELL 
TAKE MANHATTAN 
at DROM
Jan 7th, 2011 7:00pm-11:00pm

With
Smokey Hormel, Chicha Libre,
Raya Brass band, Cheick Hamala Diabate,
No BS Brass! and DJ Geko Jones.

For the past few years, Barbès has been presenting a Manhattan showcase timed to coincide with the APAP conference – an annual rite which, every January, brings musicians from around the world to New York. This year, Barbès has teamed up with fellow brooklynites, label Electric Cowbell, to bring a particularly exciting roster to the always suspect borough of Manhattan.

Electric Cowbell is a new record label dedicated to release 45rpm seven inch vinyl of new talent (from the Debo Band, to Talibam!, Khaira Arby and Superhuman Happiness). Like barbès, the label doesn’t believe distinctions of genre are always pertinent and promotes like-minded musicians who operate in mediums as varied as Funk, Afrobeat, Latin psychedelia, Balkan music or Second Line brass music.

Barbès is a Brooklyn club which, next spring, will be celebrating ten years of eclectic programming – from classical string quartets to Ukrainian polyphonies, Forro and American Qawwali.

This edition of our Manhattan invasion will feature the congolese musings of Smokey Hormel, the electric cumbias of Chicha LIbre, the improvisations of Malian griot Cheick Hamal Diabate, No BS! Brass‘ brand of funk, the Brooklyn Balkan hybrid that is Raya and the Pan-latin tropical sound of DJ Geko Jones.

8:00pm
NO BS! BRASS BAND
A powerful brass band from Richmond VA that infuses the spirit of New Orleans into its original East Coast modern funk. They draw inspiration from funk, jazz, klezmer, calypso, and Led Zeppelin and while most members have conservatory training, they strive for heart-pounding energy and uncontrollable dancing.

8:45pm
CHEIKH HAMALA DIABATE
Cheick Hamala Diabate is a Malian griot and a master of the ngoni, a traditional instrument. He started his career at a young age playing with Malian musical greats, including Toumani Diabate (a first cousin), Oumou Sangare, Ali Farka Toure and Salif Keita. Upon coming to the US, Cheick Hamala was intrigued by the resemblance between his ngoni and the American banjo, even sharing tunings and picking styles. He has since learned to play the banjo at a virtuosic level, including collaborations with Bela Fleck and Bob Carlin. Cheick’s album of banjo duets with Carlin, From Mali to America, was nominated for a grammy in 2007 for Best Traditional World Music Album.

9:30pm
SMOKEY’S SECRET FAMILY
Smokey Hormel’s résumé reads like a history of American popular music over the decades. He has worked closely with Beck, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, and Neil Diamond. His projects have included the Brazilian-influenced Smokey and Miho, as well as an ongoing tribute to Western swing. His latest endeavor is an idiosyncratic take on early Congolese rumba. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, African musicians looked to Cuba for inspiration. They recognized African roots in the music but were also captivated by its cosmopolitan aspect, which mirrored the evolution of their own culture. Using the electric guitar—fast becoming the symbol of urban culture—they forged a new hybrid that became an early soundtrack of decolonization. Hormel has hybridized the music further and taken it to the Americas for the second time. Keeping its pre-rock roots intact, he relies on a core sound of “wild guitars bursting through small amps afloat on a sea of hand drums and shakers.”

10:10pm
CHICHA LIBRE
Chicha LIbre is a Brooklyn collective made up of French, American, Venezuelan and Mexican musicians who mix up covers of Peruvian electric cumbia with original compositions in French, Spanish and English, re-interpretation of 70’s pop classics as well as cumbia versions of pieces by the likes of Satie, Love and Joe Dassin. In the past year, the group has brought its music to Istanbul, Madrid, Berlin and Copenhagen, but has been especially welcome in South America where its mix of Tropical experimentation and psychedelia has proved extremely popular. Chicha Libre’s second album is a psychedelic bender with a majority of original compositions and nods to Wagner and Los Mirlos. It will be released by Barbès Records and Crammed disc in April of 2012.

11:00pm
RAYA BRASS BAND. 
Raya Brass Band gleefully mashes up the music of Eastern Europe with funky American dance grooves. Featuring odd meters, unusual scales and a fine helping of gorgeous Balkan and Romany (Gypsy) melodies played on reeds, trumpet, accordion, tuba and drums, Raya Brass Band slakes the thirst for something old and new at the same time, unusual and catchy, spiritedly played by some of NYC’s finest Balkan folk musicians. Greg Squared (clarinet), Ben Syversen (trumpet), Matthew Fass (accordion), Don Godwin (tuba) and EJ Fry (tupan).

11:30pm and In between sets
GEKO JONES
Geko Jones is a Brooklyn-based Puerto-lombian DJ and Producer. He is a founding member of both the New York Tropical and Que Bajo?! party franchises in New York. He is also a partner and co-owner of the Dutty Artz record label with producer Matt Shadetek and DJ /Rupture. His mixes span the tropical hemispheres and collage together globally sonic hours of dancefloor mayhem. Renowned by top DJ’s and producers of the digital cumbia scene in Latin America and European bass-pundits alike, Jones is one of the select few DJ’s pushing forward the Latin agenda in a world wide tropical bass scene. The past five years have found him sharing a booth or collaborating with a long roster of A-list globalistas like Uproot Andy, Radioclit, ZZK, Maluca, Dub War, Toy Selectah and more.

=================
Barbès & Electric Cowbell Takes Manhattan
Saturday January 7th
DROM
Doors open at 6:30pm
Admission $10
Free with APAP badges
Drom is located at 85 Ave. A in Manhattan
(212) 777-1157
http://www.dromnyc.com/

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-Raya Brass Band (Brooklyn Balkan brass)
-Apocalypse Five and Dime (street band dance party pop)
-Mommy? (all Misfits covers only polka band!!!)
-Morgan O’Kane
+ more special guests yet to be announced!

Dance Party (to actual records, no less) afterwards w/ DJ Dusty Walker. Expect a mix of rare groove, Jamaican, Latin Boogalo, cumbia, and booty shaking beats!

@ C-Squat
155 avenue C (between 9th + 10th st) NYNY
Doors at 7pm.

Fundraising at the door! $7-$15 sliding scale. Does not slide below 7, but slides as far past 15 as you’d like to go. So slide on, generous sliders, slide on!

This show is a fundraiser for the legal defense of the 12 people arrested at the Eris Parade in New Orleans this past March. It is thrown by a group of musicians who were participating in the parade when the police shut it down.

For seven years the Krewe of Eris has rolled the Sunday before Mardi Gras. Musicians, artists, and puppeteers from all over the country travel down there every year to join creative forces with the amazing community of artists and musicians who live there. It is an unpermitted community parade with an open band that has been growing every year. This past Mardi Gras, the NOPD stopped the nonviolent parade and proceeded to wreak havoc by using tasers and pepper spray, manhandling attendees, and then arresting 12 people with charges which ranged from disturbing peace to resisting arrest to battery. One participant, a warm and quiet boy, was tased, his clarinet was broken, and his face was smashed so hard that he had to get corrective surgery for his broken cheekbone. For all of this, he got charged with battery of a police officer.

The next day, the police retaliated by closing the Iron Rail (the local anarchist bookstore and info shop) and Plan B (the bike co-op), simply because the people who ran those were also involved in the parade.

If you can’t come yet are just yearning to support then visit www.eris12.org !!!!

ALSO!! if that’s not enough to grab your attention: marching band mercenary Leslie Wacker is turning 30 this day so bring cake. Yes, there might be cake! Also, as we all know, the apocalypse is coming next year so who knows if she will get another party! We all want to dance to some brass with you before the world ends but more important than any of that! Back to your Krewe of Eris education + required reading…

Below are links to some articles and videos about what happened:

Report from NOLA.com

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/03/nopd_reviewing_arrests_of_12_a.html

Local news

More video footage

A blog post

http://nolaslate.blogspot.com/2011/03/permitting-culture-crimes.html

First-hand account from one of 12 arrestees

http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2011/03/15776.php

——————————————————————-
Below are links to some video clips for what is about to happen:

Raya (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWOqOeRF7Vo)

Apocalypse Five and Dime (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ZXsgGEki0)

Mommy?

+

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Every Saturday from 4 pm to 7 pm in Williamsburg.

No shows booked at the moment.

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Live from Barbes: Sanda Weigl + Alexandros Papadakis + TriBeCaStan + Raya Brass band 

Saturday, December 10th, 6pm – 9pm on Transpacific Sound Paradise with Rob Weisberg 

Another action-packed evening of wall-to-wall live music from Barbes, the intimate music-lover’s haven at 376 9th St (corner of 6th Ave) in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Featuring the splendid chanteuse Sanda Weigl accompanied by keyboardist extraordinaire Shoko Nagai;Alexandros Papadakis, a master of the spellbinding lyra (fiddle) and other traditional instruments from Crete; sonic globetrotters TriBeCaStan and their array of exotic instruments from everywhere; and the incomparable Balkan brass bashers Raya Brass Band.

As usual the tireless Irene Trudel will be both technical guru and co-host with Rob. Admission is free during the broadcast (although performers may pass the hat for voluntary donations) and we’ll be doling out free FMU swag.

No shows booked at the moment.

No shows booked at the moment.

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