Search - Tuatara & Coleman Barks :: The Here And The Gone

Tuatara is proud to announce the release of its first collaboration with poet Coleman Barks. Tuatara was founded in 1996 by drummer and composer Barrett Martin, formerly of the Screaming Trees, and Peter Buck, founding guitarist of REM. Coleman Barks is widely known for his best-selling The Essential Rumi, a collection of poems that changed world consciousness around Sufi poetry. He is also Professor Emeritus at the University Of Georgia and has 33 published books. The collaboration between Tuatara and Coleman began when Coleman first took the stage at a 1997 show in Athens, GA, reading one of his brand new poems, to which Tuatara spontaneously composed music. Guest appearances on two Tuatara albums in 2007 followed. The journey continued when Coleman came to Santa Fe, NM in December of 2007 to record with the band. The spirited and humorous sessions yielded The Here And The Gone. Guests on the album include Iraqi oud master Rahim Alhaj, REM guitarist Scott McCaughey, and University Of Georgia professor and musician, Kai Riedl. The album is a journey that encapsulates some well-known Rumi poems, as well as several of Coleman's deeply insightful, often humorous original poems.