As the head of Playing For Change, Mark Johnson travels the world with a small crew, a high-end mobile recording rig, and video cameras, to capture buskers and other undiscovered musicians — perhaps a drummer deep in the Congo, a guitarist on a New Orleans street corner, or a choir in South America. But this isn't just an anthropological expedition — after a little coaching, Johnson has them all play the same song, along with the same metronome and/or backing track, stacking overdubs to create a "virtual collaboration" between musicians who otherwise would likely have never met. The resulting videos and albums have turned his project into a viral sensation. The humanitarian spirit of peace and unity at the root of all this makes the goals lofty and the logistics difficult; yet, somehow, Johnson cuts no corners, even in the wildest destinations.
Interviews | No. 55
John Cuniberti: From the Dead Kennedys to Joe Satriani
by Allen Whitman
John Cuniberti grew up in the sixties in East Bay, that oft-forgotten "other half" of the San Francisco Bay Area. An audio autodidact, he followed his muse from the archetypical teenage...