By Mark E. Waterbury

MM: You were born and raised in Cameroon. What type of music were you exposed to there?

MBandi: I was exposed to a lot of the pop music coming out of America as well as African music and Caribbean music like reggae. There wasn't anything like jazz, mainly American soft rock and dance music. I also listened to a lot of piano music from albums that my dad had and was influenced by that as well.

MM: Did you always feel you would make a career out of music?

MBandi: Yes, somehow. I had always hoped that I would do that and it was always a dream of mine. I pursued other careers while I was in college, but was always impressed with the creation of music.

MM: Once you came to the States, what were some of the first steps you took to pursue your music career?

MBandi: I saved up about two hundred dollars working as a dishwasher in a restaurant while I went to college, and with that I bought myself a small keyboard. I played the piano for only about a year at the time, and I wanted to learn more about what I loved playing. I didn't really take lessons. I would just learn by listening, and I would always play around and try to come up with something original and different. I never really wanted to play other people's music. I always wanted to perform my own music.

MM: Did you also learn how the business side of the music industry works in the States?

MBandi: Yeah, I read a lot about it. I originally wanted to get a recording contract, but as time went on I realized, that with my style of music, I could really do it myself. After I recorded my first CD, I sent it to a couple of labels but didn't really pursue that too much. I played at Borders stores and at outdoor concerts such as at the amphitheater at the Baltimore harbor, and at those shows I would sell my CDs.

MM: What inspires your songwriting, particularly on your new CD "Harbor Nights?"

MBandi: Sometimes I get feelings that I write about in a song, while other times songs are just me sitting at a piano and playing around with different beats and rhythms and sounds and coming up with a song. The first song on "Harbor Nights" is called "The Forgotten Child," and it originated from me thinking I wanted to do an AIDS benefit concert because of all of the people in Africa with AIDS. There are a lot of children there that contract AIDS and they waste away because they don't get the medication that they need. It seems like the rest of the world knows nothing about them. That was the reason behind "The Forgotten Child." And the title song was about the days when I played those outdoor concerts at the Baltimore harbor.

MM: Do you feel you can successfully convey a mood or message or emotion with no words and just instrumental music?

MBandi: Yes. One difference I think is that one song can convey numerous moods or feelings to different people whereas with lyrics telling you what the song is about you more logically come to a certain mood. Whether a song can make someone happy or sad, the song may mean one thing to me but it doesn't have to mean the same thing to the person listening to it. I like the listener to make it their own and interpret it how they want to.

MM: You did do one vocal song with Alfreda Gerald. What made you want to put that one vocal track on "Harbor Nights?"

MBandi: I had actually written that song back in 2001 and auditioned quite a few vocalists but never really found anyone who could do the song justice. I also couldn't really afford a vocalist at that time. Since then, my career started improving, and I heard Alfreda perform on Yanni's album and I really liked her voice. I asked her to do it and she agreed so we recorded it.

MM: What is your plan to get "Harbor Nights" out there and spread your popularity further?

MBandi: I really want to get the song with Alfreda onto radio. I picked out ten cities that I really want to perform in. I am also working with a charity organization to put on an HIV/AIDS benefit concert in Washington D.C. and possibly in Baltimore as well. I hope to attract at least five hundred people to this concert and I would like to video tape it for a DVD of the concert. I eventually want to do the same benefit concert in the ten cities I have targeted and all the proceeds are going to charity. In those cities, I play primarily art festivals where I set up and play and sell my CDs. I have employees for those events so every given weekend, I have two or three people going out into the crowd and selling CDs. I am also working to get radio and publicity in those markets.

MM: What is your personal definition of success and do you feel you have achieved at least part of that or do you have another level to go?

MBandi: I hope I have a lot of levels to go! I'm pretty happy with where I am right now. I previously had another job where I was making a pretty good amount of money. I was able to quit that job which was not really my passion and do something that I have more passion for. I feel satisfied for what I have done considering I have only been doing it a short time. If I do this for ten more years and am still at the same level, of course, I will not be that satisfied, but even the fact that I have been doing this full time for one year makes me happy where I am. My goal is to be able to tour America, doing concerts in thirty to thirty-five cities, and have about a thousand people in each city. That's where I'd like to be and I can really see myself doing that some day.