This is what we've been busy with. If you are in the LOS ANGELES area, please stop by the 4th Annual Talent 1 Media Film Festival. It's totally FREE and is gonna be super dope. There will be Free film screenings, food, music, and a whole buncha rad organizations who fight human trafficking. This is an awesome awareness event which will also feature a FREE Screening of Call+Response, the rockumentary of the century! Find out the schedule and all the deeets at www.talent1media.org !

Aratani Japan America Theatre
244 South San Pedro Street
Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
CALL+RESPONSE Documentary, FREE Screening at 2pm!

Seminar & Workshops 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Awareness Resource 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Film Screenings 6:15pm - 8:45pm
Reception & Entertainment 9:00pm - 10:45pm

Labels: causes, Events

I love when artists make music for things beyond the norm. Recently Abigail Washburn has teamed up with her friend and DJ/producer Dave Liang of the Shanghai Restoration Project. As many of you know last year there was a huge earthquake in Sichuan China where near 5 million people were left without homes, many deaths and injuries. Abigail and Dave took a trip to the ruined communities and began recording the sounds around them. They took those sounds and combined them with Chinese folks songs sung by some of the relocated children and then added their own beats and instruments. To honor the 1 year annivesary, Abigail has released an album called Afterquake in cooperation with Sichuan Quake Relief.

This is a truly a unique album in all it has to offer. Abigail and Dave have amazing talent with their electronic folk arrangements and I am especially moved that the album was inspired by Abigail's journey's to the schools where many of these children currently attend. The album has such a wide range of sounds, talents, instruments, and styles. My favorite track is Sala. Learn how you can help and contribute. Percentage of proceeds will go to relief efforts!

Sala

Labels: causes, Electronic, Folk

Waxploitation established the Causes album series to benefit the work of Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America. Principally their efforts in Darfur.

Although estimates of the number of people killed by the conflict in Darfur vary widely from 200,000 to 400,000, what is certain is that more than 2 million people have fled their homes because of the fighting, and 4 million are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. It is widely accepted that this one of the worst crises in the world today.

Please check out Causes 1 and Causes 2, available for digital download in the Waxploitation online store, Amazon, or iTunes. Causes 2 music and limited edition t-shirts are also available in the Waxploitation online store (Causes 1 is only $6.99 with the purchase of Causes 2 at the store).

Causes 2 has Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, RJD2, The Decemberists, Mum, Gnarls Barkley and so many more! Be sure to pre-order that Causes 2 album, 100% of the profits from the release go to the organizations mentioned above. How amazing it is to be able to listen to great music and contribute to the Cause! Props to MusicAllies for being on it.



black moth super rainbow - happy melted city
the decemberists - after the bombs (live version)
devendra banhart - white reggae troll
diplo - wassup wassup (exclusive samim remix)
federico aubele - luna y sol
gnarls barkley - mystery man
lcd soundsystem - starry eyes original (causes exclusive)
my morning jacket - highly suspicious (vhs or beta dee jays remix)
matthew dear - when she don't need me (causes exclusive)
mum - asleep in a hiding place
neon neon - i lust u feat. cate le bon (dj eli escobar remix)
richard swift - wastin' m'time
rjd2 - wherever
sharon jones & dap-kings - it hurts to be alone
tim & eric - petite feet (exclusive devlin & ghostdad remix feat. sylvia gordon)

Labels: causes

Hey real quick, you knew just as well as I did that this soundtrack would be rollin' out soon and now the wait is over. You can now get the official Call+Response soundtrack via iTunes now! You'll get 17 live performances from some amazing artists like Rocco Deluca, Matisyahu, Natasha Bedingfield, and Cold War Kids. If you haven't heard about human trafficking and the modern day slave trade, read up on it here. If you're ready to get involved and do something check these projects out. If you haven't seen the movie yet, check out the website and see when it's coming to your neck of the woods. And lastly check out these totally dope shirts with Cornel West's quote "Justice is what LOVE looks like in public" right on the site printed on sweatshop free Alternative Apparel t-shirts! GO NOW!

Labels: causes, soundtrack

I'm proud to tell y'all about yet another amazing effort by a group of talented musicians known as Heroes of the Dancefloor! These guys mix some jazz, dub, hip hop, electronica, under and over soulful vocals from Mamazu. Their new album Torch mixes all those elements on different tracks so you literally can get different flavors track to track. The most amazing part about this release is 100% of the proceeds will go to fight homelessness in NY through Picture The Homeless and Coalition For The Homeless.

Their previous album, Momentum, took a similar jab at homelessness with proceeds going to SF based Coatlition On Homelessness. On Both album, HotDF have made it clear that NO money will go to the musicians including any mechanicals, royalties or publishing. Excellent. Bottom line: You get awesome music and it helps provide for the needs of those less fortunate. Ready to give thanks?! It really takes the effort of people and their talents to make differences happen EVERYDAY.

The Knack

Get the album here and here.

According to the annual report by the Coalition on Homelessness "New York has reached a new record for the number of homeless families living in our shelters. In this year alone the number of people living in homeless shelters has increased by 11% and the number of children has increased by 18% to over 14,000.

Picture The Homeless is an award winning grass roots organization in New York City that was founded and is led by homeless New Yorkers in 1999. They are the only organization in NYC, and one of the few nationally, that is led by homeless people. Their organizing campaigns focus on changing the structural causes of homelessness as well as making improvements in the delivery of life sustaining services to homeless individuals and families. As a complement to the soup kitchens, shelters and advocacy organizations, it is critical that homeless people themselves have a seat at the table where public policy decisions are made that impact our lives and communities. Picture The Homeless is proud to have been selected for a Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award. Their motto is Don't Talk About Us, Talk With Us!

The Coalition For The Homeless is the nation's oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women, and children. They believe that affordable housing, sufficient food, and the chance to work for a living wage are fundamental rights in a civilized society. Since 1981, they've fought successfully for lasting solutions to homelessness through our renowned advocacy. They provide housing, food, job training, crisis services and children's programs to over 3,500 New Yorkers each day.

Labels: causes, dub, Electronica

What's up Everyone, hope y'all are enjoying a good Halloween time. In case you're on the net, check out this new album called Serve 3 put together by HardRock, yea like the restaurants! Serve3 is a partnership with the artists and this year the album will be supporting World Hunger Year (WHY). The "Imagine There's No Hunger" campaign has been on going with HardRock and this year they'll once again be trying to take a kick out of poverty with various initiatives including rad pins and ornaments! Read all about WHY here.

If you want to fight hunger while getting some really rad tracks like John Lennon's Give Peace A Chance, then here's a really tiny and fun first step! The album drops worldwide on Nov. 4th, and you can get it on the HardRock website. Also if you buy it on iTunes, you can get the BONUS 6-tracks! Here's a FREE track below!

Toby Lightman - Color

Here's the tracklist!
Bruce Springsteen - Remember When The Music
Joss Stone - Love Has Made You Beautiful
My Morning Jacket - Look At You
Avril Lavigne - When You're Gone
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Diane (Live from Bonnaroo 2006)
The Charlatans - Complete Control
Ryan Shaw - People Get Ready
Marc Broussard - Keep Coming Back
Starsailor - Military Madness
Micki Free - Mother Earth
DMC - I Be Rockin' It
The Chapin Sisters - I Know It's Over
John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance

"The incredible demonstration of talent, time, commitment and dedication to this cause will one day make our vision of a world without hunger and poverty a reality." -Bill Ayres, founder of WHY

Labels: causes

Hey guys it's BLOG ACTION DAY! Over here at BBQCHICKENROBOT.com we want to tell you about a particular organization that is doing something about poverty and they make it EASY for you to get involved! KIVA.org is an awesome organization and website that makes it easy for you to engage in Microfinance. It's ulllltra easy!

Individuals in other countries have dreams to start their own businesses just like you and me but they don't have the means. No, I'm not talking about 100s of 1000s of dollars, we're talkin' contributing with a minimum of $25 bucks. 25 BUCKS!

It's super easy and you have the opportunity, RIGHT NOW, whether you are sitting in your office or your room to HELP someone. So stop reading this! Click this and start lending!

If you are just getting into this stuff, or you are stuck on something, PLEASE PLEASE Email us! We'd love to help you figure it all out. Whether it's poverty, human trafficking, building libraries, diggin wells, building clinics, whatever it might be, we want to connect you.

Increase the peace!

Need some motivation? maybe some inspiration? Check this article out.

Labels: causes

Students Promoting Awareness About North Korea or SPAANK which they're more known for, is a UCLA campus organization led by a team of dedicated people with a clear mission: Create awareness about the atrocities and horrific truths going on in North Korea today and partner with organizations in raising up activists through creative mediums. Their latest effort is a benefit concert called "Ignorance Is Bliss" which will feature performances by artists like Far East Movement and Blu. The concert begins Monday (tomorrow) May 26th, at the UCLA Ackerman Grand Ballroom [map] at 6pm.

Christine Bae, Founder and Director of SPAANK, has successfully transformed her own frustrations and compassion for the issues of North Korea into real works of action. SPAANK is a direct result of a grown passion through everyday conversations about North Korea with her grandmother, watching heavy films like Seoul Train, and reading the autobiographies of survivors. Her own words say it all:

" Sometimes I feel ridiculously useless. I can't "work" the political system, hold a child dying from hunger, save a woman from a life of sex slavery or protect a refugee hiding in China but there is something, at least one thing, that I can do: spread this difficult truth to anyone that will hear it."

Tickets at the door are $15 but if you reserve through e-mail here, it's only $10! Listen to some fresh music and contribute to making a difference! Proceeds will go to the North Korea Freedom Coalition and Liberty in North Korea {LiNK}. Both organizations work to protect and provide humanitarian relief to refugees in and out of North Korean borders. Come out and get the facts straight! See you there!

What's next for SPAANK?! These guys are currently planning and brewing up ideas that involve partnering with key humanitarian organizations and sending messages of activism through creative mediums....such as film?! To learn more, and to get involved check the website here or contact them here.

Labels: causes

This morning when I saw this press release I was ecstatic! MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) Campaign and Radiohead are teaming up to raise awareness by co-producing a music video for Radiohead's All I Need track from In Rainbows. The music video will be premiering on all things MTV networks tomorrow. But you can watch it here now! I really think the video will raise some heads up. MTV EXIT and Radiohead aren't stopping there. While Radiohead is on tour in North America, Europe, and Asia, activists belonging to local anti-human trafficking organizations will be distributing key information about trafficking. Another excellent way to raise awareness!

FYI:
Human Trafficking is defined by the United Nations as “the recruitment, transportation, and receipt of a person for sexual or economic exploitation by force, fraud, coercion, or deception” in order to make a profit.
-It is the second-largest illegal trade after drugs, with criminal traffickers earning over US$10 billion every year through the buying and selling of human beings.
-There are estimated 27 million individual human beings living in slavery today.
-Facts & Resources about trafficking in the U.S.

I really hope that MTV EXIT can really bring a difference and raise awareness on this horrific issue, but the truth is, to end it, we all have to care and do something about it. I highly encourage everyone to check out the Trafficking in Persons Report 2007. It contains in-depth information about slavery and current status of severity country by country. Also check out Concert To End Slavery. Find out what is going on in your local community to raise awareness for these injustices. If you need help or want to talk more feel free to email us. I think it's a moral calling for all people to look beyond their own lives and realize everyone should have the basic rights of freedom. We are all human beings called to do different things and I think fighting opression in some form to benefit another is definitely one of them.

..."What Good is all of our economic and political power if we don't use it to free people in slavery?.."

Labels: activate, causes

Ever since Waxploitation's Genocide in Sudan release in '03, we've really appreciated their efforts in activism. It's an underlying fact that within success, it is completely crucial to use that power to cause change (or create it). I can't stress enough how important it is to continue to educate yourself on current situations in places where we are not. I truly believe people who live in "relative" peace are called to help and serve those who do not or cannot. However a lot of us do not have time (amongst other things), but I'm telling you right now there are many ways to get involved even while sitting at your computer.

Labels: causes, compilation, News