Friday, October 4, 2019, at 9:00 PM – 11:30 PM
The New Parish
1743 San Pablo Ave
Oakland, CA
Rupa and the April Fishes create a sound that pulsates
with the pluralism of Bay Area culture, celebrating life and the art of
resistance through a wide musical palette that pulls from over a decade of
playing street parties, festivals and symphonic concerts through 29 countries
with songs in 5 languages. Under the direction of composer, frontwoman,
activist and physician Rupa, the band creates a live experience which is a
manifestation of a world beyond nations, where the heart of humanity beats
louder than anything that divides us. This is Liberation Music.
The group's first album eXtraOrdinary rendition (2007)
examines love and loss from many angles, with lyrics mostly in French; the
second Este Mundo (2009) follows their journey from Tijuana to Texas, tracing
the plight of migrants crossing borders, largely in Spanish; the twelve songs
of BUILD (2012) examine the road from solitude to solidarity in both directions
and arise from a particularly tender moment of global awakening—from the
collapse of capitalism and false democracies to the rise of populist movements
around the world. Their LIVE at the Independent (2013) album was produced at
the request of fans and has become a historic document at the center of a
lawsuit which liberated "Happy Birthday To You" back to the commons
where it belongs. Their most recent release OVAL (2015) is a luscious
collection of string quartet Rupa's most intimate love songs arranged by
composer Mark Orton for Quartet San Francisco.
In April 2019, the group released its sixth album Growing
Upward in a plastic-free, plantable format--as a set of 12 seed packets. These
songs come from a time of Rupa's deep engagement as a physician in places where
the social underpinnings of what ails us becomes starkly clear, working closely
with groups struggling for dignity, health and sovereignty in a time of climate
catastrophe. Laced with love, optimism and unflinching analysis and inspired by
direct conversations with Gil Scott Heron, families who have lost their loved
ones to police violence and the indigenous grandmothers at Standing Rock, this
album is a document of where we are today and where we can focus our gaze in
order to rise to the challenges that face us on planet earth. The album
features artwork by a longtime collaborator, the art-ivist and muralist, Mona
Caron.
The band consists of drummer Aaron Kierbel, cellist Misha
Khalikulov, trumpeter Mario Alberto Silva, electronics artist/duduk player
JHNO, bassist Daniel Fabricant, violinist Matt Szemela and guitarist/vocalist
Rupa.
Cost: $22 - $28
