Todd tongdee Lavelle' JOURNEY THROUGH THAI WORLD MUSIQ

LIVE! @ Week of Friendly Countries
Thai Week in Colombia

@ the University of Santo Tomas
Bogota, Colombia
April 19th, 2022

invited by the Royal Thai Embassy, Lima, Peru
sponsored by Sumittra Restaurant, Frederick, Maryland, USA

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Ola and Gracias! I am honored to be here at your prestigious
University on the occasion of this week of Friendly Countries, 2 countries
rich in phenomenal natural, cultural and human resources and
representative of the growing relationships between ASEAN Nations (the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and those of South America.
Thank you, President Angelo and your great team here, at Santo Tomas.
Thank you, Ambassador H.E. Sorayut, Khun Ui and the Thailand Embassy
Team in Lima for inviting me. Thank you Khun Jip, Sumitra Restaurant and
the great monks here in the name of peace for sponsoring me to be with you.

My Journey through World Musiq is indeed a journey through a rich
life of color, opportunity, belief in possibility and the borderless vision my
parents gave me 50 years ago in our home of 40 foster children in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. Though we have hosted many great
cultural, musical groups from South America in our World Musiq Festivals,
I have never been here and am most excited to share, inspire, exchange
and create together.

In these times of challenge, change and chance, I see the prescient
need for musiq and culture to help bring us together as a human race so
that we might not only embrace these challenges, but indeed USE them to
learn, adapt and become a greater Family of Man.

My works-400 published songs, 5,000 poems, 50 books, 200
international projects, 1,000 TV segments, 3,000 performances throughout
Thailand, the USA and 60 nations-are ALL aimed at employing the great
resources and beauty I have perceived WHEREVER I am, bringing them
together in respect and synergy to create NEW culture that inspires and
adds to that great ocean of love, AGAPE, that is our source of being and
ultimate destination.

Todd tongdee Lavelle
+15705614188; [email protected],
youtube Todd Tongdee Channel

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Throughout the Kingdom

We have create over 100 songs using local stories, folk instruments and artists
and combined them with their “cultural cousins” from around the world in new recipes of our original

Thai World Musiq. Here are a few examples from throughout the Kingdom.

Chiang Mai UDON
“You’re My Mountain” “Udon World”
Corry Denguemmo, Central African Percussion East African Ngiateetee, Kalabash & Rhythm
and Thailand HillTribe Ethnic Peoples’ Chorus Udon Superstar Singers, Vietnamese Ang Bao

Lamphun Loei
“Jama Taywee” “Beyond the Mask”
Northern Thai Lanna Fiddles Loei Region Rare Rap
Salaw, Saw, Sung & Australian Uzbekistan Hand-Drums & Cymbals
Keng Tachaya & Loei Youth Chorus
Didgeridoos
Roi Et
Sukothai
“Wote 101”
“PasToMorroW” Isan Circular Panpipes (Wote)
Mangkala Drums, Ann Mittchai
South American Chorus Rap Isan, Pure the Voice
Afro-Indie Percussion,
Kanchanaburi Deaf Chorus Signers

“O My Kan!”
Central Thai Xylophones
and Tapone Drums
Naowarat Paiboon,
Prang Prangthip Soul

Singhburi Ubon

“2nd World” “IdaFya-UdaLyte”

Central Thai flutes & chorus South African Rhythms Greg Wilson

San Antonio Guitars & harmony Tangmo the Voice, Arm Chutima

Lower Isan All-Star Peoples’ Chorus

Phetchaburi Chumphon Bangkok

“Pet-Delect” “Tasting the Blue” “Ocean Wind’s Embrace”
Phet Local Spoken Word Irish Uillean Pipes, Thai National Symphony
PLeng Na ancient singing Royal Thai Navy Chorus
Ocean Dream R n B
Caribbean Rhythm and Steel Phatthalung
Phuket
“Norah’s Dream”
“Jung Ceylon” Southern Thai percussion & Oboes
Moroccan Gnawa & Uruk Lawoi Progressive Rock Base

Sea Gypsies Narathiwat

“the Healing”
Likay Hulu, Kleu Tho Drums
American Rock Guitar

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Poppy’s Day When I was 5 years old, my father put me on a friend, a saint,
was every day stage to lead our traveling minstrel group, “American a sister
my father & my Young”. Throughout the Eastern USA we traveled
singing old field-hollers, spirituals as well as pop, in all that I have
friend blues and soul. I sang through high school and college known
we swore we’d in musicals, in bars and festivals and finally on cruise
be laughing in ships where I was forced to do 4 or 5 shows a night my food, my
singing country, disco, rock, funk, jazz n blues. It was house, my guru
the end invaluable schooling. I was enamored by the language, In Questions of
“Come home” I story and musical continuity of concept albums like Dark
Side of the Moon, Aqualung, Days of the Future Past. the Heart
still can hear
him say 50 years later, we will revive the American
Young to create brand new American World Musiq
Poppy’s Day around the USA in late 2022 with Thai artists and the
was every day original American Young leader, Jerry Trapper.

for me

Guest Who? 5

I came to Thailand as a Fulbright Researcher in
Herbal Medicine at Chulalongkorn University. We were
soon traveling the mountains gathering herbs, ideas and
respect for the earth. The great mountain healer, Maw
Waew named me “Todd Tongdee” or Good Gold and told
me there was a rhythm to this earth, this life.

When I met the great Thai Political Groups of
Caravan, Carabao, ZUZU, I decided to put off medical
studies to be a full-time artist. They invited me to tour
Japan, and throughout Thailand. They took me in the
studio and into the creative process. They inspired me
and gave me a stage. Together we have collaborated for
30 years.

I was guest percussionist and singer with
Caravan on their LIVE! at Taku Taku Album. Their music
made me believe again in the power of musiq to inspire,
entertain, even heal.

I sang and co-wrote songs on Add Carabao’s
World album. That song, WORLD, became a hit and
anthem (still now) for environmental movements
throughout the country.

With the Tawan Group I wrote Sweetness for their
award-winning ’12 Signs of the Zodiac” album. This song
would be the first original English song to go to number 1
on the Thai charts and remains a cult classic today.
Together, Tawan and I would produce 5 albums and
numerous TV specials.

6 Thailand: Inside-Outside

World Musiq is Born!

From my concert tours and guest performances with
several Thai superstars, as well as copious TV, drama & movie
appearances, I had become a Superstar of my own. When I
decided to do my own first album, the Thai recording industry
was disappointed that I chose not to cut my hair and sing pop
love songs. I chose to write the stories of the Thai heartland as
I had experienced them with the local instruments and ideas I
had gathered combined with my own folk and acoustic heritage.
That album, Thailand: Inside-Outside was self-produced and
promoted and to everyone’s shock, became a cult classic and
paved the way for the next offering, “Acoustic Life”, recorded at
Huay Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary & the National Theater to
raise money for the conservation efforts there. I began to tour
and give talks/mini-concerts throughout schools and
univeristies-over1,000 to date. Those first 2 albums employed
over 40 folk instruments and were brought to life by mentors
like Professor Bruce Gaston, Tu Carry On, P Eddie and others.
One mini-hit was the dronish “Nakorn Sawaan:4 to 1” which
used Thai fiddles and flutes to bring the listener down the great
Chao Phraya River with poetry as a solo by National Artist
Naowarat Pongpaiboon.

on to the river of the Chakri Kings, the Chao Phraya hope & flow
culture born in the Northern Mountains heads for the Gulf and shore

4 to 1 the tears have come from a thousand peoples past
to the Cities of Gods, they just run on and leave me here, at last

Nakorn Sawaan, your raging rivers flow within my heart

Rhythm of the Earth 7

Over 2 years of touring, talking and gathering brought me to the local folk
artists in the Thai countryside, many of whom were blind and physically-challenged.
Growing up with a deaf & autistic sister who taught me many things (and continues
to today), I could hear stories and new combinations of Thai folk instruments and
rhythms mixed with Blues, Funk, Rock, Jazz-not acoustic, but an electric Rhythm of
the Earth. 6 months in the studio with over 400 musicians from throughout the
Kingdom became this iconic album, a 5-book series, national news column, TV
travelogue and eventually the first World Musiq Festivals in Thailand. One reporter
has called it, “an historical, borderless gathering of music and humanity.”

One song based on the Muslim cultures of the Deep South, “The Healing”
was nominated for MTV Asia VDO of the year. “Akhayong” is still the song of choice
for Akha Hill Tribe festivals in the North. “Precious Hearts” is on over 50 websites of
Buddhist inspiration and faith. “Norah’s Dream” (celebrating the unique “Manorah”
bird-woman music of the South) became the opening song for the National Olympics
and inspired the “Norah’s Dream” Culture festivals of the South.

Thank you, Add Carabao, Eddie & Warner Music for believing in this work
and Singha Corporation for bringing it to the world.

Norah’s Dream

morning light finds visions of night still painted in her eyes
colored skin, she breathes life in and hops out into day
she says, “I have seen the instruments we’ll need”
I have heard the melodies…”

she sings those songs and dances strong, her mighty vision moves
she says, “I have touched the sky and earth and such
are dreams of men on Southern soil again”

Norah soars for the Southern Sky, her mighty dream it lives

8 Gibbon Dance

Songs on the branches of emerald
of the time, take a dance on my own
Earth with a wife and my own sweet

child, forest’s life is my own

Hornbill, Yes

“Yes” to the valley, sure to the sky
beak razor-sharp,
sharpshooter’s eye

to it all, the hornbill cries Yes

LiDo Run

you gotta set your heart for the open sky
it’s the only way to fly, though the time and

change have you
and the loneliness surround you, you’ll

never lose your way
LiDO Run

Maw Waew also taught me, “we must ASK to be part of this
nature. If we are selfish, inconsiderate, the forest will reject
us. We must live in harmony with the plants and animals.
They have their own “Songs of the Earth”. After Rhythm of the
Earth, I thought it was time to sing the Songs of the Earth,
celebrating the stunning calls of the gibbons at dawn, the rich
baritone coming from the hornbills as they took flight, the
sonar songs and crisp vision of the “LiDo”, the little dolphins,
tunes of memory, IVOmemoRY from the elephants, the cry of
the “SlaveKings”, our worlds tigers, to hear all their voices
and write a “Natural Opera”, Songs of the Earth culminating in
the plead for the end of poaching, Tender Voices.

Tender Voices

there will no more killing
let there be no more trade
no more lies of cures and potions
let the world be as it was made
for those whose voices we so need

SlaveKing

Listen children tales & tears,
SlaveKing ruled 10 million years
If he’s gone, so we are….SlaveKings

IVOmemoRY

Ivo past, Ivo memory
to share with you, my son
Ivo cast, Ivo heritage should you be

the last one
Ivo past IVOmemoRY

Thai World S.I.M.M.S. Musiq & Story 9

the Rock Operas

AS Songs of the Earth ends with an angry diatribe for the defense of life, “In the
Name of Life”, I imagined, “What if this human race and our cousins don’t make it?”. I
answered my self with the Legend of TOJA, the last human who leaves our earth to explore
the heavens in search of the “lost essence”. This 6-song story is told in myriad musiq’s by
Nong, Aritat Saengpadung and our band then, VIRUS H.I.P.-Tui, Tuey, Neng, Cha.

We then produced a Rock Opera based on the life of Buddha and present-day
stories reflecting His wisdom and ideas. SHAMBALA was the first of 2 Rock Operas we
created with Pongprom Sanitwong Na Ayuthya (Boom). The 2nd was “The Promise”,
the story of 9 schizophrenics I met and interviewed at Thailand’s Psychiatric hospitals.
This Rock Opera would garner several awards including Japan’s International Able Art
Award for creative healthcare.

Back to the Beach was Rock Opera telling the story of one island in real
time-Koh Samui. Tales of fishermen, Lady-Boyz, waiters, sunsets and tourists in
various musical settings. When the feature song, Back to Samui went to Number #1 on
the Thai Charts, we were pressed to list its genre for sale in shops. But, it was jazz,
blues, funk and even heavy rock fishing rhythms. I dubbed it SIMMS Musiq (Stories in
Myriad Musical Settings) and have used that term since.

The Legend of TOJA Swan Song SHAMBALA

Story of the Last Human “lay down, rest your Story of Lord Buddha as
weary head
in search of “the Essence” HE lives in the lives of many today
leave their world outside
build your own in stead”

The Promise Back to the Beach

Story of myriad personalities in CD-Book tales of life on Koh Samui

One human body caught funk, fun & flavor for the ears, heart & mind

between love and logic

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on Stage

Rhythm of the Earth

World Musiq-World Bar-B-Q Festivals

At the same time we were creating new TV & Media,

my dream of a real World Musiq Festival, a ”borderless

gathering of the human race” was coming to life with the

sponsorship of the Singha Corporation. Specially-abled

performers were given a national stage to play for a broad

audience. With three stages covering 2 city blocks, 2-5,000

passed through each of the five festival nights (held annually)

to taste Bar-B-Q and ethnic foods from 30 nations, buy

hand-made handicrafts, 200 booths of Thai ethnic foods and

enjoy musiq & culture from throughout the Kingdom and 60

nations over the 16 years of the festival.




We took this idea to the provinces and have created

and produced over 50 World Musiq Festivals there,

“internationalizing local culture” in exchange, co-creation &

synergy. TV & World Musiq Media

In 2004, having created much Thai World Musiq and seeing a
lack of opportunity to share such musiq, we started 2 brand new projects
that would become stages for folk, specially-abled & world musiq artists
from throughout Thailand and beyond AND inspire many young Thai artists
to think more broadly about the possibilities inherent in their culture.

“Kun Pra Choi” or “O, My God!” was a brand new TV concept (a
risky one) by the Work Point Co., one of Asia’s biggest producers of media
content. I joined as one of three hosts with comedian genius “Teng”
(himself a minstrel singer like me), “Tong”, a consummate host and singer
and “Todd”, the foreigner looking in at Thai culture, having used it in myriad
World Musiq settings. Over 10 years and 400 filmed segments, we took
traditional Thai culture, its artists and creators to new life with western
music added, dancers and story. To our surprise, this delicate balance of
fun and culture became a national hit and continues to today to give a
stage and voice to some phenomenal creativity.

When I left the show in 2012, my company went on to produce
another 20 TV series (over 300 segments in all) celebrating local cultures,
tourism and international projects such as “Lanna World”, “Tasting the
Blue”, “Lanna Challenge” and more.

HIMMAPAN 11

Roadshows and World Musiq Combinations

In 2007, I created a new album of International World Musiq based on the mythical forests
of “HIMMAPAN” where they say animals of strange combinations (flying horses, swimming
elephants, monkey-fish) lived in harmony. I adapted that to musiq’s of 5 continents in new hybrid
recipes with Thai musiq’s based on shared story and wisdom. We added dancers, VDO and took
it on the road to the USA, Australia, Israel and Japan. 10 tours in all that have lead to our own
collaboration with the World Music Festivals of others such as Australia’s AWME (Austral-Asian
World Music Expo), Israel’s EXPOSURE festival of Middle East Culture, Korea’s “World Arirang”
fests, Uzbekistan’s “Sharq Talanolari & Bhakhshi Festivals and Japan’s Wataboshi Festival
specially-abled artists.

It has become what we call a worldwide “Network of Respect” as we write songs for each
other, share artists, vendors, ideas and culture.

12 You & me

Personal stories-my OWN World Musiq

Parallel to all of the cultural, BIG songs I was creating over 30 years, I maintained a journal and
wrote personal stories and songs that would come out every few years as my own album of story
and roots musiq.

You & me

Warner Music Asian release in 2002, family, lovers and
friends, a thank you, of sorts.

Blues: East-West

As a young singer and lover of musiq, I was mesmerized the blues of
the blind singers of the 1920’s and the R n B it gave birth to. I took

those basic blues and added the new furniture of folk instruments and
story from East & West and released it in 2008.

Along the Way

Inspired by our journal-writing workshops, my own
musings became this acoustic rock album of travel,
change & realization released in 2012

Black & White

I find the piano to be the “singer’s best friend” as it complements
the melody and harmonies of the voice. This album consists of
personal stories all accompanied by pianists-simple & pure and
released with a concert series in 2017

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The basis for much of our World Musiq and TV shows are the more than 5,000
poems I have written in my journals over the years. 20 years ago, I began to create
“cheap audio-visual postcards” from wherever I was in the form of poetry, often
recorded and self-filmed right there where I wrote it. We add original musiq and photos
and they become momentos, thank you, gifts from the gods (I write them as I hear them,
often not understanding them fully). It’s also become a kind of therapy for myself and
others, such as one recently posted about my sister Lauri, who died unexpectedly on
December 1st, 2021. We are now producing Poetry in Motion pieces (and teaching
others to do so) as part of “alternative media” packages for tourism and cultural
projects.

Poetry In Poetry In Poetry In
Motion Underworld Motion Walk the Life Motion WaterWish

Poetry In Wood Nymphs
Motion JUNO Rising

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In the early days of COVID, I began a Facebook LIVE series, Bring the Light, to share
ideas, comfort, fun banter and inspire people to “Bring their OWN Light” to our challenges, The
response and ideas grew and in late 2020, I went into Dragonfly Studios in Chiang Mai and ended
up spending 3 months creating, producing and mixing over 20 songs that would become Bring the
Light, a 12-song series-one for every 2 hours of the day-filled with light & energy. Preview concerts
of this musiq have been fun & the songs have come back to teach me.

We will publish it this coming month in time for our Ameri-Thai Concert tour and then
produce as a kind of Master’s Series of podcasts and exchanges in Thai & English for all ages.

clouds pass the moon and the picture’s clear
we start by givin, livin, dissin fear

maybe the world to be is growing near
God, can you hear the light….
Bring the Light now,

all the rays & shades that count down
to a time we all will shine again’

bring the Light now, fill the spectrum, colors outbound
we’ll be shining on again
WE will shine as one again

Projects of the Sun 15

World Musiq in Action

The songs often grow into projects and projects often give birth to songs. We will publish another 123 World
Musiq songs with Warner-Chappel this year that have been born of this process. Take a listen, a look.

We want to thank 3 special guests today for joining us on Zoom.

Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan Dr. Chee

Karen Ethnic Musiq Master and guest performer at the
East-West Center in Hawaii.

Kru Add Panuthat Apichanatong

Lanna (Northern Thai) Musiq Master and co-producer of
songs for the hit TV series Lanna Challenge we created
for Channel ONE. See them here.

Kiatsorn muangkhot “SuperBaw”

Master of Mekong Musiq’s and Central Thai instruments-over
20-he has performed with us for 15 years over 100 shows and is

featured in several of our projects.

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More to do in 2022!

Some great World Musiq & Media
we have produced in 2022 and lots to come!

Jan’22 Bring the Light @ Underground Microphone, Tuesdays on the Ridge, Andy

Gavin’s and more throughout Scranton, PA with SuperGroup, “Anthro-Site”-ethnic musicians from
throughout the area

Feb’22 Two New TV Series & World Musiq Themes, “ASEAN On the Move” & “Siam Style:

Thai Inspiration” go on air on NBT, watch them here

March’22 We begin a new project with the Singha Corporation, “Whose World”, talks,

workshops and this new song written with Lam 25 Hours we will take to youth around the world to
inspire them and get their visions of the world can be, take a peak at one we did in Chiang Rai in March

April’22 Ayutthaya International Tourism Youth Camp-young “ambassadors of Ayutthaya” host

their guests from 10 nations in a 3-day camp, cross-over & cruise on the Chao Phraya River to exchange
and co-create

May’22 Sukothai:PasToMorroW-Brand new Poetry, VDO and World Musiq MV, “PasToMorrow”

featuring Ann Mittchai, the Mangkala Drummers of Sukothai, B-Boy, Rap and guest singers from the
Americas

June’22 Ameri-Thai USA Concert Tour with Keng Tachaya, Thai Traditional Musician Master,

“Prof Bier” and guitar virtuoso Kin Kong throughout the East Coast and featured act for the June4th Thai
Songkran Festival @ Frederick, Maryland

& more & more & mun, man!

Vigil

leave the nest for the sky, a veces me siento
promises of the day a veces me acuesto
mirando las nubes
learn to run, learn to fly
higher than they say pasar
buscando en el cielo
sometimes I sit, sometimes I fly aquellas respuestas
watching the clouds that pass de alguna manera se va
looking around for answers I hear
some how they’re gone at last ya no esta
se va
gone at last

prayers for mother earth,
the gift of now I can hold

Let me leave with a song I wrote with Jamie Carrasco, master of South American Musiq
Lyrics in the Quechua language, Spanish & English; bombo drums, Charango guitars, quena & quenacho
flutes, Zamponas or Sikas pan flutes and a touch of Thai folk flutes & percussion
I wrote it inspired by a Thai musician in a wheelchair who laughed at me when we were both about to
board an airplane, “see?, we are BOTH handicapped”, he laughed, “you have to get on an airplane to
fly”. I’m not sure of the meaning (though I wrote the lyrics myself). But, I think it’s a thank you, a
prayer to Mother Earth for this wondrous life in which I dream. I am going to Cartagena to found out.

all songs copyrighted 2022 by Thomas James Lavelle & Lavelle Entertainment Co., Ltd.