Though it’s been a decade since they played in Penticton, Don Pope and Rhonda Padmos have a long history in the city.
The couple moved from Calgary to Penticton in the ‘80s and integrated themselves into the music scene.
“We did every kind of gig you could possibly do and teaching and all that stuff and then we went to Mexico on the cruise ships,” said Pope. “A lot of people have known us since the ‘80s as Katmandu.”
Katmandu was formed in 1983 in Nepal after Padmos and Pope toured India with the east-west fusion group The Third Eye Band, which was led by sarod master Aashish Khan, a nephew of the renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar.
“I was a student of Indian music since I was a teenager and that influenced my life and our music,” said Pope. Learning from his mentor, Khan, was just one of the influences on Katmandu’s music.
“The thing we got mostly in Mexico was working with excellent Latin jazz musicians,” said Pope, who admits that all the travel has made for a confusing but fulfilling 30 years.
“We are always looking for places that stimulate us,” he said. We try to fuse everything together.”
Katmandu is performing May 29 and 30 at the Dream Café, with music starting at 7 p.m.