While the fact that senior devotees purchased radiation suits is undeniably true, also true are the allegations that Bhakta Charlie purposely failed to state that these senior Srila Prabhupada disciples actually bought the radiation suits to complete the costuming of their Krishna conscious Devo cover band.

DEVOtee, a band dedicated to the propagation of Vedic philosophy though electronic new wave music and red plastic “energy domes,” has just recorded their first album Q: Are We Not Karmis? A: We Are DEVOtee.

Their fall tour will kick off with a few promo spots on Japanese TV, but will head to small venues stateside in November.

While the motivation for such a blatant attempt at slander remains a mystery, sources close to Bhakta Charlie report him to be the sound engineer behind rival Krishna conscious synthesizer-based act Four Old Dudes Kickin’ Ass on the Stage, a band who many feel have out-lived their mantra rock relevance.

DEVOtee’s first single, “The End of the World Is Near (And I Feel Fine Because Home is Really Elsewhere),” a Devoesque cover of the similarly-titled REM song, promises to be a chart topper, marking DEVOtee’s place atop the Hare Krishna synthpop world.

The findings may contribute to understanding how wildly popular synthesizer kirtans have become at ISKCON festivals like Ratha-yatras, says RVC representative Yazananda das.

“When we, as Hare Krishnas, put down the archaic mrdangas and kartals and pick up a Yamaha DX7, the karmis go wild!”

This “wild” behavior was prevalent at the recent Festival of India in Baltimore, Maryland. During the Ratha-yatra procession, where it is nearly impossible to carry synthesizers, traditional instruments failed to whip the crowd into anything more than a slightly rowdy “swami step.” But after the parade, inside the Festival grounds, Depech das plugged in his Roland Juno 106, played a few notes and the crowd, composed mostly of karmis, leaped to their feet and immediately began chanting and dancing.

“It was as if Mahaprabhu himself was pushing that demo key,” said Durgan-durgan das, a new initiate.

Almost as popular as the synthesizer kirtans, the devotee band Four Old Dudes in Dhotis have been ripping up the ISKCON festival circuit.

“I’ve seen Metallica play the Whiskey in ‘84, but that doesn’t come close to seeing Four Old Dudes in Dhotis kicking ass on a Festival of India stage,” said Howard Numan, president of the Four Old Dudes Fanclub.

Like Depech das who has been lugging his synth rack to festivals since the mid-80’s, Four Old Dudes in Dhotis have been playing Ratha Yatra festivals since shortly after ISKCON Found-Acarya, Srila Prabhupada, passed away.

There has been some controversy over whether Srila Prabhupada would ever have approved of such nontraditional music being played by devotees at festivals, but this recent study by RVC has put many minds at ease.

“Our own studies show that karmis love synthesizer kirtans. It is making so many devotees all over the world,” said Yazananda. Adding, “Just listen to the blissful beat of the DDD-1 drum machine! How could Srila Prabhupada not be pleased?”

One participant of the Woodstock ‘99-like crowd spoke for most in attendance as he climbed up the speaker tower and shouted, “When he pushes the demo button on his Korg TR76, I totally lose control!”

He then stage dived into a veritable sea of karmis dancing and chanting to the beats pumped out by Depech das’s Yamaha PSS-150 as he accented the kirtana with innumerable synth claps and brass attacks.

Five of the original ensemble members led the Sunday feast program with a live performance of its hit “Within Vrndavana’s Woods and Groves.” The be-robed ensemble officially broke up in 1992, most of the members pursuing solo careers.

The New Vrndavana Accordion Ensemble plans to play temples, prasad halls and some festivals in a North American tour beginning May 9 for New Vrndavana’s Festival of Inspiration.

Some confirmed cities on the tour include Gita Nagari, Murari-sevaka, New Goloka, New Talavan, New Raman Reti, New Govardhana Hill, New Kusum Sarovara, New Jagannatha Puri, New Dwarka, Saranagati Dham, Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center, and several Festival of India Dates.

During the ensemble’s short, but exciting career, they rose to fame not only in America, but also in Japan, signing a two-cassette tape deal with Pony-Cannon Records. A short tour of Japan, starting at the New Gaya Dham court yard, is in the works.

If all goes as planned, the triumphant return of one of the most influential Hare Krishna accordion ensembles of the late 80’s may also be followed by a new studio album, industry insiders say.

It was originally reported that New Vrndavana’s choir, The Krishna Chorale, would also be reuniting to open for the accordion ensemble on tour, but blamed “artistic differences” in their failure to get back together. However, sources close to the Chorale report that “it would be a cold day in Patala-loka before the Krishna Chorale would open for those damn squeeze-boxers.”

Ticket prices for the North American leg will range from “doing a little seva” to $25. A portion of the tour’s proceeds will go to AccordionAid, an anti-poverty organization that provides slightly used accordions to temple residents.