12-29-2022 

Contact: John Broadway: 559-827-8099, jbroadway@artivistsunited.com 

Artivists United:  Los Angeles Artists Create “Go Iran Go Go” Music Video in Solidarity with Iran’s Revolution, Call Local Creators to Engage 

Los Angeles, CA –  On November 19th, 2022, over a dozen creatives from different parts of the world gathered in Los Angeles to express solidarity with the Iranian women’s movement. On Wednesday December 28th, the music video was released through a collaboration with Artivists United, a social impact film/video and event production company. 

The music video is a rewrite of Garbage’s Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go), scripted by Marianina, a Los-Angeles based Mexican artist who writes songs to make people happy, break the mold and change the world. The powerful lyrics reflect messages seen on social media from those on the ground in Iran. The artists pay up-tempo reverence to the power of Iranian women - and women worldwide - who push our world toward peace and freedom for all through incredible acts of individual courage and collective solidarity. The now over 100-day long women-led Iranian revolution is unprecedented in scale, intersectional solidarity, and resolve, and holds the power and intention to remove the theocratic, terroristic Islamic regime. 

Though unique in circumstance, intensity of risk, and powerful local collectivization, the aims of the Iranian people are universal and must be elevated everywhere. True peace and freedom, rooted in love and respect for the individual’s rights to self-expression, are at the core of this powerful revolution and must be uplifted by artists, activists, and creators worldwide.  

Artivists United invites Los Angeles creatives to connect their own work in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.  The organization is accepting submissions in all artistic mediums for their event, “WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM: Solidarity with Iran,” at The Heart Department (Arts District on January 29th, 2023. This event will include an art gallery, featured musical artists, an open mic, and an altar-building ceremony for the martyrs of the Iranian revolution. More details to follow. 

“We envision this event as an ongoing effort to inspire artists to use their craft for activism while providing them the opportunity to do so.” – John Broadway, Founder – Artivists United.  

Artist Submission Form:  http://tinyurl.com/artwithiran 

About Artivists United:  Artivists United is a burgeoning film/video and events production company that seeks to use their film/video and events as a foundation for social justice campaigns by empowering artivists (artist-activists) to utilize the change-making power of art.  

Music Video Contributors:   Marianina, Hannah Rooth, Natalie Denise Sperl, Cello Azul, SunXochitl Castro, Nicole Trella, Venganza Lives, Grace Freeman (Gal Musette), Michael Priz, Nikolas Salazar, Jorge Cajias, Shachar Boussani, John Kwesi Broadway, Latoya Lee, Victoria Xashara 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

December 31, 2022 

For more information email: 

Hannah Rooth, hannahroothmusic@gmail.com 

Grief Songs: Showcase & Communal Grief Experience 

(Los Angeles, California) – Oasis House Show invites the public to join “Grief Songs: Part Two,” a fusion of artistic expression and community healing practice. "Part One" of this series was a unique experience, and participants left feeling relaxed and connected.  “At a lot of shows, people will share vulnerable music sometimes, but there was something about this event that really prepped me as I came in. I knew that it was gonna be a safe space … that I could sit with those feelings, and I was really surprised at how much they came up but that I really did feel safe to lean in and express them,” reflected Aries Kae, local hip-hop singer and rapper.  

"Grief Songs: Part Two" will take place on Saturday, January 21st, 2023, from 1-5pm, at Oracle Tavern (Downtown Los Angeles). It will include a sad-song showcase, meditative grief experience, and the opportunity to financially support Healthcare NOW, an organization working to expand healthcare to everyone nationally. With community members who are immuno-compromised and disabled in mind, it will be held outdoors, with masks required and distancing precautions. Spanish and ASL translation will be provided.

“Grief Songs” experientially demonstrates links between internal, communal, and sociopolitical love. Everyone experiences grief and needs loving support to heal and integrate experiences of loss, as everyone experiences illness and death and needs access to care services, including physical and mental healthcare.  When we leave community members out in the cold, trauma and pain multiply and we all suffer the consequences. Though a few individuals “profit” off of our healthcare system, which is out of reach for many*, our whole society suffers as we are each impaired by the loss of connection to each other and to our natural inclination to care for one another. In gathering to recognize this reality, we plant seeds for a shift in the living ethic of our city and our society. 

The flow of this event is carefully curated and guests are strongly encouraged to attend for the full duration. Featured artists include Asia Chow, Hannah Rooth, Tori Leppert, OAKS, Marisa Reyes, Geneva May, Justin Dyer, Marianina, and more to be announced. Entry by donation, based on attendees’ means, between $0-500. Profits generated will go 80% to Healthcare NOW and 20% to artists. Seating is limited for safety reasons and expected to sell out. Livestream tickets are available with special perks. 

Tickets:  https://tinyurl.com/griefsongs 

Seeking sponsorship and volunteers. Email Hannah at hannahroothmusic@gmail.com to contribute. 

Website: http://hannahrooth.com/griefsongs 

*Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance, according to a study published online by the American Journal of Public Health. (David Cecere. Sept 17, 2009. The Harvard Gazette.) 

*Health care expenses were the most common cause of bankruptcy in the United States in 2007, accounting for 62% of US bankruptcies compared with 8% in 1981. (James E. Dalen, MD. August 28, 2009. The American Journal of Medicine.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2022 

For more information email:
Hannah Rooth    hannahroothmusic@gmail.com 

Grief Songs: Showcase & Communal Grief Experience 

(Los Angeles, California) Oasis House Show curator Hannah Rooth and team invite the public to join two-part series: “Grief Songs,” a showcase of local artists and meditative grief experience raising funds for Healthcare NOW, an organization working to expand healthcare to everyone nationally.  

Grief Songs: Part One will take place on December 2nd from 7-10pm in Downtown Los Angeles. Entry by pre-sale only. Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/griefso

Grief Songs: Part Two is set for January 2023 with details to be announced at a later time.  

Inspired by the isolation and grief caused by the COVID pandemic and the cultural overemphasis on individualism, Grief Songs is an experimental fusion of artistic expression and community healing practice. The primary purpose of the event is to bring members of the community together to open their hearts to the grief we so often feel compelled to bury or keep to ourselves. The Oasis House Show team hopes to stimulate emotional vulnerability and healing in the community by curating events that welcome people to come as they are. Oasis House Show aims to not exclude based on class, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, or other factors that are commonly used to oppress groups of people.  

Grief Songs: Part One will last three hours and include songs from over a dozen local musicians. It will take place in an indoor, residential location with masks required. There will be a guided grief meditation and a message from local activists working to expand healthcare to all. Featured artists include Charlie Moon, Hannah Rooth, Tori Leppert, OAKS, Marisa Reyes, Aries Kae, Don, Hailey Fishberger, Lauren Hulbert, Spring Owls, Olivia Rose Lopez, Sierra Drummond, and Manoela Wunder.  

Profits generated by the event will go 50% to Healthcare NOW and 50% to the participating artists (though most artists have chosen to contribute their portions to Healthcare NOW). For tickets, the organizers are asking for donations based on attendees’ means of $0-500.  

Entry to Grief Songs: Part One is by presale only through the ticket page on Eventbrite. Seating is limited and expected to sell out.  

Grief Songs: Part Two will feature artists Greg in Good Company, Asia Chow, Annie Jay, Marisa Reyes, Justin Dyer, Susan Darvishi, Rocky Kuner, and more special guests to be announced. It will take place in an outdoor location with masks required and special precautions for the sake of immuno-compromised and disabled community members. Spanish and ASL translation will be provided. 

Potential sponsors, volunteers, or contributors can email Hannah at hannahroothmusic@gmail.com. 

Webpage: http://hannahrooth.com/griefsongs

Kat Hamilton presents

Happy Holigays!

A queer showcase to celebrate and build queer community in Los Angeles!

SHOW DETAILS

Friday, December 17, 2021
9pm til Midnight
Hotel Cafe, Second Stage
1623 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
$10
21+
Vaccination proof required
Tickets

FEATURING

ZEE MACHINE

Zee Machine is a Midwestern born, internationally raised, music school educated pop/rock/electronic singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. With infectious hooks, soaring vocals, and cutting lyrics, their empowering music and live sets are a celebration of all things queer. With influences ranging from Prince and Jeff Buckley to The 1975 and MUNA, they have brought a brand of arena-ready pop bombast to major venues throughout Los Angeles to crowds of thousands at Pride festivals across the country. Zee Machine’s 2018 EP “Brainchemistry” debuted in the top 25 on the iTunes pop charts (the title track of which was named by Billboard magazine on their list of “50 songs you shouldnt have missed this year”), and named by The Advocate on their list of 7 queer artists changing the game.

RYAN CASSATA

Ryan Cassata is an award winning singer-songwriter, actor, performer, writer, LGBTQ activist & motivational speaker based in Los Angeles. With features in GRAMMY.com, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The NY Daily News, Ryan has made the most of his career, which started when he was just 13. 

As a musician with over 600 performances touring across the US and internationally, including being the first openly trans performer at the Vans Warped Tour, along with performing at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show, the world’s biggest pride festivals, and SXSW, Ryan has been praised by The Advocate Magazine- calling him a “Transgender singing sensation.” Paper Magazine put him on their "50 LGBTQ Musicians You Should Prioritize" list, and LOGO’s New Now Next included Ryan on the “9 Trans Musicians You Need To Get Into” list. Billboard Magazine called Ryan a “true force in the industry“, put him on the "11 Transgender & Non-Binary Musicians You Need to Know" list, premiered from his latest album [2020], and premiered his award winning music video [2018] which has been viewed over 1,000,000 times. He has also been heard on Sirius XM Radio, BBC Radio 4 and other radio stations around the world. Ryan Cassata is a 2019 recipient of The ASCAP Foundation "Sunlight of the Spirit" Award for his song “Jupiter." More info at www.ryancassata.com

KAT HAMILTON

Kat Hamilton is a west-coast, singer, songwriter and performer. Hamilton has had the career trajectory of a chameleon; lending her talents to pop-punk, emo, r&b, hip-hop, pop, and country. In 2017, Hamilton ended her five year run as the front woman of popular east-coast pop punkers, Manic Pixi. The multiple SXSW performer, reemerged with her own vulnerable approach to Indie-Rock. 

Kat Hamilton’s debut e.p “The Grey Area” dropped on November 5th, 2018. The intimate blend of country, pop, and emo has become a darling of Spotify playlists and indie bloggers alike. Her standout single "Bees" was featured on Fox's family dramedy, Almost Family (2019). After relocating to Los Angeles, CA, Hamilton has shifted her focus to her upcoming solo album. The songwriters full length album, “Recovery Songs” is slated for release in 2020 

“so honest, it makes us wanna be BFFs with Kat right away. Sweet sounds and journal-worthy lyrics look good on the songstress.”- Idobi Radio 

“Hamilton has a pop punk background, and you can hear that influence in the guitars and drums on The Grey Area. That being said, it’s impossible to box her into one genre, as she also incorporates poppier melodies and an impressive musical range..”- Substream magazine 

For fans of Mitski, Jenny Lewis and City and Colour

BRITT KUSSEROW

Britt Kusserow is a singer/songwriter who has lived in too many places. She writes music about women, ships, and the universe. She knows very little about any of those things. Her latest EPs, "Concessions" and “Absolutions” feature a bunch of post-same-sex-divorce-songs that are full of weird weather metaphors and ideas about redemption. You can find both on Spotify. 

Vents Magazine says of Kusserow: “With songs that tend to be lyrically focused, with simple, catchy guitar or piano accompaniment, she is a great fit into the folk and acoustic based genres."

HANNAH ROOTH

“Sometimes we feel overwhelmed and trapped by our emotions. I use music to express myself in a way that's so raw, my demons have nowhere left to hide. I invite you to use my work to enter the darkest parts of yourself and embrace your power.

If you're a misfit ready to build power & intimacy through emotional honesty, join our community at patreon.com/hannahroothmusic” -Hannah

Hannah Rooth makes dark americana soul & electropop music with equal parts emotional power and lyrical integrity. She organizes LA's Oasis House Show and was featured in the LA Times for anti-racist work.

“[hearing her live] was like being at my own funeral watching my body being lowered into the ground” - Charlie Lubeck / Charlie Moon

"Hannah’s honest, amazing voice captivates you right away with its inner power, so clear and vulnerable." - Tonic Grain, Hype Machine 

“Hannah has a voice that is reminiscent of Lady Gaga, the presence of a fearless and charismatic visionary, and the authenticity of a history book.” - Skippy

1. 20 minute YouTube meditations such as these
2. WYSA - free Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based app (To get free premium access, use my code S5J67 while signing up here.)
3. Therapy! I found my therapist on betterhelp.comWorking on my emotional literacy. Our society sadly doesn't teach us about how emotions work and how to address them. Here are some resources I use:
4. Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg. This method is extremely useful not only for improving relationships with others, but for creating more peace and understanding within oneself. Here is a free instructional guide to get you started.
5. Here's a YouTube playlist where I'm saving other resources.

much love & healing to you~

excerpt from music & meditation: on feminism zoom show on 5/16/21

Feminism is important not just as an appeal for women's rights, but an appeal for human rights. 

In our patriarchal, capitalist society, unlimited expansion and hoarded resources by a few are prioritized. The needs of human beings are treated as necessary only inasmuch as they serve the primary goal of hoarded resources (capital). 

In other words, if it doesn't help capitalists hoard more shit, it isn’t prioritized or rewarded in society. 

Many human needs, such as those provided through care-taking, are offloaded onto the backs of women, who receive little to no resources in exchange for their labor. 

Think about it. 

Women get paid nothing for mothering children, which is a huge service to society (perhaps the biggest). 

Caring for the elderly, cleaning, nursing, and teaching - all traditionally women's careers - are paid very little while providing some of the most essential services for fulfilling human need and enriching life. 

Women's oppression is expressed very tangibly in society: through no or little compensation for our labor. And the personal ways that women's oppression affects us as individuals are linked to this disenfranchisement. 

The relegation of women is in fact a relegation of human need in general. The human need for care. For touch. For tenderness. For space. To be listened to. To be seen. To be nurtured. To be taught. To be all of the tender things that make us human, that make us feel most alive. To be BORN, for fucks sake. 

The very tangible social message - which is communicated to us through how resources are allocated - is that these needs don't matter. And this message can't help but touch all of us. And it teaches us a very dangerous lesson. It teaches us not to care for each other. It teaches us not to care for ourselves. 

When we aren't properly cared for, misery abounds. Violence in many external forms. Violence in internal forms too. Addiction. Mental and physical health disorders. Suicide. 

Feminism is a force of fierce and holistic protectiveness that seeks to bring humanity back to itself. 

Feminism is about people who have had their rights stripped by society taking them back. Feminism is about standing and working and fighting in solidarity with all who've had their rights taken away and are taking them back. 

Feminism is understanding that EVERYONE has a right to care; both in society and within our own private inner worlds. 

It's working socially for the rights to housing, healthcare, dignity, and wellness for all. 

It's working internally to reclaim a sense of honoring your needs instead of relegating them to the dark parts of your psyche.  

Feminism is for all of us. And to rebuild society into one that works for human beings, it must be from all of us. What is feminism to you? 

GUIDED MEDITATION 

So I’d like to focus our meditation today on reclaiming our relationship to our needs. 

So we’re just gonna slow down, breathe deep, zone in, and ask ourselves, with care, the simple question, “What do you need?” 

And we don’t need to worry about using our minds to answer the question. We can just relax into it, let ourselves go, and get reacquainted with caring for ourselves in this simple way, by asking, “What do you need?”

Really adore how this photo captures my essence & power. My boyfriend says I look like a witch. Couldn't be more proud of that.

I have come out of - and am still healing and navigating through - a religious and historical tradition intended to rob me of my power, my will, my vitality, my sexuality, my sacred womanhood, my beauty, and, on a deep level, my love.

I am so proud of the progress I've made.

I believe in myself, and I believe in all of us to heal and to create a new world.

Photo captured by my dear friend and collaborator Kyle Burgs. Watch our music videos here.

I refuse to cling to anybody 
who doesn’t make the sun come out of my eyes 
who doesn’t come to me like moonlight to the forest on dead winter’s night 
who doesn’t take me in like shore lapping up the sea 
and let it out like a home-come sailor meets the earth with his knees; 
No, 
this fragrant, raging, mountainous love of mine 
will be returned in kind 
will be returned in kind.

For those of us who are new to meditation, I want to just center us a little bit. 

Meditation is about taking the deepest possible rest - for your mind and your body. 
It’s about acceptance - to me, that means looking at what’s going on in my body and my mind, and just accepting it. Looking at it, letting it pass. Looking at it, waving it hello and goodbye. Not trying to change anything. Just getting right up close to whatever’s happening and observing. 

Find comfortable place. Chair, floor, lay on couch or bed. I like to lay in my bed because it helps my whole body relax. If you’d like to leave your video on, that’s fine, but if it makes you feel more comfortable and safe to turn it off, then turn it off. (3 min) 

Now, I recommend closing your eyes so you can focus on your experience. Settle in, feel your body against the surface of your chair or bed. Notice each point of connection. (30 sec) 

Start with taking some deep breaths.  Notice how your lungs feel and what happens in your body as you breathe in and out (1 min) 

And as we settle in we’ll start to breathe a little deeper. And we’ll invite our exhales to become longer than our inhales. So in……. And then out just a little longer (1 min) 

Now one of the wonderful things about meditation is that it’s a practice of clearing our minds, and clearing out the clutter of constant thoughts. Our goal is to have just a quiet, empty mind, that’s open to exactly what’s happening in the present moment. But this is pretty difficult to do, just because most of us aren’t used to it. And that’s okay. It’s a practice, and you’ll get better at it with time.  

One way I’ve found to quiet my mind is by focusing in on the feelings in my body. So we’re going to practice that right now with a body scan.  

As we go throughout our bodies, starting with our heads, down to our feet, I want you to pay very close attention to what’s happening in each part of your body. Don’t try to change it, just look at it, and practice accepting exactly whatever is happening. What are the sensations? Does it feel warm? Cold? Tingly? Empty? Just look, listen, feel. 

Let’s start with focusing on our head. (30 sec) 

Now move to focus on the face. (5 sec)  

Continue breathing deeply. (25 sec) 

Now focus on your neck. (30 sec) 

Now move down to the shoulders. (30 sec…. Continue like this.) 

So I wanted to have the event because of how stressful a time this has been for all of us. With that in mind, I want to teach you a kind of meditation I learned from a favorite teacher of mine, Thich Naht Hahn, called Tonglen meditation. It’s for working with pain or any kind of difficult emotion. 

First, I’m going to read a section of his writing from my favorite book, True Love. Please enjoy. 

*section from True Love by Thich Naht Hahn, "The Energy of Mindfulness."*

So for Tonglen, you take whatever painful or uncomfortable feeling is happening in your body - whether it’s an emotional or physical feeling - and you visualize it as dark, heavy, sticky, weighing you down.  

Then you identify some feeling or sensation that would be soothing and relieving for that emotion - whether that’s a blanket, a warm cup of tea, a hug, a listener - and you visualize that emotion as blue, expansive, bright, like the sky.   

So you have your dark feeling and your light feeling to work with. 

When you breathe in, you visualize the negative feeling - you feel the dark, heavy, sticky, weighted feeling filling your whole body. 

And when you breathe out, you visualize the relieving feeling - you feel the blue, expansive, bright feeling coming out of your body and filling up your surroundings. 

Think of this as generating inward care for whatever you are going through. Using your inner creative energy to relieve yourself. 

The coolest thing about this meditation, though, is we can use it as a way to not only connect to yourself, but to everybody else. Because at any given time that you’re experiencing a difficult emotion, there are millions or hundreds of millions of people around the world who are feeling just the same way.  So what we do, is when we breath in the pain - the darkness, heaviness, stickiness - we breathe it in for everyone in the world who is feeling that pain. And when we breathe out the relief, we breathe it out for everyone in the world who is feeling that pain. In this way, we can soothe ourselves while also generating compassion for others. 

So, let’s practice this for just a few minutes. 

You can use an uncomfortable feeling you’re having right now, or recall one that you’ve experienced in the past few days, and practice with it.