"While most of us think that ‘seeing is believing,’ the truth is, for human beings,

‘believing is seeing.’ Our core ideas about how the world works determine, literally,

what we can see and what we can't.  And, sadly, some of the common of these

assumptions are perversely aligned with nature, including  human nature. They block

us from seeing possibilities emerging all around us. Can you believe in a thriving, living democracy, a healthy environment, a fair distribution of our abundance? The solutions are right in front of our noses. But the only way to believe in a new way is to become part of it."   - Frances Moore Lappe

 

A BIT OF HISTORY

A few years ago Matt had the opportunity to hear Frances speak at a special forum for faculty that took place at Berklee College of Music. At that time Matt's knowledge of Frances amounted to not much more than a vague awareness of her world-renowned book from 1971, "Diet for a Small Planet." After hearing her speak Matt was blown away by the depth and clarity of both her understanding of the problems facing humanity and her outlook for positive solutions. For Matt, Frances' work elicited more than just a head nodding 'like,' it was...downright inspiring, and he took the opportunity to ask Berklee College president Roger Brown, who is a long time friend of Frances, for an introduction. At their first meeting Matt presented Frances with the idea of her taking key phrases in her work and delivering them over some heavy duty reggae grooves. You could feel the electricity in the room as Frances jumped at the idea. Not only was she looking for new ways to deliver her message but the idea awakened in her a long hidden desire to be part of a band!

 

In the mean time, Frances published her book "EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to Create the World We Want" and Matt was so inspired that he wrote and recorded a funky Latin rap/spoken word jam based on one of the main themes in the book: "Believing is Seeing," which includes samples of Frances' inspired one-liners.

 

And the rest, you might say, is becomming history.

 

           “Fantastic night. A new art form was born. My friends and I had a BLAST.

           There’s something so powerful about hearing a message through music.

           When your physiology is involved, the result is a very meaningful experience.”

           - Rick Charnes, audience member

 

WHAT IT IS

The Believing is Seeing concert takes the concept of "dub poetry" (think Linton Kwesi Johnson) to a super charged level as the Liquid Revolution performs songs from their album Dragonfly Taxi (and other pertinent tunes), while opening up musical spaces for Frances to recite from her latest book, “EcoMind."  You'll be taken on a journey across two sets of continuous sound, starting with a sharp musical and poetic journey into the architecture of the world we're creating that pretty much NO ONE would choose, and then we move and groove into deeply creative solutions.  Our message will imprint itself on your soul like a slow heart felt hug because you'll be dancing the whole time!

 

ABOUT FRANCES MOORE LAPPE

Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 18 books— including the 3-million copy Diet for a Small Planet—that challenge conventional thinking on world hunger, the environment, and democracy itself. Gourmet magazine named Lappé as one of 25 people, along with Thomas Jef- ferson, Upton Sinclair and Julia Child, who have changed the way America eats. She is a winner of the Right Livelihood Award, often called the Alternative Nobel. Lappé has cofounded three national organizations, including the Oakland-based Food First. With her daughter Anna Lappé, she now leads the Small Planet Institute in Cambridge, MA. Frances has written for and ap- peared on many nationally known news outlets, talk shows, radio programs and is an inspiring orator.