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June 6, 2018 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment Jersey-Raised Rocker Ranjit Arapurakal Takes Alt-Right cont’d from pg 6 a Pause for the Cause By Kam Williams For The Skanner News orn in his moth- er’s hometown of Trivandrum, India, the terra cotta-col- ored capital of Kerala, Ranjit Arapurakal spent his infancy in Vienna and Frankfurt before be- ing raised in New Jersey from the age of 4. Today, the versatile vocalist, composer, multi-instru- mentalist and music ed- ucator is based in Goa, India, and is currently on an extended tour across Russia. The Jersey boy start- ed playing rock music in high school and nev- er stopped, except for slowing down a bit to earn a bachelor’s degree in Literature with hon- ors at Rutgers Universi- ty. After graduating, he migrated to NYC where he honed his stagecraft, while working as a jazz singer, session musician, bartender, open mic host, dance accompanist for Alvin Ailey, Juilliard and several other lead- ing dance academies, and as a music teacher for in- fants and their parents. Visit Ranjit’s recent- ly-launched Patreon page at www.patreon. com/RanjitArapurakal/ overview to help enable folks all over the world to follow and support “Ran- jit Arapurakal’s World Peace Tour.” B Kam Williams: Hi Ran- jit, thanks for the inter- view. Ranjit Arapurakal: It’s my pleasure. Kam. Thanks for reaching out. KW: When did you de- velop an interest in mu- sic? RA: I started singing in the church choir when I was 7 years-old, and I enjoyed it from the start. But I was drawn to the mysteries of sound even before that. There was a And they showed up in droves, not bothering to hide their faces as they entered the venue, al- though there’s footage of one snarling, “Don’t record me, [N-word!]” at a Black counter-demon- strator with a camera. But from footage shot at that rally in Dickson, Tennessee, you could already see trouble was brewing. For, there’s a chilling video clip of a lot of music in the house. KW: How would you describe yourself, musi- cally? RA: As a psychedelic singer/songwriter. But it changes all the time. As a multi-instrumentalist, I get to play with many different musicians in many settings. My com- fort zones include Funk, Groove, Soul, Reggae and Rock & Roll. And I’m delving into Psychedelic Rock and live Techno at the moment. KW: Do you prefer playing solo or with a group? RA: I don’t have a pref- erence. Both have their own unique charms as well as limitations. When you can commu- nicate with other musi- cians the same way you can communicate with yourself, you get the best of both worlds. KW: I enjoyed listen- ing to a lot of your songs, especially “Lonavala,” “That’s My Name” and “Since the Start.” What is the source of your in- spiration when creating a tune? RA: The songs usually just bubble up from my subconscious or inner voice or paramatma. Some songs are about love and some are about the environment, from fracking to the Dakota Access Pipeline. I also have a penchant for post-apocalyptic love songs, as a genre. KW: You hail from New Jersey, but perform in India and elsewhere around the world. Where do you like playing the most? RA: I have been based in Goa, on India’s west coast, for the last three years. The music scene there, as well as the audi- ences and the beautiful nature, are what made “ Ranjit Arapurakal me stretch out what was originally meant to be a two-week holiday. KW: You play both guitar and piano. What is your favorite instru- ment? RA: My favorite instru- ment is the human voice. It’s easy to transport and can touch, directly, the soul of any listener. KW: Who are some of your musical influences? RA: Lenny Kravitz, The Doors, Blues Traveler, Caetano Veloso, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Ella Fitzger- ald, Stevie Wonder, Cho- pin, Fauré, Monteverdi, Frank Sinatra, The Band, The Beatles, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Santana, Terrence Trent D’Arby, Bob Marley and the Wail- ers, Gil Scott Heron, Mo- torhead, The Cure, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Phish, and Dave Mathews Band, to name a few. KW: What was the last song you listened to? RA: It’s been ages since I listened to a song. I was recently exposed to some Russian minimal techno, but these are not songs; more like moody sound- scapes. KW: What is your ear- liest childhood memory? RA: I remember my nursery school at All Saints Church in Prince- ton, NJ. Mrs. Weatherall had a pair of gray rabbits in a cage in the garden. And apple juice and gra- ham crackers. It was par- adise! KW: What is your fa- vorite dish to cook? RA: Most recently, car- rot-ginger soup. KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see? RA: I see a guy who’s ready for showtime! KW: What’s the cra- ziest thing you’ve ever done? RA: Aside from being born yet again on this plane of reality? Nothing. KW: If you could have one wish instantly grant- ont Jenkins, an African American veteran of the U.S. military who fervently believes that “evil flourishes when good people do noth- ing.” For decades, Daryle has dedicated his life to monitoring people like Spencer, if only to inform their bosses and neighbors how they spend their free time. You might be think- The new President had sent out a signal that it’s perfectly fine to be a racist neo-Nazi revving his engine as if he wanted to hit some protesters standing in the street. “You’re not running anyone over!” a female marcher yelled at him. This was just a month before the Charlottes- ville rally where Heath- er Heyer was struck and killed by a car driv- en by one of these hate- filled creeps. Directed by Adam Bhala Lough, Alt- Right: Age of Rage is an eye-opening documen- tary chronicling the re- cent rise of the white su- premacist movement in the age of Trump. This fascinating film fea- tures interviews with both neo-Nazis and the intrepid activists deter- mined to expose them. Specifically, the di- rector opted to focus most closely on Richard Spencer, the advocate of Black genocide who coined the term “alt- right,” and Daryle Lam- ing, “Hey, why not just ignore these neo-Nazis, and maybe nobody will know about them in the absence of any media attention?” That tac- tic might have worked prior to the digital age, when recruitment is rampant over the inter- net. The picture culmi- nates with the confron- tation in Charlottesville where all hell broke loose when the police inexplicably allowed armed White suprem- acists chanting “Jews will not replace us!” and other vile slogans to surround anti-Fascists in an area of Emancipa- tion Park set aside for a counter-demonstra- tion. Overall, a sober- ing expose’ proving the President wrong when he suggests that there are both good and bad Nazis. Excellent HHHH Unrated Kam Williams Movie Previews at Award winning movie cri tic See INTERVIEW on page 11 2019 THE SKANNER FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN Revealing celebrity s interview NEW MOVIES OPENING EVERY WEEK! Application Deadline: October 31, 2018 For more information and to download The Skanner Foundation scholarship application, go to www.theskanner.com/ foundation/scholarship Scholarships will be awarded at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on January 21, 2019.
