“The Buddha would dig it!” said the Marin Independent Journal, when Eve Decker released her first solo album, Commentary on Perfections of the Heart, a few years back. Now she has a new album, Simple Truth, and it’s time to celebrate! “Eve Decker has a great big heart, writes a wise and witty lyric, and has a voice that carries with it our deepest longings and fulfillment,” says renowned Buddhist and newsman Wes “Scoop” Nitzker. Eve is an accomplished teacher of the dharma (thumbnail definition: the spiritual practice of Buddhism) and also an accomplished musician—she co-founded the feminist folk trio Rebecca Riots in 1993, recording four albums and playing sold-out shows around the country.

She wrote her first song at the age of eight and as a teenager performed on a popular song celebrating her hometown, “Mill Valley.” In college, she sang in the UC Berkeley Jazz Choir; after graduation, she worked as a guitar-playing pre-school teacher and became the musical director at Camp It Up! During her time with Rebecca Riots (named “Best Band with a Conscience” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian), she developed her Buddhist practice and became seriously involved with the Spirit Rock Meditation Center. The result has been called “dharma folk.” “My deepest intentions are to ease suffering and offer joy,” Eve says. “The two most wonderful things I have found in my life, that have eased my own suffering and brought me joy, are music and Buddhist teachings. So, I have dedicated my life to sharing both.”

Her band consists of guitarist Kent Walsh, bassist Ben Decker, drummer Amy Epstien, and cellist Tova Green. And the Friends she’s bringing along? That would be songwriter and activist Jennifer Berezan, Spirit Rock co-founder James Baraz, accordionist and pianist Julie Wolf, percussionist Michaella Goerlitz, and Rebecca Riots alum Lisa Zeiler on guitar and mandolin.

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Photo by Irene Young