There is an old Chinese curse that says, “may you live in interesting times”
The current climate in the United States is certainly an interesting affair to say the least with a political leader who is known more for his continual rounds of golf and spouting questionable truths than actually leading the country.
As a musician, David Poe sees it as his responsibility to create positive change. Poe says that musicians have always stood at the vanguard for change.
For Poe, currently that change comes in the form of a video titled “What the President Said”. The animated video brings the Statue of Liberty to life, a la Schoolhouse Rock, where she visits parts of the nation including the Golden Gate bridge, the Standing Rock Reservation and Flint, Michigan.
Animated by activist and Native Alaskan Vanessa Sweet and vocals provided by Sister C, the video features audio recorded during the Women’s March on Washington, DC and LAX on January 21, 2017. Poe says that he encourages women who attended the march to see if they can pick their voices out of the crowd as they shouted, “this is what democracy looks like.”
Poe noted in a recent interview that he and the other artists involved in creating the video donated their time to the project in order to raise awareness and inspire people to get out and vote come this November…and beyond…to bring about some positive change.
An Ann Arbor, Michigan native, Poe has traveled around the country sharing his music. Residing in New York City only a few blocks away during the World Trade Towers tragedy, Poe says that his most vivid memory was of the thousands of fliers posted everywhere asking if anyone has seen this person…and knowing that they would probably never be found.
David Poe has been making music for many years and has been the opening act for numerous musicians during that time including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Tori Amos, and the Jayhawkes. He has performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Poe’s music has been used for film and television productions including “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”, “Transamerica”, “Shadowland”, “The O.C.”, and the television series “Nashville”.
Lyrics from his song “These are the Days” were printed on the magnum sized wine bottles from Cinder Winery in Idaho.
Poe has not revealed what music he will release next, but admits that he has enough new material to “offend” the NRA membership for at least an hour.
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