Posts by Peri Pakroo

Strange Magic’s Javier Romero shares his solo project’s evolution, how his new album holds up to pandemic realities, and how he keeps track of hundreds of “mumble jams” to feed his songwriting.

Please forgive me for taking until now to announce that in May 2020 I hired Lisa Barrow as Editor, and I could not be more stoked to have her as my very first employee!

How is the pandemic affecting us culturally, socially and psychologically? Host Peri Pakroo invited artist and mental health counselor (and artist/muralist) Andrew Fearnside, sociologist (and drummer) Ryan Goodman, and arts organizer (and linguist) Ruth Dove to Zoom in and chat about it.

Hey arts-loving friends! Albuquerque’s Arts Hub is raising funds for artists impacted by the pandemic. Donate at their Facebook page or at their website at http://www.abqartshub.com/relief

Many of us are stuck in isolation, unable to share or promote our work in the ways originally planned like tours, festivals, conferences, etc., so I was thinking it might be of help to offer a way to spread the word digitally about what’s happening with your work.

Filmmaker Alejandro Montoya Marin is in the finishing stages of producing his second feature, Millennium Bugs. It was supposed to screen at SXSW, and Antonio was slated to participate on a panel about independent filmmaking — but a nasty pathogen has thwarted his plans.

Host Peri Pakroo talks with Billy McCall about his new book, Four-Year Depression, shitshow politics, and using art to build new concepts and new realities.

John Fugelsang is in Albuquerque to perform “Unpresidented: The true story of a comedian trying to raise a toddler while his country was electing one” and we were lucky enough to get him into the Pyragraph LIVE studio (a.k.a. my office) to talk about comedy, politics, religion, and how he’s pulled all those elements and more into his unique creative career. 

After last week’s tragedy in Parkland, Florida, I reached out to Maggie Byers and Emilie De Angelis of Moms Demand Action NM to talk about recent developments on the gun control front. Moms Demand Action is a bi-partisan grassroots organization fighting the epidemic of gun violence in the US.

The very best prospects for your nonprofit’s board will be people who share a passion for, and commitment to, the nonprofit’s mission. No matter what name recognition or professional credentials particular people may have to offer, they will not be assets to your nonprofit’s board unless they care a lot about what you do.

The most important detail for you to be clear about is who is in the audience. How much did they pay to get into the event? Say, for an art competition, who are the participants: adults from a local correctional facility or high school students? You’ll want to cater your talk to their perspective.

Mainly what I’d say to my friend is this: Imagine a world where there is a free beer tap on every corner. If you want to make a living selling beer, how can you succeed? One inescapable part of the answer, it seems to me, is that you end up giving away a LOT of beer.

I’ll be honest, the simple act of listing what we’ve accomplished makes me feel pretty great and makes me excited to contemplate what we’ll achieve in the coming year and years beyond that. Because, to continue being honest, I feel a palpable feeling of overwhelm.

That’s right, Trump says John Lewis is all talk and no action or results. To even repeat that line on Martin Luther King Jr. Day makes me feel stabby.

Creative folks have a special and incredibly important role in, and power to affect, social change. While the actual levers of political power may be in the wrong hands at the moment, artists and creatives have immense social and cultural power. Yes, this means you! YOU have power to reach hearts and minds, often in ways that politicians and campaigners cannot, and never will be able to.

We’ll see how far I make it into gearheadery, but this I can tell you: An important part of deciding to get more hands-on with media production is simply accepting the inescapable fact that there’s no quick-and-easy way to do this kind of creative work.