Coming Up - Globalistic - Yoshi's San Francisco - Wed March 3

The Surfrider San Francisco Chapter will have an outreach table at Globalistic next Wednesday, March 3rd. The event will be held at Yoshi's in San Francisco's Fillmore District.

We will be represented by Neel, a superstar MOP volunteer, and a new member of our Chapter who hails from the Minnesota-Superior Surfrider Chapter that she helped found in 2008, named Keely. Welcome, Keely!

Every Wednesday Yoshis SF’s new weekly live music series, “Globalistic,” brings the best in local world music to a world-class venue. Reggae, Afrobeat, Afro-Brazilian, World Jazz and Latin-themed parties alternate each week.

Speakers from green orgs and humanitarian NGOs educating awareness of Global responsibilities, plus worldly drink specials on Leblon Caparinia, Don Q Cuba Libre and Fat Tire, round out the Globalistic experience. Stamp your passport to global groove every Wednesday at Yoshis SF!!!

$5 Every Wednesday
Doors 9pm
Music 9pm-2am

Produced by Bay Vibes, Maisha Productions, Beyond Jazz, and another friend of our Chapter - Bayonics Manager Jimmy Vargas.

The 2010 San Francisco Ocean Film Festival - Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf - 2/5 & 2/7/2010

by Nicole Parisi-Smith, San Francisco Chapter MOP Coordinator

Several amazing San Francisco Chapter volunteers volunteered to help out at this year's all volunteer-run San Francisco Ocean Film Festival.


photo: volunteer in the bright yellow vest! Guests checking in at the SF OFF box office at Pier 39. Courtesy of SF OFF Facebook page.

Most of our Chapter volunteers helped out on Friday night, February 5th, for the inaugural SF OFF "Surfing" program. One of the films shown during "Surfing" was "Surfbus."



I was unable to make it on Friday night, so I helped out on Sunday afternoon, February 7th. One of the films I caught during my program was "Free Swim." Watch the trailer here.


photo: Packed House for the "Surfing" program. Courtesy of SF OFF Facebook page.

A big thanks to our San Francisco Chapter Volunteers who helped out at SF OFF - Christy O'Connell, Dan Robinson, Sam Diamond and Brooke Tessman!!


photo: Dan Robinson on the right. Courtesy of the SF OFF Facebook page.

Thanks to Frank Firmat and Chris Connors who coordinated the SF OFF volunteers, including the Surfrider crew.

Thanks, too, to SF OFF for listing us as a "Community Partner" in the SF OFF program that everyone received when entering the event.

Here are some shots of the program.

photo: front of program


photo: community partners page

Thanks to SF OFF, too, for listing us on the "welcome" board on display right inside the event lobby! (Sorry, I didn't get a photo of the board.)

Thanks, too to SF OFF for listing us on the SF OFF website! Here's a screen shot.


photo: SF OFF website

Looking forward to SF OFF 2011!

Oceanroyal - Red Devil Lounge - 2/10/2010

photo: Oceanroyal with Nick and Brooke

by Brooke Tessman, San Francisco Chapter volunteer -

On Wednesday night, Nick Arlas and I were given, well, a musical royal treatment by Bay Area band Oceanroyal. They performed for a crowded house at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco. I hadn't been to a show on a Wednesday night in a while, so I was skeptical regarding the potential turnout.

Nick and I arrived at 7:30pm and set up the Surfrider outreach table in a prominent position close to the front door. The band, Northern Son, opened for Oceanroyal and quickly had everyone grooving to the music. Not a bad turnout for a Wednesday night!

Oceanroyal took the stage around 10:00pm as people continued to stream through the doors. Boasting a mellow, poppy sound, Oceanroyal is reminiscent of the early 90's band, the Gin Blossoms. Oceanroyal is: Kurt Seefeld, Brian London, Chris Garber, and David Chen. Having released their debut album, "Sympathetic Vibrations" last year, the group proved to be in excellent form. You can check out the band's website here.

After Surfrider received several stage shout outs from the band, I learned that Nick was on his school's crew team, along with several of the guys from Oceanroyal.

Throughout the night, current Surfrider members stopped by our table to say hello, along with a lot of new folks looking to learn more about our organization. Between sets, some of the guys from Oceanroyal signed up for Surfrider membership too. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and yet another successful show. Surfrider looks forward to working with Oceanroyal again soon!

Coming Up - State Radio in the District - 9:30 Club, Sat Feb 27

Surfrider will be representing at the State Radio show Saturday February 27 at the 9:30 Club in DC! State Radio has some great tracks, come check them out and say hi to our Surfrider volunteers. Surfrider's DC Chapter has partnered with State Radio's activism group Calling All Crows to host a stream clean-up that day. For more information on the stream clean-up check out the Surfrider DC Chapter website. Calling All Crows has graciously allowed us to represent at the show and has given us two free tickets, which will be raffled as door prizes at the next DC Chapter meeting February 16th. See you there!

Music Outreach Program gets Shout Out from Jim Moriarty!

This is a belated post, but on December 10th the Surfrider Foundation's CEO Jim Moriarty spotlighted the Music Outreach Program on his blog, Oceans Waves Beaches!

I found out about the post indirectly through Twitter - didn't have anything to do with it:)

Coming Up - Oceanroyal @ Red Devil Lounge - Wed Feb 10

Thanks to Nick, one of our awesome San Francisco Music Outreach Program volunteers, we have just added a new band to our list of supporters - the Bay Area band Oceanroyal.


photo: Left to Right: Kurt Seefeld, Brian London, Chris Garber, David Chen

Their bio states that they are influenced by a range of artists, from Tom Petty and Oasis to The Beatles and Hall & Oates. Oceanroyal self-released their debut album, "Sympathetic Vibrations" last year. I love their music - for a preview, check out their website.

Our first show with Oceanroyal is Wednesday, February 10th at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are $5 in advance or $8 at the door.

The San Francisco Chapter will be represented by Brooke and Nick. If you go to the show then please stop by the Surfrider outreach table to say hello!

Thanks again to Oceanroyal and Nick!

Kapakahi - Slim's - 1/22/2010

By Nicole Parisi-Smith, San Francisco Chapter

Last night Zachary and I represented the San Francisco Chapter at Kapakahi's first show of 2010, at Slim's in San Francisco. It was Zachary's first Music Outreach Program show, and he did a great job! He's an active member of our Chapter's Education Committee. Last night I learned that he has a passion for the trumpet. He is in good company; some of our other active MOP volunteers are also musicians:)

Thanks to Steve, Kapakahi's Drummer and Manager, Zachary and I were given a prime spot for Surfrider's materials at the Merch Booth, which is located to the left of the stage. We were in the middle of the Merch Booth, with Still Time's Manager Jill and Still Time's merch on our left, and Kapakahi's Merch Coordinator Steve and Kapakahi's merch on our right. Zachary and I had a great time hanging out with Jill and Steve during the show.


photo: me hanging out at the booth

The members of Still Time and Kapakahi also stopped in regularly to hang out, too. It was really fun to get to know them, and we really appreciated their enthusiasm for Surfrider!


photo: Mike from Kapakahi and Zachary

DJ Deedot got the party started shortly after the doors opened at 8pm last night, and then the San Francisco-based band Jahlectrik played a reggae-inspired set including some fun Bob Marley covers.


photo: Zachary surveying the crowd

Fans continued to trickle in; it was noticeably crowded in Slim's by the time Still Time took the stage. Hailing from San Luis Obispo, about a 5 hour drive south of San Francisco, this musically-talented band also happens to be a big Surfrider supporter!


photo: Jill and I, with Still Time on stage

Jill told us that Still Time had performed at a recent benefit at the awesome live music SOhO in downtown Santa Barbara for a fundraiser event organized by the Surfrider Santa Barbara Chapter! Nick, who plays guitar for Still Time entered our Surfrider San Francisco Chapter t-shirt raffle, and joined our Chapter's email list. I was excited to hear that Still Time will be touring the country soon.

Zachary and I did some great outreach. We got to introduce Surfrider and our 2010 Beach Cleanups to some new fans, provided a returning beach cleanup volunteer with our new schedule, and even helped a Santa Barbara native re-new her Surfrider membership. She told us that her parents are huge Surfrider fans, and had attended the benefit with Still Time that Jill had told us about. Awesome! It was also sweet to hear from at least 2 fans that they remembered seeing Surfrider at other shows, and were happy to see us at Slim's last night.

However nothing tops the FOUR separate Surfrider Foundation shout-outs that Lansky and Mike Dayao of Kapakahi gave us from the stage last night. Mike made a nice heartfelt statement about ocean stewardship, too.

Kapakahi played my favorite song "She Could Be The One" and debuted some new songs last night, which they hope to record this spring. It was a great set! Zachary loved the new horn section. I also really appreciated that Kapakahi donated proceeds from last night's show to the Haiti relief effort. They are so awesome!


photo: Kapakahi on stage

Thanks to Kapakahi and everyone at Slim's for hosting us last night! Thanks again to Zachary for all of his help.

Coming Up - Kapakahi @ Slim's - Fri Jan 22

The San Francisco Chapter will be conducting outreach at this upcoming Kapakahi show.

Friday, January 22, 2010
Slims
333 11th Street
San Francisco, CA


note: the "click here" option does not work; please see below for show details.

Kapakahi is headlining the show. The openers are Still Time, Jahlectrik and DJ Deedot.

Showtime: 9:00 PM (Doors: 8:00 PM)
Ticket price: $13 in advance, $15 if you purchase your ticket the night of the show
Tickets available on-line here.
This show is All Ages (note that the minimum age is 6)


Here's Kapakahi's write up about the show:

Reggae-Rock band, KAPAKAHI, returns to Slims in San Francisco to debut new songs and a new direction at their 2010 Kick Off Party, Friday January 22nd, 2010!

In 2009, Kapakahi released their Light Up EP, which was featured on the iTunes US Reggae home-page under “What we’re listening to”. Their self-produced music video for the title track reached homes in over 17 countries through channels like MTV, Channel V and ABS-CBN. Following the release, Kapakahi rocked shows with bands like Ozomatli, Blondie, UB40, Iration and SOJA in support of their album….2009 was a good year, but was only a foundation for the future.

Recently, the five members of Kapakahi have added 2 horns (trombone and trumpet) as well as keys to the group to give them a new, fresh, full sound: “We are meant to be an 8 piece band with a full horn section and keys…that’s the sound that we have always heard in our head and to realize it is really something special” states drummer/manager Steve Salta.

The new songs are more uniform, hit harder and involve their emcee, Lansky, more. “He’s become a full-time member of the band,” says Mike Dayao, lead singer and guitarists, “and our music reflects that,” adding, "the new songs better reflect the members of the band and who we are as a group."

“We’re really excited about the new direction of our music. We think it’s catchier, edgier and we think people will respond to it more than our old stuff….of course, we’ll still play our old songs,” comments Chris Jones, bass player and vocalist.
What’s this new direction Kapakahi keeps talking about? Come to Slims on January 22nd and find out. Along for the show will be SF’s Jahlectrik opening the night, friends of Kapakahi from San Luis Obispo, Still Time, and co-producer of Light Up, DJ Deedot on the 1’s and 2’s.


Also check out this great promo video for the show:




We hope to see you there!

Surfrider MOP post shows up on Facebook!

Thanks, Kapakahi!

Music Outreach Program featured in Surfrider CEO's Podcast

posted by Nicole Parisi-Smith, Surfrider San Francisco's Music Outreach Program Coordinator. A post very similar to this one appears on her personal blog, Pop Culture Activist.

Surfrider Foundation CEO Jim Moriarty has a podcast called "On The Beach."

Some info about the podcast, from the Surfrider website:

Surfrider Foundation is made up of a mosaic of amazing people. These people come at the idea of coastal conservation from many angles and have different life stories. What they have in common is a love of our oceans waves and beaches. Twice a month we will explore this mosaic by releasing an audible interview with a key player in our movement.

Jim's most recent podcast features DC Surfrider Chapter Chair Julie Lawson.

This is what Jim had to say about his talk with Julie:

Everything about this podcast fascinated me.

The Washington DC chapter is one of the few non-coastal chapters in our network. Julie Lawson and the DC crew have created muscle that is not only tied into the local watershed and the distant beach, but also the federal government around them. Lastly, rather than working to pass a blatant plastic bag ban, the DC chapter worked with other groups to tie the plastics issue to economics.

Julie and I sat down and walked through these issues and a few others. Don't let her humility fool you, this woman is a rock star.

Julie Lawson, recorded on the streets of Washington D.C.

Listen here!

You'll hear Julie and Jim talk about Surfrider's volunteer-run Music Outreach Program.

Thanks to everyone who helped me start the program - especially Julie and Laura Mazzarella, Surfrider's Marketing Manager.

Thanks, too, to DC Surfrider members Eli Kiljanek, Eric Dean, Jason Rubin, Joyce Rosado, Megan Kelley, and Mike Childs who not only supported me, but who literally stood by my side and helped me represent DC Surfrider at MOP's first few shows.

For a full list of "Friends of MOP" please see this blog's sidebar. Thanks, too to Surfrider San Francisco and DC Surfrider's Music Outreach Program Coordinator Chris Woods, who help keep it strong!

Brett Dennen - 9:30 Club - 11/17/2009

By Chris Woods, Surfrider DC Music Outreach Program Coordinator

On Tuesday, November 17, Ian Achimore, a California native, and I, a future California transplant, attended an excellent Brett Dennen and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals show.

We set up our Surfrider Foundation booth in the newly remodeled corner of the 9:30 Club, and displayed our chapter's new tee shirt designs, as well as memberships that come along with tote bags with an excellent surfing design. There was a lot of interest in our new 2010 Surfrider Foundation calendars. (Shoot us an email to get your copy- an excellent stocking stuffer!)


photo: Ian @ the booth

We signed up many new fans to our email list, and met some great folks. We were introduced to two ladies that were huge Surfrider and Brett Dennen fans, and had participated in the Barefoot Beach Cleanup with G.Love and Tristan Prettyman.


photo: Ian @ the booth talking with fans

Brett and Grace both put on excellent shows.


photo: Grace Potter performing @ the show, Flickr PZAO

And for those of you who like artists whose live shows are even better than their albums.....Go check Brett Dennen out ASAP!!!


photo: Brett performing @ the show, from Flickr PZAO

That's all for now, stay tuned for Surfrider Foundation's Music Outreach Programs next excellent concert.

Love concerts? Love DC Surfrider?

posted by Julie Lawson, DC Surfrider Chapter Chair. This was also emailed out to all DC Surfrider Chapter members yesterday.


The DC Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is looking for a new Music Outreach Program Coordinator. The Music Outreach Program started in 2007 and works with touring and local musicians to bring the Surfrider message to fans and concertgoers. MOP has given our volunteers access to shows by Jack Johnson, Donavon Frankenreiter, Colbie Caillat, Brian Wilson, Brett Dennen, Xavier Rudd, Incubus, ALO, G. Love, Matt Costa, and many more.

Our current coordinator, Chris Woods, is shipping off to the West Coast this winter, and we need a new person to organize and attend these shows and events! The position involves not just running a table at shows, but also recruiting volunteers and training them. You'll work independently, but under the advisement of a DC Chapter leader and MOP founder Nicole Parisi-Smith (currently based in San Francisco).

It's an excellent opportunity to get more involved with Surfrider, learn skills, make contacts, and, of course, get free concert tickets! (Like all chapter roles, this position is unpaid.)

Requirements:

- Enjoy live music and already go to shows of your own accord, and follow tour schedules and artist nonprofit interests
- Able to stay out late on weeknights
- Comfortable directing volunteers and doing outreach
- Proactive, dependable, timely, and organized

Preferred candidates will also have regular access to a car, as some venues are not Metro-accessible.

Because of the sensitive nature of networking within the music industry, we are asking interested candidates to submit a formal application (cover letter addressing the requirements above, and resume), obviously a more stringent process than we use for most volunteers. The deadline to apply is December 7.

Send questions and application materials to dcchapter@surfrider.org. For more information about MOP, visit our website and the MOP blog.

Colbie Caillat - 9:30 Club - 10/17/2009

photo: Julie Lawson & I

by Megan Kelley, Education Coordinator - DC Surfrider Chapter

DC Surfrider was out tabling at the Colbie Caillat concert on Saturday October 17th in Washington, DC. Julie Lawson (DC Surfrider Chapter Chair), Chris Woods (DC Surfrider Music Outreach Program Coordinator) and I helped educate and gain support for local campaigns in Maryland, Virginia and the District.


photo: Chris Woods and his brother Timmy.

We gathered signatures, linked concert goers up with Surfrider, and enjoyed a great show. We even met a surfer from Hawaii - go figure! Thanks to Colbie and the staff at the 9:30 club for supporting the Surfrider Foundation!


photo: Our view from the DC Surfrider table of the main floor of the 9:30 Club - before it became full of Colbie fans!

Bayonics - The Elbo Room - 10/30/2009

by Brooke Tessman, San Francisco Chapter Volunteer

On October 30th, The Surfrider San Francisco Chapter had the opportunity to participate in our second Bayonics show. The venue took place at the Elbo Room in the Mission District.


photo: Brooke & Nicole

Nicole Parisi-Smith and I arrived around 9pm. We were welcomed by a festive, Halloween influenced vibe that continued to get stronger throughout the night. Nick Arlas joined us at our outreach table at 10pm.


photo: Brooke & Nick

Nicole, Nick and I represented the Surfrider outreach, while opening band Orgone took the stage. Orgone is a California funk and soul band hailing from LA. I had the opportunity to chat with Orgone's trumpet player Devin Williams.

Having grown up in SF proper, but now living in LA, he loves playing SF gigs and having his good friends come out to support him. Devin was very interested in Surfrider's water quality testing program, and the “Clean Water at the ‘Bu” Campaign.


photo: Orgone's Devin Williams & Brooke.

Bayonics, our band headliner,finally took the stage around 11:30pm to an eager(and sweaty)crowd. Bayonics is best described as a funky, Latin influenced hip hop sound that easily gets your booty shakin'!

Several folks stopped by the Surfrider table, asking questions about our organization, while Nick and Nicole handed out Surfrider brochures.



Special thanks to Bayonics Manager, Jimmy Vargas. Congratulations on another successful show! Surfrider looks forward to working with you and Bayonics again soon!