Welcome to the October/November issue of Black Grooves.  In celebration of our upcoming conference, Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music, which will be hosted on the IU-Bloomington campus on November 13-14, 2009, we’re devoting the entire issue to black rock. Featured are two recent films, Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker (dir. by Raymond Gayle) and White Lies, Black Sheep (dir. by James Spooner, best known for his film Afro-punk).  We’re also covering new releases by Living Colour, BLK JKS, Ben Harper, and Crown of Thorns (led by Jean Beauvoir).  Among the reissues are Ava Cherry’s The Astronette Sessions and the Lafayette Afro Rock Band’s Darkest Light, as well as a previously unreleased album by our favorite funk rock diva Betty Davis.  Finally, you won’t want to miss the new free compilation from Boldaslove.us featuring 17 tracks from some of the hottest black rock artists on the scene today.