It was during Lewis's jingles career that the idea of Raaga was conceived. Lewis had called in John to sing a jingle for him one evening in 1992. The lyrics for the jingle were late coming in.

The restless Lewis began crooning something while strumming on his guitar, John felt inspired to jam with an alaap, and the result: the seamless fusion of Eastern and Western sounds that has become the quintessential characteristic of the Raaga.