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Songs of Freedom Television
July is the heart of the summer.
Are you feeling it?
The summer music is heating up!
Songs of Freedom Television in July celebrates singer songwriters in the tradition of America’s original troubadour, Woody Guthrie, who was born July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. Woody’s legacy spawned the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Billy Bragg, and a legion of other songwriters telling the truth with courage and a guitar.
Woody wrote “This Land Is Your Land.” And it still is – if we wake up to that notion and take action in the name of equity and equality. The Woody Guthrie tradition continues with voices and faces throughout our diverse country. One place it does is in New York City every year since 2001, when Steve Suffet produces a tribute concert.
The first two episodes this month feature the Woody Guthrie tribute show that took place at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn in November of 2018. The performers you will see include Vincent Cross, Emma Graves, Amy Dee, Joel Landy, Nancy Moccaldi, and Steve Suffet.
Here they are: Episode One Episode Two
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The Peoples’ Voice Café is the premiere progressive venue in New York City. It continues the tradition of troubadour performances at an affordable price and has been doing so for more than 40 years. Shows three and four this month showcase two episodes of recent vintage.
Episode Three
I have had the honor and pleasure of playing at the Peoples’ Voice Café numerous times during the past 20 years. Occasionally, those performances have coincided with the upcoming Election Day. Here’s a performance video dated October 27, 2018, right before the mid-term election. We had a self-promoting aggrandizing President at the time doing a lot of damage to this country and a Congress that was going along for the ride, taking us with them down a path of deception and thievery. Well … in comedy, timing is everything. In political stage art too. It’s time to run that show back again. Here’s what it looked like that night in New York City.
Episode Three: Joel Landy at the Peoples' Voice Café in Manhattan, October 27, 2018.
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Episode Four
Episode Four in July features the talented Pat Wictor. I shared the stage with Pat at the People’s Voice Café shortly after the Covid lockdown had ended. It was Pat’s first public appearance since before the lockdown began in March of 2020. If you haven’t seen Pat perform tune in tonight. You will be glad you did. If you have seen Pat play you know what I mean. His well written songs and musicality are impressive and memorable.
Episode Four: Pat Wictor at the Peoples’ Voice Café, October 30, 2021.
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We live in turbulent times. Music and speaking your mind will help us through it all. Finding your friends and singing with them will make our hard earned trail easier – and more fun.
“Take it easy. But take it!” – Woody Guthrie
Peace and joy to you all,
Joel Landy, Songs of Freedom Television
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Tune in, and don’t tune out!
Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
~~~
On your cable and online
at www.mnn.org Community Channel One
Saturday, July / 5, 12, 19, 26
QUEENS
Thursday, July / 10, 17, 24, 31
BROOKLYN
Live Streaming at Brooklyn Free Speech Television, Channel 2
Monday and Wednesday:
July / 7 and 9, 14 and 16, 21 and 23, 28 and 30
https://bronxnet.org/bxarts/
Monday, July / 7, 14, 21, 28
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J U N E
Bring on the Music! Bring on the Fun! Make Music New York and More!!
Bring on the music! Bring on the Fun!
If you have been reading this web page over the years you know that June is my favorite month.
It's not just because I am a schoolteacher, although that helps! More hours of sunlight and pleasant weather and colorful flowers and singing birds...
the spirit is sweet and the season is calling us to share ourselves and play outside.
AND
The promise of summer is upon us – and we haven’t ruined it yet!
AND ... if you are a musician, music and music festivals are everywhere!
There is one particular music celebration Songs of Freedom Television devotes itself to this month.
Do you know about Make Music New York?
WHAT IS MAKE MUSIC NEW YORK?
Make Music New York is inspired by France’s “Fête de la Musique,” a national musical holiday inaugurated in 1982. Ever since, the event has become an international phenomenon, currently celebrated on the same day in more than 700 cities around the world. I have been hosting MMNY events at Red Pipes Café (formerly Red Pipe) in Forest Hills for the past few years and am proud to say that I have participated as a host and as a performer in this all day event since it came to my city from France 18 years ago.
Special thanks to Ofer and Red Pipes Cafe for their continued support and participation in sponsoring this annual event, Special thanks also to the musicians who came to play and everyone who wandered into the recording of this show. It took all of us to make this special evening happen ... and the power of song.
The first Songs of Freedom Television episode this month features World Music Day and Make Music NY at Red Pipes Cafe.
Make Music NY at Red Pipes Cafe
Join us this year as we make "musique" again at Red Pipes and play outside the café on Austin Street, in the heart of Forest Hills. We will set up chairs on the sidewalk and we have a sound permit to amplify our efforts. We start at 6:30 pm and go on till after dark. Join us to sing and/or be part of a fun New Yawk street scene with generous doses of serendipity and a supporting strolling cast of hundreds – many of whom are amused and surprised to be serenaded as they pass by.
Click this link for the Facebook Event page and directions to Red Pipes on Austin Street.
The second episode this month showcases the annual June Porch Stomp held on Governors Island. It has become part of the same World Music Day that brings us Make Music New York. This year they both occur on the Summer Solstice, June 21.
Here is some more about this year's Porch Stomp.
And here is an episode featuring Songs of Freedom TV and the Porch Stomp. It's only a ferry ride away, but you can see it right here, right now.
The third and fourth episodes this month brings attention to the People's Music Network and their mission to bring artists and activists together to validate their voices and make the world a better place with their art and humanity. Their 2025 summer gathering took place during Memorial Day weekend.
WARNING:
These fresh episodes are very political. If you like Donald Trump and his political agenda you may have to leave the room.
That being said, here are two episodes edited from a workshop I facilitated called, "Songs of Spirit and Resilience in the Age of Donald Trump."
You can find out more about the People's Music Network at www.peoplesmusic.org
They say that freedom is a constant struggle. That path is made easier by finding your friends, singing, and expressing yourself. I hope you have that in your life.
I have a T-shirt that asks "Is it four years yet?"
Until it is we have each other and that's a start.
Keep talking and keep singing. And don't forget to organize. Peace and solidarity.
~ joel landy, songs of freedom television ~
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Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
~ M A Y 2025 ~
MAY We Remember!
Commemerating and Celebrating
Those Who Are Still With Us In Spirit
It has become a ritual tradition at Songs of Freedom Television to play episodes during the month of May that celebrate the lives of those who have left us, but whose work and spirit remain. This year is no different. We do not only celebrate a Memorial Day. We celebrate the entire month.
We Remember . . .
The first episode in MAY We Remember coincides with the May birthday of Pete Seeger. There is so much to know about his life and legacy, and I bet you know quite a bit already.
At the 2023 New England Folk Festival I hosted an hour-long tribute to Pete. There was great music and illuminating stories shared at that session. Tune in as we celebrate Pete Seeger and the Power of Song.
Episode two features and remembers my friend and brother, Eric Levine, who left us in 2008. There is a lot I could tell you about Eric, including his unrelenting moral clarity and service to others. I could also say that he was a talented musician, producer, and songwriter who introduced me to a world of activist artists that have become my second family. I would rather tell you that Eric was a gentle spirit who touched the lives of many people and left the world a better place than it had been. Watch the episode devoted to his memory and you will know what I mean.
The episode is one of the first Songs of Freedom Television shows. It was a live performance in October of 1996, in front of a studio audience.
The third show this month remembers the life and contributions of Ray Korona, who I met at People’s Music Network gatherings and whose company I always enjoyed. Ray was singer/songwriter, band leader, recording engineer, activist, organizer – a busy fellow who walked the walk when it came to progressive issues. I could go on and on about Ray, how he was a driving force at the Peoples’ Voice Café for many years and how he recorded and produced one of my CDs, and how he celebrated and encouraged new artists.
We lost Ray years ago, but his memory and accomplishments remain. Our Songs of Freedom episode featuring Ray brings us back to 1997 when he and his band visited the SOF stage. There was a live audience and lots of good music. Tune in. You'll be glad you did.
Show four is called "A Song for Jessica" and is a tribute to the late Jessica Feinbloom. Jessica was a soulful singer, patron of the arts, and a respected participant in the New York City folk scene for many years. Tonight we remember her presence and her voice. What makes the show most memorable is that in addition to featuring the memory of Jessica, the late Toby Fagenson and Frank Woerner also appear as performers in this show. We remember and salute them all.
Here are the episodes for this month (see below). You can watch them here or I can see you on the telly at the appointed hour.
Keep on singing!
~ joel landy, songs of freedom television ~
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Show 1: Pete Seeger and The Power of Song
Show 2: Remembering Eric Levine
Show 3: Remembering Ray Korona and Sol Weber
Show 4: "A Song for Jessica" a tribute to Jessica Feinbloom
Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
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~ A P R I L 2025 ~
Every Day is Earth Day
Years ago a Native American friend told me something that he observed that shows a difference between the way European Americans see their relationship with our planet and the way his culture taught him about it. Europeans and Americans will speak of “Peace on Earth”, while he was taught to think, feel, and speak “Peace with Earth.”
Do you catch the nuance here?
“Peace on Earth” is a notion. “Peace with Earth” is a responsible relationship.
“Peace on Earth” intones tranquility on this planet with no direct ties to the person saying it. “Peace with Earth” is a respectful acknowledgement that we bare the task of stewardship and that the way we treat Earth is the way Earth will treat us. People and the planet will live together . . . until they don’t.
I was thinking of this lesson when I prepared Songs of Freedom episodes to show you in the month of April, a month where we welcome the spring and its promise of Earthly rebirth. This month Songs of Freedom will bring you episodes featuring “Peace with Earth” and efforts being made in that direction. We will start with a show chronicling the efforts of Canadian peace activists. Peace Train Canada pursues world peace and the abolishment of nuclear weapons worldwide. Citizens rode across Canada and to the United Nations in New York City in early March of this year. They made their trip to urge their Canadian government to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to be discussed and signed by nations around the world.
You can find out more about Peace Train Canada by clicking here.
You can find out more about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by clicking here.
On March 5th, when Peace Train Canada was in New York, singer/songwriter Christophe Elie organized an evening about their mission. It featured speakers and music.
Here is that show: https://vimeo.com/1070539026?
Shows two, three, and four this month recall the efforts of the late Phil Sauers and Pete Seeger. Pete once said that what countries around the world need is clean water, not more weapons. Phil picked up on that notion and organized around it. I assisted him in producing a series of “Water Not Weapons” musical events at the fabled Yippie Museum Café at 9 Bleeker in NYC’s Greenwich Village. There were five such sessions. I bring you three episodes from the third show from December of 2009.
These shows offer a look back and a look forward as we pursue a healthy future and “Peace with Earth.” My Native American friend also made me away of another distinction he found between European Americans and his culture. My people would be more likely to say that “we are humans having a spiritual experience,” whereas, his tradition teaches we are “spiritual beings having a human experience.”
I prefer the sound of that.
Have a great month. Enjoy the spring.
And keep on singing!
Joel
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Show One: Peace Train Canada https://vimeo.com/1070539026?
Show Two: Water Not Weapons III, show 1 https://vimeo.com/661206279?
featuring Joel Landy, Phil Sauers, Ray Korona, Spook Handy
Show Three: Water Not Weapons III, show 2 https://vimeo.com/661206279?
featuring Joel Landy, Rachel Stone, James Cannings, Spook Handy
Show Four: Water Not Weapons III, show 3 https://vimeo.com/661205254
featuring Ray Korona, Pat Lamanna, Mary Poppins, Steve Suffet, Caitlin O’Heaney, Jay Byrd, Gloria Waslyn and the Parrots for Peace
~ joel landy, songs of freedom television ~
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Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
~~~
On your cable and online
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~ M A R C H 2025 ~
Marching Into Spring
Every day seems to bring us another new reason to be alarmed about the Trump 47 presidency and his intentions to destroy the institutional pillars of our democracy. If it isn’t a cabinet hearing and appointment of an unqualified and carefully selected fealty-worthy crony, it is an announcement of taking territory in or renaming another sovereign land. If it isn’t that it is the withholding of congressionally promised funds for health and education. If it isn’t that it is blatant attacks against civil rights and the books we are allowed to read and curriculum allowed in schools. If it isn’t that it is the antics of Elon Musk and his rapacious band of computer system hackers. And the list goes on. If there is one thing in common about all of these sobering issues and stories it is that we are all affected and that it is up to us to RESIST and hold representatives on both sides of the isle accountable. And that we need to be loud about it. We are fighting for our social and economic lives. Red state Republicans announce their support for what Trump is doing…and then realize that citizens in their states are losing their quality of life and jobs too. They are not being spared. And many face reelection in 2026. Our republic is being tested and strained. Trump, his executive orders and his crew will push their power as far as they can take it. It will be up to us (and maybe the courts) to save our country, the future of our children, and democracy itself. Other nations are watching us and wonder if they can ever trust us again. And who can blame them? Many have their own internal issues to worry about as they watch and take cues from the old big dog in the political arena.
Clearly, our immediate future is fraught.
Organizing and resisting is critical. And so is singing.
Songs of Freedom Television offers you four shows this month that acknowledge and celebrate the dignity of human struggle with its many faces and many voices as we March and sing our way into the spring of 2025.
The first two shows showcase performances at the People’s Music Network Winter Convergence held in New York City in January of this year. PMN is an organization comprised of activists and artists using their creativity and voice to organize for a progressive and peaceful society and world. (Find out more about People’s Music Network at www.peoplesmusic.org)
Powerful performances and well written songs are always part of PMN events. This month’s episodes bring you the best of the best. Tune in, get involved, and take action.
Show 1
Marching and Singing with the People's Music Network, show 1
Show 2
Marching and Singing with the People's Music Network, show 2
Show 3
What You See Is What You Get
This episode features my performances at recent PMN round robins, both online and in person. Songs include, “On the Border”, “Governments Lie, Governments Kill, and Governments Die”, “I Wonder Why”, and “Don’t Give Me That Old Time Religion.”
Show 4
Cry Freedom!
The final episode this month features more performances at the People’s Music Network online and in person gatherings, but starts with a recent rewrite of a song that you know well, “Those Were The Days.”
Once this country had a Constitution
Protecting everybody living here.
A Bill of Rights offered us protection
From criminals who’d have us live in fear
…Those were the days, my friend.
We thought they’d never end
And there was freedom in things we’d do and say.
Our kids and savings grew.
We’d vote. It counted too.
Those were the days.
Oh yes, those were the days.
We need to remember that we are the majority in this nation and that the power of fear is Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s greatest weapon. We need to remember this as we organize and resist and persist.
And keep on singing!
…These are the days, my friend,
When sleeping silence ends.
We claim our future. We're fighting for our lives.
Around the world we rise. Occupy. Organize.
These are the days.
Oh yes, these are the days.
~ joel landy, songs of freedom television ~
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Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
~~~
On your cable and online
~ FEBRUARY 2025 ~
"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” ~ Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
We are scant weeks into the second Donald Trump presidency and the gauntlet has been thrown down. Survive or perish. Capitulate or suffer. Capitulate and suffer. Chaos and loyalty. Loyalty or else. The flash bang of executive orders the tumult that follows. The swamp of crony executives. The Congress of excuse makers who do not feel the pain.
We must have been here before, but it is hard to remember when it was like this.
So what are you doing to get by and survive and be presuming enough to smile and enjoy your life?
May I recommend live music in a local venue? You don’t need to spend a lot of money to see good music where you live. I have been participating at open mics where I live and have been going to live shows. The music is usually good and I make new friends. This month’s Songs of Freedom Television is devoted to the notion that making art and being with people is a good way to remember to have fun while we do what we need to do to get through troubled times.
Shows One and Two are recordings from the Third Thursday Open Mic at Red Pipes Café in Forest Hills. I host that open mic. The first show features performance by me and Rockin' Roll Johnny Bod. Tune in and sing along!
Episode Two showcases performances by Joe Carranza, Frederick Chipkin, Steve Cornell, and Jack.
The third show features my performance at the Austin Ale House open mic in Kew Gardens, Queens, on October 13, 2024. It was a spirited set and lots of fun, with group singing and kazoos for everybody. (Tune in to find out what that means.)
The fourth episode this month is “On the Border.”
I borrowed an Al Stewart song and added a verse.
"Undercurrents flowing in the same direction.
Channels with their noise go on without detection.
The wind whips up the cultish fear.
What happens next is never clear
When what you have can disappear on the border."
We are all on the border now.
Stand together and we will not fall.
And keep singing.
~ Joel Landy, Songs of Freedom Television ~
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Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
~~~
On your cable and online
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~ JANUARY 2025 ~
A New Year and A Big Challenge
We know that 2025 will bring us changes at the White House and the agenda of the President will be to make money and consolidate power. He will molify the world's richest man and the other billionaires he invites to government with titles and promises of power and money.
We know this. So, what do we do to survive and thrive during the next administration? I recommend to first focus on staying healthy and strong. Get your sleep. Move your body. You don't have to be a world class athlete. You have to be around when this mess is over. Eat smart. Find your friends.
And dare to smile. And laugh.
We have each other and what we dare to enjoy.
In that spirit, Songs of Freedom Television in January 2025 offers you a look back at SOF over the years. For those who don't know, we've been doing this work since July of 1996. This month we look at and remember shows of the past quarter century where we can find hope, strength, and fun.
We all have work to do. I look forward to engaging this challenge with you.
~ Joel Landy, Songs of Freedom Television ~
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Here are the episodes for this month.
Show 1 https://vimeo.com/786290273?
Hello 2025! Show #1 this year celebrates the first two years of Songs of Freedom. It features performances from Pat Humphries, Bev Grant, Howard Kaspin, Joel Landy, and Professor Louie. It also includes a sampler of faces & voices from SOF TV since 1996.
Show 2 https://vimeo.com/786290409?
This show is from 2000 and highlights the talent and political attitude of economics professors David Liebman and Gil Skillman. Both gentlemen humorously define and represent the dignity of human struggle. Tune in and sing along!
Show 3 https://vimeo.com/592558181?
On September 11, 2001, Fire Company Engine 33, Ladder 9 in southern Manhattan lost one quarter of its workforce saving the lives of New Yorkers. One month later I produced a show raising funds for their families. Join us as we "Remember the Heroes."
Show 4 https://vimeo.com/786290502?
In 2003 at the late and great 22-Below performance space in Manhattan I produced an evening of political cabaret. It was election season and the Iraq War was on. Go back in time twenty years and tune in to 2003, raise your banners, and sing along!
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Stay tuned, and keep singing
with Songs of Freedom Television!
~~~
On your cable and online
Here is a plaque for an award the Alliance for Community Media bestowed upon Songs of Freedom Television in 1997. This was for the work done during our first year on TV.
The Alliance for Community Media is a trade group and an organization comprised of public access television professionals. They lobby in Washington DC for your right to create video and have it seen and have it paid for by the commercial corporate entities in your town entering your home and your mind every day. Always an uphill battle. They are also the people who work in access centers. Members also include community access producers like myself. I was honored to receive an award, more so to have the award represent the category of Empowerment, a word that means a lot to me.
I stopped entering the annual competitions a number of years ago, not because I have an attitude about them or because I have “been there and done that.” It is just not where my energy lives now. I seek to do the good work and fight the good fight because it is the right thing to do. I seek to acknowledge others who travel the same road and inspire with creativity and vision. I seek and do that while daring to express myself and have fun along the way.
I am glad you are here to share the journey with me.
Don't forget to laugh as you change the world.
~ Joel ~
Do you know about the Peoples' Voice Café?
It is New York City's premiere progressive venue.
Proof of vaccination is required for audiences, staff and artists.
Your safety is important to us.
The 2021-2022 season continues on Saturday nights, at
Judson Memorial Church Assembly Hall at 239 Thompson Street
in the heart of New York City's historic Greenwich Village.
For details and more information about the Peoples' Voice Café, including the season schedule and how you can become a volunteer, go to:
www.peoplesvoicecafe.org and the PVC Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/peoplesvoicecafe/
