Rob Moitoza's "SPEAK OUT!" Responses as of March 15, 2003 (See full CD review at end of this list)
Every time I've played a cut from "Speak Out" on my
show, the e-mails flood in. There's so much hunger for your
kind of humorous, pointed, musical commentary. Thanks
for filling an alarmingly huge vacuum.
Lynn Cullen
WPTT AM 1360
Pittsburgh, PA
We played portions of 4 cuts on the air last night and have had 6 requests today for information.
Duke Skorich
KUWS FM 91.3
Superior, WI
I love it! You are a true American trying to use humor to bring sanity to an increasingly insane world.
Lynn Samuels
WABC AM 770 News-Talk
New York, NY
I wanted to let you know I received your CD "Speak Out" and love it. I'll be giving it a lot of air time.
Meria Heller
Phoenix, AZ
www.meria.net
Hey, I've been playing the crap out of your CD and have it linked to my site at www.peterwerbe.com You rock!
Peter Werbe
WRIF FM 101.1
Detroit, MI
I want to tell you about a great new album that I appreciate very much, "Speak Out!" by Rob Moitoza. It needs to be played loud and often these days! Some pieces are great fun, some are totally inspiring, it's all hip, and It truly gets a vital message across. I hope you'll check out his work at his site ) as we appreciate good work in service to the people of this planet!
Chris Pringer
I played the chickenhawk song and it was a hit...I have the disc at home...what is your web site so I can post a link on our site.
Ski Anderson
Ski and Skinner Show
WLS Newstalk 890 AM
Chicago, IL
To Ski and Skinner:
- Few weeks ago you played a song around 2:00 p.m. by someone called "Moitoza". It mentioned various admin. names and how they didn't serve in the military. Could you please give me the full name of the band, where I can find those songs? Or if you can play a clip of it, on air I would really appreciate it....
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
J.W
CD is great; may I say brilliant. Hope ya can get it
broadly distributed. Folks need to hear this shit.
Richard Brender
Crabbygoat Productions
Event Promotion and Booking
There's no doubt about it - "Chicken Hawks" is my favorite piece of Okie hip hop ever. Reminds me a little bit of early Zappa ...
Steven Fowle
Editor, New Hampshire Gazette
The Nation's Oldest Newspaperâ¢
Thank you very much for sending us your CD "Speak Out!". We will play your songs on the air as your CD has been added to the RFPI music library.
Naomi
Radio for Peace International
Costa Rica
Destined to become the next Frank Zappa of the musical world and oftentimes emulating the vocally-whiney persona of that musical genius at times, this 2002 Best of the Blues award-winning bassist continues his mission not just to entertain his listeners musically but to educate them on the current American political status quo.
Diane Wells
Sympatico.com
I've played "Chickenhawks" and "Great Deceivers" so far, and plan to play another track or two in the future. So nice to have more political music out there.
Stefan Lisowski
WFMU/WXHD NYC Metropolitan Area
(East Orange NJ, Mount Hope NY)
Thanks for the CD! Received it in the mail this week and listened to it, and it was a hoot! Great stuff.
Eric, The Hamster
http://www.the-hamster.com
We used track 11, "You're not alone" for the credits music on our latest issue of our video quarterly, The Leader. I am also using the same song for the credits on a 28 minute piece that I'll finish in the next few days, which is a speech Congressman McDermott gave at a school here in Seattle. I intend to use track #1,"Democracy" in the near future as a music video of sorts, overlaying demonstration footage and the like.
Randy
PepperSpray Productions
Seattle Indymedia Center
Thanks for the CD! The whole staff at Skippy loves it, especially "Chicken Hawks." Keep up the good work!
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
So far we've played "Democracy" and "They Call Me
Free"; the latter during a discussion of the USA
Patriot Act with ACLU lawyer Nancy Murray.
Dave Goodman, Executive Producer
Independent Broadcast Information Service
david@ibisradio.org
CD REVIEW
SPEAK OUT!
- ROB MOITOZA (2003)
Destined to become the next Frank Zappa of the musical world and oftentimes emulating the vocally-whiney persona of that musical genius at times, this 2002 Best Blues award-winning bassist continues his mission not just to entertain his listeners musically but to educate them on the current American political status quo, albeit in a chastising or mocking manner, especially on "Great Deceivers". [The "great deceiver" is a Fundamentalist Christian term for "Satan".]
Although I'm not personally that knowledgeable about American politics, being a Canadian I can certainly relate to the opening track - "Democracy" - and how the preservation of that enlightened platform is being jeopardized through mainstream indifference and the subtle infiltration of fascist policies that go unchallenged by the voting public.
Although it's an age-old conundrum to "swim or sink", perhaps brought to a head by the Hippie Movement of the '60s, where millions of young adults protested being forcibly drafted into a war they felt was not theirs to fight, the issue has been raised to a boiling point with both the September 11 terrorist attacks and an increase in monopolistic corporate and government greed, especially where civil rights are concerned.
"Chicken Hawks", a bass-and-banjo litany of Republicans who have been added to a database registry of mostly Vietnam War "draft-dodgers", with George Bush being "AWOL" - absent without leave). This database of "chicken hawks" apparently has very little to do with "conscientious objectors" (most of whom scooted to Canada) and a lot more to do with cowards who are now hypocritically advocating war in the Persian Gulf. Rob Moitoza himself served aboard a U.S. Navy Destroyer in 1965-71 and feels personally justified, as do many other Vietnam and Gulf War vets, participating in the current anti-war movement. He believes, in retrospect, that he may well have ended up being my next-door neighbour here in Hamilton [or certainly somewhere in B.C.], if the decision were offered again.
"Great Deceivers" is a gospel-like sermon attacking this hypocrisy of the Bush administration and likening it to a political circus - "H.P. Barnum & Bush". Ironic lines like "They said they had compassion, they gave you a ration, the Bill of Rights they're dashin', your cheque they be a-cashin'" are reinforced by the inclusion of a taped campaign quote by Bush claiming that "I trust people, I don't trust the federal government. You need somebody in office to tell the truth." As John Mellencamp once said, "Uh, huh."
Rob raps in a jazz-rock mode about "criminal injustice on a grand scale" and religious corruption in "They Call Me Free" featuring poetic zingers like, "99 years for a bag of dope, little children giving up hope, looking for help from the Pope and all he does is grope and grope and grope..." It is based on a true story about Rob's step-son who is currently in jail. [Not unlike the situation in Canada, former President Ronald Reagan closed down numerous mental facilities a few years ago, making it virtually impossible for anyone but a millionaire to get help for their mentally ill family members. He feels it is a travesty in a land as rich as the U.S. to have their mentally ill in jail or on the streets.
Offering an alternative to religious retribution, e.g. Muslim Jihad, Christian Armageddon, Rob gets into a funk-jazz groove, with a great brass section, on "Faith Bass". Tongue-in-cheek or not, he doesn't have to convince me that music is a very effective method of therapy as well as being a means of conveying messages that would otherwise be ignored.
"Election 2002", with its sub-theme of "America Held Hostage" , addresses the 2002 presidential election between Bush and Gore that offers a satirical solution in the form of a duel. It was originally or alternately titled "If the Vote is Moot, You Must Shoot".
"Oh Say Can You See", a funked-up rap, uses the title line from the U.S. national anthem to proclaim "If you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything" and strangely parallels monarchies with dictatorships.
"George Bush National Park" (where the air smells just like diesel) is a steel guitar country and western rant on environmental concerns from a hillbilly perspective - "Goldang Liberals - Give me something I can tap my foot to!" Calling the only endangered species the human one, Rob describes this park as having only snakes, skunks, rats and weasels (of the political variety, of course).
The funky "Great American Smokeout" sarcastically suggests smoking terrorists out of their holes (which will be turned into oil wells) by treating them the same as U.S. citizens - give them tax rebates, send them up to Canada to buy their prescriptions, have them join the NRA and have Mike Tyson bite off their ears.
"World on Fire" addresses the no-win global reactions of anger, revenge and retaliation against the sneak attack of September 11 by advising peace and understanding, searching for common ground and learning from the past to avoid repeating it. This song was written by a Rob's "truly pacifist" friend from L.A., Craig Ingraham, and is included on Craig's just-released compilation CD of songs written by both Rob and Craig. The CD is called World on Fire, Songs for Peace. For details on this CD, go to www.spacebrothersrecords.com.
"You're Not Alone" is a musically dramatic chant pleading for the masses to take the responsibility "to live free or die", citing Bush's inaugural win for the presidency as a conspiracy by the oil corporations, not a majority vote by the people. Containing a sample from the "Live Free or Die" speech by 92-year-old "Granny D", an American hero who walked across the States to lobby for campaign finance reform, this track seeks to encourage people already involved or interested in supporting the growing peace movement to share their feelings of isolation and fear in forming a united front against military aggression.
"Speak Out!" says it all, but with gentler, more compassionate and constructive advice. He pleads for American citizens to make the best use of the democratic system in simple but effective ways - make every voice count; write or email Congressmen, newspapers, local radio talk shows; run for office; attend school board meetings; organize protests; and above all, don't be afraid of free speech in a country that stands for free speech. There's absolutely nothing on the list of items he stands for that any sane person would not agree with, but the ultimate message is that we must vocally defend these human rights as if our lives depended on them - and they do.
Diane Wells
Sympatico.ca
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