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Muruga Booker (also known as Steve Booker, Muruga, and Maruga) is an American born drummer, recording artist, a Greek Orthodox Priest, and an artist of Serbian decent.

Contents

Biography

Booker was born Steven Bookvich in Detroit, Michigan on December 27, 1942. His father, Melvin Bookvich, was a shoemaker who played accordion. He has a wife, Shakti; a son, Aaron; and a daughter, Rani. Booker and his family moved back to the Detroit area from Oakland, California in 2000 and currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Musical career

Booker first played the accordion before taking up drums as a pre-teen. He studied drums under Misha Bischoff, a Russian music teacher. He first professionally played drums with "The Low Rocks" in Detroit as Steve Booker. Under that name he also achieved local recognition playing with the "Thunder Rocks" and Ted Lucas and The Spike Drivers, and was known for his long, driving drum solos. He shared the bill at venues like Detroit's Eastown Theatre and Grande Ballroom with Ted Nugent (2/23/70), Traffic (6/5/70 & 6/6/70), Jack Bruce (2/13/70 & 2/14/70), and others.

At the first Woodstock Festival, where he played drums with Tim Hardin, he met Swami Satchidananda who gave him the name Muruga. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Booker lived in New York and played with David Peel on "King of Punk" and "Death to Disco," then moved back to Detroit in 1980 where he connected with funk legend George Clinton and became an official P-Funk All-Star. His band at that time, Muruga and the Soda Jerks, had several albums produced by George Clinton.

In mid-1985 he moved to Oakland, California and formed the band Muruga UFM, which included Big Brother and the Holding Company guitarist James Gurley. In 1990, after performing with Prem Das on the classic drum meditation album Journey of the Drum, he joined Merl Saunders and formed Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band with Jerry Garcia.

In 2000 Booker formed the band Muruga and The Global Village Ceremonial Band, which released the CD One Global Village, featuring P-Funk vocalist Belita Woods and jazz clarinetist Perry Robinson. They played at several festivals including the Starwood Festival, Rhythm Fest 1 with Mickey Hart, and Rhythm Fest 2 with Airto Moreira. In 2002 his recording company Musart and the Association for Consciousness Exploration co-hosted the SpiritDrum Festival, a tribute to Babatunde Olatunji, also featuring Sikiru Adepoju, Badal Roy, Jeff Rosenbaum, Halim El-Dabh, Perry Robinson, and Jim Donovan of Rusted Root1. In 2004, with most of the same musicians as Muruga & GVCB, Muruga formed the band Free Funk (also featuring Trey Lewd, and Louie Kabbabie), which plays mostly in the Detroit area. He also plays with Mark Hershberger, and Richard Smith as the Global Village Trio. Booker continues to work with George Clinton and play with the P-Funk All Stars whenever they performed in California, and occasionally elsewhere.

Recording history highlights

Through the 1960s, as Steve Booker, he recorded with Jim and Jean on "Changes" in 1964, and on "People World" in 1966. He appeared on the Paul Winter Consort's "Something in the Wind," and recorded a meditation record with Swami Satchidananda in 1969. During the 1970s he recorded with Darius Brubeck, Gunter Hampel, Al Kooper, Ursa Major, and with Weather Report on their album "Sweet Nighter" in 1973. Muruga's band, Muruga and the Soda Jerks, were produced by George Clinton, and he recorded with George Clinton, Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, and the P-Funk All Stars on the following records:

  • 1985 - George Clinton - Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends
  • 1984 - Muruga & The Soda Jerks - Boogy With You (45)
  • 1983 - George Clinton - You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish
  • 1983 - P-Funk All Stars - Urban Dance Floor Guerillas
  • 1982 - George Clinton - Computer Games
  • 1982 - Godmama (w/Bootsy Collins) - Here
  • 1981 - Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies
  • 1993 - George Clinton - Hey Man, Smell My Finger
  • 1995 - P-Funk All Stars - Dope Dogs

In mid-1985 his band Muruga UFM recorded "Terroristic Activities" 1990 and "Rock the Planet" 1993. In 1990 he, his wife Shakti, and Prem Das recorded the long-selling Journey of the Drums, a pioneering drum album. That same year, Booker joined Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia to record the Grammy-nominated album (and subsequent DVD) Blues From the Rainforest, and their live CDs Save the Planet So We'll Have Someplace to Boogy (1992) and "Fiesta Amazonica" (1998). He also joined Babatunde Olatunji and Sikiru Adepoju to record the CD Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations 1993, which was later remixed and distributed on Chesky Records as Circle of Drums in 2005. With his Detroit-based band Free Funk, he recorded the self titled colored vinyl LP titled Free Funk in 2005 which was released by Qbico Records[1]. This band released the album OrthoFunkOlogy in 2008.

Other Achievements

  • Booker invented the Nada Drum, a variation on the talking drum, which was sold through Latin Percussion.
  • He is a recipient of the 1991 Hiroshima Voices for Peace award2.

Muruga's Discography Solo & Band Member

  • 2008 - Free Funk - OrthoFunkOlogy on Musart
  • 2007 - The White Ravens - Self Titled Album
  • 2006 - Muruga & The Global Village Ceremonial Band - One Global Village LP on Qbico Records
  • 2005 - Free Funk - Self Titled LP on Qbico Records
  • 2005 - Babatunde Olatunji - Circle of Drums (Chesky Records)
  • 2003 - Muruga GVCB - One Global Village Musart
  • 2003 - Muruga, Dr. Chernin, & Perry Robinson - Kundalini Rhapsody Think Records
  • 2002 - Muruga GVCB - Find the Peace & Love Inside Musart
  • 2002 - Weather Report - The Best of Weather Report
  • 2002 - Dr. Dennis Chernin - How to Meditate Using Chakras, Mantras, and Breath Think Records
  • 2001 - Mark Hershberger - World Of Survivors
  • 1998 - Merl Saunders - Merl Saunders With His Funky Friends Live
  • 1998 - Merl Saunders - Fiesta Amazonica
  • 1998 - Thunder Rocks - Sabre Records Story
  • 1997 - Low Rocks - Blueberry Jam (Re-Release)
  • 1996 - Olatunji, Muruga, & Sikiru - Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations (Musart)
  • 1995 - P-Funk All Stars - Police Doggy (EP)
  • 1995 - P-Funk All Stars - Hydraulic Funk
  • 1994 - Allen Ginsberg (w/ Bob Dylan) - Holy Soul Jelly Roll
  • 1994 - Muruga & The Soda Jerks - George Clinton Family Series Vol. 4
  • 1993 - Muruga UFM - Relix Magazine CD Sampler
  • 1993 - Muruga UFM - Rock the Planet
  • 1993 - George Clinton - Smell My Finger
  • 1993 - George Clinton - Paint the White House Black (EP)
  • 1992 - Merl Saunders - Save the Planet So We'll Have Some Place to Boogy
  • 1991 - Muruga & Friends - Sacred Drum
  • 1991 - Muruga & Prem Das - Ecstacy
  • 1990 - Muruga - Muruga
  • 1990 - Muruga & Big Black - Sangoma Drum
  • 1990 - Muruga & Prem Das - Sanando Tambores
  • 1990 - Merl Saunders (w/Jerry Garcia) - Blues From the Rainforest (Ryko)
  • 1990 - Muruga & Prem Das - Journey of the Drums
  • 1986 - Muruga UFM - Terroristic Activities
  • 1986 - Muruga & David Peel - The Muruga & David Peel Experience
  • 1985 - George Clinton - Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends
  • 1984 - Muruga & The Soda Jerks - Boogy With You (45)
  • 1983 - George Clinton - You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish
  • 1983 - P-Funk All Stars - Urban Dance Floor Guerillas
  • 1982 - George Clinton - Computer Games
  • 1982 - Godmama (w/Bootsy Collins) - Here
  • 1981 - Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies
  • 1980 - Mitch Ryder - Naked But Not Dead
  • 1980 - David Peel - Death to Disco
  • 1978 - David Peel - King of Punk
  • 1975 - Larry Nozero - Time
  • 1973 - Weather Report - Sweet Nighter
  • 1973 - Ursa Major - Ursa Major
  • 1972 - Al Kooper - Naked Songs
  • 1972 - Gunter Hampel - Angel
  • 1971 - Darius Brubeck - Chaplins Back
  • 1970 - The Rainbow Band - The Rainbow Band
  • 1969 - Swami Satchidananda - Swami Satchidananda
  • 1968 - Paul Winter Consort - Something in the Wind
  • 1966 - Jim & Jean - People World
  • 1964 - Jim & Jean - Changes
  • 1962 - Semenals - Open Your Eyes
  • 1961 - Keith O'Malley - You Turned Me Out Alvera - I Won't Be Far Behind
  • 1960 - Low Rocks - Blueberry Jam

Filmography

  • 1990 - Blues From the Rainforest Ryko UPC 00688321200424
  • 2005 - One: The Movie Circle of Bliss Productions

References

Notes

  1. ^ Muruga Booker Website
  2. ^ WHOis: Musician and Greek Orthodox Priest Steve Bookvich of Ann Arbor - Jo Mathis, The Ann Arbor News, September 15, 2008

External links
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