Two years ago, I offered a radio production class via Empower DC’s Grassroots Media Project. The class was taught by long-time WPFW radio producer Netfa Freeman. Two of its students, Brenda Hayes and Ben King met for the first time and went on to produce the radio show This Light: Sounds for Social Change, a radio series highlighting the connections between arts and activism. Each episode features an interview with an activist/artist as well as an audio mix of their work. The program currently airs on Radio CPR; their podcasts are also featured on Grassroots DC Radio.
The following podcast is a ten minute compilation from several episodes of This Light Sounds for Social Change. [audio:http://www.grassrootsdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/This-Light-Clips-for-WPFW.mp3]
If the above podcast peaked your interest, check out this interview of Brenda and Ben on WPFW’s Voices with Vision.
When Ben and Brenda first came to me with the idea for This Light: Sounds for Social Change, I asked them if they would be able to find enough artist/activists to have a show each week? Two years later, the guests are coming to them. Check them out on CPR Radio on Sunday nights from 9:00 PM until 11:00 PM, or on Mixcloud.
Out of respect for the Godfather of Go-go, I’m reposting this article from February 2011.
[haiku url=”http://www.grassrootsmediaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Chuck Breezy 1.mp3″ title=”Chuck Brown Interview”]
Godfather of Go-go, Mr. Chuck Brown
Grassroots Media Project radio producers Brenda Hayes and Be Steadwell interviewed Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-go, at WPFW a couple of weeks before the Grammy’s. Mr. Brown was nominated for the song LOVE featuring Jill Scott with Marcus Miller in the category Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals. As no one outside of the DC radius has a proper understanding of Go-go, Chuck Brown did not win. However, all you Go-go fans out there will want to hear the Hayes/Steadwell interview of Chuck Brown because as I said, he never lets us down. Chuck Brown Interview
Thank you Wikipedia for the following information:
Chuck Brown (born August 28, 1936) is a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called “The Godfather of Go-go“. Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.
Brown’s musical career began in the 1960s playing guitar with Jerry Butler and The Earls of Rhythm, joining Los Latinos in 1965. He still performs music today and is commonly known in the Washington, DC area. Brown’s early hits include “I Need Some Money” and “Bustin’ Loose“. “Bustin’ Loose” has been adopted by the Washington Nationals baseball team as its home run celebration song, and was interpolated by Nelly for his 2002 number one hit “Hot in Herre.” Brown also recorded go-go covers of early jazz and blues songs, such as “Go-Go Swing” Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing If Ain’t Got That Swing“, “Moody’s Mood for Love”, Johnny Mercer’s “Midnight Sun“, Louis Jordan’s “Run Joe”, and T-Bone Walker’s“Stormy Monday”.
The song “Ashley’s Roachclip” from the Soul Searchers’ 1974 album Salt of the Earth contains a famous drum break, sampled countless times in various other tracks.[1]
Brown is considered a local legend in Washington, D.C., and has appeared in television advertisements for the Washington Post and other area companies. The D.C. Lottery‘s “Rolling Cash 5” ad campaign features Chuck Brown singing his 2007 song “The Party Roll” in front of various D.C. city landmarks such as Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Brown resides in Waldorf, Maryland. His son, Nekos, was a defensive end/linebacker for the Virginia Tech football team. While his son was in college, Brown scheduled concerts and other appearances around the Hokies home schedule to ensure that he would never miss a game, and became a fixture at Lane Stadium. Following the Virginia Tech massacre, Brown was “absolutely devastated” by the tragedy, and cried every day for two weeks.[2] In shows that followed, Brown would pause for a moment in prayer for the victims and their families before beginning his performance, and dedicated several shows to their memory.
SongRise is an all women’s social justice a cappella group located in Washington, DC. They use their music to inspire people to
fight for social and political change. They offer their singing talents at community events, rallies, protests, farmer’s markets, civil rights celebrations, DC voting rights events, arts showcases, in schools, at churches, in prisons, etc. They are one of the many local artists featured on “This Light: Sounds for Social Change,” a radio series highlighting the connections between arts and activism. Each episode features an interview with an activist/artist, as well as an audio mix of their work.
“This Light’ is based in Washington, DC and airs on Radio CPR (89.7 FM) or RadioCPR.com every Thursday night and Friday morning from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Episodes are archived at SoundsForSocialChange.com. Enjoy!
Two graduates of the Grassroots Media Project Radio Production course have teamed up to create “This Light: Sounds for Social Change,” a radio series highlighting the connections between arts and activism. Each episode will feature an interview with an activist/artist, as well as an audio mix of their work. “This Light’ is based in Washington, DC and currently looking for distribution channels. Contact the producers here.
Episode 2 profiles Climbing Poetree, a New York based spoken-word duo who uses their art as a weapon “to overcome destruction with creativity.” The group is best known for their show, Hurricane Season, connecting the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with broad social justice issues through spoken word and multimedia performance. The poets, Alixa and Naima, are also educators and have developed a curriculum for high school and university students based on their show. They write (and manifest through their work):
“Art is our weapon, our medicine, our voice, our vision. Creativity is the antidote for violence and destruction. Art is our most human expression, our voice to communicate our stories, to challenge injustice and the misrepresentations of mainstream media, to expose harsh realities and engender even more powerful hope, a force to bring diverse peoples together, a tool to rebuild our communities, and a weapon to win the struggle for universal liberation.”
Check back soon for episode 2b featuring the music and sounds of Climbing Poetree.
For more on Climbing Poetree, check out their website.
For more on “This Light,” visit soundsforsocialchange.com. Episode 1 features Zami DC, a free LGBT poetry and song-writing workshop produced by B. Steadwell and Taylor Johnson.
Grassroots Media Project radio producers Brenda Hayes and Be Steadwell interviewed Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-go, at WPFW a couple of weeks before the Grammy’s. Mr. Brown was nominated for the song LOVE featuring Jill Scott with Marcus Miller in the category Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals. As no one outside of the DC radius has a proper understanding of Go-go, Chuck Brown did not win. However, all you Go-go fans out there will want to hear the Hayes/Steadwell interview of Chuck Brown because as I said, he never lets us down.
Thank you Wikipedia for the following information:
Chuck Brown (born August 28, 1936) is a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called “The Godfather of Go-go“. Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.
Brown’s musical career began in the 1960s playing guitar with Jerry Butler and The Earls of Rhythm, joining Los Latinos in 1965. He still performs music today and is commonly known in the Washington, DC area. Brown’s early hits include “I Need Some Money” and “Bustin’ Loose“. “Bustin’ Loose” has been adopted by the Washington Nationals baseball team as its home run celebration song, and was interpolated by Nelly for his 2002 number one hit “Hot in Herre.” Brown also recorded go-go covers of early jazz and blues songs, such as “Go-Go Swing” Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing If Ain’t Got That Swing“, “Moody’s Mood for Love”, Johnny Mercer’s “Midnight Sun“, Louis Jordan’s “Run Joe”, and T-Bone Walker’s“Stormy Monday”.
The song “Ashley’s Roachclip” from the Soul Searchers’ 1974 album Salt of the Earth contains a famous drum break, sampled countless times in various other tracks.[1]
Brown is considered a local legend in Washington, D.C., and has appeared in television advertisements for the Washington Post and other area companies. The D.C. Lottery‘s “Rolling Cash 5” ad campaign features Chuck Brown singing his 2007 song “The Party Roll” in front of various D.C. city landmarks such as Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Brown resides in Waldorf, Maryland. His son, Nekos, was a defensive end/linebacker for the Virginia Tech football team. While his son was in college, Brown scheduled concerts and other appearances around the Hokies home schedule to ensure that he would never miss a game, and became a fixture at Lane Stadium. Following the Virginia Tech massacre, Brown was “absolutely devastated” by the tragedy, and cried every day for two weeks.[2] In shows that followed, Brown would pause for a moment in prayer for the victims and their families before beginning his performance, and dedicated several shows to their memory.
