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Artist: Calvin Cooke

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Deep Dives: The Roots of Sacred Steel

Deep Dives: The Roots of Sacred Steel

In 1997, Arhoolie Records released its first disc of Sacred Steel music, a gospel tradition with deep roots in the African American holiness churches of the...

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The Chris Strachwitz Collection

The Chris Strachwitz Collection

As founder of both Arhoolie Records and the Arhoolie Foundation, Chris Strachwitz has been collecting, documenting, recording, and promoting regional roots music for over 60 years....

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Sacred Steel Archive: Sonny Treadway Interview

Sacred Steel Archive: Sonny Treadway Interview

Sonny Treadway was born and raised in Michigan and grew up playing steel guitar with Bishop Ron Hall and Calvin Cooke under the guidance of “Uncle” Felton Williams. As a young man, he traveled throughout much of the United States with Church of the Living God Chief Overseer Bishop Mattie Jewell to play for worship services, assemblies and revivals, usually accompanying steel guitarist Bishop Lorenzo Harrison on standard (fretted) guitar.

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Sacred Steel Archive: Calvin Cooke Interview

Sacred Steel Archive: Calvin Cooke Interview

Calvin Cooke lived most of his life in Detroit and is now retired to the greater Atlanta area. As his family first belonged to the Church of the Living God and later joined the House of God, he immersed himself in the steel guitar musical traditions of both denominations.

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Sacred Steel Archive: Chuck Campbell Interview

Sacred Steel Archive: Chuck Campbell Interview

A resident of Rochester, New York when we met in 1996, Chuck Campbell was one of the first steel guitarists from outside Florida I documented.  As a pioneering pedal-steel guitarist in the House of God who possesses a solid knowledge of music theory, he led the way in incorporating the pedal-steel guitar into the House of God musical tradition, which the non-pedal or “lap” steel guitar had dominated for decades.

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Sacred Steel Film

Sacred Steel Film

Watch the Complete Film Now! Sacred Steel Directed by Robert L. Stone The Arhoolie Foundation, in cooperation with the Documentary Arts Foundation, produced this documentary film...

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Dear friends, 

We’re thrilled to announce that the Arhoolie Foundation and Les Blank Films are joining together to purchase our longtime home at 10341 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. 

The decision to buy the building comes after several months of thoughtful consideration and a strong response from our community. It has become clear to us that continuing our work in the place where Chris Strachwitz originally conceived it is the best way forward for the organization. Staying in our longtime home preserves an important part of Arhoolie’s cultural legacy, prevents the disruption that moving would cause, and—most importantly—opens up possibilities for closer collaboration with Les Blank Films, Down Home Music, and our local East Bay community.

Now comes the hard part. While we are under contract to buy the building, we need to raise $2.4 million to meet the purchase price by April 15. Here are two ways you can donate to our cause:

  • The GoFundMe page for the capital campaign
    (donations to this fund are shared by all three of the tenants).

  • Direct tax-deductible donations/securities to either of the two non-profits who are buying the building:
    Contact Harrod Blank at Les Blank Films https://lesblank.com/contact/;
    or Adam Machado at Arhoolie Foundation, adam@arhoolie.org.

As we begin this capital campaign, we will continue our normal operations in the building while forging a closer institutional bond with Les Blank Films and taking modest, collaborative steps to bring more public programming into Down Home Music. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris’ tradition of in-store film screenings and will host more informal, free performances and gatherings in the store as part of our outreach work. We believe this collaboration will result in a vibrant community gathering place dedicated to music, film, and deep roots culture. 

We’re grateful for your support. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming weeks and months.