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Binside TV interviewed Eric "ELEW" Lewis at his Live Fame Route performance of Coldyplay's Clocks and Mr. Brightside by the Killers. Watch ELEW perform his live version of a "rock opera" on Binside TV. Check out ELEW's performance video to see that he is definitely a talent to watch. Click here to see more photos from the performance on our website http://www.binsidetv.net
Elew captivated the audience which included hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, Allan Houston ( retired NBA player), Jeffrey Wright (actor) and Julie Henderson (model).
This past Tuesday, May 12, pianist ELEW joined U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama for An Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word in the East Room of the White House.
ELEW performed his blistering rendition of Mr. Brightside for a crowdthat included President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, SpikeLee and joined the ranks of those legendary musicians asked to perform for the American President, bringing his atavistic piano creations to our nation’s Capitol—the White House itself. Along with American luminaries James Earl Jones, author Michael Chabon, jazz bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding and others, ELEW took to the stage of the East Room in the White House for a star-studded night of music and poetry that showcased the new administration’s earnest commitment to the arts. Congrats to Eric "ELEW" Lewis on becoming part of history! Here is an excerpt from a review of Eric ELEW Lewis and his performance at the White House in the Washington Post. Click here to read the whole article.
Perhaps for the first time ever, the White House jammed and slammed last night.
Poets and playwrights, actors and musicians packed the ornate East Room, delivering cool jazz and glorious spoken-word poetry, sprinkling a bit of hip-hop and a bit of the heroic couplet. And through it all, the president and the first lady watched -- and applauded.
"We're here to celebrate the power of words," President Obama said. Words "help us appreciate beauty and also understand pain. They inspire us to action." He introduced the first lady as his poet.
Michelle Obama told the gathering that the event was a way to open up the White House and invite in diverse voices. "I have wanted to do this from day one," Mrs. Obama said. "The notion of standing in this room and hearing some poetry."
Some called the event the first White House poetry jam in history. Technically, it was not a "poetry slam," which is a competition among poets -- a form of contest that began in the 1980s in Obama's home town of Chicago. A slam pits poet against poet as they stand before a crowd that provides instant, not-always-supportive judgment. That, of course, would not befit proper White House decorum. Desirée Rogers, the White House social secretary, is a huge fan of Lewis, a music industry source said. Rogers saw Lewis perform at HR-57 jazz/blues club on 14th Street NW (the club's name comes from a congressional resolution that designates jazz a "rare and valuable national American treasure"). Rogers saw Lewis again in New York in February at a Donna Karan fashion show, where Lewis played live on the runway. (Lewis can also count Oprah Winfrey among his fans.)
Lewis has received critical praise for his improvisation of jazz, which he calls "rock jazz." But he has also received heated criticism from some camps. He said an invitation to perform at the White House was like a validation for his music.
"I just met the first lady and I gave her a purse, a red clutch," Lewis said in an interview prior to the performance. "She loved it. She said she saw some videos of me where I reached inside the piano and played the strings. She wanted to make sure I do that on [this] performance. It was nice to receive her okay. She told me to rock the house and do my thing on the piano.
"I can't tell you how special it is that Michelle Obama asked me to go inside the piano," said Lewis, who performed "Mr. Brightside." "For her to be that cool and open-minded to request it shows me some people get it, and some people don't.
"The one that got it happens to be the first lady." [WASHINGTON POST]
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Hosted by Binside TV Correspondent Shomari Harris. Producer/Director/ Editor Shani Harris.
Special Thanks to President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Russell Simmons, Allan Houston, Eric "ELEW" Lewis, Desiree Rodgers,Corey Booker, Nancy Hirsch,Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker,Jeffrey Wright, Lola Ogunnaike, Julie Henderson, Fame Route, Joe Biden, The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation,The Allan Houston Foundation and The Gates.
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