17 Nov
singer. songwriter. pianist. composer. civil rights activist. mother of lisa.
“I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about… Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.”
sit. watch. listen. “ain’t got no…i got life”
Violet Clark is the mama of five children, a musician, and a visual artist. After experimenting with a solo album, she joined forces with her hubby, Charles Thompson, and together they created the band Grand Duchy. Of course, we all know Charles as Black Francis/Frank Black of the hugely influential band The Pixies.
Books (and Oprah experts) tell us that if we want our daughters to have high self-esteem, then we need to model it. If we want our daughters to feel beautiful, then we must feel beautiful. And if we want our girls to believe in themselves, then we must believe in ourselves.
From day one, I realized that as a band coach, my role was not to take charge of these girls and conduct my way of playing music or writing songs. Although these girls were new to their instruments, they were not new to themselves. They knew what they liked and didn’t like and surpsisingly, they always found a way to agree on their sound.
During my latest trip to Brooklyn and northern New Jersey, my best friends and I recorded ourselves performing the infamous Top That rap from the classic 80s film Teen Witch. What follows is that rap plus a montage of shenanigans that most people would consider embarrassing.
As I sat in this room, a make-shift theatre in the back of an organic grocery shop, with four women and two nursing babies, I was carried by their momentum. Surrounded by their art and baby food jars felt as organic as the produce shelved around me.
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