All the musicians performing for A NIGHT OF GUITARS, a solidarity concert for the Cort guitar workers, showed us: Guitars are not for exploitation.
We are all buoyed up by a great concert last night, Jan. 13th- Tom Morello! Boots Riley! Wayne Kramer! SKIM! Shin Kawasaki! and more… it was a night full of guitars and guitarists, all performing to raise awareness and in preparation for our NAMM Show actions in Anaheim Thurs- Sat. of this week.
We decked the halls of Nanum Cultural Center in Koreatown with pictures, projections and art from the Cort worker’s struggle, opened the doors wide. And then the people came, and then the music washed over us…
(To see the pictures of this and any post in their full glory, click on the blog post title)
starting the night with 풍물, or rural Korean drumming, (to keep the spirits up for the hard work of farming)
followed by the songs and poetry of MARY ROSE GO
with performances by DAVID TRAN aka “Applesauce,” and Shin Kawasaki, here with concert organizer SKIM
and SHIN KAWASAKI going solo, bringing on the layers and layers of sound…
with surprise guest WAYNE KRAMER of the MC5
and to one of Cort Action’s dedicated supporters, TOM MORELLO of Rage Against the Machine, performing as The Night Watchman, a big THANK YOU !
and then, when we thought it couldn’t get any better, he brought out BOOTS RILEY for a set as Street Sweeper Social Club. Boots took the small staging area and turned it into his own map of the world, as the band performed narratives about people struggling, both here in LA and around the world.
From SKIM integrating “No! Cort” into her lyrics to Tom’s anger against union busting companies like Cort, the night wrapped around the idea and the reality of musicians and guitar workers in solidarity…
The Cort worker delegation, who came up to the stage with Tom Morello –
sang the last song of the night, and the audience joined us, fists raised in the air.
Thanks to all the folks who came out to support, signed our petition to Cort and Fender, who shared their photography and video skills, and all the volunteers who got signatures and passed out drinks and the donation box. Thanks especially to KIWA Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance and Nanum Cultural Center for the space, the support, and the steady presence throughout these days.
We are now truly ready for the NAMM Show actions Jan. 14- 16th.
Even if you weren’t there for the concert, stay posted to the blog for video clips from the concert and remember to sign the petition.
Cort Guitar Workers ACTION! 