I got the green light to speak for two minutes at Temple Univeristy tomorrow, so I rehearsed my testimony about 100 times.

Here's my final draft.  I hope this story resonates with a few people.

- - - - - - - - - -

I joined Casino Free Philadelphia in a civil disobedience at the offices of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on December 11th.

(1) The Philadelphia Metro carried the arrests on the front page. (2) The Pittsburgh Post Gazzette carried the arrests on the front page (2) The Associated Press carried a detailed story which was picked-up all throughout Pennsylvania and even down to Houston TX. (4) at least one television station, Fox Philadelphia, ran video of the protest (5) Ten days after the event even USA Today jumped on board, by prominently displaying a photo of Operation Transparency.

Editors across Pennsylvania and other places were excited, but the newsprint monopoly in our hometown was NOT excited to tell the story.

Publisher, Brian Tierney, was exploring the casino business with a 5 million dollar pledge in the proposed Trump Street Casino.

Conveniently, the Philadelphia Inquirer buried the story of our arrests behind an expose on Christmas lights. We were in the Local Section, Letter B, Page Number 4. The only thing positive we could say for the Inquirer was that they sent their own reporter.

The Philadelphia Daily News, also under Tierney, did not send a reporter.  They picked-up the AP story and quietly slid it into page 6.

Neither paper showed photographs of the event, yet all 14 arrestees were residents of Philadelphia.

The Inquirer did manage to print a disclaimer about Tierney's proposed investment, but the disclaimer appeared only after a big editorial endorsement of casinos, including a special endorsement for Trump Street.

Recently we learned that Jeff Shields, the primary casino reporter at the Inquirer was among a staff reduction.

Now it's time they hear from YOU!



Speak out at the...

PUBLIC FORUM ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP

with Federal Communications Commissioners

Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein

January 18, 2007 - 6pm

Temple University - Gladfelter Hall Room 13

1115 West Berks Street (12th and Berks Streets)



Media Tank is hosting a Public Forum on Media Ownership with FCC Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown, and additional panelists to discuss media diversity, ownership, and consolidation, moderated by Concetta M. Stewart, Dean of Temple University School of Communications and Theater.



And you can let the Commission know what you think! You are invited to to give public testimony to the FCC and elected officials on how media affects you and your community.



Find out more and RSVP at:

More background information can be found at:

www.mediatank.org/resources/ownership/forum.html



WHAT'S THE ISSUE?

The FCC recently announced that it would once again be reviewing the rules that determine how much media conglomerates are allowed to own. If these rules are further relaxed, media ogres like News Corp, Clear Channel, Disney, General Electric, and CBS will be allowed to buy up more media outlets and grow even bigger. This poses a major threat to our communications system and our democracy.



This is the first time the FCC has revisited these rules since 2003 when they voted to loosen a number of the remaining media ownership limits. As you may recall, the FCC's attempt at relaxing the rules was met with a lawsuit from Philadelphia's own Prometheus Radio Project. That case stopped the media ownership change when a federal judge ruled that they had not adequately justified their decision to change the rules.



With the FCC revisiting these rules, we are once again at risk of losing these important public safeguards. As the Supreme Court noted in 1969, "it is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount." These safeguards ensure that the needs and rights of the public are not lost in the business dealings of broadcaster corporations.



More details can be found at:

www.mediatank.org/resources/ownership/



WHAT CAN I DO?

If you're able to do any of the following things, you will be joining millions of other Americans across the country who are standing up against further media consolidation and the major media giants!



1. Mark your calendar! Come to Temple University on January 18, 2007 at 6pm for the panel discussion and testimony. Keep checking our website, www.mediatank.org, for more information.



2. Make your voice heard! Get your 2-minute long testimony together and RSVP to get on our list to speak out at the forum by emailing info@mediatank.org. If you can't attend, you can fill out a simple comment form on Media Tank's website. Just click -->EZCODE AUTOLINK START-->www.mediatank.org/resourc...ments.html -->EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> to tell the FCC know what you think



3. Find out more about the issues and why this fight matters: www.mediatank.org/resources/ownership/



4. If you haven't already, sign up for Media Tank's email listserv (check out the left hand column at www.mediatank.org) and stay up-to-date on the issues and the upcoming forum on the 18th.



5. Pass this email along to your friends and lists! Tell them to file a comment too and bring them to the public hearing in January.



6. Let the readers of your blog or websites know about the event with our handy banners. Download them or use our convenient HTML code to put them on your site.

-->EZCODE AUTOLINK START-->www.mediatank.org/resourc...nners.html -->EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->



Sponsored by: Temple University School of Communications and Theater, Penn PIRG, Prometheus Radio Project, and the Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association


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It's a quote from a local neighborhood organizer.  She hasn't seen her friends in months because she's busy fighting casinos in her spare time.

Good friends are still there for us months later or even years later.  We do the best we can.  Long story short, we are stopping Casinos and it's going to be an insane battle.

Les B. came to speak to us.  He's a staff worker in the Massachusetts State Legislature.  "This is one issue - and I can't say this for many other issues - this is one issue where the more you learn about it... the more you will oppose it."

The guy is one hundred percent right.  In the last 15 years slots parlors have been appearing in cities all around America.  They are not "tourist destinations" and they are not glitzy as Mayor Street seems to think.  They are cheesy windowless rooms designed to give us a "near miss" winning experience.  Children wait in the lobby while their parents drink free drinks and spin-away much needed funds.

I spoke with Les privately after his talk.  I asked him more about bars and restaurants.  Specifically I wanted to know where the live entertainment venues stand in Massachusetts.  He personally knows one venue owner who is dead-set against cainos and more are coming on board.  "There is no culture in a casino town."

Stan Brown spoke to us as well.  He's a retired Philadelphia lawyer who helped to win a serious battle against I-95 battle back in the 1960s.  Interstate 95 was supposed to form a great wall.  The Olde City/Society Hill region was going to be completely separated from Penns Landing by a massive elevated highway.  Philadelphia residents and businesses petitioned that I-95 be 'depressed' below the ground.  It cost an additional 25 million dollars to sink I-95, but the city preserved access and views to the beautiful and historic waterfront.  Penns Landing is still a work in progress.  The battles for Penns Landing were not fought to glorify slots.

The bar and restaurant community was essential for Stan Brown.  The most influential newspaper of the day was not the Inquirer or Bulletin.  It was the local brewery and restaurant trade publication. It's interesting that both speakers, Les and Stan, identified the power of bars and restaurants.

I have volunteered to visit as many establishments as I can to ask for thier support.  I could use some moral support.  Come join me.  We may stumble upon some nice food and drink along the way.

Ken Gregory

kengreg at gmail dot com

Casino Free Philadelphia

 

"Police arrested 11 protesters and took them to a nearby station, where they were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and released. Two women in wheelchairs and a third protester were issued summonses at the scene."

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/16217920.htm

When they say "a third protester", well that's me.

I'd like to appoligize in advance to MY FRIENDS who support casinos and free markets of all kinds.  I realize the money looks attractive to the local economy... one million donated here, three million donated there... 5000 potential jobs at 5 potential casino sites... yes, we understand that there are some proposed benefits.

This particular protest was called Operation Transparency.  The Gaming Control Board has not made all of their information public.  For example there is an unreleased impact study.

How many cars?  Where?

How many dollars?  Going where?

And if casinos are so great then why is Atlantic City such a mess? (I added that one, I don't think that's covered in the report whatsoever.)

Keep in mind that all of the proposed casinos are located near residential neighborhoods.

I also think that the proposed casinos are a slap in the face of the existing restaurants, theaters, and countless other businesses who earned a foothold in this town through legitimate means.  Two of the proposed locations include theaters.  Another proposal includes a movie theater.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  I'll have to appear before a judge at some point.

I'm not an expert here.  This is my first involvement with political activism.  I have no idea what my responsibilities and obligations will be.  I'm learning a lot along the way.

Dear Lead Guitar Players,

I've been with Six Pack Creek for about 14 months and it's been really great.  You can check out the music by clicking on the band's page in my Top Friends.

We played some very fun gigs including: several ACOUSTIC PHILLY shows, the Conshohocken thing with NOWHERE and B-SIDES, and something I called the last HOEDOWN at 218.  Furthermore, at Stevensons in the Northeast we were allowed to play a couple of Wednesday nights doing whatever we wanted for as long as we wanted; that's where we really learned how to sound like a group.  It's been cool.  The last show at Khyber was a scream.

Life has a funny way of getting busy.  I've already got two career paths in motion, one as computer professional and another side career as a sound engineer.  Lately it occurred to me that I'm the least helpful guy in the band.  I'm the one who most frequently said 'no' to gigs and I'm the one who didn't commit to recording.  I'm what you might call a "wet blanket".

Well, thanks to my time as a sound engineer I've meet a few hundred people in the music scene.  I know for a fact that many of you guys have what it takes.  This is acoustic music, but the music has to burn like hell to get people clapping and drinking.  I promise it's rewarding.

It's okay if you are a singer-songwriter with your own personality.  This is a band where each person gets an opportunity to sing lead.  Everyone can bring songs to the table.  In addition to the tracks on myspace the band has some deeper material.  I mean, the Pabst Blue Ribbon song is incredibly fun, but that's not all there is.  Check out the band and send them a note if you are interested in playing lead.

-Ken

Play the video.  This guy has more balls than any rocker I've ever met.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/18/countdown-special-comment-death-of-habeas-corpus-your-words-are-lies-sir/

 

Recorded Live at Khyber!!

 

Yah Mos Def click on "New Direction LIVE" 

Dirty Diamond click on "Forever with Blue Balls"  (offensive lanugage, adult situations)

The Silence Kit click on "Eight Years Live"

 

 

How long have you been at Club 218 and

what's your background in live sound?

I've been at Club 218 for three years. I went to

Drexel for music and took courses like physics,

circuits, computer programming. I did sound regularly

for the Gospel Choir and Jazz Band. I directed

the Fusion Band for eight years. I did temp

work at four star hotels while wearing a blue suit,

"How are you today sir? Have you ever worn a

lapel mic before?"

What can bands do to make your job much easier?

It's all about the drums. Drum techniqe and cymbal

technique are two different animals. Drums are

best when hit hard. Cymbals are not really best

when hit hard. If you hit a cymbal too hard you

introduce bad over-tones. Bad overtones bleed into

every mic on stage. I like it when drummers use

extra felts to dampen the cymbals at live shows. I

like it when drummers develop an ear for cymbals.

Tell me about the live recordings. What gear are you working with?

One of the guys in Eighteen Wheels Burning told me that my recordings were better than CBGB or

Continental. On a good night that might be true; just keep in mind that I burned a lot of 'coasters' along the

way. It's also a matter of personal taste and dumb luck.

I don't think the gear is where it's at. Anyone can put a bunch of gear on a credit card and take a stab at live

recording. The hard part is mixing house, monitors, switching lights, networking, girl watching, etc... all

simultaneous with the recording. Then you've got to guess what the headphones are telling you. The room is

hitting 80 decibels and I'm supposed to hear the phones clearly, yeah right. Instead I'm doing a translation

from experience. I've got a Behringer mixer but the mixer doesn't do the work for me.

What local bands are catching your ears these days?

The B-Sides. Eighteen Wheels Burning. The Feds. Andy Browne. Nowhere. The Old Souls. TSU. Braxton

Parker. Trash Light Vision. Juke Box Zeros. The Mountain Man Band. Dani Mari. Root of the Sick. Katie

Barbado. Johnnie3. Crimson Ashes. Amy the Rat. Under Your Bed. Greenfront. I'm fascintated with La

Resistance these days. Their concept makes for a good show. It's hardly fair. There are so many good bands.

 

There's also an amusing story about Club 218.  (It's amusing because the club was shutdown the same time this magazine went to print.)  This magazine is primarily distributed in print.  Over the web you can download the second half of Sept 2006 to see my photo and interview. 

Origivation

 

A man's gotta work.

So yeah, I took a sub gig at that little place on second street.  The headliner was Dirty Diamond with Sleezy E.  Those guys are absolutely the tops to work with.  All three suporting acts were great.  It was a very kooky afair with Howard's Dilema winning the wierd but impressive award.

I'm doing sound for musical theater at The University of the Arts from Sunday October 21 through Sunday November 12th.  The talent level at UArts is high so I'm looking forward to the show.  It's called Urinetown and the calendar is here: http://www.uarts.edu/calendar/cal_head.cfm