Written by: Mark Fritz

Foreword by: Jordannah Elizabeth

I have a great life, but I meet a number of people who genuinely don´t like me. I think I essentially step on people´s toes just by showing up. Some people don´t like it when other people ¨show up¨. It shakes the status quo and forces people to make emotional and sometimes physical adjustments in order to create a safe space for others. Without love, people are not willing to make changes for others.

So, maybe I shouldn´t say I meet a number of people who don´t like me. Maybe I should say I meet people who don´t love…not just me, but the sacrifice of kindness that creates longevity and healthy relationships.

~

Anyway, Mark Fritz has a great bond with Publik / Private. His previous submissions inspired me to reach out to him and ask him to write the foreword for my upcoming book, Don’t Lose Track Vol. 1: 40 Selected Articles, Essays and Q&As, and now, he´s back at P / P to submit a raw, rushed, charming, romp of a story that I enjoy. I have no desire to change what he does. Mark, for better or for worse is best, perfect and polished just the way he is. He comes here to get things off this chest and to write what he wants. I completely encourage that…I should probably mention that Fritz is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, which is another reason why he can do what he wants…at least here.

I was working on a freelance story about Baby Boomers getting stoned at retirement communities when I came across a woman who suggested her father for the project. He was a hard ­ass welder who got old, scored a pension, then decided a joint every night made his life a bit better. He was a denizen of central Florida, only thirty minutes away from Disney World, a place he never could bother to visit. He had recently returned to weed, like a lot of retirees.

He was a resident of Seminole County, the southern-­fried seat of which is called Sanford, where old money and old poverty collide on a daily basis. This is the place where the criminal justice system exonerated George Zimmerman for murdering Trayvon Martin for being black in the wrong neighborhood.

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Written By: Jordannah Elizabeth

I wrote about naivety in my introduction for Derek See´s mixtape, and the many facets that can be explored in life and expressed on a platform like Publik / Private. Well this time, when conducting this interview with the jazz artist, Gideon King from Gideon King & City Blog, I thought about spontaneity and inquisitiveness. Being someone who people think has a vast knowledge on subjects of art and music, I always, in my own mind, remember that I can never truly know an individual…who makes the art and music I seem to know so much about.

Therefore, I asked musician, Gideon King some questions about his music what it is about jazz that keeps him recording and creating over and over again.

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Curated and Written By: Derek See

Foreword By: Jordannah Elizabeth

There´s a level of naivete I try to maintain with everything I am involved in. Publik / Private is about self discovery, allowing new things to surface from the old and experiencing a level of artistic vulnerability (in a safe environment) that hopefully allows a creative envelope to open and unfold new possibilities without tearing. Publik / Private is about a lot of things, but the only thing I think about in regards to this mixtape is that you never know what you´re going to learn day to day.

I´ve run into Derek See a number of times. We run in the same circles in San Francisco and of course, I knew of his influence, but it wasn´t until a few days ago when I was surfing discogs.com (as many insanely devoted music nerds do) that I found an online discography of Derek See´s record collection…all 1,400 pages of it. The Gentle Cycle is See´s current and main music project. He also plays occasional guitar with Myron & E, The Rain Parade and Chocolate Watchband. You never know who you´re standing next to at a party.

So, without further ado, Mr. See made a mixtape for Publik / Private. It is as appreciated as much as all of the amazing artists and writers who have contributed music and words before him. Check out what Derek See is into:

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Written By: Jordannah Elizabeth

I really believe that if Harriet Tubman could come through those tunnels again, she’d beat the shit out of them. Debbi Blackwell-Cook on Beyonce, Rihanna and female R&B Pop stars of today

When you listen to actress and singer/songwriter, Debbi Blackwell-Cook sing, you hear an ease in her voice that denotes a natural confidence and an effortlessness.  Blackwell- Cook has sang backup for major artists like Michael Buble and the late, great dancer and entertainer, Gregory Hines.

At the beautiful and wise age of 61 years old, she is experiencing another career peak with a musical collaboration with Phil Collen (guitarist of the larger than life 80s British rock band, Def Leppard) called DELTA DEEP. The band also features a former member of Stone Temple Pilots and India Arie.

As extraordinary as Debbi Blackwell-Cook’s life seems to be on the surface, she wades through life holding the burden of a great loss in her life. She lost her son due to a violent robbery in 2013. This tragedy was a catalyst that brought DELTA DEEP together as songwriters, as Collen, his wife, Helen Simmons and Cook worked to write songs to commemorate the memory of her son and to bring hope to people who survive intensely painful experiences like hers. Continue reading →

By: Sjimon Gompers

Sjimon Gompers, creator of the weekly Impose Magazine music column, Goldmine Sacks, was kind enough to compile Publik / Private’s 14th mixtape. Every Friday, Gompers chooses the best of the best in national, independent and underground artists to feature, sharing his distinctive voice through in- depth interviews and insightful commentary.

It is obvious the individuated attention he gives each band. He carefully constructs each piece with an unparalleled breadth of knowledge and wealth of insight. We are at a loss as to how he is able to produce such a lengthy column in just six days. He is truly a force of nature!

Give Sjimon’s mixtape a good hearty listen, then listen again and again!

Photo By:  Ivy Jones

“INSPIRATIONS FROM THE HEART OF TODAY’S UNCONSCIOUS ANARCHY”

“The arts of writing, recording, drawing, painting, filming and sketching express identity, places, and time. These outlets and mediums allow us to make sense of our world when our worlds and environment don’t make any sense and even provide a portal of escape to somewhere we’ve never gone, imagined, or dreamt up before. These conduit devices that relay vision and voice are for many of us the sole purpose that makes each day, week, month, and year bearable and provides a self-designed alternative to everything happening around, and a chance to embrace something new that has never existed before. Continue reading →

Written By: Jordannah Elizabeth

American pop star, Rihanna is not a stranger to the exploration of BDSM and grotesque imagery in her music videos. Her vivid video for her 2008 single Disturbia, shadowed the concept of the 2007 thriller of the same name. No one gives nods to the connection between the film Disturbia and Rihanna’s music video, but if you check the plot of the Shia Labeouf film, you’ll learn that the film is based around the main character spying on a neighbor from the window. If you watch Rihanna’s music video closely, you’ll see the opening shots of the pop star performing near and staring outside of a window.

Only film buffs and culture vultures with a poignant eye and knowledge of film genre and trivia would pick up Rihanna’s artful eye and nods to European and American horror and psychological thrillers. The untrained eye would rightly take Bitch Better Have My Money as a commentary on the ongoing race war and imbalance of power in American culture.This video may certainly be grounded in those elements, but we also have to separate ourselves from the idea that all American pop artists are merely shallow narcissists, hiding behind a cloak of production teams who sculpt there talent without adding thoughts of their own. Continue reading →

Written By: Jordannah Elizabeth

No one wants to be forced into a set of rules and regulations that have no true value. Any rule that doesn’t promote or create the safety or protection of a collective’s health, or coordinates order in circumstances that would otherwise become chaotic and dangerous is only based on the ruling class’ tastes and social standards. There is no reason to feel like one truly has to adhere to the philosophical or moral boundaries of self assigned leaders, taste makers and industry professionals.

How you handle yourself professionally, particularly as an artist and independent contractor can be a completely malleable, and one should hope, creative and personally innovative process. Your manager, PR professional and publicist may have a model and idea of how to do things. If you do have a promotional staff, it is important to be confident in the fact that they work for you to promote the best synopsis of your own self image. Their involvement in your promotion is completely up to you, whether you’re led to believe otherwise has a lot to with how much creative control you allow the people you surround yourself with.

Conscious Self Promotion isn’t all about how spiritual you are or how aware you are of the sociopolitical climate of the nation your reside in. It has to do with how conscious and aware you are of what you project when you are sharing information about yourself to the world. Continue reading →

Editor’s Note:

I spoke with Chad Smith of The Red Hot Chili Peppers who has given so much time and energy to the nonprofit organization, Little Kids Rock that he was given an honorary award for his service at Facebook Headquarters on May 16, 2015. As a lobbyist and crusader for free and mandatory music education in public schools, Smith spoke about his early years being sculpted by the music classes in the public schools he attended right outside of Detroit, Michigan. Among other things, he also shared how the impact of those music classes inspired him to work to help children attain the same free music education he received when he was growing up.

Take a listen to our conversation on Publik / Private Podcast w/ Jordannah Elizabeth. Continue reading →

Written By: Jordannah Elizabeth

(this photo is missing one of my grandmothers. She’s in my heart and with my spirit)

I lost my great aunt and my grandmother this year. I lost my grandmother on my mother’s side a little over a decade ago. I was very close to all three women. I spent many hours at their houses as my courageous and beautiful single mother raised my two brothers and I.

My two grandmothers and great aunt probably served over 100 years in the church between them all. They were devoted, powerful, loving and committed women. I will mourn their lives with gratefulness and respect. I would not be the woman I am without their guidance. I would not be spiritual, passionate, feisty, penetrating, strong, compassionate, honest and maternal without their unwavering love and general influence.

Whenever I was home and I missed my mom, I would bury my entire 6 year old body in her hanging clothes and inhale as hard as I could, just to get a whiff of her perfume laced fabrics. My mother’s closet always smelled sweet. She was and is glamorous and beautiful. Continue reading →