Music

YM: Has Music always been a part of your life?
WP:  Yes, my mother told me I could sing before I could speak.

YM: Who are your musical and spiritual influences?
WP:  My grandparents were my first musical and spiritual influences.
 When my father was at Vietnam, I lived with them and heard many stories about Yogananda, my grandmothers guru, and Sydney Bechet, my grandfathers great friend. Nana loved Paramahansaji and gave me the Autobiography of a Yogi. My grandfather Wynne was a Jazz DJ and spent time recording and getting gigs for Sydney Bechet.
Now, almost 40 years later, I feel blessed by Yoga and Jazz. A lot of my musical and spiritual influences come from direct experiences jamming with some wonderful saints and musicians. In my early thirties  I was invited to play guitar with Ammachi, as she sang to commence her yearly DC visit. It was my first Kirtan and sent me flying to the home of groovy Kirtan - California.  In 1997, I moved to Marin county and started playing & recording with Bhagavan Das and Krishna Das.  They taught me a lot about the great goddess Kali and the wonderful saint Neem Karoli Baba. Being their  sarod sideman was a blessing and a great way to watch and learn how to present Chanting and sacred music.

YM: What is your sound?
WP: The sound of necessity.  In my mind, I hear complete east west symphonies. In the studio, I produce albums that  feature very skilled Indian and western musicians playing in a contemporary, rockband setting (drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, tablas, bansuri, sarod, etc).  When I perform live, I usually bring a guitar, a sarod , a small drum and a sampler. Local percussionists, musicians and singers usually sit in
on my concerts too. Sometimes I will play more traditional sounding kirtans, but if the crowd is unfamiliar with the form, I also have a western, ‘gospel sounding’ presentation.

YM: What does your yoga and meditation practice look/sound like? 
WP: Since I perform full time, often 4 times a week, the process of presenting kirtan becomes  a huge part of my personal practice.  The Highway Tantra of traveling to and from the Kirtan is a big part of it.  I perform a lot of Japa and pray constantly.  Hatha is also important.  essential because of all the driving.  A lot of breathing/pranayama and spontaneous meditations. On my last tour I saw a Florida Panther on a leash at a Rest stop. The road always gives
you plenty of experiences to focus your yoga practice on.

YM: What inspires your music? 
WP: As far as Kirtan goes, the whole venue is inspiring.
Being able to associate yourself with Yogi’s, blessed with so much beauty, bliss and love.
The music is powerful and divine,  and the mantras are supercharged. As a kirtan musician you can see people experiencing God through music. How many musical jobs are there where you get the experience of  seeing  people crying tears of joy, besides being a wedding singer?  Every show, whether there are 5 people or 50, is a blessing.  Every once in a blue moon, you might see  someone reach  an exalted state of yoga, like Samadhi or Ecstacy. My Kirtan music is inspired by the Bhava of the live Kirtan gatherings, and the Deities and Saints who ‘show up’ at the gatherings

YM: Why Mantra? 
WP:  Why not? It’s the rap music of the ages.
 I focus my chanting on the divine name and a few exaltations, 
As well as  recognizing  and  honoring the tradition of Mantra in
Hinduism, Buddhism and Yoga. To me, Kirtan is more about  singing the names of God, but then again,  I don’t have a background in Sanskrit.
Singing Mantra’s, Vedic chanting , including  different traditions like Gospel and Yoruba; All these great things happen together in yoga studio concerts.

YM: When and why did Kirtan get so popular? 
WP:In the Middle ages of India, a few great saints incarnated to teach. The original Bhakti tradition also had dance and poetry represented in the mix.  In modern  kirtan, the movement has been fueled by magazines, record companies, websites and mass media, as well as having a strong grass-roots component, similar to open mikes and drum circles. All in all, it’s a phenomenon, a very positive one

YM: What is the process of creating a song from start to finish?
WP: For Yoga Music, it usually resembles ‘channeling’. I’ll start with a traditional Kirtan  melody and start improvising. If something works, I’ll write it down and go back later to record it and arrange it in the studio.

   
YM: Where has music taken you?
WP: Mostly the east and west coasts, mostly the blue states.
2009 will be my first world tour with Kirtan.
I’m currently booking shows in Germany, Brazil and Columbia.
Have Sarod, will travel!

YM: What is next for you and your music?
WP:  I’m putting out my first Nationally distributed CD in a few months.  It’s called Groovananda, and features some great
Musicians from Rock, Jazz and World Beat genres including Rick Allen (Def Leppard) and JT Thomas (Bruce Hornsby Hand),  Badal Roy (Tabla) and a guest vocal spot from the amazing Krishna Das.



YM: Where can we find out more about you?
WP:  www.Wynneparis.com
Thank you, God Bless, Jai Ma!