Listen to samples from Jetsunma's albums!

Revolution of Compassion

Delog

Listen to samples from Harbinger's First Release!

Blinded By View’s singer/songwriter/producer and founder, Jetsunma, born Alyce Zeoli, was raised in the center of the universe—Brooklyn, New York. Early memories of local characters jamming with street beats on porch stoops, huddled in harmonies, and shouting call outs stayed with her. That music on the streets, in the parks and in Brooklyn neighborhoods played off the constant staccato of the city, keeping it real.

Maybe that’s why she yearned to be a back-up singer for the early Motown groups. Influences that shape her music today were primal, hip-swaying, R&B sounds from the greats like Mary Wells, Etta James, Ruth Brown, and the sultry voice of Cassandra Wilson. Later folk, psychedelic rock and progressive jazz a la Tim Buckley, Grace Slick; the conscious lyricism of Joni Mitchell and Crosby Stills and Nash imprinted on Jetsunma and shows up in her songwriting.

Variegated, roadhouse, tribal beats and contemporary acts like Mos Def and Morcheeba influence her musical style today. For Jetsunma it’s about getting back to the “belly” of the music, where you really listen to it, feel it and maybe it changes you. Layered harmonies and vocals support her real passion: bringing compassion to a troubled world. She is hard wired for that. In her other parallel life Jetsunma is a lineage holder in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition–the first Western woman to have that distinction. That means that she has been recognized and upheld as a realized teacher by some of the most revered Buddhist masters living today. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition there are female wisdom beings called dakinis, Jetsunma being one of them.

Dakinis are known to bring the Buddha‘s wisdom to new lands through spontaneous teaching and song. It has been that way for centuries. In the early 90’s Jetsunma wrote inspirational songs and performed with her band SkyDancer, which was booked at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. Her 1992 spontaneously sung prayer, Invocation, continues to sell and reach a wide spiritual audience to this day. As a Buddhist teacher for more than 20 years, Jetsunma has always searched for innovative ways to connect people to the Buddha’s teachings. Her determined intention to be of benefit to others through her music and Blinded By View speaks to the idea that social change, spiritual transformation, and even enlightenment is in your hands.

Formerly a punk rock band (The Visects) from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Harbinger decided to expand their musical horizons and move to the East Coast. They now focus on composing melodic metal sounds with jazz, world and classical influences, drawn from such composers as Chopin, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Bach. This gives their music an altogether exotic feel.

The members of Harbinger are Victor Meneses (lead and rhythm guitars), Jacob Housand (lead and rhythm guitars), and David Meneses (drums). Currently their bassist is Jay Katzenberger. They have also been experimenting with different vocalists to expand their sound.

Harbinger has been an official band since late 2006 and has been working extensively and exclusively with Blinded By View Productions. They are about to record their newest composition with the BBV crew, and they assure it will be up and playing on their MySpace page very soon. Currently Harbinger’s most intricate piece is “Odyssey.” This composition won the band First Place in the Metal category on OurStage.com for the month of November 2007. It is a meticulously detailed piece that took amazing group synergy to pull together.

Listen to some of their track Myspace page at: www.myspace.com/metalharbinger. You can also vote for them on OurStage.com in the Metal category as they continue to compete for many months in 2008. Viva Harbinger!!