West African dance takes over Oakland

For one night, dancers at Oakland’s Skyline High School transported the auditorium’s occupants to the shores of West Africa with rhythmic drumming that reverberated through the room. Dancers stomped and moved rapidly across the stage, their energy captivating their audience. Then came the mystical sounds of the Kura, a West African 21-string instrument, which when…

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After 12 years, music fills McClymonds High School’s halls

Student at McClymonds High School participates in piano class. It is the first time in 12 years that McClymonds has offered music classes.

The sounds of piano notes, falsettos, and string instruments echo through the empty hallways at McClymonds High School in West Oakland. The campus that once housed over 800 students has had a steady and rapid decline in enrollment in the past few years. Currently, one-fourth of the original population attends the school—putting the enrollment at…

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Sold out show at the New Parish benefits unaccompanied migrant youth

President Barack Obama’s recent executive order defers the deportation of undocumented parents of American citizens or legal permanent residents who have been in the country for at least five years. This is expected to affect approximately 4 million undocumented immigrants, but excludes approximately 7 million others, according to a recent report on NPR. Among those excluded…

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Q&A with Hip Hop Chess Federation founder on partnership with East Bay schools

Adisa Banjoko

Banjoko once lived in Oakland and was a part of the ‘90s Bay Area Hip Hop music scene. Currently, he is teaching chess and life strategies to students at Encinal High School in Alameda through a partnership with his friend John Fuentes, who oversees the after school high school program for Bay Area Community Resources (BACR). From now to the end of this school year, Fuentes’ goal is to have Banjoko teach chess at several Oakland high schools as well.

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Until organs go silent

Bob Schleicher walks around his Hammond Clinic.

Bob Schleicher has been repairing Hammond organs and Leslie speakers in Oakland for nearly five decades–and he’s one of the best at what he does. Something magical happens when you plug in a Leslie speaker to a Hammond organ, he says.

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Oakland’s Ukulele Love-In

Mana Maddy at ukulele love in

Maybe it’s their charming, upbeat sound. Maybe it’s because they’re tiny, portable and cheaper than guitars. Whatever the reason, ukuleles are all the rage these days — from Eddie Vedder albums to Oakland cafes. Every month, local musician Madeline Tasquin, also known as Mana Maddy, hosts the “Ukulele Love-In” at Actual Cafe. Dozens of die-hard…

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