Mat Callahan (born Mathew Kerner, July 14, 1951,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) is an American musician, author, songwriter, activist, music producer and engineer.

Biography

Early life

Callahan's father, William Kerner, was a leader of the international peace movement following WWII, joining with

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

and other notable figures in supporting a non-belligerent US foreign policy particularly in regards to the Soviet Union and China. William Kerner died of

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...

in 1954. Mathew's mother remarried in 1956 becoming the wife of longshoreman Jerome Callahan. Mat henceforth used the surname Callahan. He spent his childhood at Peters Wright Creative Dance, founded by his grandaunt, Anita Peters, and her husband Dexter Wright in 1912. His grandmother (Anita's youngest sister), Lenore Job, also a choreographer, dancer and teacher, was the director of the school when Callahan was born. His mother, Judy Job, followed her mother's lead also pursuing choreography, dancing and teaching. Peters Wright Creative Dance was a direct descendant of the movement inspired by

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

. New attitudes towards, women, education and society were embodied in this approach whose influence continued to spread during the 20th century as Modern Dance. From childhood to adolescence, Callahan studied and performed at Peters Wright. His last dance performance was in Charles Weidman's Christmas Oratorio presented on the altar of newly completed Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in 1965. In 1964, exposure to the sounds of rock 'n' roll culminated in Callahan taking up guitar and starting the first of many bands. He began working with the

San Francisco Mime Troupe The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original ...

and co-founded the Mime Troupe-sponsored band, Red Rock. This was followed by Prairie Fire, a militant duet that performed all over the U.S., in conjunction with innumerable campaigns and organizations fighting suffering and injustice. During this time, he became involved with the

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

and other revolutionaries, and refused induction into the U.S. Army. After Prairie Fire, Callahan started a band called the Looters.

The Looters

The Looters
began as a funky, political rock band playing in the legendary underground bohemian hang-out The Offensive, in the Mission District of San Francisco (where most of the original band members lived). The band grew to become a popular, critically renowned, musical trailblazer and led the Bay Area's “ worldbeat” musical movement in the 1980s. In 1983, the Looters were invited to play several dates in Nicaragua by the Association of Sandinista Cultural Workers and the Managua television station, being the first U.S. rock band to play there after the revolution. They headlined a stadium show in front of over 28,000 people in Managua, and returned home to further embrace a style of rock music influenced by “world” rhythms and beats. In 1986, the Looters toured Europe, supporting their first EP on

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent labe ...

records, a label founded by iconic punk rocker

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

of the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...

. The EP won a Bay Area Music Award “Bammie” for “Best Independent Album”. Callahan became established as the group's lead singer and songwriter, and remained in that capacity throughout the bands’ run. By happenstance,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

’ head

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

heard the Looters' EP playing in a New York record store and tracked the band down and signed them. The result was the release of ''Flashpoint'' on Island Records in 1987, nudging the band into mainstream awareness. Elements of reggae, rock, funk and afro-caribbean rhythms combined to shape the Looters sound and anchored their attraction as a top live act. The Looters put on passionate, sweaty, exciting stage shows, still playing at illegal venues but also at major concerts, such as opening for the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

in their legendary New Year's Eve shows at the Oakland (CA) Coliseum with the Neville Brothers. They added Canada and Europe to their regular tour schedule and became a consistent touring act.

Komotion International

Also in 1986, Callahan co-founded the artists’ collective Komotion International, an innovative member – run nightclub, gallery, studio, and widely read magazine, which Callahan wrote for and edited. Komotion became an important and fertile social and political focus for the Mission District community and for San Francisco in general. In musical history, it became an incubator and spawning ground for such artists as Primus with

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy with Michael Franti and

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

, and Consolidated. Artists from many continents utilized Komotion's recording studio and support membership to create lasting works. For more than a decade, Komotion was a center for opposition and creativity centered in the political hotbed of San Francisco. Early on Callahan composed the Komotion Kredo: Because :Because we celebrate life and battle :Because we are not satisfied :Because it is up to us :Because we love to sing and dance :Because the pressure is upon us :Because there are governments and borders and cops and courts :Because the boundaries must be broken :Because we are out of control :Because they said we couldn't do it :Because we feel like it In 1989 the Looters released ''Sides'', an EP on Raizer X Records, then hit their arguably creative peak with releases ''Jericho Down'' and ''Imago Mundi'' on Monster Music records. ''Jericho Down'' was perhaps their most critically acclaimed album, as the band received their second nomination for a “Best Independent Album” Bay Area Music Award, and won “Best Pop Indie Label Release of 1991 by WARD Music Monthly. Larry Canale of CD Review stated they were “a band that’s quietly creating some of the most riveting, relevant world/pop music today” and that in concert “the group is absolutely riveting.” Industry bible ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine raved about the bands’ “superb musicianship that transcends any single genre.” San Francisco Examiner critic Philip Elwood called the album “a major achievement” and that the band was “a treasure in the music business.” ''Imago Mundi'', named after

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

’s book of maps on the 500th anniversary of his “discovery”, turned out to be the band's swan song. Featuring the

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

horn section, the album was a final swing through the musical styles of rock, afrobeat, Cuban, soca and funk. Callahan's songwriting increasingly included multi-part harmonies that created song melodies and “hooks” distinctive to rock music of the day, while focusing lyrically on social and economic justice. Callahan led the band through a final tour with some new band members, but decided to end the band's run soon thereafter. Summing up the band, Stephen Ostick of the Winnipeg (Canada) Free Press stated, “a set with the Looters remains a one-of-a-kind experience. One can still say with certainty you’ve never seen or heard anything like the Looters.”

Solo career

Callahan returned to San Francisco to produce projects by artists such as Stephen Yerkey and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (Island Records). He was awarded the “Goldie” Award in 1992, which honored “Local Heroes and their contribution to the community” by the San Francisco weekly news magazine the

Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...

. He also served as President of the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Center for Arts and Technology, a non-profit arts organization. He formed the band The Wild Bouquet which released two albums and toured in Europe, which led to Callahan's relocation to Switzerland where he lives to this day. After two solo European releases (''Testimony'', a “greatest hits” compilation and ''San Francisco''), Callahan released his first U.S. solo album ''A Wild Bouquet'' (Broken Arrow Records) which featured remastered songs from the out-of-print Wild Bouquet albums along with a new tract introducing popular Swiss vocalist Yvonne Moore to U.S. audiences. The album also featured musicians Les Claypool ( Primus), Joe Gore ( P.J. Harvey) and Brain (

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

). In 1999, Callahan wrote and produced Yvonne Moore's second album ''Between You and I'' and went on to produce and write songs for her subsequent releases ''Nomad'' and ''Put Out the Trash''. This grew into a performing collaboration between the two and ultimately the recording and release of ''Welcome'' in 2007. On ''Welcome'', Callahan's acoustic guitar was the only instrumental accompaniment to the duo's vocals. Labeled “new folk” music, its “back porch” feel was far from the global arrangements and big productions of The Looters. Also in 2007, Callahan produced the album ''Nectar'' by his daughter, singer Shannon Callahan, in Berlin, Germany. Callahan and Moore released ''Burn the Boogeyman'', their follow up to ''Welcome'' in 2009. In 2022, Callahan and his partner, Yvonne Moore, released ''It Is Right to Rebel''.

Books

Callahan's lyrics have always been a significant focus of his music and acclaim. J.H. Tompkins, music editor of the

San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...

stated that Callahan “writes lyrics as rich in allegory and purpose as anything you’ll run into this side of the Old Testament” and that “he just can’t help but write beautiful songs”. So it was an obvious extension to see his lyrics comprise the book ''Testimony'' (Freedom Voices), a collaboration with Swiss artist and illustrator Mariann Muller. Published in 2000, the book featured 40 full color reproductions of Muller's paintings combined with the text of Callahan's songs from the Looters’ and Wild Bouquet albums. Other published works of Callahan are ''Sex, Death and the Angry Young Man'' (Times Change Press, 1991) and ''The Trouble with Music'' (

AK Press AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned. History AK was founded in Stirling, S ...

, 2005). ''The Trouble with Music'', a study of (pop) music history, technology, music making and music ownership and copyrights, placed Callahan as a guest lecturer on college campuses throughout the U.S., in 2005. He spoke at institutions such as New York University,

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, Oberlin, Albright, and Stanford Law School. He appeared in forums such as the

Brecht Forum The Brecht Forum was an independent Marxist educational and cultural center in Brooklyn, New York, named after German writer Bertolt Brecht. Throughout the years, the Forum offered a wide-ranging program of classes, public lectures and seminars, ...

and Left Forum in New York City, and in countless bookstores and activist collectives. The book also led him to a friendship and collaboration with folk music pioneer

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

. Callahan presented Seeger's program for

Public Domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

reform to the

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishi ...

(WIPO) conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2007. January, 2017, saw the publication of Callahan's book, ''The Explosion of Deferred Dreams.'' (PM Press) The book explores the musical renaissance and social revolution that took place in San Francisco between the years 1965-1975. Providing a critical reexamination of a period which shaped San Francisco's global reputation over the subsequent fifty years, ''The Explosion of Deferred Dreams'' explores the dynamic links between the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

and

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

, the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

and

Santana (band) Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966 by American guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone multiple recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Santana the only consistent member. After signing wi ...

, the Indian Occupation of Alcatraz and the

, and the New Left and the Counterculture. Also in 2017, ''A Critical Guide to Intellectual Property'' (

Zed Books Zed Books is an independent non-fiction publishing company based in London, UK. It was founded in 1977 under the name Zed Press by Roger van Zwanenberg. Zed publishes books for an international audience of both general and academic readers, co ...

) was published. This book is an edited collection of essays addressing many aspects of the current debates surrounding copyright, patent and trademark. Callahan is both co-editor, along with Jim Rogers, and contributing author of this volume. Callahan is also the author of three books accompanied by audio recordings. ''Songs of Freedom by James Connolly'' (edited by Mat Callahan with introductions by

Theo Dorgan Theo Dorgan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter. He lives in Dublin. Life Dorgan was born in Cork in 1953 being second child born into a family of 8 boys and 8 girls to pare ...

an
James Connolly Heron
was published in 2013. ''Working Class Heroes'' was published in 2019 to be followed by ''Songs of Slavery and Emancipation'' published in 2022.
film documenting the making
of ''Songs of Slavery and Emancipation'' was also released in 2022.

Discography

:1974 – Prairie Fire "Out of Gas" (One Spark Music) :1976 – Prairie Fire "Break The Chains" (One Spark Music) :1979 – Prairie Fire "Turn Up the Heat" (Direct Hit Records) :1986 – The Looters ''The Looters'' (Alternative Tentacles) :1988 – The Looters ''Flashpoint'' (Island) :1989 – The Looters ''Sides'' EP (Raizer X) :1991 – The Looters ''Jericho Down'' (Monster Music) :1992 – The Looters ''Imago Mundi'' (Monster Music) :1995 – The Wild Bouquet ''The Wild Bouquet'' (Komotion) :1997 – The Wild Bouquet ''Feast of Fools'' (Tomcat) :2000 – Mat Callahan ''Testimony'' (Fun Key/COD Music) Europe only :2001 – Mat Callahan ''San Francisco'' (Fun Key/COD Music) Europe only; 2009 - Worldwide

:2005 – Mat Callahan ''A Wild Bouquet''

:2006 – Mat Callahan ''Welcome''
with Yvonne Moore
:2009 – Mat Callahan ''Burn the Boogeyman''
with Yvonne Moore
:2013 – The James Connolly Songs of Freedom Band ''Songs of Freedom'' (

PM Press PM Press is an independent publisher, founded in 2007, that specializes in radical, Marxist and anarchist literature, as well as crime fiction, graphic novels, music CDs, and political documentaries. It has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

) :2019 – Mat Callahan ''Working-Class Heroes'' with Yvonne Moore (

) :2022 – Mat Callahan & Yvonne Moore and friends ''It Is Right to Rebel'' ( Plateselskapet No. 13)

Published work

:1991 – ''Sex, Death and the Angry Young Man'' (Times Change Press) :1997 – "Creators on Creating" Essay (Putnam) :1997 – "Fela Kuti Memorial" Essay (The Bay Guardian) :1998 – "Creativity and the Production of Music" Essay (Harper Collins) :2000 – Testimony (Freedom Voices) :2001 – "Technology and Liberation in a Messianic Age" Essay (Bad Subjects) :2001 – "Prairie Fire: Rock Maoists" Essay (Bad Subjects) :2005 �
The Trouble with Music
(

) :2006 – "The Ownerless Society" Essay (Intelligence: top secret) :2007 – "A Tale of Two Conferences" (Intelligence: top secret) :2008 – "Immigration in Switzerland: Facts and Phobias"
Socialism and Democracy
essay) :2008 – "American Folk Music & Left-Wing Politics: 1927-1957" book review, Down Home Radio :2009 – "The Nature of the Beast" Essay
Socialism and Democracy
:2010 �
"Distinguishing Friend From Foe in the Intellectual Property Debate
(Socialism and Democracy) :2010 – "The Matter of Appearance" (Bernsehen, Bilder & Text-book, in German) :2011 �
Making Music a Racket
(Stir Magazine) :2011 – "When Music Mattered" (essay
Ten Years That Shook the City

City Lights Books City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected ti ...

) :2012 �
Gil Scot-Heron
(poem, Counterpunch) :2012 – "Agit Disco"
Socialism and Democracy
book review) :2013 – "Music and Historical Memory"
Left Curve magazine
essay) :2013 �
Virtual Piracy vs. Licensed Fraud
(Cinergie il Cinema e le Altre Arti, essay) :2013 – Imagining Art After Capitalism (Imagine! A Socialist USA, chapter
Harper Collins
:2013 – The Ruins, The Town and The Minds' Eye (Bernsehen II-bilder & textbook (in German), poem) :2013 – Songs of Freedom - The James Connolly Songbook (

) :2013 – "15 Years after Napster: What Have We Learned" (Stir Magazine) :2014 – "Radical Perspectives on Intellectual Property"
Socialism and Democracy
:2017 �
Explosion of Deferred Dreams: Musical Renaissance and Social Revolution in San Francisco, 1965 - 1975
(

) :2017 �
Critical Guide to Intellectual Property
(

) :2019 – Working-Class Heroes, A History of Struggle in Song: A Songbook (

) :2022 – Songs of Slavery and Emancipation
University Press of Mississippi
an
Jalopy Records

References

External links

Artist Website

Komotion International

The Looters YouTube Channel

Looters/Komotion/Callahan Solo Footage

Documentary on the making of Songs of Slavery and Emancipation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Mat American folk guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Songwriters from San Francisco Guitarists from San Francisco Mission District, San Francisco 1951 births Living people Alternative Tentacles artists Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters