What's The Point? with Rachel Lark Rachel Lark

LOUISE ANTONY: The Artist As One Of The Points
 
In this final episode Rachel is interviewed by none other than her mother (and all around badass philosopher, professor, and author) Louise Antony. They work together to explore building community around activism, bringing activism into your art, and trying to finally settle the question, What’s The Point?
 
For more from Louise Antony, check out her page at the UMass Amherst website.
 
Today’s music came from Rachel Lark. The featured song was “Things Oughta Make Sense,” the intro was “This Year- Instrumental” and the outro was “The Unicorn Song- Instrumental.” Check out more where on her website, RachelLark.com, where you can also listen back to the rest of our episodes!
 
Here's the response letter from Tom Robbins mentioned in this episode.

 
This episode was produced and engineered by booch McCandless. 
Support this show at patreon.com/rachellark

Riley Davidson: The Artist As A Destroyer Of Binaries
 
What’s the point of expressing your true, unfiltered self? How can art help us break out of the boxes we are put into? Performance artist Riley Davidson, aka Gutter Gucci, chats with us about moving past guilt, getting over the good/bad binary, and creating artistic spaces in which people can have full agency to set themselves free.
 
For more from Riley Davidson, check out @guttergucci on Instagram.
 
Today’s featured musician is Animal Prince. Find more from them at their bandcamp. Songs in order played as follows: 
 
(0:23 - 1:06) - Animal Prince - Back and Forth
(11:00 - 11:43) - Animal Prince - Closer to the Stars
(14:28 - 15:18) - Animal Prince - Like a Dream
(23:38 - 27:35) - Animal Prince - Liquid Sights and Sounds

Five Minute Action!
Write an e-mail to your mayor asking them what they’re doing to support artists during this time.
 
This episode was produced and engineered by booch McCandless. 
Support this show at patreon.com/rachellark

What’s the point of going outside of your comfort zone? And how can making others uncomfortable be a form of love? 
 
Today we speak with rapper Dame Drummer about the importance of art’s messaging, the independent artist's duty to reflect the times, and making art as a Black man in the United States.
 
Find everything Dame Drummer on his website, including his newest release “Aye Yai Yai.”
 
Today’s music is all from Dame! Songs listed in order played:
 
(0:07 - 0:50) - Dame Drummer, GWYGlude
(1:46 - 5:28) - Dame Drummer, Get What You Gave
(9:27 - 11:43) - Dame Drummer, Black and Beautiful
(15:44 - 17:26) - Dame Drummer, Rescue Me
(22:40 - 26:20) - Dame Drummer, Aye Yai Yai
 
Five Minute Action!
Initiate a conversation with a family member about race. Pick the person you think will be the most uncomfortable to talk to.
 
Call us and leave us a message at 415-610-4866. Tell us your thoughts about this episode! How have you gotten uncomfortable with your art and activism? 
 
This episode was produced and engineered by booch McCandless. 
Support this show at patreon.com/rachellark

What’s the point of laughter? And how can we use it to manipulate...I mean move...our audiences? Professor of Political Performance and cofounder of the clandestine insurgent rebel clown army, Larry Bogad, drops in for a chat about using laughter to move ideas, both within an individual’s mind and as larger cultural shifts. Plus we get to hear about selling ice cream made from melting polar ice caps.
 
For more from Larry Bogad, visit his website here. You can also learn more about (and buy!) his books and plays by clicking on the following links:
 
Tactical Performance: The Theory and Practice of Serious Play
Electoral Guerrilla Theatre: Radical Ridicule and Social Movements
Cointelshow: A Patriot Act (a darkly satirical, $5 play about COINTELPRO)
 
Today’s featured musician is Latin Circus Fusion group Bicicletas Por La Paz. Find more from them at bicicletasporlapaz.com or at their bandcamp. Songs in order played as follows: 
 
(0:07 - 1:12) Bicicletas Por La Paz - Adónde
(12:37 - 13:49) Bicicletas Por La Paz - Colibrí
(16:07 - 16:59) Bicicletas Por La Paz - Chicha En Sol Menor
(17:48 - 19:34) Bicicletas Por La Paz - Chicha En Sol Menor
(21:00 - 24:30) Bicicletas Por La Paz - Googleamos
 
Five Minute Action!
Call three friends and invite them to form an affinity group. Create a text thread for updating each other on protests and other forms of political engagement.
 
Call us and leave us a message at 415-610-4866. Tell us your thoughts about this episode! How do you tap into ritual and grief? How has that influenced your art and activism?
 
This episode was produced and engineered by booch McCandless. 
Support this show at patreon.com/rachellark

What’s the point of moving through grief? Like, literally moving? What can we learn from indigenous practices...and raves...in order to create our own rituals and forms of release?
You can find more about Embodied Social Change, ritual bass DJ mixes, their drug policy work, and much more from Camille Barton at their website, and be sure to check them out in the documentary “The Post-Racist Planet.”
Today’s featured musician is The Seshen, a San Francisco Bay Area six-piece band. Songs in order played as follows:
(:07 - :57) The Seshen - Unravel
(02:35 - 03:23) The Seshen - Dive
(10:17 - 10:53) The Seshen - Shapes
(16:32 - 17:32) The Seshen - Dive
(23:10 - 23:30) VPRO Documentary - Post-Racist Future
(24:40 - end) The Seshen - Oblivion
 
Art mentioned in this episode…
Joyful Militancy (Carla Bergman and Nick Montgomery), 
the body keeps the score (Bessel van der Kolk), 
Pleasure Activism (adrienne marie brown), 
The Wild Edge of Sorrow (Francis Weller), 
Resmaa (white body supremacy)
 
Organizations mentioned in this episode…
Global Environments Network
White Awake
Collective Liberation Project
 
Five Minute Action!
Give money to a racial justice organization.
 
Call us and leave us a message at 415-610-4866. Tell us your thoughts about this episode! How do you tap into ritual and grief? How has that influenced your art and activism?
 
This episode was produced and engineered by booch McCandless. 
Support this show at patreon.com/rachellark

Zoe Bender: the artist as the emotional heart
What’s the point of bringing your most vulnerable parts outward? And how do we do so in a way that doesn’t just….suck? Educator, activist, and artist Zoe Bender chats with us about the relationship between authentic expression and aesthetic craft, especially when it comes to strategic protest and emotion-filled art.
You can follow Zoe on Soundcloud and check out where Zoe teaches in San Francisco, The Bay School, a unique high school with challenging academics, innovative thinking, and a mindful approach to learning and life.
Today’s featured musician is Gabby La La from Oakland, you can find more from her on her bandcamp. Songs listed in order as follows:
(0:12 - 1:09): Gabby La La - Light and Power
(6:40 - 7:12): Gabby La La- We Are Stars
(8:30 - 9:18): Gabby La La - The Way We Feel
(12:26 - 13:52): Gabby La La - This is where we go
(21:51 - 22:54): Gabby La La - Light and Power
(22:47 - end): Gabby La La - So Sick So Cool
 
Art mentioned in this episode…
Authentic Movement Practice
Butoh Dance
Organizations mentioned in this episode…
Skywatchers
Five Minute Action!
Find a local organization that works with the unhoused population in your area, go to their website and see what kinds of support they're asking for, and pick one thing you can do this week to support them.
 
Call us and leave us a message at 415-610-4866. Tell us your thoughts about this episode! How do you feel about authenticity in art? How about in activism?
 
This episode was produced and engineered by booch McCandless. 
Support this show at patreon.com/rachellark