It's hot as hell here in Boston. But, I bet not quite as hot as in Armenia. Anyway, a few interesting things going on that you all might be interested in. This weekend here in Massachusetts USA, there is the annual Kef Time weekend located in Cape Cod. It's an annual thing that has been going on for about thirty years. The premise is get a bunch of musicians together and have dances for about four nights straight. During the day, the hotel is on the beach so you soak up some sun on the ocean. The musicians range from Ara Dinkjian to John Berberian to Richard Hagopian to Hatchig Kazarian. It's a great time but the even comes with a bit of controversy. The style of music is called "Kef" consisting of an oud, dumbeg, clarinet, and guitar with a bass and tamborine added in at times. It's the music of Western Armenia (Eastern Turkey) brought over just after the Genocide in the 1920's. The music has pretty much stayed the same in terms of compositions, instruments, and language. The controversial aspect comes with the lyrics being sung in Turkish half of the time. Some are melodies composed by Armenians and others are just plain Turkish. I've had my issues over the years in terms of what people should and should not listen to. But in the end, any event which brings together Armenians to have a good time and dance is cool with me. The musicianship is excellent and provides the attendees an opportunity to see real passion and spirit on the dancefloor and on stage.My personal wish is to see these musicians (many of whom I admire as incredible performers) create a more modern and cutting edge form of music using other traditional instruments and lyrics, but that will come in time as this type of music dies off. If you want to get a true flavor of old Armenian American music and dancing with a touch of the controversial Turkish music, Kef Time Cape Cod is the place to be. The Turkish language aspect of the weekend has touched off many instances of protest such as the one a few years back where on attendee pulled the power plug on the band in protest (Martin Haroutoutian).

I finally got to see my product (Pomegranate's release of the"Yeraz" CD) in the Times Square Virgin Megastore as well as Tower and HMV in NYC. It was a thrill to see units of "Yeraz" on ths shelf and selling to the general public. I understand that "Yeraz" is now available at all of these stores nationwide. Along the same lines, I was asked to be a reviewer of world music for a publication called Global Rhythym based in NYC. These magazines are available worldwide at all world music locations. I'll be reviewing Armenian, European, and Finnish music.

The good news with my immediate family is that my father had successful prostate cancer surgery and will be up and ready to go with my mother to Armenia to participate in the Armenian Volunteer Corp sometime in October. They have been looking forward to the trip and one year commitment for some time now. My dad found out he had prostate cancer four days before they were supposed to leave for Hayastan about one month ago. I guess the moral of the story from my end is that life is short and you never know what will ever come up. For those of us thinking about moving or going to Hayastan- why wait. Life is short and you have nothing to lose. I'd hate to wake up one day and say "I was thinking of going to Armenia a long time ago but just was too busy, etc." I give my dad a lot of credit for dusting himself off after sugery and saying, "I'm going anyways".

It looks like I'll be in Hayastan for two week in December/January. I've decided to head over for New Year's with my friend Aaron and hang out and see my friends and family. Nothing like a Armenia in freezing weather...