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Friday May 5
 SAPAC The South Asian Progressive Action Collective (SAPAC) proudly presents Voices of Resistance5. VOR5 is a space for South Asian artists to come together and share their voices using art as a powerful means of social commentary. This year's VOR will focus on the theme MEMORY and CHOICE. VOR 5 will be followed by Chicago's very own dynamic band Funkadesi. More on VOR5 can be found at www.sapac.org 5:30 Preshow Reception cohosted by DesiLit (www.desilit.org) and Blank Kanvas (www.blankkanvas.com). Enjoy some pre-show snacks, mingle and enjoy visual art by local artists. 7:00 Voices of Resistance5 Show 10:00 Funkadesi Advance tickets - $8 VOR5/ $12 Funkadesi/ $18 Both Day of event - $10 VOR5/ $15 Funkadesi/ $22 Both Students: $5/$15 with student ID VOR5 is all ages event, children under 12 are free Website
Funkadesi
 Funkadesi Funkadesi, whose unprecedentedly diverse band members (of Jamaican, African-American, Latino, Indian-American, and European heritages) are proud to be celebrating 10 years of togetherness. The band?s visible diversity? dreadlocks, turbans, men, women, white, brown and black ? as well as their music ? is making a powerful statement about solidarity, tolerance, and understanding. In fact, they have recently captured the attention of U. S. Senator Barack Obama: "Funkadesi really knows how to get a crowd going! I can't say enough how energizing this band is. There's a lot of funk in that desi." Founder and bassist/sitarist Rahul Sharma states "I can?t believe it?s been 10 years. I?m proud of the fact that we?ve stuck it out this long as an independent Chicago band." Sharma also reflects on the closeness of the band: "We emanate a family vibe ? onstage and off. Quite simply, we love to play music, we love to be together in front of appreciative fans, and we continue to feed off each other?s energy." Funkadesi fluidly combines East Indian music with reggae, funk, and a variety of Afro-Caribbean music, creating what the band has dubbed the "Indo-Afro-Caribbean connection." This connection seems to appeal to a broad cross-section of fans both within and beyond the South Asian diaspora. Toronto Star?s Geoff Chapman says "This ideal band . . . also bears messages of togetherness." Funkadesi has generated a tremendous response from a rapidly growing fan base, and has thrice won the Chicago Music Award for Contribution to World Music (and has now been nominated for a possible fourth award). Their latest CD, It?s About Time, has been hailed by mainstream press, including Latin Beat Magazine: "Funkadesi knows how to be fun and accessible, while grooving your socks off with their reggae/Bhangra/roots music brew." (Samples of the CD can be heard on: www.funkadesi.com.) The band has been featured on London?s BBC radio and mentioned Time Magazine. The band has indeed endured quite a bit in their decade together, including the untimely death of their drummer, Meshach Silas, in February of 2005. While that loss was difficult for the band, through the tragedy and fueled by Silas? legacy, they have become closer and more determined to move forward with their mission and music. Plans are underway to release their latest, much-anticipated CD in Spring of 2007, dedicating the album to Silas? memory. "In a world with a precious balance of rhythm and melody, of black and white and Latino and Asian, of just-for-fun banalities and clever word play, of sexuality and propriety, the house band would have to be Funkadesi . . . ." -Achy Obejas, Chicago Tribune Website |
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