Flames of Discontent: Bios

THE FLAMES OF DISCONTENT

Alternative Protest ensemble The Flames of Discontent is John Pietaro (Electric Banjo, Vocals, Percussion) and Laurie Towers (lead Electric Bass Guitar, backing vocals), augmented by various others. The Flames' repertoire combines daring reconstructions of classic protest music along with original topical songs, spoken word pieces and improvisation. Their sound adapts strains of post-punk rockabilly, Berlin cabaret, neo-Beat poetry, jazz and roots music to the folk/protest genre, producing a mix that is simultaneously edgy and familiar.

The pair, originally from Brooklyn NY but based in NY's Hudson River Valley from 2005-2009, are living again in Brooklyn as of 2010. Plans are laid for performances throughout the NYC area as well as the re-establishment of their Dissident Folk & Arts Festival, founded in Beacon NY in 2005, as an annual Manhattan gathering for protest arts.

With the September 2005 release of their first CD, "I Dreamed I Heard Joe Hill Last Night...A Century of IWW Songs" (credited to John Pietaro & The Flames of Discontent; the name has since gone democratic!), the Flames have been regularly performing their brand of radical song throughout the New York area and beyond. The first CD, described by 'Chronogram' magazine as "kick-ass music for the masses", was recorded in honor of the centenniel of the Industrial Workers of the World and produced in accordance with historian/author Paul Buhle. The CD toured the world as part of Buhle's 'Traveling Wobbly Show' exhibit and lecture presentation of the IWW anniversary. Its official release (9/05) was at the Buhle-organized IWW anniversary event at NYC's City University of New York Graduate Center auditorium.

The Flames second CD "Revenge of the Atom Spies", was released in March, 2007. It documents today's struggle for social justice via metaphors of the Red Scare. Liner notes were written by Paul Buhle. Response to this CD has been excellent, with some glowing reviews and frequent airplay. A reviewer from the UK's 'Whisperin &Hollerin' offered that this CD contains, "Riffs enough to cut through the US deficit". WDST-FM (Radio Woodstock) laughingly proclaimed "John Pietaro is our favorite Commie", after airing one of our tracks. Further, a recent quote from their Morning Show host Greg Gattine stated, "This is not the time for complacency--this is time for the Flames of Discontent". Two selection from this CD were selected to be a part of Neil Young's 'Living With War Today' achieving first-column status.

The Flames' music has been heard live on the air on a coast-to-coast Pacifica Radio broadcast during the 2007 Clearwater Festival, and selections from their discs have been broadcast on Oscar Brand's esteemed folk music program on WNYC (New York City) as well as many radio stations including WBAI (NYC), WDST (Woodstock NY), WVK (Poughkeepise NY), WFMU (Jersey City NJ), WKZE (Red Hook NY), WJFF (Jeffersonville NY), WSUR (Eau Claire WI), KDHX-FM (St. Louis, MO), KAOS (Olympia WA), Radio Labourstart (internet broadcasts from London, UK), WIN (Workers Independent News), among many others. Our music has somehow even been broadcast on a Clear Channel station (!), KIAK-FM (Fairbanks, AL). Selections have also been heard on websites unionist.org and biglabor.org, both of which labeled as music as 'Song of the Week' at various points.

Some highlights of the Flames' performances include organizing/hosting/performing for tribute concerts in honor of both Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs (Woodstock NY), performing for the People's Weekly World 'Better World Awards' ceremony (NYC, 5/09), Phil Ochs Tribute Concert w/Jonathan Edwards, Lincoln Mayorga and Magpie (5/09 Hudson NY), People's Weekly World Fundraising Picnic (Albany NY, 8/08), Turning Dutchess Blue rally for Rep John Hall (5/08), An Evening of Free Speech Music & Poetry w/the ReadNex Poetry Squad (High Falls NY, 11/07), performance at the 2007 West Point Peace Rally while being accosted by angry rightist counter-protestors (5/07), hosting and performing for May Day concerts (various 2005, 2006, 2007), Folk the Vote! w/ReadNexPoetry Squad (Kingston NY, 11/06), and the annual Dissident Folk & Arts Festival which has included Pete Seeger, Ray Korona, Bev Grant, numerous others(2006-2009, Beacon NY), performing for area political fundraisers and labor rallies, opening up 'The Rally To Take Back Congress' - in honor of John Hall and Kirsten Gillibrand (Poughkeepsie NY 10/06), the Woodstock Fringe Festival of Theatre and Song - including a Labor Day Concert (Woodstock NY, 8/06 and 9/06), performing for the convention of the Retail and Dept Store Workers Union (Orlando, Fla, 7/06), the Rosendale Street Festival (Rosendale NY, 7/06), West Point Peace Rally (Highland Falls NY, 5/06, 5/07), the New Paltz Peace Rally (SUNY New Paltz, 3/06) and the 100th Anniversary of the Wobblies (CUNY Graduate Center, New York City, 9/05).

Additionally, the Flames were performers/producers of various New York City events including May Day concerts in NYC (2000-2004), and a memorial concert in honor Sis Cunningham (New York City, 10/04), and numerous labor rallies, a fundraiser for United for Peace and Justice(2004), and other progressive gatherings. Club performances include NYC's 'Brecht Forum', 'Yippie Museum Cafe' and 'Sidewalk Cafe'; Woodstock NY's 'Colony Cafe' and 'Byrdcliffe Theatre''; Kingston NY's 'Backstage Studio Productions (BSP)'; Beacon NY's 'Howland Cultural Center'; Rosendale NY's 'Rosendale Cafe'; High Falls NY's 'High Falls Cafe'; New Paltz NY's '60 Main'; Hudson NY's Stageworks; and at various progressive and community events.

Lastly, and most ironically for such a bunch of rogues, selections from the Flames' CDs have been used as part of the curriculum in courses taught by professors Paul Buhle (Brown University, Providence, RI), William Kaufman (University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire, United Kingdom), and Thomas Marvin (Indiana University, Purdue University, Indiannapolis, IN)

John Pietaro - electric banjo, vocals, drumkit, percussion; author

John Pietaro is a musician whose repertoire is based on the body of protest, labor and topical songs. As a drummer-percussionist, vocalist or banjo player (with doubles on piano and guitar), he has performed with the internationally acclaimed poet Alan Ginsberg, folk legend Pete Seeger, saxophonist/composer Fred Ho, poet/vocalist Amina Baraka, 'Freedom Singer' Matt Jones, topical songwriter Charlie King, the Ray Korona Band, and punk-folk troubador Kirk Kelly, among others. Events he has organized have featured Amiri Baraka, Malachy McCourt, Pete Seeger, Lach, David Rovics, Anne Feeney, Nora Guthrie, Sonny Ochs, Henry Foner, Ken Nash & Mimi Rosenberg (of WBAI radio), Women in Black, Bev Grant, Gwen Laster, Louis Reyes Rivera, Judy Gorman, ReadNex Poetry Squad, the People's Music Network, Tuli Kupferberg of the Fugs, and many more.

Pietaro, prior to his role with the Flames of Discontent, performed at various progressive events in New York City including for labor rallies, May Day concerts, tribute concerts, numerous fundraisers and awareness-raisers (including those for for Mumia Abu-Jamal, United for Peace and Justice and the IWW campaign to organize Starbucks workers). Pietaro was also a performer at The Million Worker March(Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, 10/04), the 85th Birthday Celebration of Henry Foner(New York University, 3/04), "Celebrate Moe" - the commemoration of the life of Moe Foner (Town Hall, NYC, 4/02), Solidarity Rally for TWU Local 100 (City Hall, NYC, 12/02), strike rally for ILR (NYC, 6/00), numerous other union-oriented gigs. He was a member of Pete Seeger's accompanying ensemble for Pete's concert/lecture "Music in the History of Struggle" (1199 SEIU auditorium, NYC, 11/99). Among the events Pietaro organized, hosted and performed at were concerts in honor of multiple events for May Day (various), concerts in honor of Phil Ochs (various), "A Song for Sis: A Concert for Sis Cunningham" (NYC, 10/04), "The Arts Still Say NO To War" - a benefit for United for Peace & Justice (NYC, 3/04); the month-long Workers Memorial Day-May Day Festival co-coordinated with Kirk Kelly (various NYC locations, 4 -5/03); Solidarity Forever- Concert for International Labor Unity and A Benefit for the NYC CLC '9/11' Relief Fund</strong> (NYC, 10/01); Made For You and Me - A Celebration of Woody Guthrie's Music and a Benefit for Striking Workers (NYC, 2/01); and The Hanns Eisler Centenary Festival (NYC, 9/98). He also served as musical director for part of the international cultural event in defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal, "Mumia 911" (Brecht Forum, NYC, 9/99).

Pietaro is a contributing music writer to "Political Affairs","The People's World", "Z" magazine and his writings have also appeared in "The Indypendent", "Groundscore", "Portside", "Fifth Estate" and others. Pietaro also penned a chapter in the 2008 book, "SDS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY", edited by Paul Buhle (and otherwise "mostly written" by legendary comic writer Harvey Pekar). He is currently writing a detailed study of protest arts, THE CULTURAL WORKERS: RADICAL ARTS AND REVOLUTIONARY ARTISTS IN THE USA, 1900-TODAY.

Pietaro holds degrees in Music Performance, Music Education and Music Therapy, as well as a certificate in Labor Organizing. A trained drummer/percussionist, Pietaro studied with renowned marimba player and percussionist James Preiss and drummer Normie Wayne, and engaged in seminars taught by Olatunji and master classes taught by improvisor Karl Berger, among others. He is a self-taught banjo player. Pietaro has worked as professionally as a social services Case Manager, as a clinical Music Therapist and as Labor Organizer in New York.

Laurie Towers - lead electric bass guitars

Laurie Towers is the Flames primary soloist, creating basslines which are greatly expansive in scope. Veteran New York music writer Gary Alexander, reflecting on Laurie's musicianship, has described her as a "bass wizard". She is a musician as well as an independent business woman, a health practicioner (owner of Physical Advantage, an internationally respected massage therapy center which specializes in the rehab of professional athletes and performers), a writer, a visual artist, a feminist, an athlete, a mentor for at-risk girls and a volunteer speaker at various programs for women who are experiencing domestic abuse. As a bassist, Laurie is greatly talented, easily fusing Motown-inspired bass lines into leads, free improvisations and powerful, percussive statements. She splits her time between a standard fretted electric bass guitar and the fretless variety, allowing listeners to hear her many influences including studio wiz Carol Kaye, late Jazz great Jaco Pastorious, pop maestro Paul McCartney, avant Jazz master Charlie Haden and the Soul brilliance of James Jameson. All that and a gift for melody, too. Chronogram Magazine, in a September 2005 review, referred to her basslines as, "transfixing, melodic". Laurie is a self-taught musician who's performed in a wide array of settings including Rock cover bands, original pop groups, experimental music, Jazz and studio work. Performing in the Flames allows her harmonic and rhythmic freedom as well as a chance to engage in music of socially historic importance and lyrical empowerment.