Citizen44 With Mark Arinsberg

July 9, 2017

Coming from a seemingly unrelated background of dance performance in LA and New York, Grant Williams finds himself with an inheritance that allows hime to give back in indescribable ways through the creation of non-profit who would go to schools in the Southern, Oregon area and put on free workshops that helped students close the divide between them and silently expose those at risk which sadly and consistently turned out to be a majority and not a minority. I was honored to be a part of that work being done.

Coming from the streets of Oakland, California in the 50s, Allen Hicks did not understand why his African American friend would have to move away. He didn't see the racial bias nor understand as most children innocently and authentically bond with each other without seeing the things that begin to divide us later in life. Allen and his first wife in Copenhagen would adopt an African American girl who would successfully navigate a predominantly Caucasian culture and rise to the top of her game as she follows her passion for theater arts. Allen is a writer, photographer, painter and concerned citizen.

When I think of old school drummers with big smiles and feeling the jazz in their pores, I think of Tom Stamper. Always a kind word to say and a groove in his soul. One of the hardest working musicians I know, Tom has been playing with several people around the Rogue Valley . Coming from the Bay Area Tome tells stories of growing up and learning from legends that would imprint on his playing today. Tom also teaches drums. That's good for those who want to learn and become top flight.

Dan Elster is this very down-to-earth guy who comes from working in a food warehouse with his father on the mean streets of Chicago to the tranquil mountain ranges of Southern, Oregon to feed his passion for capturing his unique connection to wild animals through photography. Thanks to a gift of a camera from his wife, Dan has not stopped getting closer and closer to this subjects who seem to understand what he's doing and accommodate him more often than not. His work speaks for itself. http://www.elsterphotography.com/

Robbie Lindauer is the guy who I can count on to take conversations in all kinds of directions with historic information, I would otherwise never hear (not that I remember any of it). Not only is he a theology and philosophy major as well as one of the sharpest minds I know. he also kills it on the guitar with his voice and the writing of songs. I've been fortunate enough to have been in a band with him called The Stamps in a variety of configurations. We recorded a cool CD and I'm happy to be a part of his family. If you feel a need to debate somebody, look Robbie up.

Rich Rees. This guy. A very close friend and the guy who convinced me to go back to being a vegan, thankfully. Rich has been in the music business for over two decades. As a young man he sat behind the drums in a few projects playing here and there and living in Redondo Beach, CA. Now living in Ashland, Oregon Rich manages some top touring music acts and enjoys the life of creating peace and harmony in his life and spreading that to others. Rich is the producer of this show. Because of his long standing in the music biz, we are fortunate enough to get some celebrity action. Check out Rich's vegan cooking show The Vegan Shaman at https://youtu.be/7OvHzq_VXAM

Mandy Valencia is a dear friend and local resident of Southern Oregon who has put her nose to the grindstone as a hard-woking journalist and uncovered some of the most important stories of the day. She's interviewed local officials and some more recognizable names like Weird Al Yankovic who was performing locally. A strong woman who stands up for the rights of herself, her tribe and all people affected by the ills of society. Honored to be her friend. She have been known to watch a lot of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm together. Mandy.

Mark talks candidly with award winning documentary filmmaker Suzan Beraza about her passion around telling the difficult stories the world needs to hear. Suzan's film BAG IT single handedly convinced me to STOP using throw-away paper cups and lids. It's inexcusable that we create so much waste when we don't have to. Until we start caring it can only get uglier. Look for Suzan's other film projects like Uranium Drive-In and her latest Massacre River about the citizenship disaster in The Dominican Republic resulting in crimes against humanity to be released in 2019. www.reelthing.us