(by Lexi Kahn)
What does it mean to be a peacekeeper? For many thousands of Americans it means putting on the uniform and bravely risking life and limb overseas. For many thousands more it means sending support in the form of money, food and clothing donations, and earnest prayers for those in active combat. At home, feelings of frustration pile up day after day with the 24-hour news cycle reporting yet another attack, another roadside bombing, another ambush that destroyed yet another life. It’s a hopeless feeling, wanting to do “something†but being powerless to contribute.
One local Boston musician found an outlet for feelings of frustration, and that was to harness the power of a local music community, to multiply one voice by dozens. It’s a well-known fact that great things happen when musicians unite, so T Max, publisher of The Noise Magazine, began his “End War Now†project in January 2007. “End War Now†is the title of a protest song, but it’s also the title of a community music project aimed at raising awareness and hopefully, in some small way, to bring an end to war.
The original “End War Now†demo was launched as a Myspace exclusive in March 2007, with the purpose of having something that singers and musicians could listen to and learn. Then throughout March and April, the basic tracks were recorded at Hi-N-Dry Studio in Cambridge. On Sunday, April 15, 2007 nearly forty local singers showed up to share vocal duties. The session was videotaped and will be made into a short documentary. Everyone, from the Hi-N-Dry owners to the videographers, have donated their time.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been writing for The Noise Magazine for eleven years, and many of my personal friends, including my boyfriend, were part of the recording of “End War Now.â€
Here’s a Q & A with T Max about “End War Now.†Listen online to “End War Now,†and befriend Myspace.com/dreamerswanted to get updates on the released recording and the DVD.
LBSH.com: The project seemed to fall together easily. How did you start?
T Max: I started simply by penning an anti-war song worthy of attention. With help from Joe Kowalski, his home recording studio, and a dear friend who set up a Myspace account for dreamerswanted, a demo of “End War Now” was placed on the Internet making it easy for others to access the song and sign up for the project.
LBSH.com: How did you recruit “dreamers�
T Max: I started by asking the top 10 male and female vocalists from the Noise’s annual year-end poll. Almost all of the vocalists were eager to be part of a project that would unite their voice with others of the same mind. Musicians, like most citizens, feel helpless trying to fight against our “big brother” government. This song allows these musicians to have a larger voice. Now it’s up to the media to amplify that unified voice.
LBSH.com: Were you involved in peacekeeping activism before End War Now?
T Max: As a teenager in high school in the ’60s the politics of war was obviously corrupt to me. I marched on Washington D.C. on November 15th, 1969, with a half million people to show my distaste for the Vietnam War. Protest marches back then got real TV coverage, unlike the marches of today that disappear or are totally downplayed by the
media. I also did everything possible to stay out of a soldiers uniform. I received a 4F exemption (medically unfit) at my military physical–they would have taken children before they took me. On the musical steps I’ve taken as a peacekeeper, in 1998 my band Max released Ride the Dove, a CD that expressed the need for people to love each other (”Love Invasion,” “Celebrate Life,” “Ride the Dove”).
LBSH.com: How does “End War Now†compare with marching on Washington and the Ride the Dove CD?
T Max: “End War Now” is the pinnacle of my anti-war actions. My beliefs, combined with connections to talented Boston musicians (via the Noise), and my experience of overseeing large groups of musicians (with Boston Rock Opera) made me the perfect candidate to create this community-based anti-war recording project.
LBSH.com: The Cold War was dubbed World War III, having killed more people worldwide than the prior two “world wars” combined. Post-911, some American politicians were anticipating a fourth world war. In your opinion, is the war on terrorism (launched unanimously by both liberals and conservatives in 2003) the fourth world war?
T Max: What this war is dubbed is in the hands of historians. In the Iraq war, like many other wars, you have the powers in charge ordering their citizens to go murder other humans for reasons that may or may not even be disclosed. We already know the plan to go into Iraq was manipulated and flawed from the start. People are dying over there
every day–Iraqis and Americans. The pain and horror that is kept from us is what’s wrong. If our citizens could feel the terror in the mind of a soldier the second that parts of his body are dismembered because of one unlucky step, our consciences would recognize that the idea of just pulling our troops out is the only decent thing to do.
LBSH.com: What’s the central theme of the song, “End War Now�
T Max: That we don’t teach our children to retaliate with violence. Why then when they turn 18 is it okay for them to murder other human beings? My point is that war is a barbaric way of settling a dispute.
LBSH.com: Is the song finished? How will it be distributed?
T Max: As of today (May 14, 2007), the recording still needs to be mixed. That will happen in the next two days. Then that mix will be mastered, and a small run of discs will be manufactured, compliments of Wonderdrug Records, and distributed to the media. The public will have free access to the song on myspace com/dreamerswanted. Then there will be distribution of the song via the Internet to as many peace organizations as possible.
LBSH.com: With so many singers, is it possible to have a live public performances of the song?
T Max: Live performances of “End War Now” are being planned involving all the bands that the musicians who participated are in. The first group performance of “End War Now” will be at the Kirkland Kissoff (the Kirkland Cafe’s closing event) on Saturday May 26th at 3:00 in the afternoon.
LBSH.com: You said something about a video.
T Max: Video producer/musician Tim Casey is producing a documentary of the entire End War Now project. More on that as it comes together.
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Links:
Official website: Myspace.com/dreamerswanted
Photos by Kelly Davidson: EtchedOnFilm
The Noise Magazine: http://www.thenoise-boston.com