African Crossroads

Aug. 17, 2005

Gevas Moyo’s debut as a disc jockey at WNMC-FM on Thanksgiving Day in 2001 was a sink-or-swim situation. A volunteer who was supposed to guide him through his first show forgot to show up, leaving Gevas to figure out the controls of the college radio station on his own.
“That’s how I jumped in,” he says, smiling at the memory. Since then, he’s done just fine as a self-styled Captain of the Airwaves Marco Polo, leading listeners on an exploration of worldbeat music on his Radio Saboroso show every Sunday from 6-8 p.m.
On Radio Saboroso you’re likely to hear sounds from Mozambique, Jamaica, Chile, Trinidad, Morocco, Iran, Indonesia and you name it. Saboroso means “savory” or “delicious” in Portugese, and that’s what Moyo aims for – a delicious blend of sounds from all over the world.
Speaking of which, Moyo hails from the far side of the world. He was born and raised in Zimbabwe in the southern part of Africa, a background which had a profound influence on his musical tastes.
“Coming from Africa you’re at a crossroads of a lot of different cultures,” he says. “I grew up in a family where my older siblings loved all different kinds of music. We’d listen to everything from Grandmaster Flash and Run DMC to the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers and local rock from Zimbabwe.”

ZIMBABWE’S PROBLEMS
Zimbabwe is a troubled nation. Formerly known as Rhodesia, it gained independence from Britain in 1980. Robert Mugabe became its president for life in 1987, launching a number of disastrous domestic policies. “His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities,” notes the CIA World Factbook.
Currently, Mugabe is waging a vicious campaign against his own poverty-stricken people which involves bulldozing urban neighborhoods and forcing the refugees to flee into the countryside.
“It’s a political thing,” Moyo says of the forced evacuations, noting that the people being targeted tend to oppose Mugabe’s rule. “Mugabe’s people say they are destroying slums, but it’s mainly high-density areas they are targeting. Are these shacks indecent structures? Yes, but in an African context, they may be the best homes they can have.
“The opposition to Mugabe is much stronger in the urban areas than the rural parts of Zimbabwe,” he adds. “By destroying their homes they’re undermining the popular base and making people much more malleable. The refugees also have to live under a chief in the rural areas and are more dependent on food aid. They need a ruling party card to show that they are Mugabe supporters just to get food aid. So at the end of the day, people are beaten into submission. You have to have that card to eat and in the rural areas, mob psychology still rules.”

GO WEST YOUNG MAN
Articulate, personable, and well informed on a wide range of subjects, Moyo, 34, came to the United States on a student visa in the early ’90s to earn a bachelor’s degree. He was later granted political asylum here, earning his Masters degree in business administration this May from Davenport College. He works in regional sales for a local television station and lives with his wife Flo in Traverse City.
Moyo is vague about the reasons behind his status as a political asylee, but notes that he doesn’t plan to go back to Zimbabwe while the current regime is in power.
“It’s a humanitarian catastrophe,” he says, equating Mugabe’s rule with that of Cambodian dictator Pol Pot. “For some of the people, it’s going to be very difficult to see how they will survive.”
Besides the home displacement, Zimbabwe suffers from inflation as high as 1,000% and chronic food shortages. Buying gasoline can mean having to line up for four-five days until scarce fuel arrives.
As such, Moyo is deeply appreciative of life in America.
“No country is one hundred percent perfect, but for those coming here from somewhere else, it’s hard to put into words what the USA means to us,” he says. “It’s a place where you can expand and grow.”

DIFFERENT CULTURE
Does he ever feel uncomfortable as a black man living in the mostly-white culture of Northern Michigan?
“It’s a give and take situation,” Moyo says, adding that he rarely thinks of it. “Sometimes, people will stare at me when I’m walking down the road, or even in my own church. Now and then, people for lack of better manners or knowledge make you feel you don’t belong, but mostly it’s been very positive living here.
In fact, Moyo is a forthright, approachable person who’s used to breaking the ice.
“I grew up in a multi-racial society, so I never thought much about any differences. My openess is such that I can noticeably see people relax when they meet me. I like people to just relax – it’s just me – I try to get people to just step out of their mold and have a clean slate between us.
“It’s the same attitude I take to music,” he adds. “Ninety-nine percent of the stuff I play I can’t understand a word of it, but the beat and the pace of it is exciting.”

WORLDBEAT SOUNDS
“I’m very interested in hybrid sounds and how different cultures work together,” Moyo says. “I’m not into electronica -- that seems like a lazy way of making music, but I like it when different musical influences come together.”
As examples, he points to Tarika, a roots music band from Madagascar, or Radio Terifa, a Spanish band that combines European, North African, Arab and medieval sounds. The Bunda Boys from his own homeland fused influences ranging from African pop to Johnny Cash before a series of deaths broke up the band.
“I like music that’s kind of fast,” he notes. “I don’t want to bore people, that’s for sure. “I don’t play Indian sitar music that’s 26 minutes long -- I like to play music that generates some excitement.”
Although he is an unpaid volunteer DJ, Moyo prearranges his shows, spending up to three hours picking out music from WNMC’s library of thousands of CDs. Sometimes, he hooks into specific themes; a recent show, for instance, focused on women’s music from all over the world.
Moyo would like to expand those horizons, possibly with a worldbeat festival in Northern Michigan. Last year, he tried to arrange a concert here for a salsa band from Los Angeles, but the logistics of putting the show together proved too daunting. He hopes that word getting out on his radio show will generate more potential for live music in the area.
He’s on a good trip.
“I like to call my show Flight WNMC because for me it’s a journey,” he says. “I’m taking people around the world -- trying
to expand their horizons. That’s why I
always have the sound of a jet engine starting the show.”