Support 'Le jazz contre pickpockets': A film; music project

Media(singular: medium) are tools or outlets used to store and deliver information or content. The term commonly refers to elements of the mass media industry, including print, news, photography, cinema, broadcasting, and digital media. These mediums play a key role in communication and advertising.

When I created JazzduMétro Media in 2017, I wanted to publish audio-visual content relevant to jazz music and to my experience as a jazz musician.

Between 1999 and 2007, I volunteered with two public radio stations in Baltimore and since, have had a vision to own and operate some media and production outfit.

(Examples of media companies, include: Okayplayer, Konbini, Vice, Topito, Pubity, Pitchfork, Les InRocks, et al.)

Over the past 7+ years, the focus has expanded to advocacy for:

•the English-language comedy community that I participate in(I am BOTH a stand-up comedian in Paris and an accomplished musician)

•the practice of street performance(or busking) itself

•public safety in Paris underground(i.e. pickpockets)

I created a series called "Métro Equals People" which highlights parisian subway riders in short vignettes, including interviews and segments in which they perform a song with me, display their own talents, or share their personal stories. The action isn't solely in the métro. There are visits to local businesses and events.

PupduMétro focuses on dog-related content.

JazzduMétro is NOT, itself, as I have insisted for nearly a decade, a performance of jazz music by me or another artist or group of artists in the Paris métro. It was created as an extension of my engagement with riders who I encounter in the Paris métro when I am actually performing there.

I do not exclusively sing or perform in the Paris underground, my appearances there have only been to greet people and to make some invitation to a live performance in a jazz club or some other live performance venue. There are those who have attended a jazz or a live comedy event for the very first time at my invitation.

What is often missed is the correlation between my appearances in the Paris underground and my seats filled in jazz and comedy spaces in the city.

The reception by the public and the results of this engagement are what inspired the JazzduMétro brand and its media initiative. Thus, I wanted to develop a continued discourse with the public as a local artist.

Social media:

Instagram: 10,500+

PupduMétro on Instagram: 1,009

TikTok: 485

YouTube: 1,110 subscribers

Facebook: 1,300+ likes; 1,200 followers

An unfortunate part of my experience as a musician in the Paris métro is to have witnessed the activity of pickpockets. I do not "chase" pickpockets. I have:

• confronted them verbally and physically(I broke a finger during an altercation and also received three staples in my head after having been assaulted with a belt buckle)

• intervened in many robbery attempts

• conferred with the local police and RATP workers and security

• distributed an open letter to métro riders written in French and in English

• performed stand-up material on my experiences as a métro artist

• posted content about pickpockets in the Paris métro that got 3.7M views on Instagram and which earned me an invitation on French television channel M6 to share my story

• made a 16-second public safety announcement to remind passengers to stay aware of their surroundings while passing through the Paris underground.

• composed and perform a song "Public Safety Message(The Pickpockets Song)" daily as means to alert passengers taking the métro everyday. I have published videos in my "Métro Equals People" series that include me performing the song to a track with commuters.

I am launching this campaign to raise funds to produce a new recording of "Public Safety Message(The Pickpockets Song)" with a live band in a studio. The funds would also be used to employ students of the audio-visual school ESRA(École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuel) to make a short video on how this song was composed and to further inform the public about this scourge.

The release of this song is more than a jazz performance or popular song and can possibly reach the travel industry as Paris is the number one tourist destination and may help in obtaining sponsorship dollars for JazzduMétro Media's broader initiatives which include, again, advocacy of cultural things in my adopted community.

The money raised would go toward band salaries, recording and mixing costs, graphic design and photography, as well as publishing promotional materials.