Joshua Tree Music Festival

Saturdays show at the Joshua Tree Music Festival went really well. The audience was very receptive to my material, and my early set avoided the oppressive desert heat of midday...a huge bonus. Everyone there was excellent, save for a few dudes wearing tiny, shiny striped thongs...not a fan...but I got a lot of great feedback from the festival goers after my set and the stage crew was impeccable! Thank you!

Sri Lanka

Ahh, the International Community. We're like that Coke commercial where they all hold hands across the world and drink Coke and take on all of Earth's problems with undying love. Well, the IC is not doing much more than drinking Coke these days.



All the events of the last several months in Ceylon have unfolded like a book we have all read before. But there is a pervasive sadness in the international Tamil diaspora. The UN is content to hold meetings til the end of time, rendering them essentially castrated. In Darfur, the UN did nothing...Ceylon, the UN did nothing. US invasion of Iraq, UN did nothing. Why do they appear on a pedestal when their track record shows us nothing? Obama did an about face news conference about Sri Lanka (probably because Tamils in the US have been writing his office incessantly for months now). I understand SL is not high on his priority list, but his news conference was him throwing us a bone...and thats all we'll get.

I have noticed that all the major western news claims the conflict between the Tamils and Sinhalese began in 1976. But its not as though the Tigers came from the thin air. Rebels generally arise when they get pushed till they can no longer take it, not from comfortable conditions. Between 1948 and 1976, the Buddhist government denied tamils of their language and religion, and hundred and hundreds were killed by angry Sinhalese civilian mobs. So, to claim to be educating the broader public about a situation while completely omitting the defining part is horrible journalism in my opinion. Goldfish journalism is why people in this country think Muslims "hate freedom".

I was watching the News Hour the other day. They had a spot about Sri Lanka, and their "expert" displayed this same sort of lopsided, lazy journalism I am whining about. I had the utmost respect for the News Hour, but the softball journalism they displayed makes me question its integrity. Questions like, "Who are the Tamil Tigers and what do they want?" With an answer equally retarded (Tamil tigers want land in the NE, Tigers invented suicide bombing). I am sorry, but that is a poor question and a Cliff's Notes answer. Are they as lax about their reporting in Darfur, and other international affairs, essentially giving the viewer very selective and lopsided news?

And just to expound on humanitarian issues in the media, where is the journalism on Darfur? Like the latest fashion, like an injured athlete, such is the news of the day. Tossed out with the trash. Humans have no accountability. Now it is time for Sri Lanka to win over the hearts and minds of the Tamil people...

Things Have Been Better

Things have been better in my parents' native Sri Lanka. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the island nation formerly know as Ceylon, I'm not going to go over it, but here is a quick guide.
My family is Tamil. We are the minorities in our home country. My parents left before the civil war began, but we have many friends and relatives back in Ceylon. Whenever family gets together, the war and the current state of affairs is always discussed at the table. But it is difficult to side wholeheartedly with one side or the other. I see both sides. However, an undeniable truth is that no one is fighting for Tamils in the Northeast other than the Tamil Tigers (LTTE). The SL Gov't could care less for their citizens to the North and East. They see land, not people. However, the Tigers main goal is to keep the SL Gov't out of their land, not necessarily serve the Tamil population. But who else is there to fight for and protect my people? It looks as though there is no one to rely on.


Many Tamil expats and Westerners are quick to call the recent attacks by the Sri Lankan Army on the Tamil Tiger strongholds and whoever else their shells might hit as genocide, plain and simple. That may be, but there are a few things to keep in mind when saying that. One is that they are forgetting or mindfully excluding the fact that the Tigers ethnically cleansed the Jaffna peninsula (North) of Muslims and nearly all Muslims are now living in the south. Another is that, for 5 years, there has been a full-fledged genocide going on in Sudan, but somehow this is more pressing. I can't help but think that certain people have a superiority complex...something about it just rubs me the wrong way.
And its hard to make anything of all this. To read the comments section from online articles (CNN, WSJ), with both Sinhalese and Tamil blowhards going at it, the outcome does look bleak. Its like putting two positive magnets together. No one wants to see the other side.
Many parallels can be drawn from the Sri Lankan situation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A majority-minority power struggle over ancient, holy land. Problems dating back to interfering Western forces. But what it boils down to is that normal people just want peace--on both sides. I can't believe I would even quote this, and the irony is as thick as peanut butter, but "W43" once said, "Mothers all across the world long to raise their children in a peaceful society so they can realize their dreams." And those dreams can take flight...like a missile.
As stupid as he is, its true. That statement gets at the essence of what life is all about...peace is not that difficult a request. But the people with power on both sides feel their voices need to be heard, loudly and clearly. That's how its always been. And I'm not naive enough to think that these people will rest on their laurels anytime soon, which brings me to my next point...

So, the Warriors are terrible again...last nights loss to San Antonio was awful. It was like getting kicked in the balls and then having a massive coronary. And then getting kicked back in the balls again when Monta twisted his already bad moped driving ankle in an unnecessary overtime. It made me nostalgic about the panic attacks my friend Teddy used to get during pre-Baron Davis games...Literally he passed out in our kitchen one time and he just sat on the floor for 20 minutes slumped in a heap.

...Warriors up by 12 in the 4th Quarter? No problem. We could blow that lead with both hands tied behind our back, in our sleep. The last play of regulation was fitting. Jackson, who had shot the lights out in the 3rd, had gone ice cold, but the ball was in his hands for the final play. He drew 2 defenders, and Monta was WIDE, WIDE open, but Jack thought his great reputation in the league could nab him a foul call from the official. Then he drew NO contact, threw up a prayer and then when he got no call kicked and screamed like a little boy denied candy by his mom at the checkout counter...a sad ending to regulation. But a fitting beginning to an awful, torturous overtime. Nevermind the phantom foul that gave Ginobli the tying free throws with 8.3 seconds left on the clock...the Warriors lost that game with pure, old-fashioned ineptitude.

I mean, I'm selling the team short, and they did play a pretty damn good game for 3+ quarters, but they couldn't handle it when it counted, which brings me to my next point...

The New Website is UP!!!

Be sure to visit my new website, www.BHIMAN.com. The Online Store is finally up and running so check out the new Bhiman T's and other merch!

Leon Live!

Leon Russell is the most underrated force in Rock & Roll. An accomplished touring musician (the top live rock act 1973-1974), he is also an extremely established studio musician, cited on numerous rock and country hit records. The first time I heard him was on George Harrison's Concert For Bengladesh, when Leon backed up Harrison and Bob Dylan, and did THE best version of "Jumping Jack Flash" I have ever heard. Leon's Oklahoma twang and his excellent piano and guitar playing are an encyclopedia of American blues, country and rock. He is currently on tour and he will be playing The Independent in SF on Monday 12/15, so I highly recommend you checking him out.
Below is a link to a free listening site called Wolfgangs Vault. Just need to give them your email and you have access to hundreds of classic Bill Graham concert recordings.

Leon Russell Live at The Fillmore East

Senator Obama's (or Center Obama as McCain liked to say) decisive victory on Tuesday night was one of the great moments in this country's improbable history. Still, 3 days after the fact, it hasn't really sunk in. The fact that he has been chosen to lead this country is quite honestly, a miracle to me. The force with which voters came out to support him was very impressive. I am much too young to know firsthand of many of our country's storied racial struggles, but at a young age I read about much of what African-Americans and minorities have been put through in America's short history. And I gained a serious appreciation for the civil rights leaders selflessness and sacrifice to make this a land where folks like my Mom and Dad and later me and my brother could not just live, but thrive. We have in essence lived on the shoulders of these people. This is a fact that has never been lost on me.

So now, even though I had watched Obama campaign for the better part of 2 years, and the odds were in his favor, it was one of the most powerful things I have ever seen to see a black man walk onto the stage in front of a world audience, not as an entertainer, but as President elect of the United States. And seeing the beautiful young black family who will be residing in the White House (!!!) come this January was another mind blowing scene. As Bill Maher once put it, "Thomas Jefferson must be spinning in his slave". It has been a long time coming, but I did not see it coming so soon. It was the purest form of beauty on such a scale that I have seen from this country in my lifetime. It's what I believe this country should be about.

To be honest, this is the first time in my life I have ever been proud of my country or my generation. Most of my music revolves around race and inequality and the bad side of life. But this was the very best side of life. It was undeniable. Older African Americans nearing the end of there lives can probably die now with some sense of peace, and that is a powerful thing. Whoopi Goldberg (Eddie is an underrated film) said "I felt like I could put my suitcase down finally.” That really spoke to me. But keep in mind that McCain did not lose by that many points nationally, and in many of the states he lost, he made it very close. So, this country is not united. The people who voted for Obama feel united. But many many people voted for McCain/Palin because they either don't like Obama or they really think his policies would help us. These are mainly the people who voted for Bush twice, and now say they don't like him, but I'm supposed to all of a sudden trust their impeccable judgement.....Please. Step to the back of the short bus, people. The fact that abortion and homosexuality could factor into anyone's decision at this critical moment is asinine. And it goes the other way. Many people voted for him for reasons of reverse racism, though its not like Alan Keyes would be packing the polls. This man was top of his class at Harvard. He was the first African-American to run the Harvard Law Review. He is no lightweight. He is one of the brightest people on the planet. I don't really like all the "Wooooooooohhhhoooooooooooo!!!"-ing that goes on at all his rallies. He hasn't done ANYTHING yet. He's not the Beatles. BUT, he is definitely the right man for the job, and I am proud to call him my President (effective immediately please). What happened on Tuesday was a very special thing, no doubt. Few things will happen in this life that bring such far reaching joy as Tuesday night's victory for Barack Obama in Chicago. The whole world watched, and something tells me people will remember Barack Hussein Obama's name a little longer than they remember Michael Phelps....exactly.