Church Members

The Billboard Liberation Front is a group of "culture jammers" devoted to "improving" billboards by changing key words to radically alter the message, often to an anti-corporate message. They published an instructional pamphlet titled "The Art & Science of Billboard Improvement."

http://www.billboardliberation.com

Adetola got introduced to Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Gospel Choir at their Spiegel Tent Show on October 1, 2006, while supporting and watching her good friends Paul Allen and Andrew Pacho perform. During that very show, Reverend Billy did something his choir and band had not planned for -- a mini open mic for people in the audience with an impromptu “call and response” segment. The words the Reverend asked the audience to repeat and sing resonated with her: “If you don’t know your history, you are doomed to repeat it.” With the forceful encouragement of a friend, the heavenly microphone made it into the hands of Adetola, and she was plucked out of musical obscurity by Savitri D. and Reverend Billy, asked to join the choir, and dropped into the welcoming arms of their raucous and diverse activist theatre community.

Adetola is from Rhode Island and was raised by native Nigerian parents who taught her and her siblings the importance of education, sacrifice, love, and the use of one's talents to make a difference in the world. Her musical inspirations range from Stevie Wonder, Dinah Washington, Oleta Adams, India Arie and many other vocal legends. Since joining Rev. Billy and the Choir, Adetola has gone through a “Consumption Awakening” and has been more thoughtful in where, why and how she spends her hard earned dollars. When one listens to any of the famous Stop Shopping sermons, you can’t help but challenge yourself to think about the mechanics of consumption and its impact on the world without being forever changed. Adetola has now kicked the big box to the curb and takes pride in the support of Fair Trade, small business, and causes that protect workers, celebrate the arts and the environment. Sing-a-lujah!!!!

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
--Eleanor Roosevelt

Fred Askew is a freelance photojournalist. His photographs have appeared in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Times of London, Le Monde, El Pais, New York Magazine, Artforum Magazine, Stern Magazine, and other publications.

He fell under the spell of the Church in 2001 and refuses to leave. He is rumored to live in the garden of a coffee shop in the East Village where he constantly listens to Jolie Holland and chases butterflies.

Visit Fred Askew's website.

Ric Becker am a human trombone player.  He has performed all kinds of music on the street, on the beach, in parks, and on the top of a building in the wee small hours of the morning.  His trombones' names are Christina (tenor) and Amynette Stephanie (bass).  Ric's other joys: the road, cooking, and literature.  "Unlike most people, I am best friends with my doppleganger and where I am weak, he is strong.  Someday we may take over the world."

As executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Andrew Berman has led efforts against New York University’s expansion in both the Village and the East Village as well as against Donald Trump’s 45-story Trump SoHo Hotel Condominium New York

Sierra Carrère (a.k.a "Amazon Queen") is defining fabulous. If you are a New Yorker, you may have seen her riding her bike, hooping in a parade, roller skating in Central Park, in dance or yoga class, at a rally, breakin' it down in a drum circle, singing onstage, or anywhere. She feels so blessed to live in the cultural mecca that is NYC and belong to so many of its amazing communities. She also sings with the Reggae Band Meta & the Cornerstones, and is working on her solo album.

Sierra was raised in Ithaca, NY, and from age 9 until she moved to NYC, she sang and traveled with Vitamin L, a national children's singing group performing songs to inspire and promote acceptance, diversity, community, and self-expression. Joining Reverend Billy & his church feels like a natural continuation of her passion of using art to transform the world. Change-a-lujah! 

Molly Chanoff is an acrobat living and teaching in Brooklyn. For seven years she has been hanging from her toes and diving through hoops with LAVA, the award-winning all-female acrobat/circus/dance troupe. When she is not doing that, you can find her at Human Rights Watch, or doing capoeira, or perhaps in Brasil. She is overjoyed to be singing with the Stop Shopping Choir.

Talk to Molly HERE.

David Chung is a freelance music and movement educator residing in Queens, NY. He has been performing for fifteen years in companies as varied as the Oratorio Society of New York, Broadway Housing Communities After-school Program, and DA Sokol Gymnastics Team, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the auditorium of PS 66, and Christopher Street Station. He is dedicated to  vegetarianism, bicycling, and queer Asian media.

Think Coffee has made a succesful local business based on their principals, they serve ONLY  fair trade coffee and send a strong signal to the rest of the cafe's small or big, it can be done, it should be done. Amen.

DEVELOP DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN leads a broad-based community coalition fighting for development that will unite our communities instead of dividing and destroying them. DDDB is opposed to Forest City Ratner's 8 million square foot "Atlantic Yards" development proposal for an arena and 16 high-rises in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, Brooklyn. The $4 billion project would use at least $1.6 billion in public money and would abuse the state's power of eminent domain–taking private property from one owner to give to a private entity for a private use, instead of a public use.

Our coalition consists of 21 community organizations and there are 51 community organizations formally aligned in opposition to the Ratner plan.

DDDB believes that New York City is always about change, but we ask the question: How do we, the people, want that change to occur? We want smart collaboration that creates decentralized, diverse, exciting urbanscapes that New York and Brooklyn can point to with pride. We do not accept the abuse of eminent domain. And we do not want top down, sweetheart mega-deals that give one real estate developer carte blanche.

Ricardo Dominguez is Co-founder of the Electronic Disturbance Theater and Digital Zapatista. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, he is a net.performer who was trained as a classical actor. He started working with a group of artists, theorists, and activists during the early 1980s in Tallahassee, Florida - who later became Critical Art Ensemble. As a member of Critical Art Ensemble, he took part in the development of the theory of electronic civil disobedience and a performative matrix that would emerge from non-violent direct electronic action. In an attempt to put the theory of electronic civil
disobedience into practice he moved to New York City in 1991. Between 1991 and 1994 he lived in the squats of New York City and trained himself to use the emerging technologies. He is part of the editorial collective Blast5, Managing Editor of The Thingnyc, and a member of the New York Commitee for Democracy in Mexico. He is also an assistant professor in the Visual Arts Department at UCSD; principal scientist at the new edge technology institute CAL IT(2) (www.calit2.net), where he will be researching and developing a performance project on nanotechnology entitled *b.a.n.g lab*.

http://www.thing.net/~rdom/ecd/ecd.html

Sarah East Johnson is the founder and Artistic Director of LAVA, an Obie and Bessie Award winning performance troupe that integrates dance and acrobatics into original productions characterized by physical rigor, intellectual wit and subversive politics. LAVA has performed at PS 122, Dance Theater Workshop, The Kitchen, The Flea Theater, Symphony Space, The Joyce, and the New Victory Theater and has toured around the U.S. The LAVA Studio in Prospect Heights Brooklyn offers classes for kids and adults in the unique blend of acrobatics and dance that LAVA is known for. 

"There's a time for pirating and there's a time for singing." How lovely to not be buying anything! Through deserts dusty and book release parties boozy Leah came into the open arms of the lovely Stop Shopping communitas. When Leah is not H.A.A.K.ing or feeding lil' lovable scamps she is practicing her harmonies and establishing her rhythm. On her off hours she cultivates temporary autonomous zones and reads distant fiction. "Look for the absurd, and jump!" She is a Tenor and very proud to be working out the kinks in identity flexibility of all sorts. "May your alternative to shopping have a lot to do with fun! and art! and may the world use all downward spirals to whip up into new orbits. Hallelujah!" 

Angelo Fontana is a cobbler, born and trained in Italy, he came to the NYC and for forty years ran a shoe repair shop on east 10th st at Second Ave. In 2008 he was forced out by rising rents. His shop now houses a "non-dairy" gelato bar. Angelo, we miss you, we miss your artistry your incredible integrity your eyes on the street keeping us safe. We are sorry we couldn't defend your lease but keep your saintly spirit strong that we may defend othes in the future.

Chino Garcia co-founded CHARAS / El Bohio in the abandoned P.S. 64 at 605 E. 9th Street. Chino Garcia is one of several founders of Charas / El Bohio, a multi-ethnic cultural and community center on the Lower East Side. Charas presents plays, film screenings, literary readings, concerts, workshops, conferences, after-school programs, day camps and festivals reflecting the cultural and ethnic diversity of the neighborhood. Located in former Public School 64 on East 9th Street, which has been partially renovated and renamed El Bohio ("the hut"). This six-story structure now has three functional floors and efforts are under way to restore others. Charas was founded in 1965 and in its early years worked with engineer/futurist R. Buckminster Fuller to adapt geodesic domes to the needs of poor communities. At this writing Charas was in the midst of a legal wrangle with the city, which has sold its building to a developer of luxury condos.

Amy Goodman is the co-founder, executive producer and host of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on more than 450 public broadcast stations in North America.

She began her career in community radio in 1985 at Pacifica Radio’s New York station, WBAI, where she produced WBAI’s Evening News for 10 years.

In 1991, Goodman traveled to East Timor to report on the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. There, she and colleague Allan Nairn witnessed Indonesian soldiers gun down 270 East Timorese men, women and children during a memorial procession. Indonesian soldiers savagely beat Goodman and Nairn, fracturing Nairn’s skull. Their documentary, “Massacre: The Story of East Timor” won numerous awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Prize for International Reporting, the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, the Armstrong Award, the Radio/Television News Directors Award, as well as awards from the Associated Press, United Press International and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In 1996, Goodman helped launch Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now!. Two years later, Goodman and producer Jeremy Scahill went to Nigeria. Their award-winning radio documentary “Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship” exposed Chevron’s role in the killing of two Nigerian villagers in the Niger Delta, who were protesting yet another oil spill in their community. In 1999, Goodman traveled to Peru to interview American political prisoner Lori Berenson. It was the first time a journalist had ever gotten into the prison to speak to her.

In March 2004, Goodman obtained the international broadcast exclusive of the return of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from his imposed exile in the Central African Republic to Jamaica, accompanying the Aristides with the delegation that retrieved them. Her coverage of the Haitian story scored more than 3.5 million hits on Democracy Now!‘s Web site, ultimately forcing the story into the mainstream press in what Goodman describes as “trickle up” journalism.

In addition to writing her syndicated editorial column, Goodman is co-author, with her brother David Goodman, of the book Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders and the People Who Fight Back (Hyperion, 2006) and The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them.

Growing up an Army brat, Amber Gray quickly learned the theatre was an immediate source for community. She is grateful to have found The Church of Stop Shopping family and forever relieved they have given her the strength to overcome her retail therapy vices.

Other New York credits include Melo-Llama: A Melodrama (NYC Fringe show at the Connelly Theatre), Dearborn Heights (Vital Theatre Company's Drama League Alumni Fest,) On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning (Red Room Theatre,) The Just Assassins (Wow Café Theatre,) as well as the new musical ULA: A Dream Play with Music (Phil Bosakowski Theatre.) 

Regionally, Amber has been seen in the world premiere of Prudence (Connecticut Repertory Theatre,) Ain't Misbehavin' (Huntington Theatre Company,) On the Razzle and Lady Windermere's Fan (Williamstown Theatre Festival.) Amber is a graduate from Boston University's College of Fine Arts where she received a BFA in Acting alongside the Bette Davis Award from the Davis Foundation, and the Kahn Career Entry Grant for her artistic accomplishments.

Gaylen unofficially joined the choir at Burning Man 2007 after having resisted overtures from the group for nearly a year.  His first performance with the choir, at the Temple built by David Best, probably is still his favorite.

Gaylen has been active in the pursuit of social justice for decades.  His early work with Colorado and New Jersey punk rock bands was overtly political and satirical with a double-barreled focus on ending racism and the fur trade.  More recently, he has taken on the task of improving the world's access to Human Powered Vehicles (HPV).  He is the founder of BrooklynBikeCycle, a not-very-profitable organization, with a mission to provide as many bicycles to as many people as possible in New York City and the world beyond.

He is also very involved with the Ghost Bikes and the annual Ghost Bike Memorial Ride.

I'm Pat, retired French and ESL teacher, launching my second career as the Johnnie Appleseed of jello shots, spreading j.s. magic wherever and whenever I can. Travel, foreign language and music are three priorities in my life. I like to meet and live with people from another walk of life or geographical area, and sing with them. In an increasingly fragmented world, I feel this builds bridges. For years my only "politics" has involved working toward a greener environment and being a responsible consumer. And so I am thrilled to be a part of the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir!!! (Thank you, Jessica!)

Immediator for the Church of Stop Shopping, Jahn is also an artist, writer, and the co-founder of Pond: art, activism, & ideas, a non-profit organization dedicated to experimental public art. Recent projects include: Invisible 5, an ecojustice audio tour of California’s Interstate 5; OneTrees, an ongoing collaboration with Natalie Jeremijenko that involves the planting of pairs of genetically-identical trees throughout the Bay Area’s diverse microclimates; Kits for an Encounter; and ShopDropping, an exhibition of reverse shoplifting. She is currently a 2008-9 artist in residence at the MIT Media Lab and at the Headlands Center for the Arts. 

She received a BA from UC Berkeley in 2000 with a double major BA in Fine Art and Interdisciplinary Studies (focus on Cultural Geography) and received an MS from MIT’s Visual Art Program in 2007. Based in New York, she works with I-Witness Video and Reverend Billy &, Savitri D., and The Church of Stop Shopping. www.marisajahn.com

Gwen Kash - Alto Gwen may look innocent, but fortunately for the safety of Western Civilization, the NYPD wasn’t fooled. Seeing her engaged in the extremely hazardous activity of stopping her bicycle at a red light, they acted quickly to arrest her – three times. Annoyed at spending the night in jail and having her beloved bicycle impounded, Gwen and a group of jail mates – I mean new friends - formed Freewheels Bicycle Defense Fund to fight back. She beat her charges and the bike was recovered mostly unharmed from the NYPD warehouse after a month’s sentence. It has since been renamed Connie the Ex-con Bicycle. When not riding her bike, getting arrested, or going to court, Gwen enjoys hanging out in Brooklyn, reading, jello wrestling, and stopping her shopping. 

Nasser is from Uganda, he is a world class Boxer. He is a happpy new father living in Poughkeepsie these days.

In the very early morning of March 11, 1960 at 1:07am, Barbara Robin Lee was born to a 16-year-old black teenager at Pilgrim State Mental Hospital on Long Island, NY. Barbara grew up to be a madcap, nappy-headed tomboy who read comic books and listened to Elton John. In her young adulthood, she got politicized first by campaigning for Gary Hart the first time around, and then she discovered Anarchism when she became homeless and squatted in the Lower East Side. Barb has spent a lot of time in the NYC and New Jersey jails for protesting in the streets of NYC, in Tompkins Square Park, and fighting white supremacists at Giants Stadium.

Nowadays, Barbara dyes her gray hairs and still thinks she's a teenager. She loves her two cats and is a friend to all animals except for spiders, snakes, roaches and rats. She sings soprano in the choir and she thanks Rev. Billy for saving her from political apathy. Oh yeah -- when the mood hits her, she unleashes her furious talent of the written word to all whom will read and listen. Lester Bangs, Assata Shakur and Dr. Hunter S. Thompson are her heroes.

E Katrina Lewis is a self taught musician, entangled between two worlds of passion & prize, with influences dating as far back as King David. Living, breathing, & nurturing the thought, sound, & existence of every form of music created and in process of creation. "I am not just a musician but the actual music, Ms. Music." By profession, she is a freelance music producer leaving in Brooklyn, NY wearing various hats. Katrina mixes tracks and I also do sample library production. Beyond productions she is a keyboardist for life!


Her production and performances signatures her gift as a well versed keyboardist. She spends most of her time creating music and samples while expressing her feelings through any genre of music possible and NOT. You can log onto www.myspace.com/bewareofmusic to listen to Katrina's production work.

Katrina is honored to be the band leader of the Stop Shopping Church. Having grown up as a church music, Katrina brings a wealth of the techniques and creativity of Gospel music to the performances. The overall union between Katrina and Stop Shopping is a testimony of how paths become full circle in perfect time. Katrina holds a Bachelor's in Political Science and English from NC Wesleyan College and was very active as a grassroots protest organizer during her undergraduate tenure. Currently, she is attending Metropolitan College of NY where she is studying for her MBA in Media Management.

Outside of work, she loves nature, tv, writing, reading, eating sushi and exposing myself to anything that's harmless and will induced the best out of me. Katrina believes and practice: The journey of a thousand miles, begins with one step (Lao Tzu).  

Anna-Sara spends most of her time with her nose in philosophy books, and she is glad to have found a way to express her less cerebral side, and her political frustrations. She saw reverend Billy and the choir for the first time in August 2005, and instantly realized she had to audition for the choir. A former French horn player, she very much enjoys doing music again, especially in such a fun and purposeful setting. From fall 2008 Anna-Sara is on mission in Austin, Texas.

Jennifer Miller (born 1961) is an American circus entertainer, writer, and professor at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures. She is a bearded woman, juggler, and fire eater. Miller lives in New York City.

Miller is the youngest daughter of two Jewish-turned-Quaker professors and she grew up in Connecticut and California. Miller became involved in the performing arts and theater while in high school, and was involved in the downtown dance scene in New York in the early 1980s. In her career as a performing artist, which has spanned over 20 years, she has performed with numerous choreographers and dancers, several circus companies, and in the Coney Island SideShow.

In 1989, she founded the acclaimed NYC political performance troupe Circus Amok and has directed it ever since. She was also a focus of Tami Gold's documentary Juggling Gender and Circus Amok has been the subject of numerous documentary films. Miller is widely recognized for her work and is the recipient of awards including the Obie, Bessie, BAX 10, and most recently the Ethyl Eichelberger Award. She currently teaches in New York at Pratt Institute, and has taught at several universities including UCLA, Cal Arts, Scripps College, and NYU.

In the summer of 2004 Stephen Musgrave was struck down by a blinding light during a pick-up soccer game in Central Park, and while in a shamanic state he witnessed a thousand Fair Trade angels sing "Stop...Shopping!" with force enough to lift the surounding skyscrapers and make them dance the holy jiggly around Manhattan island.

Sanctified by this vision, he sought out the Church of Stop Shopping and immediately put his talents in service of the Gospel of Buylessness.

Stephen is now the principle behind Capellic, a consulting practice using technology to assist non-profit, arts and progressive organizations. He also serves on the board of SENS Prodcution, a New York-based non-profit experimental arts organization that produces site-specific dance performances that explore the dynamics of movement in public spaces and engage audiences in spatial participation.

Shilpa Narayan joined the choir after seeing the Reverend exorcise the devil from a Starbucks coffee cup. She has since confessed, and continues to confess, her sins. She is an attorney licensed to practice law in New York State and is a dedicated defender of the First Amendment.
Singer of the Month December 2010

Laura was assigned to go on a field trip to Reverend Billy's Church by professor Stephen Duncombe in the spring of 2000. One month later at the April 16th March on D.C., the Reverend and Laura spent the day together as tourists de la Resistance, and she told him she liked to sing. Since then she has sung on hundreds of stages and into many bullhorns. Highlights include soloing after Joan Baez at Burning Man 2005 and singing a gospel rendition of the First Amendment under her breath while handcuffed at the police station with Reverend Billy. Laura is also a film director and writer. Her work, which often stars members of the choir, can be seen at irREVERENT Films. She would like to thank James for giving her the juice that makes her more than a white girl with a wind pipe.

Gregory has been following the Rev. for more than 5 years and has particularly enjoyed Buy Nothing Day Actions. He joined the choir during the Rev. Billy for Mayor campaign. Recently he was seen singing Remove Starbucks in Zurich with honorary chorister Oliver Rizzi Carlson.

Gregory has been singing for decades. He has been on stage since he was five (and has the original handwritten script to prove it.) He played the violin and viola in the BAFFA Symphony Orchestra. Gregory is also a founding member Companion Communites, a social justice organization that works in Latin America offering support to impoverished communities and those recovering from major natural disasters.

In a past incarnation Gregory was a fireman, monk, and teacher. Currently he works as a social worker, creates stained glass windows and block prints. He is an accomplished cook whose favorite meals include Abbraccio D'Oliva and Cervelles au Beurre Noir. Food-a-lujah!

Stefani is a vocalist from Virginia.  She holds a BA in Vocal Performance, Opera & Classical music.  She can be seen & heard around NYC performing with, “Cold War,” “Live Perl,” and her band, “Stefani and the Soft Corps,” and as the voice in a slew of radio spots. You can also see her in a few small roles in indie films, and on the improv comedy circuit.  In her free time she supports the live music scene or can be found baking tasty goodies.  Always knowing that authority should be questioned, she feels she has found a home within this truly remarkable community.  She is ecstatic to be absolved of her shopping demons and spreading the love and singing the gospel with Reverend Billy and family.

Andrew began singing in the womb. His second song (Sung at the age of 11 months) was the ABC's. At 13 months of age he's moved on to his own version of a song he learned from some purple thing on TV. Now at the ripe old age of 14 months he is randomly repeating "Ashes Ashes Ya Ya Yah!" Andrew is thrilled to be a part of Reverend Billy's Stop Shopping Choir! 

In 2001, a young Owen on vacation stumbled into the East Village on a hot, steamy August afternoon looking for a Fringe Festival theatre. Unable to find 8th Street and tired from the heat, all he really wanted was a tall, frosty Frappuccino from Starbucks.  He looked everywhere but there was no sign of Starbucks.  "What is this place?" he thought.  "Get me back to Times Square!"

Little did he know that he would one day hear the Good News of the Starbucks-less at a Reverend Billy revival in that strange neighborhood of owner-run coffee shops, and not only back away from the Frappuccino, but join the Stop Shopping Choir!  Owen hopes to inspire others to stop their shopping, one coffee beverage at a time.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Almost thirty years ago JR and her companion Lilian Felipe started a cabaret called El Habito and an adjoining theater, known as La Capilla, in Mexico City. Her theatre cooperative, Las Divas, has produced and performed hundreds of plays. She is an interrogator of power, and an illuminator of darkness fearlessly mocking the politics and religion in a

Jesusa is a longtime foe of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the indignities of globalization, a supporter of democratic reforms in a notoriously corrupt nation, an advocate for seed sovereignty, and a fierce campaigner for the rights of indigenous people.

Jesusa has been threatened, censored, arrested and beaten and seems to be at the center of many of Mexico’s recent and fiercest battles, including the legalization of abortion, the Oaxacan teachers strike, the Zapitista’s ongoing struggle against militarized nationalism, the illegal election of Calderon and the recognition of civil unions for gay people in Mexico City.

We dedicate our love to you Blessed Jesusa and thank you for your work. You are our teacher. May all YOUR dreams come true.

““we are constantly threatened by the vengeful thunderbolt of a world that prefers sordid tranquility of boredom to the harrowing splendor of rebellion, of a society that prefers to be immobile rather than transgress” (Jesusa Rodriguez)

Sari is a lifelong New Yorker. After attending a string of incredibly hip art schools, she began performing as lead singer of The Gamma Rays (Teenbeat Records) and Music From The Mood Expansion Chamber. She is a proud member of the Missile Dick Chicks and a founder of Rubulad, a community-based arts organization that produces large scale, multi-media events. Her belief that music and performance can change the world remains unshaken. 

Several years ago I came to the realization that choice of product has become one of the few avenues Americans have to assert their individuality and sense of self. Increasingly, life is dictated from the minute one awakes until the television is turned off after the nightly news at 11. Then I read an article in the New York Times printed a few years ago about this performance artist, Reverend Billy, who had the audacity to confront this very subject. Not only did he decry our emotional and spiritual state but the ethical reaches of consumerism in this country and its tentacles that reach far and wide. I had to meet this person and, once I did, was more than willing to join his battle to thwart the grotesque evils of shopping!

Lizzie Steelheart Taubeneck joined the church in May of 2003 and is incredibly grateful to have found such an unbelievably fun, humorous, inspired and joyful way to instigate social change through performance (with this fascinating, generous, intelligent and kooky family!).

She received her Theater BFA from NYU in 2001, and while there she studied at Playwrights Horizons Theater School, Trinity University in Dublin and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She is lucky to have worked with directors such as Liz Swados, David LaChapelle, and of course the fierce and luminous Savitri D! With Billy and the choir, she has performed on many stages large, small and unexpected: the Castro and Victoria Theaters in San Francisco, Conway Hall in London, the Highline Ballroom in New York City, the Old South Meeting House in Boston, the Burningman Festival in Nevada, churches, community centers, big box parking lots, Wal-Mart aisles, Starbucks counters, malls and various public spaces from coast to coast! She also plays guitar and writes music and has sweat, bled and spit whiskey on many of NYC's dive bar rock and roll stages, including Arlene's Grocery, the Continental, the Mercury Lounge and CBGB. She loves swimming, riding her bike, reading, Burning Man, the beach, cheese, wine, and chocolate. Aside from being a devoted Choir girl, Lizzie is a hair stylist at an independently-owned, neighborhood salon on the Lower East Side. Change-a-lujah!

Born and raised in NYC by a progressive single mom and the whole multicultural "village" at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of New York, Dawn has always been surrounded by leftist political activists working for the people. Back in the 1970s, her mom (Scottish American from Massachusetts) met her dad (Chinese from Trinidad) while he was operating the projector at Third World Newsreel showing a documentary about the Rosenberg Trials. From this beginning, it was already written in the stars that she would eventually find her calling with The Church of Life After Shopping!

Dawn started singing at age 11 and since then has performed in musicals, choruses, choirs and a capella groups. But there is no other group or community that she wanted to be more a part of than the Life After Shopping Gospel Choir. For her, it is a dream and a blessing to join such a loving, activist-y, fun family of people. To sing, be creative and make a difference simultaneously, isn't that what we all desire? Summer of 2007 she got to take the movement to the streets of Vermont as an apprentice with Bread and Puppet Theater, paving her way to activist street theater. Her heart also belongs to crafts and making things with her hands, like crocheted finger puppets! She started a small business to showcase her creations. Dawn lives in Jackson Heights, Queens with her partner and their Maine Coon cat.

Armed with a red pen, Jack Taylor helped to polish the prose of other writers while working as a copy editor and proofreader. Fortunately for preservationists, he has long used his own pen – and typewriter – to defend the architectural heritage of neighborhoods throughout New York City.
Mr. Taylor’s eloquent prose, frequently appearing in the editorial pages of the city’s leading newspapers, continues to raise awareness of and generate support for preservation efforts. Whether writing about the merits of adaptive reuse or persuasively arguing for the protection of threatened resources, such as the Dvorak House or the Naumburg band shell in Central Park, Mr. Taylor is always an advocate for the built environment.
Mr. Taylor is not afraid to cross swords when necessary, and because of this he is recognized as one of the city’s leading preservation advocates. As president of The Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District, Mr. Taylor fought for the designation of more than four hundred properties located on parts of twenty-eight blocks along the Avenue of the Americas, Fifth Avenue and Broadway, as well as side streets from 15th to 24th Streets.
Opponents of the proposed Ladies’ Mile Historic District argued that not all the buildings in this area were of landmark quality. Mr. Taylor, however, successfully argued that the area was “a magnificent universe in miniature…To designate piecemeal would be a travesty, for the gaps and inconsequential structures are negligible.” And, as a result of his efforts, and those of the seven organizations that united under the umbrella of The Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District (spearheaded by Margaret Moore, Christabel Gough, and Anthony C. Wood), the city designated much of the area a historic district in 1989.

Mark Tipton has been playing trumpet with Reverend Billy since January of 2005. An active freelance musician across the country, Mark holds a B.M. from the Oberlin Conservatory and an M.M. from the Mannes College of Music. In his short but busy career, he has had the opportunity to perform with such artists as Doc Severinsen, Quincy Jones, Vassar Clements, and Bobby McFerrin. He is currently preparing original music for his debut album, "Love, Sweet Love", which will be recorded in September of this year. His interests besides music include: hiking, poetry, sailing, and vegetarian cooking. 

Rick is the Founder and Director of We, The World, a non-profit organization that is forming global networks of collaboration between groups and individuals to build mass public involvement in creating a peaceful, caring, sustainable world that works for all. Rick is also Co-Chair of the Foundation For Ethics and Meaning , a non-profit organization that is challenging our prevailing cultural emphasis on material self-interest while encouraging a spirit of caring and a process of mutual recognition that will nourish inclusive, sustainable, just communities. Rick is an accomplished composer, musician and recording studio owner who is well known and respected for his work in television, film, and many other media. During the last 25 years he has been a member of hundreds of television, film, commercial and other media production teams and has written, produced and directed two films. Rick is currently co-producing "Visual Voices" a TV Series that presents voices in media, the arts and beyond (such as Rev. Billy) who are shaping our culture and our world. 

Rick Ulfik is an award-winning composer, musician, songwriter and sound design specialist who has written, produced, arranged and performed music for ABC TV, NBC TV and CBS TV, the Olympics, feature films, commercials, and major recording artists including Queen Latifah, Phoebe Snow, Carlos Santana, Judy Collins, Bernadette Peters and Reverend Billy and the Church of Life After Shopping. Rick is also a full time social change organizer and activist. He is the Founder and Board Chair of We, The World, and Founder and a Principal Coordinator of the WE Campaign, developing global networks of collaboration and activism. Supporters include Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Daniel Ellsberg, Riane Eisler, Robert Thurman, Patch Adams, Hazel Henderson, Michael Lerner and many others.

Francisco Valera was born and raised in Caracas-Venezuela. His first theatre experience was at six years old with Grupo Cultural La ladera, playing a poor student in a chaotic school in a country in crisis — a character not far removed from his own reality. He worked seven years with this company on a number of productions, performing plays with a strong political message (and very inspirational) in hospitals, prisons and on the streets.
Following this, Francisco took a long detour — an exciting and eye opening journey out of his acting path into the world. Joyful and painful experiences took place."I didn't go to college, and yet It feels as if I got a P.h.D." this detour ended after Sept 11, 2001, when he witnessed the most horrific scene of his life: "I was there, on Church St. standing speechless and sobbing as I saw people jumping off the towers in fire, thinking, death comes and take us in the most unexpected ways, sometimes we don't even know is happening and in a second were gone."
 He is very Proud to be a permanent member of Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Gospel Choir! Francisco lives and loves in the East Village. 
He just finished his amazing film DOG RUN.

Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most beloved writers in the world. He was a
nineteen year old soldier in the US army when he was captured by the
Nazi¹s and held as a POW. He witnessed firsthand the Allied Forces
firebombings of Dresden and was put to work collecting the dead after
the attacks. He worked briefly as a journalist and in the marketing
department at General Electric. He sometimes called himself a humanist
and claimed to be a socialist but since Kurt Vonnegut practiced the art
of radical instability nobody ever really tried to describe him.

We knew him as a champion of freedom and kindness, a serious foe of
television and a formidable critic of capitalism and the forces that
keep nations at war.

Blessed Kurt, we are grateful for your wisdom, your jokes and your
letters. May all your dreams come true.