First Oregon Tour a Total Success!!!!
Mon, Jul 2nd 2007

We had a blast on our first real tour to Oregon. The 10th annual Salem World Beat Festival was one of the best festival slots we have ever had! People also came out and danced very hard on both our Portland and Eugene shows. It was a great time for our first real venture into Oregon state. On thursday, we played after the AWESOME bateria from Portland, the Lions of Batucada, which I think is the best bateria that we have heard from the US. The next night we played with Calango, a very traditional band playing different styles from Brazil. A special friend of ours Jans Ingber, former lead singer and percussionist from the Motet came out and sat in for a bunch of tunes, it touched all of our hearts to see and play with him again. But SALEM WORLD BEAT FEST: Full moon and fireworks, thousands of people, it doesn't get much better!!! We came out and put on a top level show for people who went crazy. We would like to especially thank Marisa Newnam, who is the director of the event for having us, and for doing such amazing work in the Salem Community. The event started by two mothers, who didn't want to raise their young children in a place with racial tension, so they started this festival, which really brings in cultures from all over the world to one beautiful park overlooking the river. Just in the few short hours we were there, there was a Native American dance troupe, a Taiko performance, a Turkish dance group, a ukelele group (of about 50 seniors) and many more groups. Surely this type of Global collaboration is a glimpse into the future, as more and more of us from around the world and from different cultures come together with curiosity, respect, and collaboration! Thanks to all our new fans in Oregon, we can't wait to see you all again! PEACE! TOLERANCE! and RESPECT!