The Sweetest Inspiration

Vibrations

The on-line Magazine (e-zine) of The Soulful Expression
 

Special Thanks to Bankole Irungu!!
Husband, Manager, Inspiration and Friend!

by:  Aisha

 

I wondered for many years what it would be like to have a manager, what exactly one did, and how you'd get one!  Now I know - If you're lucky, a good manager sets up tours, gives you inspiration and criticism, makes endless phone calls on your behalf, takes calls during dinner and at all times of the night, and is firm but also the ultimate diplomat.  A good manager, in this business, is also a keeper of your culture, has your best interest at heart and your back too!   

Hats off to Bankole who does all of the above in addition to being a writer, researcher and cultural worker in his own right.  I guess that it can be really tough being married to your manger, but if you're lucky it's a joy!

Bankole is also MC at concerts, speaks on political and cultural issues and provides research for The Soulful Expression.  He's a marvel of organization and has even been known to sit in on percussion at rehearsals and a gig or two!

He's great on the business side and the cultural side.  If I had $1,000,000 to pay someone it would be hard to find a person with the skills to deal with so many people in so many difficult and delicate situations!  Like all managers, he has to take a lot of crap from really ignorant people so that I can have the opportunity to present the music and help people understand the culture better. I appreciate it ever so much.  I know that many times it's a difficult and thankless job!

This year alone he has organized 3 tours of Sweden and a tour of The UK including Wales, England & Scotland as well as our stay in Ireland!  Phew!!!! Not an easy job!

He's taught me more about the music than I can ever say, introducing me to great CDs, musicians and singers whom I had never heard of.  Now many of these people are my favourites!  He's an endless source of inspiration!

When times are really, really hard and I'm too tired to go on, he carries me.  "The industry" is designed to wear you down - and without a good manager and a caring person in your life to take care of and inspire you - it's very difficult if not impossible.

It's true that behind every artist who can somehow manage to be heard over the noise of greed, oppression and indifference is a Bankole Irungu!

Hats off to you!  Thank you so much!

June 13th made 10 years for us - I'm looking forward to at least 99 more year!

With Love!!!!!

Aisha
23 June 2003
Dublin, Eire (Republic of Ireland)

Special thanks to Bankole  for providing the research that went into making this updated website - especially The Musician's Corner  and for his articles which make up the bulk of this, our first, complete on-line version of Virbrations!

Thanks also to everyone in Wales, England, Ireland, Scotland and Sweden who have given us so much love and provided a real  and meaningful cultural exchange!  We love you!