Friday, December 9, 2016
BALKALICIOUS FIRE DRIVE
ORKESTAR RADACINA
GHOST NOTE ENSEMBLE
Starry Plough Pub in Berkeley
3101 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

December’s edition of the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal presents an eclectic lineup of three bands from the far reaches of Bay Area for a marathon of folk music traditions from all over Eastern Europe. The Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal is a notoriously raucous Balkan party bringing together local musicians and audiences at the Starry Plough on the second Friday of every month.

Doors at 8:00pm
Music at 9:00pm
Admission is $10-20 sliding scale
21+ after 10pm (as kitchen closes)

BALKALICIOUS FIRE DRIVE
With searing instrumentals and sultry, gut-wrenching vocals soaring over hard-hitting grooves, Balkalicious Fire Drive rocks you with the raw and intoxicating energy, sound and spirit of the Balkans. Band members are infused with long and vibrant histories from the Bay Area world music scene and beyond. They are: Leslie Bonnett on vocals and violin; Stuart Brotman on bass, Shea Comfort on clarinet, and Haig Kassabian on percussion.

We welcome back Orchestar Radacina, Sonoma’s hot new Balkan brass band to the Bacchanal. Orkestar Radacina plays Balkan Brass music with a funky twist. Founded in January 2015 in rural Northern California, Radacina’s nine members (trumpets, clarinets, trombone, baritone horn, sousaphone, bari sax and percussion) practice in the back of an old barn, surrounded by goats, llamas, and chickens. Sometimes the goats even sing along.

And up first, we’re looking forward to the return of the Ghost Note Ensemble. Ghost Note Ensemble weaves music from Hungarian, Moldavian, Ukrainian, and Jewish folk traditions into a tuneful time traveled tapestry, a requiem for borders of future past.

Friday, November 11th, 2016
The Berkeley Bacchanal Presents
Mano Cherga
Helios
Balkanton 340

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley CA
Doors at 8pm; Music at 9pm
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Kitchen closes at 10:00 pm (21+ thereafter)

The third installment of the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal’s 2016-17 season presents a triple-threat rapid fire sampling of the bay area’s finest Balkan groups in a frenzy of music and dance to kick off your marathon weekend.

Mano Cherga are regulars at the Bacchanal, and for good reason – their unique “Roma folk party band” sound and wild energy will make you want to throw back some slivovitz and hit the dance floor!

Beodan Miric: guitar, lead vocals
Yevgeniy Sverdlik: bass guitar
Sasha: accordion
Ed Meares: drums
Haluk Kecelioglu: violin, oud

By contrast, this is the first Bacchanal appearance by Helios Greek Band, and it happens to be their CD release party! They have delighted audiences at Greek Festivals and weddings throughout the west coast with their infectious harmonies and make each performance a truly special and memorable event.

Michael Garibaldi: percussion, vocals
Gregory Masaki Jenkins: clarinet, vocals
George Mavroudis: guitar, vocals
Irene Mavroudis: vocals, percussion
Michael Mavroudis: bass, bouzouki, vocals
Lefteri Tsakle: violin, bouzouki

Kicking off the night is Balkanton 340, bringing you the unique traditional sounds of the folk instruments gaida, gadulka, kaval and tupan played by the Bay Area’s most exciting veterans of Bulgarian music, and joined for the first time by Bacchanal regular Ivan Velev.

Hector Bezanis: gajda
Dena Bjornlie: gadulka
Rumen Sali Shopov: percussion, tambura
Ivan Velev: kaval, percussion
Alex Hand: Tambura

Friday, October 14th, 2016
MWE w/Peter Jaques (11:00pm)
La Pêche (10:00pm)
Orchestra Euphonos (9:00pm)

Admission: $10-15; Doors at 8:00pm
Starry Plough Pub 3101 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA

The second installment of the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal’s 2016-17 season presents a triple-threat rapid fire sampling of the bay area’s finest balkan groups in a frenzy of music and dance to kick off your marathon weekend.

Orchestra Euphonos opens the show with Peter Bonos incorporating recent additions, vocalist Samantha Shokin and none other than Ivan Velev on drums. Next up, Paul Bertin is back with the newest incarnation of local favorites La Pêche. And to top it off, MWE blares once again with Peter Macrae Jaques and bacchanal instigator Gregory Masaki Jenkins at the helm.

Yes, their name is enigmatic, but MWE’s magical sounds are no mystery…a Middle-Eastern marching band consisting of one zurna, one davul, one saxophone, and two clarinets and 1 million decibels! The MWE experience is an all-out, crazy dance party for your ears and your feet!

Gregory Masaki Jenkins, Morgan Nilsen, Peter Jaques: clarinets
Calvin Lai: zurna
Teddy Raven: sax and kaval
Sean Tergis: percussion

To have “La Pêche” is French for being in a particularly good mood and great form ; and that’s what the quintet immediately conveys with their furiously fun blend of Balkan-inspired melodies. Combining a solid foot in traditional musics from Romania to Turkey with funkier grooves and heavy bass lines, the band has created a highly unique and energetic sound.

Paul Bertin – Sax
Morgan Nilsen – Clarinet
Dusty Brough – Guitar
Andrew Cohen – Helicon
Sean Tergis – Percussion

Orchestra Euphonos plays folk music of Eastern Europe, focusing on the common styles of dances played by the Jews and Roma in Moldova. For this performance, Euphonos will bring you a few Lautari horas, Romanian laments, a Ukrainan waltz and even a Russian Tango.

Peter Bonos: trumpet
Asaf Ophir: clarinet, sax, flute
Travis Hendrix: clarinet
Samantha Shokin: voice
Zina Pozen: accordion
Ivan Velev: Tupan
Juliana Frick: bass