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Crosscurrents

Where music meets improvisation

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA FLORKOWSKI / RESIZED AND CROPPED
Musician, Joshua Raoul Brody

San Francisco musician Joshua Raoul Brody grew up in a musical family just outside New York City, where he loved listening to comedic songwriters like Tom Lehrer and Allen Sherman.

He started playing in rock bands in high school, attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, and then moved to San Francisco in 1974. There he discovered a whole community of like-minded artists, combining music and comedy. He’s been a staple of the San Francisco music scene ever since. KALW’s Jen Chien talked to Joshua Raoul Brody about why music is not a spectator sport.

JOSHUA RAOUL BRODY: It seems like I've been put on the planet to remind people that music is too important to be left to the professionals.

Brody is the musical director for Bay Area Theater Sports(BATS) and has been since 1986. He will be playing music for the improv musical show "BATS does the Bechdel Test," presented by BATS in the Bayfront Theater, at San Francisco's Fort Mason tomorrow, 8/26 and Saturday night, 8/27. Tickets can be purchased here.

Click the audio player above to listen to the complete interview.

Crosscurrents
Jen Chien was the managing editor for Crosscurrents and KALW News from 2016 to 2018. She has been a contributor to All Things Considered, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, BBC/PRI’s The World, Making Contact, SF Public Press, East Bay Express, New America Media, and KPFA in Berkeley, where she took part in the First Voice Apprenticeship Program. She is the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Emerging Journalist Award from the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California. She holds a BA in American Studies from Smith College, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Performance from New College of California. Before entering the field of journalism, she had a successful career as a professional dance and theater artist, teacher, and massage therapist.