Flanfire

Okay — I was at the March for Iran at the Capitol on Wednesday and saw this amazing guy playing this skinny little instrument that sounds a little like a cross between a banjo and a mandolin and we all marched down Congresss to Sixth Street and all the way back chanting, “Where’s My Vote?” and I was thinking about my beloved Alison Krause being gunned down by our own National Guard in Ohio and about the brave people of Iran who are facing mass murder by the madman regime that our own government helped install in power in 1979 (you may remember the seizing of the US Embassy in Tehran?).

And I was recalling these two very good books I have read lately (and met both authors in person) — “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” by Azar Nafisi, and “In the House of My Bibi,” by Austin resident Nastaran Kherad — and how the wonderful Ayatollah put women in prison for daring to breathe freely and executed untold numbers of people for failing to jump high enough (or for nothing at all, kinda like the dragging to death of James Byrd).

And I thought — we had a concert for Bangladesh, we turned out by the millions to cheer the fall of the Berlin Wall, and so why are there so few Austin people here supporting our Iranian friends whose votes are being thrown away?  Do we not remember that if we fail to promote freedom abroad, we stand to lose our own freedom right here at home?  [Imagine if the Saudi King ran the USA -- no dancing, no tank tops (and much much worse).]

But this is a MUSIC column, and so I was thrilled to note that my good friend (and Iranian by heritage) Paul Oveisi was that very night bringing to his stage “Tehranosaurus,” which features the music of setar (different from the Indian sitar by a whole lot) player Fared Shafinury.  This was to be the debut of a forthcoming World Music Night at Momo’s (details will come later) — and I of course was so looking forward to this great show.  Little did I know that the fellow leading the march was that same Fared Shafinury — accompanied that afternoon by a couple of drummers and a host of spontaneous singers and beautiful people calling for a peaceful revolution in Iran — where a huge majority of the population is under 30 years old.

Of course I could not be THAT surprised when I walked into Momo’s and that guy was on stage.  And then we all began to listen to this great music — jazz, folk, and traditional Iranian (Persian, really, because this music has a LONG history) rhythms on two different setars he was playing.  The whole audience at Momo’s sat quietly (except to loudly applaud) so they could listen to every note.  Fared also explained what had happened that afternoon — and the very LEAST we can all do is to takje notice that the Ayatollah has now threatened massive violence against these freedom loving people who know full well that their “election” was totally fraudulent and that the people of Iran do not want a blowhard dictator who threatens nuclear warfare and keeps his own people enslaved to a “religion” that is — as the star of the new movie (see below) “The Stoning of Soraya M.” says, not Islam in any way, shape or form but in reality just a means to use to maintain absolute power and control.  [The movie, BTW, opens at the Regal Arbor Cinema in Great Hills on July 10th.]

Fared and his friends had been handing out a flyer with these immortal words from the 14th Century poet Saadi:   Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul.  If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain.  If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot retain.

Fared’s music conveys that sympathy for the human soul — anyone watching the crowd at Momo’s would know this instinctively.  His singing — which includes the Iranian “radiff” vocal style (you just have to hear it) — is just as impassioned as his speaking.  [Okay - I shot a great video but have to find a way to edit it down to under 10 minutes to get it on youtube -- all this technology is a learning experience; for example, I just learned how to write Noëlle!]

Do not be dismayed, as Fared will be BACK at Momo’s on June 24th — and friends of freedom and lovers of great music (they seem to go together) would do well to wear green and show up for this amazing performer and his friends.  Fared will also be at the Cactus Cafe on July 7th — but by that time, untold numbers of his fellow Iranians (though he was born “on the Gulf of Mexico”) may be dead or in prison.

To get more, just go to www.myspace.com/faredshafinury (or www.behindtheseas.com)   where you can hear songs from his brand-new EP, “Tehranosaurus,” and learn more about his forthcoming full-length CD, “Behind the Seas, “ which was recorded in Tehran in 2008.  And if you want to learn more about what is going on in Iran, or how to show support for these great people, just go to www.utipj.com — And remember the words of this young woman — “Freedom is something we all need. It’s a human right. It is worth fighting for,” said a young demonstrator who identified herself only as “Gazel.”