BLO Politics
Points of Unity and Vision
The members of the BLO have agreed to work together towards a common set of goals. This is the core of our collective vision for the band's work, but is of course a work in progress.
- Read the BLO Points of Unity
Political Priorities
There are many issues that are important to us as a group and individually. The band has agreed on two key areas that we prioritize when accepting gigs. Our goal is to actively work to build relationships with other groups in our communities who are organizing around these issues:
Organizing Structure
BLO uses a modified consensus process to make decisions within the band. We strive to create a supportive environment where we can all develop skills and leadership and take on the various tasks necessary to keep the band going.
Links and Resources
A few other groups that make loud noises and roll on the streets:
- Cakalak Thunder (Greensboro, NC) myspace.com/cakalakthunder
- Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble (Montreal, QC) chaoticinsurrectionensemble.org
- Fiatti Sprecati (Florence, Italy) www.fiatisprecati.it
- Hungry March Band (New York, NY) www.hungrymarchband.com
- Loco Bloco (San Francisco, CA) www.locobloco.org
- Musicians Action Group (MAG) Band (SF Bay Area, CA) magband@sbcglobal.net
- Ottoni a Scopio (Milan, Italy) www.ottoniascoppio.org
- Rude Mechanical Orchestra (New York, NY) rudemechanicalorchestra.org
- Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band (Somerville, MA) slsaps.org
- Tittubanda (Rome, Italy) www.titubanda.it
- What Cheer? Brigade (Providence, RI) www.whatcheerbrigade.com
Groups we have worked with:

- AROC: Arab Resource
and Organizing Center
www.araborganizing.org - BAIRC:
Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition
www.immigrantrights.org - CPA: Chinese Progressive Association
www.cpasf.org - Coalition of Imokalee Workers www.ciw.org
- Coleman Advocates
for Children and Youth
www.colemanadvocates.org - EBASE: East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
www.workingeastbay.org - IBU: Inland Boatmen's Union www.ibu.org
- ILWU: International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 and Local 6 www.ilwu.org
- Just Cause Oakland justcauseoakland.org
- La Raza Centro Legal www.lrcl.org
- Loco Bloco www.locobloco.org
- Midnight Special Law Collective www.midnightspecial.net
- MAC: Mission Anti-displacement Coalition mac-sf.org
- One3snapshot www.one3snapshot.com
- SUB-Mission Art Space (formerly Balazo 18 Art Gallery) www.sf-submission.com
- POWER: People Organized to Win Employment Rights www.peopleorganized.org
- SF Community Land Trust www.sfclt.org
- SF Pride at Work sfprideatwork.org
- UFCW: United Food and Commercial Workers www.ufcw.org
- UNITE-HERE Local 2 and Local 2850 www.unitehere.org
- Voice of Roma www.voiceofroma.com
Resources for Street Bands
- HONK! Festival of street bands (Somerville, MA) www.honkfest.org
- Puppetista's notes on drumming at demonstrations
- U.S. StreetBand mailing list
- Super Sonic Samba School (San Diego, CA) www.sssamba.org
Organizing Resources
- The Catalyst Project www.collectiveliberation.org
- Challenging White Supremacy Workshops www.cwsworkshop.org
- Colours of Resistance Network www.colours.mahost.org
- Riseup.net www.riseup.net
News and Information
- Al Jazeera english.aljazeera.net
- Alternative Information Center www.alternativenews.org
- Common Dreams www.commondreams.org
- Democracy Now! www.democracynow.org
- Electronic Intifada www.electronicintifada.org