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Babik

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A live performance of Babik's "Douce Ambience"

Group Name: Babik (pronounced Bah-`beek)

When/Where playing this week? We play every Wednesday night at Allen Street Hardware (245 Allen St., across from Nietzsche’s).

Band members/names/instrument…

Stuart Fuchs – lead guitar & didgeridoo

Geoff Perry – violin

Josh Assad – rhythm guitar & vocals

Kevin O’Brien – upright bass

When did the band form? Babik was formed by Stuart and Josh in the winter of 2004. They often got together and jammed to tunes in the spirit of the great gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Kevin and Geoff joined the group in the summer of 2005 to complete the current quartet. Stu chose the name Babik in homage to Django’s son, Babik, who was also an accomplished guitar player. We consider ourselves “Sons of Django” and are in awe of his musical legacy and the passionate and creative life he led.

You might like our music if you like… Swing, acoustic string music, Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli, Duke Ellington, exotic gypsy melodies, world music, dancing…going for long drives in the country with no particular destination.

List of Recorded Releases

Our debut CD will be released this summer. A live concert DVD will also be available later this year.

Upcoming events:

April 29 – Daemen College Spring-Fest, 4:30-6:30pm.

April 30 – The Allen Street Hardware (Babik’s one-year anniversary party with special guests and a few surprises!), 7-11pm.

May 20 – Ellicottville Jazz Fest (Balloons Restaurant, 20 Monroe St., Ellicottville), 5-9pm.

June 28 – Lewiston Town Gazebo, 7-9pm.

August 11 – Albright Knox Art Gallery, 7-10pm

August 26 –Lewiston Jazz Fest (Frontier House, 460 Center St.), 2:30-4:30pm.

Worst show the band ever played: We have yet to play a show we haven’t enjoyed. We’ve been treated very well by everyone who’s ever hired us, and our fans keep us smiling with their dancing and positive comments.

Best show the band ever played: Opening for jazz great Joshua Redman was wonderful, but we’ll go with the house party we played at this past New Year’s Eve. There was a great crowd, with people ages eight to 80, and everyone was dancing together, really enjoying the gypsy swing music. Someone’s grandmother was surfing the crowd. We were asked to play encore after encore. It was just fantastic! The best way to ring in the New Year!

Anything else you would like our readers to know about the band? When Babik plays a show we are not only improvising during our solos, but the entire show is an improvisation. We create intros and endings and segues depending on what the band and the audience is experiencing or joking about at the moment. We believe this is the spirit of gypsy swing…to follow your instincts and bring much joy to everyone.

Contact information: Josh Assad (716) 570-5401 or Kevin O’Brien (716) 634-1144. E-mail Babik at bookbabik@gmail.com.