There is still power in a union and it's songs. 'Starvation Army' resurrects the IWW's forgotten brass band repertoire. These songs helped the "Wobblies" prevail in the infamous Spokane Free Speech Fight of 1910, where protestors battled to organize against bad pay and corrupt bosses. In response, the companies hired the Salvation Army band (nicknamed "starvation" by the workers) to drown out their protests. Fighting back, the IWW Brass Band waged sonic war with parodies of these popular songs in a battle of the bands. The "Wobblies" won the public's sympathy and helped overturn the ruling that made public protest illegal, in no small part through their music. This collection, performed by the Brass Band of Columbus together with New York Democratic Socialist choir Sing in Solidarity, features songs from the IWW's Little Red Songbook. It's a landmark revival of protest music and what conductor and creator Chris David Westover-Muñoz hopes will renew the labor singing tradition.
8 Salvation, or General William Booth Enters Into Heaven
9 Nearer My Job to Thee
10 Covenant
11 A Dream
12 Are You Washed (From Brass Band Journal No. 210)
13 Dump the Bosses Off Your Back
14 Christians at War
15 There Is Power in a Union
16 Christians at War (Acapella)
17 Nearer My Job to Thee (Acapella)
There is still power in a union and it's songs. 'Starvation Army' resurrects the IWW's forgotten brass band repertoire. These songs helped the "Wobblies" prevail in the infamous Spokane Free Speech Fight of 1910, where protestors battled to organize against bad pay and corrupt bosses. In response, the companies hired the Salvation Army band (nicknamed "starvation" by the workers) to drown out their protests. Fighting back, the IWW Brass Band waged sonic war with parodies of these popular songs in a battle of the bands. The "Wobblies" won the public's sympathy and helped overturn the ruling that made public protest illegal, in no small part through their music. This collection, performed by the Brass Band of Columbus together with New York Democratic Socialist choir Sing in Solidarity, features songs from the IWW's Little Red Songbook. It's a landmark revival of protest music and what conductor and creator Chris David Westover-Muñoz hopes will renew the labor singing tradition.
