One dreary day in Chicago in 1989, in a borrowed apartment, struggling singer/songwriter Eric Dailey sat down with a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.
When he finished reading, he left the apartment, quit his old band, and sold his guitars.
He then set out to become a swami instead of a rock star by moving into a Hare Krishna temple, shaving his head, and ultimately becoming Ekendra Dasa.
Yet music would not abandon Ekendra, even during his years as a monk. He spent the early nineties as the drummer for the straightedge band Shelter. As Ekendra Dasa, Eric Dailey was featured on Shelter's 1995 album "Quest for Certainty", alongside Sammy Siegler.
In 1996 Ekendra Dasa formed the Planet Cow Orchestra - combining roots rock and roll with transcendental sarcasm-and recorded a solo CD, "God Project", on his own Krishnaphonic label.
"God Project" was voted one of the top DIY albums of 1999 by Performing Songwriter Magazine, who called it "one of the funniest, most infectious slices of country and rockabilly you're ever likely to hear."
His latest CD, 200 "Proof Absolute Truth", carries on in the "philoso-billy" tradition, with twelve new "fluid tunes" about life, death, love, lust, money, God, women, and fast cars.
Ekendra's one-man live show features offbeat autobiographical humor and musical influences ranging from Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Hank Williams to ancient Sanskrit mantras. Wherever he goes-from summer festivals and folk conferences to universities; from house concerts to coffee houses to the pubs of Philadelphia, his most recent city of residence-his highly unique musical style continues to win fans from all walks of life.
