Fabrice Martinez ( Gypsy Violin and Violintromba): Fabrice is a gifted fiddler who traveled Europe in a mule-drawn caravan collecting and playing folk music with the group Croque Mule for ten years. Originally from France before living in the caravan, he has lived in Italy, Hungary, Romania and now the United States, collecting and mastering music from each region.
Ursula Knudson (Musical Saw, Opera Scat, Jazz and Lautari vocals,Percussion, Banjolele and Violin): Back in the States after having lived in Italy for the past two years, where she sang opera on the streets and in the town squares.. Self-taught on the saw, she won 2nd place in the 2004 International Saw Festival. She sings beautifully in Romanian, Romanes, Rom, (yes, three different languages!)French,Italian, Serbian, Japanese, and sometimes even in English, her native tongue.
Douglas Smolens (Flamenco and gypsy jazz Guitar): Doug is an accomplished Flamenco and gyspy jazz guitarist performing as "El Douje" with a recently released Flamenco fusion CD entitled Worlds Collide that is available here. In addition to Fishtank Ensemble and his solo flamenco guitar work, doug performs as half of the comedy pop/rock duo foxycock!
Djordje Stijepovic (Slap Bass to bring the house down): was a member of leading world music bands in Serbia like Shira Utfila (Sephardic), Kal (Balkan gypsy) and Marsya (Balkan). He finished classical music conservatory and department for jazz arrangement and bass. Djordje performs solo (world music/jazz), provides his signature slap for rockabilly band Atomic Sunset, Deke Dickerson, Slim Jim Phantom (from Stray Cats), Lemmy (from Motorhead) etc and plays with other bluegrass, cajun, jazz, blues and other type of bands.
Influences
Gypsy wedding music, Django Reinhardt, Mozart, Taraf De Haidouks, Kurt Weil, Paco de Lucia, the Rosenberg Family, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Camaron de la Isla, Ennio Morricone, Nappy Cash, Farmers Market, Raymond Scott, Dead Kennedy's, Astor Piazzola, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Opa Opa, Birelli Legren, Gerardo Nuñez, Tom Waits, Sam Cooke, Kocani Orkestar, Gogol Bordello, Huun-Huur-Tu, Yuri Yunakov, Balkan & Eastern European Gypsy music, Warsaw Village Band,
Coming home tomorrow! (read your mail!)... met Kocani Orkestra and Taraf de Haidouks amongst many other incredible incidences! Look forward to seeing you guys! X!
Hey Fishtank fans, want to go to the bordello bar (l.a.) show with me tomorrow night? I'll buy your ticket. I'll be coming from San Diego but you could meet me there. Myspace message me if you're interested. :o)
I just wanted to reach out and thank you all for making the trip out to Vashon Island - I hope your visit was worthwhile and fun for you as well. I had several friends comment on the show - they loved it and had a great time listening. Thanks again for making the Red Bike a stop on your busy tour. Much respect. ~pete~
Hello Fishtank Ensemble! You gained a new fan on Thursday night in Athens... what a pleasant surprise you were :) Picked up your cd and have been enjoying it quite a lot. The encore with Luminescent was one of the best performances I've ever seen. You're beautiful!
