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Among Criminals deliver their unique music with a universal message at
the Waterside "Jam & Gam" at Market Landing Park last fall in
anticipation & preparation for the launch of their nationwide venture come spring.
 Catch Among Crimals' 2008 national tour video on Youtube at this link without.
Since AMONG CRIMINALS will begin & end their first US tour in historic New England ~ don't miss this chance to take part in some "history in the making" in this port & these parts.
So mark your calendars & check your compass ...
The band will be covering a lot of territory[1] ~ literally & figuratively ~ with this webpage closely following their travels ~ chronicling the historical record & charting the course (of events) on historic maps.[2] The mind-traveling reader is urged to check back frequently for updates as dates and places are confirmed: As ever, there is something to SMILE (Seek More Information Logged/linked Electronically) about at Comity.org.
PROLOGUE: An "icebreaker circuit"[3] upriver the first weekend in February set plans in motion for the "launch" here in port during the "spring tide" of the New Sap Moon (link within). Then the band then returned to Philly/NY to wrap up the recording of their new album, "Happy History." With advance bookings in February taking them on the road to NY, NJ and DE ~ they stopped back at PA and NY to organize for the trip before making way north.
Along their route, Among Criminals were to share their music and musings about history at two high schools in CT ~ to later make landfall here in the Waterside for the official launch their national tour from New England ~ remaining in the region before making inroads to Rochester, NY. Confirming their MySpace webpage for the most current itinerary, note their NEW ENGLAND public engagements are as follows:
March 7 in NEWBURYPORT, MA launch tour at all ages concert held in the Belleville Congregational Church at 300 High Street (details)
March 8 in LOWELL, MA upriver at The Attic at The Worthen House (21+, Among Criminals to perform at 10PM)
March 10 in CAMBRIDGE, MA at the Cantab Lounge (21+, acoustic performance)
March 11 in BOSTON, MA at the Paradise Lounge (18+)
March 12 in MARLBORO, VT at Marlboro College (campus event)
March 13 & 14 iin ROCHESTER, NY~ club gig & Rochester Institute of Technology event
 To the left is an image of the map of "The South part of New-England as it is planted this yeare, in 1634" which was first published journal of William Wood, "New England's Prospect" (link within). Now in the public domain & widely available online from various academic sources under the fair use clause ~ this particular image was scanned from a personal copy of Currier's "History of Newbury," & graphically modified for use on this webpage for educational & informational purposes.
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Back to Philadelphia PA to pack up their "payload" ~ AMONG CRIMINALS begin the next leg of their journey in familiar surroundings before making headway south to Florida then over to the Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Check their MySpace webpage for venues.
March 16 back in PA for a gig in an old familiar setting
March 17 in PHILADELPHIA, PA
March 19 in ALEXANDRIA, VA
March 20 in WASHINGTON, DC
March 21 in WILMINGTON, NC
March 22 in CHARLOTTE, GA
March 26 in BRANDENTON, FL
March 27 in ORLANDO, FL
March 28 in BATON ROUGE, LA
March 29 in METAIRIE, LA
NOTE: Since the initial conference about following the band's 2008 national tour at Comity.org ~ Ben Franklin's "Chart of the Gulf Stream" was in the mind's eye as the perfect image to reference their travels along the eastern seaboard ~ with an inference to the band's Latin-rock reggae-infused sound "gulf streaming" from the West Indies. Given Franklin's ply between Philly, Boston, Newburyport & the global community ~ this makes a neat knit for an unfolding history.
 To the right is an image of the map detailing "A Chart of the Gulf Stream" circa 1769 - 1770 attributed to Benjamin Franklin and 18th Century navigator Timothy Folger (link without). Missing for nearly two hundread years until it surfaced in France, versions of the map can now be widely found in the public domain. The mind traveling reader is encouraged to further explore the historical and scientific insight, hindsight and foresight of the Gulf Stream at this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association link without.
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After an engagement in Louisiana, AMONG CRIMINALS will heed the call "Go west, young men!" and continue a course as follows.
March 30 in DALLAS, TX
April 2, 3 at the GRAND CANYON, AZ
April 4 & 5 in LAS VEGAS, NV
April 7 - 14 making connections in the LOS ANGELES and SAN DIEGO, CA area
April 15 - 28 in SAN FRANCISCO, CA area then homeward bound playing
April 29 - May 1 in SALT LAKE CITY, UT
May 2 in DENVER, CO ~ then May 3 in GREELEY, CO
May 6 in MOUNT VERNON, IA
May 8 in MADISON, WI
May 10 in MILWAUKEE, WI with connections in Chicago, IL and Cleveland, OH before
May 15 & 16 in PITTSBURGH, PA
May 20 - 24 in PHILADELPHIA, PA for major CD release events in their home town before making headway back to New England. To date, local NE engagements include:
May 30 in PLAISTOW, NH at The Sad Cafe
May 31 in GLOUCESTER, MA at Captain Carlo's
NOTE: Go say! Plans are in motion for when the band makes way back to New England before concluding their national tour with an engagement at "Six Flags" in New Jersey on June 1. Stay tuned for further arrangements in May ~ as well as when the band returns to the region again from 7/10 - 7/17 (en route to Canada). Check their myspace.com/amongcriminals webpage and this link within to keep current about their comings and goings near and far.
To the left is an image of a circa 1781 map of North America published in a journal entitled "Jonathan Carver Travels Through The Interior Parts Of North America, In The Years 1766, 1767, And 1768. By J. Carver, Esq. Captain Of A Company Of Provincial Troops During The Late War With France." The image is offered by the David Rumsey Map Collection Cartography Associates' creative commons license for non-commercial use. Refer to this link without for more information about this map.
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In 1767, a cartographer named John Spilsbury invented the jigsaw map (link within). Since then, generation after generation became familiar with world & national geography by assembling puzzle maps. Learning by rote while playing the popular children's game, it was a pastime often enjoyed by families.
Most of us grew up with puzzle maps of the United States that offered richly colored cardboard cutouts which not only defined each state borders but included graphics for state capitols, state flags, flowers & birds as well as state commerce. While the data was informative, puzzle maps primarily served as a basic primer on states' size, shape & location (in relation to each other). Once the nation was assembled, we often ventured on to the world (map).
Today's generations may have access to interactive virtual puzzles ~ with a huge inventory of learning tools marketed to help teach & quiz students about national & world geography. However, nothing can replace the tactile feel of those puzzle pieces. And absolutely nothing can replace the conversations between the generations concerning the key (and often missing) pieces of the (world or national) "puzzle," metaphorically speaking.
To the right is an image of a circa 1814 "puzzle map" of North America produced in London from an engraving by William Darton. (Note that the artisan who created this jigsaw map did not follow Spilsbury's practice of cutting the pieces along the national or state borders but instead created interlocking pieces.) The image is one of a huge inventory offered by the David Rumsey Map Collection Cartography Associates under their creative commons license for non-commercial use. Refer to this link without for more information about this early educational map.
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 Since first uncovering the (above) image of the antique puzzle map of North America ~ it seemed the perfect piece of imagery for a conceptual webpage charting AMONG CRIMINALS' first national tour. The captioned image would ideally capture the band's universal message about peace & community ~ views which were sometimes addressed during media interviews (as complements to the sentiments expressed in the band's lyrics, verse & conversation). Initially planning to glean some abstracts from those comments as well as the band's MySpace "bio" ~ then during the creative process we noted that Ryan had posted (and posited) his thoughts about humankind (and human kindness) on the band's message board. So with his permission, an extract of that post follows (italics added).
Some of you may have seen this as our "bio" lately (found on the band's MySpace webpage at this link without). Ever since this way of thinking took over my mindset, I've looked at everything in a new positive light.
"People have to stop thinking of themselves and others as Americans, or Muslims or Christians or Black, White, whatever ... To be American you need to be a HUMAN, to be Iraqi you need to be a HUMAN, to be Mexican, or Muslim or African you need to be a HUMAN. We all need to realize that we are all connected as humans, and the rest are just petty details that shouldn't provoke prejudice.
... It's scary at first to realize that nations, flags, borders, politicians and wars are all man-made nonsense. If you look at a satellite picture of the world, borders aren't there. They're imaginary lines that split us up. We need to listen to our hearts and not be lazy by listening to the news, presidents, some preachers and even some of our elders that are stuck in their ways. It's so simple but so hard for some people to realize that we are all so connected as humans. So question anyone who wants to put a gun in your hand (or in your mind). And hopefully others will follow. If we don't question we'll never be answered.
Peace, Love and Kindness -
Ryan
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[1] The observation that "the map is not the territory" is an excerpt from
a passage in "Science in Sanity" which frames Alfred
Korzybski's second principle of general semantics (link
without). In that original treatise,
Korzybski made the simple statement that: "A map is not the territory
it represents, but if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory,
which accounts for its usefulness."
Korzybski contended that --- in essence --- no word ever
expresses all about its subject just as no map ever represents all of its territory. Furthermore, that to properly use words and "maps"
--- in a physical and/or metaphysical sense --- we must submit them
to constant, rigorous examination to keep them accurate and current. Alfred
Korzybski distinguished himself with his system of general semantics
and since then
numerous authors have expanded upon his theories.
[2] While the previous footnote acknowledges a noted scientist's thoughtful reasoning posed more than two generations ago ~ today's generations might well consider both the question (and response) at the 2007 Miss Teen USA beauty contestant. When the question was asked why 1/5 (or 20%) of Americans cannot find the United States on a world map, Miss Teen from South Carlonia rationalized this was because "some people don't have maps" (adding some less rational comments as well). And while making no assumptions that those reviewing this content are part of the demographic devoid of maps ~ graphics of several antique maps are provided on this webpage for territorial reference and historical perspective. (And by way of giving that contestant the benefit of the doubt, this link without at YouTube offers a videoclip of her television interview during which she makes a more coherent point.)
[3] Logging the "prologue" to their national tour, the band Among Criminals returned to port and upriver for an "icebreaker" the first weekend in February to set plans in motion for the launch of their national tour from southern New England in early March:
- On Friday 2/1 ~ AMONG CRIMINALS had been booked for an "all ages" engagement at The Sad Cafe in Plaistow, New Hampshire. With the SHOW CANCELLED DUE TO ICE STORM ~ it has been rescheduled for Friday, May 30.
- That evening, when the storm abated, the band and entourage dropped by The Grog in Newburyport and discussed a future engagement at that venue when they make it back to port in May. Stay tuned for specifics.
- On Saturday 2/2 ~ the band performed a return engagement at the Chit Chat Lounge in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
- Take note that the Chit Chat restricts patronage to those 21-plus years of age ~ but if you meet or surpass that milestone, be sure join them at this second-generation live music venue for their Friday 5/23 engagement when returning to this port and parts upriver as they end their national tour.
- On Sunday, 2/3 ~ AMONG CRIMINALS was to survey the great premises (and promises) at the Belleville Church Meetinghouse on High Street in anticipation of the monumenal event to launch their national tour from southern New England here in historic Newburyport with the high tide of the new Sap Moon on Friday, March 7. See link within for details.
FURTHER NOTE: This to "break the ice" during the "Season for Nonviolence" (January 30 - April 4) before launching AMONG CRIMINALS' Better World tour from Newburyport in March ~ plus offer an opportunity for the Waterside community to remark history and "history in the making" as we close "The Year of Golden Opportunities" (March 25, 2007 - March 24, 2008).
A harbinger for what's on the horizon ~ this is an inspiration (and aspiration) to term the next old style calendar year (March 25, 2008 - March 24, 2009) "The Year of Historic Proportions."
Check back for the course of events ~ charting and plotting
out the best live music venues to deliver the message along the way ~ going and coming.
And by the way, if you have an ideal venue in mind ~ please make a Comity
connection.
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