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| The overall impression I get from this CD is that of d�ja vu. In this jaded, cynical millenium, the most likely demographic for this collection of songs, with the exception of "Painkiller", would be family units with very young, still impressionable, children. That's not a bad thing, by any means. Just as children in Ireland and England, as well as any Middle East country, are raised on centuries-old feuding, there's nothing wrong with instilling a pacifist attitude from the moment of birth, wherever that might be. The only reason I would exclude "Painkiller" from this musical equation is not being I'm against the legalization of marijuana (I'm not), but I still don't think mainstream society, especially those people brought up in rigid religious backgrounds, is ready to accept its healing attributes. I, for one, would definitely rather be "armed" with a spliff than a gun. Although I don't consider myself to be jaded or pro-violence, and being a bit young to have been a part of the Woodstock generation, I never did care for the "gospelization" of that original peace movement. Prevalent musicals of the day, like Hair and Godspell, did not appeal to me, simply because I just didn't care for numbers like "Age of Aquarius". I was getting into more simple, laid-back, folk songs at that time. It wasn't so much the lyrics I objected to, e.g., "harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding" - those are admirable qualities. I just preferred the harder-edged numbers like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young�s "Carry On", "Ohio", or Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic message of love. That being said, there were many people who did find the softer approach appealing. This contingency would love this CD! Speaking of Hair, the line that musical production parodied from the U.S. national anthem - "Oh, say, can you see�my eyes, if you can, then my hair's too short" - is given a similar treatment by Rob Moitoza on "The Pledge". It's arranged as a "rap", with snippets from both Martin Luther King's famous speech, "I Have a Dream" and Bush's campaign speech. It starts out with the zinger, "If You Don't Stand for Something, You'll Fall for Anything" - priceless! Even from a purely instrumental standpoint, the musicianship here is top-notch! With guitarist Craig Ingraham composing more than half of the tracks, and Rob Moitoza, the remaining five, there's a great diversity in playing style - brassy pop-rock ("World on Fire"), funky electronica ("God is Green", with a sampling of "Greensleeves"), rhythm & blues ballads ("To Love Each Other" and "Changing"), hard-rock power-chording interspersed with a funk-jazz fusion on "Let's Rage", traditional folk ("The Golden Thread", featuring Debbie "M" on additional vocals) and the uncategorizable Zappa-esque "Painkiller". In point of fact, Mr. Ingraham arranged and performed most of the instrumentation, with Rob handling vocals, drum programming and bass guitar duties. Other "brassy" musicians contributing on "God is Green" are Doug Canning (trumpet), Darrow Hunt (tenor sax) and John Goforth (alto sax). There are numerous female choralists occasionally chiming in, especially on Rob Moitoza's "Golden Spirit", a song featuring David Lanz on keyboards, Dave Raynor on guitar, and Charlie Lee on drums. Obviously, there are two factions "at war", even within the States themselves - those who want to "Kill 'Em All" (and let God sort 'em out) and those who would lay down their arms and refuse to engage in a physical battle. Just as the "bad guys" in the films always fail because of infighting, the States are in for a similar fate if they cannot first identify, and then unite against, the real enemies - greed, hate and power. Craig Ingraham, Rob Moitoza and the accompanying musicians are ready, willing and available to perform without charge, in exchange for food, travel and accommodation. Proceeds from CD sales will also be donated for non-profit organizations. If you are interested in booking these musicians to promote your own particular peace movement, contact Debora Masterson Koslowsky at [email protected]. For more information on Rob Moitoza/Craig Ingraham, go to www.robmoitoza.com. |
| CRAIG INGRAHAM & ROB MOITOZA - WORLD ON FIRE - SONGS FOR PEACE |
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| MASSIVE ANTI-WAR RALLY Noon - Sat., Feb. 15/03 - New York City, NY JOIN US in New York City (First Avenue stretching north from 49th Street) for a massive march and rally that will show the depth and breadth of U.S. opposition to war on Iraq. Location to be announced here: www.unitedforpeace.org/. |