Very similar to our mission, Jeremy Kaplan always keeps things fresh and forward-moving with everything he gets his hands into. An accomplished artist, event promoter, and entrepreneur, Jeremy supersedes these conventional roles by creatively intertwining efforts to better humanity on a whole. Sounds cheesy, but one of the most intriguing things about Jeremy are the concepts and projects he develops to help disadvantaged groups of people that often get overlooked by society’s [often absent] collective watchdog. He’s become a staple in the Philly arts and culture scene, and we wanted to have a chat with him to go a little bit deeper into what he’s been up to…
How long have you been actively involved in the Philly music and arts scene?
I been doing my thing in Philly forever. I got introduced to the music scene a little more than a decade ago. It was all underground hip-hop parties at that time. Cats writing on the walls, breakdancing, DJs spinning - cypher cats all around. I got hooked immediately, trying every element. It wasn’t until May of 2005 that I started throwing the Winged Lion parties officially for the public. Before then, the crew had been together for a minute, and we always had house parties, but that was our first publicized jawn.
On what levels are you creating art right now?
I push for creating art on the next level. Art is life is love and so on. So I try to make art at every opportunity. All the people in my life are artists in one way or another, so I am always learning from them. My partner Flash Koehler is a photographer, I have picked up a few things so far, trying to learn more. Some weirdo website Freshoutmedia.com just published a photo of mine.
Shifting gears, you’ve done a lot of cause-related events and projects (i.e. Building Blocks, Golden Nets, Mississippi Love). Talk a little bit about your motivation behind doing these types of projects, and what were the outcomes?
The motivation behind doing these projects is to address an identified need. One of our leaders, Elan Gepner has a quote pinned up on his wall that says, “To light a single candle is better then to curse the darkness.” We may not have the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the system we live in is fucked, especially the public schools. We are just trying to set an example of being actively involved. Personally, I can’t be a part of “revolutionary” conversations anymore where people are pointing fingers. To us, it’s about setting achievable goals and reaching them. The outcomes have been good, but there is always work to be done. The most rewarding work has been that with Building Blocks in Germantown High. Since we began there with our series of fundraisers and assistance, some really progressive movements are in the works, and I think the students there are benefiting.
What are your goals with Winged Lion Pride?
The Winged Lion Pride right now is a family. It is an active group of people, that work together, and separately, to give life to the myth. Our goal is to keep functioning. What we do is different than anyone we know, so there isn’t a road map on how to reach our goals, but we are steady on the case. Navigating it all as we go, moving one step at a time, and not over-stepping our boundaries. We know what we are capable of, and we know the work that it will take to get us there, so now is just time spent putting that work into it. But to put it straight, we plan on shaking up the establishment.
You also manage Philadelphia Slick and Mellow Veneer. How did you get into that, and what is your vision with these groups?
Lily Wonder (MV) and Noesis (Slick) have been friends of mine for damn near a decade. They asked me to take on a needed role for them. I am just trying to do right by them, and also put my creative spin on how to move forward with their music. My vision is for them to keep working on their individual sounds, and band identities. They both have albums in the works. The industry is tough, so we have been doing our thing independently, gaining the legs we will need to run with the industry in the future. It is a learning process, and we are all learning how to step up and be pros. It takes a whole lot more then just making good music to have success in this business, so we’re taking the steps we know to take.
What do you have coming up?
Sunday the 15th of October we jumped off a new reggae party at Medusa Lounge at 21st and Chestnut Streets (Philly). The first party was my birthday celebration, but we are starting a weekly with it called Unight. So every Sunday at Medusa, there will be reggae tunes by selecta Roots of Solomonic Sounds. Also the bands have some gigs coming up; MV is playing the NYC Marathon, and Slick will be doing some traveling, both in the first weekend of November. Plus we got some more moves in the works to continue to push the envelope, and make some needed changes.
Any closing comments?
“Keep the fire burning, and the table will be turning.” -Capleton
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October 25th, 2006 at 9:37 am
I’m a fan and friend of Jeremy’s work, he’s a cool kat, support this dude. You provide a need tag, cause I think we all need to relax a little.
October 25th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
Let us know how we can help.
October 26th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Nice Jer. Keep it up.
November 2nd, 2006 at 2:15 am
I like what you’re doin Jeremy. Keep on movin with your projects - I’m tryin to make it out to Medusa for your weekly. Yo where can I get one of them Winged Lion shirts? Them jawns fire!
November 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Much respect for the community projects Winged Lion is doing. Keep it up.