Muruga Booker
Steven Bookvich, known as Muruga Booker, is an American drummer, composer, inventor, artist, and Autonomous Orthodox Priest. Through the 1960s, as Steve Booker, Muruga recorded with Jim and Jean on “Changes” and “People World” (1964 and 1966), appeared on the Paul Winter Consort’s “Something in the Wind,” and recorded a meditation record with Swami Satchidananda in 1969. During the 1970s, he recorded with Darius Brubeck, Gunter Hampel, Al Kooper, Ursa Major, and with Weather Report on their albums “Sweetnighter” and “Mysterious Traveler.” Muruga’s band, Muruga and the Soda Jerks, were produced by George Clinton, and he recorded with George Clinton, Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, and the P-Funk All Stars on the following records:
• 1981 – Funkadelic – The Electric Spanking of War Babies
• 1982 – Godmama (w/Bootsy Collins) – Here
• 1982 – George Clinton – Computer Games
• 1983 – P-Funk All Stars – Urban Dance Floor Guerillas
• 1983 – George Clinton – You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish
• 1984 – Muruga & The Soda Jerks – Boogy With You (45)
• 1985 – George Clinton – Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends
• 1993 – George Clinton – Hey Man, Smell My Finger
• 1995 – P-Funk All Stars – Dope Dogs
In mid-1985, Muruga UFM recorded “Terroristic Activities” 1990 and “Rock the Planet” 1993. In 1990, with his wife, Shakti, he and Prem Das recorded the long-selling Journey of the Drums, a pioneering drum album. That same year, Booker joined Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia to record the Grammy-nominated album (and subsequent DVD) Blues From the Rainforest, and their live CDs “Save the Planet So We’ll Have Someplace to Boogy” (1992) and “Fiesta Amazonica” (1998). He also joined Babatunde Olatunji and Sikiru Adepoju to record the CD “Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations” 1993 (remixed and distributed on Chesky Records as Circle of Drums in 2005). With his Detroit-based band, Free Funk, Muruga recorded the self-titled LP “Free Funk,” released by Qbico Records in 2005. The same band released “OrthoFunkOlogy” in 2008.
