It was sizzling in San Francisco on Saturday and so was NPR. We’re not just talking about the burgers though they were on the grill all afternoon. No, NPR was cooking up the action on the sidewalk too.

Martina Tran smiles despite the monumental heat

Ana Maria Loya, the executive director of La Raza Centro Legal, stopped in to talk to Martina Tran before the grill got fired up. Ana talked about the work her group does to help immigrants. For instance, one of its efforts is the Day Labor program which helps to ensure that people, like those waiting for work on Cesar Chavez, get a fair wage.

Ana from La Raza Centro Legal was the noon-hour guest

Then NPR went international with a live hook-up to NPR’s ‘Potluck Confessional’ party in Hamburg. While performers entertained the crowd, the locals were invited to come and whisper their confessions into a microphone linked only to San Francisco, and the archive, of course.

DJ Intro just doesn’t care as he throws his hands in the air

From that we went outside the building to the turntables and the bouncing young rappers on the sidewalk.

Spreading the word to all of Valencia Street

Tony the Tiger and Francois gave everything they had into the mics while a record crowd sat in the sweltering heat in front of them eating hot dogs and burgers.

“There’s just so much going on!” - NPR volunteers look left and right

From the boisterous noise of the boys on the mic we went to the more reflective sounds of Pale Hoarse who played live in the studio.

aaaiiiii….Pale Hoarse having a moment

They vacated the indoor microphones and the heat of the studio for some Frank Prattle. Jennifer McCabe and Justin Giarla represented New Langton Arts and The Shooting Gallery respectively, top-notch galleries that stand out from their gritty surroundings here in SF.

Jennifer McCabe and Justin Giarla

The Edgetone Music Summit takes place this coming weekend and Rent Romus and Tom Nunn came along to give us a little idea of what Edgetone is all about. Rent howled into the microphone and Tom plucked at his self-made instrument - the Mothic - with a variety of combs.

Who wants traditional instruments? Rent and Tom with the Mothic

From the musically esoteric we went all hairspray and leg-warmers, as Katina took it back outside to bring about an ’80s revival with anyone who cared to join her. We mixed up Sade, Bruce Springsteen, Katina, DJ Intro and various passers-by with the guts to step up to the microphone.

The afternoon had been about fun, laughter, and trying not to get ketchup on the outfit, until Whizz took her turn on the microphone for The Apocalypse Half Hour. Mindful that the world is going to end in our lifetimes, she asked anyone who would listen if they felt personally responsible for global warming. She then talked to Joel Micucci, a partner in local green building firm, Lorax Development.

Joel is a stand-up comic but he’s not laughing about the Apocalypse

After all that talk of death and destruction and, um…not letting the tap run while you brush your teeth, it was a relief to hear DJ Milton Parker, whose regular moment of serenity through mixed-up sounds brought the perfect postscript to what had been a sociable day outside the ATA.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s the audio:

Martina Tran interviews
Ana Maria Loya, the executive director of La Raza Centro Legal

LeE Montgomery and Jon Brumit
pry confessions from the German Populace

DJ Intro and the BBQ Rap Breakdown

Pale Hoarse plays their melancholy for the masses

Frank Prattle with Zefrey featuring:
Jennifer McCabe (New Langton Arts) and Justin Giarla (The Shooting Gallery)


Edgetone Music Festival with Rent Romus

Katina on the streets with Karaoke

The Apocalypse Half Hour with Whizz

DJ Milton Parker

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 25th, 2006 at 8:56 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.