More Musicians Leaving Spotify

https://midnightrebels.com/pennies-for-artists-millions-for-missiles-the-real-reason-musicians-are-leaving-spotify

Please Allow Me to Clarify

Slavery was and is BAD. 

I could go on, and I probably will at some point. Just not at this moment, because there are people who have dedicated their lives to that study. I prefer to consult those folks. 

What I will do, is ask you to muster up the courage pay attention and speak truth. 

Recent Writings: Mari Mack Music, Cafe Tamburo

Mari Mack Music blog:

https://marimackmusic.blogspot.com/2025/08/thank-you-next-gig-is-september-13th.html

Cafe Tamburo on Substack: 

https://maritamburo.substack.com/p/meme-me-up-scotty

https://maritamburo.substack.com/p/united-we-stand-divided-we-fall-folks

https://maritamburo.substack.com/p/tasty-recipe-capellini-de-cacio-e

Thanks for reading. 

Best, 

Mari 

Sunday: Soulful Blues Brunch at The Sweetwater in Mill Valley

 

What are you doing this weekend? 

I'll be singing with my band, Mari Mack & Livin' Like Kings at The Sweetwater in Mill Valley, CA. If you are near, please join us. 

Kings' Lineup: 

Arne Frager on bass

Dave Powell on guitar

Martin Cunningham on drums

Parris Bertolucci on keys

We know that times are tight for many of us, so we arranged for a brunch show with no cover to remove that barrier to entry. 

That said, if possible, please support the venue by ordering food and drink and/or make a donation to help me pay the band. You can support the music through Bandcamp or my Venmo. 

We will be packing the set with some familiar favorites, and slipping in some original tunes. Feel free to make a suggestion, and we'll make our best effort to play it for you. If not this time, perhaps next time. Hopefully, there will be one. 

Links to listen and support can be found here, in my linktree: https://linktr.ee/mmllk

As always, sending love and gratitude. Be kind to yourself and others. 

Ox, 

Mari 

Music And Democracy

It's almost time for our monthly Saturday afternoon blues session at The Saloon! 

August 9th, from 4 - 8 pm. 21 and over, no cover, donations for the band are accepted and much appreciated. 

This month, we also have a show closer to home, at The Sweetwater in Mill Valley.  It's a "blues brunch" show! 

Come on out and support our band and this beautiful community venue. 

Sunday, August 17th!

Doors at noon, show starts at 1:00 pm. All ages, No cover, donations for the band gratefully accepted. 

As always, thanks for reading, and caring. Life can be challenging at times, but we have music. 

Ox, 

Mari 

Save the Dates

August 9th, 4 - 8 pm at The Saloon 21+ no cover

August 17th, Doors at noon, Show 1pm. Sweetwater Music .Hall, Mill Valley no cover, All ages. 

Ox, 

Mari 

[Mari Mack Music] Goodbye and Hello

https://marimackmusic.blogspot.com/2025/07/goodbye-and-hello.html

Https://linktr.ee/mmllk

Say Her Name...

I got really upset (again) the other day, when someone in the Travesty of Justice department stated that the officer convicted in the raid that ended Breonna Taylor's life should serve "one day" in prison. I can't fully explain the depth of my anger, disappointment and rage on this and so many other things going on at this moment in time. I guess that is why we have music. 

Anyway, I was SO angry, I wanted to break something. I raged on Facebook, then remembered the public art piece down the street. So I went and placed some flowers there. I felt a little sense of relief. And gratitude for all the people in my community who made that happen, starting with the person who wrote Breonna's name in chalk on the concrete. 

I wish you love and peace in your heart and life. And art. And music. And whatever brings you joy, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. 

Ox, 

Mari 

Related: 

Officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid gets 33-month sentence - BBC News 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvjwrm29wpo

In Case You Missed It...

Colbert on Letterman

In Case You Missed It...

I'm reorganizing some media. 

Speaking of media, please donate to your local PBS station and NPR. 

I have no plans to run for public office any time in the near future, but we all would benefit from becoming more informed citizens. 

If you feel overwhelmed, search inside your heart and connect with kindred spirits. 

Best, 

Mari 

[Mari Mack Music] Peace and Love...

https://marimackmusic.blogspot.com/2025/07/peace-and-love-at-noon-wherever-you-are.html

Obituary of Dan Siegel

Obituary of Dan Siegel, from his wife, Anne Weills and sons Christopher Scheer & Michael Siegel:

Dan Siegel, a pathbreaking civil rights lawyer who fought for workers, unions, and human rights advocates over five decades of civil practice, died on July 2 in Oakland. He was 79.

Born in the Bronx, Dan’s life was shaped by his upbringing in a Long Island Jewish family, his commitment to civil rights struggle, his marriage to fellow attorney and activist Anne Weills, and his family, including two sons and three grandchildren.

After graduating from Hamilton College in 1967 with a degree in religious studies, he moved to Berkeley to attend law school. He was inspired to become an attorney after being arrested in Mississippi while working with the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) to register voters. He always remembered that it was a National Lawyers Guild attorney who got him out of jail. 

Dan met Anne in Berkeley in 1968. Both played key roles in local movements to oppose the Vietnam War, support the civil rights movement, and oppose imperialism and fascism. In 1969, Dan was elected as the president of UC Berkeley’s student body which would soon bring him into direct conflict with the state of California and Gov. Ronald Reagan.

After community members beautified a derelict UC-owned lot near campus into a “People’s Park,” UC fenced off the site. On what would come to be known as “Bloody Thursday,” Dan urged thousands gathered in protest at Cal’s Sproul Plaza “to go down there and take the park.” As the crowd spontaneously headed down Telegraph Avenue, it was met by law enforcement officers firing shotguns and tear gas canisters, seriously injuring dozens and killing a bystander. That night, Reagan sent National Guard troops to enforce a curfew and ban on public assembly. 

The state bar association would ultimately use these events as a basis for denying him the right to practice law; it would take an historic California Supreme Court ruling in Siegel v. Committee of Bar Examiners to affirm that participation in protest movements is not a sign of deficient “moral character.” After winning the right to practice law, Dan went on to earn legal victories on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs seeking protection for their civil, labor and First Amendment rights. 

Dan represented workers who built pipelines in Alaska, canned food in Watsonville, and repaired naval ships in San Diego. He represented “Occupy the Farm” protesters who camped on state land during the Occupy movement, and he represented pro-Palestine activists who stopped Bay Bridge traffic to raise attention to the war on Gaza. Much of his work was pro bono, whether for unhoused people, students, prisoners or low-income workers. 

As chief of complex litigation for the San Francisco City Attorney, Dan led the settlement of an employment discrimination case against the city’s fire department, resulting in a consent decree that guaranteed affirmative action in hiring and promotions for women and people of color. Dan and Anne together represented numerous university professors in discrimination and workplace retaliation suits. In 2007, Dan won the two largest verdicts ever awarded in cases brought under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids sex discrimination and requires gender equity in higher education.

Dan was elected to two terms on the Oakland School Board, serving as president. He served as chair of the Oakland Housing Authority, co-wrote Oakland’s community policy law, and taught graduate courses at Mills College. In 2014, Dan and Anne were honored by the San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild as “Champions of Justice,” and cited as “a big reason why social movements are so strong in the Bay Area.” 

In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests that engendered aggressive police response locally and nationally, Siegel filed class-action lawsuits which secured separate settlements with Oakland and Alameda County to implement strict limits on the use by law enforcement of so-called “non-lethal” weapons against peaceful protestors. 

His final public appearance was a speech at the Oakland “No Kings” rally on June 14, when he exhorted the crowd filling Oscar Grant Plaza to oppose Donald Trump and the white supremacist movements backing his presidency.

Dan and Anne were married in Oakland August 1, 1975. Records obtained pursuant to the Federal Open Information Act show an FBI informant attended their small wedding and reported on their union. They raised their son Michael Siegel in their east Oakland home of 48 years. 

Dan is survived by Anne, Michael, stepson Christopher Scheer, grandchildren Ben, Malika, and Hamza, brothers David, Jonathan, and Jesse, and many loving family members and friends. 

A public memorial will be announced at a later date.

Sources: 

Dan Siegel Facebook 

[Mari Mack Music] Some Things Make Sense, Some Things Don't

http://marimackmusic.blogspot.com/2025/07/some-things-make-sense-some-things-dont.html

Truth and Shame

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLnQbzPufi8/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

In case you missed it. 

- M

Think Globally, Act Locally

With all that is going on in the world right now, things can feel overwhelming. 

It's important to focus on what it is that each of us can do to make things better, in our immediate vicinity.  

Whatever that is, do it. 

Action breeds hope.

A few suggestions: 

Speak truth to power. 

Make a sign for a local protest. Refuse to buy things in plastic (easier said than done, but worth the effort!) 

Repair instead of replace. 

Some of us have been harping on these things for decades and while it seems that we often take one step forward and two steps back, take heart in knowing, you are not alone. We have each other.   

Use your powers for good. 

Stay hopeful. Stay strong. 

Ox, 

Mari 

Global Citizen Festival Contest/ Fundraiser

Dear Friends and Readers: 

I entered this contest/ fundraiser, so if you believe as I do that we truly are a global society, I would be grateful for your support. 

You may vote for free once per day, or choose to make a donation. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Ox, 

Mari 

VOTE HERE

People in St Louis Need Help

Please show this to whomever you know in St. Louis. The folks there need power and water. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKhMtKBRdHU/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Thank you. 

-- M

Grant Writing Boot Camp

Happy to share that I recently finished a grant writing boot camp from Joan Garry's  Nonprofit Leadership Lab! 

It was a six week intensive, and not only did I receive validation for knowledge I did not realize I had, I picked up some wonderful organization tools. I'm ready to put my writing skills to use for the public good, and take on some new projects. 

Here's my certificate of completion: 

New Post on Substack

I promised a recipe every once in a while on my Cafe Tamburo substack, so here you go: 

Click here 

Recent Writings 5.6.2025

Please bear with me regrading the Cafe Tamburo Substack blog. I'm having some issues with the interface  but should be up to speed soon. 

• 
  Artsboretum

  

  Sound Art at USC- Sharing some inspiration from 2014. 

  
  
• 
  Mari Mack Music

  Tunes for Tuesday! - 

  
  
• 
  Mari on BluSky

  - Evil exists. 

  
  
• 
  Cafe Tamburo

  These Are Difficult Times -

  
  

Pope Francis 1936-2025

"We need to let ourselves be evangelized by the poor. They have much to teach us." 

Pope Francis

link to more

Why News of Protest Got More Play in Europe

 https://www.cjr.org/analysis/trump-hand-off-protests-coverage-europe.php

BlueSky

 As more deleterious content floods my formerly favorite social media outlets, I am seeking alternatives. 

Are you on BlueSky? If so, let's connect there. Follow me and I will follow you: 

https://blueskydirectory.com/profiles/maritamburo.bsky.social

Best,

Mari 

From the Senate Floor.

Cory Booker started last night, and as of this morning, was/is still going: 

https://www.youtube.com/live/rCUK2VbdLS4?si=G4pVsvvp_6xfyAHw

Thank you to everyone who is raising your voice in these challenging times. 

-- M

Recent Writings

• 
  Mari Mack Music

  Thank You!

  11 hours ago
• 
  Cafe Tamburo

  These Are Difficult Times

  3 days ago

 

Recent Writings

 

• 
  Mari Mack Music

  Back to the Blues

  5 hours ago
• 
  Cafe Tamburo

  Channeling Anger Into Action

  5 days ago
• 
  Artsboretum

  Explore.org Fundraiser Starts January 13th a 5 to 1 Match

  1 month ago

Change, Control and Cuts

https://open.substack.com/pub/maritamburo/p/change-control-and-cuts

Waste, Fraud and Tax Loopholes

Are you concerned or confused about what is happening in Washington DC?

Please click this link for an explanation according to Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton.

Blues All Over the Place

 "Blues All Over the Place" by Mari Mack & Livin' Like Kings is now available on your favorite streaming service, as well as on my bandcamp page: https://marimack.bandcamp.com/album/blues-all-over-the-place