RICHARD
BROADNAX
more info?
www.broadnax.ch
What does hope mean to you?
Hope means to me: It is not over, you still have a chance. Some people may think that hope is dead, but hope never is. Sometimes
we loose our energy to hang on to whatever the case might be.
But there's always hope. It will always be here, even when we
go.
To me it's a very special opportunity for other young people to
come together and give their talent for a good cause like the
children's hospital, to do such a benefit, to help. I hope we
can continue fighting against AIDS and all the other diseases
that have taken our nation today. This is a great opportunity.
I'm so proud to be here and to make this.
Have you got a special relation to the children's hospital in
Zürich?
No I don't have a special relation to that hospital, but children
are our future, our tomorrow. And without children we have no
tomorrow. This is why here I have this opportunity to help somebody.
I take this time out to make that.
You're going to sing traditional Gospel today?
I'm going to sing the original, pure, uncut Gospel. The Black
American, "back home" south Gospel, really heavy and hot. There
are to kinds of Gospel: we have the original one and the contemporary
Gospel which is more than updated. I use the old Gospel with the
modern beat.
Gospel in churches in Switzerland, people clapping there hands
during service. Is this OK for our churches here?
Sure, when you clap your hands or pat your feet a little bit,
this only gives energy. We don't have to go to church and be dead,
that's why we in America clap our hands, we sing "Amen", we fight
back with the preacher, we answer him back. This keeps the spirit
motivated in energy. In Switzerland people are a little more conservative,
but they come around. When I travelled with the Jackson Singers
we had about four or five concerts in Switzerland and the people
really pulled up their soul. So, there is a future for Gospel
in Swiss churches? Absolutely. You can also sing by the book,
you can have your book to teach the music and you can also go
by feeling. Gospel is something that you feel.
What do you feel while you are singing Gospel?
I feel the pain, the burden, the trials that we go through. And
especially for me as a black American, remember the fifties and
the sixties when black people had to eat at the backdoor. And
now time has changed, and when we didn't have the energy to go
on, we could always relate to the Gospel-feeling, which gives
you that energy to go on. I taught my choir the original Gospel-feeling.
One can see and feel that.
Your singers are Swiss or americans?
Swiss, Irishmen, Britains, Italians; all the different cultures
are involved though. They first said:"But I'm not black". I said:
"You don't have to be black to sing Gospel, you only have to feel
it. That means to go into yourself. Don't be ashamed to sing out
and we all will have fun.
