Tag Archives: music activism

LEFT FORUM 2015: “REVOLUTIONARY ARTS PERFORMANCE” SEGMENT, Opening Remarks

Text by John Pietaro (http://theculturalworker.blogspot.com/2015/05/revolutionary-cultural-work-on-crises.html)

About the LEFT FORUM

john reed clubThe art of rebellion is a tradition as old as dissent itself. Radical writers, musicians, painters, actors, dancers and other creative activists have long used their artwork as a weapon in the fight for social justice. If the very nature of expressive freedom lends itself toward a revolutionary voice, then it is arguable that the arts gave birth to radicalism, or in the least offered a vision toward its path. And the cultural workers fight for his or her own freedom of expression—and against the confines of censorship—further exemplifies the voice of creativity in this good fight.

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Music Activism: Jeremy Danneman a positive force in our lives

Jeremy DannemanText by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Jeremy Danneman, is not a new name for you. DooDeeDoo has featured Jeremy a couple of times during the last two years. Yes, he’s  a 24/7 musician performing on and off stage…yes, he’s playing all kinds of saxophones and the clarinet…yes, he’s a composer and educator, based in New York City. BUT He’s also a music activist and the founder and president of Parade of One, an international street performance project.

He’s a good example why we need more musician like him. He’s a young gentleman who cares for his people and people outside of his circle. He wants to reach out with his music and let people know that there are other people in need. He plays music for two reasons: firstly, he wants to entertain people in a positive and intellectual way and, secondly, he wants his audience to know about things they have never heard of or don’t know at all.

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Fair Trade Music Shows Seattle Musicians They Have Power

Text by Paul Bigman, Organizer AFM Local 76-493 (Seattle, WA)

(Officially published in the INTERNATIONAL MUSICIANS January 2015 issue: http://internationalmusician.org/fair-trade-music-shows-seattle-musicians-they-have-power/)

cropped-FTMS.bannerFair Trade Music Seattle was launched through a public meeting in 2012. “We saw a major part of our industry in Seattle with no union presence,” explains Local 76-493 (Seattle, WA) President Motter Snell. “We needed to have interest from affected musicians, and when some came to us, we took action. This has the potential to build new leadership, and help improve wages and working conditions for area musicians.”

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Woody Guthrie: 75 Years into “This Land is Your Land” and the Fight’s Still On

Text by John Pietaro – videos selected by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on Bastille Day, 1912 and some say that revolution was his birthright. Few before him, or since, can lay claim to the mastery of protest music as honestly as Woody. Though he battled the ravages of Huntington’s disease in his later years and lived only into middle age, his time remains eternal. And his life story is the stuff legends are built on.

75 years ago today, February 23, 1940, Woody completed work on an acerbic song of fight-back he then sang as “God Blessed America For Me”. Later, upon further reflection, Woody shifted its emphasis to include an embrace of the nation’s beauty and promise as much as it damned its inequity. “This Land is Your Land” has, through the decades, come to be seen as the ultimate folk revival song, indeed, our second national anthem. A closer examination of it, though, reveals the revolutionary core.

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Future of Music Coalition Hails FCC Net Neutrality Vote

Future of Music Coalition logoText by Future of Music Coalition: http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2015/02/26/future-music-coalition-hails-fcc-net-neutrality-vote

WASHINGTON, DC – Moments ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to adopt a new Open Internet order, implementing strong net neutrality protections using Title II of the Communications Act.

Future of Music Coalition CEO Casey Rae made the following statement:

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