Author Archives: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

A music activist reports: community and labor stand together in peaceful cry for justice for Eric Garner

Text by JOHN PIETARO (August 25, 2014): http://peoplesworld.org/community-and-labor-stand-together-in-peaceful-cry-for-justice-for-eric-garner/
(John Pietaro is a musician, activist, writer and cultural organizer in New York City. By day he works in the labor movement. His website is www.DissidentArts.com)

Photo: At the Staten Island rally. John Pietaro/PW

Photo: At the Staten Island rally. John Pietaro/PW

STATEN ISLAND, NY: Thousands gathered in a peaceful march and rally on Saturday, August 23. Organized by the National Action Network, delegations of political and community activists, as well as many labor radicals, stood among them.

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Music Listings – 8/25 through 8/31/2014

1.  Lukas Ligeti Quintet

Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Time: 8pm
Venue: Douglass Street Music Collective (295 Douglass Street, between 3rd & 4th Ave., Brooklyn, NY)
Ticket: $10
Genre: jazz/improv

Transcending the boundaries of genre, composer-percussionist Lukas Ligeti has developed a musical style of his own that draws upon downtown New York experimentalism, contemporary classical music, jazz, electronica, as well as world music, particularly from Africa. Known for his non-conformity and diverse interests, Lukas creates music ranging from the through-composed to the free-improvised, often exploring polyrhythmic/polytempo structures, non-tempered tunings, and non-western elements. Other major sources of inspiration include experimental mathematics, computer technology, architecture and visual art, sociology and politics, and travel. He has also been participating in cultural exchange projects in Africa for the past 15 years.

Lukas Ligeti Quintet:
Thomas Bergeron (trumpet), Travis Sullivan (sax), Shoko Nagai (piano), Michael Bates (bass), Lukas Ligeti (drums) Continue reading →

Attention: AFM President Blasts NFL Super Bowl Halftime Kickback Scheme

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Unbelievable…! The National Football League (NFL) has reportedly asked potential Super Bowl halftime performers if they would be willing to pay the league to play at its big game. I can’t believe this?!

A couple of weeks I decided for myself not to play for free any more. Yesterday I found out that some major musicians might have played for free for the NFL’s SUPER BOWL HALF TIME event. This is a perfect example what happens in this music business industry, but on a higher and sophisticated level. In this case, much money is made by the NFL, and no money goes to the (major) performing artists who decided to play for free.

Even David Letterman made a joke about this news last night.

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DooBeeDoo Endorses: March For Justice This Coming Saturday

Date: Saturday, August 23, 2014
Time: 11am
Where: Staten Island at the intersection of Victory Blvd and Bay Street. Just a 12 minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry

In Ferguson, Missouri, thousands of people are rising up to protest in outrage and grief over Mike Brown, another young black man killed by the police.

And just a few weeks ago on Staten Island, Eric Garner was strangled by the NYPD.

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