Israeli songs sung in their native tongues, backed by traditional saz, oud, clarinet, zurna, and hand drums. Sales of this album were charted as far away as New Zealand. 1989-1999 Bass guitarist J. Michael Kearsey joined the band in 1989. Pusey left in 1991, and Middle Eastern musicians Ishmael (kanoon) and Boujemma Razgui (oud, nay, violin and vocals) joined shortly after. By this time, the band was starting to fuse Middle Eastern and western instruments and styles. In 1994, the group teamed up with Stephen Skaggs to release "Further Journeys," featuring traditional acoustic Arabic and Turkish music. In 1995, Ishmael and Razgui left the group and Beach and Kearsey were joined by Attillo (keyboards) and Multi instrumentalist Tariq Banzi (oud, guitar, nay, bouzouki, dumbek, drums and riq). Banzi would later team up with his wife, Julia Banzi, to form the Al Andalus Ensemble. During this time, the Brothers had started to feel confined by traditional Middle Eastern music, and sought to broaden their spectrum by adding other strains of world music, including Celtic, reggae, and Afro-Cuban pop, to klezmer, Cajun, and rock. The band teamed up with former Santana percussionist Michael Shrieve, who produced the Brothers' album Eye on the World, which includes Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Celtic songs, some original compositions, and a Middle Eastern stylized cover of the Rolling Stones' Paint it Black that was picked up as interlude music by NPR. Heart of the Beast was released in 1998, introducing keyboard player Geoff George. This album features a cover of The Yardbirds' Over Under Sideways Down, as well as Middle Eastern, Celtic, Afro Pop, and Reggae mixes. Holiday Album A Time of Peace, the band's popular holiday album, followed in 1999, featuring an instrumental collection of 15 popular Christmas songs performed on kanoon, ney, oud, bouzouk, zurna, darbuka/tabla, zarb, riq, def & davul, arranged by Ishmael and Beach. 2000-2008 The band hit a minor stumbling block in the wake of September 11, 2001, when several venues decided they did not want to risk hosting a Middle Eastern influenced band and cancelled their bookings. In response, the Brothers of the Baladi sponsored its own benefit concert in its home town of Portland, Oregon, with all proceeds to benefit the American Red Cross and the disaster relief effort. The event, which featured music of Armenia, Turkey, Persia, Lebanon, and Egypt, was a success, and the positive response helped the