Reverend Billy in his smart white suit and Elvis Presley hairdo is preaching the stop shopping gospel while standing knee deep in the rising floods of climate change. That's the photo on the cover of his recent book by City Lights: The Earth Wants YOU, a motivational handbook meant to inspire its readers to challenge the consumerism that is killing our planet.
Bill Talen moved from San Francisco to New York City in the early nineties after many years in Bay Area Theater and performance art. There he began preaching on street corners in Times Square in front of Disney stores and advertising bill boards. His solo appearances soon attracted crowds and sympathizers and the Church of Stop Shopping was born. That Church of Stop Shopping now has several thousand members and a professional highly acclaimed multicultural choir.
On April 26, 2016, New York based Reverend Billy came as far west as he could possibly go and gave a performance slash reading at the Gallery Bookshop in the village of Mendocino. He introduced his new book: The Earth Wants YOU! as both, a celebration of life and an indictment of the forces of destruction.
Talen is the author of several books including "What Would Jesus Buy" and "What Should I Do If Reverend Billy is in My Store".
From the series TUC Radio http://www.tucradio.org/
- KBOO