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The Navigator

Twelve-hour Skipper's concert to let freedom sing

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published November 3, 2006

The CD showed up in the mailbox a few weeks ago, its artwork showing a hand gripping a microphone:

"WMNF and BAAMO present Power to the People: A Tribute to Free Speech."

Cool. I've been meaning to write something on the Bay Area Arts & Music Organization for some time.

I learned about it a year ago when I met one of the board members, Laura Keane, at a social gathering. Disclosure time: Her brother, Andrew Meacham, is a Times staff writer.

BAAMO, a nonprofit group, promotes Tampa Bay area musicians and artists across the state and nation.

It produces Florida Bandango, a showcase of Tampa Bay musicians at the gigantic South by Southwest music and film conference every March in Austin, Texas.

But BAAMO is staying busy this fall. The organization teamed up with independent radio station WMNF to produce the Power to the People CD, and the two are producing an affiliated concert Saturday at Skipper's Smokehouse.

The show and CD wear their politics on their respective sleeves; if there's a "W" sticker on the back of your Chevy Avalanche and neither is intended to be ironic, this might not exactly be your crowd.

The 14 tracks on Power to the People are "dedicated to freedom - of speech, thought, idea and action - which seems to some an imperiled value in the age of 'national security.' "

The disc has lots of covers, including a hip-hop version of Bob Dylan's classic Masters of War by Addek and Neil Young's Ohio by the Threads. Originals include a tune by Ricky Wilcox and the Moonsnakes subtly titled Ronda Ronda (Ridin' the Storms Out).

Figure on hearing some of those when 30 bands convene at Skipper's for the 12-hour Power to the People show, not coincidentally right before Election Day.

Some of Saturday's performers are familiar to me, some not. Among my favorites, I can unabashedly recommend the lovely and talented Geri X, scheduled to play about 4:30 p.m., and Rebekah Pulley & the Reluctant Prophets, on tap for 7:40.

If they don't float your boat, heck, you have 28 other performers to choose from. Then again, if they don't float your boat, you're probably not too seaworthy.

Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 226-3431. His Times blog, The Ill Literate, is at sptimes.com/blogs/tampaarts.

Power to the People concert

Saturday from noon to midnight at Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road in north Tampa. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 on Saturday. Go to wmnf.org for advance tickets or baamo.org for more information.

[Last modified November 2, 2006, 11:56:55]