Words with P.R. (Edition 8) - Wrestling is a Love Story

By Patricia Rogers | Posted Monday, May 9, 2022

"Wrestling is a love story,” - Cody Rhodes

INTRO

I am back from Dallas and feeling better than ever. I had the pleasure of going to Texas for WWE Wrestlemania as a part of my women’s wrestling podcast, Those Wrestling Girls.

If I had one word to describe what wrestling fans call “Mania Week” is passion.

When hoards of fans travel to the host city of the biggest wrestling events in the world, the streets are filled with people dressed in t-shirts adorned with their favorite stars, and championship belts.

It is almost like everyone there is buzzing with excitement. There is love in the air because we are all there for the same reason, the love of pro wrestling.

This was the first time my friend and co-host Krista B. and I were able to travel outside of New York for Mania Week. The entire trip was one of firsts, and I can say it was the best weekend of my life. I got to meet a lot of friends that I have known online for years for the first time. Including other black wrestling podcasters, and tastemakers in the industry. We were able to have fun, network, and make unforgettable memories including working out of the press box, floor seats to see my all-time favorite, WWE Hall of Famer and Texas native Stone Cold Steve Austin (TWICE!), and the bonding that took place at the after after-parties.

I am already planning the next trip to Los Angeles, California for 2023. 

MEET 

KIPP AMP School teacher, musician, & Wrestling Club founder Mr. Perry. Okay, his name is Victor but I was introduced to him by my mother as that so for my sister and me, he will always be Mr. Perry.

He is a great sixth-grade teacher and one that many of us wish we had when we were younger. Like myself, he grew up a wrestling fan and there were times that he did not have other people with whom he was able to talk about it. My mother introduced us, and we have been good friends ever since.

I was honored when he sent me his proposal to start a wrestling club in his school, KIPP AMP Brooklyn. Students can come to his classroom on lunch breaks to watch matches and documentaries. After the club was approved by the school he posted pictures and videos of his students enjoying marquee matches and it soon went viral. Everyone praised the young teacher for bringing wrestling to his students, and how fans of all ages and backgrounds wished they had a teacher like Mr. Perry. 

Not only were other fans inspired by what Mr. Perry was doing, but so were WWE superstars themselves. It was not long before one of the biggest WWE superstars in the world reached out to Mr. Perry asking to visit his club. She is someone who has had a passion for wrestling since watching WWE for the first time at 10 years old. Sasha Banks had to face many obstacles growing up and has been very vocal about how much wrestling has saved her life and given her a purpose. So I can only imagine what it meant to her to see Mr. Perry’s students enjoying a club like that.

“One day while I was in the middle of class teaching, I got a Twitter notification and I briefly looked and saw that it was from WWE. I had to keep calm while in class and after class, I read the message and saw that Sasha really wanted to come to see The Wrestling Club… Never did I actually think that could happen. From that interaction on we made it happen. I have so much love for WWE for working with me and the school to create such a beautiful moment that will live forever in the lives of my students. I've gotten phone calls, text messages, emails, from students telling me how much it meant to them,” says Victor Perry.

The students lost their minds and were so moved by her visit. Banks answered questions from the kids who were eloquent, respectful, and filled with joy. I think the most memorable part for me was seeing how much it meant to the kids but also what it meant to Sasha Banks. She kept thanking Mr. Perry and the entire moment was genuine and emotional.

He went on to share with me, “Meeting Sasha I realized quickly that she was like the sister I never had. She's so easy to talk to. She was so warm and inviting and you could see the joy all over her face. I think this moment not only meant a lot for my kiddos but it also meant a lot to her. She got to dance and sing to her iconic theme song, answer and give some insightful words of wisdom and take the best photos ever with The Wrestling Club. She's inspiring a whole generation, the future. Not many people can say that! I'm really happy we could make this possible. I hope we can continue to have others stop by and hang out with the kids in the club. I want The Wrestling Club to be the coolest club ever."

Relive the entire experience with me exclusively on Those Wrestling Girls Patreon. Thank you, Sasha Banks, WWE, KIPP AMP Brooklyn, and Mr. Perry for making that moment happen for those kids. Glad I was able to experience that. 

SHOUT-OUT

The University of Orange, the free-people university and non-profit organization based in Orange, New Jersey is gearing up for its annual music festival this month.

The 6th annual Music City Festival takes place from May 13-15 at eight different outdoor venues around the city. Over 50 musicians will be performing in partnership with the following restaurants: D’3Fold, Reddz Bistro & Grill, Sarrah’s Cafe Trinbago, Inner City Cafe, Four City Brewery, Benji’s Taqueria, and Hat City Kitchen.

Performers include Alexandra & Real Music, Asad & King Sykes, Big Naut, Jazz Millionaire, Paul Lombardo & Juliana Carr, Voices in Harmony, Orange All-City Chorus, Orange Concert Choir, and Mighty Marching Tornadoes. 

Music has always been a part of the fabric of Orange, New Jersey. The diversity is showcased at this festival every year bringing the city together in harmony. The festival is sponsored by lead sponsors HANDS Inc., M&T Bank, DAAB Kids, co-sponsors Four City Brewery, NAACP of the Oranges & Maplewood, and Missing Link Music. 

You can sign up to volunteer at the University of Orange’s Music City Festival here. 

LESSONS

Great Love is Never Easy

Growing as a person and learning lessons in life along the way is probably one of my favorite things about life. It kind of makes it all makes sense to me. One thing that I have learned and accepted for the better is that nothing worth having in life will come easy. And this could not be more true when it comes to love. I don’t know if there is such thing as true love, but I do believe that we all have great loves out there that will strike you like a thunderbolt when you least expect it. It will feel intoxicating, and it will be all-consuming. However, it will not be easy. It will feel big, destructive, exuberant, dangerous, and inescapable.

As a writer, I like to think that the storm great love brings into your life is worth it because great love stories are the best stories. And whether we like it or not, the best stories make us laugh, cry, angry, sad, and happy. In real life, not so much. But I will always say that experiencing love in life is a blessing and believe that it is better to have love and loss than to never have loved at all.

SOCIAL MEDIA/BRAND MARKETING TIPS

It’s Okay to Rebrand

The tip this week is probably a little hypocritical as I tend to preach about how important branding is. This means your brand’s tone, voice, colors, logos, and even the font. But I learned that social media is always changing and you have to evolve with the ever-changing strategies. I think it is important to find the balance between trying new things to see what works and also keeping up the brand loyalty you have built with your followers and listeners.

These tips are for those who have not gone to college for social media marketing but for those who are creative up-starts and were brave enough to utilize the free tools at our disposal to start their own brands and companies. We are real people, we change our minds, and a lot of creative fields are fluid. Think about fashion, every year the new It color or fit or length changes with the times. And I think the way we approach social media marketing with our brands should be the same thing. 

So if in your soul, or during a meditation you want to change your logo from yellow to pink or want to start featuring different guests on your show to cater to different communities. This is okay because we all change. That is what is exciting about life.

2021 Gregory Burrus Productions Live Music Year In Review

By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, January 11, 2022

2021. What a fabulous, poignant, reflective year. In the beginning, we thought about it being a year of restart, recovery and renewal. I think we all lost some family, friends and, in our case, some fabulous musicians. Unfortunately, the losses continued so it was definitely a challenging year, but we found a way to live again. For listeners, a live music concert is a pleasurable social event that is among the most visceral and memorable forms of musical engagement. It's the same for musicians, with the added note that for many it’s not a side business, it’s their lifeblood and the thing that keeps them alive. With that in mind, we soldiered on through the year making music and great memories.

2021 Year In Review

As you can see, we made some great memories. Here are the 2021 lineup highlights:

• In January 2021 we thought we’d start the year off with our Jazz973 program at The Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, but no such luck as lots of uncertainties were still around, so our favorite Jazz Venue, Clement’s Place Jazz, did not have any programming.

• For February for the Town of South Orange, we had a musical tribute and a South Orange Street renaming to honor our fallen buddy Lee Boz May. It was cold but a wonderful day.

• For March, we celebrated Women's History Month with a wonderful online performance titled WHM2021 “Refresh in Progress” by Ife Basim. We also had a stirring and moving Cello performance by Caylen Bryant as we all Reflected Together For COVID-19 Victims at the lake in Meadowlands Park in South Orange, NJ. We tested the outdoor live music scene as Jazzy Nights, which joined the South Orange Jazz scene right before the pandemic hit us, turned into Jazzy Afternoons at The Fox & Falcon with an outdoor live R&B performance by MPACK. It was a big hit as folks starved for live music came out like crazy. It was really a great thing to experience.

• For April, we honored Jazz Appreciation Month. Other than one rainout, it was a truly swinging set of Sunday afternoon performances which you can read more about here: Jazzy Afternoons South Orange Presents "Jazz Across The Generations" to Honor Jazz Appreciation Month 2021. The weather was great and music/the vibe was truly jumpin’. 

• Over the Months of May, June, July, August and September, we ran a number of concurrent live music performances. Our Summer Saturday South Orange Downtown performances ran every Saturday, 2 performances a day, along with our monthly Sunday Jazz On Sloan program at the South Orange Gazebo. There were about 60 fabulous performances. We rolled through Summer Wednesdays with a jumping Wednesday afternoon R&B-driven City of Orange Farmers Market. From 12-5 pm this program grew from a few attendees to a full house every week. We were also honored to crank up live music for the town of Cranford and had a really great Downtown Cranford Summer Sounds every Thursday evening all summer. Folks also enjoyed some great live music bands we provided to the town of Westfield with the Open Quimby Live Music program.

•  In September, we started with the Maplewood Community Music Maplewood Porchfest which was a nonstop all-day community fest of porch owners, honk paraders, and lemonade stands, and what really made it happen were some awesome local music performers and enthusiastic attendees. After a July weather cancellation, thanks to South Orange Downtown we conducted the 5th Annual 24 Hours of Music Jamboree, adapted for our times. Saturday gave us 12 hours of music, and Overnight gave us online musical performances including a wonderful performance from Japan by the Kumiko Tanaka Trio. On Sunday, we were finally able to host a Tribute to Darryl Clark. It was a glorious 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree headlined by the famous Nat Adderley Jr. Trio and members of Darryl’s former band. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon of beautiful music and great tributes. 

• October finally saw the return of our beloved Clements Place Jazz Venue, and while all the performances through December were great, a few highlights were 87-year-old Houston Person with Matt Chertkoff and 94-year-old Bassist Bill Crow with 19-year-old Leonieke Scheuble performing for our Jazz973 program on Wednesday evenings. This year the October Live Music Fest took over South Orange, NJ Spiotta Park and we had a really good time every weekend (when the weather cooperated). Meanwhile, the town of Cranford, NJ reached 150-years-old and MPACK was there to perform. Also in October, we performed for Pink Out Cranford Events. Finally, we performed a few weekends for the wonderful Cranford’s 14th Annual Scarecrow Stroll which had some amazing scarecrows. 

• November brought us some wonderful live music performance opportunities. Thanks to Linda Moody, wife of famed saxophonist James Moody, we were Making History as Linda Moody Honored the James Moody Scholars at 100 Blanchard Rd. in South Orange, NJ. It was a beautiful elegant night to remember. This was one swinging jamming experience. We then happily covered A Smooth Jazz Explosion Lights Up the Woodland in Maplewood. This event was very cool, as it opened up with an exciting group of young teenage jazz musicians from our town, The Baker Street Trio. Then, we got to experience the fabulous Smooth Jazz performances of Yankee great Bernie Williams and the phenomenal Blood, Sweat & Tears Guitarist Gil Parris and his band. It was definitely a really great performance to remember. 

• December ended with our entertainer Lynette Sheard joining Mr. and Ms. Claus on a Holiday Chorals Walk around Downtown Cranford, NJ. We had a fun time performing with the return of the award-winning South Orange Open-Air Holiday Market. We closed the month out in Maplewood where we enjoyed another great local performance, where Local Resident Jacqueline Lee Opened for 2 Contemporary Jazz Stars, and a fabulous off-the-chain performance at the Woodlands where Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon delivered an outstanding smooth jazz performance. 

Of course along the way we conducted a number of private events as well.

Venues Around Our Towns

2021 consisted of multiple live music events, sometimes on the same day, conducted across multiple towns like South Orange, Newark, Cranford, Maplewood, the City of Orange, Westfield, West Orange, Montclair and more. You can read more here.

Videography. Livestream

Last year, we continued producing live music events and promoting them on various platforms. We were also happy to say that we continued documenting these events via video and livestreamIng them on multiple platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and other websites. You can watch them here:

https://www.youtube.com/gregoryburrus
https://vimeo.com/gregoryburrus  

In The News

In addition, we continued to provide additional artists promotions via articles and blog posts on local news sites, TAPinto, Patch, Newsrecord and across New Jersey via JerseyIndie and JerseyNYC. Read more below: 

https://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus 
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus 

Social Media

As we move through another year of unknowns and another “Are we inside or outside?” life, please continue to stay in touch with all our live music events. We are programming events for 2022, so check out the links and signup to know when we will go live again:

https://www.facebook.com/gregory.burrus 
https://www.instagram.com/gregoryburrus
https://twitter.com/gregoryburrus  
https://www.facebook.com/gregoryburruspromotions 

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy and Stay Connected. 

Thank you again for joining us on this live music journey. 

About Gregory Burrus

Photography by Patrick Hilaire @l1stener.

Gregory Burrus spends his time as a Photojournalist, Live Music Producer, Promoter, Videographer, Arts and Entertainment Writer, Blogger, Business Reviewer, and Community Events Reporter. Gregory develops, manages, promotes and documents live music programs in the Greater New Jersey and New York Area. 

http://gregoryburrusproductions.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregburrus
https://24hoursofmusicjamboree.com

Words with P.R. (Edition 5)

By Patricia Rogers | Posted Wednesday, July 14, 2021

IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY

Welcome back to Words with P.R.! This is such an interesting time in my life. Grateful to have this as an outlet.

This edition is inspired by tennis player Naomi Osaka’s choice to take a break from tennis to take care of her mental health. I think it is important to motivate my readers to opt to swim and not sink, but it is also important to emphasize that when feeling you are going to sink… it is okay to not be okay. It is okay to reach out for help.

Huge thanks to the support that the last edition has gotten, where I talk about my journey towards self-love, acceptance, and body image.

QUEEN P.R.’S PICKS

Birdiebee is a brand that I have supported for a couple of years now. And at first, it was just because it was WWE Hall of Famers Nikki and Brie Bella’s clothing line. But once I started to purchase clothing, I loved the fit, fabrics, and designs. The biggest thing for me, though, was how inclusive the pieces are for all body types. I shared my story about it in the 4th edition of Words with P.R., but it really is life-changing when you can feel confident in your own skin. So far I have purchased dresses, activewear, t-shirts, and sweaters. And I recommend it all. You can use code BBAMBASSADOR20 to save site-wide at this link.

I HAVE LEARNED THAT...

SHOUTOUT TO 400 YEARS OF INEQUALITY

I want to share immersive multimedia projects from the University of Orange educating the public on 400 Years of Inequality aka Juneteenth:

A Call Answered: Observing History -- Reclaiming the Future + People's Pathway to Equality

A Call Answered spotlights the change-inspiring work of 5 community-based 400 Years “observances”, events unearthing and acknowledging America’s timeline of inequality, and setting the stage for a new century of recovery.

Art Direction, Media & Digital Content: Gahlia Eden
Creative Producer, Media & Digital Content: Aubrey Murdock
Creative Direction, Marketing Strategy: Stephanie Leone
Editorial Direction, Marketing Strategy: Ricky Tucker
Creative Team: Timothy Nottage, Jacqueline Castaneda, Molly Kaufman, Robert Sember

People's Pathway to Equity provides multimedia activities and the key concepts most critical to understanding and dismantling the ecology of inequality in your community. Across four chapters, you’ll explore the many insights gathered by the 400 Years of Inequality coalition over five years of learning and organizing together, introducing you to people from a range of places who have boldly answered the call for equality, and helping you embark on your own pathway to equity.

Art Direction: Aubrey Murdock
Creative Producer: Timothy Nottage
Creative Team: Aditi Nair, Jacqueline Castaneda, Timothy Nottage
Media + Digital Content: Gahlia Eden
Editorial Direction: Ricky Tucker
Marketing Strategy: Stephanie Leone

I had the chance to talk to some of the amazing team involved in the creation of these amazing educational experiences:

"The website was inspired by the covid-19 shutdown... Aubrey Murdock, Head of School at University of Orange, which was one of the founding partner organizations of 400 Years introduced me to this work. I invited local photographers and videographers to join me in attending and documenting observances." — Gahlia Eden

"I’d want folks to walk away from A Call Answered... with an impressionistic view of the hard work, love, and thoughtful activism it takes to acknowledge everything we’ve been through in this country—and that’s just an acknowledgement. Then comes the hard work of rebuilding, recovering. Our coalition and these websites can be a template for how communities can honor their own historical context—and recovery collectively. The Peoples Pathway site in particular maps out the tools for them to get started." — Ricky Tucker

CHECK IT OUT HERE: 400YEARSOFINEQUALITY.ORG

SOCIAL MEDIA/MARKETING TIP

Consistency is key

When I wanted to start a podcast, I did as much research as I could about what makes these successful. Having the right equipment, topics, and the audience is important. But the number one note I saw everywhere was BE CONSISTENT. This is how you earn dedicated listeners/viewers. You have to be consistent on every aspect of your brand. This means your brand identity, release schedule, social media marketing, everything. Your fans will not even realize how much they are getting used to your content and will engage with it. Most successful podcasts and YouTube channels don’t have the best quality, but their success comes from being consistent.

Meet the McClure Twins at ValleyArts Harvest Fest

Harvest Fest — the time of year when all the crops have been harvested and we celebrate by singing, dancing, playing games and giving back to those in need.

By Gregory Burrus | Posted Wednesday, October 31, 2018

ValleyArts and CC Minton are asking the community to come together and celebrate with our Harvest Fest Ambassadors - Alexis and Ava McClure. This annual event will be hosted in the ValleyArts Courtyard for a Meet and Greet with the McClure Twins, enjoy harvest fest games, participate in a popular child-friendly live musical participatory performance led by Soul Xpressiion School of the Arts, take part in a history making Tile painting project, enjoy Mini Daddy Greek Potato Pie give-a-ways from Supreme Bakery, lots of photo opportunities and more.

This is a free event, open to the public and all we ask for is canned good donations that will be collected by representatives from our local food pantries. We invite you to stop by drop-off a donation, welcome bring your kids and have some fun with us in this season of giving.

McClure Twins

McClure Twins https://www.mccluretwinsfamily.com

The McClure Twins’ parents began documenting the twins lives through pictures and videos and started "twin talks" with Ava and Alexis as their funny personalities were enjoyable. In one video, "Twins Realize They Look the Same", Alexis got upset because she was one minute younger than her identical twin Ava. As Alexis cooled down, she realized she was a little bit taller than Ava, which prompted Ava to meltdown. This feel-good moment went mega-viral, with millions of views around the world. In late October, 2016, the twins were on the Today Show and Good Morning America and have subsequently worked with Disney, Facebook and many other notable organizations. The rest is history. They set out to make positive high-quality content that represents their values of humor, compassion, empathy, & family values, while also being entertaining. With a focus on delivering positive content in an often negative world, the girls early viral success prompted them to produced more viral videos and use their influence for good.

CC Minton

Event Co-Sponsor — CC Minton https://www.ccminton.com

Event Co-Sponsor CC Minton is an author, media contributor, and a lifestyle empowerment maven. A President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Community Leadership Award recipient, CC works with adults, children and communities empowering them to embrace healthy living. Her various projects include working with the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama, Whole Foods Market, NY/NJ Superbowl organization, Apollo Theater, Olympic Day Committee and Harlem World Magazine. A community leader that has served on the Junior League Board of Directors and Wellness Council for the West Orange Board of Education and has tackled big business as a strategic partner for the New York/New Jersey NFL Super Bowl XLVIII where she and her team provided bits and bites, on game day, at the Official Super Bowl VIP Tailgate Party at New Jersey Metlife Stadium. Her love for community is at the center of what she does as a humanitarian. CC was Chairperson for the Junior League's Health and Nutrition Initiative, co-hosted the first Team USA Olympic Day sanctioned event in the City of Newark at B.R.I.C.K. Avon Academy honoring Hall of Fame boxing coach Wali Moses. She also served as a guest panelist at the Jack and Jill of America Childhood Obesity Forum in Washington, DC. More recently CC Minton is currently leading the advisory council for the former Olympian now Pro Boxer Shakur Stevenson and Olympic Coach Walli Moses NonProfit - Stevenson Moses Boxing for Life.

ValleyArts

Event Co-Sponsor — ValleyArts http://www.valleyartsnj.com

Event Co-Sponsor — ValleyArts. With a key focus of community collaboration, ValleyArts produces free and fun events, offer donation-based and low cost workshops on topics relevant to the local residents. We work with local community partners; provide meeting space, creative space, and a gathering spot. We facilitate connections between community members who can help each other and we collaborate with community members to host creative events. When it comes to creative arts education our programs are not just about art, but about all things creative - including visual and performing arts, music, cooking, gardening, movement, and more. Providing creative opportunities for children and teens is important for developing confident and creative thinkers who do better in school and who grow into strong community members. On the economic opportunity front we provide exhibits and spaces for visual artists to display and sell art, host regular events to showcase local talent, and operate a boutique for local artists, makers, and businesses to sell their goods. Most of our boutique contributors are women- or minority-owned companies in the local community. Creating economic and business growth opportunities for our community members is good for the whole neighborhood and surrounding towns as well. 

Soul Xpressiion

Contributing Partner — Soul Xpressiion School of the Arts http://www.soulxpressiion.org

Contributing Partner Soul Xpressiion School of the Arts is winner of the 2017 "Best in Education" Award from NJ Black Businesses Organization aims to create a faith based environment for children and adults, with and without disabilities, to learn and develop their skills within the arts. Located On the border of Orange and West Orange and just a couple blocks from the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Soul Xpressiion is a non-profit organization designed to educate students in the fine and performing arts, stage management, stage production management and to utilize their gifts to inspire others. Our school is a faith-friendly environment, ensuring our students receive a nurturing, fun and safe atmosphere for learning. We believe that every person has been blessed with a specific gift and purpose in life and it's essential to educate and develop ourselves within those gifts. We offer a diverse range for all ages and abilities and strive to target individual learning styles while enhancing creativity for children and adults. 

Supreme Bakery

Contributing Partner — Supreme Bakery http://www.supremebakery.com/

Contributing Partner Supreme Bakery is located on Main Street in West Orange, NJ, less than one mile from Thomas Edison's house and his invention factory. It is quite likely that the world's greatest inventor was eating a Supreme Bakery glazed donut when he invented the light bulb. For the past 35 years, Supreme Bakery has been owned and operated by the Stolz family. It has been our goal to serve our customers the freshest and the finest products possible. We have an experienced and dedicated staff that is anxious to provide outstanding service. It is also our goal to be a contributing member of the community. Supreme Bakery takes part in many charitable activities that benefits local organizations. We also provide food for three local soup kitchens. We are a kosher bakery under the supervision of Rabbi Isaiah Hertzberg. All of our baking is done on our premises and is under the close supervision of owner and certified Master Baker Richard Stolz.

About the Author

Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, event developer an community partner that develops, manages, promotes and documents local community events in the Greater New Jersey and New York Area.

Gregory Burrus sits on a number of local boards and committees and serves as the Board Member Maplewood Community Music, Manages, Vice President of the North Jersey Blues Alliance, Curates and Promotes the South Orange Downtown After Sundown Live Music Concerts, the South Orange 24 Hours of Music Festival, the SOPAC Playing Around South Orange Music Initiative, the Maplewood 4th of Music Live Music Events, Newark’s Jazz973 at Clements Place Jazz Series, NYC John Jay College Myrna Bain Scholarship Fundraiser, the Orange NJ ValleyArts Music Programs, Creator of the South Orange Farmers Market Jazz Jam, along with booking bands at many other local venues. 

Showcasing, photographing, videotaping events and happenings as they occur around town while living life every day to the fullest. Learn more at: Gregory Burrus - Gregory Burrus Live Music Ambassador.    

Keywords: ValleyArts, live music, Gregory Burrus, McClure Twins