Black Nouveau

(upbeat music) - Hello everyone, and welcome to the July edition of Black Nouveau.

I'm Earl Arms.

Most of our program this month is devoted to the Black String Triage Ensemble, classically trained musicians of color who are often first responders at crime scenes.

The local group is the focus of a national documentary that was highlighted during the Milwaukee Film Festival.

We're gonna show you the entire 12 minute film, and then Alexandria Mack talks with some of the musicians in the group.

Later, we'll preview part of our interview with actor Glenn Turman which will air in our August program.

But first, let's meet Dayvin Hallmon, founder and director of the Black String Triage Ensemble.

And Marquise Mays, the films director.

Thanks to you both for joining us.

First we'll start with you, Dayvin talk about the triage ensemble, how and when it came about.

- I was living in Kenosha, I've been a church musician my entire life, playing multiple instruments, but was living in Kenosha while being a church musician while being an elected county official, and working two retail jobs.

And I just was just fed up with things and I was out walking and the question sort of fell into my spirit.

What would happen if a bunch of string players showed up after a shooting but didn't play Mozart?

And sometimes things come upon you and you pick up pieces like breadcrumbs to find the answer.

And the result of that is Black String Triage.

- So you were doing this for a little while.

Talk about how long you were doing this before the idea of a film came up about it.

- Oh, not long, to be really honest with you.

I had a small joke with some of the musicians and said that somebody probably should, but I didn't think anybody actually would.

Fortunately, Marquise thought we were a worthwhile topic enough to see a story that needed to be shared with people.

You know, we as musicians thought there was one, but to have somebody else come from another perspective in another art form and see a way to help tell that and share that, I think is extraordinary.

- So how'd you two meet then?

- Over Facebook messenger.

(Earl and Marquise laughing) The common way that people meet, you know?

Yeah, but just during the summer that I end up meeting Dayvin, they were already doing a lot of the work in the ensemble.

So we connected over Facebook Messenger and had several conversations and then that kind of sealed the deal for me.

- So through Facebook Messenger, you know, why'd you decide to get involved with this project?

- You know, I think as a documentary filmmaker, the kind of plight that we face often at times is what will be my next story or what will my next story be?

What speaks to me?

And oftentimes stories kind of fall into your lap and that's the kind of beauty of filmmaking and storytelling.

So when I got the opportunity to learn more about Dayvin and ensemble and what they were doing, I just felt an emotional connection to it based off my own relationship to grief and loss in the city of Milwaukee and my relationship to music as well.

So I really thought it was a worthwhile adventure to kind of follow them and see who they were as people and the work that they were doing in the city.

- So how did PBS get involved in the mix then?

- Yeah, I'm so grateful to have PBS as a partner and as a producer of this film.

It was by way of Firelight Media and the Center of Asian American Media who really saw the potential of this film and the potential of their story to be amplified.

And PBS was just the great distributor for us to have to make sure that the work of the ensemble is archived and preserved but also seen nationally so that others can really understand and try to figure out what they may need for their cities, if that strings or if it's not.

- So I think this is for both of you.

What's been the response that you've gotten about the film and the work that you've done?

- I think personally for me, I think the response has been, a lot of people have been asking a lot of questions about the process itself, which is good.

I wanted to create a film that started a conversation or had some type of dialogue.

I never want the film to be an end all, be all, this is what we should do, but as opposed to, "Hmm, what could this look like in the orbit of my own world?"

So it's been really cool to see reaction and reception from people, people who are really into the idea and want to know more about the science and more about the people.

They're so interested in the ensemble as people and what drove them to do this work.

So the reception has been really great for the film and I'm super grateful that a lot of the conversation is shifting from the film onto the ensemble, which is what I wanted.

- And speaking of the ensemble, Dayvin, and talk about the reception that you've gotten and that you've heard from the film and from your work.

- Well, I can't necessarily speak from the film 'cause those folks have kind of already known what it is that we do.

But for those who've been unfamiliar, it's largely been good.

I would say that the film isn't representative of what happens every time that we go out.

I think that particular occasion we did not have a chaplain.

We have made sure now, moving forward, that we always have one because that helps give our presence context.

- All right.

Appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

And we'll continue this discussion online with Dayvin Hallmon and Marquise Mays.

But now, as promised, here's Black Strings.

(siren wailing) (police radio chatter) (slow string music begins) - [Dayvin] On the basis of the data alone, Milwaukee stands out.

You can get to a place where you just believe that this is the normal and just throw your hands up and just say "whatever."

It sounds cliche, but I felt compelled to do something.

I am Dayvin Hallmon, founder and music director of the Black String Triage Ensemble.

The Black String Triage Ensemble is a group of Black and Latinx musicians.

Violin with the cello, upright bass, that play at the scene in the immediate aftermath of tragic events.

We in Milwaukee have chosen to prioritize shootings, reckless driving occurrences, and drug overdoses, so that the seed of destruction that gets planted in your mind, from either what you've seen or what you've heard, does not continue to play over and over and over and over and take root and grow.

And so the music that we play, the programs I try to design, are structured in that way to help move you across that river.

(morose string music) - [Alida] I feel like shootings and violent situations have become such the norm that we don't honor our dead at the moment of that traumatic situation.

(quiet string music) My name is Alida LaCosse and I am originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A night on call looks like we show up at a designated meeting place, whether that's someone's house or wherever it is where we're gonna set up camp for the night.

- [Dayvin] But we're together with the instrument, music, music stand light, ready to go out if an emergency occurs.

- [Alida] We watch the police calls, right?

We have a couple different formats that we watch.

We follow the call log and then we collectively make a decision when "shots fired" comes up if there's enough information for us to just roll out and go.

- [Dayvin] Normally, if you have to play a typical concert, you know, okay, my concert is at seven o'clock.

I gotta be at the hall at 6: 30, and you show up at 6:30, maybe your dressed, may be not.

Come 6: 45, you're thinking about what it is that you have to play.

Like, you're getting your entire body and mind ready.

(solemn string music) The challenge for musicians in the Black String Triage Ensemble is that you have to be in that state of being for a good four to six hour period.

(dramatic string music) - [Dayvin] Wait a minute.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

This just popped up.

This one I feel pretty confident about just rolling over there.

It's a 13 minute drive away.

North 10th Street and West Wright.

There's a lot of stuff that happens over there.

Yeah, we should, we should go.

(morose string music) (traffic buzzing) (car doors close) - [Man] Shots fired.

(group chatting) If we waited to go a day later, a week later, a month later, then what has happened has already set in for people.

(morose string music continues) - [Churchill] To be honest, I really don't like the reasons that we go out and play obviously.

Initially, I go through this kind of, "Ugh, I don't wanna do this."

And I don't like what happened and I don't want to really be there because it rankles in my head that somebody's gone.

But on the other hand, music is something that I can use to help somebody else.

Then that kind of makes me feel better.

- [Alida] I would consider us to be first responders.

It feels like we're doing something actively to help.

'Cause a lot of times, when situations happen, first responders come, yes, you know, you have your EMTs and ambulance and fire department, but once they're gone or once someone's dead, you know, what's the rest of the community left to do and feel?

(Ensemble plays Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen) - That's powerful, man, (laughs) for real.

Who would have thunk it.

On a Friday night in Milwaukee on 20th and Hopkins.

Music calm the soul.

This is what we call a positive distraction.

(song continues) - A lot of the music that we play, you might hear in churches, places of worship, but wherever we show up and we play together is a place of prayer.

It is an official place of worship.

It is an official place of, you know, supplication and praise and asking for peace.

We know what we're there for.

We know what our purpose is.

We just don't always know that everybody else is gonna know.

(song continues) (song ends) - That is awesome.

I love y'all.

(claps) - [Person Off-Screen] Why y'all doing that?

- Thank you very much.

- [Person Off-Screen] Why y'all doing that?

Y'all don't want to answer Why are you doing that?

Take that (expletive) on somewhere Why would you come over here with that?

I don't wanna hear that.

- [Woman] That's me.

I don't wanna hear.

I don't want to hear it, you should be the one venting.

Your daddy just got killed so I don't give a (expletive) what you talking.

(chord plays) - You need anything?

You good?

- [Person Off-Screen] Y'all do this everywhere y'all go?

We don't need no music, man!

- [Woman] Can we just do this one and go?

- Is that what everybody's feeling?

- [Woman] I think with the amount of noise that has recently shot up, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable.

- No, my bowing technique is not, so I know my focus is... Yeah, let's do this and then let's probably... (morose song begins) - [Alida] I think the thing that strings us together is our passion for music.

But it's not just that.

It is also, I think it's our love of our people.

I think we love out loud through our music and I think that's what makes us unique.

- [Dayvin] My hope for the Black String Triage Ensemble in the immediate is that the people in that space will come away feeling unburdened and like a different reality is possible.

That what has happened does not have to be the everyday, nor should it.

The nature for those of us as people of color in the United States is we don't just get to acceptance, acceptance is not enough.

There must be something that convinces you.

There must be something that lights a fire to drive you to tell you that it is going to be better.

The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

So you don't know, you can't rationally prove it.

You can't scientifically measure it out.

But something has spoken to you and pushed you beyond all rationality so that you know this will be better.

And the only thing that does that is faith in whatever, however, it is still faith.

(morose string music continues) (melodic string music) (upbeat music) (peaceful string music) - [Alida] Milwaukee just has a lot to offer, you know, but there's a lot of healing that has to happen.

I think all of us have something to offer as far as what we can contribute to healing.

And I know it may sound mundane, but whatever we can give of ourselves, you know, my gift, and our gift as Black String Triage is the gift of music, right?

My name is Alida LaCosse and I play violin with Black String Triage Ensemble.

(chords playing) - [Autumn] My name is Autumn Maria Reed.

I am a string bassist and a composer.

I play with the Black String Triage Ensemble in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It all started back in 2020 during the pandemic.

Kind of the same story I usually tell folks.

2019 was kind of a rough year for me.

And then towards the end, things started looking up, and then boom, the pandemic in 2020.

And as a musician, I wanted to play more with other musicians.

So I started adding a bunch of people on Facebook.

And one person that I added was Alida LaCosse.

She had a big string base in her profile.

It's like, oh another, you know, string bassist.

And so I added her and then she invited me to an open rehearsal with the Black String Triage Ensemble.

I wanna say that was July of 2020.

And then that's when I met, you know, Dayvin Hallmon.

So, and it all just kind of, you know, went from there.

(dramatic string music) So one phrase that I know Dayvin said, that we are not profiting off of Black or Brown death.

So it would be tacky to call it a performance because it's like making us a spectacle when it's really, you know, there's trauma in our community and it needs to draw attention to that.

So even though it's strange and bizarre and a lot of people get thrown off, you know, when they see just string instruments playing after like, you know, gun shots.

(melancholy string music) I was concerned because I struggled with mental health and I fear of being re-traumatized seeing certain things.

You know, people are fighting or, you know, people are getting shot.

And I was like, you know can I mentally handle this?

- [Alida] It was different, right?

It was stepping out.

It was a different stage to step into, right?

But we were together, you know, so when you go out together as a group, it was shocking for sure.

You know, I was like, where do we stand?

You know?

He was like, no, we need to get closer.

We get right by the yellow tape and he goes and talks to the police.

You know, the police know him.

So it was a shock for sure.

- [Person Off-Screen] Y'all do this everywhere y'all go?

We don't need no music, man!

- [Woman] Can we just do this one and go?

- Is that what everybody's feeling?

(string music plays) - [Alida] He puts a lot of time and thought and effort into picking the music.

And there's the stages of grief that we go through.

The songs that belong to the different areas that he puts together.

All the composers are either, you know, Black or Brown or specifically Latinx.

The melodies that we're playing aren't accidental, right?

Because the music that we generally pick and music by Black composers always have a melody in it that has a history, right?

And those notes that are put together aren't by accident.

They have a history.

They have a story.

Whether it's someone saying them in a field, right?

Or they were a call to someone or they were a prayer or they were a message, right?

And when one voice is lifted, another voice hears it and joins in chorus.

And I think there's power in that.

(somber string music) - I've, you know, struggled with mental health and have experienced certain traumas and you know, growing up what really helped me was music.

And so hopefully the music that I'm playing with my ensemble mates can bring, you know, some sort of relief or stress or like a diversion to what's going wrong.

- I'm from Milwaukee, right?

And my father is from Chicago.

My father died when I was two.

And my mother got very sick here in Milwaukee and she died when I was five.

And my great-grandmother, I went to live with her in New York.

And I really didn't speak about my mother's death, but my great-grandmother noticed that I was drawn to classical music.

I would sit and listen to the radio.

And so my great-grandmother said, you know, "Get her some piano lessons."

You know, "We need to have her play 'cause she just, that's her thing."

And I kind of felt like what I couldn't express in words I could play.

And so it was my way to communicate.

And it just, it was my friend, you know, it was my best friend.

So I think since then it just has always been that.

You know, it's always been there for good times and bad times and joy and you know, worship.

I mean, it got me into college, you know, (laughs) it got me through everything.

(somber string music) I think that's the common thread that I find with most musicians is at some point we were hurting and it helped us heal.

- On our next edition, we'll preview the Black Arts MKE Theater Festival and we'll talk with veteran actor Glynn Turman.

Most of us know him as Preach from Cooley High or as Colonel Taylor from TV's A Different World.

But he actually started his career on stage in New York.

- My mother was a single mom, moved she and I from Harlem, New York, down to the West Village in the late '50s.

And some of her friends became some of the greats of all time.

Lorraine Hansberry, who was a neighbor and a dear friend of my mother's, lived around the corner and informed my mother that she had written a play and that there was a part for a little boy in it.

And would I be interested in trying out for this part?

I didn't know that when trying out there would be other young boys there trying for the same role because I had never auditioned for anything before.

So I went to the meeting thinking that the part was mine and had no idea what those other kids were sitting in the hall waiting for.

You know, because it was my part, they might as well go home.

(laughs) But that started me on my career in acting.

- And as we close, remember to check us out online.

You can find a link to the film Black Strings and the continuation of our interview with Dayvin Hallmon and Marquise Mays.

For Black Nouveau, I'm Earl Arms.

Have a good evening.