By Randall Richards Performing Music to Protest & Educate: Past, Present, & Where to From Here?
When I started a couple of volunteer music venues as listening rooms which I named “Coffeehouses”, one in Leavenworth, Washington and a second, in Sunapee New Hampshire (which is still going strong), Little did I know the history of the term CoffeeHouse.
I recently happened to stumble upon this interesting definition of the term, but never realized its origin when I had created those coffeehouses in the states. Interesting how things turn out: “GI Coffeehouses” were a consequential part of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War era, particularly the resistance to the war within the U.S. military. They were mainly organized by civilian anti-war activists as a method of supporting anti-war and anti-military sentiment
. The FTA Roadshow was explicitly created in the ’70’s as a counter to Bob Hope’s pro-war USO tour. Original cast, from left: Gary Goodrow, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Peter Boyle, Dick Gregory, and Barbara Dane at the Haymarket GI Coffeehouse near Fort Bragg.
We started the first venue in Washington State because I had been a professional pianoplayer for years, and budding singer/songwriter on the guitar. I wanted to perform in a supportive listening room environment.
I had taken note of one such venue in a Sedona, AZ bookstore. Since I could only find bars and pubs, where venues treated the artists as background musicians, I wanted no part of that.So I decided to give it a shot by approaching a local hotel owner who was willing to let me set up on Friday nights in his unused conference space and stage in Leavenworth, WA. More on that winning formula in another piece.
New Zealand: Fast forward to New Zealand, 2021 in the thick of mandates, and other general draconian measures pushed upon the population, based on a injection that was neither safe nor effective. We started having occasional bonfire music jams, and a like-minded Saturday Market, primarily for our freedom loving community (but all were welcome) in the Upper Clutha region of the South Island.
About six months ago I decided to apply to be one of the 16 international chapters of Jam For Freedom, backed by Eric Clapton. We were welcomed with open arms.
We have yet to hold our inaugural event. I’m still in the process of reaching out to additional musicians in the country who have been part of either the Wellington Protests, were featured in The River of Freedom and We Came Here for Freedom documentaries. Once we have a critical mass of freedom loving musicians, we’ll create an event,
We’ll also create traveling Jam For Freedom (Coffeehouse type roadshow), starting with the South Island based on the Coffeehouse formula I had started in the U.S., but simply a mobile version. That means a featured performer, followed by an open mic, a “trained” listening room audience, and passing the hat for the musicians, venue hire, and roadshow expenses,). I have a van, a waterproof trailer for the music gear, and just need some JFF branding for the vehicle and a stage backdrop.
Vietnam: My family and I just toured of Vietnam, and I’m now writing a few pieces, not about the tourist side, but the impact of the war museums, the wonderful people we met, the stories I was told, and most recently, a book I’m reading called Understanding Vietnam explaining not only the war, but the deep seated psyche of the Vietnamese. During a visit to the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Min City, I found these images on display:
Yo koi Kumiko sings to solders in the artillery battleground in Quang Binh Provence, 10 December, 1973“A rally against US aggression in Vietnam from Japan’s Beheiren, Tokyo, 1972
This might be the time to premise some the articles I’m working on about Vietnam’s view of the US Occupation of Vietnam. They call it the “American War”, by the way. I went to Vietnam with some ingrained knee-jerk conditioning, courtesy of our government’s controlled media in the states. That paradigm quickly dissolved. Of course I could see Vietnam’s plugging their side of the story as well. But I do have discernment, and will talk about that in later posts.
Although there is a history of protest music from the US side I assume there’s more about Vietnam’s side, protesting war. However, this was the first time I it was on my radar. The historians will write about such protest songs being written now, not only about anti-war, but about various nefarious agendas that aim to curb our freedoms, hurt our children and enslave the world’s population. Music is one of the best ways to call out the troublesome behaviors of those powerful people in charge who obviously don’t have our best interests in mind.
Comedy is a another avenue to opening the dialogue where direct debate and conversation often fail to bridge the gap between different paradigms. Jim Breuer’s Somebody Had to Say It, is a case in point.
So wish us luck with our Jam For Freedom adventure here in New Zealand! If you’re a musician get in touch! If you’re a friend of mine, who happens to be living stateside, or elsewhere, I also invite you to join in the conversation on our Jam For Freedom Telegram chat or the International Telegram group. Even though the NZ chat is focused for us here in New Zealand, I feel, the more the merrier. We could use the moral support! Did you guys hear that… Kirtana, Neal Fox, Scot Bergeron, Conspiracy Music Guru?
THANKS TO: A special thanks goes to those New Zealand musicians who performed at our protest on Parliament grounds and were featured in those documentaries mentioned above, and to those who have joined our Jam For Freedom NZ Telegram Group. Also thanks to all the steering committee and volunteer members of the West and East Coffeehouses who have worked hard to deliver live music in a listening room for so many years.
A special acknowledgement again to Neal Fox for being ahead of the curve, and for his unflinching creative stance in music compositions and film-making productions, and sticking it to the “all powerful”. You can see his work here.
Learn more about the Coffeehouse concept here. Start one in your community! You learn more about Randall’s music here. Our music studio is open for musicians-in-residence who would like to be pampered and be free to write and record in our small studio set in the mountains of the Southern Alps of NZ.
By Randall Richards I’m from a state in the US which has “Live Free or Die” as the state motto on the license plate. When I legally transferred registration of a van I’d purchased in The Netherlands to New Hampshire, I still drove that van throughout the European Alpine countries, ski touring, climbing, and playing music. The talk on the street was this formation a new European Union currency. Some of the locals were jittery, for good reason. So complete with the US license plates I’d drive into small villages and cities alike. I raised a few eyebrows, and almost got in a few problems because of the reactions I received with the motto displayed on the back of the van.
Since those days, until today, I’ve felt that New Hampshire residents probably don’t really live by that motto, much less understand it. Today this story surfaced of a New Hampshire man standing by his right to free speech. The interaction is being praised as a model for how citizens can assert their rights when confronted by federal agents, especially in cases of potential entrapment. Here’s the the story:
Watch: FBI Agents Called Out During Visit to Law-Abiding Citizen Regarding a Meme Post
Intel agency foot soldiers regret approaching man over First Amendment-protected activity. A man filmed two U.S. federal agents as they approached him to ask about posts he’d made on social media, leading to them being publicly shamed for targeting a First Amendment-protected activity.
In a viral video, X user Jeremy Kauffman filmed as two plain-clothes agents approached his front porch requesting he not film them, as the citizen asked for their full names while notifying them he intended to post the interaction online.
“The FBI visited my house today for free speech acts they knew were not crimes. You can see the shame on their faces. This is the Democratic regime manifest.”
Jeremy Kauffman (@jeremykauffman) September 16, 2024 “All I want to do is talk to you about a post that was made,” one of the unidentified agents told Kaufman after showing a badge alongside a holstered sidearm.
Kaufman went on to speculate the agents’ yearly average salary was likely over $100K, before telling them it was a waste of taxpayer money. “Talking about burning a couple hundred dollars an hour just here, let alone all the time you guys are spending…to investigate something that you know is not against the law, right?” the man told the agents, who repeatedly requested the man stop filming them.
After appearing thoroughly embarrassed, the agents eventually departed while the man chided them, saying, “You know Americans that believe in the Constitution think you’re laughable. You go home and you think about what you did today. Go home and think about it. You coward.” It’s unclear what social media post prompted the visit.| The interaction is being praised as a model for how citizens can assert their rights when confronted by federal agents, especially in cases of potential entrapment. Story and lead, courtesy of Infowars
It’s with a heavy heart that I report the passing of Robert H. Stremba, originally of the Philadelphia PA area. Bob was a good friend and fellow board member of Mountain Spirit Institute based in the USA. He served on the board, and as president, until his death. Bob supported the vision of Mountain Spirit through thick and thin.
Every conversation with him was always framed in the positive, from brainstorming what types of programs we could run in the USA, Peru, and in New Zealand from music exchanges to author speaking engagements to trips to Lakota Studies on the Rosebud Reservation. I met Bob when working in recruiting and marketing for Hurricane Island Outward Bound on the east coast, during a stopover at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire where we has the Adventure Education Department chair. We became good friends, and I eventually asked him if he’d serve on the board of my new non-profit I was creating based on Outward Bound principles with a bit of a spiritual element. He was on board. Not long after, he asked if I’d be interested in being an adjunct professor, teaching Intro to Outdoor Education and other classes. I took him up on the offer. Over the years, Bob supported Mountain Spirit Institute by attending and assisting with fundraisers, providing ideas on program curriculum, experiential educational ideas based on his background with the Association of Experiential Education and as an instructor with Outward Bound and he even gave generously in financial support to Mountain Spirit.
Three of my favorite interactions with Bob were: The last time I saw him in the US when my family and I stayed with him at his home. We did the normal tourist things in Durango and would come back for dinner then join him for a jaunt into his favorite trails in the mountain surrounding his home.
Bob Stremba at Lake Sunapee New Hampshire
One of the best courses I ever had the opportunity to run, was with Bob called H.A.W.K or Healing Adventure for Teens We had a small group of teens that had in common, some recent loss of a loved one in their lives. Our job was to provide a safe space in nature with experiential activities that allowed them to better process their loss, within a peer group. It was an amazing course and I cherish the time I had planning and working the course with Bob. One last adventure we had was when he came to visit us in New Zealand. We picked him up at the airport, took him to the campervan rental desk, only to discover he had left his driver’s license in stateside. We headed back to Kingston, where we lived at the time to regroup and come up with a driverless vacation for Bob. The original plan was for him to spend time adventuring with us, and to spend some time traveling on his own. After numerous phone calls stateside and here in NZ, it was clear, Bob wasn’t going anywhere without me. Hence we rented a Juicy van, with a roof tent above, and headed off for parts unknown. I’m glad he left his license in the states.
Bob retired as Chair of the Fort Lewis CollegeAdventure Education Department in 2017, after serving 11 years developing and teaching in the Adventure Education Bachelor’s degree program. His areas of focus include teaching how theory, research, and conceptual models inform practice, and vice versa; the connections between nature and mindfulness; project-based learning; and adventure processing and facilitation to promote social-emotional development. He co-wrote the graduate text and faculty resource book about how to teach theory experientially, Teaching Adventure Education Theory: Best Practices (2009), and wrote the instructor guide chapter on outdoor leadership for the college text, Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming (2018).
Bob also developed bachelor’s degree programs in adventure education and outdoor leadership at Plymouth (NH) State University, and New Mexico Highlands University. He developed and implemented new student outdoor orientation programs at two universities, and served as Director of Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services at the University of Puget Sound for 17 years. Bob even did a short stint creating and leading outdoor programs for REI, an outdoor cooperative retailer based in Washington.
Over the years, and continuing until his death, Bob served with the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) as a lead reviewer of outdoor education and therapeutic wilderness programs internationally, traveling to far flung and remote locations. He also served on AEE regional and international conference planning committees, including convening two AEE regional conferences at Fort Lewis College in recent years. Bob also served on the Board of Directors of Durango Nature Studies. Most recently Bob was Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Experience Collaborative with Jay Zarr and Andrea Parrish. EC’s mission is “Enhancing your strengths through experiential consulting and training. Bob leaves many friends in the professional outdoor educator’s world. There are many who could share a good story or two, of learning, and outdoor adventures with Bob. If you have any, feel free to post them in the comment section below. There will be service, both live and online, celebrating the life of Bob on the 25th of September 2022. Please get in touch if you would like more info. We miss you Bob! Randall
Randall Richards, Director/Founder Mountain Spirit Institute Mountain Spirit Ltd, NZ
I love it when spirit nudges us. Our family does an evening reading at our dinner table every night before eating. Without looking at the bookshelf behind me last night, I pulled a random book off the shelf. Then I opened to a random page, then I looked at a random quote.
It’s one of my favorite quotes: “Believe me my young friend, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that is half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame.
This quote arrives just when we’ve put our Lake Wanaka Yacht Charters business “on pause” due to New Zealand border closures. The lack of tourists is “forcing us to live our dreams” and as we consider and possibly prepare to use the yachts in more of an educational role, for experiential adventures on Lake Wanaka. This is my first love anyway. As every passenger that’s gone out on the lake with me attests, they got more than they bargained for, regarding an experiential sailing experience. Once they get out there, my job, and mission, is to light up their eyes and soul by helping them connect to the wind, the water, the place and themselves, and of course have fun.
Here at Mountain Spirit NZ, we’ve been hooked on the “AirBnB drug” prior to our Covid lockdown, and now we’re advertising for domestic visitors to stay with us with a purpose in mind, whether to just have a digital detox, record some music in our piano studio, or take some yin yoga classes with Amanda in the yurt. We’re stepping out into our own possibilities.
The trick to being fulfilled and successful, (however you personally define success), is stepping out of the way, allowing the Universe/Spirit/God to help out, and importantly, look for those reminder signs when they pop up and recognise them as such, then of course, take action.
I just attended a powerful presentation yesterday here in Wanaka, New Zealand, by Lake Wanaka Tourism They’re our local tourism association. As you can imagine, like many of us in tourism here in New Zealand, they’ve been in on a path or re-inventing themselves. They’ve been working on a new branding program. I’ll write more on that in later in a separate post, as it deserves more time. But I have to mention here, about the power of timing, being at the right place at the right time, taking action when a crisis/opportunity presents itself and listening to spirit. Lake Wanaka Tourism is taking the bold steps to create a wonderful vision of post-covid “tourism” for operators, the land, community and visitors alike.
Here’s just a snapshot of some of the Lake Wanaka tenets going forward: The Vision: “Our aspiration is for the visitor industry to enrich this place, as well as the lives of the local community both now and into the future. To create mutual value for Whanau/whanui (which includes our families , our community, our visitors), and our whenua (our place and natural resources) and our economy.
“Values: Guardianship for our people, our place and our plant; Inclusive and respectful; Living with a sense of balance; bold and free thinking.”
There are plans being put into place with a whole re-adjustment of what it means to be in tourism here in Wanaka, and fortunately, the leadership and staff at Lake Wanaka Tourism are taking on the challenge with heart and purpose. The future looks bright because there’s a proactive approach. I look forward to sharing more about LWT’s and the community’s plans going forward in future posts. I would say LWT is following their spirit course.
Back to the reading about messing about on boats. I can’t wait for the next sign to come down the road, and hit me with a spiritual 2×4. But for now, I thought I’d share this little nudge from Spirit.
1 . Cada uno debe desempeñar la misma pieza .
2. Observar los signos de repetición sólo si lo que acabas de jugar era interesante.
3. Si toca una nota equivocada , mirar a uno de los otros jugadores.
4. La nota correcta , en el momento equivocado , es una nota falsa . ( Y viceversa ).
5. Una nota equivocada , jugó tímidamente , es una nota falsa .
6. Una nota equivocada , interpretada con autoridad, no es más que tu interpretación de la frase .7. Si todo el mundo se perdió, sino que , seguir los que se pierden .
8. Esfuércese siempre para jugar el máximo notas por segundo. Esto intimidará los jugadores más débiles y que ganar la admiración de los ignorantes.
9. Las marcas de ligaduras , dinámica y alteraciones deben ser completamente ignorados. Ellos están allí sólo para poner el mirar más complicado.
10. Si un pasaje es difícil , más despacio. Si es fácil , acelerar . Todo va a igualar a sí misma en el final.
11. Has logrado una verdadera interpretación cuando , al final, no has jugado una nota de la pieza original.
12. Cuando todo el mundo se detiene la reproducción, usted debe parar también . No juegues las notas que pueden haber dejado de nuevo.
Buddhist Refuge and Mountain Spirit Institute Collaborate again on Mindfulness Program
By R. Richards, Mountain Spirit Founder
Lama Willa Miller Collaborates with Mountain Spirit on Mindfulness in Mtns Program
Mindfulness in the Mountains, a 3-day adventure and meditation program, will be co-sponsored again for a second year in a row by Mountain Spirit Institute and the Natural Dharma Fellowship’s Wonderwell Refuge of Springfield NH, with a four day program of rock climbing, kayaking and hiking starting on Thursday, September 12th and lasting through the weekend.
Says Mountain Spirit Institute founder, Randall Richards, “A pair of instructors will lead each activity, one focusing on outdoor skills, the other on teaching various meditation techniques. Both instructors however, will offer their knowledge and background in both meditation and outdoor skills. There will be quite a bit crossover between the co-leaders. Each instructor team shares exercises in both meditation and outdoor skills.
Kayaks on last year’s program
They expect participants, to come for hiking, rock climbing and kayaking from different parts of the eastern U.S. as well as farther afield. The program will be held in the Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee region.
Richards says of last year’s program, “I’ve been guiding and leading mountain programs for over 28 years, and this was, by far, one of the most fulfilling and meaningful experiences I’ve had.” He added, “To hike, climb or kayak, and focus, as a group, on the quiet of the place through which we traveled, was meaningful for both instructors and participants.” (more…)
If you live in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, and have anything to do with climbing, the name Jamie Vinton-Boot pops up all the time. New hard routes, and lots of them. The other day, the news that he had been killed in an avalanche sent shock waves through the climbing community, right after the sad news that NZ climbers Marty Schmidt and his son Denali had been swept away by an avalanche at a high camp on K2 in the Himalaya.
Vinton-Boot was a new father who leaves his new baby and wife behind. And the loss of Schmidt and his son are a one-two punch which seems hard to fathom. I was chatting with a checkout person in the grocery store about these losses, and part of her summation was, “At least he was doing something he loved to do.” Being a new father myself, I’m trying to balance my adventure goals, (not that I’m a cutting edge climber by any means) with the risk involved. My risk, (subject hazards) seems worlds apart from the climbers’ mentioned here. Vinton-Boot had decided to do easier routes since becoming a dad, so states the article below. Easy terrain for him might be my upper limit, so it all depends on what you’re comfortable with. It’s the objective hazards that give you the chop, no matter how easy the terrain. Whether it’s a ski descent or a mixed route, easy or hard, there are those hazards, and if it’s your time to go, you get the chop.
As the list of friends, mentors, and famous climbers who’ve gotten the chop grows, the whole thing, for me, comes down to making damn sure I’m stacking the deck in favor of being around for my son. There’s simply no reason not to be. Sure, I could get hit by a car, (as the checkout girl added in her summation), but looking for trouble is a different matter.
Vinton-Boot in Queenstown’s Remarkables Range, NZ
When it comes right down to it, we have to really evaluate what roles and games we’re playing in the world of mountaineering. Are internal peaks and challenges of the family journey not enough? Or what about being very present in the mountains without having to be on the edge (See Mindfulness in the Mountains). What is the measure of a man, a climber, a father? I’m just saying…it’s time for me to continue to re-evaluate my everyday decisions as if I were on the end of a lead rope. I have people I’m belaying in life: my wife, my son. And that’s a handful in itself, I don’t want to drop that belay, at any cost. As my mentor and former boss, Willie Prittie said to me in Peru when we were guiding there, “It’s just as important to get down the mountain, (with all your limbs and digits intact), as it is to make the summit. On second thought, it’s more important.”
The following is from an op-ed ..More food for thought: Climber not at fault: friend By Paul Hersey, Climber and friend of Jamie Vinton-Boot Otago Daily Times Warrington mountaineer Paul Hersey has attended the funerals of many of his mountaineering mates but he will continue to climb.
Mr Hersey (45) said Christchurch climber Jamie Vinton-Boot (30) was a close friend and the pair had climbed together extensively in New Zealand. Mr Vinton-Boot was swept off his feet by snow on Monday when traversing and fell 500m to his death into a Remarkables ravine. Mr Hersey and Mr Vinton-Boot created the climbing documentary One Fine Day on a Mountain, which won a special jury award at the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival this year.
Mr Hersey said the risks to which Mr Vinton-Boot had exposed himself had been exaggerated and conditions at the Remarkables were reasonable for climbing. The avalanche risk was standard for winter mountaineering and not at high or extreme levels, and the ”snow release” was a ”small, isolated pocket”. ”It’s not an avalanche; more a snow sluff, a small release of snow. It can happen a lot when climbing.”
Mr Vinton-Boot was not anchored up because he was traversing to the route, he said. The more difficult a climb, the safer the climb usually was, because more safety gear was used. ”But on a more moderate climb, or approach, you can’t rope up for those situations because it would take forever and you wouldn’t actually get to the climb. In this case, it was walking across a snow slope.”
Mr Vinton-Boot was a safe climber and the wrong message had been attached to his death. ”He’s a really close mate, one of my best mates, and you stick up for your mates and in this instance, he was taking all the reasonable safety steps … Jamie wasn’t doing anything wrong. It just happened.” Mountaineers seek a challenge, not risk, he said. ”But that’s a consequence of the environment sometimes.”
Christchurch mountaineers Marty and Denali Schmidt, who were killed while climbing K2 in Pakistan last month, were also read the rest of this story..
Deb Sellars and Molly Morgan, part of the ski instructor team (with Randy Richards) for the upcoming Nordic Nirvana program, talk about their background and the concept of blending XC Skiing and the Buddhist practice of mindfulness and presence while skiing in nature.
Molly Morgan
Mountain Spirit Institute is collaborating with Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH to offer a special weekend, based at the refuge, of XC skiing (possibly snowshoeing depending upon conditions) on Feb. 8,9,10th. For more info see Mountain Spirit Institute’s and Wonderwell Mountain Refuge’s webpages on the program.
Mountain Spirit Institute‘s director, R. Richards, continues his interview with Lama Willa Miller of the Wonderwell Mountain Refuge about their collaboration on the upcoming Nordic Nirvana Cross-Country Ski weekend retreat. This is the two organization’s second collaborative offering of mindfulness and outdoor pursuits. In Oct. 2012, MSI and Wonderwell offered Mindfulness in the Mountains.
This program promises to deliver a similar flavor of quietude but this time, with a balance of motion over snow on ski.
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