Band Bio for Fontain's M.U.S.E.

Fontain Riddle: Lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass, electric sitar, joia, gongs, guitar Fontain has been playing music and singing since she was mini-diva. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area with her five brothers, all Jazz musicians. Her family had formed close bonds with several Indian and Pakistani families in the neighborhood and a few of them were classical Indian musicians. On summer nights, after snacking on homemade spicy pakoras and masala tea, the families listened to each other play evening ragas with voices, sitars, harmoniums, tablas and sarodes. Everyone was encouraged to join in the music, especially young Fontain. Her family eventually moved away, but the seed of eastern music was planted deep in her heart. Earning her BFA at Ringling School of Art, near the training grounds for Ringling Brothers Circus, she was inspired by the circus life style and exotic customs and costumes of the traveling artists. She could not juggle, so she developed her skills in singing, guitar and writing lyrics and comedy skits. While she was a student, once a week was not enough “performing time” in the local open mike contests although she won them often with original songs and performances. She became an Eastern Onion Singing Telegram girl. She performed three to ten telegrams each day racing around town in a van full of costumes, ranging from “tap dancing cake” to “Wonder Woman”. She interpreted the canned scripts and songs, re-wrote, and submitted new compositions the company still uses today.

Fontain Riddle: Lyricsist, arrangements, vocalist, bassist, and E-sitar, joia, gongs, guitar. Fontain has been playing music and singing since she was mini-diva. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area with her five brothers, all Jazz musicians. Her family had formed close bonds with several Indian and Pakistani families in the neighborhood and a few of them were classical Indian musicians. On summer nights, after snacking on homemade spicy pakoras and masala tea, the families listened to each other play evening ragas with voices, sitars, harmoniums, tablas and sarodes. Everyone was encouraged to join in the music, especially young Fontain. Her family eventually moved away, but the seed of eastern music was planted deep in her heart. Earning her BFA at Ringling School of Art, near the training grounds for Ringling Brothers Circus, she was inspired by the circus life style and exotic customs and costumes of the traveling artists. She could not juggle, so she developed her skills in singing, guitar and writing lyrics and comedy skits. While she was a student, once a week was not enough “performing time” in the local open mike contests although she won them often with original songs and performances. She became an Eastern Onion Singing Telegram girl. She performed three to ten telegrams each day racing around town in a van full of costumes, ranging from “tap dancing cake” to “Wonder Woman”. She interpreted the canned scripts and songs, re-wrote, and submitted new compositions the company still uses today. A travel enthusiast, she has made her way across forty-one states performing in variety show productions and novelty acts. On the road with Crazy Joe and the Rage, she performed and invented characters and comedy lyrics to spice up her time “doing time” as a top 40 cover band member. All writer/performers want more, more. She left the USA to find more in England, France, Thai Land, Malaysia, and Singapore. Writing, introspecting and studying, she found the music that was deeply Fontain. She returned with stories to tell.

Farhan Khon on sitar

Farhan Khan: sitar, guitar, bass guitar. Farhan is graduate of MI, Musicians Institute, located in Hollywood CA. and has earned his BFA from Cogswell Polytechnical College. He is a Sitar student of the internationally famous Habib Khan His family is from Karachi Pakistan and Behar, India.

He traveled to America with a desire to play western style guitar. He bought every record and tape that he could find of Muddy Waters, Fog Hat, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Aerosmith. Then he spun off to London to stay with his uncle to learn from musicians he met who could teach him to play Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, and the Beatles. He learned every note and lick until was satisfied. He realized that he was not alone. Every decent guitarist in England and America could play those licks and riffs.

He then discovered a distant cousin in the inspirational music of Ali Akbar Khan. The sound of the sitar and sarode was a culmination and revaluation for Farhan. He thought, “If I want to achieve distinction in the music biz, I must learn these instruments and to blend these styles. I must return to my roots. Indian music is in my blood.”

East meets west in the left and right hands of Farhan Khan. Farhan met Fontain while attending Cogswell College. Fontain knew a good thing when she saw one. They started rehearsals soon after meeting to form Fontain’s M.U.S.E. and the story continues…................................................

Robert Constantine: Musical arrangements, engineering, guitar, bass, bouzoukie He has earned his Music Engineering degree from Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, California. Roberts is an enigma. He has a multitude of talents. He is the "computer beast tamer". He knows what to say to computers and they obey. Sometimes, all he has to do is wave his hands over one and it responds. His friends can not understand this phenomenon.

He is a multimedia wizard. His first love is his guitar and his last love will be his guitar. No one has a doubt about that. Alas, he does have a mistress, his bouzoukie. Robert’s family is Greek. All wholesome Greek families have a spinach pie in the oven and a bouzoukie in the closet. His mother bought it for him when he was thirteen and for a while he left it in the closet. Just like the formative years of Farhan, he wanted to Rock and Roll.

He did and he does, just as fluently as the French kiss, but when he plays his bouzoukie, no one can take their eyes and ears away from Robert Constantine. Jazz and Blues are music styles that few perform as passionately as Robert. Robert Constantine gets down

He is especially fond of Gypsy Jazz. Do not get between Robert and his D’ Jango Reinhardt records. It could be hazardous. Classically trained on piano, he is an accomplished arranger and naturally, his skills in sound engineering have made him a major key to the polyphony of Fontain’s M.U.S.E. Robert Constantine on bouzoukie

Editorials:

BAY ARTS and MUSIC 1/2 page Featured Article in the Bay Arts and Music, July, 2000 issue SEE ARTICLE page 23 SEE COVER Cover of April 1, 2000 issue Bay Arts and Music Review of Divas at the Devil Women's Music Concert Series
Tuesday nights, 8pm-11pm
1695 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA

A few of the Venues that Fontain’s M.U.S.E. have performed are:

THEATER

Cell Space Magicopolis, Santa Monica, CA,

Pacific Cultural Center, Santa Cruz

James Lick Auditorium, San Francisco

The Gas Lighter Theater, Campbell (every third Thursday)
Mel Mello Center for the Art, Half Moon Bay
The Adelphian Center for the Performing Arts, Alameda,
Saratoga Community Center, Saratoga
Family Concert on Main Street, Soquel

Television

Pictures of San Francisco Channel 29 appearing on March 24th 9pm or french-american-tv.com

RADIO

KPFA

KKUP

“DIVA RADIO” KUSF 90.3

Fontain's show since 2000

Sundays, 11:30 am, fm 90.3 www.kusf.org

Events, Clubs, College, Cafe and Corporate Parties:

San Jose Jazz Festival

"Taste of Culture", Union City

MountainView Art Festival

Palo Alto Arts Festival

HEALTH AND HARMONY FESTIVAL 2001

Techno Tribal Dance after party with Lost at Last at the Grace Pavilion, Sonoma County

Paridise Lounge, San Francisco, CA

Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA

Hotel Utah, San Francisco, CA

Phillips Corporate Party

Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco

NASA, Mountain View

MAD DOG IN THE FOG, San Francisco

Kings Head, Campbell

Sun Micro Systems corporate party

James Lick Auditorium, San Francisco

Espresso Garden, San Jose

Cafe Francisco, San Francisco

Coffee & More, Sunnyvale

Spikes Underground Café, SanFrancisco

Santana Row. San Jose

Borders Books from San Jose to Orange County CA

Fontain’s M.U.S.E. REVIEWS Review of Family Concert on Main Street

A quote from Half Moon Bay Review, CURRENTS magazine:
“… setting magic to a world beat is Fontain's M.U.S.E. playing original music to warm up the audience and improvisational segments throughout the show. Leading the group is Fontain who traveled to Singapore, Malaysia and Europe to do research for her music. Also set to play are Robert Constantine on jazz guitar, Shivpreet Kapoor on tablas and flute and Farhan Khan on sitar and guitar,
A must see event at
Mell Mello Center for the Arts…”

Fontain’s M.U.S.E. REVIEWS CD Release “Sacred Sacrifice” January 2000, x-nihilo Music

Darrell Keim from Moscow, Idaho, March 21, 2000
While riding in a San Jose taxi several months ago, I struck up a conversation with the driver, I asked what else he did. He said he was a musician. When I asked what kind of music,   he said, "you're listening to it."
I was hooked right away, and immediately offered to purchase a copy from him.
This CD has a world beat, yet pop sound. Within the confines of a pop sound, Fontain vocalizes distinct Middle Eastern melody, with, at times, pronounced use of the sitar.
Highlights are hard to determine. I like the whole album.
However, "Wannabe," "Spiders in the Attic" and "Sacred Sacrifice" have an infectious groove I cannot seem to get out of my head.
All instruments are played well, but the vocalist has a particularly compelling voice. All in all, a great album!

Barbara Winther, San Francisco, CA, April 5th, 2000
Way to go! Woman power in spiritual voices that excite the feminine psyche stirring echoes from the goddess culture. East meets west. Buy it!

Darrin Jones, Clearwater, FL, April 7th, 2000 I can boogie to it, I can meditate to it, I can file my taxes to it, I can massage my pet fish to it. Any more information would be a violation of my privacy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fontain’s M.U.S.E Releases

Spiral Dance CD Release, Jan. 2005

Fire Trance CD Release June, 2001-Re Release 2004

Sacred Sacrifice CD released January, 2000 out of print

Pete Gascoyne

Started playing drums when he was 11. He played in the high school concert band for four years and marching band for two years. He also threw together an act for the annual talent show nearly every year he was in high school. Fast forward to the early 90s. After numerous false starts with other bands, Pete joined Avalon Rising, a Bay Area Celtic Rock band. He departed in 1995, shortly after the release of their eponymously-titled debut CD. Around that same time, he was in two short-lived bands, Orangutango and Band Sinister. Orangutango was a pop-rock, mostly-cover band and Band Sinister was an ambitious progressive rock trio with drums, keyboards and Warr guitar. Pete met Judy Hoffman in 1996 and joined her band Psychotic Melodic, an experimental rock band with a taste for the outrageous. That band evolved into the more mainstream Hugg, then disbanded after less than a year. Judy had just finished the first Groovy Judy CD and asked Pete to play drums in the band she was forming to support the CD. During their time together in and out of bands, Judy and Pete developed a strong bond and were married in 1999. They continue to perform together in various projects, including Fontain’s M.U.S.E.