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April 10, 2009
Don't worry: be happy, dance
Israeli band Gaya leads community Yom Ha'atzmaut party.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
If you're at all down about the global economic crisis, if you're the least bit depressed or, frankly, if you just like to have fun, you really should come to the community's Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration April 28. The headlining group, Gaya, is guaranteed to put you in a good mood. They may even get you out of your chair and dancing.
Israeli musician and composer Gili Liber established Gaya in 1997. The band's name not only refers to the Mother Earth of Greek mythology but to the daughter of a good friend of his, who Liber first saw as a baby. He was inspired to write a song about the baby; later, at the suggestion of his wife's daughter, the band was named after the song, which appears on the group's self-titled album.
"The lyrics were just, Gaya, I love you so much.... Gaya, my heart. There's not a lot of lyrics but it's a lot of meaning and a lot of love for a beautiful, beautiful baby," explained Liber in an interview with the Independent.
Gaya currently is comprised of five members: singer Adi Fromovitch, keyboardist Doron Dangur, bassist Nimrod Lachish, back-up vocalist and percussionist (drums and djembe) Ronen Viony and, of course, Liber, who does lead vocals, guitar, flutes, oud and darbuka.
Liber's nickname is "Fretless." He got it when he made the transition from rock, jazz and blues to world music. He explained that it began, "When I started to play on the instrument that's called the oud – an oud is a very old guitar, it's very ancient. The beginning of the guitar started maybe with the [kithara/cithara] then the oud, and the oud is fretless, it's without the frets on the neck. So, my friend gave me the name Fretless."
As a result of Liber's varied musical background, Gaya's songs have a multi-ethnic, energetic and rhythmic sound.
"I found that ethnic music is beautiful," he said. There are "many notes that you don't have in the Western music and they use amazing instruments like the oud or many kinds of flutes, arabic flutes. And melodies, very special melodies. In my heart, really, I love it very much and it steals my heart, the music."
Liber finds inspiration to write his songs from his surroundings. He lives in Zichron Ya'akov, near Haifa. "It's a beautiful place," he said. "It's like the beginning of the north of Israel and it's on the mountain and it's very nice, it's very good energy, it's very special."
He also gets ideas from his dreams and wishes, he added. "I'm all the time thinking about good things, about love, about nature, about the good sides of our life. I'm also a second generation of Holocaust survivors." This is the reason, he explained, why he focuses on the good: "Because my parents suffered so much.... Everything that I have, for me, it's very, very special. A little piece of bread, for me, it's enough. This is the reason for my happiness."
Gaya has performed in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Russia, Ukraine and Germany. Nine or 10 years ago, said Liber, they performed in Toronto, at a show one night and for a wedding the next day. This April, the group will land in Toronto, perform there, then come to Vancouver.
About being in the Diaspora on Yom Ha'atzmaut, Liber said, "I feel great. I really love to perform out of the country, over the sea. All the band really likes it. All our tours are very special and nice. We love very much to play over the sea and to send our message and to make our mission."
Their message, "is just to have fun, to love, to dance with us, to appreciate everything that you have, simplicity," said Liber. "The reason that we're coming is we want to celebrate with the audience in Vancouver and in Toronto to celebrate the 61st birthday of Israel.... We promise you great times in the audience, a great time dancing and happiness with Gaya."
While the play list isn't finalized, Liber said that people can expect to hear "Od Avinu Chai," "Yeladim v'Simcha," "Yachad," among other songs that evoke the "let's have a party together" feeling.
"This is our energy when we come, especially when we're coming to celebrate the birthday of Israel," said Liber.
To date, the group has five CDs from which to choose music for their concert. Translated into English, their names would be Gaya, Dancing and Singing, We Were Born to Continue Life, Freedom and, most recently, The Beautiful Nights in Canaan, which is a live recording of some of the best songs from the beginning of the last century to about 1960, said Liber. The compilation includes such songs as "Shnei Shoshanim" and "Lamidbar." Liber said he may ask the audience in Vancouver if they want Gaya to play any of these nostalgic melodies. If the group doesn't end up performing them, however, never fear: there will be CDs available for purchase at the event.
To hear some of Gaya's music and to see them in concert, visit www.myspace.com/gayagroup.
Tickets to the community's Yom Ha'atzmaut Celebration Tuesday, April 28, 7:30-10 p.m., at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts, 777 Homer St., are $14. They are available from Ticketmaster at 604-280-4444 or www.ticketmaster.ca.
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