Social Justice Disco: Songs to Fight Fascists By is the feisty title of a planned album by the two notable local singers.
click to enlarge Phat Man Dee (left) and Liz Berlin
The Halloween-night performance, at
The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls, marks the digital release of the first single and serves as a launch of an Indiegogo campaign to fund the entire project.
Social Justice Disco (which Man Dee says started as an April Fools joke, explained
here) will include songs by such musical activists as Woody Guthrie, Billy Bragg, They Might Be Giants and local legend Anne Feeney, as well as original tunes. The band will include top area musicians including Mark Strickland, Carlos Pena, Mike Speranza, Miguel Sague III, Megan Williams and Jeremy Papay.
It’s the first collaboration between
Man Dee, a jazz cabaret-style singer, and
Berlin, a founding member of Rusted Root (and part-owner of Mr. Smalls).
The Oct. 31 show will include Man Dee and Berlin performing three songs from the CD, including the first single, “Fourth Reich Arising.”
The event is part of Mr. Smalls AcoustiCafe Open Stage series. The Funhouse is an intimate, club-style venue above the larger Mr. Smalls concert hall.
Doors open, and open-stage signup (for 18+) begins, at 6 p.m., with the 21+ open-stage signup at 7 p.m.
The Funhouse@Mr. Smalls is at 400 Lincoln Ave., in Millvale.