Music may be the single most important component to cooking at home with Juliet. We are both more at ease and more productive with great music playing. Since our first month together we have seen shows all over the country and in Europe. I can say with great certainty that Tyagaraja (Tea ah garage ah) is our favorite vocalist we have had the privilege to see (numerous times).

Tyagaraja hails from the tiny town of Hutto, TX near Austin and now calls Houston home. He found a connection with India some years ago while with his first band, Million Year Dance. Tyagaraja's spirituality is undeniable and the eastern influence in his life has led him to the joyous discoveries of yoga, meditation, and his very talented wife, Gunjen. It is clear when you listen to his music that Tyagaraja has a voice imbued by the heavens yet it is his unmistakable presence and natural kindness that I gravitate towards.

As for the music, there are elements of rock and folk wrapped in the silk sari of Tyagaraja's angelic voice and the use of eastern instrumentation. In the song All the Names of God (below), Tyagaraja has a hit that I know will eventually put him on the national map. I love the composition of this song and I have found it one of the most compelling work-out pieces on my iPhone. The acoustic piece in the video I have included really shows Tyagaraja's enormous vocal prowess and offers insight into his day-to-day ritual while he records.

Tyagaraja is a talent of enormous magnitude and I feel like Juliet and I met him on the ground floor of his certain sky-scraping build. We even introduced his music in Puglia, Italy in 2010 and I hope we will one day see him perform on the big stage in Rome. Please check out this phenomenal music and consider downloading his work for yourself (paying for it of course :-)

Here is a link to his first album - Open Book

And his latest release single - The Meaning of Life 

http://vimeo.com/27068803