Bill Withers, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye are February’s featured artists. I’m really excited about this show, and there’s so much good music between these guys I’m having trouble deciding on the songs! If you’ve got suggestions, let me know and I’ll see if I can work them into the set. Hope to see you at the Broad Street Cafe on February 19th! For those of you that can’t make it, I’m working on putting together a live recording Happy February!

“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech has long been one of my favorites. The honesty and conviction behind the ideas he espouses coupled with King’s almost musical delivery makes this speech nearly impossible for even the casual listener to hear and feel unmoved. When most people walk away from the speech, “I have a dream” are the words they most remember. However, his eloquent contrast between physical and non-violent protest is what sticks with me.

I find it pretty amazing that something that seemed so contentious 40-50 years ago is so cut and dry today. At the risk of making a severe understatement, segregation was not a good thing. I’ve not conducted a poll and I’m not referencing any data, but I’d feel safe guessing that the vast majority of Americans (including those who at some point in time were segregationists) would agree with that statement today. Although there were violent elements during the Civil Rights era, the war was won through the “creative protest” and “soul force” King spoke of.

Non-violent protest isn’t particularly sexy. Fighting fire with fire tends to be our natural instinct, for understandable reasons. If someone attacks you or your property, you’ll probably feel justified in using force to protect yourself and/or punish the offending party. However, the sit-ins, boycotts, and marches are more inline with the underlying message of the non-violent movement – people are people. Everyone deserves to be afforded a base level of rights and respect, and violence is anathema to this doctrine.

I can’t honestly say I would have marched with Dr. King if I were transported back in time. I would have been angry and wanted my actions to have immediately noticeable effects. I’d like to think I would have joined the creative protest, but I don’t know.

Disclaimer: I heard an NPR editorial last week relating to the plainly evident evil of segregation and a brief hypothesizing on what contemporary issues were that would be blatantly obvious 50 years from now. That was the impetus for this post

After a few weeks in the studio (aka bedroom), “Mistake Number One” was born. Instead of adding beats to the songs and speeding them up like a DJ would in a re-mix, I slowed them down, acoustified them, and called them a “de-mix.” The response so far has been very positive, and I’ve shipped CD’s to places like Washington, California, France and Italy. You can listen to all 11 tracks below, and if you like what you hear, check out the shop!

1. 8 gospel/spiritual inspired tracks
2. A range of genres (soul/folk/reggae/samples of MLK speech/other craziness)
3. Free to download
4. Tell your friends

The longer, more personal version:

A couple of months ago, I woke up singing a gospel song I didn’t remember hearing before. The refrain, “the Lord is my shepherd, and that’s all I need to know” stuck in my head. I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget it, and then started searching for the song. I can’t find it online anywhere, an the fact that my mom doesn’t know it makes it very unlikely that I’ve ever heard it in church.

The following week, I was in the library with a group of students and turned to look at the bookshelf behind me. The first book I saw was a reprint of an early 1900’s book of “American Negro Spirituals.” Taking this as a sign, I selected a handful of songs from the book and set them to my own arrangements using guitar, piano, synths, and a handful of other instruments.

The songs on “All I Need To Know” are all over the place in terms of style and genre.  There’s a little soul, folk, reggae, rock, lo-fi acappella, and even a few clips from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.  I tried to make the album flow from one song to the next, so if you play them in order, you’ll get what I was going for.

Please listen to/download the tracks, and please tell your friends – I want as many people as possible to hear the music.  It’s free, and I think you’ll enjoy it.  Let me know what you think

-Chris

As part of the “2010 Discovery Series,” I’ll play a special show each month with a 45-60 minute set of music from an artist, band, or genre that has inspired and influenced me.  I’ll follow that set with 45 minutes of my own material.  January’s artist is Ben Harper, and it will be a great way to start the year.

Listen to/download two preview tracks for free:

You can either download the entire album (”Show Me A Little Shame” and “Empty Walls”) or “Empty Walls” by itself. Even if you can’t make it to the show, please spread the word! See you at a show in 2010!

The 2010 Discovery Series
January 28^th (8 PM) – Ben Harper
February 19^th (8 PM) – Sam Cooke/Bill Withers/Marvin Gaye
March 19^th (8 PM) – Amos Lee & Ray Lamontagne
April (TBA) – Cake
May (TBA) – Bob Marley
June (TBA) – Top 40’s from 1990’s
July  (TBA) – Latin Music – Mana, Juanes, Elvis Crespo, Shakira (en espanol)
August (TBA) – “Oldies” Radio
September (TBA) – Boy Bands
October (TBA) – Jimi Hendrix
November (TBA) – Weezer
December (TBA) – Gospel Music

I Don’t Know If I Really Love You

(The video’s a little fuzzy because it was shot from the top of a 1200+ seat auditorium)

Setlist:
Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart)
I Don’t Know If I Really Love You
Shimmer and Shine
Party In The USA

Don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list for show updates, free downloads, and more!

My segment of the show (Part 3):

Trailer
Part 1 (Ancient Tongue)
Part 2 (Rob Murat ft Kidz in the Hall)