Aphrodesia is planning to tour West Africa this Feburary, 2006 for one month. We have been invited by the African Showboyz to tour Ghana, Togo, Benin and possibly Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Much of the tour is being booked by Alliance Francais- a French cultural organization that is also one of the premier entertainment agencies in West Africa- and will include dates in cultural centers throughout Ghana, Togo and Benin from February 8-25. We have also been invited to perform at the Africa Unite Festival in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana, on February 4 and 6. We are honored to be invited to Ghana, and this is our second invitation to Ghana in the past year, as we were invited to participate in PANAFEST 2005, one of Ghana and West Africa’s biggest music festivals. Unfortunately, we were not able to attend because we did not have adequate sponsorship for airfare and other travel expenses.

Aphrodesia’s music draws heavily on the diverse musical styles of West Africa. Our lead singer, Lara Maykovich, lived in Ghana and in Zimbabwe for two years. Aphrodesia started when Lara moved to San Francisco and met Ezra Gale, and the two began working on original music that incorporated many of the songs and styles that Lara had learned in Africa. While the band has learned some of these musical styles on its own and by working with some West African musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, the chance to travel, play and learn from the region where much of our music originates is an opportunity of unparalled importance. We will gain a first-hand understanding of the musical styles and rhythms we have been applying in our music, and we also hope to impart some of our musical knowledge and sensibility to the musicians we meet and work with in Africa.

An example of this was our set at the Earthdance Festival in September of 2005, where we performed a joint set with the African Showboyz. Our collaboration with the Showboyz at Earthdance was only the start of what we feel can be an incredible cross-cultural undertaking, and at the end of our tour in West Africa we plan to record an album with the Showboyz in Accra, Ghana. John Collins, the legendary Highlife guitarist and musicologist who now heads the music department at the University of Ghana in Accra, has agreed to coordinate the recording of this album. We expect to excite potential record labels for support in this project. 

Another goal is to convert a bus in Ghana which will be powered by recycled vegetable oil and biodiesel. Our invitation to tour West Africa is an unprecedented opportunity that can bring international attention to the environmental devastation that West Africa has been experiencing for decades due to the oil crisis. David Sartore, Aphrodesia’s guitarist, has co-founded the Clean Fuel Caravan Coalition, an organization that brings together clean fuel advocates that share resources and information about clean fuels and sustainable living practices, and Aphrodesia has been touring the United States in a bus powered by recycled vegetable oil for two years and has received national attention- including a cover story in USA Today.

Sartore visited Accra from November 25 to December 2 to help coordinate our tour. While there he met with the Ghanaian Energy Minister and was featured on National TV, speaking on the program “Ghana Today” about our tour and about traveling on biodiesel. The Ghanaian government has been initiating biodiesel programs, and is interested in working with us to have us showcase this emerging technology in Ghana by driving a donated biodiesel bus for this tour, probably with the help of a corporate sponsor, which possibly will be the Guinness Beer Company.

The Biodiesel movement is in its infancy in Ghana and is looking for more support to make it a viable fuel, and this tour can help advertise start-up companies and bring the idea of renewable local-based fuels to thousands of people. Through this tour, which crosses many borders, we hope to accelerate the renewable energy movement in West Africa and bring hope to the people.

We are having a professional documentary made of the tour, and we also are working with a publicist who can bring as much international attention to this story as possible. In a world where much of the news stories we hear are about disaster and war we want to bring a story of hope that will help bring many cultures together around two positive forces, music and cleaner renewable energy.  

Aphrodesia and the African Showboyz are seeking sponsorship to make this tour happen on a professional level. The Clean Fuel Caravan Coalition has non-profit status so donations are tax-deductible.

We look forward to speaking with you about your interest in this project.