Violinist and bandleader Babe Egan was a vaudeville superstar. In 1929, she was one of the highest paid women in vaudeville, earning $50,000 that year (equivalent to $880,000 today). She performed for tens of millions of theatergoers in the U.S., coast-to-coast, in Canada, and in Europe, and her band was regularly featured on radio. Continue reading
Member Spotlight: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers Heat Up the Charts With Two #1 Records in the Same Year
Beloved SoCal rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers were on fire in 2022! Helmed by frontman Anthony Kiedis, AFM Local 47 members Michael “Flea” Balzary (bass), Chad Smith (drums) and John Frusciante (guitar) released 12th album “Unlimited Love,” which notably marked the return of Frusciante, who left the band in 2009 and rejoined in 2019. The first single, “Black Summer,” became the Peppers’ 14th number-one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, and the album debuted at number one in 16 countries, including the United States. Continue reading
UAW Academic Workers End Six-Week Strike
On Dec. 14, 2022, striking UAW academic workers at UCLA saw an impressive display of support at a morning rally, where LA County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler delivered words of encouragement, and union activist Tom Morello performed his signature protest songs. Continue reading
January 2023 Overture Online – Looking to the Road Ahead
Inside This Issue:
- COVER STORY: AFM Local 47 2022 Election Returns
- 2023: Looking to the Road Ahead
- Inaugural Meeting + Musicians’ Club Annual Meeting: Monday, January 9 via Zoom
- Member Spotlight: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Live Performance/Music Prep Wage Scale Updates for 2023
- Help Eliminate Late Payments
- AFM 47 Women in History: Babe Egan and the Hollywood Redheads
- Announcing the Tony Giaimo Memorial Scholarship
Final Note: Gene Cipriano
Life Member. Oboe
7/6/1928 – 11/12/2022
Gene Cipriano, known familiarly as “Cip,” was an American woodwindist and session musician, playing clarinet, oboe, flute and saxophone among other instruments. He played on hundreds of recording sessions, possibly more than any other woodwind musician. Continue reading
AFM Local 47 2022 Election Returns
Congratulations to all candidates, and thank you to all members who voted, in our 2022 General Election.
AFM Local 47 2022 Election Returns*
DIRECTOR (6 elected):
Pam Gates – 823
John Lofton – 814
Allison Allport – 783
Allen Fogle – 772
Norman Ludwin – 733
John Acosta – 671
Aaron Smith – 659
Final Note: Dr. Thom Mason
Former Life Member. Composer
10/10/1941 – 10/22/2022
by Dr. Bruce Eskovitz
How do we honor a man like Dr. Thom David Mason, an artist, a mentor, an educator a husband and a friend? We cherish his legacy as seen by my colleagues on this stage and the many hundreds of musicians that his teaching influenced for more than 50 years. The classes that he created, like “Jazz, Ragtime & Blues,” which brought this music closer to generations of USC general education students, who learned to love this music through the passion and intelligence that Dr. Thom professed to all. He created the DMA in Jazz Studies, which opened the door to that advanced degree for myself and many of the artists that share this stage today. His book “The Art of Hearing” revolutionized solfeggio in a manner that made it a viable and usable tool for jazz musicians and jazz music students. Dr. Thom was a brilliant man who always sought to inform, educate and create opportunity where none had existed before. Continue reading
December 2022 Overture Online: AFM Local 47 General Election
Inside This Issue:
- COVER STORY: AFM Local 47 General Election Day is December 13: Polls open 9am-9pm
- Member Spotlight: Bruno Mars
- Save the Date: Inaugural Meeting & Musicians’ Club Annual Meeting: January 9 via Zoom
- Entertainment Unions Come Together to Support UAW Striking Workers
- Update from the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund
- Labor Community Services Holiday Toy Drive: Donate by December 16!
- Auditions: Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Action Alert: UAW UCLA academic workers strike MONDAY 11/21/2022
This week UAW Academic Workers announced a multi-unit statewide strike against the University of California’s unlawful conduct.
Join us and rally for the Arts and Entertainment Unions & Alumni Picket line in solidarity with 48,000 UAW student workers on strike!
Monday, November 21, 12:30-2:30pm
UCLA’s Inverted Foundation, Pritzker Hall, 502 Portola Plaza (near Kinsey Pavilion) – see map
We’ll have Local 47 T-shirts for you to wear!
Inaugural Meeting + Musicians’ Club Annual Meeting: January 9, 2023
INAUGURAL MEETING
Monday, January 9, 2023 – 7:30pm
via Zoom
On the Agenda (subject to change):
– Administration of Oath of Office to New Officers by LA County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler
– Officer Reports
– Old and New Business
Please join us for our Inaugural Meeting for the swearing in of our administration voted in at our December 2022 Triennial General Election. The oath of office will be administered by esteemed LA County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler.
Open to all AFM Local 47 members in good standing. Members will receive an email invitation to register and may also register via our website at afm47.org/gmm. Registration is required. Once your membership is verified, you will receive an email with the Zoom access link.