Before our departure to America we had contacted Wayne Vitale, gamelan expert and leader of the Gamelan Sekar Jaya in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wayne Vitale emailed us: we could attend the Sunday morning gamelan rehearsal in Berkeley and afterwards have lunch together - so early morning on Sunday we left our hotel, descended to BART level (one below the SF underground) and got out the train 45 mins. later in sunny, quiet Berkeley.
We had some time left so we strolled along the Berkeley streets - this was not a tourist destination, this was the place where people lived.
It looked very nice and peaceful. All those lovely, colourful, wooden houses!
Fast forward to the gamelan rehearsal. In no time Wayne had us behind instruments and I was to beat time on the 'empluk'. That is hard work, I can tell you.
I just loved it.
After all these years I was again playing gamelan, again part of a group making music.
In Berkeley, California.
After rehearsal Wayne took us to a great Birmese restaurant. Never eaten Birmese before and if you ever get the chance: try it, it's good food. Bags of flavour, rich, earthy tastes, unknown combinations. Loved it.
Wayne dropped us at the station where a flee market was underway.
We strolled along the market - lovely warm weather - SF would probably have the afternoon wind by now - and ran into an impromptu jam session: some 20 people, most males, most aged, most African-American were drumming away on all sorts of drums, inventing strange rythms and making really good music.
Everyone joined one way or another, and we enjoyed this totally different music making for a long time before heading back to SF.
Wayne Vitale emailed us: we could attend the Sunday morning gamelan rehearsal in Berkeley and afterwards have lunch together - so early morning on Sunday we left our hotel, descended to BART level (one below the SF underground) and got out the train 45 mins. later in sunny, quiet Berkeley.
We had some time left so we strolled along the Berkeley streets - this was not a tourist destination, this was the place where people lived.
It looked very nice and peaceful. All those lovely, colourful, wooden houses!
Fast forward to the gamelan rehearsal. In no time Wayne had us behind instruments and I was to beat time on the 'empluk'. That is hard work, I can tell you.
I just loved it.
After all these years I was again playing gamelan, again part of a group making music.
In Berkeley, California.
After rehearsal Wayne took us to a great Birmese restaurant. Never eaten Birmese before and if you ever get the chance: try it, it's good food. Bags of flavour, rich, earthy tastes, unknown combinations. Loved it.
Wayne dropped us at the station where a flee market was underway.
We strolled along the market - lovely warm weather - SF would probably have the afternoon wind by now - and ran into an impromptu jam session: some 20 people, most males, most aged, most African-American were drumming away on all sorts of drums, inventing strange rythms and making really good music.
Everyone joined one way or another, and we enjoyed this totally different music making for a long time before heading back to SF.
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