The Internet is rising up! (Evan Greer's Friends not Fans newsletter for Sept 2014)

Hey,

The Internet is rising up!

Evan Greer here, and this is my Friends not Fans music and activism newsletter.

This month:

1) Best show ever in Boston Sept 26th

2) The Internet Slowdown kicked ass

3) Tour with Anne Feeney in October

4) Book me for a workshop or show

Note: I’ve reached 5,000 friends on Facebook and its basically impossible for me to get messages out there about music and activism. Please follow me on twitter for reliable updates that are not throttled by an algorithm that punishes alternative content. :-)

1) Best show ever in Boston Sept 26th

If you are within a days bicycle ride of Boston you need to mark your calendar for Friday, September 26th. This is one of the most exciting shows I’ve ever had the privilege to organize, and I have this kind of epic feeling about it like it’s just going to be something incredibly special that we will remember for a long time.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook and get all the details.

It’s held at a “secret” location, so email me for the address. Featuring nationally touring talent like Bonfire Madigan Shive, spiritchild, The Icebergs, and Myriam Ortiz. Followed by an all-gender dance party DJ’d by spiritchild. Oh yes. We will party like its summer one last time.

2) The Internet Slowdown kicked ass

So as many of you know, when I’m not touring around playing radical queer pop-punk songs I work for a rad activist organization called Fight for the Future, trying to keep governments and corporations from messing up the Internet.

Last week we had a huge moment that I thought I’d share with you all: the Internet Slowdown. We organized a massive, web-wide protest for net neutrality and got a bunch of the most popular websites in the world to join like Tumblr, Netflix, reddit, Mozilla, Kickstarter, and Etsy. It was epic! We got more than 2 million people to take action in a day, and totally dominated the mainstream news headlines.

I wrote a column for The Guardian about why we organized the slowdown, and why net neutrality should matter to everyone. Check it out here: http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/sep/10/internet-slowdown-net-neutrality-reddit-mozilla-netflix

I was also interviewed on Wall Street Journal TV, quoted by by NPR and CBS News, misquoted by Newsweek, and in a high point for my activist accomplishments, Jimmy Kimmel did a segment about our protest.

I see my work at Fight for the Future as inextricably linked to my work as a musician, activist, and educator. Without a free and open internet, none of the other stuff I do would be possible, and every issue I care about would suffer.

Please follow Fight for the Future on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or follow our Tumblr.

3) Tour with Anne Feeney in October

If you’ve been following me for any length of time you’ve surely heard the name Anne Feeney by now. Anne is a living legend of folk music and the labor movement, and one of my closest friends and wisest mentors. I’m overjoyed to be heading back out on the road with her from October 12 - 20. We’ll be trekking across Pennsylvania as part of her “Crush Corbett” roadshow, a musical activism tour bent on exposing one of the most corrupt and hateful politicians ever to tell a lie.

More details coming soon! Check out Anne Feeney’s concert calendar for show details as they develop.

4) Book me for a workshop or show

Now that the Fall has rolled around I’m busy booking workshops, trainings, performances, and strategic activist consulting for the Fall, Winter, and Spring. I’d love to connect with all of you and find ways to use music, art, and popular education to strengthen organizing in your community.

College & high school students, check out my workshop offerings! I’d love to come to your school, and its usually really easy to get a bunch of campus groups to work together to make it happen.

Everyone: get in touch if you have even the slightest inkling you’d like to set something up in your town. I can answer your questions and walk you through the process.

I’m friendly and easy to talk to. You can reach me directly at evangreer@gmail.com or 978-852-6457

Okay! That’s it for this month’s Friends Not Fans newsletter. Thanks for being part of this little grassroots activist music movement. If you ever want to unsubscribe, its easy, just use the link below. And if you reply to this email, I’ll see it, so go for it!

Love & solidarity,

-Evan Greer

http://evangreer.org

Evan's Summer Update!

Hey friends,

Hope you are all doing well! Summer here in the northeast has been flying by, and at this point I’ve given up on a lengthy monthly newsletter.

I’ll still occasionally update the Friends Not Fans blog with lots of cute pictures of Saoirse and videos from shows and such, but from now on I’ll just be sending out quick emails when I have something important or awesome to tell you. Let me know if you miss the monthly newsletter format though -- I could revive it, it’s just hard to find time with a almost-3-yea-old who likes to go to bed at 11!

I’ve been playing a fair amount of local shows in Boston this summer, and enjoying my organizing work with Fight for the Future. It’s a pretty wonderful organization to work for, still allows me to do plenty of music, and I get to spend a solid 40 hours a week trying to dismantle the NSA. Not a bad day job, eh?

I made my first appearance in Rolling Stone, albeit not for my music.

I’m in the early stages of planning a brief West Coast Tour this Winter with my dear friend and mentor Anne Feeney, who many of you know well as the best hellraising labor singer in North America. Get in touch now if you’d like to bring us to your town, anywhere between Bellingham and Santa Cruz. Email me: evangreer@gmail.com

I’m also hoping to book regular weekend workshops and performances across the U.S. this Fall. Please get in touch if you’re interested in bringing me to your area and we can have a chat about how to make it happen! Even if you’ve never set up a show before, hit me up, I can talk you through th process and give you some ideas. Just reply to this email or ping me on Facebook or Twitter.

Not much to report on the album front, sorry to say. Hoping to raise some funds through shows this fall to make that happen! Considering a crowdfunding campaign too. Details soon. :-)

What are you up to? I’m always happy to get updates and emails from everyone on my list so please reply and say hi!

Solidarity,

Evan Greer

http://evangreer.org

http://evangreer.bandcamp.com

Upcoming Shows:

Tomorrow, August 4: ROXBURY, MA

BRICnic (Family friendly picnic and NSA Protest)

Organized by Restore the 4th and MassOps

2pm in the park behind Boston Police Headquarters (on the bike path)

Come grab a sandwich, listen to speakers, and hear a little music.

Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/197863173706689/

Speakers include:

Alex Marthews, president of Digital Fourth

Kade Crockford, prominent ACLU activist

and many more.

Sat & Sun August 10 - 11: ALBANY, NH

World Fellowship Center

368 Drake Hill Rd, Albany, NH, 03818

7pm Concert Saturday night

Two daytime workshops Sunday

Cheap camping and accommodations, beautiful location.

Email for details: evangreer@gmail.com

Thursday, August 15: CAMBRIDGE, MA

Out of the Blue Art Gallery

106 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA

Central Square T-Stop

8:30pm. $5 donation. All ages.

January 2013 Friends Not Fans Newsletter

What’s up friends?

Happy belated New Year!

By now you know me well enough to know that you’ll never get one of these on the first of the month. Every landlord I ever had learned the same thing.

So how are you? I really mean that. For those new to this list, I want you to know that this is not a one-way conversation. Every month I send this newsletter out to people from all over the world. Please write back to me and let me know what you think, what sorts of activist projects you are working on, what’s important in your community.

If you have a specific campaign, project, or event that you want me to feature, send it along and I will do my best help spread the word. I really love playing music. But what I love more is mutual aid and collective liberation. Know what I mean?

This month:
1) Touring Europe this Summer! It’s happening.
2) A simple thing you can do to spread the message
3) NEW VIDEO: Back to the Roots opens for The Coup, PUTS, Japanther!
4) MLK’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech is copyrighted. Share it anyway.
5) Upcoming Shows and Tours

1) Touring Europe this Summer! It’s happening.

The rumors are true. It will have to be a whirlwind trip, and I hope we can get to all the places that people are and will be inviting us to, but WE ARE COMING BACK TO EUROPE THIS SUMMER!

My two year old, Saoirse, is obsessed with trains, so I can think of no better way to spend the summer than with a Eurail pass, my family, and a guitar.

I already have some shows in the works with rising star UK Riot-Grrrl punk artist Louise Distras, and am planning at least a week long stint in Ireland and a quick but epic journey across as much of the rest of Europe as I can get to.

It all depends on you! Do you know someone who can book a show, help promote, or put up a family of 3 in a smoke-free bedroom somewhere in Europe? Let me know! Email: evangreer@gmail.com with any ideas or suggestions you have. Last time I toured Europe you all were so incredibly supportive and the tour really booked itself. I’m hoping for a wonderful reprisal!

2) A simple thing you can do to spread the message

I do my best to use my social media presence not just to promote my music but to support important activist projects, campaigns, and spread the word about what’s happening in the world.

Can you help me reach more people with that message by sharing my Twitter and Facebook pages with your friends and asking them to follow me?

It’s one of the easiest things you can do to support my work, and it really does make a difference. Thanks so much for your support!

3) NEW VIDEO: Back to the Roots opens for The Coup, PUTS, Japanther!

One of my last shows of 2013 was seriously one of the most fun shows of my life. Sometimes things just come together and a last minute change led this night to be one of the most absurd lineups I’ve ever been a part of.

Here’s a little DIY video I pieced together of all the performances. It features about 2/3 of my Back to the Roots set with spiritchild and Kirsten Lamb on upright bass, plus clips of explosive hip hop funk band The Coup (fronted by Boots Riley), last minute headliners People Under the Stairs (old school west coast hip-hop legends), arty-punk rockers Japanther.



4) MLK’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech is copyrighted. Share it anyway.

You’ll find this hard to believe, but versions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech are regularly taken down off of YouTube. Because the speech itself is copyrighted. EMI purchased the rights from the King family in 2009. Here’s a link to a YouTube video of the speech that was taken down by EMI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PbUtL_0vAJk

We at Fight for the Future felt that this was absurd. Dr. King’s call for racial justice is too painfully relevant today to be censored by a broken copyright system. So we made this video that included the full 17 minute MLK speech plus a short introduction explaining the dangers of overzealous copyright law and saying that Dr. King’s message should never be silenced.

We uploaded the video to Vimeo on January 18th, also known as Internet Freedom Day, the anniversary of the massive internet blackout protests against SOPA / PIPA.

It was taken down by Vimeo within a few hours, just as it was receiving thousands of views.

We got coverage for this in Al Jazeera, the Washington Post, Mashable, CBS news, and many other places.

The video is now back online on YouTube. For MLK weekend, please share this video with as many people as you can, and make sure this message is never censored again.


Link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PbUtL_0vAJk

5) Upcoming Shows and Tours

Check my website for the latest show details!

January 27, 2013: JAMAICA PLAIN, MA
EVAN GREER, DAVID ROVICS, & FOUNDATION MOVEMENT
@ Spontaneous Celebrations
45 Danforth St., JP, MA 02130
7:00pm. $12. All ages.
Advance tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/318696
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/362255287206529

January 30th, 2013: HARTFORD, CT
Hart N Sol presents Evan Greer@ Kabbalah House
1023 Albany Ave, Hartford, CT, 06112
$5 - 10 sliding scale. All ages.
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/324852567629098/?ref=ts&fref=ts

February 8th, 2013: BOSTON, MA
Headlining @ Jacque’s Underground
79 Broadway St., Boston, MA (near Back Bay)
9pm show. 21+ (as always if you are underage i will play outside for you, contact me.)
I go on last around 11pm. $10.
With: Bozo Nightmare, Death Waltz ‘76
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/568796253149493

March 1st, 2013: EAST BOSTON, MABenefit for Jericho Movement @ Zumix
260 Summer St., East Boston, MA
Time TBA. Very special guests TBA.

March 10th, 2013: JAMAICA PLAIN, MA
First Unitarian Universalist Church
6 Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, MA
Parental Advisory!
Cabaret of parent performers.
Not a kid-show, but a show you can bring your kids to. ;-)
3:00pm - 6:00pm. Free! Donations accepted.

April 3rd, 2013: ALLSTON, MA@Whirlybird Co-Op
With Blackbird Raum and more
Details TBA.

SUMMER 2013: IRELAND & EUROPE TOUR!
I plan to spend at least a week in Ireland and a few weeks touring the rest of Europe this Summer. This will be a whirlwind tour as usual and I won’t be able to play all the countries I’d like, but please do get in touch if you have any ideas of where we should go!

As always, email me with any booking ideas: evangreer@gmail.com, setting up a show is easier than you’d think.

November 2012 Friends Not Fans Newsletter

Hey friend,

Welcome to my Friends Not Fans Newsletter for November!

Sometimes I forget to send newsletters, so if you want to stay in touch, you should follow me on facebook and twitter!

Here’s what’s in this month’s issue:
1) Opening for THE COUP and JAPANTHER Dec 5th!
2) Life update and Baby Pictures (most of you will skip to this part i know.)
3) A video for “Thanksgiving”
4) What is the ITU?
5) Upcoming Shows & Booking

Thanks for reading! Here’s some links:
Main website: www.evangreer.org
Collective: www.riotfolk.org
Download / Donate for Music: evangreer.bandcamp.com
Videos on YouTube: youtube.com/evangreer1

1) Opening for THE COUP and JAPANTHER on Dec 5th!

Holy wow I am so excited about this show. This is kind of a crazy lineup so if you can get to Boston on December 5th you really definitely should. Boots Riley, front emcee of legendary hip-hop band THE COUP, is clearly one of the hardest hitting radical voices in hip-hop. We’ve stayed in touch on and off for years after Tom Morello introduced us and are finally doing a show together at everyone’s favorite venue in Boston.

To sweeten the deal, electro-punk freaks JAPANTHER are part of this tour, and we get The Coup’s permanent opener from Oakland KEV CHOICE plus local minimalist darklings RUBY RIDGE.

Please RSVP and share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/480127585360256

Tickets are only $15 in advance, which is a steal for this lineup!  Get em here: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3134314&pl=mideastrestaurant

2) Life update and Baby Pictures (most of you will skip to this part i know.)

A lot has happened in the past month -- in the world and for our little family. I don’t have any shows coming up right now, but I’d love to book some so get in touch if you’d like to bring me to your town sometime in 2012 or 2013. Instead I’ve been focusing on organizing, writing and recording, and being a parent.

Now that it’s chillier out, we spend a lot of time snuggling and reading. One of Saoirse’s favorite books is Pete Seeger’s Abiyoyo Returns. He likes the sequel better than the original. ;-)
 

Saoirse was Larry Bird for Halloween. My partner, Erin, made this costume from scratch. She never ceases to surprise me with her many hidden talents. Have you seen her photo-blog? It rules: http://saoirseinpictures.wordpress.com  



After Halloween, the election happened. I always feel down on election day no matter who wins. While I and many others around the world breathed a little sigh of relief that we won’t have a President Mitt Romney, I feel dismayed that we live in a time of constant crisis and our so-called leaders won’t even speak the words: climate change, poverty, racism, colonialism, sexism, ableism. But the good news is the day after the election everyone goes back to doing the important work every single day of community organizing, conspiring, and creating to build a new world full of vibrant alternatives to capitalism and oppression.

3) A video for “Thanksgiving”

I wrote this song and made this video a year ago on the National Day of Mourning, aka “Thanksgiving.” It’s about a lot of stuff. Occupy. Genocide. Resistance. Palestine. Liberation.

Still sound relevant today?

Please feel free to share it for the holidays.

Watch and share on YouTube: http://youtu.be/XYjP8Fgn1Js

4) What is the ITU?

In other news, I got a job! I know, I know, i already HAVE a job as a touring folksinger, but I got another job that I find incredibly fulfilling as well and meshes well with continuing to perform and put out music. I am the new Campaign Manager for Fight for the Future, a non-profit working to further the  usefulness of the Internet for improving the world.

Here’s one of the projects I’m working on: a video about the ITU, an obscure UN organization poised to take control of the internet. The risks for internet users: censorship, surveillance, higher costs, and worse. Click the image to watch the video or check it out at whatistheITU.org



I’m really stoked to be working with Fight for the Future, and having an organizing job to supplement my music will allow me to finally release the albums that I’ve been sitting on for so long and tour and perform more sustainably. I work remotely and am able to travel so I am still available for performances and workshops anywhere in the world with enough advance notice.

5) Upcoming Shows & Booking

Speaking of which, I don’t have a whole lot of shows coming up right now! So get in touch so we can book one in your town or at your school. It’s easy to book me. You just email me: evangreer@gmail.com and we figure it out together.

Here’s what I have coming up:

DECEMBER 5: CAMBRIDGE, MA
with THE COUP & JAPANTHER
@ Middle East (Downstairs)
472 Mass Ave, Central Sq.
8pm. 18+. $15 adv or $18 at the door.
Also featuring KEV CHOICE and RUBY RIDGE
Buy tickets here.
Please RSVP and share on Facebook:  
https://www.facebook.com/events/480127585360256

DECEMBER 31: PITTSBURGH, PANew Years Eve House Concert with ANNE FEENEY
Details TBA! Tentative.

JANUARY 25 - 27: SPRINGFIELD, MA
Join me at the People’s Music Network Winter Gathering!
Register online: www.peoplesmusic.org

NOW BOOKING FOR 2013 - 2014!
I’m going to be touring in shorter bursts but I’ll still be getting around! I’m planning at least one trip to Europe in the coming year and several short tours to various parts of the U.S. and Canada. I’m open to going other places too if we can make it happen! Contact me if you want to bring me to your town! I have lots of resources to help you set up a show.