ruby fuerza: me first and the shimmy shimmies: Not that Kind of a Show

Monday, August 24, 2009

Not that Kind of a Show

This past Thursday was my first rehersal with the Rockin' Solidarity Labor Chorus led by Pat Wynne at City College. The group is mostly comprised of Bay Area activist adults, many of whom have sung with the Chorus for over a decade. Everyone was quite friendly and eager to lend a hand - an ear? - to the few newcomers. After a several warm up exercises (ex: "me me me me me me me me MEEEEE!"), we jumped into the songbook. The Chorus is presently preparing for a Labor Day Weekend performance of Pete Seeger music. We sang "If I Had a Hammer" by Segeer and Lee Hayes, later sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary. We sang "Round and Round Hitler's Grave" by Lampell, Seeger, and Guthrie and "66 Highway Blues" also by Seeger and Guthrie.

Pat Wynne introduced two new songs to the protest music canon: "Blue Cross" sung to the tune of "Blue Skies" by Frank Jacobs ; and "Single Payer" sung to the tune of "Solidarity Forever" by Arnie Passman. I am truly a talentless singer (you won't hear me sing a note higher than "Gold Dust Woman" at karaoke) but I experience such deep feelings of joy and pride from singing this beautiful, SECULAR, political music! An undeniable connection to the history of struggle exudes from the booming voices of the choristers. San Francisco has officially made me soft.

I'll be out of town for the Labor Day show but I believe there is something scheduled for October 6th in Berkeley (of course!).

2 comments:

tbonetrobe said...: Ruby Fuerza, your last entry was on August 24th! What is going on in yer verld?

Solidarity labor chorus? Is M. Pike with you? I hear she does a great monotone bass.; September 8, 2009 at 6:21 AM
RG said...: this is so wonderful. i also experience those feelings. when you come back to ny let's have a "rise up singing" potluck. heather, you will play the triangle and refrain from homophobia; September 14, 2009 at 4:01 PM

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PERFORMER BIO

The combustible Ruby Fuerza exploded out of the Bay Area burlesque scene in January of 2008 and has been regaling a diverse audience of punks, prisoners, and perverts with her sizzling – and silly - performances. Part Gilda Radner, part Emma Goldman, this brunette bombshell thrives on sexy satire and lustful hilarity with a politically conscious twist. As a dancer and choreographer, Miss Fuerza stokes her creative fires with fabulously original numbers that include colorful costumes, bizarre props, and irreverent comedy.

Miss Fuerza, AKA Lucille Brawl, was bred and raised in Morningside Heights in the heart of the exotic Isle of Manhattan. Born into the New York City mayhem of 1984, Ruby already had a flair for rebellion and glitter. She skipped school, shoplifted sunglasses and silk kimonos, read Das Kapital, and danced Violeta Parra protest songs in Spanish Harlem. She once got arrested for sneaking into a Lou Reed concert as an old man in a wheelchair. Throughout high school, she was a true fire-starter, protesting wars, sweatshops, and corporate greed. She organized youth brigades for anti-globalization demonstrations, coining guerilla chic in dark glasses and a face bandana.

At 18, she left the Big Apple to lead a dull, unsatisfying life at an Ivy League university she doesn’t like to talk about. She finished her degree in three years, and got the hell out of academia forever by 2006. She packed up her vintage sundresses, curling irons, and work boots, and headed south. With style and grace she worked alongside cafeteleros in Zapatistaland, Mexico. She marched with picketing telephone workers in Buenos Aires. She harvested yucca in solidarity with Cubanos in Havana. She waited around at a lot of airports (but never without lipstick).

After these travels, she landed a job as a union organizer in San Francisco and finally took her passion for theatrics and stage make-up to the big Bay stages, enrolling in Bombshell Betty’s School of Burlesque the day after she moved to San Francisco. In 2008, she began performing with the Burlesqueteer Troup and has been moving crowds to ribald ecstasy ever since. She has performed at Stage Werx Theater, Benders, Annie’s Social Club, and the Uptown Club in Oakland. She is world-renowned for her parodies of Carmen Miranda. Her Frida Kahlo act subtly engages in the politics of immigration. Her Bearded Lady act asks the audience to question its notion of gender. In her most recent performance, “Caketease,” she devised a homemade 4-foot cake for a steamy homage to cake strippers, diabetics, and anyone with a sweet tooth for Jerry Lee Lewis.

ruby fuerza: me first and the shimmy shimmies

Monday, August 24, 2009

Not that Kind of a Show

2 comments:

INTRODUCTION

LOVE LETTERS//HATE MAIL

DON'T DREAM IT//BE IT

LOS ARCHIVOS

LOVERS

STRANGERS

PERFORMER BIO

WORLD'S SMALLEST BURLESQUE CALENDAR