What Would You Do?

OUTRAGED BY THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS? ROBERT TEMPLE'S NEW CD TAPS INTO POST 9/11 ZEITGEIST BY ASKING 'WHAT WOULD YOU DO?' Bay Area Singer/Songwriter's Soul-Folk Style Provides Backdrop For Politically Charged Anthems For Our Times Temple's Music Described By Fans and Critics Alike as Passionate, Moving and Urgent-Spiced With A Biting Sense of Humor and Catchy as Hell The provocative cover image on the CD booklet of What Would YOU Do?, veteran Bay Area singer/songwriter Robert Temple's incendiary new recording, says a lot about this artist, his music and his times. Taken at a rally protesting the War in Iraq, the image shows the intense face of a woman painted with the letters, NO WAR; superimposed on this are several smaller photos, including one of an injured baby and another of a soldier ordering a civilian to the ground. Drawing from the best tradition of an earlier generation's folk music and combining that with his love for classic R&B, rock and soul, Temple asks his listeners to examine just what's going on in our country and in our lives. Writing music designed to challenge the status quo-and to inspire the disillusioned and apathetic-he creates perhaps the ultimate socially conscious recording for post 9-11 America. The colors behind the cover photo are black, orange and tan, creating a vibrant and unsettling backdrop that reflects the probing nature of the 13 songs. 'I've always written politically active, socially conscious songs that reflect exactly what I'm feeling, and to make music that is challenging and interesting, that inspires people to think about standing up to the system while they dance along,' says Temple, whose full ensemble name is robert temple and his soul folk ensemble. 'What Would YOU Do is about our modern world, a wake up call to get people to examine just what's going on both within our country and our role on the world stage. 'I see the title as not only ruminating over a complete turnaround of reality, wondering how people might react if 'you were walking in your hometown, fires were burning all around,' but as a call to action,' he adds. 'I am angry and my anger has taken the form of writing the best songs I can that try to go to the root of and expose the insanity and the rationales of the powers that be in waging war and empire.' Drawing as much from the spirit of Bob Dylan as James Brown and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in equal measure, 'What Would YOU Do? is co-produced by Temple with Cal Reichenbach and features Temple's mixture of soulful vocals and open tuned acoustic guitar. It's probing songs capture Temple's colorful, multi-faceted musical vibe. 'The lyrics, musical chops and lead vocals were impressive...I can see radio embracing this record. Robert is clearly a talented artist on the rise,' says Eugene Foley of Foley Entertainment. From the get-go, Temple achieves a heartfelt exploration of contemporary headlines. 'Pretty Good Day' was inspired by his vision of 'what it must be like to be an Arab American in the U.S. after 9-11.' The songs that follow explore a wide variety of relevant, thought provoking subjects, starting with the bluesy 'Save Life,' which ponders Gandhi's idea that 'an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.' It explores the irony of equating running into a burning building to save a life with waging war. Tim Morse, Promotions Director, National Recorder, Loco Pop PR, says 'The timing is better than ever for this kind of message to actually reach people and s