MON MAY 5th in SF
&
WED MAY 7th in Berkeley
Monday May 5th - San Francisco
Buy tickets now: www. cafedunord. com
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2007
Premier Filipino American emcees, KIWI (formerly of Native Guns) and GEOLOGIC (aka Prometheus Brown of Seattle's Blue Scholars) launch social justice benefit, People Power Tour.
Media Contacts:
Bernadette Ellorin, Secretary General - BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org
Brian Myers, People Power Tour – National Coordinator/Booking
brian.jl.myers@gmail.com (contact now for Fall 2008 shows)
Two of the West Coast's premier Filipino American emcees, Geologic aka Prometheus Brown of Seattle's Blue Scholars and San Francisco's Kiwi, formerly of Native Guns, are teaming up again to rally youth and students to raise awareness with a nationwide People Power Tour. Kiwi elaborated, "We are volunteering to do this concert because we have a responsibility, beyond music, to raise awareness and hopefully incite action that addresses the human rights crisis and government corruption in our homeland.
"
Over the next 3 weeks, this dynamic duo will criss-cross the West Coast and Midwest, collaborating with local groups and emcees for 13 shows in 11 cities. Proceeds from the tour will be donated to Bayan-USA, an alliance of progressive Filipino American organizations advocating for social justice and democracy in the Philippines.
Both Kiwi and Geo are active Filipino community organizers, drawing connections between the struggles of Filipinos in the US and their compatriots back home. They share the view that art is not only a reflection of the world, but a tool which can shape a more just future society. Kiwi shares, "For me personally, I found my identity and was eventually politicized through hip hop, and I feel like I owe it to this culture to make music and do shows that will hopefully have the same impact on this generation of youth and hip hop fans.
From the rapidly gentrifying street-corner to the Ivory Tower of academia, Kiwi and Geo bring forth a message of resistance and self-determination in the tradition of pro-people hip-hop music by such artists as Dead Prez, Public Enemy and KRS-One.
Kiwi adds, "The name of the tour was inspired by the "People Power" movement that drove out two corrupt Presidential regimes in the Philippines. Because part of the focus of this tour is the corruption of the current GMA regime, we felt like the name made a lot of sense." A rapidly growing movement comprising of all sectors of the Filipino community are mobilizing to oust the corrupt administration. In the two previous non-violent People Power movements, the Filipino people ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos (1986) and the corruption-ridden Joseph Estrada (2001). While 2007 has seen a decline in politically-motivated killings (a decline, not a stop), in 2008 political and economic conditions in the Philippines have worsened as the GMA administration is wrought in corruption scandals, including the rice crisis, election fraud, corporate nepotism and kickbacks. Increased US military presence threatens Philippine civilians' lives and livelihood. The February, 4, 2008, Sulu Massacre and numerous military rape cases are just some of the most recent violence.
Proceeds from the tour will be donated to support Bayan-USA's local and international campaigns advocating for social justice and democracy in the Philippines. People Power Tour, Part 1 includes shows on International Workers Day, May 1st, and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Contact Brian Meyers (brian.jl.myers@gmail.com) to book People Power Tour, Part 2, during Filipino heritage month (October 2008).
Kiwi's website: http://www. myspace. com/kiwi
Geologic's website: http://www. myspace. com/probrown
Bayan-USA website: http://www. bayanusa. org
