Elgin James

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Elgin James

Elgin Nathan James is an American director and musician. He was one of the founding members of Friends Stand United (FSU), an organization from Boston , Massachusetts , which was officially referred to as a gang in the United States .

Life

After spending part of his childhood in orphanages and changing foster families , Elgin James was raised on a farm by civil rights activists. The abuse of alcohol and other drugs was part of the daily routine there, and marijuana was grown on the farm . James developed an aversion to alcohol and other drugs that would later make him a militant figure in the straight edge movement . He also became a vegetarian at the age of 11 after watching animals being slaughtered on the farm. He later switched to a vegan diet.

He got to know punk music through another foster child and attended concerts by Black Flag , Agnostic Front and MDC . He was arrested for the first time at age twelve and sent to juvenile prison at age 14 . There he broke with the pacifist ideals of his foster parents (who sympathized with Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Riders ) and became interested in Malcolm X , Stokely Carmichael and Huey P. Newton .

After imprisonment, he studied at Antioch College . During his first semester , he got into a brawl and was hit in the head with a baseball bat . His left brain was injured. At first he could not speak or move his right side. After intensive speech and physiotherapy , he regained his skills, but became homeless . He lived on the streets and in squats . At some point he settled in Boston, Massachusetts.

FSU

In Boston, James began singing for the hardcore punk band Wrecking Crew . He befriended like-minded youth from problematic areas in Boston and Brockton . Together they founded FSU (initially for Fuck Shit Up ). The group fought White Power - Skinhead -Gangs in Boston. After fighting back the neo-Nazis , James began cracking down on drug dealers. He stole it and gave half of the money to charities.

As part of FSU, he developed tactics that he allegedly copied from the United States government. James and other members of FSU traded firearms for pit bulls from other gangs who had used them in dog fights . They then looked after the dogs and passed them on to safe and reliable owners.

After some members joined the Outlaws and the group slowly disbanded, James began to consider more legal alternatives for FSU. He and the remaining members of FSU set up Foundations Fund, a foundation on behalf of their deceased members. The foundation awards scholarships to students at Berklee College of Music and Suffolk University's Law School .

Music and film career

James began his musical career in various straight edge bands such as Wrecking Crew, 454 Big Block and Righteous Jams . He later began a solo career, playing country- like folk , often referred to as "hooligan folk".

In 2006 James moved to Los Angeles , California to work as a filmmaker. He directed the short film Goodnight Moon with Pete Wentz ( Fall Out Boy ). December 2008 James was inducted into the Sundance Lab .

arrest

On July 14, 2009, the FBI arrested James for an incident that occurred four years earlier. He was wanted in Chicago for extortion . James had attacked a person who is believed to have been part of the White Power movement . He is also said to have blackmailed him for a "donation" for FSU of $ 5,000. The transfer of the money was monitored by the FBI. The person is said to have been a member of the band Mest . The previous membership of Tony Lovato in a right-wing rock band was probably the trigger, but the member of the band who was blackmailed by James has not yet been named. James was sentenced to one year in prison in 2011.

Discography

  • 1992: Wrecking Crew: Wrecking Crew (Single)
  • 1995: 454 Big Block: Your Jesus ( Century Media )
  • 1996: 454 Big Block: 454 Big Block (Big Wheel Records)
  • 1997: 454 Big Block: Save Me from Myself, (Big Wheel Records)
  • 1997: The World is My Fuse: The World Is my Fuse (Single, Espo Records)
  • 1998: The World Is My Fuse: Drunk (Single, Espo Records)
  • 1999: The World Is My Fuse: Good Intentions (Espo Records)
  • 2002: The Jaded Salingers: The Jaded Salingers (Espo Records)
  • 2003: Elgin James: For Carol ... (Lonesome Recordings)
  • 2004: Elgin James: Long Way Home (Lonesome Recordings)
  • 2004: Righteous Jams : Rage of Discipline (Broken Sounds)
  • 2005: Elgin James: Tinted Soft Green (Emusic Digital Singles Club)
  • 2006: Righteous Jams: Business as Usual (Abacus Recordings)

Filmography

  • 1998: release
  • 2000: Live Thee Fourth
  • 2004: Boston Beatdown Vol. 2
  • 2005: Dark Planet: Visions of America
  • 2007: Enemy
  • 2007: Goodnight Moon, ThinkFilms, (Writer, Producer)
  • 2010: Little Birds
  • 2018: Mayans MC (writer and director) (1st and 2nd season)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rich Balling: Revolution On Canvas. Volume 2: Poetry from the Indie Music Scene. Grand Central Publishing 2007.
  2. ^ Sounds from Underground. In: Lollipop Magazine. August 1996.
  3. ↑ ENEMY, J and M productions, 2007.
  4. ^ Armed Aggression Fanzine, Issue 1, 1996.
  5. ↑ a b Inside Straight Edge. ( Memento from July 14, 2011 on the Internet Archive ) National Geographic
  6. ↑ Dark Planet: Visions of America 2005.
  7. ^ Enemy, J&M productions 2007.
  8. ^ Enemy, J&M productions 2007.
  9. ↑ Debbie Catalano: Elgin James: Truth and Fiction. In: Soundcheck. magazine, November 2003, pp. 14-16.
  10. ^ The Foundation. ( Memento from August 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ 30 / June / 2009 Inside the Sundance Labs: Elgin James, Gang Leader Turned Sundance Filmmaker ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .movieline.com @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.movieline.com
  12. ↑ 14 / July / 2009 Feds arrest 'punk rock' gang leader .chicagobreakingnews.com
  13. ^ Ruben Vives: Alleged gang member arrested in extortion. In: LA NOW. Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2009, accessed July 14, 2009 (American English).
  14. ↑ 15 / July / 2009 Man accused of extorting money in punk rock scene. ( Memento of July 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) chicagotribune.com
  15. ↑ a b 07 / Aug / 2009 Elgin James FSU Update - James in Chicago for a Pre-trial Appearance and More on Mest punkmusic.about.com
  16. ↑ 20 / July / 2009 FSU Gang Founder Arrested For Extortion: Inside Punk Fight Club rollingstone.com
  17. ↑ Mest - entry (profile page) at punkmusic.about.com
  18. ↑ 05 / Apr / 2002 Cosmetic changes work wonders Derogatis, Jim
  19. ↑ Elgin Nathan James, Gang Leader Turned Filmmaker, Sentenced For Extortion In Chicago. Huffington Post , September 3, 2011, accessed September 27, 2011 .
personal data
SURNAME James, Elgin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES James, Elgin Nathan (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American director and musician
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century