Around Hear

For the past 11 years, the Free Speech Coalition has brought Kansas City a unique week of events called Culture Under Fire, during which a certain anticorporate ethic that rarely gets lip service in this region takes center stage and the motto "freedom of expression is social evolution" inspires every event.

Fittingly, the cornerstone of this year's four-day event, which begins with a performance by aha! (the dance theater, not the Norwegian soft-rock trio) on Thursday night at the Westport Coffee House and ends Sunday with the annual film festival at the Fine Arts Theater in Johnson County, will be held at the area's newest and most vital all-ages venue: El Torreon, which has been plagued by its share of legal problems related to "freedom of expression" since opening last fall.

The problems started when authorities decided to crack down on the all-ages, nonalcoholic club's regularly scheduled weekend-night after-hours dance parties. Police cited antiquated KCMO Ordinance No. 991491, which "regulates or prohibits dance halls" and "public dances" in the same sentence as "fortunetellers, clairvoyants, and palmists." Without the proper permit for a dance hall sans the liquor license, which is apparently more difficult to procure than a liquor license, El Torreon had to close the doors on its dances and institute a "no dancing" policy that's in effect at all times -- yes, even when Sister Mary Rotten Crotch is playing.

That, says Recycled Sounds owner and Culture Under Fire board member Anne Winter, is exactly what makes El Torreon the perfect place to hold "Break the Blackout," a 12-hour forum/workshop/music showcase that celebrates everything underground in Kansas City.

"We're all so very supportive of what (El Torreon owner Abe Haddad) is doing at El Torreon because he has been a real boost to the scene: allowing those bands to practice there, having a great place for all-ages events to occur, and really providing a boost to our neighborhood. Hopefully, one of the things that will come out of this is we'll educate people about that (no dancing) ordinance and start some campaign to get that law removed or changed."

In addition to these political objectives, the information presented as part of "Break the Blackout" is designed to give people who feel their issues are misrepresented or ignored altogether by mainstream media outlets the tools to make their voices heard in the 21st century. And unlike most "workshops" or other organized events that send shivers up the spines of nonconformists everywhere, this one was largely designed by the punks down the hall and the b-boys up the street.

"The idea is based on a couple of years of programs that the Free Speech coalition has done, including last year's 'Rock the Nation,'" says Winter. "We were one of 13 cities to do that. Rock the Nation asked our group, the Free Speech Coalition, to go into the community and find out what young people are interested in and how we can get them involved specifically. We did that, and the subjects of our workshops are the things that the kids said they wanted to know about."

The diversity of the subjects in the workshop (see schedule) reflects the wide range of topics that confront and interest those MCI wants us to call "Generation D." This diversity also indicates that marketing strategies devised over the past 30 years, which concentrate heavily on racial and sexual stereotypes, might be obsolete with said generation. Saturday's performances, by groups ranging from hip-hop instrumentalists Seven Fold Symphony to such indie-rockers as Proudentall and T&A, suggest an audience that isn't afraid to simultaneously claim influences stretching from the 'hood to the 'burbs. "Young people are interested in a lot of different things," agrees Winter, "and yeah, we're trying to hit a lot at once, but our goal is to come together and to try and make something work."

All in all, Break the Blackout, which beings with KC rappers Simile Assembly at noon and runs through the end of the KC independent band showcase, which begins at 8 p.m., could be the most entertaining and educational 10 bucks ($5 for each event) you spend all year.

As for shaking groove thangs: "I don't know if we'll be able to dance, because you'll be breaking the law, but we might be able to since we might have a catering license," Winter says before clarifying, "but I assure you that's not why we got the license."

BREAK THE BLACKOUT SCHEDULE:

noon-12:15 p.m.: Simile Assembly

12:15 p.m.-12:45 p.m.: 'Zines 2000 by Victoria Crowder

12:45 p.m.-1:00p.m.: Verbal Attack (urban poetry)

1:00 p.m.-1:30p.m.: Relationships in the 21st Century, hosted by Shawn Edwards (PitchWeekly), Dr. Susan Wilson (Swope Park Health Center), and the hosts of "Generation Rap" (KPRS)

2:00 p.m.-2:30p.m.: Why Hip-Hop Takes a Bad Rap, hosted by Flavor Pak's Jeremy McConnell and Tech N9ne

2:30 p.m.-3:00p.m.: Turntables 101, a DJ demo hosted by Jesse Jackson with DJ Just & Joc Maxx

3:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: So You Want To Change the World: How To Grassroot, hosted by People's Rally organizer Mike McCormack