All we are saying is give peace a chance
- John Lennon
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THE LISTEN FOR LIFE ALL-STAR BAND
listenforlife.org
Present or former band members with Toto, Asia, Eric Clapton, Guns N’ Roses, Dave Matthews Band, Carole King, Sergio Mendes, Lionel Richie, and many others, are forming a new all-star band to promote world peace through music. Beginning with three concerts in Southern California this month (September), in celebration of U.N. International Peace Day, the band will soon launch into a world tour.
The band, billed as The Listen for Life All-Star Band, features a large cast: Bobby Kimball (voice), Teddy Andreadis (keys,harmonica), Butch Taylor (keys), James East (bass), Ant Glynne (guitar) Joe Manno (drums), Andy Andrus (guitar), Ukulele Ray (ukulele, duh). In addition to the "Blues/Rock Band", other players includes: Van-Anh Vanessa Vo) [Vietnam], Ashwin Batish (sitar) and Keshav Batish (tabla) [India], Winnie Wong (guzheng) [China], Naser Musa (oud) [Palestine], Rumen Sali Shopov (tambura) [Bulgaria], Diana Rowan (harp) [Celtic/Eastern Europe], Ricardo Garcia (voice) [Latino], Donna Stoering (piano) [Western Classical], and Jehnean Washington (voice, flute) [Native American].
Founder of Listen for Life, Donna Stoering had this to comment about the international cast: "We are launching the all-star global concert tour in the Los Angeles area because of its music industry roots, and the springboard the area has offered to many legendary performers who believe music can bridge global discord."
The Listen for Life Musicfests is taking place at Mission Viejo, California (09/21), The Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, California (09/27), and Ramona Bowl amphitheatre in Hemet, California (09/29).
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MISSION OF BURMA
missionofburma.com
Mission of Burma is post-punk band from Boston. They took their name from a plaque on the New York City diplomatic building, which was meant as a peaceful mission to help the people of Burma, also known as Myanmar.
Anyway, if you thought Mission of Burma broke up… they did in 1983, due to singer/guitarist Roger Miller's development of tinnitus. The band reformed in 2002 and continues to put out records. Their sixth studio album,
Unsound, came out this year in July via Fire Records. Check out their video for "Semi-Pesudo-Sort-of Plan" on
Pitchfork.tv.
They are wrapping up their tour through the Midwest:
09.26 Shank Hall (Milwaukee, WI)
09.27 400 Bar (Minneapolis, MN)
09.28 High Noon Saloon (Madison, WI)
09.29 Lincoln Hall (Chicago, IL)
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100 THOUSAND POETS FOR CHANGE
www.100tpc.org
September 29, 2012 marks the second annual global event for "100 Thousand Poets for Change," which trying to bring awareness to environmental, social, and political change within the framework of peace and sustainability. Although it's called 100,000 Poets, the event features musicians, dancers, mimes, painters and photographers from around the world.
So check this out, they said that more than 200 hundred bands (Los Angeles, New Orleans and Detroit to Serbia, Nigeria and Italy) will be performing on September 29th.
Here's what else to expect:
• 25 different events in the San Francisco Bay Area, the birthplace of 100 Thousand Poets for Change, including poetry readings by Beat Legend Michael McClure, former US Poet Laureate Robert Hass and other major poets at the famed Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival
• In New Orleans, 15 live bands will perform to raise funds for the APEX Youth Center and Homegrown Harvest Music and Arts Festival
• In Hollywood, Florida, Global Vibes will host an event called, “War Destroys Children’s Lives†at two venues and feature over 15 “Bands for Changeâ€
• Peace On Streets, R.O.A.D., Tasker Elite and SHARP will host performance artists, poets, musicians, hip hop artists and various youth and parent groups who will perform and lead workshops throughout Philadelphia to bring awareness to the ongoing problem of street violence in their city
• Wordstock, a 3-day festival at the Bamboo Arts and Celebration Center in De Leon Springs, FL will include poetry slams, concerts, and an art exhibition focusing on images of war and peace
• The Occupy Wall Street Poetry group kicks off a weekend of events in New York City with a poetry reading at the famous St. Mark’s Poetry Project
• In Jamaica, a week long Street Dub Vibe series called “Tell the Children the Truth†will include concerts, spoken word performances, art exhibits, lectures and workshops to bring attention to the damaging culture of secrecy and denial surrounding the abuse, poverty and illiteracy impacting the nation’s children and destroying their future.
• Poetry and peace gatherings are planned in the strife-torn cities of Kabul and Jalalabad, Afghanistan
• In Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, poets, musicians and mime artists, in response to violence in the world and the major changes taking place in the Arab World, will perform in public spaces and theaters and explore new ways to communicate their concerns, and their roles as artists, in influencing the future of their country
• In Volos, Greece, there will be 5 days of poetry and music events, including an exhibition of photography looking at the new phenomenon of homelessness in Greece
• An event in Blackpool, England will celebrate activist poets and writers of past generations through a special performance of Bullets and Daffodils, a play about the life of peace poet Wilfred Owen
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EMMANUEL JAL
wewantpeace2012.org
Former child soldier, but now full time peace activist and musician Emmanuel Jal's latest album is called
See Me Mama.
Earlier this month, Jal issued a personal statement via his manager, that he was badly beaten by police in the South Sudanese capital of Juba. The description read:
At approximately 9:30pm, Emmanuel was en route to the Gatwich guesthouse in the outskirts of Juba when he was stopped by police and robbed of his mobile phone. Determined not to use or respond in violence, he was repeatedly beaten by 5 police and national security officers until he eventually lost consciousness.
Emmanuel Jal still believes in peace and won't back down on his upcoming "We Want Peace" concerts on 20 & 21 September 2012 for International Peace Day. As for the beating that he suffered, Jal had this to say, "I am in South Sudan to highlight peace and have come to speak and perform at the "We Want Peace" business gala and concert on International Peace Day. Two days after arriving in my home country I was attacked by members of Juba's police and national security. This is an ironic and sad situation that will not deter my path for freedom, equality and justice. I am swollen, but recovering, and thank all the fans and supporters for their well wishes."
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