Multicultural band The Bricks highlights conscious music to send message of tolerance
The Bricks is a music group comprised of eight students, formed by the L.A. County Human Relations Commission and the nonprofit group Oneness.
(Courtesy: Fidel Rodriguez)
By Kelsey McKenna
Feb. 15, 2011 12:16 a.m.
“This land is your land. This land is my land.” They’re 70-year-old lyrics, but their message of equality has been reintroduced in “This Land,” the debut single by the social awareness band, The Bricks.
First-year English student Maria Tuadi is the lead female vocalist of the band.
“I’ve been singing my whole life … and the summer before freshman year I taught myself to play the guitar,” Tuadi said, who sat wearing a “No Haters Here” shirt, revealing her passion for social activism.
Tuadi found out about the audition for The Bricks from her mom, and she went to the first phase of the audition, which was a workshop to educate the kids about conscious music.
“What drew me to this project was that it has a lasting quality. It’s like Bob Marley’s music. It’s an education. … Creating conscious music will make my music last,” Tuadi said.
The Bricks, which was formed through the joint efforts of the L.A. County Human Relations Commission and the nonprofit anti-racism group Oneness, is a multicultural music group that mixes rock, hip-hop and soulful melodies to create music with powerful human relations and social justice themes, such as xenophobia, sexism, violence against the homeless, homophobia, the Juvenile Justice System and racism. Tuadi called the band’s genre “miscellaneous,” because each of the eight members, aged 16-18, takes on an entirely different approach when writing songs about topics that are important to them.
“Even though we may cover many topics, it’s all about embracing the person next to you,” Tuadi said. “The one message is just to embrace and love.”
The band was developed from the HRC’s youth music and human relations mentoring program, Project: One, which promotes its motto of “one love, one mic, one song.” They are planning an upcoming tour and expecting their first album to be released at the end of March.
“Maria (Tuadi) already had an understanding of the power of what music can do and how it can change people’s lives,” said Fidel Rodriguez, an intergroup consultant at the HRC and one of the executive producers of The Bricks. “She had that embedded in her in the way she spoke, in the way she wrote, and she can sing. … On top of that, she’s conscious. She knows the issues.”
The Bricks had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including award-winning producers KC Porter, JB Eckl, Money Mark, DJ Khalil, C-Minus and Scarab, all of whom, according to Tuadi, strongly believe in the message of The Bricks and its ability to convey it.
“Music is probably the perfect tool to be able to reach people,” Rodriguez said. “Music has a tempo, and a beat, and it’s exactly what goes on inside of us. … Music has always been a vehicle to bring people together and to share messages. Music fosters a connection with our spirit and our soul.”
Natsha Siri, Tuadi’s roommate and first-year ethnomusicology student, said she is a fan of The Bricks’ music and that their shared love of music brings the two roommates closer.
“No matter what, there’s always going to be some form of music. It opens up communication for all people. It makes it a smaller world for me. … Tuadi’s music is based off of everyday life, how she feels, the hardships she’s going through,” Siri said.
Tuadi, who calls herself just one among the masses of music lovers, said she can’t picture a day without music in her life, and that she could go without breakfast as long as she could sing that morning.
“It’s not about the money. It’s more about getting the message out there. These kids are going to grow up to be the people that will change the future. They determine how the world will turn,” Tuadi said. “I believe in the power of self, and in the power of other people. I feel like we can change the world.”
