Diasporan Intervention

Armenian hospitality is famous. Whether it is Hayastansi or Diasporan, each has its own unique set of characteristics. In the quest to keep Pomegranate Music afloat financially, Diasporan involvement is key. The involvement and generosity has to be on all fronts for the project to work. Let me detail an example for you. Pomegranate has three CD's coming out within six months. The one I will focus on is the new Iakovos Kolanian CD. For this project, Iakovos agreed to record the master CD for free in his own home studio. The producer of the album, Kevork Imirzian has agreed to waive normal producer fees (usually 5% of sales), donate his photography, and write the liner notes at no cost. Our designer Arsineh has agreed to work at below her usual rate and is always available at all hours to help on design issues. When I fly to Greece next week with Kevork to do the Iakovos photo shoot at Delphi, we will be staying as guests of Iakovos in Athens for one week. When the CD is finished and ready to be produced in the manufacturing plant, a very generous Canadian-Armenian from Vancouver, BC who is a big fan of Iakovos Kolanian and joined us on both tours last year has agreed to front all costs for the production of the Barrios CD. From there, we release the creation to the public and our major costs are covered. In the world of independent record making, you have to surround yourself with loyal and dedicated people who share your vision and are willing to do what it takes to complete the tasks for the sake of the music and the artist. I have been lucky to have the company of such people and without them, Pomegranate would not be alive.

While I continue with my YerazArt work in preparing performance Visas for our Young Armenian Musicians to come and perform in DC, Boston, and NYC, I am concurrently preparing myself for the trip to Athens, Greece. I hope to meet with the Armenian community there to pitch the YerazArt concept to them and get a feel for the scene there. There are some jewlers in the Plakas in Athens that I remember from my first trip there in 1991. I hope to see them again.

As Philip Marsden so aptly descrived in "The Crossing Place", Armenian hospitality is second to none.

THIS photo is taken by Kevork Imirzian in Taos, New Mexico. January 2006. The structure is a sustainable "off the grid" dwelling made with adobe and old beer bottles.