Bagpipers, guitarists, ophecleidists, pianists, crwthists, drummers, Alpenhornists, bassists, sitarists, fiddlers, singers, songwriters, composers, dancers, poets, mimes, jugglers, and sword-swallowers!
Do you perform lieder, swing, polka, blues, bharat natyam, doo-wop, raga, fado, motets, samba, rap, banal lounge piano, kathak, folk-rock, piobaireachd, jazz-rock, Shona mbira, punk, mariachi, atsiagbekor, flamenco, death metal, or Captain Beefheart covers?
You are needed.
The Climate Message Video Festival is underway, and this is a call for your submissions.
If you know me here in the GOS, you know that I'm fixated on climate change awareness. Now I have a new project at the intersection of musical creativity and environmental activism, and I want to ask for your participation. It'll take you 3 minutes, tops — very simple, very easy, very important.
I am building an online video "collage" featuring musicians from all over the world; different idioms, different languages...all doing variations on the same message: that it's time to take action on climate change.
Here's the one I made a few weeks ago to kick things off:As you can see, it's as simple as can be:
20 seconds of playing/singing
20 seconds of talk
20 seconds of music
Here's Climate Messenger Nick Morrison, who lives in Germany and just got back from a gigging tour of West Africa:The goal is to have an even 1,000 videos by Earth Day, 2014 (April 22nd). Whether we reach that number or not, the Video Festival will keep on keepin' on.
I hope you'll make a Climate Message video.
Here's how:
Use a smartphone or webcam (or a friend's) and record about a minute's worth of your music and talking. Then email it to theclimatemessage@gmail.com, along with your name, contact information, and any details you want included. I'll upload it to our YouTube channel, and feature it on The Climate Message website. Eventually all the videos will be linked to an interactive world map — and my goal is to have sounds and voices from all over the world saying in as many different languages and styles as possible that the time to get serious about climate change is NOW.
Here is Climate Messenger Amie Maciszewski, playing beautiful sitar in Texas, USA:We don't really need to talk about the music; play or sing something beautiful that reflects who you are and what you do.
Talking into a camera can be disorienting. Here are a few tips.
When you speak, identify yourself, and give as much "locating" data as you feel comfortable doing. These videos will eventually be linked to world and regional maps, so we can get a sense of how much of the world is represented.
Here's Afropop expert Banning Eyre, making his message from Connecticut, USA:By the way, if you know musicians who live in unusual or distant locations, please reach out and invite them to participate! Artists in India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Australia, the UK, Korea, and New Zealand have already committed to send in videos soon.
Here's jazz vocalist Ellynne Rey, singing from Connecticut: