TRAVIS BEARD | Festival Founder & Director
Australia & Afghanistan | Travis Beard worked globally as a photojournalist for twelve years, visiting Afghanistan for the first time working in refugee camps in Nimroz in 2001. He returned in 2006 to work as Chief Editor of Aina Photojournalism Agency. He's an Advisor for the Afghan women-focused M2M (Mountain to Mountain). In 2007, he moved into video-journalism. Ultimately, he founded Argus Productions, which provides numerous media services, as well as Combat Communications, an umbrella group for artists in Afghanistan. He was a core organizer of the Wallords graffiti workshop in Kabul, co-founder of Skateistan, and co-founder of the Kabul Knights Motorcycle Club. He performs as guitarist for the first ex-pat rock band in Kabul: White City. Currently, while organizing this first rock festival in Afghanistan, Travis is completing a feature documentary about the Kabul rock scene. Website
DANIEL J GERSTLE | Festival Producer
Brooklyn, New York, USA | Daniel J Gerstle is Producer of the Sound Central festival, Founder & Director of HELO Media, guitarist and bassist for the postpunk band YXFM, and blogger for UNDispatch.com as well as FILTERmagazine.com. Daniel started his career by serving as a humanitarian aid worker, human rights researcher, and war journalist in crisis zones including Somalia, Chechnya, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, and more. After a decade of emergency work he retired to Brooklyn to run his own media arts company, to write about musicians at risk, and celebrate the healing power of rock music culture. Find him at:
HELO Media and HELObazaar@gmail.com
HUMAYUN ZADRAN | Festival "Dude," Logistical Coordinator & Adviser
Kabul, Afghanistan | Humayun Zadran if founder of Sound Studies and a partner with Combat Comms and Kabul Kutz. He has worked to support rock as well as classical musicians in Kabul including the Afghan band White Page and collaborative work at the Afghan National Institute of Music. SoundCentralFestival.com, SoundCentralFestival.com
ARCHIE GALLET | Festival Producer & Adviser
Kabul & Berlin | Archie has been rocking Afghanistan since 2006. Multi instrumentist, producer and composer, he is the founder of the label Kabul Kutz, and tireless mentor to young Afghan musicians. He has performed with White City, Pure Pop Idiot, Lila Gloss, and Puppet Government. BrianViglione.com, SoundCentralFestival.com
BRIAN VIGLIONE | Festival "Rock Ambassador"
New York, USA | Brian Viglione is the "driving force" behind The Dresden Dolls as well as his solo performance work. "During live performance, Viglione is truly in his element. His highly energetic, musical, and dynamic approach to the drums is always focused on how to compliment the other musicians in the group while deepening the energy of the songs." He has played with World/Inferno Friendship Society, Nine Inch Nails, and Gentlemen Assassins. BrianViglione.com, DresdenDolls.com
IZZY BROWN | Festival Workshop Coordinator
Melbourne, Australia | Izzy Brown is a Hip hop artist and film maker from Melbourne Australia. Izzy has toured extensively in Australia, Europe, Palestine, and Africa for over a decade driven by a passion for music and cultural exchange. Izzy is the founder of United Struggle Project, recording music and making film clips with artists in refugee camps, slums and prisons across the world. Izzy has been involved in the Sonic Boom collective of artists and is a member of Combat Wombat, a political hip hop group that has been performing over a decade. www.unitedstruggleproject www.combatwombat.org
JASON BEARD | Festival Sound Engineer
Melbourne, Australia | "It all began for Jason in 1997. Not only was it the year that his daughter Kirha was born, but it was also the year he purchased a little red box. This little red box was a Nord Lead Synthesizer. Along with drum machines and samplers Jase started creating a fusion of dark and gritty psychodelic grooves. During the early 90's in Europe, where Jase lived for more than 10 years, an underground scene grew to epic proportions, launching Jase into a world of electronica, abandoned warehouses and thousands of dedicated followers." - Massa Cygent website
WARREN BUTTERY | Festival Security
Afghanistan & Sri Lanka | Warren Buttery is a security advisor based in Kabul, Afghanistan. He advises the team on security for all the Kabul events and provides security and safety orientations to international visitors. He comes from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Full Bio coming soon!
YULA BEERI | Advisory Board Chair
New York, USA | Yula Be'eri is a songwriter, mentor of post-punk musicians, and impressario of arts events based in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Yula currently leads the music and arts collective, The Hive NYC, as well as the post-punk musical group, Yula & The Extended Family (YXFM). She has performed and written music for the World/Inferno Friendship Society, Nanuchka, and Star Fucking Hipsters, and performed alongside members of Balkan Beatbox, The Dresden Dolls, Black Sea Hotel, Marcy Playground, The Hold Steady, The Slackers, Morning Glory, Gato Loco Coconino, and more. - YXFM Yula Bio
ALINA ZAICEVA | Adviser, Public Relations
Latvia/ UK/ Switzerland | Having an experience in Public Relations, Marketing, Business Development and passion for music she had great chance to combine all that during White City's "BIG in The Stans Tour" in 2011. The combination of Marketing and Music has also interconnected in conducted researches about Jazz music that Alina completed in Latvia and UK. Currently Alina is living and working in Switzerland, where she is involved in Leisure and Sports Tourism industry, but from time to time she is getting involved into independent art projects organizing Marketing/PR activities and getting the general message out to public and media. Being Russian born Latvian, living some time in USA and UK allows her to look at the promotion from many diverse perspectives.
ARIANA DELAWARI | Advisor, Music & Film
Los Angeles, California, USA | "Delawari is a multi-media artist; in addition to her music she is also an actress, photographer, and filmmaker. A graduate of USC Film School, she's currently co-directing a documentary about her family's involvement in Afghanistan, and the making of her album there with Emily Lynch." - ArianaDelawari.com
AUSTIN DACEY | Advisor, Protecting Music Freedom
San Francisco, USA | Though the freedom of music is often taken for granted, creative expression is limited by censorship, intimidation, and cultural pressures in many places, from Iran to Zimbabwe to China, as well as western democracies. The Impossible Music Sessions feature the artists who cannot appear and the music that is banned in their homelands. We connect artists, producers and audiences for the purpose of expanding the boundaries of creative expression. ImpossibleMusic.org
FERESHTA | Afghan-American Pop Rock
Los Angeles, USA | Writing songs for her debut solo album in Los Angeles, CA since 2008, Fereshta is an indie rock artist in the style of Alanis Morissette, Nico Vega, Lenny Kravitz, Cream and The Doors. Born in war-torn Afghanistan, Fereshta's family began a new life in Virginia, where she soon found healing and inspiration in rock n' roll. "I was moved deeply by the level of passion and self-expression so beautifully embodied by the genre." – Fereshta.com Facebook
JAN RAMESH DE SARAM | Advisor, Events
Colombo, Sri Lanka | Jan Ramesh De Saram is of German — Sri Lankan origin. He was born in Berlin and grew up in the reunited post-cold war town, spending much of his youth in the emerging club and music scene. As part of his social anthropology studies he conducted a training research during the 2004 peace process in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Jan Ramesh moved to Sri Lanka in 2007 working on cultural and reconciliation projects (Galle Literary Festival, Galle Youths Film Camps). He coordinated the Jaffna Music Festival 2011 for Sewalanka Foundation as a successful attempt to bring together the various communities of Sri Lanka by celebrating their musical and cultural diversity and heritage.
MIKE BELL | Advisor, International Music Relations
New York, USA | Mike Bell is Director of International Relations at FILTER Media, discovering new talent around the world and sharing their work. He is also an organizer of the annual Los Angeles music festival, Culture Collide. Mike is based in Brooklyn.
FILTER Media Culture Collide
ROBIN RYCZEK | Advisor, Cross-Culture Music
USA & Afghanistan | Robin Ryczek is a classically trained musician currently teaching cello and bass at the Afghan National Institute for Music. She has toured as a professional cellist with artists ranging from Jethro Tull to Milquetoast & Co and has devoted much of her work toward integrating cello in many genres of music. Website
SEPP & SOHL | Advisor, Music Activism
Toronto, Canada | Brothers Sepp and Sohl are outspoken campaigners for human rights as well as the founding members of the progressive pop rock quintet, Blurred Vision. The band came to be known for covering Pink Floyd's iconic song, "Another Brick in the Wall" but with a slight alteration making it "Hey Ayatollah, leave those kids alone." The song became a rally point for Iranian democracy activists, as well as a campaign by Amnesty International, supported by Roger Waters. Now the band is preparing to launch a world tour for their debut album, "Organised Insanity," set for release in 2012. Website
STEFAN ZENIUK | Advisor, Music Events
New York, USA | Stefan Zeniuk has come to be known in postpunk Brooklyn as the Jimi Hendrix of the saxophone. Throwing out all rules for the use of wind instruments, Zeniuk has pioneered not only the flame-throwing saxophone and horn-based sonic improv comedy, but he has also led his band Gato Loco Coconino in the creation of the new genre psycho-mambo, which is best described as a cross between Latin brass and punk rock. Website
COMBAT COMMS | Festival Producer
Kabul, Afghanistan | Combat Communications [CC] is a small anonymous group of international artists founded last year with the aim of advocating/promoting free expression through Afghan youth in Afghanistan. Facebook
ARGUS PRODUCTIONS | Festival Documentor
Melbourne, Australia | Argus Productions was founded by Travis Beard in Melbourne, Australia in 2005 and quickly relocated to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2006. Argus first project was to teach photojournalism at the Aina Photojournalism Institute. Argus video documentation clients have varied as war wide as the UN, Al Jazeera, Oxfam, ABC and Canadian Embassy. Argus is currently working on a feature length documentary about the music scene in Kabul. Website
HELO MEDIA | Festival Co-Producer
Brooklyn, New York, USA | HELO Media creates social spaces where survivors of war and disaster, humanitarian aid workers, rights advocates, crisis journalists, musicians, artists, and global thinkers can meet to produce media, share stories, and develop relationships which help people survive crisis. HELO, pronounced "heal-o," is a slang term for helicopters in war zones. Website; Facebook Group; Facebook Magazine Page
ADDITIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORTERS SO FAR…
Drewstone Productions
FreeMuse.org
FriendsForBenefits.org
Impossible Music Sessions
Mountain2Mountain
UnityFor.org
Uzbek Initiative
& Many
Many
more to
be announced!
