Occasio

Bono and Clay Aiken

Well, I've had a big surprise over the last week. Since I posted on Clay Aiken thousands of Clay followers have stopped by and read the post. I was happy to find the entry linked to at least half-a-dozen very popular Clay sites. But even more surprising is the admiration I've gained for you folks who follow him not because it's the popular thing to do (or because he has been on American Idol) but because he certainly has some key values and principles, as is evidenced by his work in developing countries with UNICEF. While I really didn't know much about Clay, through some further reading and through your comments I have also gained a strong appreciation for his work.

Bono has had a heart for social justice since U2's first album almost 30 years ago. Even back then he was speaking out against the "killing fields" of Cambodia (Kampuchea). He has been working quietly in Africa for two decades. Just a week ago, Richard Stearn, president of World Vision (a premier agency working for the elimination of poverty), referred to Bono's work in an interview:

Question: Do the efforts of rock stars and movie stars really help alleviate poverty and AIDS or are these people just seeking more publicity to sell albums?

Answer: They make a difference. Given the number of celebrities in our world it is actually shocking that so few of them are using their celebrity to make a difference. Bono is amazing. He has perhaps done more for the poor than anyone in the last century. I call him "Martin Luther Bono" because he has really been the leader of our movement. (Thanks to Beth Maynard at U2 Sermons for the link)

My hope is that Clay will have that kind of influence and longevity.

It seems like Bono and Clay share several common ideals:

• a commitment to global issues
• life-long learning, especially a desire to understand underlying causes and issues
• an understanding that money will not solve the problems of the poor
• a cultural sensitivity to what is and what isn't appropriate in a foreign country
• the ability to use their celebrity status to raise awareness not just increase donations

To my knowledge, Bono and Clay have never collaborated or interacted with one another. Anyone know different? Peace to the Clay contingent!

Clay Aiken Knows It's Not About Charity!

Since we've been on the subject of "American Idol," check out this interview with Clay Aiken, an Idol success from the 2003 season. Clay has done a fair amount of humanitarian work for UNICEF and has been traveling to impoverished countries on their behalf. Check out a portion of the interview with the Yahoo Music service below and notice the stark difference between his approach and the celebs who visited Africa on the "Idol Gives Back" episode. While Carrie Underwood chose to shoot a music video surrounded by African children (is this on the edge of exploitation?), Clay says he won't sing his songs in Africa again. Clay Aiken gets it!!

YAHOO! MUSIC: The Idol Gives Back charity event raised more than $70 million. Could you relate to what you saw your fellow idols doing in Africa and other places?

CLAY: I think there's definitely a problem--and I'll point to recent charity events--when people go and they talk about the need in an area or a country and they don't have the information. If you come back and you talk about the need in a country and don't know what's going on in the country, then you're completely remiss. There's always a greater cause [to poverty] than throwing money at the issue, and I think the strongest solution, the strongest weapon we have against poverty and hunger is education. When you take a look at something like Idol Gives Back and you realize that the main piece of information we got is that people are hungry in Africa, but we didn't find out why they are hungry in Africa and we didn't find out where in Africa they are hungry, nor did we find out the major causes. Without the education about what's going on in the country, we're doing no service except for perpetuating that same stereotype that Africa, or any other country in the world, is lesser than the U.S., and we're in the role that we have to give to them.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Did you perform for the kids you met in Afghanistan? How did they like your music?

CLAY: [Laughing] I made the mistake in Uganda of performing for some kids who were in a night commuter center, and they were singing a song and they were clapping. It was kind of a joyful, cheerful song. They didn't know me, but they had heard that I was a singer, and so they asked me to sing a song, and I couldn't think of what to sing. And someone whispered to me, "Sing 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.'" And so I got through maybe a line of the song before the kids started laughing at me so hard. They'd never heard any music like that before in their lives. So I've made it a point when I take these trips to never sing.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Maybe someday you'll get a request.

CLAY: Maybe next time I take a trip I'll make it a point to learn a native song.

Wow! That's some great advice. Here's the full interview.

P.S. To my knowledge, as active as they are in raising awareness about Africa, U2 has never shot a music video there. Way to go boys....

Was Bono Successful on "American Idol?"

A colleague of mine at Fresno Pacific University, Eleanor Nickel, took up the theme of "American Idol Gives Back" with me and together we had a set of point/counterpoint pieces published in the Fresno Bee on Saturday. Eleanor proposed that the two-part episode (aired April 24 & 25) was successful in that the show generated a fantastic amount of money and raised awareness of poverty in America and in Africa. I continued with my argument that the charity event fell far short of generating any kind of real change in people's lives and functioned more as an appeasement of conscience. My piece was a condensed version of my post "The Problem with Bono on American Idol."

Eleanor's pro "American Idol" piece is here. Mine is here.

Nickel Creek in Hanford

 

Tracy and I went to Hanford (40 miles south of Fresno) on Friday night for one of the best concerts we've ever seen. Nickel Creek played for over two hours: Chris Thile on mandolin (gotta be one of the world's best), Sean Watkins on guitar (kinda looks like Frodo, but with killer chops), Sara Watkins on violin. Everyone sang and extra Mark (last name?) played string bass and even danced a jig. We're hooked for life (unfortunately this was their "Farewell (for now) Tour" - but Sara guaranteed they'd see us "down the road.")

The lighting was very low most of the concert but I grabbed a few video clips.

The Fox (12mb), The Fox - low res (3 mb)

Very quick clip of Anthony (3 mb), Anthony - low res (1 mb)

Can't remember the name of this song (12 mb), this song - low res (2 mb)

A few more photos (it was dark and I only had my small digital camera)

Amen!

Daniel is my four-year old. Last night we were trying to get him to leave the outgoing message on our new phone answering machine. We gave him a little bit of coaching but this is all him. We were on the floor laughing....