MEMBERS: Bo Carper (guitar), Jeff Miller (lead guitar, vocals), Marty Vlitalo (drums), Ben Bernstein (bass), Phil Ferlino (keyboards), Rajiv Parikh (tabla), Brian Carey (conguero). Bio here.

ALBUM: "Live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival" (recorded June 17, 2004)

TRACKS: "Mountain Air," "Painted Moon," "Calypso," "Blue Queen," "Daddy Long Legs," "Rock Springs Road," "Velvet Pouch," "Tabla Solo," "Bridge of the Gods."

LABEL: Sci Fidelity

RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2005

HEAR HERE

TOUR DATES HERE

WEB SITE: www.newmonsoon.com

PAUSE & PLAY: Are you bluegrass, jam, Latin, all of the above, neither or something else altogether?

PARIKH: "We're definitely all the above plus more. What's unique to our band is having the tablas which most bands don't have. It adds the Indian/Raga flavor and style to our music."

P&P: You play a lot of festivals. What's the attraction?

PARIKH: "The attraction is that at a festival there are so many great bands that are all concentrated at one event. For the music fan, they pay a hundred bucks or so for a four-day festival and get to see so many bands for their money and for a band the exposure is really great. We had the opportunity to play Bonnaroo, Telluride Bluegrass Festival and Austin City Limits, plus many others, and each show was a short set, but the exposure brought our music to new fans who might not have heard of us otherwise."

P&P: Since no two shows are alike, do you let fans tape your performances?

PARIKH: "Yes, we let fans tape the performances. We support the whole taper community, because it allows our music to be traded on the Internet which again, can expose someone to New Monsoon's music who might not otherwise have heard of it."

P&P: How did you choose the band name?

PARIKH: "The band was conceived by Bo Carper and Jeff Miller back in 1997 when Bo had relocated to Bolinas, Calif., from Pennsylvania. The year he moved there was when the strong El Niño storms were hitting the California coastline. Every day, Bo would say that there is a new monsoon hitting the coast, because there was so much rain. Jeff and Bo then decided it would be a great name for the band, and it stuck."

P&P: What's the oddest or funniest concert experience you've had so far?

PARIKH: "When we played at the Oregon Country Fair last September, during our set at the horse corral stage, a man in a full bunny body suit came onstage and started dancing like a crazy man during most of our set, which was pretty odd."

P&P: Who's your musical hero?

PARIKH: "My personal musical hero is Zakir Hussain; he is my tabla guru who schools me every time I sit with him. Collectively, for the band, our musical influences are bands like Santana, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix."

P&P: Out-of-left-field question: Do you think terrorists will hit us again?

PARIKH: "I would have to say probably so. What happened on 9/11 was definitely a tragedy of historic proportions, but responding by going to war is not a solution in my opinion and that leads to more animosity and hatred for the countries involved, which will lead to more bad events."

P&P: What's the first record you ever bought?

PARIKH: "Wow, that's hard. I remember when I first got my compact disc player. I was in Hong Kong and my parents bought me one in like 1985; it's totally archaic. The two CDs I distinctly remember were Iron Maiden's 'Live After Death' and Pink Floyd's 'The Final Cut.' "

P&P: What's the first concert you ever went to?

PARIKH: "It was Metallica opening up for Ozzy Osbourne. It was for Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' tour."

P&P: What's the worst job you've ever had?

PARIKH: "It was when I was 17 and I was kind of a bookkeeper/accountant for a businessman who loved watching WWF while I was working which I couldn't stand. It was torture being there and that job didn't last for long."