_______________ (Clic '{Ìarthinò OObseruer__________
October 23. 2002
Page B3
Focus
Holding Traditions Dear
I was raised around drums, that's
where I came from.
C
--West African nativeand northeast Portland resident Obo Addy
continued
Ak.
from Metro
under the sponsorship o f the
country’s Art Council.
Even today, A ddy’s talents are
still sought after. Last August he
played with his African Band mates
at the prestigous Lincoln Center in
New York City and he is currently
booked to play ten shows in Feb
ruary at The Kennedy Center in
W ashington DC.
Music and dance has sustained
Addy not just financially but spiri
tually and physically as well. When
he plays, he forgets his aches and
pains.
“When I play I feel stronger,” he
explained. “If I’m sick, I feel bet
ter.”
Addy is adamant about keeping
the old ways alive. It hasn’ t always
been easy. Traditional ways were
frowned upon by the British who
were the colonial rulers of Ghana
for many years. It wasn’t until 1958
That Ghana finally gained its inde
pendence. It was the first African
nation to gain independence from
the British.
But Addy said he plays for all of
Africa.
“The freedom of Ghana is mean
ingless until the whole continent
of Africa is free,” he said.
Addy has always believed in
his roots and the drumming passed
down by his ancestors all the way
to his father and ultimately himself.
Now Addy keeps it alive by
passing it on to others through
lessons and workshops and per
fo rm a n c e s in sc h o o ls and
churches.
Addy is the artistic director of
Homowo: A frican Arts and C ul
tures. He created the organiza
tion to prom ote the sounds and
culture o f Ghana.
O ften Addy plays for free. His
goal is not to generate a lot o f
m oney for him self or to create a
big nam e, he ju st w ants to keep
the traditions alive and share the
richness o f what A frica has given
to his character and soul.
H om ow o is a traditional festi
val o f the people o f Accra. It is
said that founders N iikoilai and
N iiauikushie brought the festi
val to the shores o f A ccra while
escaping drought in central A f
rica.
In early spring the people start
planting gardens. In M ay, there
is no m usic in G hana.
“The quietness signifies star
vation,” said Addy.
At the end o f 5 w eeks the
people start harvesting and once
again drum m ing and m usic fills
village and town.
Addy brings his own Homowo
festival to the park blocks annu
ally at PSU through the second
w eek o f August.
“I do this to prom ote more
A frican m usic,” he said.
A num ber o f high schools and
colleges have been very inter
ested in A ddy’s w orkshops and
perform ances. “The kids love it,”
he says, “they love learning the
rhythm s.”
At a recent concert at PSU
students seem ed awe struck but
A ddy’s drum m ing at a noon con
cert. A fter the show Addy enter
tained questions from the cu ri
ous students and faculty.
One w om an was troubled by
the dom inance o f w estern music
over ethnic music, but Addy said
that it does w ork both ways. He
cited the sam pling o f traditional
A frican rhythm s in rap.
“I heard som ething that was
my m usic,” he said sm iling, “but
it was to o ' short to make any
m oney from .”
WC Makes Stop at One Stop Records
Mr. James Barry (left), the owner o f One Stop Records at 1615 NE Killingsworth, Angela White
o f Portland Music Scene and Tim Spence (right), regional director of marketing for Universal
Music, pose with DefJam recording artist, WC, during a recent visit to Portland. WC was in
town Thrusday, Oct. 10 to promote the Oct. 22 release o f his new album, Ghetto Heisman.
PHOTO BY M ,\RK WASHINGTON/THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
Reality TV in
Space Race
‘Survivor’ producer Mark Burnett is resurrect
ing a iong-planned reality show that will send
a winning contestant orbiting to the Interna
tional Space Station on a Soyuz rocket.
Burnett signed a deal this week with
Russia's space agency and the country's
largest TV network to train 20 contestants,
who will gradually be eliminated by a panel of
space officials. Co-producer Conrad Riggs
says a launch of the show in November
2003 is planned.
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Made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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