Kantara in Morocco Mar. 2007

Kantara began the Moroccan portion of the tour in Rabat and checked into a beautiful hotel downtown. We walked around the medina and saw the sun set over the ocean our first night in town. The next day, we met with music students and professors from Rabat. We were supposed to give a master class, but Kantara ended up getting schooled instead. The Moroccan musicians taught us some really tricky rhythms (in 11/8!) and tried to teach us one of their most popular melodies. We did our best, but I’m not sure we ever really learned it with the correct nuances and rhythm. It was still really fun to meet such talented and kind musicians in Morocco. They came to our concert at the Mohammed V Theater in Rabat and it was nice to see that they appreciated our fusion music too.

After performing in Rabat, Kantara journeyed to Casablanca for the final concert of our tour. While we were in Casablanca, we did last minute gift shopping in the medina, visited the music conservatory and jammed with the professors, and did lots of relaxing in the Hyatt Regency. One of my favorite moments on tour happened while watching TV in the hotel room. The American musicians were trying to find an English speaking station when we stumbled across ourselves on the national news! It was even funnier because they aired footage of us goofing off backstage. Brian was playing “Sweet Child of Mine” and a random Moroccan kid who wasn’t in the band was playing the mandolin. Almost every concert had news and media coverage, but it never occurred to us that we would make the top news. It was surreal to see ourselves on television and then to get recognized in the street. After performing at the Moulay Rachid Theater, Kantara celebrated the end of a long successful tour.

It was hard to say goodbye to Kantara, but I know I will see them soon. We are getting together in May to do a US tour and to record a full length album. I’ll post more info about the upcoming tour soon.