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Rocker-T and Joan Baez Perform Live Duet at Northern California's 31st Annual Harmony Festival

Rocker-T, the internationally-renowned, ground-breaking, and award-winning Reggae and World Music recording artist, delivered an unexpected and exhilarating live acoustic performance of his new single, "The Way Life Should Be..." to the capacity crowd at Northern California’s 31st Annual Harmony Festival accompanied by singer and human rights activist Joan Baez with Gabriel Harris, Joan's son, on percussion. And for those that don’t believe “lighting strikes twice,” the duo delivered a surprise and equally rousing second live performance of the song later the same evening. "The Way Life Should Be..." is from the new Epiphyte Records EP release, featuring five mixes of the duet single "Luv is the Foundation" written and performed by Rocker-T with Joan Baez.

The first early afternoon mainstage set featured Rocker-T, backed by a 50 voice Choir, performing “Rise Up and Stand” to the audience of approximately 3,000. In the first of the two impromptu guest performances, Joan then joined Rocker-T on stage to perform her legendary "Gracias" before the two segued into "The Way Life Should Be..." The set ended with a powerful version of "Amazing Grace" which, backed by the Choir, was the high point of their first performance together.

Rocker-T opened his second evening set with his longtime classic, "Tru Ganjaman" and then another rousing performance of “Rise Up and Stand.” Rocker-T then introduced Joan who performed Steve Earle’s "God is God" and "Gracias" before the two joined in the duet of "The Way Life Should Be..." to close out their set.

At the day’s end, Rocker-T said, “The on-stage chemistry between Joan and I, fed by the audience’s energy, has left us all with a deep and gratifying feeling of elation. I hope that this will be the first of many more live collaborations between Joan and I.” A beaming Joan Baez stated, “I had a wonderful day.”

Other artists featured on this year’s event included: Michael Franti, India.Arie, Matisyahu, Cake, K’Naan, Kitaro, Steve Kimock, Dead Kennedys, and the Bad Brains.

Rocker-T and the More Luv Band will perform at Temple in San Francisco on August 13, 2009, as part of an Epiphyte Records label showcase/release party for “Luv is the Foundation.”

The Annual Harmony Festival, described as a hybrid between Burning Man and Bioneers – and the longest running festival on the West Coast - is a celebration of new ideas, community activism, eco-awareness, uplifting music, and more, in a green, family-friendly environment.

For more info, to request a review copy of “Luv is the Foundation”, or arrange an interview with Rocker-T, please contact Christopher Buttner, at chris@prthatrocks.com.

CDs of this EP release are available in fine retail stores everywhere or directly from Epiphyte Records website. Digital downloads of the EP are also available now on I-tunes and other digital music stores worldwide.

Mark Karan’s long anticipated debut album Walk Through the Fire is out today on Quacktone Records. Four years in the making, Walk Through the Fire is a testament to Mark Karan's dauntless musical spirit which shines through brilliantly on each track of this remarkable album.

Since 1998 Mark has been performing with the extended Grateful Dead family (The Other Ones, Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, and Bob Weir & RatDog). He has anchored the lead guitar slot in RatDog for the last eleven years, touring the US year round. Before crossing over into the land of the Dead, Mark worked his guitar and vocal voodoo for the likes of Dave Mason, Delaney Bramlett, the Rembrandts, Paul Carrack, Huey Lewis, Jesse Colin Young and Sophie B. Hawkins.

Mark is a musician's musician. In recent years, Mark has performed with The Allman Brothers, Trey Anastasio, Joan Baez, Dickey Betts, Delaney Bramlett, Larry Campbell, Clarence Clemons, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Galactic, Gov’t Mule, Jackie Greene, Sammy Hagar, Levon Helm, Bill Kirchen, Chuck Leavell, Little Feat, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Phil Lesh & Friends, John Popper, String Cheese Incident, Derek Trucks, Narada Michael Walden and others. Mark also tours with his band, “Jemimah Puddleduck”, with John Molo on drums, JT Thomas on keys, and Bob Gross on bass. Mark offers his soulful blues-based vocal styling and inspired guitar work with a remarkably tight rhythm section in a passionate delivery of the sounds of Americana.

RockOm caught up with Mark Karan recently to discuss Walk Through the Fire, as well as his time with RatDog and how he healed from throat cancer with the power of optimism and by "walking through the fire."

RockOm: Your new CD Walk Through the Fire is fantastic. You must be proud of it.

Mark Karan: I feel really lucky. I can say that I am.  You get so close to a record when you’re making it- you can hear every bleep, fart and wart. A lot of people that I know who have made records by the time they get to the end of it they’ve put a lot of work in it and they hate it. Everybody else loves it, but they hate their own record. I’m not having that experience at all. I feel really lucky.

RockOm: Tell us how Walk Through the Fire came about.

Mark Karan: This CD came into being at the end of my little stint with cancer. I just kinda had an internal directive to get some work done.  I’ve never made a solo record; I’ve been involved with a lot of record making through the years, but generally speaking it’s either been as a band concept or it was in support of a solo artist.

The song “Annie Don't Lie” is one of my favorite songs to sing it’s just a fun party song, a good chance for the audience to sing along.

“Love in Vain" features Delaney Bramlett. Delaney Bramlett and I go way back. He and I were pretty close friends.  I was selected to do a track on this soundtrack for a movie that's going to be coming out for Sundance next year called Guitar Man. The movie features everyone from Stevie Wonder to Lenny Kravitz to Sting to Neal Shon to Ronnie Montrose. The producer gave me a track and I saw that "Love In Vain" was one of the songs licensed and I said, “I’ll have that one please!” I actually produced the whole track with me singing it all the way through. Michael, the producer, brought Delaney up to interview for the movie, and I got this wild idea and thought why don’t we wipe half of my vocals of this track, and put Delaney on it and have him put some dobro on it and we’ll have it as a duet. It just kinda all fell together naturally.

RockOm: Tell us about your cancer and how did you go about the healing process?

Mark Karan: You got a few hours? It’s kind of a hard story to reign in. I was diagnosed in the summer of 2007. As far as what happened- I don’t know. The doctors don’t know what caused this cancer so I sure as heck don’t. I got diagnosed with throat cancer and had to go through about half a year’s worth of treatment and a bit of recovery time after that. I got the all clear in February of '08 and went back out on tour with RatDog.

I was really, really blessed in the way, for a lack of a better term, the universe sorta presented me the cancer and then allowed me to respond to it. I think it’s very natural for us to go into fear or anger or resentment around a diagnosis like that. I had a sense very immediately that the cancer was here to teach me something.

Walk Through the Fire is available in stores, on iTunes, Amazon.com, and his website, markkaran.com. The entire audio interview with Mark Karan will be featured on Thursday's RockOm.net podcast. You don't want to miss this podcast and the remarkable story of how Walk Through the Fire came into being.

A very special thanks to Dennis McNally for being such a friend to us here at RockOm.