Season 2 Episode 19: Blanche Brown

Our first guest in the History of Dance series is a Dancer, Choreographer, Haitian Dance teacher, and mother of our Co-Host and Producer, Susan. Blanche Brown began dancing while studying at San Francisco State University, and although she initially left to support her husband’s political career and raise their three children, she returned at 35 to receive her Masters in Physical Education with an emphasis in Dance. In the 1970’s, she joined the Wajumbe Performance Ensemble, touring with them in Nigeria for an international dance festival called Festic 72. Her time in Nigeria inspired her to become Priestess of Oshun in the Yoruba Tradition.

Blanche has since become a teacher, and founded her own dance company in San Francisco called Group Petit La Croix. As Choreographer and Artistic Director, Blanche toured with her group throughout the Western United States for 15 years. She also became the Board President for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and served on the San Francisco Art Commission. Though she has attempted retiring four times, she cannot keep herself from her life’s passion. At 86, Blanche still teaches Haitian Dance at ODC Dance Commons in the city’s Mission District.

For more information about Blanche Brown,

please visit: https://dancersgroup.org/2015/05/teacher-priestess-dancer-blanche-brown/

https://odc.dance/gdpafrohaitian

Meet Blanche Brown!

Season 2 Trailer 4: History of Dance in The San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco has always been a city that has a vibrant, creative and robust dance community. The Variety of dance in the Bay Area is vast, and deeply rooted in San Francisco inclusive , cultural community. Dance is celebrated in this city like no other place on the earth.

We open our new and exciting History of Dance series with these Three guests:

Blanche Brown Choreographer, Dancer, Legendary Teacher of Afro - Haitian Dance

Robert Moses Choreographer, Founder of Robert Moses Kin, Artistic Director

Antoine Hunter also known as Purple Fire Crow award winning Africian, Indigenous, Deaf, Choreographer, Dancer, Dance teacher and Deaf Advocate.

Enjoy our History Dance Series!

Season 2 Episode 18: Flicka McGurrin & Jeannette Etheredge

Every city has its legendary places that reflect its personality and charm, that are “living museums” of its rich history. This week we interviewed two entrepreneurs who’ve cultivated two of San Francisco’s iconic restaurants. The first, Flicka McGurrin, is a sixth generation San Francisco native who launched Pier 23 Cafe over 35 years ago. It has consistently been a local favorite, not just for the delicious seafood, but for the long-time community that is now ushering in its second generation of locals. Flicka’s own children have impacted the restaurant, too, as they now run Pier 23 Cafe for their mother. This classic SF restaurant would not be what it is today without the leadership and soul of Flicka McGurrin.

The second is Jeannette Etheredge. She is the former owner of North Beach’s Tosca Cafe, a bar and now restaurant that’s (quite literally) famous for being a favorite of world class celebrities like Sean Penn, Francis Ford Coppola, and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. The bar’s popularity can be attributed to Jeannette’s leadership after purchasing it in 1980. Her warmth and charisma made customers feel at home, and many feel the Cafe’s success is due to her welcoming presence and dedication to her North Beach community.

For more information about Flicka and Jeannette, please visit:

https://www.flickamcgurrin.com/about

https://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/article/best-last-dive-bar-in-world

Meet Flicka McGurrin and Jeannette Etheredge!

Season 2 Episode 16: Zoe Elton

An Oakland resident for many years now, England-born Zoë Elton has colored the Bay Area’s film and theater world with her many talents. She is a film curator, writer, cartoonist, interviewer, director, jewelry-designer, and the long-time Program Director for the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Not only has her leadership and dedication to filmmaking helped the international Festival flourish, but her keen creative eye has helped the Festival choose films that would go on to win Oscars.

Elton’s passions and experience has allowed her to explore new avenues with the Festival, too. She initiated the Active Cinema Program, which examines artist's works with a cause, and Mind the Gap, a women’s initiative that supports women filmmakers. Her long-time exposure to the Film world and knack for interviewing has also given her great opportunities to learn from successful filmmakers and luminaries such as Dustin Hoffman, James Franco, Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, and more.

Zoë is infectious to be around. Her calm and gentle manner disarms those around her, allowing them to get to know her with ease. Her stories of traveling the world in search of films and accounts of her wonderful years in the Bay Area are endless. It was an honor and pleasure to document some of Elton’s stories in this week’s episode of Beyond the Fog Radio.

For more information about Zoë Elton, please visit: https://www.zoeelton.com/about

Meet Zoë Elton!

S2 E15: Margo Hall Lorraine Hansberry Theater

Margo Hall is an award-winning activist, educator, actor, director, playwright, and newly-appointed Artistic Director of the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, San Francisco’s premier African American Theater. Originally from Detroit, Hall has been an active director and performer in the Bay Area for over 30 years. She recently directed How I Learned What I Learned at the Marin Theater Company and BARBECUE for SF Playhouse, as well as acted in Ah, Wilderness! for the American Conservatory Theater. She was also recently seen in the films BLINDSPOTTING with Oakland native Daveed Diggs and All Day and a Night on Netflix. Her most recent on-stage credit is Exit Strategy at the Aurora Theater. Margo Hall has also won many awards for her outstanding work, including the Glickman Award for best new play in the Bay Area for her play The People’s Temple, featured at Berkeley Repertory Theater in 2005.

Margo devotes herself not only to the Theater, but her community as well. She is a founding member of Campo Santo, a multicultural San Francisco-based theater company that collaborates with local theater artists to put on new works for Bay Area audiences. She is also a theater professor at UC Berkeley and Chabot College, where her mission is to support and mentor young actors and playwrights who are discovering their voice. Through her devotion to the dynamic world of theater, her students, and her theater community, Margo has been able to enrich not only herself, but the Bay Area at large. We are very excited to have the unique opportunity of interviewing someone who is so passionate about the Theater!

For more information about Margo Hall, please visit: https://www.margohall.com/

Meet Margo Hall!

S2 E14: Musical Theater with Brendon Chan

Brendon Chan is a singer, dancer, actor, and native San Franciscan. He graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a Dance degree, and began his professional career traveling the world performing on cruise ships. He then moved to New York City to pursue musical theater. His years of performing and hard work have proved fruitful, as he was most recently featured in the San Francisco cast of Hamilton at the Orpheum Theater.

Brendon is a delightful person from the moment you meet him. His personality exudes performative energy–– upon meeting him for our interview, he excitedly kicked his leg up high as if hailing a cab. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Chan. Please enjoy his stories of a life in the arts, from dance studio classes in the Sunset District to performing in a Broadway show in his home city for the first time.

Meet Brendon Chan!

Season 2 Trailer 3: History of Film and Theater

As an artistic hub, The San Francisco Bay Area has a long history of theater and film production. The rich landscape of performers, audiences, and artistic innovation makes it home to some of the best community and experimental theater in the country. Its idyllic location, with ocean views, historic landmarks, and a lush natural landscape, draws filmmakers from all over the world as well. In particular, documentary filmmakers are drawn to the Bay because of its reputation for being open and welcoming of ideas that are inventively outside the box.

This five-episode series takes a deeper look into just how outside the box our local artists can be, and gives you the opportunity to get to know some of the amazing work that’s going on in our own backyard. We open our new and exciting History of Film and Theater series with these five guests:

Jo Schuman Silver of Beach Blanket Babylon

Hamilton Actor Brendon Chan

Zoe Elton, Director of Programming for the Mill Valley Film Festival

Margo Hall Artistic Director of the Lorraine Hansberry Theater

And Jonathan Moscone, Chief Producer at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Enjoy our History of Film and Theater series!

Season 2 Episode 11: Gregory Cole

Every high school has an adult who has made it their life’s mission to help young people in every way that they can–– a teacher who brings an extra lunch for a hungry student, or a counselor who helps kids with their homework at recess. This week’s guest is one of those people. Mr. Gregory Cole is a musician, vocal and instrumental instructor, music director and educator who has gone the extra mile for kids in the Bay Area for over 40 years.

Having taught and directed music at numerous Bay Area schools and churches, Cole’s greatest endeavor began in 1984 at the Sala and Phillip Burton Academic High school where he founded the Touch of Class Choir (TOCC). Located between 3 underserved neighborhoods in San Francisco, TOCC’s innovative and well-disciplined kids learned all kinds of music, including religious, secular, jazz and R&B. Mr. Cole even toured the choir through a diverse range of countries like France, China, Spain, Jamaica, Australia, and more. His dedication has impacted many of his student’s lives and former TOCC students regard him as a father figure.

Gregory Cole believes in teaching students not just about music, but also about life and the power of personal achievement. He motivates his students academically and encourages them to pursue college, successful careers, and strong healthy relationships. Mr. Cole is a humble and kind man with a very deep soul. Michaela, Jae, and I were honored to interview him for this week’s episode.

For more information about Gregory Cole, please visit: http://touchofclasschoir.org/gregory-cole-director/

Meet Gregory Cole!

Season 2 Episode 10: Ian Robertson

This week’s esteemed guest has been the Director of the San Francisco Opera Chorus for 34 years and is an incredible conductor and musician. A Scotland native, Robertson moved to the States and joined the SF Opera Company in 1987 and led the Opera Chorus in 342 productions, including world premiere commissions and significant expansions of the company’s repertoire and performance capacity. Among these accomplishments include: Prokofiev’s War and Peace, two productions of Britten’s Billy Budd, and the American premiere of Messiaen’s rare Saint François d’Assise, of which he received a prize in 2002 for his work on this premiere. He has even held the longest tenure of any Opera Chorus Director in the Company’s history.

Robertson’s career has also included the 23-year long role as Artistic Director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus, where he also helped expand and invigorate the company’s success and vitality. His leadership in both positions has helped produce wonderful collaborations with the San Francisco Boys Chorus and San Francisco Opera Company over the years.

Many who have worked with and under Ian have only admirable things to say about him: “Robertson has been a pillar of tremendous artistic strength at the San Francisco Opera. He has guided and shaped the sound and musicality of the San Francisco Opera Chorus with insightful leadership” (Matthew Shilvock). Ian has a kind and strong demeanor about him, both in and out of rehearsal. He cares deeply about those he works with, and has a consistent positive outlook on the life of the Company and the legacy of Classical music for future generations. This will be Ian’s final season at the San Francisco Opera, and we were so glad to have had the opportunity to interview him during this momentous time in his career.

For more information about Ian Robertson, please visit: https://sfopera.com/

Meet Ian Robertson!

Season 2 Episode 9: Skyler Jett

This week we sat down with Skyler Jett, a vocalist, songwriter, producer and humanitarian activist. Raised by a single mother across the bay in Oakland, Skyler found a love for music from singing with his family at their church. Fostering his talents and passions from a young age, Skyler has now grown to not only be Grammy-recognized, but also perform and record with an impressive range of artists like Stevie Wonder, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and Eddie Murphy. He even sang with Celine Dion on the Grammy-winning song “My Heart Will Go On” from the film Titanic. In 1982, Jett replaced Lionel Richie in The Commodores, which toured over 30 countries.

Jett hit his stride with the founding of Music for Global Change. Through this foundation, he collaborates with socially-conscious music artists to break down barriers of racism and raise awareness around racial stereotypes. Jett also mentors youth about the benefits of positive language in song lyrics to promote societal growth.

Skyler is a kind and generous man who learned from his mother to always help others no matter what. Jett has synthesized the power of music and his love for others in the most extraordinary and effective ways, and his skills and talents have helped him reach communities worldwide. We are so excited to share some of his story with you, and we hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did.

Meet Skyler Jett!

For More Information: musicforglobalchange.com

S2 Episode 8: Raz Kennedy San Francisco Bay Area Premiere Vocal Coach

Raz Kennedy is a premier vocal coach, producer, singer, and a magical human being. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Raz has lived in the Bay Area now for over 40 years. Music is his life’s work, and he has been involved with every aspect of it. From promotion to producing, to vocal coaching and singing alongside some of the world’s leading artists like Whitney Houston and Sting, Raz has experienced it all. He is even a founding member of the internationally renowned Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra. Raz also boasts multiple Platinum and Gold records, and his list of collaborations with other musicians goes into the thousands.

Raz’s voice and musical range has expanded over the years as well, and he is constantly in pursuit of perfecting new techniques, styles, and genres. Raz has traveled through Latin America to hone his rhythmic capabilities, and earned a teaching certificate from Denmark’s Complete Vocal Institute to master vocal technique and teaching. With a wide breadth of tools under his belt, Raz has coached a colorful cohort of musicians and bands like Metallica, Third Eye Blind, Hillary Duff, and even musicians at jazz centers like SF Jazz and Jazz Camp West. He is now faculty at the Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco.

Regardless of who you are, Raz greets you with his quietly soulful demeanor. When you tell someone you met him the response is always the same: “Ohhh Raz!” followed by a huge smile. His large and charismatic presence is immediately disarming, and anyone he meets is treated with warmth and respect. He is a very special person, and Jae, Michaela and I were delighted to interview him this week.

For more information about Raz, please visit his website: https://www.razkennedy.com/about

Meet Raz Kennedy!

S2 Episode 7: Russell Gatewood/DJ Big Russ and The World Famous Rick & Russ Show

Russell “Big Russ” Gatewood has been a staple name in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years. This DJ’s career started in tandem with the rise of turntables as a hip hop instrument in the 1980’s. From there Big Russ set off and staked his claim in the Bay Area’s music scene. Today, evidence of his influence can be found in many genres of the last 40 years.

Even more well known is the World Famous Rick and Russ Show, a DJ group started by Gatewood and his partner Rick Patrick in the 90’s. The duo came up with the concept of DJ’s playing records prior to, in between, and after live music concerts. With this approach to live performance, the two became immediately successful. From expos and conventions across the country, to the U.K, Guam, South America, The World Famous Rick and Russ Show never displeased a crowd. Of course, their fame started in the Bay Area, and although the two no longer perform together, they remain one of the most well known Bay Area DJ duos.

Big Russ’s love of music, curiosity, and drive is what made him today. His attention to detail gave him an edge against other DJ artists, as he is a master of combining artistry with the mechanics of electronic music. His knowledge of the business and reputation for professionalism has helped him not only make a living as a DJ, but also as a successful marketing consultant. He can still be found opening for music concerts and festivals in the Bay Area and beyond.

Overall, Russel Gatewood is a soft spoken, very gentle and kind soul. Beyond the Fog Radio is grateful to have had the opportunity to interview him for this week’s episode.

Meet Russell “Big Russ” Gatewood!

For More Information:

https://www.celebdjs.com/index.php/thedjs