March 28th

Kasa Panzu is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the National Institute of Arts, in Kinshasa, Congo in Central Africa, where he majored in music interpretation as well as traditional African music. He has a Diploma as Sound Engineer and Producer at Florida School of Recording, Sound and Technology 2007 in Orlando.

Mr. Panzu has toured Africa, Europe, Canada the USA as a master drummer & dancer of traditional Congolese and other forms of African music & dance. He has performed & taught as a representative of African culture at schools, colleges, & universities, community centers, & museums throughout the eastern USA.

As a performer, Kasa has more than 25 years of artistic experience. He has been involved with Umoja African Ballet Company based in Pittsburgh, PA since 1997 as Master drummer, dancer, Assistant Director and later on Artistic Director. Currently, Kasa is a contractor entertainer with The Tam Tam Congo at The Animal Kingdom of Walt Disney World in Florida. He is also devoting his energy full-time to developing his own production company Kas’Arts Productions in collaboration with several other artists. He specializes in instructing children, adults, & seniors in Congolese, Eastern, & Southern African traditional dance & drumming.

Mr. Panzu is also the founder of the African Arts Company (2002.) Kasa is available for public & private performances, workshops, & residencies related to African dance & drumming, costume & mask creation, & story-telling for diverse occasions. Shortly, Kasa will be releasing his first album “Mosala” and publishing “Makaku” his first children’s book.

Come experience a free workshop with Kasa on April 18th 6:30pm

@ Shine On Yoga

619 N. Thornton Ave., Orlando, FL 32803
407.963.1956
Right across from Dandelion Communitea Cafe

Recommended for any level dancer, intermediate to advanced drummers

May will see some additions to the 3rd Wheel family.

Shine On Yoga will be starting
it’s new schedule on May 17th
and 3rd Wheel is on it every
Saturday from NOON to 1:30.

Drumming Class
with Mark “Malako” DeMaio

When: 1st and 3rd Saturdays at NOON
What: A holistic heart centered energetic
approach to African and World Beats
How: Bring a drum or use one of ours at
Shine On Yoga
Cost: $10 ($3 for drum rental if needed)
Starts: June 6th

African Dance Class
with Kasa “the Natural” Panzu

When: 2nd and 4th Saturdays at NOON
What: An all inclusive African dance class
with high energy beats, movements, lessons
on African culture and language, and songs.
You will sweat in this class, so be prepared.
How: Show up at Shine On Yoga ready to
move (or bring a drum to sit in with the Drummers
Rhett Johnson will be facilitating for the music.)
Cost: $10
Starts: May 23rd

Special: Starting in June, you will be able to buy
a 1 Month 4 class Saturday Cultural Pass for
$35 (Any drum rentals will be extra). Please
let us know when you come to the first Saturday
drum class in June that you’d like to buy for the
whole Month.

***NOTE*** May 30th is a 5th Saturday and while
there will not be a regular class at NOON, we will
be planning something. . . .we’re just not sure
what yet.

______________________________

A Hall of Fame Massage Therapist and Healer
Michael “Mukti” Buck of the Vedic Conservatory
recently stopped by a drum class
and commented, “We had spirit there and joy!
The instructor ’s love for the art is obvious and inspiring,
We grooved! My mulabandha is still keeping tempo!
The teacher was the best — very intelligent and
his charming family added to the  vibe so well.
We played African rhythms and sang African
lyrics of well being and spirit….I loved it….thanks for
the drum solos everyone….you groove!

THE PREMISE

Certain activities expand our desire and
our energy towards creation: perhaps the
most primal, vital, and sensual energy of
the Universe.

The basic purpose of meditation, yoga,
chanting, exercise, etc is to increase
well being and heighten our energy levels.

Done with responsible facilitation,
drumming brings balance to our bodies and
our minds while increasing our capacity and
experience of energy. This happens through
a purposeful use of both left and right arms,
left and right ears, and left and right brains.
As a consequence, our bodies, minds, and
spirits open to the connection with have
to the music, the people in the room, and
the planet as a whole. Are you looking for
that kind of synergy in your life?

Come experience it for yourself and if you love
it, bring a family member or a friend and I’ll
throw in a free private lesson for your group*.

This Saturday AUGUST 1st come experience
the 7th installment of my Energy Drumming Program
and play in the very interesting and energizing 7/8
and 9/8 time signatures. I’ll also providing live drumming
for the 10:30 Yoga Classes on both those days!

Shine On Yoga
August 1st and August 15th
12 NOON to 1:30 pm
619 N. Thornton Avenue
Orlando, FL 32803
Bring your own drum or use mine!
$13**

I’ll also be at various Orange County Libraries
in August on Wednesdays the 12th, 19th, and 26th
and also Sunday the 30th. Check the Calendar for details.

In addition to performing with Mr. Robert Johnson Saturday
August 1st at the Cameo Theater at 9pm opening for the
very awesome local band Mirror Pal. Cost $7

IN SERVICE TO OTHERS

I’d like to give two 3rd Wheel shout outs in this newsletter to
some of my friends and fellow community builders:

Dandelion Communitea Cafe, a local food icon –
supporting awareness in our diets and sustainability
in our practices as business, individuals, and
communities. And currently, they need that very
community they helped to build help them to
stay around.  Please click here and read about it.

And also to the very persistent and supportive
Katie Ball who recently started work with WUCF-FM
Her show looks at arts events and news from
UCF’s cultural departments, as well as the wider
Central Florida community. Tune in Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:01 or listen in on
the podcast

Eat, drum, and be merry.

Mark

*Place and time to be agreed upon by your
group and myself. This offer is not affiliated
with any of 3rd Wheel’s partners.

**NOTICE OF PRICE CHANGE:
My class is now a part of Shine On Yoga’s
awesome regular lineup. We are happy to
be integrating into Shine On’s system.
This means you can pay for
one time classes at $13 (I’ll include a
drum rental at no extra charge if you don’t
have one) or you can save by purchasing
Shine On Class Passes (which you can
use for Yoga, Qi-Gong, Alexander Technique,
Drumming, etc).  This also means you’ll
be able to pay by credit card.

Friday April 23rd @

New World Wellness
20 W. Dakin Ave.
Kissimmee, FL, 34741
(407) 847-8792

Cost: $15 or $12 in carpool (family discounts also available on a per family basis)

Description:

This workshop will present deeply orchestrated trance rhythms from Morocco.
The Aissawa are a mystical order of Sufis who perform music and dance to
accommodate trance and spiritual healing. Greywolf has been studying and
performing with Quentin Shaw, founder of Chicago Aissawa, and is excited to
present these very different rhythms! Traditional instruments for these
rhythms include Bendir, Tareyja, Tabl, and Tasa; some of these will be
available for use in the workshop but also feel free to bring your drums.

Greywolf (Martin Murphy)
Greywolf has been teaching hand drumming and facilitating drum circles since
1992, after years of (ongoing) study with modern day masters from West
Africa, the Congo and the Middle East and more. He has completed the Remo
Health Rhythms Facilitator training; is a Rhythmic Entertainment
Intervention Authorized Provider; and has performed, practiced Sound Healing
modalities, and recorded from coast to coast.

Therapeutic Gong Bath @ 8pm

Thee Flammable Babylon Percussion Ensembe @ 10pm

Stay tuned!!!!!!

September 17, 2011

Death

When my father died, I had a lot of thoughts I didn’t expect. Strange little things. You can’t shut your brain completely off so you let it think and maybe not try to control it andit stops thinking sooner or later. Anyway, the minute I heard of his death, I started arranging things in Orlando so I could drive to Gainesville. I wanted to be a rock for my family. I wanted to be especially strong and compassionate for my mom. I could only imagine what she was going through.

On the drive, I would think things like “Geez, dad, you couldn’t have died a few days later so I wouldn’t be taking so many days off of work?”  And then I’d start to worry about money and I’d realize I was my dad.  I also remember thinking that Notre Dame killed him. He loved that team and they had to start the season losing to South Florida and blowing a huge lead over Michigan. For true Irish fans like my dad, this was prettymuch reason to give up. I also wondered if my dad had a spiritual passing. Did he see a light and bravely walk out to it or was he noticing the stains on the ceiling when whooshout the lights went?  Did he suffer?  Did he scream and flail in the night and no one at the assisted living facility notice?  Was he upset with me for not coming this past weekend because I was tired and wanted to take my kids to Seaworld? Would I finally get to see my brother at the funeral?*  What would I say to him? What was I going to say to my mom? What could I do for her?

I drove up to Gainesville in silence.  The sounds of the road were noticed in high detail. My senses were in high gear and music would have overloaded them and wrecked me. About halfway there, my shoulders began to ache and I wondered if my father was coming to me for healing, but really just making me sick?  My son had been sick just days prior. Was it just coincidence that I was getting sick or was this some cosmic spiritual connection? Lonely on the road in the midday sun on September 12, 2011 - there was to be no answer for me. Just the sounds of the road beneath my tires and the wind drifts against my 95 Accord Station Wagon. I would spend the next several days in a feverish stupor not able to get out of bed. So much for being a rock.

Growing up, I didn’t realize my father was a good man. I mean, who does? I, like most teenagers, found reasons to hate him. Why didn’t he give me a car? Why was he so damn conservative? Why did he not let me have my door closed with girls in my room?My father really was a nice guy. Almost too nice for this world. I suppose that’s why I resented him for awhile. He didn’t prepare me for a world of assholes and drugs and sex and violence. This was the world I found when I went to college and started out in the world. He never told me anything of it nor toughened me up in expectation for it. For that, I was pissed for a long time. I realized much later I directed my anger at my parents, but really I was angry at the World for being so imperfect, so cold to the problems of it’s people.  It was easier and less suicidal in a way to just hate mom and dad than to hate the whole world.

Hate the whole world.

Love the whole world.

When it came down to it, my father let me live. He let me experience things. He stayed out of the way for the most part. And I owe him a lot for it. I wish everyone could have a father like mine. I wish I could be a father to everyone who needs it.

At the funeral, the priest asked my mom if he was a good husband. The best she replied. He asked me and my sisters if he was a good father. the best we replied. He said there is nothing better in death to remembered as a great husband and father. Listening to the sounds of my own son laughing in the service as he accused his mother of farting and having to go poop — I knew the torch had been passed. I wanted to be as respected and loved as my own father. As I was holding my mom, she cried and it was beautifully cathartic. Her love for my father is everything I could ever want for me.

*Note: My brother didn’t show

………………………

September 22nd, 2011

Yesterday I carried the remains of my father in a small cherrywood box. It was surprisingly heavy. We had a small ceremony for the placement of his urn into a columbarium. I held the box for my mother and sister Loretta as they kissed him goodbye. I kissed the box as well. I placed it inside the columbarium wall and sealed it. Nearby,there was the sounds of children playing. Everyone cried.  My son Lucas was asleep.

Ten minutes later I walked to my sister Kim’s car to get my mom’s purse. I jokingly carried the purse back to my mom as it was my own and threatened to not give it back (noting how it complimented my eyes).  How quickly we can go from mourning to laughing and back again.  Shortly after, we had dinner at a place called Kays. Kays is run by gays. I say this not because I care, but because it was so overtly obvious. The gays at Kays are flamboyantly gay. They have the gay voice and the gay walk and the gay talk. And yes, the voice and the talk are different things. I normally would have ordered vegetarian, but in honor of my father, my mom recommended the Philly Cheesesteak. It was a great idea and it tasted delicious. My father would have loved it as much as I did. Kays only has one Foreman grill, however, and it took 45 minutes for them to make the 7 sandwiches my family ordered. We waited and poked fun of my teenage niece Savanna who is currently the queen of negativity. Sorry Savanna, but it’s true. It’s a teenage thing. Life hands you a golden turd and all you see is that it’s a turd and you toss it in the trash.  In some cases, though, life hands you golden pieces of gold and you still can’t see it. Sometimes it’s better to fish around for turd on your own than accept the treasures that life is offering you. Life can be that weird. Life can be that adventurous.

Back at Kays, we finished our dinners and my generous brother-in-law was paying the bill. I slipped a $20 in his shirt pocket for my family.  As a musician and artist, I have to remind myself to chip in. I can get so used to accepting and at times even relying on the generosity of others.

It started to rain. As we drove my mother home, it was both sunny and rainy. My mom commented that the Sun was for my father’s shining light in heaven and the rain was because we missed him here on Earth.  How beautiful is that?

It doesn’t matter to me if most of what the Priest and my mom say about spiritual matters are either just poetic symbolism or straight up religious nursery rhymes. They are comforting traditions to deal with loss.

I don’t feel any great change now that it’s been said and done. Maybe I’m just not fully aware of what is going on behind the scenes. I’m no longer sick. I am back into the routines of life. Everything changes and everything stays the same and it’s all happening and not happening at the same time.  When it comes down to it, either you choose to change the world around you or it will find a way to come back full circle the way it was. I want to honor my father and my family. I want to find a way to put food on the table and money in the bank. I want Alejandra to work less and be with the kids more. I’m focused and hungry. Are you?