in support of music education

One of the surprise benefits of the "Broadway To Bourbon Street" concert?

It was a benefit for the Equinox Global Missions.

What is the purpose of this group?

"[It] is passionate about using world-class music to restore good wherever it's lost and to revive joy wherever it's fading."

That sure sounds a lot like the credo for the Nerdfighters.

That's why I ponied up the $35 for the ticket and the $5.25 for fees.

If that's all it cost to help "revive joy wherever it's fading", that's a deal.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to help others on this 25th anniversary of a very dark time in US history.

i thank You, God.

encouraging children of savannah to SING

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to make financial decisions whilst recovering from anesthesia, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one...

or something like that.

I recall Spock saying that to Kirk in one of the "Star Trek" movies, and it seems to be just as apt here.

The children's choral group, SING!, is having a concert later this month.

Titled "How Can I Keep From Singing?", it has drawn me in! 

That concert is free, as have been all of their concerts at Asbury Memorial.

Sure, they usually pass the hat, so to speak, at some point in the show, but the draw for me is that the music is free for the soul.

This event on the 25th will differ, though.

While the concert itself is gratis, the Italian dinner afterward is not.

That will be a fundraiser for Savannah Inspiring Next Generation - that is, SING - and I intend to do my part, both with the eating and the giving, that is.

An actual chef is doing the cooking, so "That's Amore" should bring a taste of Italy back to my heart and spirit.

Plus, there will be more music woven into the meal!

That's why I chose to donate the money "in memory of", rather than having it be counted toward one of the competing teams.

The Asbury Memorial songbird was the person that came to mind.

I know in my heart that Joan Hester Byrd would dearly love these kids.

(smile!)

fundraiser down at tybee!

What a wonderful evening I've had at Tybee Post Theater!

I'm so glad I finally decided to go there.

Tonight, the Coastal Cohorts held a 40th anniversary reprisal of their classic storytelling concert, "King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running", and every dollar went to the theatre.

It was a sold-out show, too!

That means the $26 ticket fee I paid, and that the majority of the patrons paid, went to help this venue bring more such shows here.

I'm all in favor of that!

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite places for films, concerts, musicals, and plays.

Keep up the good work!

tithing back to the festival

Why am I donating back and how did I come up with the amount I gave?

Maybe first things first, n'est-ce pas?

This is the 15th day of the Savannah Music Festival, which is in its 35th year.

There's a fundraiser that's been going since the first day this time around.

It's called "$17,000 in 17 Days", giving it a kinda sorta Jules Verne flair.

(smile!)

So, how does that fundraiser operate?

One of the donors is matching all donated funds during the course of the festival - i.e. during the 17 days of scheduled concerts - and that money will go toward various programs for students and music education.

I decided a few days ago to donate, but only had a QR code to use.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, nope!

My phone doesn't speak squiggly lines in a square.

I had even gone to the website, to no avail... until today!

Hooray!

(smile!)

Somehow, though the $35 I'd intended to donate to the cause didn't feel right.

Then I realized something: today I volunteered at my tenth concert of this SMF.

Tenth, did I say?

That's a nice, familiar fraction for me.

So, I added up the money it would have cost for me to have attended the eleven shows for which I am volunteering.

In other words, that's what I was essentially "paid" as a volunteer.

Then I tithed back ten percent: $41.20.

(smile!)

That felt wonderful!

Here's the link, for those inspired to give music to others!

dieselpunks will not fall

Woohoo! I'm on my way to restoring my backer stats!
What better way to begin than to merge old and new in the realm of dieselpunks? To quote the dieselpunkencyclopedia website, the movement combines the look and feel of the 1920's to 1950's with "postmodern sensibilities from a counter-cultural viewpoint" to create "a distinct style of visual art, music, motion pictures, fiction, and engineering".
This is hardly the first project I have backed with these elements. Even though the two other projects weren't specified as "dieselpunk", they most assuredly are.
(They were both local, too, which is another plus in my book.)
In September of 2011, "The Flight" was not yet off the ground, but I went ahead and bought my ticket to ride! A beautifully crafted film eventually emerged, with definite dieselpunk aspects in the story, costumes, and cinematography.
Then, in January of 2012, another project caught my eye, promising to make Education come ALIVE! They made good on that promise, too. Inspired by the works of Nice One, a Chicago artist, students helped create a blend of art-deco-colored wall murals which featured modernistic, goggle-clad explorers. Children and dieselpunk - now, that's a way to start a revolution!
For all I know, the artists who created those two projects are followers of the online magazine and social network devoted to the dieselpunk art movement. First created in 2009 by Emmy-winning artist Tome Wilson, the site is now in danger of shutting down.
Why?
Lack of money.
The overhead for maintaining the five-year archive of art, music, and history is $3500.
That payment is due next month.
So, the funding goal for the project was set for that amount, not one penny more nor less.
In return, the creator pledges to help expand the site, encouraging the creation of new artists and new books and films and music.
Get the picture?
The creator wants to help spread the gospel, as well as maintain the place of worship.
Amen, I say!
He has even already surpassed his humble goal. My funds certainly aren't going to be the "make or break" addition to the success of the project.
Still, I wanted to be in on this.
Even if fifteen bucks isn't much these days, back in the 1920's, that sum held true worth. It's also 50% more than the minimum needed to receive a "handwritten dieselpunk postcard" from Mr. Wilson.
I'll be looking forward to that piece of mail.

speculative relationships at the broken hearts table

I really needed this today.
The finished products are not yet on their way, but I received two emails from kickstarter projects I've backed.
The second arrived this afternoon, from Scott Kroll, of "Speculative Relationships: A SciFi Romance Comics Anthology". As part of the rewards for my support, I have been granted early access to the finished product, via weblink. I was also sent the weblink for the backstory on the making of the anthology.
(If you want them, just click here for the anthology and here for the "Making Love" ezine. Well worth the sawbuck for the pair!)
Beautiful! Just the thing I needed to help clear my mind from the great loss I have felt for the past two days.
The story I chose to read first was Rinko Endo's, "The Same Moon". Anyone who knows me will affirm that I have an attraction to the moon, whether beneficial or maddening depends on the day.
(smile)
Her tale was just the therapy I needed. Such a sweet story about a thug and her healer! I don't know why, but I could totally relate to the thug. Perhaps it's from my recently dregged memories of my days as a sailor in Panama, when I had weapons practice every month for proficiency with 45's and M-16's. That was necessary in case the secured facility where I worked was ever overrun by terrorists.
I was very skilled with those weapons.
I really loved her story.
I'm going to ration out the stories, maybe read just one a day for the next week or so, make them last a bit longer. That will allow me to get the full benefit of each, to better appreciate both the artistry of the work and the tale itself.
I've skimmed through the "Making Love" 'zine. Nice little tidbits in there for each artist - very nicely arranged! I look forward to taking my time and perusing every page, at a leisurely pace, perhaps while sipping a cup of hot tea and periodically glancing out at a weeping sky...
The other reward actually arrived by email on Wednesday, but I was a bit swamped at the time. You see, I teach and I had scheduled a test for my students that day. Then, last Friday, I had diddybopped off to Atlanta for Dragon*Con, test unwritten. I ended up spending most of Tuesday and Wednesday making up for my fun weekend.
(Still worth it!)
This afternoon, while awaiting the last inning and a half of a championship playoff game, i was taking care of a backlog of emails. Fortunately, a soundtrack was awaiting me, buried in the forwarded jokes and transferred photos and fb messages.
Those hard-working Titshaw brothers, whilst making their next film, "The Broken Hearts Table", had taken a time-out to compile a songlist.
No, the movie is not a musical.
These "Monthly Music Mixes (lasting one-year) that inspired The Broken Hearts Table" began this month. Woohoo! Fourteen songs, all by different artists, some remakes of old favorites, some new tunes, most absolutely without equal. "Sad, Sad City", by Ghostland Observatory, and Mayer Hawthorne's "A Long Time" were especially welcomed by my exhausted brain.
Actually, their September Music Mix is quite good for reading about Speculative Relationships. Seriously. That Ghostland Observatory tune is especially, and incredibly, appropriate.
I'll have to check and see if the brothers will allow me to release their playlist, so you can judge the truth of my words.

god help the girl in her sundance

The last update from Stuart Murdoch to his kickstarter collaborators was on October 18 of this year. I had referenced that update in one of the comments of my earlier post about "God Help The Girl".
As of October, the filming was completed, the musical had been scored, the film had been edited. Our GTH Girl was ready to sing and strut!
Whew!
At last, she was ready to fill her dance card on the festival circuit.
Who would be the first to twirl her in front of the world???
No less than Sundance... wow!
I am so excited for her!!!
Here's the update!

Update #41
Dec 4 2013
World Premiere at Sundance!

Hello Backers!

We are delighted to announce that 'God Help The Girl' will have its World Premiere at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. It's a perfect start to what will be a packed year of festival screenings, previews and a commercial release.

We know you have all been waiting a LONG time to see this film you so generously supported and are excited that will be a reality in 2014.

In other news - we have t-shirts and posters at the printers, guitars in the post and lots of other rewards in progress. It's all happening, SLOWLY but SURELY.

Once again, many thanks for your support which has taken us to this very exciting place that I'm not sure we ever imagined possible. Premiering at one of our favourite international film festivals.

We'll be in touch soon with more details for the festival and some reward updates.

Once again, so many thanks for your support from the very beginning.

GHTG HQ

How very exciting!
Her debut will be at Mr. Robert Redford's esteemed event!

mint juleps and more, at my house, y'all

It's here!!!
Happy birthday to me!!!
Woohoo!!!! Lorenzo and Cree! Skeleton of It! Balloons, bellydancing, and boas! Comedy! Song!
Megan Jones, the kickstarter brain behind the scenes of "Ol' Devil Sherman and the Mint Juleps", had told me she would mail the dvd to me.
On the night of the show, the dvd had not yet been produced.
The plan was to videorecord both nights' shows, then create the film.
So, patience was needed for me to again enjoy the burlesque and music and dance...

But, here's the good thing about shopping local, y'all: she was able to hand deliver it to my house instead making me wait.
I arrived home from school to find this treat in my mailbox!
Yeah for Georgia and Savannah projects!

I had already received
this freshly minted
(get it?)
T-shirt on the night of the performance.
Isn't it lovely?!?
I just adore the burlesque beauties, chilling in the summer treat!

This is the sticker (which matches the button).
Here, you see the full design imprinted on the T-shirt.
Good, right, but aren't you glad I chose the close-up of the girls for showing off the T-shirt?
The Ol' Devil looks imposing and right distinguished, true...
but surely he is no rival to the attraction of the feminine lovelies inside his frosted glass!
No, sir!

I also have a totally lovely 8x10 glossy of the five lovely lasses!
Want to see it?
Well, maybe you can contact Megan and she will help you out.
I'm not sure how much the photos cost, but the dvd's are a bargain at $20.

the mint juleps take the stage

Oh, my, my, my!
Ooh la la, and all that jazz!
I am still so excited from the show that I can't even think about going to sleep!
That vaudeville and burlesque show at Muse Arts Warehouse was more than two hours of dancing, comedy, singing, and good old-fashioned, red light district, FUN!
Balloons, scarves, jingly anklets and bracelets and hipshakers - there was even a snake!
This show had it all, I tell you!!!
A cello-strumming songstress and a zombie out for revenge!
A tapdancing chanteuse and a couple of wiseacres!
Lorenzo and Cree, formerly with the Gypsee Belly Dance Troupe!!! (My absolute favorites!!!)
And Ol' Devil Sherman himself, to put the five Mint Juleps through their paces, clad in bustiers and garter belts and feather boas!
The Mint Juleps, aka Savannah Sweet Tease, is sure to please all, having several different flavors to suit any taste!
(All puns intended, of course!)
You can read about it here, but that may be all you can do.
Bear in mind, folks are hungry for this type of entertainment.
This show sold out and I imagine their second show will also. So, just in case, you can enjoy this photo of the cast from their facebook page.

I am thrilled to be a kickstarter backer of this incredible delight! "Ol' Devis Sherman and the Mint Juleps" has produced a show which is much more than I had anticipated. I sooooo look forward to the dvd video, which I will no doubt wear grooves into. Maybe I should order a second one now...

lady in Red, once more for the last time

I have received the final dvd of the film,
my kickstarter reward for "Red Thread"!
Poetry, operatic music, and a tale of a strong woman and the choices she made, good, bad, and ugly.
I may not watch it often, but it is a stirring video.
It is also an award-winning film, having earned the New York State Council on the Arts Film and Media Grant. That enabled the team (Duston Spear, producer; Michael Minard, music composer; Ann Casapini, singer) to truly fine-tune the piece. That fine-tuning included a slight name change: "Red Thread: The Prisoner and The Painter".
I am so proud of them.

Thank You, also,
for a birthday gift
from beyond all time.

ol' devil sherman and the mint juleps

Again that magic word: burlesque - how wonderfully exotic!
This time, I most assuredly would be able to attend the show, as it is quite local! Not all the way off in Texas, like that last one with kickstarter!
My friend, Megan Jones, is the woman in charge of this project. She does a lot of photography and encourages her clients to dress in lavish styles for their glamour shots. Of course, it doesn't hurt that many of the folks she photographs are local theatre people!
One of the categories on her page is for "Pin Ups".
Yep, you read that right.
For gals - and guys! - wanting to get their smooth on, they can book with her and have their hair styled especially for the 1930's, '40's, and 50's, with clothes to match, 'natch. Look here if you're wanting to get some ideas for your day in the sun!
When she sent out the word on facebook that she was trying to fund a burlesque show, I gave serious consideration to becoming a backer. My funds are not what they once were, especially as the summer is upon me (no pay for professors for those three months) and my status as full-time parlayer of knowledge has ended. Unless I find some other job, I will return to adjunct status, at one-fifth pay, in August.
Hell's belles, darlin', that's why God made credit cards!
You know what, you are absolutely right.
Plus, you can declare it part of your 55th birthday celebration this year!
By Golly, Miss Molly! That sounds like a winner, indeedy it do!
So, that's what I've done: added a Benjamin to the top hat, plus a dollar for every year I've been on this planet.
Happy birthday to me!
Hope you can make it to the party - it's gonna be a beaut!

unchained again! rawrf! rawrff!

The Bluebird flies again! Unchained is on the loose!
Run to your nearest coffeehouse for their heart-grown tales and foot-tappin' music!
As you can see, my T-shirt has arrived! You can't tell from the photo above, but the design is on the bottom left portion of the shirt. The front of the bus is on the front, with the bottom of the bus wrapping around to the back. Very nice!
I really like the Georgia hound dog sticker, too! I can just hear him now, baying of their coming as he runs down the back roads of Georgia and South Carolina and Florida! Ar-ROOOO! Ar-ROO-ROO-ROO!
Nice thank-you note, too. I really appreciate those!

hugs from distant neighbors

At last!
Actually, the music arrived last week, but I have only now been able to listen to it.
Another wonderful kickstarter success story, this one based in Tallahassee.
David Lareau & The Copperpots make very nice sounds together, just so you know.

Here's what I wrote on their facebook page today:
fliss on March 19, 2012
Wow... I received it late last week, but only now have had a listen. Actually, I've had it going nonstop since I started. Seriously good stuff, great lyrics, haunting melodies... how cool it would be to hear in person, though it just might make me cry.
BTW, the song list on the back isn't correct. the 4th track is "Black and Blue", the 5th is "Good From the Start". Just so you know.
My favorite two are "Rainy Days" and "Coastal Highway" - but I had a hard time choosing. All are so intense!
Thanks!

I need to check their schedule and see when I can hear this music live - and share it with my dear cousin, too!
If you're ever in that neighborhood, they may even give you a hug...

bringing back R&B

Georgia project?
Check!
Music?
Check!
Old school, Motown sound?
Check!
Well, then, I'm in!
While checking out some other kickstarter talent in the Southeastern United States, I was caught my Tre Powell's earnestness. Also, his style of speaking and sense of humor reminds me of my dear friend Sam Johnson, dead for almost three years now.
This is my second time backing a music project on kickstarter. The first, you may recall, was just a few months ago, for a fellow in Florida. I had gotten into that one almost too late; this one, I'm one of the early birds.
I look forward to having Pre's CD - with my picture on the cover, as my reward! That will be totally different!

god help the girl - the musical film

Wow. As Christopher Walken might say, "Wowsie Wow Wow!"
A musical, that they want to film, in England! I just may have to make some travel plans, y'all, so I can see it live on the stage first, then watch it over and over back home.
You know it!
So, I put some serious money toward this project. Serious money. Then again, when you're making something on such a grand scale, as this will be, serious money is needed. Like, one hundred thousand US dollars.
When all is said and done, I'll be the outrageously proud owner of not only the special kickstarter edition of the film on dvd, and the T-shirt, and the movie poster, and have my name in the credits, but I'll also have this sweet enamel pin to wear about.
Oh, yes, and a postcard from the writer of the musical, Stuart Murdoch. Perhaps you've heard of him? I had not, but he's a musician with the band Belle & Sebastian. No, I hadn't heard of them, either, perhaps because they were across the Atlantic Ocean and not rock and roll.
That said, they're both on my radar now. They should have been before. Apparently, B&S have contributed to the soundtracks of several movies I enjoy, like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Juno", "The Devil Wears Prada". Small world, right?
Speaking of such things, guess who will be producing "God help The Girl"? Barry Mendel! Him, I have heard of, mostly because of his association with some very good movies I've enjoyed. Here are a few: "Rushmore", "The Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable". Those were three of his first efforts. For him to be involved, this is going to be big.
I am so proud to be part of this.
It's only about halfway through its funding efforts right now, with almost a month remaining. Then this summer adventure of a boy and a girl and a girl, in the youth of their lives, can start living on its own power.
Wowsie Wow Wow!

david lareau's debut ep: hugs from distant neighbors

I do love a guy with a sense of humor.
David Lareau certainly is that! Even when he is pleading for funds to help turn his recorded album into a finely mixed product - by no less a force than John Kurzweg - he still manages to throw some jokes in there to liven the mood.
Very much appreciated!
Based in Tallahassee, where my dear cousin Penny and her family live, I actually may be able to go hear him & The Copperpots perform live someday. That would be a treat! To be able to visit with family and share some of their local musical talent!
So, how is it that a guy in Florida knows such powerhouses as Kurzweg and Noel Hartough in the music biz?
Let me tell you!
Primarily, they're all musicians who have played club gigs in Tallahassee for years. Tall'ee, as its known, is a rather small town, even though it is the capital of Florida. Don't believe me? Go there when the government is out of session and the Florida Seminoles are gone for summer vacation - definitely a small town.
Also, these three men have all had their bids with the major record labels and found that life unsatisfying. When Lareau was in his late teens, he was signed to a big label, had his flash with them, then was dropped for the "next big thing."
Ouch.
Now, he's older (though not by very much) and wiser (by quite a bit) and back with new music. All he needs is a little money to create the type of album that showcases his voice, his humor, and his ethos.
I may be joining the party late - but I am joining the party.
Maybe I'll even get an autograph when I see the band perform!

chromazoid: comics anthology and mix tape

Okay, I thought about just putting in the widget, but the video rocks!
So, that's what I chose.
How did I choose this project, of all the possibilities on kickstarter?
Well, I was cruising through the "Ending Soon" ventures and there it was, with its lurid, day-glo colors and crazy name and promise of music to accompany my reading enjoyment.
Say what?
That's right: as far as I know, this is the first-ever deliberate creation of a soundtrack for reading comics. Moreover, for the nine comics in the Chromazoid anthology, there will be nine songs, each inspired by the comic for which they will be background music. Isn't that WILD??? Reading-enhancement soundtracks - what a novel idea!!!
Here's its bloglink so you can follow along, too.
And here's a teaser of things to come, posted in their "updates" on kickstarter:
Update #2
Oct 24, 2011
51 BACKERS!

Thanks to all of you who've backed this project so far! We've passed the 50 backer mark, and I hope we'll pass the 100 backer mark too! Please tell others about Chromazoid!

Here's an impassioned description of some of the stories in the book by our very own Nick Jackson:

"tales of English schoolchildren, domestic strife between a cat and a snake, a tragic opera of love and betrayal between dog and master, we're talking stories about cosmic blood-borne pathogens, about catching mer-apes in fishing nets, about crystals. It includes a mix-tape of artists across the country- all music directly inspired by the comics- folkies, sludge-punks, an experimental clarinetist, wailing brass- it's there."

How could I resist?
I could not.
Yeah!!!

shaking spears

Shaking up the Shakespeare with ... Britney Spears????
Wow!
Thsi could be either really, really good... or bone-crushingly bad.
Either way, I'm supporting the madness! You bet!
In the introductory trailer (check it here), we learn that Hamlet has only one question: to dance or not to dance - woohoo!
So here is the premise for this kickstarter venture: take four of the tragedies penned by the British Bard, mix liberally with the music of the tragic Britney, stir frantically, and BOOM! Comedy ensues!
The plays are all fairly common in high school literature classes: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Julius Ceasar. I don't know which tunes of Ms. Spears will be used.
Apparently, Erika Grotto was sharing her script with some theatre friends, just to feel them out on it... and they wanted to know when would they be doing the show for real! Serendipity, pure serendipidity.
Sadly, no vidoe or soundtrack will be available as rewards. Dratted copyright laws... mumble, mumble... but I will get a T-shirt, so that's good. And I know that I will because I've joined this party late, meaning the funding goal has already been met. Still, I joined in for moral support! Yeah, and the T-shirt. (Smile!)
Sure wish I could be there for the show. It's to be performed in a 75-seat venue, much like that of Muse Arts Warehouse, one of my favorite places here. Nice intimate space like that will make for quite a memorable theatre experience for all!

fairtax, the musical

Well, alrighty then! A musical about politics!
Actually, Fairtax: The Musical is theatre and marks the second theatrical project I've backed on kickstarter. I hope it does as well with its funding as the summer venture here in Savannah did!
This one's home base is about four hours from me, so, when the play is eventually produced - estimated as July 2012! - I'll easily be able to drive up to see it. Maybe my best friend and her family will even be able to join me! Marietta is just an hour away for them.
Actually, when I know the specifics of the performance dates, I'll have to see if some of the Drinking Liberally chapters want to make it a group venture. THAT sounds like it would be a lot of fun and certainly lead to some good discussions at our meetings.
This portrayal of an ideal America, where everyone contributes their 23% for the benefit of all, should be quite entertaining. As it begins, everyone who buys anything, whether goods or services, is paying into the federal government. (No word about state or local taxes in this play. Hey, one thing at a time!)
A rather utopian manner of tax collection it is, until the politicians abolish it in favor of a more complex, progressive income tax... like we currently have.
Don Goodman is a man on a mission, a mission to change the income tax system, one song at a time!
I'll be listening for every note, too.

the red thread

Duston Spear and Michael Minard are crafting a film about a woman in prison. Actually, about a woman serving thirty years to life behind bars.
And they're doing it with poetry and operatic music.
Wow.
What woman? What did she do? How long has she been in prison?
We aren't told any of that. The film to introduce the project on kickstarter indicates that she has been locked up for about thirty years, so far. That means she's been in prison for more than half of her life.
My youngest brother is in prison and has been for four years now. He has nine more years ahead of him, unless he is fortunate enough to earn parole before 2020.
I think this is going to be an interesting ride.