Ashkenaz Earth Day - Films and Live Music

Wednesday, 04/23/08
ASHKENAZ EARTH DAY CELEBRATION FEATURING THE ADRIAN XAVIER BAND, BLANE LYON WITH THE REAL, AND JOE B FROM THE FLUX
Doors at 7:00 pm; Show at 9:30 pm
Free films at 7:30-9 pm
$8 / $5 students (w/valid ID)

Ashkenaz celebrates Earth Day with conscious music from the Adrian Xavier Band, Blane Lyon, and Joe B, preceded by ecologically themed short films presented as part of the free Earth Week Film Festival.

Seattle’s Adrian Xavier has been performing for almost two decades, starting the band Pure Water in 1997, and under his own name since 2000, singing and playing reggae-rooted world music that adds in rock, hip-hop, jazz, and soul. His 2004 debut CD, “R-Nature,” features such original songs as “Mother Nature” and “Redemption Road.” On lead vocals and guitar, Xavier is backed by a globetrotting band featuring keyboardist Mark Cardenas, violinist Geoffrey Castle, Jamaican-born Lennox Holeness on bass, drummer David Carpenter and lead guitarist Brian Ray. http://www.adrianxavier.com

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Blane Lyon performs original works of funk, soul, reggae, electronica, dub, acoustic and many other forms of groove, all reflecting a commitment to soulful and uplifting music. Born and raised in San Francisco, his musical influences ranged from the Mission’s Latin sounds to ’70s psychedelic funk and the beginnings of hip-hop. After founding groups such as the popular ’90s funk collective Family Soul, Lyon formed his present band The Real, which maintains Lyon’s conscious tune-smithing with a penchant for booty-shaking grooves and fat soul anthems. http://www.blanelyon.com

Joe B, leader of the popular local Afro-Jam-Funk band The Flux, will make a special guest appearance debuting his new acoustic project.

Presented by the Berkeley City College Green Club and Ashkenaz, the Earth Week Film Festival offers free showings of three movies, totaling approximately 80 minutes:

SIDEWALK STORIES by Hannah Chauvet

Commissioned by the Ecology Center to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Curbside Recycling Program, a brief history of the recycling movement in Berkeley. Shows interviews with some champion recyclers – winners in the Cash for Trash contests. Shows how the materials are sorted and follows the baled recycled materials to the Oakland port. Chauvet will appear in person tonight to discuss her inspiration for making the film.

THE RECYCLERGY by Jeremy Kaller http://www.recyclergy.com

San Francisco Bay Area recycling pioneers share their insightfully hilarious thoughts and stories on garbage collection, treasure hunting, Jack Benny, and the products we buy. Featuring music by Rube Waddell, The Recyclergy is an entertaining examination of a fading subculture.

THE STORY OF STUFF narrated by Annie Leonard http://www.storyofstuff.com

An animation of the consumerist society, “‘The Story of Stuff’ is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns…exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.”