Joe Craven's review and a video too!

Joe Craven.
Joe Craven.
Yeah, you know who I'm talkin' about.

He's the guy who walks his talk - and his talk is living an artful life.

Joe Craven has been a part of the #SongFestFamily since day one. When we saw what he wrote and posted for his SongFest review, we knew we had to share it with you here, in case you haven't seen it.

But first, were you one of the many supporters who contributed to the GoFundMe for Joe to teach kids about music improvisation to elementary school kids? He worked with the great folks at Instruments of Change and Judge PR and we can see how much fun the kids had. (I love how the class starts to giggle at the girl who spoke and then when Joe does his magic, one kid leaps backward in surprise and all of them are instantly tuned to the moment!) Well, take five to see how the kids responded to Joe's examples and then read his inspiring, insightful SongFest review and note (below). Thank you for helping to bring music and his message to these kids.

I will post a SongFest recap soon. Until then,be well, friends.
- Laura

Thanks to Judge PR for filming Joe at Hillsborough Elementary!

SHAMc and SHSongfest acknowledge the creative individual and the creative collective of us all. 

They are creativity sanctuaries where permission is provided, self expression welcomed, and personal growth harvested. As members of this unique family, I believe no doubt, we can grasp the concept that art really does save lives. Things happen here that will change people’s outlooks on themselves and the world at large.

Give yourself permission to express yourself. A creative life teaches us to learn how to think for ourselves and promotes critical thinking and flexibility. I believe learning to live a life full of creative possibility is an issue of National Security! Wouldn’t it be great if all people we elect to govern us, could have jam sessions and make art together before sitting down for discussion at the bargaining table. Art truly is the universal language and SHAMc events invite us all to learn how to speak it with creative commitment. We have the ability to have, play, and feel this vision on stages, with materials, in workshops... and the pathways of our lives.

Art invites us all to participate. For example, when you dance - you are a bridge between heaven and earth. I believe dance is integral to music because it allows the audience to answer back to musicians, creating an exchange that heightens the experience of both the performer and the listener, breaking down the barriers between the two. You are the only person you will never leave nor lose, so get up and move in your own personal, encouraging way. Find joy and confidence in your own unique movement with a musical instrument, a paint brush, a glue gun and on a dance floor.

In education, if we’re required to memorize data of the world as it is, then more difficult it is to create the world as it could be. Life begins outside your comfort zone. Pursue possibilities, look to see… and listen to hear. Ask questions and be inspired with what makes you and others creatively tick. It may well give you the life you didn't even know was already waiting for you.

Many of you reading this invested money and/or time in art and heart to be with the Safety Harbor Songfest Family this year. Why not think of your “Investment” to both SHSongfest and SHAMc as “Ourvestment”?  For gifting these experiences to yourself also make you a member in a “Community of Opportunity”. Creativity is truly the healthiest kind of oil we have on our planet for it is a social lubricant of the people. And it is also a glue that can bind us together like no other.

Thank you.

Joe Craven
Blender Logic Arts - Education Outreach and Performance
RiverTunes - Roots Music Creativity Camp

www.joecraven.com
www.rivertunes.net
www.vocalicamp.com
facebook.com/playjoecraven
facebook.com/joecravenmusic
facebook.com/rivertunes

Music is a language. Let's all learn to speak it.

If it were all up to Joe Craven, people would "Tap into music the same way they move through life: rhythm, integrity, feeling the groove."

As he played for a mid-day crowd in downtown Safety Harbor on March 30th, we adults appreciated the talent shining through his multitude of instruments. We loved his wisdom-filled rhymes. "Folk music--give it a chance. Listen to the stories, get up and dance." The kids appreciated his humor, and I am sure they related to his ability to make something magical out of simple things. His music is folksy and fun. It's many stories with many beats. His instruments not only included a fiddle, he brought out a bundt pan, a flower wall sconce (he said he paid .50 cents for at a garage sale), a Jell-o mold, shoelaces, an hors d'oeuvres serving tray, donkey jawbones, souvenir cups, brushes, and my favorite, a Holiday Inn Express waste can.

Joe Craven has a diverse background. He was a museum curator for ten years, an educator, visual artist, motivational speaker, actor, storyteller, and festival emcee. He's an outspoken advocate of the folk arts, and as his website describes him, "his educational mission is to empower individuals to take possession of their own music and tell their stories by “demystifying” art through self-expression as a daily ritual."

As an educator, Joe travels throughout the country, performing and teaching all ages and types of students. He's an encouraging music man with a message: Success is not the key to happiness; happiness is the key to success.

After a fun-filled evening at Todd and Kiaralinda's house concert, I asked Joe about what he thinks an art and music center will do for the people of Safety Harbor. "It's empowering people to live a more artful life," he said. "Art is the pursuit of possibilities." He continued with what I used as the title of this blog. "Music is a language. Let's all learn to speak it."

Learn more about Joe Craven by visiting his website. Or, to figure out the meaning of life, purchase one of his CDs. (Hey, it worked for me!)