Larry Joe

A few days ago I was invited to hear a guy called Larry Joe perform at a local synagogue.  I had never heard of him and so I googled him before going and thought he sounded good.  Also I thought he must have an interesting story since the songs online were recorded in prison!  But beyond that, I had no idea what to expect and I was truly inspired by him and his story.

He was introduced by Aron Turset-Swartz (a founding and now former member of the band Freshlyground.  Aron said that on World AIDS Day (Dec 1) in 2008 Freshlyground was asked to perform at a small concert in Douglas, South Africa (in the middle of the country).  As the sound equipment was being set up a man came on stage and performed two songs which both got a great reception from the audience. Aron remembered being struck by how great the guy sounded and he asked him who he was and where he was from.  "I'm Larry Joe from the Douglas Correctional Center," he said pointing to the side of the stage where 4 armed guards were waiting to take him back to prison.  To make a long story short, after the concert Aron developed a relationship with Larry and eventually ended up becoming his producer and helping him to record his first CD.  

Then Larry took the stage and began to play his guitar and sing his original songs in 5 different languages!  I thought he was really good. In between songs he told his story.  Basically, when he was in his early 20s he broke into a few houses in Kimberley, South Africa.  When he heard the police were looking for him, he ran away to Cape Town.  He had learned how to play a few chords of guitar from his father and liked to sing.  He begged for money until he had enough to buy a guitar and then began to sing on street corners around Cape Town.  He did this for 7 years and got better as he went, always singing covers.  One day he had a dream that he was playing in Madison Square Garden and he decided that he could not really pursue a music career until he served time for what he did.  So he returned to Kimberley and turned himself into the police.  He was sentenced to 5 years in prison.  While in prison he used the time to improve his musical skills. He began to write his own music for the first time and wrote over 40 songs in 5 different languages.  He only really speaks English and Afrikaans, but he had guards and other inmates translate some songs into Xhosa, Spanish, and Portuguese for him.  In addition, he says he read every book in the prison library and used those to inspire his songs in other languages.

Here he is playing with Aron backing him up on a wooden box as a drum

The prison was incredibly accommodating of his desire to practice and play music, allowing him to play in his cell, asking him to perform at that World AIDS Day Concert, and eventually letting Aron bring in recording equipment so that he could record his first CD from inside a cell in the prison.  They were apparently so accommodating because they want to aid prisoner rehabilitation and they saw this as a great opportunity for Larry.
He was released on parole on December 13, 2010 and his CD was released that day as well.  Now he goes around to schools, prisons, and other community organizations to sing and tell his story in the hopes that he can inspire young people to follow their dreams.  Definitely an inspirational story!  
Here is a link to a video about him so you can hear him sing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQgXj1s1sQ4&feature=related.
If it doesn't work just go to youtube and search for Larry Joe.

On a totally unrelated note, for your entertainment purposes, I am going to include the following picture of me and my bosses.

Elke (Pediatric Unit Manager), Liezl (South to South Clinical Director) and Me

What is so great about being in pediatrics is that pediatricians are generally fun.  Elke and I are both new to South to South (though Elke started 2 months ago).  So at our staff meeting, Liezl welcomed us into the organization by giving us each a pair of eyeglasses made from wire.  This is because now we are joining South to South and their vision for better pediatric care for children.  Each previous staff member has also gotten to go through this ritual.  We then got to decorate them with ribbon and beads (you can't really see the beads which form the side of the glasses, but trust me they are there ;)