Introducing the Solidarity Notes Labour Choir

In 2000, the Vancouver and District Labour Council decided to start a labour choir. This project has proven to be very successful and has attracted over 70 members to date and the choir is still steadily growing. Solidarity Notes is made up of workers, some currently unemployed and some workers to be, who love to sing labour and progressive political songs of struggle. The heart of this choir, Choir Director Earle Peach, is both an inspirational musician and political activist.

They started practicing in March of 2000 and had their first performances on April 28, 2000 at the Mayday rally and then at the VDLC dinner the same evening. They haven't stopped singing since. They have done benefits for strikers and picket line performances to bolster morale and share music with those who are most in need of the inspiration, courage and determination it provides. They have done a number of performances in the United States and have started doing international solidarity work as a result of the contacts established with the Seattle Labor Chorus and other labour choirs in Canada and the U.S. They were instrumental in organizing the Paul Robeson Memorial Concert on May 18th, 2002 and they toured Cuba and were honoured to sing for Fidel Castro, and many others, in May, 2003. They range in age from youth to elders. Very few have any formal musical training, they sing from their hearts and from a belief in the struggle of workers everywhere.

In 2002, to help raise funds for the trip to Cuba, they released a CD. Songs included on this CD are:

• Circle Chant
• Banks of Marble
• Wobbly Doxology (click for an MP3 sample)
• When Tear Gas Fills the Sky
• Bread and Roses (click for an MP3 sample)
• El Pueblo Unido
• Torn Screen Door
• Sea Never Dry (click for an MP3 sample)
• Canning Salmon
• Put it On The Ground
• No Sweat
• Siyahamba (click for an MP3 sample)
• La Batea
• N’kosi Sikelele Africa
• Joe Hill
• The Internationale
• We Shall Not Give Up the Fight

There are still a few copies of this CD available for sale. To order your copy please contact Regina Brennan  or 604-430-5631 or toll free at 1-800-663-1655. To join the choir, or book the choir, please contact the choir Manager, Laura Stannard or the choir Director, Earle Peach.

The Diggers

Earle Peach is a musician, social activist and the conductor of the Solidarity Notes. Regina Brennan is a full time union representative for the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Dan Keeton is a journalist, and the host of The Union Made Show on Co-op Radio.

They met in the Solidarity Notes Labour choir and from that experience, moved on to create an entertaining and informative Labour History show highlighting workers' struggles from centuries ago to the present, with a focus on stories of the Pacific Northwest.

In song, picture, dialogue and story, Earle, Reg and Dan build a sense of the evolution of workers' rights won through hard-fought campaigns. They use overheads of historical photos, drawings and cartoons, lending more immediacy to stories ranging from that of the Diggers in the 17th Century England to the Battle in Seattle in 1999. Accompanying themselves on a variety of instruments, they bring to life period songs or songs about the story.

The show is often moving, often funny, but always pointed toward the ultimate value of fighting for human values, workers' rights and a better future. To book this show please contact Regina Brennan or 604-430-5631 or toll free at 604-663-1655.