Friends!  Thank you so much!

What an amazing and beautiful family reunion.  I set up a tripod with an old crappy analog camcorder so the video is terrible and doesn’t capture the beauty of the evening, but you can check out a little at : www.youtube.com/fullsamadhi  This was a warm up gig…next time we try and have a better recording.
(Taken from an email to Dhama!)

In July I was talking on the phone with my very good friends Robbie and Leslie and I asked them, “If I can find a venue in L.A. and get the ensemble together again, would you guys partake?”  They said "yes" and it was like someone had lit a divine fuse.

The following week was like an explosion of enthusiasm.  Everyone was excited about playing together again.  Lauri, an old friend and the owner of The Hub, generously offered her studio.  Peter, Paul, and Andy welcomed the reunion with an open heart.  Anna-Pia said “Yes!” like our last gig was yesterday.  And Eddie not only said “yes” but has been massively generous in making this event happen by supplying the rehearsal space and the equipment.  Also, my cousin Paul (a great jazz pianist) has agreed to sit-in and play some tasty percussion with us and Heather Williamson (a truely great cymbal player) has just agreed to play manjira.

This night is a family reunion...one of love.  Humanity is a family.  This may sound trite, but Richard Bach once said something I liked very much: “The bond that links you to your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.”  I think all of us are fortunate to have each other...to be able to sing together.  This is not a religious event...This is the coming together of friends who love to sing the name of God...not a religious God...but the infinite love that pervades every atom in the universe.  This is the reunion of the spiritual warriors of humanity who have tasted the love of God and know, without doubt, that the generous Lord belongs to everyone on all paths.  This night is not about attaining anything, but about embracing the blessings that we have been given today...here and now...that we are alive and have each other.  Gratitude is the bond of our human family.  There is no deity but love.  Devotion has no object, but is an all consuming fire that leaves only supreme peace.

It is my hope that this evening is a beginning and that I’m drawn to L.A. again and again.  You are my family and I miss singing with you.  Again, find your way to The Hub on November 14th.  Enjoy the music.  Sing and sit in peace.

With all my love,

Allen

Robbie, Peter, and Allen 

Leslie                                                                                  Anna-Pia 

  Andy                                            Paul Levine

   Eddie                                                      Paul Astin

Heather on Cymbals (manjira)