Our latest video, “Tides,” delivers a dark warning: “This isn’t the ending; it’s only beginning.” We hope it will disturb people to some extent. It would be wonderful to have some effect with the people who enjoy our music yet take their freedom to listen to it completely for granted. Taking freedom for granted is extremely dangerous—add a large dose of discontent, and you have a formula for disaster.

But your discontent is based on legitimate claims of injustice! Why the dark warning?

Consider those skilled in organizing communities of people—consider the ideology of the organizers—are they different than yours? Maybe they are celebrating your discontent for good reason? Maybe they don’t want to let a crisis go to waste.  They might even have a part in creating the crisis.

YouTube

Does it make sense to redistribute, reestablish, and/or fundamentally change the basic foundation of a culture to address a current problem? Maybe it sounds attractive to those who are jealous of the successful and not personally motivated towards achievement. There will always be those people. But what if hard-working, freedom-loving, motivated people, through ignorance and carelessness, unwillingly line up behind the hordes of protesters demanding the kind of change that can never be changed back? (more…)

Fellow Air Force veteran and patriot artist Nathaniel Noble Jr (Nate Smoove) is a fabulously talented and creative song writer and producer who brings his political and spiritual views to life with his poetry set to some serious beats and fantastic music.

The words of his songs best describe him: “Self-assured and aware; passing on the wisdom of a life well-lived; shining a positive light on issues that affect us all; prolific out of a necessity to write about life and address the poignant issues of our ever-changing situations as members of a complex modern society.”

Nathaniel Noble, Jr. (a.k.a. Nate Smoove)

Nate’s bio describes his music as “not a seminar of right and wrong – more so, real thoughts on real issues presented in a musical setting that will make you want to move … a conversation that goes beyond pop culture slang and flavor of the week catch phrases.” His signature block in his email has the phrase “Music That Tickles Ya Intellect.” And that it most certainly does as one fan commented on his guest book:

I find it encouraging when I feel down about what is going on. Music has always been a great stress reliever, and your music is relevant to what is a major stress in life today. Great lyrics and great beats, plus the encouragement for Christians plus some humor, good for me since I take things too seriously lol. Just wanted to say I think you do great work. I hope young people are hearing your message.

As his website tells us to do, “open your heart & mind to the “Life Writer” that is NATE SMOOVE. Clean positive hip-hop mixed with a little Jazz, R & B, Gospel and even a touch of Rock. Forming a unique blend of a musical dish that could only be conjured up by this man from the “WHO DAT NATION” New Orleans.”

YouTube "Bless the USA" by Nate Smoove

I asked Nate what made him decide to write political music.  This was his reply:

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LONDON (AP) – Amy Winehouse, the beehived soul-jazz diva whose self-destructive habits overshadowed a distinctive musical talent, was found dead Saturday in her London home, police said. She was 27.

Winehouse shot to fame with the album “Back to Black,” whose blend of jazz, soul, rock and classic pop was a global hit. It won five Grammys and made Winehouse—with her black beehive hairdo and old-fashioned sailor tattoos—one of music’s most recognizable stars.

Police confirmed that a 27-year-old female was pronounced dead at the home in Camden Square northern London; the cause of death was not immediately known. London Ambulance Services said Winehouse had died before the two ambulance crews it sent arrived at the scene.

An ambulance could be seen parked beneath the trees outside her London home, and the whole street was cordoned off by police tape. Officers kept onlookers away from the scene.

Last month, Winehouse canceled her European comeback tour after she swayed and slurred her way through barely recognizable songs in her first show in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Booed and jeered off stage, she flew home and her management said she would take time off to recover. (more…)

With the impending August 2nd debt ceiling “deadline” drawing near (which just so happens to be two days prior to a certain somebody in D.C.’s big Five-Oh birthday bash) and all the wheeling and dealing going on inside the Beltway, President Obama tells us it’s time to “pull off the band-aid” and “eat our peas.”

Mr. President, Bobby Powers and Party Time have a message for you and the rest of your fellow “Cleptocrats” in D.C.:

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Now THAT is how you deliver a message since it appears emails, phone calls, faxes, office visits, and…oh…a million-plus sign-bearing, flag-waving patriots descending upon the Nation’s Capitol don’t work.

I just love these guys!

Bobby Powers stumbled across my YouTube page over a year ago and introduced himself via email.  Naturally I checked out his site and instantly became a fan when I heard their song Take Your Hands Out of Our Pockets.   Since that day, I have had the great privilege of sharing the stage with Bobby and the rest of the Party Time gang (Robin Gordon, Tony Rook, and Michael Marino) after our first meeting on the National Mall at the 2010 Tax Day TEA Party. (more…)

Anyone who thinks conservatives can’t rock it out has clearly not come across Jeremy Dodge – a conservative activist with attitude and an abundance of talent.  When Jeremy first joined BigDawg Music Mafia and shared his Tea Party hit I Am American and Stand Up, the fans couldn’t get enough.  The demand from fans for more has Jeremy back in the studio as we “speak” working on some new songs which will, no doubt, be every bit as kickin’ as his others.

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As with the majority of the conservative artists in the Tea Party movement, Jeremy has been traveling around the country performing on his own dime and as many fellow musicians know, studio time costs a pretty penny.  Jeremy has set up a project page where fans can participate in the production of his new songs by helping defray some of his costs, getting a few “thank you” goodies in return, and even a shout-out in his video.

Here’s what Jeremy has to say about how he got started in music and how he ended up using his talents to wake his fellow Americans up:

A few months ago, I noticed that we had a new artist at our site (BigDawg Music Mafia) named Toots Sweet from New York, New York.  My first thought was, “Wow…a conservative musician from ‘America’s most liberal city,’ with a cool name.  Can’t wait to see what he brings to the table.’”

It usually takes our new members a few days to figure out how to navigate their way around our site (hosted on the NING platform), so I went about my business and made a mental note to check back in a day or two.

My good friend/songmate/partner-in-crime, Drew (a.k.a. BigDawg), sent an email to me saying, “You have got to check out this new guy, Toots Sweet…he’s great!”

So I did…and I smiled…big.

We have such a wide range of musical genres at our site, but this man is a true original with a great message and a cool vibe.  His tribute to our troops, “Soldier Boy,” is one of my favorites. (more…)

Who is Chris Ross?

Chris Ross is a great American, an amazingly gifted musician/singer-songwriter, and a superb conservative voice in the fight to save this great country.  Upon hearing the first few bars of his song Freedom, I knew I was going to really dig his music.  I was right.  I was instantly hooked.  His songs and vocal style remind me of the music of the band America  which I loved back in the day (and still do).  How very apropos.  When he recently posted one of his newest songs, Restoring Honor, featured on the WatchGlennBeck.com site, I just knew this song would resonate with so many Americans.  And it is doing just that.

After I contacted Chris and told him I wanted to do a BigDawg Spotlight piece on him and asked him for his bio, what he sent me turned out to be so much more that I decided to let him answer the opening question himself. (more…)

I’ll be the first to admit that my home city of Pittsburgh has a permanent blemish on it: it’s the spawning grounds of the anti-capitalist punk band Anti-Flag.  These guys function as ANSWER automatons; the first song I heard by them starts with the lyrics “Seattle was a riot they tried to pin on us / But we didn’t show up with gas and billy clubs.”  And for all their anti-corporation vitriol, they were sure eager enough to get some of that sweet, sweet bloodthirsty corporation money by signing with RCA Records.

But that doesn’t mean they’re horrible people or we can’t find common ground.  They’re sensible enough to know that the bank bailouts were a crock, and now, whether they realize it or not, they’re gaining empathy for Sarah Palin.

When word came out from a former classmate that Jared Lee Loughner listened to Anti-Flag in high school, speculation poured in that the band’s left-wing political message may have motivated last Saturday’s shooting.  Some have also tried to implicate nu-metal  band Drowning Pool due the use use of their song “Bodies” in a flag-burning video found on Loughner’s YouTube page.  Both bands have responded to these insinuations.  First Anti-Flag: (more…)

“In fifteen minutes, everyone will be famous.” —Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol also spoke that jewel of wisdom, presumably demonstrating a sense of humor in referring to his most famous quote.  Or was it, perhaps, prescient, albeit unintended foreknowledge?  Pity he’s not around to toy with Twitter.

Bridge as visual metaphor, Media as bridge, Pittsburgh.

Looking back at Part 1, we considered a couple of insights into Andy’s Pop Life with the aim of solving some problems surrounding Mr. Breitbart’s incisive assertion that conservatives must come to terms with popular culture, and more, use it to advantage, or fail catastrophically in countering the negative effects of said culture and restoring public confidence in fundamental ideals.  Narcissism, amorality, and an attitude of entitlement, as examples, speak poorly to the future of democracy, while the virtues of valuing others, the practice of ethical discernment and choice, and the elevating ideas of individual liberty and self-reliance are greatly to be desired in the body politic, and traditionally set America apart from typical “statist” governments around the world.  Evidence abounds of the former set of attitudes in common currency as reflected in pop culture; the latter set, highly prized by conservatives, goes sorely wanting for attention in movies, TV, music, etc. (more…)

It used to take decades and even centuries of cultural transmission by storytelling, theater, ballad, and a general diffusion of knowledge by processes unknown to bring myth and legend into being.  That may be another way of saying that people once had brains, and then came television, Video’s killing of the Radio Star, and the genteel cultural virtues obtained through 24/7 media immersion.

People once heard, told, acted out and retold these tales, taking active roles in creating visions of life and its possibilities in imaginative ways, instead of flopping on couches with a Monster Burger in one hand and a Bucket o’ Suds in the other, passively awaiting the predetermined outcome of one steroid-based extravaganza or another. This says something disturbing about the contrast between ancient and modern civilizations and the ways the perception of reality can either be generated by humans or imprinted upon them, unless you’re the CEO of an international fast food conglomerate or a viewer engaging in a fierce wind-breaking competition during a broadcast’s inevitable male-enhancement advertisements or rain delays.  (more…)