Index
Preview:
Last month, I briefly mentioned Playing For Change (playingforchange.com) as an example of how one small step can blossom into transformation that can impact not only our own communities, but the whole world. I discovered Playing For Change during a WYIN Pledge Drive broadcast and promised to give the group an in-depth exploration in this month’s column. Such synchronicity! Just as I was about to begin this column, the Playing For Change audio CD and DVD (the WYIN premium) arrived my mailbox. So, as I write this column I am listening to the soul satisfying sound of musicians and singers from around the world.
Playing For Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect and bring peace to the world through music. The
group—really a worldwide community—was started by Mark Johnson after he became inspired by a couple of monks singing in a New York subway. Playing For Change records uplifting song and music from around the world and then mixes it so that voices from across cultures and religions are singing together. The Playing For Change website is an excellent place to experience what this community is all about.
The Playing For Change home page features an Introduction video and a Latest Episode video. In the Introduction video, Mark Johnson tells you how Playing For Change started and why. Johnson points out that none of the musicians had ever met each other in person—what brings them together is the music and the belief that we can do a lot more for this
world if we work together than we ever can by working apart.
In January, the Latest Episode video featured musician Robert Bradley performing “Peace All Over the World” on the streets of Los Angeles. This song must be one of their recent projects because it is not on the “Playing For Change: Songs Around The World” CD. Bradley’s song is the backdrop for many inspiring video clips of people, young and old, from around the world.
One of the most interesting sections of the site is the “Musicians” section. The first “Musicians” page features one of the many musicians who take part in Playing For Change. In January, the featured musician was the late Roger Ridley, a street musician from Las Vegas, Nevada, that helped inspire Playing For Change.
