The road to gain the most eclectic blend of world music in the Midwest started in 2004 and through a number of iterations has reached its current point of expression. From the start this was a vehicle to help build community and keep people in touch with the sounds of traditions that were the building blocks of our modern day popular music. The pulse of the Serengeti blends with some classic Celti
c and good old roots music to showcase the rich heritage of our American melting pot. Ivan 'the Red' Martin (lead percussion, djembe, doumbek, riq, tar, Turkish bass)
One of the originators of the Raw Earth concept has stirred one of the most eclectic cauldrons of sound to be found in St. Louis and beyond. His percussion skills were honed by one of the few local djembe instructors who performed with the Kathrine Dunham troop. He ensured that the Raw Earth sound paid tribute to the souls of the ancestors who took the beat of the heart, put it in their hands and gave it to our ears and to our spirits. He is currently co-leader of the "Casting Runes" who vocalize the rich traditions of miners and workers and the struggle for peace in our chaotic world. Steve Lewis...AKA "Silent Steve"
- Djembe, doumbek, Turkish bass and miscellaneous percussion. Like most American drummers, I started out playing snare drum in the grade school band. When I was about 12, I got a drum kit; then I just sort of fooled around on the kit through high school and college. Though as I look back, I always liked playing on the toms (a taste for melodic drumming, maybe a frustrated tonal musician at heart, or an early hint of the West African groove to come). After college, I fell out of drumming for awhile. I dabbled in stand up comedy, thought about film school, and eventually landed in law school. I am now a trial attorney at the the Public Defenders Office. Then one day I was in a music store with Marilyn (she was a singer with the band). She was shopping for microphones or lights or keyboards or something. I wandered off into the drum section and started drumming again. I started back just fooling around on the kit. Later, I started taking West African percussion classes at the local community college and discovered djembe, dun dunus, congas, and hunger for drumming. Rick Costa AKA "Graybeard"
Rick provides live percussion for Raw Earth performances. Graybeard is a trained percussionist focusing on world percussion; he is an educator, a composer, and a performer. Rick specializes in middle eastern instruments such as Riq, Tar, Turkish bass and Doumbek . He has traveled and studied extensively with world percussionist and is currently mentored by Raquy Danziger. Doug Foehner - guitar
Doug Foehner is the son of traditional ragtime piano player Gale Foehner. Doug started his career in music with renowned Jimi Hendrix scholar Mike Fairchild in the early 1980’s. In 1995 he shared a research credit on the M.C.A. Jimi Hendrix blues c.d. release. Over the years, Doug has performed in a variety of local live acts, and has specialized in learning traditional fingerpicking and slide quitar techniques. Paula Klender:
Paula is a trained classical flute and piccolo player, and has been playing the flute for over 30 years in various marching bands, community bands, college bands, small ensembles, and solos. She has joined Raw Earth to share a more diverse music experience than the "classics" both for her and the audience. Dan Faupel..AKA "Dogfish Dan" - bass
Dan hails from the great northwest taking his name from a common shark in Puget Sound. Dan began his formal musical journey 1965 - 1970 by playing upright bass in the school orchestras and stage bands in both Seattle and Bellingham. During this time he began to play guitar and bought an eclectic bass. Dan’s first band outside of school was in Seattle, Chop Suey and the Melody Makers. After that Dan moved back to Bellingham and played bass in an acoustic folk rock trio. Later Dan joined a bar band that played in a border bar for four hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday. British Columbia, Canada was dry on Sunday so a lot of Canucks crossed the border on Sunday to get their drink on. Dan moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Playing bass in a number of organizations: Elliott Schnidner and the Pitts, The Pitts, Odd Numbers and Kristina Olsen and the Loose String Band. Recorded quite a few demos and one music video and played the LA area rock clubs. Elliott Schnidner and the Pitts https://youtu.be/rYFVdc1eatE
