Jail Guitar Doors
CAPO Center
Rock Out 6
Photos and Review by LUIS MORENO
LOS ANGELES – There are many profound themes about the impact of music. But the Jail Guitar Doors organization may say it best: “Changing Lives One Guitar At A Time.”
Wayne Kramer, whose MC5 was a founding cornerstone of the rebellious punk rock genre, knows of what he speaks. He and Jail Guitar Doors co-founder Margaret Saadi Kramer believe that music has the power to heal. The philosophy is to help rehabilitate those behind bars by putting guitars and musical instruments into their hands and letting music work its magic.
Kramer and JGD Program Coordinator Heath, of Jason Heath of Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls, have brought the JGD program into more than 120 prisons. The mission is especially poignant for both Kramer and Heath, having had first-hand experience with the justice system and its effects on society. The program has been a winner, and JGD recently opened its new C.A.P.O. Center in Los Angeles.
On Open House Day of the center, Jason gave me a tour of the CAPO Center. CAPO stands for Community Arts Programming and Outreach Center. CAPO helps nurture the endangered youth by curating activities such as break-dancing, graffiti art and hat making, along with video and music production and arts education. These endeavors are meant to increase and create avenues to meaningful employment across a variety of creative avenues. As I walked around the facility there were feelings of joy, determination, cooperation, shared experiences and, most of all, hope.
Later in the night, music filled the center with “Rock Out 6,” a live show featuring Kramer, Tom Morello of newly minted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group Rage Against the Machine, Raul Pacheco of Ozomatli, Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls, and friends.
Read more about Jail Guitar Doors here
Rock Out 6 was an incredible, cozy, raucous evening for the lucky people there with CAPO singer-songwriter and teacher Laena Myers-Ionita on guitar and violin with Cole Berliner. The electric evening continued absorbing its fans with the CAPO All-Stars featuring student and teaching artists. Rap, Latin, Rock, and Blues music filled the entire evening.
Energy and love kept increasing with every artist on stage. By the time Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls finished their set, the music lovers were left thirsty for more music. That set the mood and intensity for Kramer to jump on stage with his guitar and prove the reckless abandon that gave MC5 their reputation.
As if that wasn’t enough, everyone held their breath and finally exhaled with the presence and wild fingers of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Morello hypnotized and strengthened the musical grip on the evening’s troops with his guitar. To hype the evening, Kramer joined Morello on stage with a crazy and intense version of MC’5s “Kick Out the Jams.”
The show’s highlight and gem of the night closed out with every person in the CAPO Center singing happy birthday to Kramer as he blew out the candles on a guitar-shaped cake, delivered by his wonderful wife, Margaret. The crowd spent the rest of the soiree catching their breath … and eating cake.
The CAPO Center is located at 7944 W. 3rd St. in Los Angeles. For more information and to support Jail Guitar Doors visit www.jailguitardoors.org
