It has been another amazing year for Playing For Change. This fall the PFC Band completed its largest tour ever. On the road we rekindled old friendships, and rejoiced in new ones. Along the way we learned about an amazing project called "The Smooch! Project" that was started by Bonnie Fournier, a Minneapolis-based photographer.
Smooch! is a documentary record that demonstrates that all humans, regardless of social, economic, or political barriers, share a joyful willingness to welcome love and affection into their lives. To learn more about this beautiful project, click here.
As soon as we learned about Smooch!'s mission, we were excited to get involved. Bonnie offered to do a "Smooch! shoot" with the band while we were in town for a show, and we readily accepted-- that's where the above pic of PFC Band drummer Peter Bunetta being smooched by our roadie/photographer Lindsay Fishman came from! Click here to see more photos from the PFC Band's Smooch! photo shoot this fall!
Since its humble beginnings in 2004, The Smooch! Project has archived thousands of images, working toward their goal of 10,000 smooches. If you would like to "pucker up" and be a part of this historic, heartwarming effort email Bonnie: photogirl@thesmoochproject.com
From all of us at Playing For Change, we wish you a very happy holiday season surrounded by friends and family, love and light.
Peace and Love from Boston,
-Jeremy
We are excited to announce that for the first time ever, Playing For Change Family members around the globe will have the opportunity to connect and interact with one of the Playing For Change Foundation's schools!
Wednesday, November 17th 2010 from 10:00AM - 11:00AM EST you may participate in this global event at www.playingforchange.org/live.
The Playing For Change Foundation is working to connect and expand its music education programs for the communities it serves using videoconferencing technologies (VSee) and social media outlets (Facebook and Twitter). This will be the first live connection between the Ntonga Music School in Gugulethu, South Africa, the Playing For Change Band in Boston, and the Playing For Change community, joining in online.
Spread the word, and join us at www.playingforchange.org/live for this amazing event, that with your support will be the first of many more to come!
The band has just finished their sound check at New York's Beacon Theatre, and there is excitement in the air! The PFC Band is part of an unbelievable lineup of musicians for tonight's show-- Jackson Browne, Keb' Mo', Taj Majal, Patti Smith, Vusi Mahlasela, and many (many) more!
Everyone has come together to celebrate the music, life and vision of John Lennon, and the money raised from tonight's concert is being donated to the Playing For Change Foundation, an organization building music and art schools in communities around the world.
As I type I can hear Jackson Browne tuning up downstairs. It's going to be a night to remember, and we look forward to sharing the sights, sounds, and stories with the Playing For Change Community-- stay tuned.
Love and Respect from New York!
travel
Posted by Mark Johnson, 1 year ago
Hello Everyone, here is my latest update from the road with the PFC crew.
Everyday is a blessing with Playing For Change; we travel the world and meet different people offering us all greater insight into humanity and the power of music. Today was another great day of filming and recording with the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars during their North American tour. We met the band in Chicago and spent a beautiful day together.
We are close to finishing our new Songs Around the World album (currently untitled) and I really want to share the experiences with all of you as this is your global family!! Today I learned, "One day you are suffering in this world and the next day you are healing other people's pain through music." I first heard about this band when I saw a movie about their lives titled "Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars." This group of musicians represent one of the great human triumphs of our time. They struggled through death, famine and genocide and yet moved forward with love in their hearts and melodies in their minds. They are not only searching for a better world, but are also creating one!!!
Thanks to the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, this is our ever growing PFC family and together we will connect the world through music.
One Love, Mark
We just got back from a fantastic day of recording in Shiba Rikyu, a lush oasis in the middle of Tokyo's urban sprawl. As we wended our way along the pristine paths of this beautifully maintained garden, we sometimes forgot that we were in fact still in downtown Tokyo. However the surrounding sky scrapers peeking down through the trees (and the elevated train that dodged between them) reminded us of where in fact we were.
The musician we worked with began the session with an upbeat traditional song. Then he demonstrated his versatiliity by improvising along the pentatonic scale in the keys of our new Songs Around the World. He added a unique sound to each track we recorded, and by the end of the day we were all very pleased with how the session had gone.
We are nearing the end of our stay here in Japan. We will not be recording tomorrow, instead we will be participating in a couple of amazing cultural experiences. Our crew has been invited to Togoshi Shrine to celebrate their Matsuri, an annual harvest festival. Before heading to Togoshi, we will be going to an exhibition that we feel will be very profound. It is called "Dialogue in the Dark," and offers small groups of people the opportunity to spend an afternoon in complete darkness. Visitors are led through a building by a staff of guides that are all blind. The crew are all very excited about this amazing opportunity. I know I often take my sight for granted, and I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how I can relate to the world more consciously without the use of my eyes.
