7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN WITH RED BARAAT STAR SUNNY JAIN

BRRRUUUUAHHH!! If you have heard Sunny Jain's band Red Baraat, you have likely danced, shook your head and did some serious Bollywood bhangra to these crazy fun dhol and brass band! This NYC based group gets the motor runnin' with fresh beats, classic Hindi songs that your parents listened to on cassettes with a serious dance party/explosive stage presence! This is Sunny's world and BrooklynPBJS was just living in it...
PBJS: Sunny, tell us when you started playing music and what inspired you to make this your career?

SJ: I remember being 4 and air-tabla’ing to my Moms bhajans (religious song) and also air drumming to my older siblings’ Top 40 mix. I started learning symphonic percussion at age 10 and fell in love with jazz at 13 when I started studying drum set privately with my main mentor, Rich Thompson. From there, it’s been a beautiful journey hearing, studying and playing all types of music with musicians from all walks of life. I guess it was just my genetic make-up that took an interest to the sounds I heard at an early age and once you’re bit by the bug, there’s no turning back.

PBJS: Bum. Bum. Bum. ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST! Anyway,we love the name "Red Baraat" bc anybody who has been to a GOOD Baraat can relate to your music-- is this what inspired you?

SJ: The band actually got its start from my own wedding 5 years ago, before it was even named Red Baraat. In late 2008, I put together a 9-piece band (Red Baraat) that took the wedding, celebratory music of baraats to another place by incorporating funk, soca, jazz, Brazilian and go-go music. So definitely the baraat term comes from that tradition and well red, because it’s my favorite color, it’s the color of love, fire and excitement, which is the essence of the band.

PBJS: Red Baraat definitely sheds love, fire and excitement! You guys often play at one of our favorites BARBES-- in a small confined room in the back, we need to get you guys out side on the streets- anything like that coming up?

SJ: Well, we still do a bunch of wedding baraats, but obviously those are private events. We did a great gig last year at Lincoln Center that was outside and while we can work as a marching band and often do, our energetic sound is on full display when we are stationary and have our drum set player Tomas Fujiwara.
Adding the drum set to dhol, percussion, sousaphone and 5 horns, makes for a heavy, heavy sound! In fact, we’ll be at Lincoln Center on July 8th with DJ Rekha, part of Midsummer Night Swing, their first every Bhangra party!

PBJS: What is on Sunny Jain's iPod?

SJ: It switches often, but currently: Rebirth Brass Band, The Phoenix, Steve Reich’s “Different Trains”, Introducing Nitin Sawhney, and Bob Marley’s “Keep on Shanking.”

PBJS: Oh my, you did FELA! We LOVE FELA!. How was this experience and did you bring some Indian beat into this beautiful Nigerian story?

SJ: FELA!, the Broadway show is fantastic, but no I did not bring some Indian beat to it, at least not consciously, ha ha. I was subbing for the percussionist and friend, Dylan Fusillo. It’s really a great show with awesome music and dancing and Sahr Ngaujah, who plays Fela is unbelievable. Highly recommended!

PBJS: Tell us about the New Yorker in Sunny Jain-- what are your favorite parts of living in the best city in the world?

SJ: I’m really loving my neighborhood spots in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene, Brooklyn. One of my favorite restaurants here, and really in all of the boroughs, is Abistro, a French-Sengalese place that serves up the mostly amazing plates with ridiculously tasty sauces. It’s also BYOB and they substitute practically everything with tofu, which works great for me because I’m vegetarian.

PBJS: Any Indian restaurant reco's-- we are always looking for new hot spots.

SJ: Punjabi 5-star Deli in Long Island City. Slamming late at night. I’m talking after 1am.

PBJS: Sometimes I play your music when I am in the shower and find myself doing bhangra with shampoo in my hair...If you ever need any back up dancers, will you call us?

SJ: Hells yeah! I hope you continue coming to our show and be our front-up dancer! We feed off our audiences’ vibes and we love it when people are dancing.

PBJS: Any new projects coming down the line that we should keep our eyes/ears peeled for?

SJ: I actually just released my 3rd jazz CD, called “Taboo”. It features my core quartet, pianist Marc Cary, guitarist Nir Felder, bassist Gary Wang, as well as 6 different vocalists: Achyut Joshi, Sheetal Karhade, Samita Sinha, Shayna Steele, Sachal Vasandani and YaliniDream. The compositions are inspired by ghazals and the lyrics address issues such as sexual orientation, violence and inequality upon women and the juxtaposition of religions. The lyrics are by Ali Mir, Ifti Nasim, Kishwar Naheed, Vikram Seth, and Erin Thomas. We are having our CD release concert on Thursday, June 10th at Joe’s Pub. You can stream the full album here: www.sunnyjain.bandcamp.com.

PBJS: If you had a theme song that played every time you walked into a room, what song do you envision?

SJ: The theme song to Chips! Ha ha.

TO FIND OUT WHEN YOU CAN SEE RED BARAAT www.redbaraat.com

Pick up/Download Sunny's newest album: TABOO www.sunnyjain.bandcamp.com

THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE

"Hello New York. We are The Whitest Boy Alive from Berlin and this is our last show in the states and its about to start NOW!"

This is how Erlend Oye started his show last night at The Music Hall of Williamsburg.

For all that you missed out, you are probably not feeling pain in your legs from jumping up and down for about 2 hours while watching nerd eye candy.

This band brought me back to the house music I grew up on in Chicago. The keyboardist is a machine that is the brains behind this collaboration. The drummer plays tight beats, sometimes one handed. The bass was this funky goofy amazing artist and Erlend...well, he is just fantastic.

His tall lanky Napolean Dynomite look does not take from his inner rock star as he kicks and dances to all his songs. Erlend Oye created "The Whitest Boy Alive" project to acknowledge the party that is always in his head.

He entertains, he dances, he engages...at one point last night, Oye asked the audience to please not steal his bike that was unlocked out in front, he asked the ladies if they liked European men and also acknowledged BROOKLYN as better than Manhattan!

The beautiful part about this band is that the live sound is not at ALL different than listening to an album, its the experience that takes it next level. These guys get in front of you and you cannot help but move your hips, shoulders and boot-tay to their sound.

To end the show and to bring out my love for house music, they rocked a Robin S. cover of: "Show me Love." You have to be deaf to hate on that song.

Thank you for the Wednesday night party last night! COME BACK SOON!!

The Whitest Boy Alive takes the crown for my favorite 2010 show THUS far. cannot wait for the summertime line up!

Mr. B and the PS 22 Chorus

These kids are SO fun! Enjoy!!

Phoenix- Listzomania

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZ1zV1l2KQ&feature=youtube_gdata

GaGa- Just Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0FPZolbYns&feature=related

Coldplay- Viva La Vida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_tcE4rWovI&feature=related

Eye of the Tiger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL0aDXekfyM&feature=related

Jay-z/Rihanna- Run This Town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-upCBD3h9E&feature=related

7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN WITH NOMO FRONTMAN ELLIOT BERGMAN

BrooklynPBJS loves to dance on tables to the beats of Ann Arbor based AfroFunk-kay band NOMO. If you haven't checked them out, they are likely to suck you into a room with their groovy soul shaking tone and make you dance until all your clothes are off! PBJS had a fun exchange with their front man Elliot Bergman who is known to craft the powerful instruments he plays. Currently on tour, read how Elliot marches to his own beat...

PBJS: We love to rock out to NOMO- we are curious to hear who is on your iPod?

EB: I recently gave my iPod to my brother. Whoops! It was pretty good though. It was full of great Tropicalia stuff: Os Mutanes, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Tom Ze-- oh and tons of Sun Ra. So when we would put on my iPod on shuffle in the van, it was either Brazillian stuff or Sun Ra, with an occasional track from Born to Run thrown in. I'm not a huge digital media guy. I need to get into it a bit more, but mostly files just stress me out. My search function doesn't work on my computer, so things just pile up on my desktop. It's a nightmare! I love records and worked in a great record store in Ann Arbor for years- Encore Recordings. Ask me about my records...ok. So my girlfriend just bought me a bunch of Harry Bertoia's records for Christmas and I am so excited about them. I've always wanted them and in my years of searching, I have only found one. She bought five of them for me. I was speechless. I actually couldn't believe it. The artwork is so cool and minimal and they have this wonderfully complete aesthetic. I could never feel the same way about some pile of files on my hard drive.

PBJS: First thing to come to your mind- QUICK! First concert? Musical crush?

EB: I remember being at the Minnesota State Fair and sitting on my dad's shoulders while listening to a Beatles cover band. I had a beta tape of Yellow Submarine as a kid (until my dad taped a Vikings game over it) and my favorite song was "Octopus' Garden." When they (the cover band) went into their rendition of it, I was so excited and I thought it was amazing that The Beatles were playing at the Minnesota State Fair. My dad kept telling me that it wasn't the real Beatles, but I just couldn't understand the concept. They looked just like them...suits and haircuts- how could this be?

Oh and musical crush, I am going to have to go with Beyonce.

PBJS: Favorite place to play-- cough cough BROOKLYN!! and why of course?

EB: Yeah. Zebulon (in Brooklyn) is one of my favorite spots in the world. It's a very special club. They do a great job keeping the lineup filled with interesting new stuff and it's just such a warm and friendly atmosphere. I wish there were more clubs like this. They should franchise. There is never any cover, but we more than often would make more money passing a hat around for donations than we would by charging a steep cover at one of New York's more established venues. It's always filled with musicians and very appreciative listeners.

PBJS: We read that FELA KUTI is an inspiration to NOMO, have you or the band gone to see the amazing NYC show? any new vibes NOMO is exploring?

EB: I did go to see the show, it was really fun. I know some of the guys who are playing in the band and it was great to get to see them on stage. It's quite an amazing production and the music and dancing are great. It's fun to see how Fela and African music are looming in the public consciousness lately. Lots of interesting combinations are happening right now.

I am hard at work on an album that will be centered around the instruments that I build. It's tentatively called Metal Tongues and Erik and I have been working on it for the past couple of weeks. Lots of crazy Kalimba type instruments and looping and layering on top of each other!

PBJS: E, we notice that you roll deep when you guys are on tour. Quite a family you have formed- how do rehearsals go with so many people in your band and so m any moving parts in your music? How on earth do you select who plays with NOMO as well?

EB: There are a lot of us. We've slimmed down a bit over the past few years...you know, the economy and everything. It is hard to keep a big band on the road, but everybody is very flexible and accommodating. We do have a familial vibe at this point. We try to keep rehearsals to a minimum once we have learned the songs. I'd like to think that the players in NOMO just sort of emerge when it's their time. Jamie just kind of waltzed through my front yard carrying a bass a few weeks before the first session. Erik and Justin lived in that house along with a number of former members of the band. Now, when we need a new member- we just post it on FaceBook. Just kidding!

PBJS: We think your bass player Jamie ROCKS! Jamie can really bring the funk and get us off our seats!

EB: She does rock. She's been focusing on her own project lately. Jamie Register and The Glendales is her funky soul outfit and they have been keeping her very busy, so she hasn't been able to come out on the road with us much lately. But we still get her in there when we've got a show around Michigan.

PBJS: Michigan, brrrr! How did you spend your holidays this year?

EB: I've got a great big family and we all convene outside of Chicago. Everybody is musical, so there's lots of singing and playing and Garage Band recording sessions. My sister is quite a prolific songwriter and a great singer. We're hoping to get her in some more NOMO stuff soon!

PBJS: Have to ask, we have been listening to you for years-- and in these years we've seen your many different hairstyles-- shorter, shaggier and even a potential rat-tail-- EXPLAIN PLEASE!

EB: It's hard to get a haircut on the road! I don't think I'll be rocking the long braid any time soon, but I have been getting longer and longer as of late. It's just natural. Maybe next time we are in Brooklyn, you can organize a band haircut day.

PBJS: Sounds like a plan! We love the unique beautiful instruments NOMO brings to town! E, you are a vocalist, musician, badass and a handyman- now that's the total package!

EB: Is that a question? Ha, I have been quite handy lately and I have been working on a new set of instruments. They should go up on Ubiquity's site very soon, so I'll have to send you a link. It's always really fun once the electronics are all done and you plug them in. Each one has it's own character and it's really fun to play each one before they get sent off to their new homes. In the early stages, it's pretty much dangerous machine work and very repetitive, so I need to make sure that I don't space out and amputate! Lots of sparks flying, wood chips shooting out, loud grinding noises, hot aluminum bits-- It's a dangerous world in my workshop. If you

To check out when NOMO will be in your town- check it:

http://www.myspace.com/nomomusic

and

BROOKLYN- NOMO WILL BE HERE APRIL 14TH- UNION POOL 10PM-- WE WILL BE THERE FO SHO!

To check out Elliot's latest batch of instruments- check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YwFw4ZH8F0&feature=player_embedded (See Elliot Create!)

http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/shop/products/HANDMADE-KALIMBA

Enjoy some NOMO- youtube style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOrNrLCIPug

7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN WITH FOOD NETWORK STAR CHEF JEHANGIR MEHTA

BrooklynPBJS loves to eat at Graffiti(http://www.graffitinyc.com/) in the East Village of NYC-a hip shoebox sized living room style restaurant where Chef Jehangir Mehta serves brilliant, eclectic and creative international small plates that feature his trademark affinity for bold flavors. We had the honor to chat up Chef Mehta who was recently the runner up on Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef.” Born and raised with cooks in Mumbai, India, Chef Mehta knew early on that he had talent in the culinary world that he needed to share. Best known for his creativity, Chef Mehta opens up about how his cookie crumbles…

PBJS: Chef, you have been making your rounds these days! Congrats on your journey on “The Next Iron Chef”- we were cheering you on! What was going on through your head before they announced the winner?

JM: You are not going to believe this, but I was not aware of the results when we completed the shooting. For after the battle, they shot Jose and me, both winning and losing. So it was not until a few days before the final was to be aired, that I was told the outcome. Of course I wanted to win but I am basically a balanced person. Nothing gets me too elated and at the same time I do not get too dejected either. So for me, this has been a great opportunity to get national coverage for weeks on end. But most of all I am grateful to all my fans for their support. I still receive regular emails from them and even those who not from NY patronize Graffiti whenever they are in town.

PBJS: In the most heated moments of the competition, you still seem to keep a smile on your face and be kind to your competitors, how did you keep your cool the whole time?

JM: I firmly believe that I can succeed on my own merit. So I see no need to bring anyone down in order to get ahead. Also, helping others is an Indian trait, and I am so glad my parents instilled this value in me.The one thing that does get under my skin is when a customer is not treated well. However in the NIC battles customers were not in the picture, so staying cool was not such an issue. Although I did have occasional high stress moments!

PBJS: You have the hippest restaurant in NYC-GRAFFITI—cute space, sweet ambiance and incredible food- what was your inspiration? And what was your road to opening Graffiti?

JM: My inspiration has always been people. One thing that I really like is good service. I admire places that give me this experience and that is what I like to offer my customers. Additionally, I really want my patrons to feel at home. So Graffiti was designed as a living room. Its on purpose that our furniture is a collection of different pieces, just like one would have at home, since when you like something, you really want it there.
The food I serve at Graffiti is my style. I love to put ingredients together. I just have a feel for what will work and what won’t. Its hard to describe how I know but I do. I also try and follow principles of Ayurveda to a limited extent. So my food has different flavors and ingredients that balance themselves out. My customers often tell me, that this creates a party in their mouth. The first time I heard this I was touched. It was a wonderful compliment to have received and I was deeply honored.

PBJS: If you were sent off to a deserted island and could only take one food—what would it be and why?

JM: It would be fresh coconut. I’d have the coconut water to drink and the flesh to eat. So even if there is no possibility of lighting a fire on that deserted island, a fresh coconut would help me stay alive!

PBJS: We have a bunch of vegetarians at PBJS- any quick eats recipes you can share with us? We LOVE to cook!

JM: Try my thyme roasted potatoes. The recipe is up on jehangirmehta.com

PBJS: If you could have a slogan, what would it be?

JM: Life is a staircase, it could bring you down, but you can start climbing right back up again.

PBJS: Our favorite NYC restaurant is Graffiti- what are YOUR favorites?

JM: Surprisingly I do not really eat out much. I like home cooked food. When I get pangs for Indian food I just head out to Handi where they sell amazing biryani. When Desis go there to eat, trust me the food is good. Other than that if I were to go for a celebratory dinner I would head to Per Se. I also enjoy Brad Farmerie’s cooking so Public and Double Crown are my kind of places too.

PBJS: We see you have made the Top 50 Coolest Desi's of 2009 list -(http://www.desiclub.com/community/culture/culture_article.cfm?id=499)- How

cool!! We see another Desi we have featured on the blog in this list as well: Scrubs star: Sonal Shah! Actually, the last time we were at your restaurant: Graffiti- we brought Sonal Shah!! Two of 2009's Top Desi's in one room--yay!! So, our question: which all time Desi's are on your Top 3 list?? Chefs? Celebrities? Inspirations? Bloggers??

JM: I guess my list will be boring for most people because my choice is based on values. I have therefore divided my Top 3 into categories.

Category one: Humility and Kindness
I admire people who are humble and kind despite their achievements and fame. Here Mr. Ratan Tata tops the list especially for the way he looked after not just his employees, but also the hawkers outside the Taj after the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008.

Category two: Hard-work and Success
I admire people who have achieved success and sustained it over the years. For many of us can reach the pinnacle, but it’s much harder to remain there for a long period of time. So in that respect, I admire Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, Mr. Shahrukh Khan, Mr. Zakir Hussain and Mr. Ravi Shankar in the performing arts arena and Mr. Sachin Tendulkar in cricket.

Category three: Honesty and Truthfulness
Finally I value people who can be honest and truthful despite the circumstances in which they live and work. So in this category I respect India’s prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and most of all, my own dad, Petras Mehta.

Be sure to pick up Chef Mehta's beautifully made cookbook:

Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence

http://www.amazon.com/Mantra-Rules-Indulgence-Jehangir-Mehta/dp/0060899859

Check out his blog and blog videos:

http://www.jehangirmehta.com/index.html

All you New Yorkers or if you are coming into the area for a visit- you NEED to make Graffiti a must visit!

A Foodie's Delight

A wonderfully charming story for a wide array of people- readers, chefs, bloggers, men, women, New Yorkers, French, Americans, unhappy with your jobbers, creatives...so many genres...

The beauty of this story is that it follows two real life stories and they parallel path each other throughout the entire film creating a whimsical and warm story.

The first of the two stories features who the entire film is dedicated to: Julia Child and her memoir "My Life in France." Meryl Streep does a fabulous job interpreting the revolutionary Julia Child and embraced her quirks and mannerisms quite masterfully.

The second memoir, "Julie & Julia," follows writer Julie Powell as she works her way through a self-imposed quest: cooking all 524 recipes in Child's book in 365 days in an effort to break through her depressing cubicle day to day and find herself in a place where she is meant to shine. Amy Adams disappointed me at points in very predictable ways, but all in all thought she matched the intended quirkiness of this film. However, if her quirkiness was to reflect Streep's, it was completely living in Streep's shadow.

These two stories are connected through Amy Adam's character- Julie Powell- who plays a talented writer who definitely knows a thing or two in the kitchen. Powell' shared passion of cooking and butter creatively craft a journey to celebrate what Julia Child has done in the kitchen and for all powerful women. Both women are soul searching powerhouses that have found that cooking- completes them- Jerry Maguire style.

Child's husband within the movie Paul (played by Stanley Tucci) fit the role perfect when playing a suave Frenchman. Streep plays a wonderful role in trying to find herself in the French culture and Tucci by her side helps tell this story flawlessly.

In the scene of Julia hacking away at a mountain of sliced onions until she could chop faster and Paul covers his onion watery eyes and gasps: "You're being a little over competitive, don't you think?" truly crowned Streep's mastery of filling Child's perfect mastery of the French cuisine.

However, the second relationship within this film did not connect as powerfully. Julie and her husband Eric (played by Chris Messina) have an odd tug of war marriage where Julie leans strongly on her husband for advice while her husband Eric comes off slightly jerky. Eric who initially comes up and supports the idea of his wife's blogging soon accuses Julie of becoming too self-involved within her success. This relationship confuses me. And Eric bothers me.

However, this is a great warm fuzzy film for the Holidays filled with family cooking and quality time with loved ones. Be sure to bookmark this film for the following month. (It's on demand!)

Jude- No Tragedy Here.

Jude Law has proven all his critics wrong in his latest endeavor of playing Hamlet on Broadway.

When walking into this show, I am guilty of thinking- "Jude Law + Shakespeare...eye candy and brilliance- can't go wrong." Not knowing how I could possibly get past Law's charming looks and see past his usual romantic comedy roles, I was intrigued to see how Jude would handle the role of Hamlet.

Hamlet is arguably one of the most drama filled characters created of all time. He is quirkly, quick to contradict himself, reckless yet cautious, heartfelt but immature, fiesty yet smart. He is clearly consumed of hatered in learning that his father's death was no accident. This role, is one of the most layred, complicated masterpieces of all time. Jude Law needed to respect William Shakespeare all the while stepping away from the big screen and translating Hamlet on the big stage on Broadway.

Well he certainly did that. A long 3 hour production that highlights this tragedy of Hamlet in a modern day light. Law and the rest of his cast were wearing jeans, sweaters, leather jackets and boots. The casting ranged of different ethnicities showcasing an interesting interpretation of the orignal Hamlet. This unique Broadway production is a must-see. Make sure you are mentally prepared to be swept away into Shakespeare speak. Great Sunday show...

While the first few moments of Law taking the stage definitely caused the theater to flutter, it was soon outshined by his raw pure talent. From that moment on, Jude embraced his role making the audience laugh and cry in his journey with Shakespeare. The cast included some great breakout roles, but Jude certainly carried that "star quality" and truly deserves a Tony this year. Simply flawless.

Watching this show alongside my best friend from LA Sonal and dear friend from Chicago Shrujal, I felt lucky to experience this amazing New York City moment amongst the rest of the Theater. Congratulations to Jude Law and the entire cast of Hamlet for truly serving the master Shakespeare right. No easy task.