Earth Rock
<p> I am <strong>Terre Roche</strong>, a musician and member of <strong>Afro-Jersey</strong>. Along with my band mates, <strong>Sidiki Conde</strong> and <strong>Marlon Cherry</strong>, I live in New York City where I teach guitar and play music every day. I am most well-known for my work in <strong>The Roches</strong>, a group I shared with my two sisters for many years. I especially enjoy being challenged musically, singing and playing with people from different cultures. But I also enjoy the discipline of learning specific repertoire. In recent years I've been learning to play Hawaiian slack key guitar. I've taken instruction from the great Keola Beamer whose music comes from a deep spiritual source. </p> <p> I love to improvise! I'm the musician in Lanny Harrison's class "Characters in Motion" at the NY Shambhala Center. I've learned a great deal from Lanny, whose approach to "performing" is all about having the courage to remain present.</p> <p> I'm most happy when I'm collaborating with others. Sidiki Conde is a wonderful teacher, who has inspired me to go beyond what I thought were my limitations. He drafted me into his band years ago where I had my first experience singing in Mandingo, which is his native language. Singing the sounds without knowing the words had a liberating effect on my imagination. In Afro-Jersey we write the songs together incorporating both English and Mandingo. For me this music is very fresh, new and relevant in today's world. It's folk music in its most genuine form, being the songs and stories of a global culture. As Sidiki so aptly put it "We are Afro-Jersey, from New York City!"</p>