World-music groups team up for benefit
Drum Brothers and Mandir will perform a special benefit concert for Michael Fiester at 8 p.m. on Jan. 8 in the Flathead High School auditorium.
Fiester, a Whitefish resident and a friend to both groups, has been diagnosed with a rare soft tissue sarcoma. A carpenter and craftsman, Fiester does not have health insurance and does not qualify for Medicaid.
Drum Brothers present high-energy performances that feature a diverse mix of world sounds on their original compositions: West African djembe and dounoun drums, Middle Eastern frame drums and Australian didgeridoo, as well as acoustic guitar, flute instrumentals and close-harmony vocals. The members are brothers Matthew and Michael Marsolek, Lawrence Duncan and Nathan Zavalney.
The Drum Brothers move easily between uplifting percussion arrangements to the softer textures of ethnic flute, clay udu drum and guitar. They have performed extensively throughout the Northwest and in Canada at festivals, performing arts series, school assemblies, dance events and private celebrations.
Mandir has been performing throughout the region since the mid 1990s. Its members are: Matthew Marsolek, classical and acoustic guitar; Beth Youngblood, violin; Duncan, soprano sax, bassoon and flute; and Michael Marsolek, percussion and didgeridoo.
Mandir's music joins together world influences in jazz, classical, and folk idioms, blended with melodic and rhythmic elements from India and West Africa. The group's signature sound references far away places while also evoking a sense of the Montana landscape and sky. Mandir's performances feature compositions by Matthew Marsolek, which highlight the group's unique instrumentation and the improvisational abilities of its players.
Though the groups share three members in common, this will be the first time in the 10-year history of both that they will play together in a shared concert. Mandir will open with a set, then after a short break, Drum Brothers will close out the evening.
Tickets are $15 with children, and free for children 12 and under. All proceeds will go to help Fiester with his medical bills.
Advance tickets are available at Electric Avenue Books in Bigfork, the Ananda Seva Center in Kalispell, and Artistic Touch in Whitefish. For more information, contact Satsang Music at (406) 726-4448, satsang@blackfoot.net
Additional contributions to Fiester can be sent in care of Alice Cabell, P.O. Box 547, Kila, MT 59920.
Matthew Marsolek of Drum Brothers will present a hand-drumming workshop at the Ananda Seva Center, 36 Second St. E. in Kalispell, on Jan. 9. The workshop will begin at 11 am. The cost is $15.
Everyone is welcome and extra drums will be available. Marsolek will teach beginning rhythms in the Mande tradition of Mali and Guinea, West Africa.
Space is limited. Call the Ananda Seva Center at 756-1195 to register.
Please contact Satsang Music for additional photos, recordings, or to schedule an interview: 406-726-4448, satsang@blackfoot.net.