Kandia Crazy Horse was the 2008-2009 Anschutz Distinguished Fellow in American Studies at Princeton University, where she taught the course “Roll Over Beethoven: Black Rock & Cultural Revolt.” As a rock critic for over a decade, the D.C. native has contributed to numerous publications, most recently serving as a Senior Associate Editor at the Village Voice. In 2007, she won Alternative Weekly’s award for Best Music Criticism.

In addition to participating in the conference as a panelist, Crazy Horse will take part in a dinner and discussion sponsored by the Hutton Honors College and Wells Scholars Program on the evening of Thurs., Nov. 12 (see details)

Stew is a Tony award-winning singer/songwriter/playwright from Los Angeles. Together with his collaborator Heidi Rodewald, Stew leads two critically acclaimed bands: The Negro Problem and Stew, both of which were formed in the early 1990s. By the turn of the Milleneum, The Negro Problem became very successful, receiving Entertainment Weekly's Album of the Year award in both 2000 and 2002.

In 2004, Stew and Heidi Rodewald recieved the support of the Sundance Institute and The Public Theater to produce the musical Passing Strange, which has had successful runs at the Berkeley Repetory Theater, The Public Theater (NYC), and the Belasco Theatre on Broadway. More recently, Spike Lee directed a film version of Passing Strange, which is receiving glowing praise at film festivals and will be shown by the Union Board on the IU Bloomington campus on Wed., Nov. 11 (see details).

As a result of his various creative ventures, Stew has received numerous awards, including a 2008 Tony award for "Best Book of a Musical," two Obie awards for "Best New Theater Piece" and "Best Ensemble" as a cast member as well as a four-time Tony nominee.

Stew's other works include Post Minstrel Syndrome (1997), Joys and Concerns (1999), Guest Host (2000), The Naked Dutch Painter (2002), Welcome Black (2002), Something Deeper Than These Changes (2003) and the cast album of Passing Strange (2008).

In addition to participating in the conference as a panelist Stew will answer questions following the film screening on Wednesday (see details) and will offer a presentation on Passing Strange sponsered by the Theatre & Drama Department on Thurs., Nov. 12 (see details).

Ike Willis first met Frank Zappa while studying political science at Washington University. Willis volunteered to help with the concert committee just so he could get a "Back Stage Pass" to meet Frank Zappa. As a result of this meeting in 1978, Willis became Zappa's lead singer and rhythm guitarist for nearly 15 years. In addition to touring, Willis was also involved in Zappa’s recording of Joe's Garage, Tinsel Town Rebellion, and You Are What You Is. He also played the title character and narrator in Zappa's off-Broadway musical, Thing-Fish. Willis’ distinct baritone vocals coupled with his melodic guitar style continues to solidify the musical legacy of Frank Zappa. Willis promotes such legacy not only through his own music, but also via performances with ensembles around the world that perform Frank Zappa's music, such as Bogus Pomp, Project/Object, Ugly Radio Rebellion, and The Central Scrutinizer Band.

In addition to participating in the conference as a panelist, Willis will also offer a workshop sponsored by the Foster International Living-Learning Center on the evening of Thurs., Nov. 12 (see details)

Andy Hollinden teaches at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN where he has developed several courses on popular music that have become widely favored by students on the campus. Such courses include the history of blues, rock, Frank Zappa and the music of Jimi Hendrix.

In addition to Hollinden’s professorial duties, he composes and produces music for videos and has performed and recorded with numerous rock bands. So far, he has written and produced seven CDs of his own music: Moving Earth from There to Here (1994), Boot Rouge et Swabs (1996), Heat to Fragrance (2000), Begging’s Not Endearing (2002), Stick It in Your Sound Hole (2004), Trust Yourself (2006), and Grieve For The Living (2008).

James Spooner is a filmmaker and fine artist. His award-winning debut feature documentary Afro-Punk has screened at festivals in the U.S. and abroad, including the Toronto International Film Festival, New York’s Urbanworld Film Festival, the American Black Film Festival, Mar del Plata International Film Festival (Argentina) and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The film has been incorporated in a program for high school students on race identity by the New Museum in New York, and has inspired an “Afro-Punk Film Festival” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which he has been co-curating. He was Resident Video Installation Artist at the Ase Dance Theatre Collective in New York, where he created new media works with a choreographer. Prior to working in film, he was a sculptor, whose work showed in galleries in New York and Seattle. He has been an editor and an editor consultant.

More recently, Spooner made his narrative film debut with White Lies, Black Sheep, which the City Lights & Underground film series will be screening on the IU Bloomington campus on Fri., Nov. 6th (see details). The Black Film Center/Archive will sponsor a screening of Afro-Punk as part of the conference events on the evening of Fri., Nov. 13th, which will be followed by a Q&A session with Spooner (see details).

A graduate of Howard University, Moe Mitchell has established himself as an activist and musician in the underground punk scene. His band Cipher, founded in 1996, is committed to opening critical spaces in underground music to reawaken the legacy of dissent in today's hardcore, weaving together elements of hardcore and metal with melodicism and politically radical lyrics to form a provocative, probing treatment of race, gender, and class. Mitchell was one of the four artists profiled in James Spooner’s 2003 documentary Afro-Punk, which explored issues of race identity within the punk scene.

Guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Tamar-kali came on the New York rock scene around 1993 while performing with the band Funkface. Shortly thereafter, she became the front woman for Song of Seven, another New York based rock band. Eventually, Tamar-kali’s strength as a woman in a male-dominated genre led to creative conflict and compelled her toward her own expression as a songwriter and vocalist, which resulted into her eclectic musical style. Her band 5 Piece incorporates hard-core funk, melodic guitar riffs, dissonant harmonies, even and odd-metered grooves and unorthodox song forms. In addition to the instrumental styles of 5 Piece, Tamar-kali’s vocal range is diverse, which allows her to execute warm, round, dark and raspy tones from low to high register upon demand. Tamar-Kali also performs with the string quartet Psycho Chamber Ensemble, which performs renditions of songs by 5 Piece as well as those arranged and composed specifically for strings by Tamar-kali. Along with leading her diverse ensembles and heading up her own production company, Flaming Yoni Productions, Tamar-kali has worked with other artists in hip-hop and rock such as Outkast and Fishbone.

As a result of her musical innovations and distinctive musical ensembles, Tamar-kali has gained a major following in the punk rock scene on the East Coast. As a dynamic force in the underground punk scene, director James Spooner featured Tamar-kali in his award-winning documentary Afro-Punk (2002). The international screenings of this film have increased both her popularity and exposure. (Note: Afro-Punk will be screened in conjunction with the conference.) In addition to appearing in Afro-Punk, Tamar-kali has been featured in Vibe, Fader and The Village Voice magazines. Currently she is completing her 1st full length 'Black Bottom' for release Fall '09.

In addition to participating in the conference as a panelist, Tamar-kali will be performing in the evening Union Board concert on the IU Bloomington campus on Sat., Nov. 14 (see details).

Greg Tate is an American author who has spent the last two decades formulating a critical language that has redefined African-American cultural theory and writing. An essayist and long time staff writer for The Village Voice, Tate has published widely, with writings on art, music, and culture appearing in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Spin, Artforum, The Nation, and DownBeat, and Africa-based magazines such as Glendora Review and Chimurenga.

The impact of Tate's writing lies in the seminal productive tensions he navigates between post-structural theory and black cultural nationalism; academia and street culture. Tate has been inspired by black innovators such as Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, George Clinton and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat . Furthermore, Tate has defied fixed notions about what constitutes authentic black culture, and has inscribed a new radical trajectory that is simultaneously rebellious yet intelligently written.

Native San Franciscan Linda Tillery, is a Grammy-nominated vocalist, percussionist, producer, and self-taught ethno-musicologist. Before becoming a prominent figure in women’s music in the 1990s, she began her singing career in the 1960s with the gender-integrated psychedelic/soul band the Loading Zone. After two albums with that band, Tillery released her solo debut, Sweet Linda Divine, on CBS in 1970 to enthusiastic reviews and high praise. She spent most of the 1970s singing and playing drums on over 40 albums, including those by Mary Watkins and Teresa Trull. Having become a staff musician and producer at Olivia Records, Tillery released her second solo album, a self-titled effort, on the label in 1978, garnering a Bay Area Music Award for Best Independently Produced Album. Tillery has twice gone on to win Bay Area Jazz Awards for Outstanding Female Vocalist. She has worked for the National Endowment for the Arts and appeared with artists ranging from Santana, Kenny Loggins, and Huey Lewis to the Turtle Island String Quartet, Bobby McFerrin, and Holly Near.

© Michael Dressler

For the past 16 years Tillery has dedicated her artistic life to the research, teaching, and performance of the great African-American oral tradition of song, stick, and story - the ancestor of today’s American popular song. In 1992, she created the Cultural Heritage Choir to perform the traditional spiritual music of African American slaves and their descendants, as well as music from the broader African diaspora. The group has released the albums Good Time a Good Time (1995) and Front Porch Music (1997).

In addition to participating in the conference as a panelist, Tillery will also offer a workshop sponsored by the Collins Living-Learning Center on the evening of Thurs., Nov. 12 (see details).

From the production of benefit concerts to the study of music as a social indicator, Reebee Garofalo has promoted the use of music as a community resource and an educational tool. Since 1978, Garofalo has taught at UMass Boston, where he is affiliated with the College of Public and Community Service and the American Studies Program. His most recent book is Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA. He has written numerous articles on copyright and digital downloading, racism, censorship, the political uses of music, and the globalization of the music industry for popular as well as scholarly publications and has lectured internationally on a broad range of subjects relating to the operations of the music industry. Garofalo has been active in promoting popular music studies internationally, as a member of the Executive Committee and past Chairperson of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music-US, and an editor for several popular music journals, including the Journal of Popular Music Studies. At the local level, Garofalo serves on the organizing committee for the HONK! Festival, an annual gathering of activist street bands in Somerville. For relaxation, he enjoys drumming and singing with the Blue Suede Boppers, a fifties rock 'n' roll band, and marching with the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band, a New Orleans-style brass band.

Self-described “black rock evangelist” Rob Fields writes about black rock and black culture on his blog Bold as Love, which focuses on exploring, celebrating and evangelizing the growing music genre known as Black rock, Afro-punk or urban alternative. In conjunction with his blog, he runs a live event series, Bold as Live, which creates new opportunities for audiences to discover black rock through shows, lectures, and discussions. He has worked professionally in the black rock scene since the early 1990s, when he became Director of PR for the Black Rock Coalition. He went into artist management, working for Capitol Records and representing alternative black artists such as trombonist Josh Roseman and M-Base co-founder Graham Haynes.

With his background in marketing, Rob’s interest lies in providing context for audiences (particularly black audiences) to understand and enjoy what they're hearing in black rock, and to help black rock artists find ways to make Black rock matter in the marketplace. Rob has been a guest several times on NPR, and was a panelist at the 2009 SXSW Music Conference.

Netic is one of the founders and lead vocalist of the Brooklyn born band Game Rebellion, but before rhyming with Game Rebellion he was a Brain and Cognitive Sciences major at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Netic entered MIT at just 16 years old. Game Rebellion is an all Black all outta Brooklyn band whose metal, punk and rudeboy skanking licks sound as credible and crunchy as their hip-hop lyrics and head nodding bounce. Game makes the difficult sound effortless and the miraculous seem second nature: A hard rockin band with a B-boy MC who can actually spit? No problem. A soon to be release EP created by a band that actually rocks and flows? No problem. Game Rebellion has been making big waves on the New York scene for about three years. In that short time they've ventured out even further to slam heads rock houses and muddy the lilywhite waters of Hip-Hop and Rock from NYC and Cali to Puerto Rico and the UK. They just may be the best-kept secret in music right now.

© Darren Ankenman

Kamara Thomas, along with Matt Whyte, is one of the founding members of the band, Earl Greyhound. Living and working in New York City, the pair began performing regularly as a duo. All along, they were crafting the sound and songs that would form the foundation for a colossal rock band influenced by the strident English three- and four-pieces of the 70’s, the dark pop and heavy grooves of the 90’s, and the transcendental, noisy acid sounds of modern rock. The band’s first full-length album, Soft Targets, was recorded in Los Angeles and Brooklyn in 2005. Ricc Sheridan of the Gold Crowns soon joined them on drums, and the world has been rocking their faces ever since!

Released in October 2006, Soft Targets earned loads of fans and critical acclaim from many publications, including The New Yorker, SPIN, Rolling Stone, Brooklyn Vegan and Pitchfork. Even more so, the band’s live show quickly drew heaps of attention and gained a steady reputation among critics and fans alike as a veritable rock-n-roll wrecking ball. Earl Greyhound toured relentlessly for the next two years all over the US, Canada and Japan, and autumn 2007 was spent playing theatres as openers for the band’s good friend Shooter Jennings as well as Soundgarden and Audioslave’s Chris Cornell. This summer Earl Greyhound will release their sophomore album (whose name is top secret), which promises to be a blistering inferno of their ingenious rock sound.

In addition to participating in the conference as a panelist, Thomas will take part in a dinner and discussion sponsored by the Hutton Honors College and Wells Scholars Program on the evening of Thurs., Nov. 12 (see details)

A real deal blues guitarist and vocalist, Suzanne is no stranger to the blues. Born in South Korea and adopted by an American family, she began studying organ at the age of six with the great Jimmy Smith.  Raised on a musical diet of gospel, blues, and rock by black artists, she went to music school in Los Angeles, traded the organ for the electric guitar, and began leading her own groups in her early twenties.

Since then, Suzanne has worked as a guitarist to several funk and R&B bands, doubling on guitar and bass just this past year in the Grammy-winning band A Taste of Honey, taken second place in the 7th annual Jimi Hendrix contest and played in Japan, France and New York at various music festivals and events including the Manhattan Music Center. Her music is 90% blues with injections of rock and roll that go right back to the church that first influenced her. Currently, she performs with her band The Blues Church, plays regularly at venues around L.A., and teaches guitar.

Maureen Mahon is an associate professor in the Department of Music at New York University. A cultural anthropologist, her research interests include African American history and culture; the construction and performance of race and gender in music; and the relationship between race, class, generation, and culture. She is the author of Right To Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and the Cultural Politics of Race (Duke University Press, 2004) and has published articles on African-Americans and rock music in academic venues and at EbonyJet.com. Her current research on the music and legacy of black women in rock examines the intersection of gender, race, sexuality, and music production. She has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the American Association of University Women and has taught at Wesleyan University and UCLA.