The Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University and The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University are proud to present The Underground Iranian Rock Band Kiosk Panel Discussion and Concert November 2-3, 2007

Panel Discussion with Kiosk band members Friday November 2, 3-5 pm Thompson Room, Barker Center 110, Harvard University,12 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA A panel discussion on Art, Politics, Culture, and the Underground Music Scene in Iran with Arash Sobhani, lead singer and lyricist of “Kiosk,” and Babak Khiavchi, one of the most prominent underground music producers and “Kiosk” band member. Moderated by Dr. Naghmeh Sohrabi, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University. This event is free and open to the public. Please be advised that space is limited.

“Kiosk” in concert for the first time on the East Coast! Saturday November 3, 9:45-11:30 pm Johnny D’s Uptown Restaurant and Music Club. 17 Holland St., Davis Square Somerville, MA Kiosk is a Persian blues/rock/jazz band established by a group of friends some years ago in a basement in Isfahan and Tehran. The band’s first album “Adame Mamooli” (Ordinary Person) came out of the band’s jam sessions in Iran, and was lauded as one of the first successful albums of Iran’s burgeoning underground music scene, which served as an alternative not only to the Iranian state-sanctioned music but also the popular (both inside Iran and among the Iranian diaspora) “6/8” beat that has dominated the Iranian pop music scene. Their second album “Esgh-e Sorat” or Amor de la velocidad, released in May 2007, was conceived of and recorded in the United States. The video for “Love of Speed” off the second album has passed a quarter million hits on You Tube. “The lyrics are the story of a generation who grew up during the 1980-1990s. The music might sound like Dire Straits, but even that is a reminder of the type of music people like me used to listen during those dark years. The sarcastic irony of the lyrics, the witty criticism, the deep sorrow, and the anger in the contemporary Iranian underground music says something that I don't think can be ever translated or explained in any other language.” “Kiosk’s music: Invoking memories,” Iranian.com Space is limited and there is a $25 cover charge at the door.

For more information on the band, please see www.kiosk-music.com. For general information on both events, please contact Dr. Naghmeh Sohrabi at sohrabi@brandeis.edu