Posts Tagged ‘Causes & Charity’

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Opening her debut performance at Radio City with Dark Side, Kelly Clarkson stood behind a sheer curtain that flashed a negative light of images and words — all tabloid fodder surrounding her professional career and personal life. The one word in particular that stood out the most, in bold red letters, was the word FAT. It was a touching moment to open the show in such a vulnerable way, in a way that most certainly fits the theme of Dark Side – a way that has lead everyone in the audience to feel connected to her, to cheer her on with a force to be reckoned with. Kelly Clarkson not only represents the girl next door who can rip a song a new one, she also represents a piece of all of us — that part of us that’s human and f*cking normal and real. This is why we, as fans, and as people, love and cling to Kelly Clarkson.

To keep it brief, after the show I updated my personal Facebook with this:

“On a high from Kelly Clarkson’s show. She was bloody amazing! I especially loved her cover of Florence + The Machine’s ‘Heavy In Your Arms’ — goosebumps! Vocally the best show I’ve seen in quite some time. Oh yeah, and Fancy herself (Reba McEntire) was in the audience. I will definitely be seeing her again. Unf*ckingbelievable!”

That pretty much sums up the show, except I did leave out the fact that besides her huge pop records, she also performed a cover of Etta James’ hit I’d Rather Go Blind (as a tribute to the iconic singer’s recent passing), and a wonderful rendition of My Man, taken from the huge Broadway favorite Funny Girl.

But since Kelly’s ballads have always hit home runs in my eyes, those particular numbers stole the show in my opinion. Below you will find an acoustic, stripped-down version of the angst-ridden Never Again, the beautiful rendition of Florence + The Machine’s Heavy In Your Arms, and a lovely ballad that Kelly wrote to help the children of Africa entitled You Still Won’t Know What It’s Like.

Get ready to feel your heart skip a beat.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I’ve been wanting to share this for awhile but never knew when the moment was right. Today feels right.

2 years or so ago, I asked a close friend about how he felt when Obama was elected and I remember his exact words because they moved me so much: “You know when you’re a kid and you’re told you can be anything you want to be when you grow up? Well, being black, I knew that was a lie because I could never be President. But then Obama showed up and he changed all that.”

Today we celebrate more than equality. We celebrate the freedom to choose.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Last night on the subway, I sat across from an elderly homeless woman who spoke only Spanish. She had on flip flops with old socks, a thin dirty dress and several t-shirts with holes. Her legs were something awful because of the cold and living conditions she’s had to endure. Every other stop she would raise her head from slumber to ask for pesos. It actually made me tear up. I guess because seeing this really put Christmas into perspective. Everyone around her was so busy with their shopping bags and iPods and comfortable lives.

This is just a note to remind you that the magic of Christmas has nothing to do with wrapping paper or bows. And the next time you complain when you get a pack of socks for Christmas, remember that some would consider that gold.

(BTW, beware… cuteness coma ahead!)

[Related Post: It's Time We Shift Our Focus]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“This song is about standing up for whatever it is you believe in. For me it’s music. For a lot of the people in this video, it’s freedom. Freedom of equal rights, of religion, of peace or of speech. I went to the protests downtown LA and watched the footage online of similar protests around the world and it inspired me. As an artist navigating your way through the music industry there are so many things standing in your way. Time and time again I have had to fight for the things I believe in. When I first moved to New York from Toronto I would play guitar and sing in lobbies of record companies, on the streets and in subways. Little did I know getting signed was just the beginning. Since then I have been pushing for everything from the music I want to making the artwork on this single, to keeping this song on my album. These videos struck a chord with me because the passion I saw resonated with my own. No matter how big or small the cause, passion is passion. I am in no way promoting anarchy or violence. I’m simply in awe of the human spirit and the lengths people will go to stand up for they believe in… stand behind the music.”

–Anjulie

Stand Behind The Music is available on iTunes on December 13th.

[Related Post: Protestin' Like A Boss!]

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Bell X1: a band that’s content making a stream of steady music. They are Irish lads who have been loyal to the art since who-knows-how-long. They bring an elemental poignancy to indie rock I have not yet seen before. And that’s quite nice. Just when I think indie rock is bordering on cliche, a new (or old) act steps up and grabs me.

Recently, they found themselves touring about New York and couldn’t help but be drawn to the magnetic, odd allure of the Occupy protests. This was their thought on it: “…It actually had a real festival feel; there were some drummers and horn players throwing it down. Noise about all these ills is better than no noise.”

Love it. What’s more, their new song Sugar High is all about these dear old corruptions our world is facing.

I dig this groove. It’s energetic, incredibly powerful, but also very sad. I adore it when people use their talent to spread a message, to get people talking and thinking about what’s happening in the world. And the lyrics hit me hard…

“Let’s build all this shit no one’s ever gonna buy, When we come ‘round we’ll blame the sugar high, And act all sheepish and kinda sorry-ish…”

“Free to those who can afford it, To those who can afford it, Very dear to those who can’t, Those who can’t…”

Bracing, beautiful, breaking.
　

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”

-THE GZA, Wu-Tang Clan

This picture was snapped with my iPhone in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan. From a distance, the first thing that caught my eye was Gaga’s overexposed horn-face. But then I looked closer…

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought this photo would stand the test of saying something heartfelt and lasting; something powerful.

It’s time we all give a little more. Be a little more. Feel a little more.

Count your blessings while your stuffing your face with pumpkin pie. And remember that not everyone has the option.

Real talk.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Mom: I thought I’d call to see if you’re safe. I saw all the crazy protestors on TV!
Me: I gotta go, I’m at the Brooklyn Bridge protest!
Mom: ROB! PLEASE GO HOME!
Me: Don’t worry. I plan on leaving before the cops start beating people with sticks. I have Kelly Clarkson tickets to obtain tomorrow.

3+ hours w/ the protestors. Met some awesome new friends. Spoke to a few cops, everything peaceful. But then I could no longer feel my face, so I headed home. So proud to be a New Yorker! Power to the people!

BTW, this song is perfection, beautifully jaded…

And oddly enough, it somehow manages to relate here.

Can’t wait to hear this track live in concert!

[Related Post: Perils Of The Working Class]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

No, you’re not stuck in a vegan nightmare. This is actually a Bieber face cake, made out of ground beef and bacon (precisely placed for that magical Bieber hair allure). I’m assuming the teef are onions and the eyes are olives? This is worse than Paranoid Activity 3!!! Totally creepy.

Something that isn’t creepy is the fact that JB is the first artist on Universal Music’s roster to ever donate a portion of the proceeds from an album (with his new holiday effort, Under The Mistletoe) to charity.

That’s pretty cool.

Learn more via Chelsea Lately below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Seriously, Jay-Z? SMDH!

“Jay-Z, as talented as he is, has the political sensibility of a hood rat and is a scrotum. To attempt to profit off of the first important social moment of 50 years with an overpriced piece of cotton is an insult to the fight for economic civil rights known as #occupywallstreet.”

-GRIM / Occupy Wall Street Leader

[On Jay-Z profiting from Rocawear's OWS t-shirts, in which the rapper donated zero percent of the proceeds to the cause]

BTW, the video below is jawesome.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“The people you’re after are the people you depend on. We cook your food, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us.”

-Tyler Durden, Fight Club

If you look at it logically, we have the power. We’ve got the majority of the vote, the more manpower, and the most potential. The working class, the bourgeois, even the proletarians have been cited again and again as the untapped resource of the world, the key to social revolution. So how come every cubicle boy with his briefcase and every cleaning lady with her hairnet feel nothing but demoralized and degraded?

Where did the power go?

When I was growing up, everyone wanted to be doctors, teachers, firefighters, charity workers. As children, we had our priorities figured out! We wanted to embrace careers that helped people, careers that involved exploration and creativity.

So how come we grew up, got saddled with a shit-storm of a desk job and forgot about those ideals we used to so proudly hold? How did we go from idolizing teachers and nurses to coveting the lives of businessmen and billionaires?

It’s the formula, kids. The formula that keeps us working class ‘where we belong’.

Oh, you don’t know the formula? The formula is a time-honoured concoction pushed forth by the top one percentile to ensure that the majority will never revolt and make society their own.

It is applied as follows:

Step One. Go to school. Distract yourself with games and gossip, socialization and alienation.

Step Two. Graduate. Distract yourself with career goals, getting an apartment, going to parties, getting a girlfriend, having a good time.

Step Three. Get a job/go to college. Distract yourself with debt, menial labour, sex, and your choice of socially acceptable self-medication.

Step Four. Get married. Distract yourself with meagre relational squabbles, pumping out kids, balancing the budget, and continuing to abuse your choice of socially accepted drugs.

Step Five. Die before you have a chance to make a change.

This is the Game of Life for the working class, and the Top Five are intent on us keeping our pieces on the board. If we stray away, they freak. When we explore art, protests, activism, charity work or fighting against the status quo, it upsets the balance of our carefully crafted depression. But not to worry: that’s what prisons are for.

So, why does the formula work? That’s easy. It’s a potent combination of sedatives, diversions, and dwindling dreams. The number one percentile erases our socially-oriented goals and replaces them with less positive, more selfishly driven ideals. (Thank the profit motive for that, I guess.)

We replace the weekends at a dog shelter or soup kitchen with playing video games or going to the bar. We give up on being a playwright and get a job writing for a fashion magazine instead. The Top Five knows it’s exhausting to fight against their current of commercialism, and they know that we’re going to give up.

They know we’re going to shuffle through our mediocre lives, content with being discontented. They know we’ll keep pushing, secretly hoping that all those dreams they’re selling us are going to come true.

Humans used to depend on the struggle to survive. We had to be constantly out-thinking predators and outsmarting competition in order to thrive. Now, there is no need for such struggle. The only toil we have is found in maintaining our pay-cheques and keeping our taxes in tow. Everything else is automatic, instant, delivered. We have fast food and ‘for a limited time only’ sales promotions. We don’t know how to wait, and we don’t know how to work towards something better.

If someone’s handing me a greasy slab of dead cow for only a dollar, why should I waste time growing veggies in my backyard? If the company that tests on animals gets me the shine I like on my lips for less money, why waste time finding an organic, cruelty-free company?

I get it. We’re tired. They’ve swamped us with unattainable desires. We see nothing but cars we can’t afford, bodies we’ll never have, and holidays we don’t have time to take. They’ve got us chasing our shadow, and worst of all, they’ve got us liking it.

But we can’t stay stuck in the formula. We have to take the power back.

The best way to rip yourself from the status quo? Get thinking. Get talking. Look up articles, immerse yourself in politics, buy from thrift stores, learn to bake, learn a different language, seek out an alternate opinion. Start running. Walk dogs. Read labels. Bring up controversial issues. Look over the leaflet before you throw it away. Stare at the stars. Stay up late. Get up early. Find a job you actually enjoy.

We need to learn to embrace our fear. Maybe it’s easy living inside the formula, but life gets a whole lot better if you try stepping out of it.

Maybe if we harnessed our power, someone would fucking listen.

And I wouldn’t just be some irate little girl ranting to the computer at two o’clock in the morning. Maybe I’d actually be a part of something.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“I have not known anyone personally that has committed suicide because of their sexuality. But the stories from fans always make me appreciate and love what I do even more and drive me at the end of the day, because I feel like to touch someone through my music is the ultimate thing for me, especially if I’ve written it. I’ve had many people say, “I was thinking about committing suicide and your song came on the radio and I just decided not to do it, that life was worth living.” It’s unfathomable to, I guess, really understand the impact I’ve had on some people’s lives. It does affect me. It deeply, deeply affects me. Obviously you can tell by that performance.”

–LeAnn Rimes
[In the new Pridesource]

[Related Post: LeAnn Rimes Beautifully Covers Adele]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

On Friday I was sitting in Red Mango (frozen yogurt shop) w/ a friend when a homeless man walked in (trying not to be obviously homeless) and asked for a sample. The worker gave him a sample (small; in the size of a ketchup paper cup) and he quickly walked out. It broke my heart. I wanted to buy him his own regular sized portion but he left rather suddenly. For those who may not witness homelessness on a regular basis, this is a reminder to be grateful and to always count your blessings. I’m all for Occupy Wall Street but seriously, there’s greater epidemics that could use the attention. Wishful thinking…

[Related Post: Facebook Is Not The Complete Truth]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

ROB BRAYL: ‘True Colors’ is certainly one of the biggest anthems of the gay community. Are there any songs from your own collection or other artists that you consider to be your personal anthem?

CYNDI LAUPER: I have quite a few with my own catalog. To choose one is going to be tough. Changes from time to time. Anything from Joni Mitchell.

RB: It’s wonderful to see any artist, but specifically artists of your level really reaching out to their gay fan base and working on strengthening the community. How has working on projects like the Give A Damn Campaign, and opening the True Colors homeless shelter for LGBT youth affected you personally?

CL: I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to raise awareness about equality and issues impacting the community that do not get enough attention, especially homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. To be able to do that through the Give a Damn Campaign and the True Colors Residence, which is actually permanent housing, not a shelter, means a great deal to me.

RB: Your video on YouTube speaking on bullying and on the flood of suicides with regards to gay teens was really touching. How have you handled those in the past who may have been punks in the way that they treated you?

CL: I think it is important to say that while the media has been focusing on the recent suicides of these young men as a result of anti-gay bullying, this has been an epidemic that has been growing and in dire need of attention for far too long. I do know what it is like to be viewed as ‘different’ and I have owned that about myself and have been unapologetic about it. We all have to be who we are. It can be hard to do that though as life has ways of knockin’ ya down time and time again. I would urge all the young people reading this to contact the Trevor Project at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR or the National Runaway Switchboard at 1-800-RUNAWAY if you are having a hard time and need someone to talk to.

RB: Your most recent record, ‘Memphis Blues’, is a beautiful piece of work and showcases a different side of yourself. What can we expect from your next album? Working on any new material?

CL: I don’t have a “next” CD planned — I’m living and enjoying this one! I am filming a live DVD in Memphis. Basically it’s the show we’ve been doing on the road since ‘Memphis Blues’ came out. It will include songs from ‘Memphis Blues’, my hits and a few new songs.

RB: Crazy but I’ve got to ask, do you listen to any rap music?

CL: I have a 13 year old son, what do you think? I listen to A LOT of rap!

TONY CORTOPASSI: Having many acting roles in: Vibes, Off & Running, Life with Mikey, Here & There, Section B, as well as an Emmy award winning role in Mad About You as “Marianne Lugasso” — Is there a type of role you’d love to do next?

CL: Love to revamp my style and genre with everything I do. Of course I‘d love to try something different, new and challenging.

TC: Since you’ve already done Threepenny Opera…any role you’d like to do on Broadway?

CL: My next Broadway project is as composer. I am writing songs for the Broadway adaptation of the film Kinky Boots. Harvey Fierstein is writing the book and Jerry Mitchell is the director. It’s very exciting.

TC: We are all excited to read your autobiography. When is that slated to be released? Can you give us a teaser from the book?

Cyndi: I am writing an autobiography that will be released via Simon & Schuster. I am in the middle of writing right now so ask me this question again next time we chat.

TC: Can you elaborate a little on your new reality show and what we can expect?

CL: Yes. I did a deal with Mark Burnett Productions before I signed on to Celebrity Apprentice. Mark Burnett Productions is probably the most successful producers of reality tv so I am really happy to be in partnership with them. The folks there are smart and creative and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to do. I love the medium, so I’m excited about it. It is going to be mostly about me and my day to day, focusing on my career.

TC: If you could travel to any time in history, who would you love to meet?

CL: John Lennon.

Watch the incredible Cyndi in action, during a recent performance, below.

[Via One Way Mag]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of trucking my ass to Queens. Wait. It gets better. Way better. I made my way to the Secret Theatre, off the 7 train, to see the fabulous In-Sight Dance Company perform an original ballet set to the music of Ian Axel.

When I first received the invitation I was ecstatic, not only because I love supporting local artists, but also because I’ve loved Ian Axel’s music for quite some time now. (For my interview with Ian see link below.)

To say this show was beautiful would be an understatement. There’s something so moving, genuine, and honest about a performance as intimate as this one. Sitting in low lights, in a space that felt like a mix between a garage and a dive bar, I sat front and center captivated the entire time, as these fierce dancers spun a story of love, heartbreak, and rebirth.

There were times when I found tears bubbling in my eyes. Several of Ian’s songs have touched my life in very personal ways, so to see these magnificent songs set to a story of dance, it was, well, beyond pretty. My favorite number of the night was the piece set to Gone. Home, Cannonball, Say Something, and This Is The New Year all were stellar numbers. Actually, I take it back — I’m not sure which was my favorite number, all were moving in their own right.

Please do yourself a favor and support this amazing organization.

An introduction clip + Ian’s gorgeous Gone following.

[Related Post: Exclusive Interview w/ Ian Axel]

In-Sight Dance Company is a Queens-based non-profit contemporary dance organization dedicated to creating original work that inspires critical thought and reasoned discussion. Founded in 2008, In-Sight Dance integrates community service and performance to bring dance to those that do not normally experience the arts and to raise the profile of dance in Queens. To learn more visit: www.insightdance.org

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Yay!

50 Cent has officially launched his new energy shot, Street King. Fiddy’s goal is to provide 1 billion meals over the course of the next five years to children in need. With every Street King shot purchased, a meal is provided.

Unfortunately for me, caffeine turns me into a crazier tweaked out version of Patti Stanger from Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker. So for the good of mankind, I abstain from ALL energy drinks! Well, 90% of the time. But I plan on buying a few and tossing them over to the homeless. Win/win!

Watch + sign up at streetking.com to support this wonderful cause.

Oh! And since I mentioned Patti Stanger, please watch the second clip! The dildo part had me on the floor! Hilarious NSFW awesomeness.