.
Saturday festival added -- online from around the world, with some major music luminaries, the cyber version of the "Steel Bridge Song Festival" from Wisconsin.
Newest material -- music on TV, added 5:02 pm; more daytime performance listings added at 2:52 pm
A tumultuous week concludes with encouraging signs for society -- but increased cases of COVID-19, even as states with the biggest increases of cases rush to "re-open" their economies.
So stay safe, stay home, stretch your culinary skills to cook-up somethin' good, and immerse yourself in live music from glowing screens!
We also bring you a bit of news, fresh today, and a challenge to join us in important activism -- to keep people from being poisoned.
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Friday, June 12
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THOUGHTS FOR TODAY from one born on this date...
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
and,
“Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery.”
~ Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist, posthumous all-time bestselling author; teenage victim of the Holocaust (1929-1945)
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Chick Corea, American pianist & composer
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, American singer-songwriter & guitarist
Junior Brown, American country music singer-songwriter & guitarist
Richard M. Sherman, American composer & director (92nd birthday)
Michele Marotta, Guide contributor, singer, actress, production company owner, and daughter of the first American record label to sign the Beatles.
Meredith Brooks, American singer-songwriter & guitarist
Len Barry, American singer-songwriter & producer
John Linnell, American singer-songwriter and musician
Rocky Burnette, American singer-songwriter & guitarist
Amy Emerman, American musician
Trip Black, American musician
Chris Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Sonia Manzano, American actress of Puerto Rican descent, noted for playing Maria on "Sesame Street"
Roy Harper, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, & actor
Ben Blackwell, American drummer
Bun E. Carlos, American drummer
Mimi Coertse, South African soprano & producer
Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
Oğuz Abadan, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
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Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter & actor (1928-2018)
Jim Nabors, American actor and singer; known as "Gomer Pyle," but he had an operatic singing voice (1930-2017)
John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, & producer (1949-2017)
Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, & songwriter (1937-2016)
Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (1941-2013)
Grete Dollitz, German-American guitarist & radio host (1924-2013)
Brad Delp, American musician & singer (Boston - RTZ) (1951-2007)
Bobby Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (1968-1999)
Pete Farndon, English bass player & songwriter (1952-1983)
Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist, posthumous all-time bestselling author; teenage victim of the Holocaust (1929-1945)
Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (1827-1901)
John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (1806-1869)
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Seven years ago, Camden New Jersey, near Philadelphia PA, dissolved its police department and reinvented itself. Camden's crime rate was among the worst in the U.S. in 2013 before it started over. Then, in a harsh two-year process that led to dissolution day, its city police force was gone in favor of a new county police department under new leadership with a different agenda. The former officers were individually considered for the new department and only the ones deemed qualified for the new paradigm were given jobs.
The entire premise was public safety. Since 2012 they have achieved:
• a 95% reduction in excessive force complaints
• a 70% reduction in murder
• a 46% reduction in violent crime
The story by Chris Glorioso of NBC 4 New York was the basis of a new interview-based story with Louis Capelli Jr, the Freeholder Director and County Executive of Camden County, who was the architect of the new Camden County Police Department. He spoke with Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC this morning. Here's what Capelli said:
"The important part of this was we engaged the community throughout the process. So we created a task force of city residents and city leaders to help guide us as we developed the department. And we asked them, 'What do you want to see in your police officers? What do you want to see in your department?' And we actually took the traits they wanted to see in a police officer and incorporated those traits into the job application of the new officers. So it worked out well. We increased diversity. And the community policing model is something that even President Obama in 2015 said is one that should be followed throughout the nation."
Ruhle asked, "So you didn't reduce police, reduce [personnel] reduction, in fact, you made them stronger, better and smarter. But one of the biggest obstacles to reform is the police union. What happened to the union? They couldn't have wanted this to happen?"
"No, they fought us very hard," Capelli replied, adding, "And we tried our best to incorporate the union into our process. But they refused to be a part of it, they opposed it every step of the way and said 'You're never going to get this done, you're never going to get this done,' well we did. But we did so, knowing that the new department would be unionized and in fact the same union represents the officers in the county department. The difference is, there's new leadership. And the leadership in the union now views us as partners in making this city a better city. They understood the task of the department, they understood that it was a new model in policing, and that things had to change, but so far the union has worked with us very well. It's been a good relationship and I have no reason to expect it would change anytime in the future."
Ruhle asked, "In creating this kind of reform, it's not just about policing and violent crimes, It's also about poverty and education and opportunity. How does all that play into this? What are the changes you've seen?"
"We'll the changes have been amazing," said Capelli. "We now have $2.5 billion of new investment in Camden City. We've got thousands of jobs, new jobs being created. Before COVID-19, the unemployment rate in Camden City was the lowest that it's been in decades. The graduation rates from high school are the highest they had been in decades. And the crime rate the lowest that it's been in decades. So we're trending in the right direction in all aspects. And it all started with community policing and [reinventing what a police department is and why it exists]."
Plus this, reproduced from "On this day," above:
Today in 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed ten bills requiring reform of all police agencies in his State. All local governments and police departments in N.Y. state must submit their reform plan by April 1, 2021, or lose their state funding.
And then, contrary to everything we can cite that's good of late...
Dog-whistle politics at their worst
Big political rallies for the 2020 presidential election are set to resume next week. The day chosen is June 19th -- "Juneteenth" in African-American history and culture. It's the date in 1865 when word finally reached enslaved peoples in the farthest western reaches of the Confederacy that the Civil War had ended nearly two months earlier, the Union was restored, and all the slaves were free.
Juneteenth is a big deal. Check the Guide's archives and you'll see that, for many years now, we've been listing celebrations of it throughout Southern California, and explaining what it is. These are always festivals involving musicians booked for multiple stages, attracting visitors and involving entire communities, and everyone is invited. Along with music -- and always a vast array of food -- there are accessible resources on hand, from health and education to qualifying for helpful programs. Prominent speakers from the black community are there to interact and inspire. A big deal, as we said.
Until this year. Juneteenth celebrations, like everything else, were cancelled (well in advance) because of the pandemic. Then the death of George Floyd at the hands of police produced a spontaneous awakening of all the other deaths and rampant mistreatment of unarmed black citizens at the hands of too damn many police, including beatings that often produce lifelong disabilities. And nightly, our tv's and countless web feeds continue to deliver more. If ever there were a way to revive Juneteenth 2020 in time, these times plaintively cry out for it.
But a real Juneteenth cannot be resurrected in time, nor with masks and social distancing and new numbers showing increasing Coronavirus infection rates, could it be done. Even the Iowa State Fair just cancelled itself for the first time since World War II.
Any political candidate's rally, given the circumstances, would risk looking exploitive if it landed on Juneteenth. Or worse. Much worse. What if that rally were located in Tulsa, Oklahoma -- where America just observed the disgraceful anniversary of the worse civilian massacre of unarmed black citizens by white racists in all of American history? (It's in our "On this day" coverage for May 31st, in our "Last of May" edition published May 27.)
The "Tulsa Race Massacre" -- also called the "Tulsa Race Riot" to obfuscate what really happened, or the "Greenwood Massacre," or the "Black Wall Street Massacre" -- took place May 31st into June 1, 1921. What was it? Mobs of white residents attacked and murdered black residents and burned businesses and homes of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the most prosperous and successful black business and residential area in the U.S. It has been called "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history." Descendants of survivors say their ancestors had to jump aboard cars offering rides to safety. They lost everything. They never went back.
So a convocation of any kind in Tulsa, at this time of awakening in America about the inequities, derivations, lynchings, and litany of cruelty and sadness and fear -- would require plenty of sensitivity. Or abjectly oblivious recklessness. Or be a deliberate dog whistle.
The Trump-Pence campaign has announced a major rally, inviting supporters from across the nation, and set it for June 19th -- Juneteenth -- in Tulsa.
÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷
Opportunity / CHALLENGE to activism
It's illegal in war. Cops and Trump's troops use it on civilian protesters in America
Exercise your First Amendment Constitutional rights and you can be poisoned in America. You can act RIGHT NOW to stop it.
The use of tear gas has been banned and is ILLEGAL in war. This exact same tear gas is being used by law enforcement to break-up those marching to protest George Floyd's death, and Black Lives Matter protesters in cities across the country.
Tear gas is not safe. It has been found to cause long-term health consequences, and intense burning pain in the eyes, throat, lungs, skin and mucous membranes. In some cases, it can cause an asthma attack -- potentially leading to asphyxiation or death. When a canister detonates, it can also cause serious burn injuries.
This would be enough of a problem in normal times, but now, use of tear gas in the midst of a respiratory pandemic threatens to worsen the coronavirus, along with racial disparities in its spread.
Doctors, nurses and disease experts have warned that dousing crowds with teargas and pepper spray will accelerate the spread of coronavirus as mass demonstrations against police brutality rage on. This is raising concerns in the medical community that police tactics could worsen a pandemic that has already taken a disproportionate toll on black and brown Americans due to environmental injustices.
As a result, systemic racism is being amplified by police and the coronavirus. Discrimination leads to black and brown populations’ routine exposure to environmental harms caused by polluting facilities that are placed in their communities.
The use of tear gas is exasperating every one of these circumstances and situations. We cannot allow this inhumane -- and deadly -- practice to continue against unarmed civilians exercising their Constitutional rights.
Click the link to read more. It's where you can sign and send the petition to your state's Governor:
Demand an immediate ban on the use of tear gas by the police.
(Link to copy to share in email or social media: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-your-us-governor-ban-the-use-of-chemical-weapons-by-law-enforcement)
Participating Organizations:
198 Methods
Climate Hawks Vote
Consumers United for Fairness
Daily Kos
LeftNet
Acoustic Americana Music Guide
Music on tv is in its own set of listings, following online concerts.
___~ Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist, posthumous all-time bestselling author; teenage victim of the Holocaust (1929-1945)
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On this day...
In 2020, the country superstar group of 14 years, LADY A, goes forth with their new name. Until yesterday, they were the multiple GRAMMY, ACA, CMA-award-winning LADY ANTEBELLUM. The group's three members decided they would risk backlash from the country music audience and press, and the tightly-controlled image-and-message-managed country music establishment because they wanted to respond, personally, to the climate of the times. "Antebellum" is the historical term for the pre-Civil War period. While it invokes the glamour and fashion of the Southern Belle epitomized by Scarlett O'Hara, it inescapably evokes the era of plantation slavery.
Today in 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed ten bills requiring reform of all police agencies in his State. All local governments and police departments in N.Y. state must submit their reform plan by April 1, 2021, or lose their state funding.
Today in 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed ten bills requiring reform of all police agencies in his State. All local governments and police departments in N.Y. state must submit their reform plan by April 1, 2021, or lose their state funding.
_
For our next two anniversaries, we turn to Garrison Keillor, and today's edition of his "Writer's Almanac":
It was on this day in 1963 that civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. He was the Field Secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and traveled widely in support of voting rights and school integration for African Americans. He was just 37 years old.
Medgar Evers was a star athlete in high school and served in the U.S. Army, participating in the Allied Invasion in Europe. When he came back to the U.S. and began his career as an activist, he immediately encountered pushback and racism; in 1961, when he applauded a courtroom defendant in a sit-down proceeding, policemen beat him over the head with a revolver. He was undeterred. He said: “If I die, it will be in a good cause. I’ve been fighting for America just as much as the soldiers in Vietnam.”
 |
| Medgar Evers, D-Day veteran, assassinated while working for voting rights for black American citizens in Mississippi. |
A Ku Klux Klan member named Byron De La Beckwith murdered Evers, shooting him at close range in the back with a rifle. When Evers was rushed to a hospital, he was initially refused care because he was black. De La Beckwith was apprehended and tried, but two trials ended in hung juries. Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Shortly after his death, singer Nina Simone wrote and recorded the song “Mississippi Goddam,” with its famous lines, “You don’t have to live next to me / Just give me equality!” The song became an anthem of the Civil Rights era of the 1960s.
In 1994, at the age of 74, Byron De La Beckwith was finally found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Medgar Evers. The jury was made up of eight blacks and four whites. He died in prison.
Medgar Evers said, “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.”
_
On this day in 1967, the United States Supreme Court declared all state laws prohibiting interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. The case, Loving v. Virginia was brought forth by Richard Loving, who was white, and his wife, Mildred, who was black and Native American. The pair had previously been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for their marriage.
The Lovings met in their small hometown in Virginia, when Richard attended one of Mildred’s brother’s music shows. The couple traveled to Washington, D.C., to marry after Mildred became pregnant at the age of 18. Upon return, their home was raided by police in the early morning hours as they lay in bed sleeping.
Loving sought the advice of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, writing, “We know we can’t live there, but we would like to go back once and awhile to visit our families and friends.” Kennedy referred the Lovings to the ACLU, who in turn provided lawyers for a case.
Just eight years after the Court’s decision, the Lovings were struck by a drunk driver; Richard was killed instantly. Mildred never considered another marriage.
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Happy Birthday today to
Chick Corea, American pianist & composer
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, American singer-songwriter & guitarist
Junior Brown, American country music singer-songwriter & guitarist
Richard M. Sherman, American composer & director (92nd birthday)
Michele Marotta, Guide contributor, singer, actress, production company owner, and daughter of the first American record label to sign the Beatles.
Meredith Brooks, American singer-songwriter & guitarist
Len Barry, American singer-songwriter & producer
John Linnell, American singer-songwriter and musician
Rocky Burnette, American singer-songwriter & guitarist
Amy Emerman, American musician
Trip Black, American musician
Chris Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Sonia Manzano, American actress of Puerto Rican descent, noted for playing Maria on "Sesame Street"
Roy Harper, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, & actor
Ben Blackwell, American drummer
Bun E. Carlos, American drummer
Mimi Coertse, South African soprano & producer
Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
Oğuz Abadan, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
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In memoriam to departed artists and influencers born on this date
Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter & actor (1928-2018)
Jim Nabors, American actor and singer; known as "Gomer Pyle," but he had an operatic singing voice (1930-2017)
John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, & producer (1949-2017)
Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, & songwriter (1937-2016)
Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (1941-2013)
Grete Dollitz, German-American guitarist & radio host (1924-2013)
Brad Delp, American musician & singer (Boston - RTZ) (1951-2007)
Bobby Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (1968-1999)
Pete Farndon, English bass player & songwriter (1952-1983)
Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist, posthumous all-time bestselling author; teenage victim of the Holocaust (1929-1945)
Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (1827-1901)
John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (1806-1869)
___
For our feature "in memoriam" remembrance, we turn to Garrison Keillor, and today's edition of his "Writer's Almanac":
Today is the birthday of Anne Frank (books by this author) (born in Frankfurt, Germany, 1929), who died at the age of 14 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany during the Holocaust. Frank, her family, and four other people hid for two years in an attic space above Frank’s father’s business warehouse. The space was called “The Secret Annex,” and they survived through the help of Otto Frank’s employees, who brought them food, newspapers, and sundries. The space was small and cramped, and the eight people had to follow strict routines about when to use the bathroom, when to go to bed, and even when they could talk, for fear of rousing the suspicion of the workers in the warehouse. The Secret Annex was entered through a revolving bookcase. We would probably not know of Anne Frank’s life, or certain details of what life was like for Jews during the Holocaust, if Anne had not left behind a little red and white checkered diary that she called “Kitty.”
In it, she recorded details of her life before confinement: school, crushes, fights with sister Margot, but also the increasing harassment that Jews faced after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of the Reich. Jews could no longer ride public transportation. Jewish schoolchildren were forced to sit apart from non-Jewish children in classrooms. Anne Frank wrote, “My happy-go-lucky, carefree school days are over.”
Anne’s father, Otto Frank, had devised a plan of escape, but before it could take place, Anne’s sister, Margot, along with thousands of other Jews in Amsterdam, was called to a labor camp in Germany. If she didn’t register and report, the entire family would be arrested. The Frank family packed suitcases and walked to The Secret Annex in the rain. They wore as many clothes as possible. They would spend 761 days in hiding before they were discovered and sent to the concentration camps. Otto Frank was the only survivor. No one knows who betrayed the Franks, but Otto’s helper, Miep Gies, found the diary in The Secret Annex and gave it to Otto Frank. It became a worldwide sensation when it was published in 1947 as Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl.
Anne Frank would be 91 years old if she had lived. In her diary, she wrote: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.”
And she wrote, “Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery.”
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Today's news extra
Disband the Police? What happened where it was done
Seven years ago, Camden New Jersey, near Philadelphia PA, dissolved its police department and reinvented itself. Camden's crime rate was among the worst in the U.S. in 2013 before it started over. Then, in a harsh two-year process that led to dissolution day, its city police force was gone in favor of a new county police department under new leadership with a different agenda. The former officers were individually considered for the new department and only the ones deemed qualified for the new paradigm were given jobs.
The entire premise was public safety. Since 2012 they have achieved:
• a 95% reduction in excessive force complaints
• a 70% reduction in murder
• a 46% reduction in violent crime
The story by Chris Glorioso of NBC 4 New York was the basis of a new interview-based story with Louis Capelli Jr, the Freeholder Director and County Executive of Camden County, who was the architect of the new Camden County Police Department. He spoke with Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC this morning. Here's what Capelli said:
"The important part of this was we engaged the community throughout the process. So we created a task force of city residents and city leaders to help guide us as we developed the department. And we asked them, 'What do you want to see in your police officers? What do you want to see in your department?' And we actually took the traits they wanted to see in a police officer and incorporated those traits into the job application of the new officers. So it worked out well. We increased diversity. And the community policing model is something that even President Obama in 2015 said is one that should be followed throughout the nation."
Ruhle asked, "So you didn't reduce police, reduce [personnel] reduction, in fact, you made them stronger, better and smarter. But one of the biggest obstacles to reform is the police union. What happened to the union? They couldn't have wanted this to happen?"
"No, they fought us very hard," Capelli replied, adding, "And we tried our best to incorporate the union into our process. But they refused to be a part of it, they opposed it every step of the way and said 'You're never going to get this done, you're never going to get this done,' well we did. But we did so, knowing that the new department would be unionized and in fact the same union represents the officers in the county department. The difference is, there's new leadership. And the leadership in the union now views us as partners in making this city a better city. They understood the task of the department, they understood that it was a new model in policing, and that things had to change, but so far the union has worked with us very well. It's been a good relationship and I have no reason to expect it would change anytime in the future."
Ruhle asked, "In creating this kind of reform, it's not just about policing and violent crimes, It's also about poverty and education and opportunity. How does all that play into this? What are the changes you've seen?"
"We'll the changes have been amazing," said Capelli. "We now have $2.5 billion of new investment in Camden City. We've got thousands of jobs, new jobs being created. Before COVID-19, the unemployment rate in Camden City was the lowest that it's been in decades. The graduation rates from high school are the highest they had been in decades. And the crime rate the lowest that it's been in decades. So we're trending in the right direction in all aspects. And it all started with community policing and [reinventing what a police department is and why it exists]."
Plus this, reproduced from "On this day," above:
Today in 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed ten bills requiring reform of all police agencies in his State. All local governments and police departments in N.Y. state must submit their reform plan by April 1, 2021, or lose their state funding.
÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷
Dog-whistle politics at their worst
Big political rallies for the 2020 presidential election are set to resume next week. The day chosen is June 19th -- "Juneteenth" in African-American history and culture. It's the date in 1865 when word finally reached enslaved peoples in the farthest western reaches of the Confederacy that the Civil War had ended nearly two months earlier, the Union was restored, and all the slaves were free.
Juneteenth is a big deal. Check the Guide's archives and you'll see that, for many years now, we've been listing celebrations of it throughout Southern California, and explaining what it is. These are always festivals involving musicians booked for multiple stages, attracting visitors and involving entire communities, and everyone is invited. Along with music -- and always a vast array of food -- there are accessible resources on hand, from health and education to qualifying for helpful programs. Prominent speakers from the black community are there to interact and inspire. A big deal, as we said.
Until this year. Juneteenth celebrations, like everything else, were cancelled (well in advance) because of the pandemic. Then the death of George Floyd at the hands of police produced a spontaneous awakening of all the other deaths and rampant mistreatment of unarmed black citizens at the hands of too damn many police, including beatings that often produce lifelong disabilities. And nightly, our tv's and countless web feeds continue to deliver more. If ever there were a way to revive Juneteenth 2020 in time, these times plaintively cry out for it.
But a real Juneteenth cannot be resurrected in time, nor with masks and social distancing and new numbers showing increasing Coronavirus infection rates, could it be done. Even the Iowa State Fair just cancelled itself for the first time since World War II.
Any political candidate's rally, given the circumstances, would risk looking exploitive if it landed on Juneteenth. Or worse. Much worse. What if that rally were located in Tulsa, Oklahoma -- where America just observed the disgraceful anniversary of the worse civilian massacre of unarmed black citizens by white racists in all of American history? (It's in our "On this day" coverage for May 31st, in our "Last of May" edition published May 27.)
The "Tulsa Race Massacre" -- also called the "Tulsa Race Riot" to obfuscate what really happened, or the "Greenwood Massacre," or the "Black Wall Street Massacre" -- took place May 31st into June 1, 1921. What was it? Mobs of white residents attacked and murdered black residents and burned businesses and homes of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the most prosperous and successful black business and residential area in the U.S. It has been called "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history." Descendants of survivors say their ancestors had to jump aboard cars offering rides to safety. They lost everything. They never went back.
So a convocation of any kind in Tulsa, at this time of awakening in America about the inequities, derivations, lynchings, and litany of cruelty and sadness and fear -- would require plenty of sensitivity. Or abjectly oblivious recklessness. Or be a deliberate dog whistle.
The Trump-Pence campaign has announced a major rally, inviting supporters from across the nation, and set it for June 19th -- Juneteenth -- in Tulsa.
÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷
Opportunity / CHALLENGE to activism
It's illegal in war. Cops and Trump's troops use it on civilian protesters in America
Exercise your First Amendment Constitutional rights and you can be poisoned in America. You can act RIGHT NOW to stop it.
The use of tear gas has been banned and is ILLEGAL in war. This exact same tear gas is being used by law enforcement to break-up those marching to protest George Floyd's death, and Black Lives Matter protesters in cities across the country.
Tear gas is not safe. It has been found to cause long-term health consequences, and intense burning pain in the eyes, throat, lungs, skin and mucous membranes. In some cases, it can cause an asthma attack -- potentially leading to asphyxiation or death. When a canister detonates, it can also cause serious burn injuries.
This would be enough of a problem in normal times, but now, use of tear gas in the midst of a respiratory pandemic threatens to worsen the coronavirus, along with racial disparities in its spread.
Doctors, nurses and disease experts have warned that dousing crowds with teargas and pepper spray will accelerate the spread of coronavirus as mass demonstrations against police brutality rage on. This is raising concerns in the medical community that police tactics could worsen a pandemic that has already taken a disproportionate toll on black and brown Americans due to environmental injustices.
As a result, systemic racism is being amplified by police and the coronavirus. Discrimination leads to black and brown populations’ routine exposure to environmental harms caused by polluting facilities that are placed in their communities.
The use of tear gas is exasperating every one of these circumstances and situations. We cannot allow this inhumane -- and deadly -- practice to continue against unarmed civilians exercising their Constitutional rights.
Click the link to read more. It's where you can sign and send the petition to your state's Governor:
Demand an immediate ban on the use of tear gas by the police.
(Link to copy to share in email or social media: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-your-us-governor-ban-the-use-of-chemical-weapons-by-law-enforcement)
Participating Organizations:
198 Methods
Climate Hawks Vote
Consumers United for Fairness
Daily Kos
LeftNet
Acoustic Americana Music Guide
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Friday music -- online concerts, direct to your front-row seat
Music on tv is in its own set of listings, following online concerts.
Listings "via Off Beat" are live shows from New Orleans, via New Orleans Off Beat magazine.
___
Fri, Jun 12:
___
Fri, Jun 12:
___
Fri, Jun 12:
___
Fri, Jun 12:
___
Fri, Jun 12:
9 am Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Ted Hefko | Nolamericana | 11 a.m. CDT | Web |
Fri, Jun 12:
10 am Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Samantha Fish | Blues/Rock/Soul | 12 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
11 am Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Andre Bohren | Piano | 1 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
1 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Wolf Parade | Indie Rock | 3 p.m. CDT | YouTube |
Fri, Jun 12:
1:30 pm Pacific --
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST
* Blue Élan Records & Americana recording artists Mustangs Of The West invite you to their "Fantastic Friday Facebook livestream"
* This week, they’ll be talking about the song "IN THE REAL WEST" from their new album, “TIME,” produced by Mark Howard.
* The band says, "We’ll be joined by two special guests … renowned Austin musician and songwriter of 'Real West,' TISH HINOJOSA, and our Blue Élan label mate, RUSTY YOUNG from the pioneering band POCO, whose pedal steel artistry is featured on this song!"
* "The stories behind the songs, a look inside our recording sessions, the vintage instruments and sounds on the record, and more. Join in, and we'll answer your questions and comments 'live' online, too.
* Tish's song "IN THE REAL WEST" is a longtime Guide favorite, and was a "Listener Favorite" waay back in the days of "Tied to the Tracks" on Los Angeles broadcast radio.
* TUNE-IN at: https://www.facebook.com/MustangsOfTheWest/
___
Fri, Jun 12:
3 pm Pacific --
TISH HINOJOSA plays her weekly live show from her Austin, Texas home.* Today her guests are the other two members of her new trio, TEXICANA MAMAS.
* They had expected to be on tour with the release of their first album. Now, perhaps the album will release in August. Find out more on today's show.
* Thanks to the new recording of her classic song, "In the Real West" by the band MUSTANGS OF THE WEST, and the guest spot by Tish on their FB show today, we learned of her show, every Friday at 5 Austin time, 3 pm Pacific.
* TUNE-IN on
• her website: http://www.mundotish.com/
• her Facebook band page:
https://m.facebook.com/mundotish
___
Fri, Jun 12:
3 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | David Doucet | Folk/Cajun/Americana | 5 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
4 pm Pacific --
EMMA'S REVOLUTION plays Bridge Beyond Borders: Songs to Span the Distance
* on Zoom; Online Concert, Plus Post-Concert Visit with the Artists
* Sandy says, "Join us for a concert and post-concert visit, sponsored by the UU Communities of Southern Ontario! All are welcome. Sliding scale $1-25 USD.
If you are our supporter-of-arts via Patreon or other form
of donation, you are welcome to come as our guest!
Email Sandy by 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT for the Zoom invite
of donation, you are welcome to come as our guest!
Email Sandy by 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT for the Zoom invite
"We look forward to seeing you all to sing together (Zoom-style, of course), visit and talk about what's going on in this turbulent and transformative time!"
___Fri, Jun 12:
4 pm Pacific --
VICTORIA VOX, "JACK & THE VOX" -- 1st of 3 shows today on different sites
* First, Tori tells us, "I'll be performing a 1 hour LIVE set with Jack accompanying me on my tunes on Facebook.
* Presented by The Cultural Center at the Opera House and the Havre de Grace Arts Collective. You can view it live or on replay (after) at this direct link: https://www.facebook.com/hdgarts/videos/723237711845209/
* She adds, "I will be accepting tips for my performance at PayPal.me/victoriavox or via Venmo: @victoriavox
2) see 5:15 pm
3) see the 5:30 pm listing for the "Steel Bridge Songfest"
... for their other performances today.
___
Fri, Jun 12:
4:30 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Anders Osborne | Americana/Rock/Blues | 6:30 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
4:30 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Jason Marsalis | Jazz | 6:30 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
4:30 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Matt Lemmler | Jazz | 6:30 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
5 pm Pacific --
Monthly "WOODSHED SESSIONS ONLINE" with THE SUSIE GLAZE NEW FOLK ENSEMBLE & performing guests, continuing their series, online.
* Today's musical guest is JOHN ZIPPERER
* Click for guests & schedule and tune-in:
Or
___
Fri, Jun 12:
5 pm Pacific --
AMANDA ABIZAID
Does a live chat session for the premiere of her new video of "Beautiful Day", "a song I wrote with my co-writer and friend Lindsay Gillis," says the always delightful Amanda. She continues, "'Beautiful Day' is off of our Someday Girl Vol II album. Enjoy the video and please share with your friends and reach out to me through email or my YouTube Channel with your comments and song suggestions. I'll be hanging out during the Premiere today on YouTube for a chat with you!"AMANDA ABIZAID
* TUNE-IN at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=xczJaVbwQpY
___
Fri, Jun 12:
5 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | John Roniger and The Good for Nothin' Band | Funk/Blues | 7 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
5 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Fridays from the Funky Uncle | Jazz/Funk/Blues/Soul | 7 p.m. CDT | Web |
Fri, Jun 12:
5:15 pm Pacific --
VICTORIA VOX, "JACK & THE VOX" -- 2nd of 3 shows today on different sites
* Jack and Victoria scoot on over to the "Best Medicine Show" for Episode #82. At 5:15 Pacific time, says ukulele maven Tori, "We'll go LIVE with two 'Dance' numbers for Dance Party Friday. Our goal is to get to 100! You can still support us by picking up a Best Medicine sticker or enamel pin at: jackandthevox.com/shop
* Then for their 3rd gig... Immediately after this, at 7:30 CST / 5:30 Pacific, Victoria says, "We'll scoot over to the Steel Bridge Songfest!"
___FESTIVAL
Fri, Jun 12:
5:30 pm Pacific --
"Steel Bridge Songfest" from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with JACKSON BROWNE, STEVE EARL, JAMES McMURTRY, and many more.
* For the first time in 14 years, the TWO-DAY fest has gone digital (thanks Covid-19!)
* Victoria Vox, one of the festival's many artists, says, "We've been working hard for the past month writing new songs, and making tribute videos of previous songs written at the glorious Holiday Music Motel!
* It's a two-day Festival from 5:30-8:30 pm PDT both days. Victoria cautions, "don't miss the beginning. I'll be there in the chat with many other writers and supporters :). These songs / videos have NEVER been seen before! Exciting! Click below for the link."
* Two separate shows will air Friday, June 12 and Saturday June 13. Same time. Same place.
http://www.SteelBridgeSongfest.org/
* TUNE-IN at:
https://m.facebook.com/SteelBridgeSongfest/
___
Fri, Jun 12:
6 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Tiffany Pollack and Co. | Blues/Jazz | 8 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
6 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Big Freedia’s Friday Night Shakedown | Bounce | 8 p.m. CDT | Web |
Fri, Jun 12:
6 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Ellis Marsalis Tribute Night | Jazz | 8 p.m. CDT |
Fri, Jun 12:
6 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Delfeayo Marsalis | Jazz | 8 p.m. CDT |
___
Fri, Jun 12:
7 pm Pacific --
| (via "Off Beat") | Amy Trail’s “Stuck-Home Syndrome”: A Piano Bar Experience | Piano bar-style requests | 9 p.m. CDT |
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Friday music on tv
All times PDT.
On RFD:
4:30-5 pm - "The Duttons Through the Years
5-6 pm - "Country's Family Reunion"
7:30-8 pm - "The Statler Brothers Show" from 1991
8-8:30 pm - "Country Legends: Grand Ole Opry Stars of the '50s" - from 1953: Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb, Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, Marty Robbins.
9-10 pm - "Country's Family Reunion"
On KLCS:
8-8:30 pm - "Bluegrass Underground" (2019) Gregory Alan Isakov
Repeats 2-2:30 am
8:30-9 pm - "Sun Studio Sessions" (2020) South Memphis String Band
Repeats 2:30-3 am
9-10 pm - "Austin City Limits" (2019) H.E.R.
Repeats 3-4 am
10-11 pm - "Front and Center" (2019) Chris Janson
Repeats 4-5 am
5-6 am (Sat) - "The Kate" (2020) The Wood Brothers
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Saturday, June 13
■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■
FESTIVAL
Sat, Jun 13:
5:30 pm Pacific --
"Steel Bridge Songfest" from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with JACKSON BROWNE, STEVE EARL, JAMES McMURTRY, and many more.
* For the first time in 14 years, the TWO-DAY fest has gone digital (thanks Covid-19!)
* Victoria Vox, one of the festival's many artists, says, "We've been working hard for the past month writing new songs, and making tribute videos of previous songs written at the glorious Holiday Music Motel!
* It's a two-day Festival, Friday & Saturday, from 5:30-8:30 pm PDT both days. Victoria cautions, "don't miss the beginning. I'll be there in the chat with many other writers and supporters :). These songs / videos have NEVER been seen before! Exciting! Click below for the link."
* Two separate shows will air Friday, June 12 and Saturday June 13. Same time. Same place.
* TUNE-IN AN HOUR EARLY (at 4:30 pm Pacific) for the special airing of a compilation video of the best of past years. On stages. With cheering crowds.
http://www.SteelBridgeSongfest.org/
* TUNE-IN at:
https://m.facebook.com/SteelBridgeSongfest/
___
Alas, fellow music lovers... we, here at the Guide, are taking the weekend off. Stay tuneful.
See you soon!
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_________________________________________________
We have lots of MUSIC NEWS
features in the works, and they'll
be along as we get them dressed,
shoes tied, cowlicks combed down,
bowties cranked straight,
and strings tuned.
Find a comfortable spot by the
wood stove -- you'll prob'ly need to
grab the cards for solitaire, since you
can't have somebody over for a round
of checkers. But we'll be along...
directly, from a safe social distance.
Direct from Cyberia.
features in the works, and they'll
be along as we get them dressed,
shoes tied, cowlicks combed down,
bowties cranked straight,
and strings tuned.
Find a comfortable spot by the
wood stove -- you'll prob'ly need to
grab the cards for solitaire, since you
can't have somebody over for a round
of checkers. But we'll be along...
directly, from a safe social distance.
Direct from Cyberia.
_________________________________________________
On to the necessary boilerplate...
Boilerplate? What "boilerplate"? Where's the main pressure gauge? And the firebox? How do you add water so it won't blow-up?
Who came up with that goofy term for the basic essential informational stuff? ...obviously some dumbass...
Alright already, it's right down there...
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LEGALESE, CONTACTING US, 'N SUCH...
________________________________
Direct to the Guide's current editions /
MOBILE-DEVICE-FRIENDLY
editions load quickly at
Or at
.
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CONTACT US -- Post Comments / Send Questions / say Howdy at:
Tiedtothetracks (at) Hotmail (dot) com
.
OR USE THE COMMENTS FUNCTION on the Blogspot site.
.
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Entire contents copyright © 2020,
Lawrence Wines & Tied to the Tracks.
All rights reserved.
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♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS – and views of interest to artists everywhere – more specifically to musicians and the creative community and music makers -- and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music. That includes both traditional and innovative forms. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues (now undergoing a major update), and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues from the monumentally large to the intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops, conferences, and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the swamp water roots of the blues and the bright lights of where the music is headed now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell. The cyber porch'll be here anytime you come back from the road.
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We'll be back again soon with music news and more "News of the Non-Trumpcentric Universe." (c)
________________________________
Til we catch ya again on the flip side
in this new decade...
in this new decade...
as Buford the Wonder Dog looks on
and in our best Kathy Baker
"Hee Haw" voice: "THAT's all!"
"Hee Haw" voice: "THAT's all!"
_________________________________
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Here's a reprint of important info from one of our February editions:
COVID-19 Coronavirus PRACTICAL PRECAUTIONS
(good for avoiding the "regular" flu & colds, too)
• Coronavirus lives on inorganic surfaces anywhere from two hours to NINE DAYS; it all seems dependent on temperature, unless it is killed by disinfectant. When tests revealed that, even health care workers were surprised. It brings more emphasis to many of the following points.
• Get the flu vaccine -- ordinary flu will likely mimic Coronavirus, so avoid being ostracized and quarantined.
• Wash your hands, a lot: scrub for 20 seconds and wash them often.
• Stop shaking hands. Don't do "fist bumps" because that's still hand-to-hand contact. And don't become a mad elbow-bumper, because of the next point.
• Cough into the inside of your elbow, ANY TIME you cough.
• Stop shaking hands. Don't do "fist bumps" because that's still hand-to-hand contact. And don't become a mad elbow-bumper, because of the next point.
• Cough into the inside of your elbow, ANY TIME you cough.
• Keep your hands away from your face -- touching your nostrils, eyes, or mouth brings-in every germ your hands picked-up.
• Get a little bottle of hand sanitizer on a miniature carabiner. Clip it to your belt loop or purse strap and use it frequently. (Be sure you snap the lid shut, or it'll drain all over your clothes.) You can refill it from the pump bottle by the sink.
• Make your own hand sanitizer if the stores are out. Formula, from a doctor who makes it with her kids: two parts isopropyl alcohol (drugstore alcohol, at least 70% alcohol), one part aloe vera gel, a dash of any essential oil. Works just ss well as store bought stuff.
• Make your own hand sanitizer if the stores are out. Formula, from a doctor who makes it with her kids: two parts isopropyl alcohol (drugstore alcohol, at least 70% alcohol), one part aloe vera gel, a dash of any essential oil. Works just ss well as store bought stuff.
• Stay home if you're sick -- even if you don't get paid, DON'T be the "Typhoid Mary" that brings a pandemic of this or ANYTHING contagious. If you're "taking one for the team," make it the big team -- ALL of us.
• Don't be a transporter. Immediately remove shoes inside your front door and change clothes when you get home. Don't plunk-down on the couch until you shed what you were wearing at work or in the store or on the bus or in the coffee bar. Stop tracking everything from the sidewalk onto your kitchen and bathroom floors and your rug.
• Be mindful of your car. Everything you touch, everywhere, is on your steering wheel. Everywhere you sit is on your car seat. Keep 'em disinfected -- Clorox wipe the wheel, Lysol spray the seats, often.
• Don't be a transporter. Immediately remove shoes inside your front door and change clothes when you get home. Don't plunk-down on the couch until you shed what you were wearing at work or in the store or on the bus or in the coffee bar. Stop tracking everything from the sidewalk onto your kitchen and bathroom floors and your rug.
• Be mindful of your car. Everything you touch, everywhere, is on your steering wheel. Everywhere you sit is on your car seat. Keep 'em disinfected -- Clorox wipe the wheel, Lysol spray the seats, often.
• Everything you wear goes in the hamper. No multi-day wearings between washings.
• Keep track of where Coronavirus and other flus are headed, the latest ways to avoid contagion, and what symptoms go with what disease, by putting the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL in your favorites: www.cdc.gov
• Call your doctor or public health officials if you become symptomatic, and DON'T "just go" to the doctor or urgent care or ER; everybody else in the waiting room does not have what you have, and vice-versa.
• Don't buy-up all tbe masks that medical responders need. Nearly all the masks in the stores are Dust Masks, made to keep carpenters and other tradesmen from inhaling sawdust. Expecting those to protect you from tiny viruses is like trying to filter water with a tennis racket. Plus, wearing masks everywhere is not a good idea -- without training and lots of practice, you'll contaminate the thing and then breathe a stewpot of microorganisms up-close and personal.
• Get proper nutrition and plenty of sleep to support your immune system. THAT is THE best way to stay healthy.
• REALLY IMPORTANT: Think about what you routinely ignore:
~ your phone or tablet, which you constantly handle while you're touching everything else in the big, wide world, then keep handling when you're eating (keep your devices disinfected).
~ the Kleenex or cloth hankie you pull out of your pocket -- this time your nose or eye gets the side your dirty finger got last time (yeah, duh!)
~ door handles & knobs, especially "pull-to-exit" on the restroom door, and all door handles you grab or push.
~ gas pump handles -- whatever was deposited on them is now on your steering wheel, and marinading on your hands as you snack while driving.
~ gas pump handles -- whatever was deposited on them is now on your steering wheel, and marinading on your hands as you snack while driving.
~ restaurant menus, salt and pepper shakers, ketchup and mustard and hot sauce bottles that every unwashed hand touches. Same goes for bins of packaged condiments at fast foodies or convenience store / gas stations (Use 'em, then use your hand sanitizer.)
~ lunch buffet serving spoons, spatulas, tongs that every unwashed hand uses in the food bins (your freshly-washed hands just got contaminated). And if sneeze guard glass panes aren't at the right height or aren't clean, demand a refund and leave.
~ coins in change and money, in general -- coins and folding money are germ transit systems. (Back to your little bottle of hand sanitizer.)
~ airline & train tray tables -- who knows when they were last cleaned and to what extent? When we saw a baby being changed on one... (bring a little plastic box of Clorox wipes when you travel).
~ bring your own food on the airplane -- you're probably doing that, anyway, since they stopped feeding you back when they started charging for carry-on luggage and made you ride with your knees in your armpits. Flight attendants have tested positive -- their hands pour drinks, dispense snacks, and pick-up everybody's garbage.
~ airline & train tray tables -- who knows when they were last cleaned and to what extent? When we saw a baby being changed on one... (bring a little plastic box of Clorox wipes when you travel).
~ bring your own food on the airplane -- you're probably doing that, anyway, since they stopped feeding you back when they started charging for carry-on luggage and made you ride with your knees in your armpits. Flight attendants have tested positive -- their hands pour drinks, dispense snacks, and pick-up everybody's garbage.
~ remember to think and act consciously. There is an acute need to be mindful of others, so neither be paranoid reactive nor obliviously ignorant. There was great advice in the old cop show at the end of every briefing: "Be careful out there."
Read AND SHARE The Guide's complete feature story on the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the edition at: https://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2020/02/leap-day-weekend-leaping-into.html
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