Cambridge Chronicle, 1/15/03

 

PHOTO CAP:

Cast from left to right - Chris Stovall Brown, Sean Skeete, Eula Lawrence, Valerie Stephens, Mark Copeland and Tim Ingles.

 

International House of Blues Foundation

Presents The Traveling Blues SchoolHouse

 

Bu Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

 

An opportunity to experience African-American history through blues music, oral traditions, spirituality, gospel, soul, funk, rap, and hip-hop seems too fantastic to grasp, yet thanks to the generosity and dedication of the International House of Blues Foundation, the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center will host this sweeping event on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

 

In a multimedia presentation as part of the CMAC’s Joyful Weekend commemoration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Traveling Blues SchoolHouse, a non-profit IHOBF educational program partially funded in part by House of Blues Entertainment Inc., will feature coordinator, storyteller and MC Valerie Stephens along with area musicians Mark Copeland on keyboards and kazoo, Langston Smith on electric and washtub bass, Sean Skeete on drums and scrub board, Chris Stovall Brown on guitar, harmonica and diddley bow, Tim Ingles on electric bass and Eula Lawrence on vocals.

 

“The Traveling Blues SchoolHouse is dedicated to exploring the history, art and music of the blues, an African-American gift to the world, and demonstrating its vast influence on contemporary music and culture,” said Stephens, who serves as IHOBF’s Director of Cultural Programming and Community Partnerships. The mission of IHOBF is the promotion, through music and art, and in a supportive environment for people of all backgrounds, of both cultural understanding and creative expression.

 

The Blues SchoolHouse, which is the focal point of IHOBF’s programming, is ordinarily staged at HOB venues, where it turns the clubs into classrooms on the art, music and history of the blues for students and teachers alike. In addition to a theatrical performance and historical presentation, a guided tour of HOB’s folk art collection is included, with a discussion of the methods and the materials of individual folk artists. In subsequent interaction and often, actual art projects, students can jog their own creativity.

 

“As students listen to the music and interact with performers, they learn of the people and experiences that created blues music, and develop an appreciation for African American cultural contributions,” said Stephens.

 

At the local Harvard Square HOB, the Blues SchoolHouse occurs three mornings a week, as it does at HOBs in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago and Orlando.

 

Stephens’ examples of typical questions include: Have you ever seen a washtub bass? Do you know what a diddley bow is? Do you know what the 'AAB' form is? Do you know what the Stono Rebellion was and what its effect was on American popular music, or what Juneteenth is? Do you know the difference between Country Blues and Classic Blues?

 

“Well, when audience members, both young and old, leave the Blues Schoolhouse, they know,” she said.  She refers to the Blues Schoolhouse as a party school as it it makes it possible to both learn and have a good time. “We celebrate our legacy,” she said, and quotes IHOBF and HOB founder Isaac Tigrett: "If math and science is the foundation of education, the art and music must be the soul."

 

Being with the Foundation for the past three years has allowed Stephens to indulge in her personal passions of history and music.  Drawing on her performing arts and arts education background, she is attempting to bring the production to a larger famly audience. “Student comments such as ‘my mom would like this’ or ‘my dad listens to that music" and questions from the teachers such as ‘where can I bring my children to see this?’ prompted me to test the waters,” she said, lamenting that “sometimes the ocean of arts education can be very murky.” However, response has been great, and the show has spread outside of the HOB venue. “In addition to our three shows weekly, we have traveled to Passim's, Medford High and the African Meeting House twice,” she said. The troupe will be at the Strand Theatre in March and the Boston Children's Museum has expressed interest. Classes who have come from New Hampshire and Connecticut have expressed interest in bringing the group to their towns.

 

“I tell young people that this music is endangered and that they are blues ambassadors,” said Stephens. “I tell them that they don't have to listen to it all the time but do they need to know what it is, where it came from and where it can go.”

 

For more information on the IHOBF, please visit http://www.ihobf.org/index.asp.

 

Tickets for the Jan. 18 Traveling Blues SchoolHouse are available through CMAC, 41 Second St., Cambridge, by calling 617-577-1400, ext. 10. Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children under 11. Tickets at the door on Saturday beginning at 2:30 p.m. are $12/$10 for students, children, seniors and CMAC members.