Rusted Root's
Jim Donovan

Eat. Drum. Sleep.... Repeat daily.

   Jim Donovan is a current and founding member of the multi-platinum band Rusted Root. Jim has released 2 ambient solo CDs as well as 4 instructional drumming CDs. His newest Cd is an electro-tribal-dance disc entitled "Revelation #9”.
   Fulfilling his desire to share the power of rhythm first hand to people, Jim has built an educational drumming workshop program that he teaches across the US at festivals, schools, universities and specialty venues.
   Recently, he released four companion CDs for these workshops, Rhythm and Drumming Workshop Easy, Vol. 1 and 2, Vol.3 These discs are simple, effective guides for people regardless of their experience to learn hand rhythms and develop their musical listening skills. An instructional DVD is in the works for release in late 2003.
   Jim is also a featured monthly columnist in Drum! Magazine the worlds number one drumming magazine.
Email info@jimdonovanmusic.com
   Visit Rusted Root online at www.RustedRoot.com

Robin Renee

Music has been a constant throughout Renée's life; she was in her first "touring" band at the age of ten (The Half Mann Band played in local elementary schools.). A defining moment of clarity came as a teenager while she watched David Bowie on Saturday Night Live; he sang dramatically- in a long, beautiful gown. It was then that she knew that she could do anything and be anyone- on her own unique terms.

Renée is at once influenced by the light-hearted new wave style of the 1980's, the intensity of timeless singer/songwriters, and a long-time personal focus on Eastern and eclectic mysticism. She wrote and performed with the world-beat rock band Spy Gods while attending Rutgers University, where she was an honor student and an award-winning poet. Later, she fronted the pop band, The Loved Ones.

With renewed energy and a name for her brand of accessible tunes with a spiritual twist- Mantra-Pop! -Renée set out to form a new live band in the summer of 2003. She found just the right chemistry with Philadelphia-area musicians Evan Danziger (bass), Kevin McDevitt (drums), and Cyndee Lee Rule (violin). Full-on rock shows are now back on the menu, joining the schedule along with acoustic shows and kirtan, a form of Hindu devotional chanting in Sanskrit, for which Renée holds great passion.

When not performing or chanting ancient mantras in an ever-expanding circle of venues, Robin Renée may be found pursuing freelance writing, for which she has interviewed music greats like Ani DiFranco, Janis Ian, Richie Havens, and B. B. King. She has contributed her work to periodicals including Curve Magazine, PanGaia, The Washington Blade, Philadelphia Gay News, The Courier News, and Cool and Strange Music. Her essays have appeared in Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith (Debra Kolodny, Ed., Continuum International, 2000) and That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts (Rivka Solomon, Ed., Random House, 2002).

Here is a true alternative voice of artistry, love, and honesty that must be heard. Keep an eye on this journey.

Amara

Twelve years ago, I took my first belly dance class for exercise. Little did I know at the time the impact that studying and performing this wonderful and much misunderstood dance form would have on my life. As a means of creative self-expression, it has brought me benefits beyond what I could have imagined. Special areas of interest include North African dance (Guedra, Moroccan Shikkat, Algerian Ouled Nail, and Tunisian), Turkish Roma and Oryantal dance, and Central Asian dance. 

My dance is enjoyed by all types of people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. I have danced at events for Iranians, Malaysians, Latin Americans, Moroccans, Indians, Greeks, Europeans and African Americans as well as for the hearing-impaired.