jaron - 8-25-2008 at 06:17 AM
A couple of months ago I was away for work for a week, and lonely in a hotel room. I looked on the Internet and saw that someone was selling a super
cheap oud right where I was, so I bought it to keep me company. When I came back to town, I met my wife at a cafe in Berkeley called Layla, and I
still had that oud with me.
Well, it turns out the cafe is owned by a Palestinian fellow, and he and a bunch of his friends were THRILLED to see an oud come in the door. It was
as if the cafe's purpose had finally been realized. Someone walked in with an oud!
So maybe some of the local oud players who log into these boards should meet up at that spot sometime, with ouds. Mike, the forum founder, even
hinted he might come up with some LA oudists.
Anyone interested? Am thinking of something simple and informal, maybe on a weekend afternoon.
John Erlich - 8-25-2008 at 08:43 AM
Hi Jaron,
Sorry I've been out-of-touch. I have talked to the owner of Cafe Layla about bringing my oud sometime and singing with him. Interestingly, their
last name is "Abu-Ghosh," which is also the name of their village, which I lived near and which I have visited (near Jerusalem).
It would be fun to have a Bay Area "oud-in" there, and I would be happy to help coordinate--Cafe Leyla is in my neighborhood.
I will be out-of-town for this week, but will be back Sept. 2.
Best,
John