School rocks! At least for a group of Martin Luther King Middle School students who, with the help of a MIMA Music instructor, wrote, sang and performed an original reggae-funk-rap song titled ?Evening News? for a MIMA music video. The project was sponsored by Robin Quivers and Brendan Murphy?s 15 Foundation and taught by MIMA, and recorded at Live Oak Studio and MLK Middle School. The brilliantly produced recording and video are living testimonies of the difference MIMA Music makes in people?s lives.
?This song is about the experience of this group of 13- and 14-year-old boys in middle school,? said Jonathan Barnes, the MIMA instructor who coached the King boys. ?My favorite line is the first one: ?Doing my work while thinking of a rhyme / Studying for a test, my brain?s turning to slime.? The chorus gets more serious and talks about their goals for success and their pride in their heritage.?
Live Oak Studio, a Bay Area recording studio located in Berkeley, was honored to host the students and show them the recording process. Live Oak Studio has recorded top-notch artists, including Destiny?s Child, En Vogue, Tony! Toni! Ton?!, Too Short, Mazzy Star and Alice Walker.
?We truly enjoyed recording the neighborhood kids at Live Oak Studio,? said owner Priscilla Rice. ?They really put their hearts and souls into the project?and it shows!?
The ?Evening News? video was recently played at a benefit concert hosted by radio personality Robin Quivers and featuring Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Leon Russell. The VIP gala, called ?It?s for the Kids,? was a fundraiser to help raise much needed cash for children?s nutrition education.
For more information about recording at Live Oak Studio, please call (510) 423-0771 or visit them on the web at liveoakstudio.com.
About the Modern Improvisational Music Association (MIMA)
The Modern Improvisational Music Association (MIMA or MIMA Music), is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit that builds and celebrates communities by inspiring and transforming people through music. MIMA offers music-making workshops in disadvantaged communities and trains young volunteers to lead these workshops in their home communities. Improvisation is a value central to the organization's approach to social outreach and music education.
MIMA's flagship program is its songwriting workshop where groups of youth or adult students compose and record an original song and possibly a music video. The organization has developed its own teaching methodology that includes interactive group musical exercises, leadership training based on musical improvisation, and a repertoire of original songs and recordings.
About the 15 Foundation
In 2009, Robin Quivers and Brendan Murphy formed the 15 Foundation with the goal of making the art of giving a fun process: one in which anyone could participate through fun, dynamic events that would bring like-minded, charitable people together for exemplary causes.
Robin Quivers is best known as the witty, dynamic, female counterpart to Howard Stern on one of the country's most popular radio shows. Such success following her humble start makes giving back a priority for her. She says, "Seeing someone else blossom as a result of some little thing you do is an irreplaceable feeling." Previous charitable endeavors include rallying her girlfriends to raise money for women in a Sudanese refugee camp, sitting on the board of the Child Abuse Prevention Program and appearing on Celebrity Jeopardy to raise money for The Seeds School of Maryland--a non profit boarding school. With the founding of the 15 Foundation Quivers dreams of giving back just got a lot bigger.
A world-acclaimed painter and artist, Brendan has transitioned his success as an artist into the formation of the Solfire Group and the Solfire brand. Brendan has produced a number of events and exhibitions over the last ten years and his work has found its way into over 500 different collections. Brendan brings his experience in unique and dynamic events and will serve as the creative director for the foundation. Having developed strong contacts in the financial world and professional sports arena, Brendan can bring immeasurable support to the foundation going forward.
About Live Oak Studio
Since 1984, Live Oak Studio is a greater San Francisco music recording studio that utilizes a Digidesign Pro Tools HD-based system to record breakthrough and award-winning albums for artists all of genres. The East Bay recording studio specializes in audio, voiceover, live band recording, audiobook and narration recording services. The studio can also help artists with mixing, editing and creating audio books, podcasts and meditation CDs.
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