Times are changin’ with the seasons, but music is happening with new beginnings coming from old beginnings’ ends…

A question I’ve often asked myself is: “Just how much effort and striving is needed for results to happen?” Some people say that you can get whatever you want as long as you “work hard.” I’ve actually never really believed that, but at the same time, there is definitely something to be said for working hard and striving. So at the end of the day, I guess it’s good to feel a little tired, but also to let go of expectations that may be related to working hard. Sweating is part of life, and we should all sweat a little, simply because we should.

-e&k

things are definitely moving in the right direction. Making sure to take it slow and savoring every moment of this journey means being thankful for every blessing, and the feeling when a fan stops by our site to listen to our tunes, and hear what we have to say….

Thanks for the support and help from Pro Soul….special thanks for our new photo gallery!

Hayden and I are progressing… Our struggles to get a routine set here in New York has been somewhat burdensome however we are very optimistic about things. We don’t have any doubts about what we can achieve with our music. It’s just a matter of time, continued resilience; armed with prayer.

We actually journeyed back to 14th(Union Square) station and found a good spot to sing at. As we sung, the usual New York masses strutted along, passing us and giving slight stares. A man walked by and tossed in a couple dollars. As we continued to sing, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone walking towards us. “Hello Vahid!” It actually turned out to be a friend of mine I met in New York over a year ago. We hadn’t seen or talked much after meeting for the first time so it was a pleasant surprise. Moments later we met a gentleman who turned out to be an African percussionist. He informed us about an organization called Music Under New York that helps local artists gain exposure. They do annual auditions however after contacting them we had just missed the audition package submission deadline. But he informed me that we can still gig in the subways. We don’t need a permit.
Hayden and I have a ways to go but we’re moving…

E&K

When I wrote this title I wasn’t really sure what was going to follow, but lately I’ve just had a lot of thoughts going through my mind centered on the importance of just being content, so I’ll write about that. Here in the states we just loooooove to complain and feel like the victim, and on top of that, love to be told how great we are at everything. Growing up here, it’s actually quite hard to avoid and it takes constant effort to root out that kind of thinking. I find myself feeling very attached sometimes to the way people respond to our music. I’ve heard all types of responses, from “Awesome” to “Don’t like it.” The worst is actually when people tell you “It’s good,” in a very unenthusiastic way that you know really means: “Man, this bites.” But one way or the other, it shouldn’t really matter how people respond, cause it’s art that comes through us, and if we feel good about it, then attachments to people’s responses just become an obstacle to humility and progress. I remember my good friend Ra Scion from Common Market telling me about a show that he did for nobody. Yeah, you heard right, NOBODY showed up. He was promised a crowd of 300, but not one soul was in attendance (turns out it was in a college town during winter break, hehe). But instead of just going home dejected, he did the show with as much enthusiasm as if those 300 had been there. For me that says it all. Music for music’s sake. Thanks for listenin!’

-eak

You know what, just love what you do and do what you love! All these details that we get caught up in don’t really matter anyway. Why waste precious moments grumbling, complaining and blaming. That is what society does, not what you do. As my good friend Milton always says, “You must find the plus sign.” And there is a plus sign in everything, but most people don’t have the patience to look for it. Cause at the end of the day, what do we really have anyway? When you think about how you spent your last 24 hours, what is it that stands out? How do you want your 24-hour legacy to be?

In our case, it’s time to just do music for the love of music and simply keep it pure. It’s so easy to get caught up in expectations and lights and sounds, but most of it is really just a mirage that disappears as soon as you get close. You keep reachin’ and reachin’ for something that will never come. So let’s just be real and true! Thanks for listenin’,

e&k

After five months here on the east coast, Vahid and I finally decided that enough was enough and that we needed to be roommates and take the music to an entirely new level. Living in two different states – even though it was just New York to NewArk – was tough to overcome, and yesterday Vahid made the move to Brick City as we Newarkans call it. There have been a lot of frustrations these past months as we’ve tried to make the music happen. The difference now is that we’re just gonna LET it happen and be able to come together on a daily basis and take the steps we need to for this to move ahead. Soon we plan on hittin’ the road and visiting everywhere from orphanages to juvenile halls in an effort to use music as a means of serving mankind. Middle schools will soon follow as we take a race-unity workshop we piloted on the west coast last year to schools here. These workshops use the arts as a catalyst to connect students and inspire them to celebrate diversity. And in between we’ll just be playin’ anywhere and everywhere; from coffee shops to clubs, living rooms to rooftops. Our goal is to just let our love for music and the arts lead the way, always trying to stay humble and serve. Thanks for listenin’ y’all:)

e&k

As the rain pours down here in Brick City (Newark, NJ), we get ready to take the next step in this musical journey and begin the process of creating album #2. “Groundwork” was such a fun and rewarding endeavor, but we always gotta keep moving and not get attached to accomplishments that really aren’t ours anyway. Michelangelo said that when he sculpted, the end result was already there, he just had to chip away the rock. That’s the approach that we are taking with music, and we know that it already exists somewhere out there and up there. So we just try to be channels for it. The goal now is to keep writing, recording and playing everywhere possible, using this website as a way to interface with you all and communicate across these electromagnetic waves that somehow carry these words across the wires. Speaking of wires, look out for a new track entitled “Man on Wire,” about the struggle we face between living a life on the path of least resistance, or truly living on the “edges of life” as Vahid puts it. Thanks for listening…

-e&k

We’re pleased to announce our brand new website featuring our new album, Groundwork!

You can hear it on the Music Page and get links to get it digitally or order the CD. We’ll be posting some free downloads from it soon as well. This is a very different type of web type of website, it is a blog based Wordpress site that we can easily update and bring you all kinds of exciting dynamic features. Please bear with us if you have any problems as we perfect the site.

Thanks, and we hope you enjoy it!

We look forward to keeping in touch more often with you through it.