Beyond The Mic

Winter Block Party: Dancing and Stories

By: Don Hall | Jan. 21, 2013

Jan. 21, 2013

"Isn't Hip Hop a musical style?"

It is.  I used to think that's ALL it was.  A style of music.  

Through producing the Winter Block Party and working closely with Kevin Coval, Daniel Ash, Jesse Menendez, Alice Kim, and a host of collaborators over the past five years, I have witnessed that Hip Hop is far more than "just" a style of music.  It is a political posture, it's an artistic medium, it's a perspective of the world, it's an attitude.  It is also a style of dress, of dancing, of celebrating life, of communicating.

You don't need to produce a Block Party for Hip Hop to experience what I have - you can just come to the Metro this Saturday and soak it in.  Ask questions.  Listen and let it seep into your skin.

If you've never witnessed B-Boys and B-Girls (the shorthand comes from either "Breakdancing" or "Beat" depending on who you ask), then you haven't seen one of the most amazing displays of physical prowess, grace and absolute "in yer face" athletic dancing anywhere by anyone.

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Winter Block Party: Hip Hop Infusion

By: Don Hall | Jan. 9, 2013

Jan. 9, 2013

The Winter Block Party for Chicago's Hip Hop Arts strives to present a sampling of the many artistic media that have been and continue to be influenced by Hip Hop in Chicago.  Hip Hop is more than music and the Block Party is your chance to see exactly how far reaching it is as a cultural stamp.

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Did Somebody Say Hip Hop?

By: Don Hall | Jan. 3, 2013

Jan. 3, 2013

Six years ago, Daniel Ash decided he wanted to have a party.  He decided he wanted to have a party that brought people together to swim a little bit in the Culture of Hip Hop.  He recognized that Hip Hop, like Jazz and Rock and Roll before it, was a dominant cultural influencer - and that it was fun.  And vibrant.  And political.

This January 26th, WBEZ and Vocalo present the 5th Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago's Hip Hop Arts.  Every year, we have upped the ante - from a first class graffiti art gallery that encompassed all of the Biograph Theater (2009) to a panel discussion between the originators of both Hip Hop and House music in Chicago (2011) to a blow-out B-Boy/B-Girl Dance Battle complete with a living documentary of the art form (2012).  This year, we up the ante once again.

As always, the daytime events are completely free of any admission price.  From the return of the B-Boy/B-Girl Dance Battles (run and judged by Waka of the Legendary Brickheadz Crew) to The Public Square's presentation of Hip Hop-infused theater, we are also screening "Benji"

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800 Judges. One Winner.

By: Don Hall | Oct. 15, 2012

Oct. 15, 2012

Over here at WBEZ Events Central, the team is gearing up for our first Off Air event of the year as well as juggling the plethora of day-to-day gatherings and live programs including our recent Chicago Ideas Week offering "Be More Interesting" and our upcoming Election Night at Schubas.  On deck is the Front and Center "Game of Life" as well as our Annual Evening at the Broadcast Studio.

Who is this prolific Events Team?  We have code names now: Pink Fox (Vanessa Harris), Silverback (me), Condor (Chris Davila), The Weasel (Tyler James Greene) and Kodiak (Ray Teresi).  We're like a Tarantino film or a Saturday Cartoon Super Team.  No capes, though.

And our first Off Air event of the season?  The Chicago Chef Battle Royale!

Here's the wind up: five chefs prepare ten dishes using five Goose Island Beers and fresh Whole Foods Market produce and protein; two Goose Island bars, complimentary shots of Cutty Sark Scotch and Root Beer Floats by Black Dog Gelato; foodie stories from Shantelle Jaimison and the Vocalo Music and Stories crew; and both World Music and interviews by Tony Sarabia and the WBEZ Morning Shift gang.

The pitch?

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A Brand New Off Air Series is HERE!

By: Don Hall | Sep. 18, 2012

Sep. 18, 2012

Since I started as the Events guy at public radio, the very popular Off-Air Series has presented a conversation between Eboo Patel and Krista Tippett at the Fourth Presbyterian Church, a celebration of the birthplace of Rock and Roll, original storytelling at the Chicago Children's Museum, in depth discussions of Chicago's theater scene, a biking event, a comic book discussion, two Drive-In Double Features, a high-end coffee tasting, and a "coming together" of Community Art Centers from around the city.

Over 30,000 WBEZ fans have attended these events and working with Breeze to create and execute such a diversity of topics in a such a variety of locations (including an urban farm in Englewood and a literature event in the Heartland Cafe) has been challenging and extremely rewarding.

This year, in its fifth season, the Off-Air Series has a new sheriff.

Our new Events team, headed by Executive Producer (and WBEZ Marketing Director) Vanessa Harris, is a lean, mean producing machine.  Harris, myself, Chris Davilla and Tyler James Greene (coming in with a total of 40+ years of producing experience altogether) are primed and ready to take three of the Off-Air Series' most successful and wide-ranging events and make them better and add a brand new event for the summer that will blow your mind.

First, for the Fall is the pumped version of our popular Chicago Chef Battle, the Chicago Chef Battle R

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No, Tim Burton. The Joker Did NOT Kill Bruce Wayne's Parents

By: Don Hall | May. 30, 2012

May. 30, 2012

Submitted for your examination:


•  On my bookshelf, I have an original printing of Watchmen - dog-eared and worn.
•  On my iPad, I have the DC Comics app, the Marvel app, and the Comixology app
•  I've seen Avengers four times (so far)

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Your Brains are Food!!

By: Don Hall | May. 14, 2012

May. 14, 2012

I'm a child of both the drive-in movie, the double bill, and zombies on screen.  Which is why I suppose no one invites me to parties but that's for another post.

This Thursday, while the city is being shut down in our Mayor's attempt to minimize the unstoppable NATO protests, WBEZ will be presenting two zom-coms - one from the States, the other from the UK - on the huge outdoor screen at the Cascade Drive-in in West Chicago.  If you missed our "Detective and the Dude" drive-in double feature last year and were kicking yourself, now is the perfect time to load up the vehicle and drive an hour out of the city and have fun in a 1950's sort of way.

Cascade has both those bulky window speakers AND an FM station to broadcast the screams, groans and explosions as well as a fully functioning concession stand (complete with both hot dog AND baby bottle warmers) and the weather is supposed to be ideal.

At 8:00 pm we screen Zombieland.  At 10:00 pm, Shaun of the

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Viral Activism: Get Inspired and Make a Difference in Your Own Way

By: Don Hall | Apr. 20, 2012

Apr. 20, 2012

My mother lives in the middle of Kansas.  In the middle of Marion, KS.  She was always what I would refer to as "a do-gooder."  She marched and protested injustices in her youth, created a stateside charity to help the Lutheran orphanages in Russia, and runs a food bank in the heart of the Reddest State of them all.

Two years ago, my mother traveled, by train, to Chicago to attend the Global Activism Expo.  She brought a friend from Kansas with her and they spent the afternoon talking to activists, attending presentations and, in general, absorbing the energy and information that permeates UIC Forum for these six hours.  And I'm excited to say: she's coming again next week.

I've told her she definitely needs to be there by noon - right as the doors open to the public - because we are presenting a Transcontinental Game of Simon Says with school-age children from Tamil Nadu, India via live video conference on the big screen in the front of the hall.  This will be moving and extraordinary.  My mom cannot miss it.

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