October has arrived and for a growing number of musicians and live music fans, this means annual concerts across the world dedicated to the memory of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter murdered by extremists while on assignment in Pakistan in 2002.
Pearl was also a musician who played mandolin and violin in various bands. He was known for his love of meeting new people by participating in open mics and informal jam sessions.
In Taipei, the 9th annual Daniel Pearl Day of Music takes place tomorrow at Treasure Hill (寶藏嚴), a former veterans’ community near the Fuhe Riverside Park (福和河濱公園) in Gongguan (公館), which has been converted into an art exhibition space.
Photos by David Chen, Taipei Times, and courtesy of Kyle Merrima
Tomorrow’s all-day, outdoor event, co-sponsored by the American Institute in Taiwan, the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club and the Taipei Artist Village (台北藝術村), is free and features a dozen bands.
Performers include popular expat reggae band High Tide, veteran garage rockers Celluloid (賽璐璐), South African singer-songwriter Dawid Vorster and local gypsy jazz group Dark Eyes.
The festivities also coincide with Treasure Hill’s reopening as the Treasure Hill Artist Village (寶藏巖國際藝術村), with an open studio hosted by resident artists, an outdoor crafts bazaar and free guided tours of the community throughout the day. There will also be food vendors selling burritos, taco salads, roast chicken and burgers, according to organizer Sean Scanlan.
Photos by David Chen, Taipei Times, and courtesy of Kyle Merrima
Taipei has participated in the Daniel Pearl World Music Days since the event was started in 2002 by Pearl’s parents, Ruth and Judea, as a global network of concerts promoting “harmony for humanity.” The concerts have grown in number every year, according to the Daniel Pearl Foundation, with some 1,700 concerts held in more than 80 countries last year.
In the US, the World Music Days often see participation from high-profile artists. Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and John Williams were a few big names from last year’s events.
But Daniel Pearl’s legacy of forging friendships through music is also carried out as a grassroots effort.
Photos by David Chen, Taipei Times, and courtesy of Kyle Merrima
Musician Todd Mack, a close friend and former bandmate of Pearl’s, started FODfest, or the Friends of Daniel Pearl Festival group.
As a loose, rotating collective of musicians, FODfest has been traveling around the US every year since 2006, organizing “open jams” wherever they go, with the goal of bringing area musicians together and fostering a sense of community.
Last year, FODfest made their first overseas trip to Taiwan, meeting and jamming with local musicians (including this writer) at the Daniel Pearl Day of Music in Taipei and the Taichung Jazz Festival. Next week, the group is headed to Israel and the West Bank.
Photos by David Chen, Taipei Times, and courtesy of Kyle Merrima
“It has been cool to watch Daniel Pearl Music Days grow as FODfest has grown and I am proud to have been an active participant from the beginning, even before I started FODfest,” Mack wrote in an e-mail to the Taipei Times earlier this week.
“The thing I think of first when I think of Danny is what a great friend he was,” Mack wrote. “Our shared vision of music as a universal language long predates his tragic murder.”
“He was also a truth seeker and somebody who invariably connected with people without even trying. He was the most all-inclusive person I’ve ever met and the circle could never be too wide in his eyes.”
Photos by David Chen, Taipei Times, and courtesy of Kyle Merrima
Band schedule
2pm:Skycruiser
3PM:2 Acres Plowed
4PM:Blues Vibrations
5PM:BoPoMoFo
6PM:Celluloid (賽璐璐)
7PM:.22
8PM:High Tide
5PM:Dark Eyes
6PM:Nate Javens
7PM:Faubourg 116
8PMvDawid Vorster
9PM:Psycho’s band
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