Tag: activism

July 15, 2013 - Legendary musician Lester Chambers was attacked after dedicating a song to Trayvon Martin yesterday in Hayward, California. Lester was trying to play and dedicate Curtis Mayfield's song, "People Get Ready" to Trayvon when a woman pushed him down and started yelling at him. The 73-year-old activist singer suffered bruised rib muscles and nerve damage. The woman was cited for battery. Read more on the KTVU website here.  (photo credit: Lester Chambers/Facebook)

July 15, 2013 - Neambe and Ietef Vita are a couple from Colorado that mix music, activism, healthy eating and family in a unique way, and are featured in a Denver Post article by John Wenzel. They mix traditional African music and family, and work with inner-city kids to educate and empower them to eat non-GMO, organic and healthy foods, and channel their creativity through music to help change their community and lives for their better. They formed "Brown SugaYouth Fest" to hold music festivals and spread their seeds of change at youth centers in the community, and dubbed it "Going Green, and Living Bling". They teach the importance of community and are currently promoting community gardens which JTMP strongly supports. The more food we grow ourselves, the less Frankenfood we have to eat from Monsanto. 

Ietef is better known in the Denver area as "DJ Cavem Moetavation", and has recorded with other artists such as Dead Prez and Arrested Development. He writes songs with a positive message for young kids about organic foods and spirituality. On stage right next to his turntable he will have fruits, vegetables and a blender and promote healthy smoothies and a vegan lifestyle. They attest to the difficulty in their community work, but are dedicated to it. Read more about this awesome couple and their great work on the Denver Post here, and below is a video of Ietef as "DJ Cavem Moetavation" spreading a positive message with his musical activism about not buying that "bag of chips", but reaching for healthy food.

Global Citizen, a non-profit that is trying to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide by 2030, will be holding a free concert in New York's Central Park on Saturday, September 28, 2013 with acts like Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, John Mayer and more.

The great thing about this is to get the free tickets, citizens must "Take Action" and better the world community through action. One goes to the Global Citizen website, and registers with them. After that, you are presented with 4 key areas they are focusing on right now which are education, health, women's equality and global partnerships. I signed up, and picked the issue close to my heart, which is health. After choosing your issue, you can "take action", earn points and better the world. Once you get to 20 points, you can enter in the drawing for the free tickets to the concert. I think this is a great way to not only get people motivated to act, but it makes them feel involved in the process. One can sign petitions and pressure UN or governmental officials to act on certain priorities. I signed a petition for the UN to make childhood immunizations a priority. One child can be saved with a shot that costs .30 cents! Try this cause to make a difference also!

JTMP will hopefully be able to get tickets through the drawing, or we will get press passes and cover it for you. Check back regularly for updates, and check with us in September after the concert for pictures and video of the event. For now, head on over to the Global Citizen website and TAKE ACTION!

July 1, 2013 - Musical-activist Natalie Maines, famous of course for her dissing of Dubya back in 2003, joined thousands of activists surrounding the Texas Statehouse building as they protested the attempts by Republican state lawmakers who are currently trying to ram through legislation attacking women's reproductive rights. The Republicans tried to ram it through last Friday, but the great State Senator Wendy Davis mounted an 11-hour filibuster and the midnight deadline passed, and they couldn't get it voted on. Activists were worried that Republicans would once again try and strip away women's reproductive rights in the second special legislative session this week, so they staged a huge rally today featuring musicians, speakers, celebrities, activists, and of course State Senator Wendy Davis. Watch the videos below of Natalie Maines singing the national anthem, and "Not Ready to Make Nice". Read more on the rally on Reuters.com here.

(Joey Covington at his final performance on June 1, 2013- Photo credit: Dean M. Gray/DesertVortex/Flickr)

JUNE 6, 2013 - Sad news in the realm of '60s music, Joey Covington who played drums for one of the 1960s biggest groups, Jefferson Airplane, died in a car crash. His common law wife, thinks that a stroke or other health problem might have been a factor. He apparently drove off the road and hit a cement wall. He wasn't wearing his seat belt. A man at the scene tried to resuscitate, but was unsuccessful. Joey was 67.

Joey was born in 1945 in Pennsylvania and taught himself to play the drums. He started recording music in Johnstown, PA when he was only sixteen. His first group was the Fenways, jammed a while with Jimmy Greenspoon in LA (who later went on to fame with Three Dog Night) and also played with Papa John Creach.

In 1969 he formed the group Hot Tuna with Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen, and also joined Jefferson Airplane; either double-drumming with Spencer Dryden, or sometimes replacing him entirely. He broke his leg and was not able to play drums for their Woodstock show. In the 1970s he went solo, then in the 1980s and 1990s he was part of the group San Francisco Allstars. He was popular in the Palm Springs area, and even played free gigs, and talking to the fans after the show. Read more on Today.com here, and a report with pictures from the local CBS affiliate here.