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| The Exclusive Interview with Mohenjo Daro! |
| Mohenjo Daro is bringing a sound very rare to the midwest United States. The sound of authentic Middle Eastern culture right in your backyard. As the Trio's master Tabla player Jim Feist explained during a recent show before one of the band's new tunes entitled "Rhajdani Express", "imagine yourself on a passenger car on India, taking in the sights of the native land and it's people, close your eyes and imagine the rhythmic sound of the train on the tracks and breathe in the warm air." Throw in some masterfully crafted instrumental pieces featuring the talents of Feist, guitarist Zach Mechlem, and woodwindist Johnny Ruzsa, and you have transcended into the heart of India without leaving your chair. The members of Mohenjo Daro undoubtedly take their music very seriously and have meticulously nailed down the complex time changes and odd passages of middle eastern music, to bring a little of India to everybody. Recently, I caught up with Jim Feist and Zach Mechlem individually to get their thoughts on the music and their future. |
| Part 1 - Interview with Jim Feist |
| Q: Jim, thank you so much for joining me here for this interview. I wanted to start off by asking you about the origins of Mohenjo Daro. What was it that brought yourself and Zach together initially to form this trio? A: We had a mutual friend who need "exotic" musicians for a dancer that he was accompanying. He rang me on the tele and said he was coming over with a dumbek player..This was around 1996 and the day I first met Zach. Q: Mohenjo Daro are somewhat self described as three Rock and Roll musicians who have basically unlearned everything they knew about music and yourselves, and you have let the music guide you down this new musical path. What, to you, is the biggest difference or adjustment between playing the traditional (and non-traditional) middle eastern music from playing in a standard Rock and Roll band ? A: Rhythmically, there may not be that big of a difference.. A lot of the things we are doing now actually still have somewhat of a "backbeat" or a "frontbeat" The big difference is "listening". Playing this kind of music that we are doing now requires a lot of inter-band awareness at any given moment. If you are a drummer slamming a groove to something in a rock n roll context, you don't even have to hear what else is going on. My listening chops really came into their own when I was playing and studying Jazz-fusion music in the 80's. The band I was in has a site still on Mp3... www.mp3.com/cecilkeeblertrio There I am playing drums in a power fusion trio. Q: You have described that the initial reason that you began studying the Tabla was to simply supplement your drumkit playing. What were the circumstances of your first trip to India many years ago? Was it solely to seek out knowledge in middle eastern percussion? A: Yes it was. But it was to learn exclusively the Tabla. I have always been a fan of anything John McLaughlin has done. I was just digging my teeth into "Birds of Fire" being totally blown away by it, when a friend said "check this out". It was "Shakti", McLaughlins Indian group. I had been interested in Indian rhythm prior to that but that just sealed my fate. Once I found a teacher (by calling indian names in the phone book and saying "Tabla") I fell in love with the art of Tabla and Indian Classical music in general. Q: You have made several return trips to India to further your studies in the Tabla, and in fact, I know you are getting ready to leave again just days away from this writing. What exactly is the setting like during your studies? Do you study privately with a guru or do you study in a musical dojo-type of setting with many other students? A: My first trip there in '93, I studied with Ustad Allah Rakkha Khan and it was at his small school in Shivaji park. There were other students there too. Now since he is no longer with us, I study from his best disciple, Yogesh Samsi. These lessons are private and one on one. The setting is...Very very hot, sweat all over, smell of incense in the air, acute awareness of what you are doing (due to no distractions i.e. phone, tv, work ect ect). Q: Do you still get behind the drum kit from time to time? A: Hardly ever....I do miss it though.. I had studied from the time I was 11 years old and was totally devoted to Jazz and Jazz-Fusion. There were very few people to play style of music in Cincinnati at that time. Q: If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Mohenjo Daro has just finished a new album? When and where will the new CD be available for purchase? A: I think the international release date is February. You can check by going to the label's website. www.tandemrecords.com Q: Jim, thank you so much for taking the time to join me here for this interview. I sincerely wish you the best of luck with Mohenjo Daro and your Tabla studies. Are there any other projects you have lined up after your return in a few months? A: Thank you Billy for putting me in the same company with the very best players on the planet. It was an honor to do this interview. I have a solo c.d. that will be released that I will have to put a band together for... On mp3 it is www.mp3.com/indus_red |
| Part 2 - Interview with Zach Mechlem |
| Q: Zach, thank you very much for joining me here for this interview! In my earlier interview with Jim, I asked him about the roots of Mohenjo Daro, and how the trio was born. What do you remember about how Mohenjo Daro came to be? A: I first met Jim through Brian Gomien, founder of Mohenjo Daro. Brian was hired by a Kabuki/Modern Dance performer named Marc Morozumi to gather two other drummers to supply a percussive backdrop for his dance piece, "Twins Seperated By Time". It was performed at the christening of the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Downtown Cincinnati. The performance went great and the chemistry between the three musicians was incredible so we continued working together until we worked up a live set. Q: You actually have been rooted for many years in this genre of music. At a very young age, your mother was a belly dancer, so you were always around the middle eastern music scene. Has that always been your passion or did you explore many different musical styles? A: My passion for this music was always in the back of my head. It wasn't truly realized until 1992 when someone in our family discovered our extensive Romany Gypsy roots. Needless to say that this fueled my passion for Middle Eastern music as well as European Gypsy music. Until that time I was performing in a funk/jazz/rock outfit called the Rottweilers. I am a classical bassist by training and have performed and recorded many different genres of music. Q: I was really blown away not only by your skills on the different guitars and mandolins, but also your playing of the doumbek. I know you are actually self taught on the stringed instruments, but how did you go about studying the doumbek? A: I took 3 lessons from a local percussionist when he told me that I picked it up so fast that he had nothing left to teach me. So I turned to my mother's old belly dance records and absorbed rhythms from most of the Arab Nations. Q: Tell me about the time you spent in the folk-gypsy ensemble Europa. How did your time with them help you to further your knowledge of the different genres of World Music? A: Europa was an incredibly educational experience. Their focus was Eastern/Western European music and I was completely taken aback by their extensive repertoire. They were so amazing to play with. I struggled a little to get out my inherent western framework but when I finally got it it was a real blast. Q: Knowing that Jim is getting ready for another extensive trip to India, undoubtedly, Mohenjo Daro will be on hold until he returns. What other projects will you and Johnny be involved in during the hiatus? A: In the meantime I will be working on my solo project. I recently released a Wild West concept album called "The Haight Gang" (www.mp3.com/zjm) Right now I'm putting together a Country/Western outfit to perform pieces from that disc as well as newer concept material within that genre. And Johnny always has a gig so I'm not real worried about him. Everybody loves Johnny! Q: Zach, thanks so much again for your time to join me here, and I wish you all the best and continued success with all of your endeavours. Let me wrap up here by asking you what other goals you would like to accomplish in the future, based on what you have learned in the music industry thus far? A: I just want to continue doing what I love: writing, recording, and performing. I have learned not to let the business end of music interfere with my desire to create or perform. Thanks a lot for the interview! |
| Mohenjo Daro from left to right: Johnny Ruzsa , Jim Feist, Zach Mechlem |
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