I returned to my village 6 days ago, and have been adjusting well despite a few struggles. Being in the States ruined me in some ways! I had a fabulous time there, enjoying all the luxuries that are so often taken for granted, such as daily hot showers, driving, a vast variety of food, comfortable chairs, clean stuff, wine and GOOD BEER. And of course above all else, I immensely enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Other volunteers that have gone back to the States warned me that everything would be so strange and that I might have a hard time relating to people. However despite having felt a bit repulsed by our greed (which repulsed me before I left) I otherwise did not at all feel out of place. With family and friends, I felt more connected to them than ever before. Everything felt so comfortable and so much like HOME.

When Mark Karan takes a break from life on the road as lead guitarist with Bob Weir's RatDog, what does he do for fun? He hits the highway with his own band!

Since 1998, Mark has been touring with offshoots of the Grateful Dead (including The Other Ones, Mickey Hart's Planet Drum and Bobby Weir's Ratdog).

Before crossing over into the land of the Dead, Mark worked his guitar voodoo for the likes of Dave Mason, Paul Carrack, Delaney Bramlett, the Rembrandts, Huey Lewis, Jesse Colin Young, Alex Call and Sophie B. Hawkins.

Started in 1995, and named after founder Graham Guest's fifth generation grandfather, Moses Guest, is a Texas-based, Southern Rock band that has just enough Pop, Jazz, Funk, and Country in its veins to appeal to audiences of all ages and origins. The current lineup formed in 1998, was voted "Best Rock/Pop Band" in the 2001 Houston Press Music Awards, and have won numerous Battle of the Bands contests.

Combining the grooves of funk, rock, latin, drum and bass, reggae, swing and afro-beat with the harmonic languages of jazz, pop sensibilities, progressive composition and full on improvisation, Uncle Sammy has been turning heads and opening ears on the east coast U.S. and around the world for over four years.

Built around the award-winning, mature songwriting of Kevin Higgins, and representing Texas with their original southern-rockin', genre-bendin' “Farm-to-Market Rock'n'Roll” style of music, The Dust Devils once again state their independence from hype and trends. With the 2007 release of their third album, Change in the Weather, (Little Train Records), the Dust Devils combine diversity with raw talent, allowing them to move about freely on the musical landscape.