Wednesday, March 12   10:00 p.m.
The Rio   (301 San Jacinto Blvd) Friday, March 14   10:00 p.m.
Copa   (217 Congress Ave)

  Rupa and The April Fishes - Une americaine a Paris
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Born to Indian parents in California, raised in the US, India and southern France, and leading a double life as a musician and a doctor, singer/guitarist/composer Rupa and her polyglot band of musical renegades have taken the San Francisco Bay Area by storm and are poised to bring their music to the world with the international release of eXtraOrdinary rendition on Cumbancha. Beginning this March, the band hits the road in North America performing at select clubs and important festivals. With their enchanting mix of chic French nouvelle vague, rousing Latin alternative grooves, energetic Gypsy swing, and dreamy Indian ragas, the trend-setting band is spearheading a multicultural movement that is redefining the sound of contemporary music.

While the music of Rupa & the April Fishes defies categorization, their intimate sound combined with a broad appeal has earned them comparisons to everyone from Manu Chao, Pink Martini and Lhasa to Beirut, Dengue Fever, Gogol Bordello and Keren Ann. Rupa's nomadic upbringing has led her to write songs in a multitude of languages, including French, Spanish, Hindi and English. With themes ranging from love and death to politics and philosophy, the songs offer a magic carpet ride through time and place and embody Rupa's goal of breaking down borders both real and imagined.

Besides being a songwriter and band leader, Rupa is also a physician, splitting her time between her music career and caring for patients in San Francisco. She often finds inspiration from her patients. "A lot of my music feels like it derives its heart from these vulnerable encounters with people," says Rupa. "Taking care of people is such a deep inspiration for so many things, but especially music."

The band's sold-out shows at large venues in San Francisco have earned renown for their circus-like atmosphere that channels a modern-day Moulin Rouge. The band's informal, acoustic lineup includes Rupa on guitar and vocals backed by upright bass, cello, accordion or bandoneon, percussion and trumpet. Rupa & the April Fishes brings their show to the South by Southwest music festival on March 14th and celebrate the worldwide release of eXtraOrdinary rendition with an April 5th release party at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. Visit http://www.cumbancha.com for updates on the band and new tour dates.


The members of Rupa & the April Fishes include:

Marcus Cohen AKA "the tone" (trumpet) has resurrected himself as a "realtime" musician after a 10-year hiatus. During his dormant stage of trumpet playing, he spent several years as a producer, mostly producing "nujazz, trip hop, and a touch of neo soul". His playing style derives from primarily a jazz background. Aside from being a musician, Marcus works fulltime as a senior stylist in downtown San Francisco, as well as managing styling emergencies on the road. Marcus was born at Scott Air force base in Granite City, Illinois and grew up mostly in the cities of St Louis and Philadelphia. While living in Philadelphia, Marcus attended a magnet school for music and academics. This is where he began his trumpet adventures. Moving to San Francisco three years ago, he met many amazing musicians in the Mission District including Marcus Shelby and his Fish bandmates. Heavily drawn to the world of fusion music, instrumentation and arrangements of this project, he is at heart a true April Fish.

Isabel Douglass (accordion) performs on accordion in a variety of styles including tango, French musette, Balkan dance styles, klezmer, early jazz, and experimental music. Isabel has worked with a variety of Bay Area ensembles, including Tango No. 9, The Japonize Elephants, Eric McFadden, Amaldecor, Kugelplex, and Faun Fables. Recent dance and theater groups she has collaborated with are Dandelion Dance Theater, Roccoco Risque, Yuko Kaseki, and Tango Confusion.

Aaron Kierbel (drums) enjoys finding music in everyday objects, such as old-fashioned egg-beaters and typewriters and incorporating them into his traditional drum set. This has earned him the title of "contraptionist" in the band. His playing is intuitive, listening and responding to other musicians with creativity and nuance. Aaron likes to play with wild abandon and a sense of humor. He especially likes playing for kids and animals because they encourage these tendencies. By far the most inventive and melodic drummer in San Francisco, Aaron plays with a variety of groups including Charming Hostess, Cotton Candy Cabaret and Kugelplex. He is currently learning the accordion and plans to take up the sousaphone and the tabla.

Thomas Edler (bass) After some brushes with piano and trombone, Tom started playing upright bass at age 13, when he had already reached a gangly six feet and was deemed "too big to play the cello."

He currently studies classical music with Shinji Eshima of the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Opera orchestras. He has also studied bass with jazz greats Richard Davis and Gerald Cannon. Tom was reared in the frozen wilds of Green Bay, Wisconsin and has now made San Francisco his home.


Pawel Walerowski (cello) is was formally trained in his native Poland and graduated from the Conservatory in Poznan in Cello Performance. During his formative years, he played in various ensembles, touring Europe, served as the principle cellist in Jeuesse Musicales Youth String Orchestra in Slovenia and recorded for radio and television.

Pawel came to the United States on a scholarship to the University of Arizona and subsequently toured the Americas on a boat before winds blew him to the San Francisco Bay Area. He has quickly become part of the bohemian Bay Area music scene while developing his unique style of playing cello and singing. Pawel plays a beautiful, one of a kind avant-garde cello made in Tatra Mountains by a prominent Polish luthier Stanislaw Mardula.