A special shout out to our new artists this quarter!
Brett Smiley - Chris Ayer - Ganessa James Jeanine Debique -
Jeani Bridges - Jorrel Williams - King's County Blues Band - MC Koba - Shanelle
Gabriel - Spanking Charlene - Bradd Marquis - Pearl
A big thank you to everyone who played!
African Drum & Dance - Al Rodriguez - Aliza Hava - Aly
Panichi - Andy Mac - Ben Godwin - Bill Popp - Bradd Marquis - Brett Smiley -
Cassandra Kubinski - Chloe - Chris Ayer - Chris Jones - Dan Asselin - David
Pearl - DJ Boo - Eddie Cain - Free Radicals - Ganessa James - Grace Garland -
Imperial Court - Jeanine Debique - Jeani Bridges - Jami Jackson - Jill Melanie
Wirth - Jorrel Williams - Katy Pfaffl - Kierstin Gray - King's County Blues Band
- Larry May - Lavender Light Gospel Choir - Lucinda - Mario Spinetti - Markeisha
Ensley - MC Koba - Michael Ashanti - Michael Butler - Nhojj - Olivia Detante -
Paradox - Paul Wayne - Peace of Heart Choir - Pearl - Robert Bosscher - Ruby
Collins - Seth Rudetsky - Shanelle Gabriel - Sonia Montez - Spanking Charlene -
Tha Heights
Finally, let's hear it for our awesome volunteers!
Amber Carter - Andrea Molinatti - Brian Roces - Christian Wikane
- Erin O'Donnell - Hannah Kim - Jamie Chan - Janelle Hailey - Janete Scobie -
Jen Grossman - Jolanda Gunning-Snowden - Juana Perez - Kate Roche - Laura
Wierbicki - Neysha Vasquez - Nickoleta Lytras - Rebecca Love - Shenea Hunt -
Sherie Pope - Stephanie Summers - Tamara Johnson
Artist Spotlight- Dan Asselin
But for a twist of fate, Dan Asselin could have become a fine
accordion player. Exploring his grandmother's attic at the tender age of five,
he found a cache of forgotton instruments. The accordion proved too heavy to
lift, but the guitar was just about manageable- and thus was born a lifelong
obsession. Now at college in New York, Dan has become a staple on the
singer-songwriter circuit, and a regular performer for the Hearts & Voices
program.
As a performer, Dan pushes himself to the limits of his energy, far further
than his dextrous fingerstyle playing and rough, light countertenor voice would
suggest is possible. Asked about influences, he'll talk about Fiona Apple, early
Dylan, and Lennon's solo work, but (perhaps surprisingly) also name-checks Pearl
Jam's Eddie Vedder - 'He starts out with this introverted, confessional kind of
energy and finishes belting out at the top of his lungs and sweating and really
just baring his soul.'
I asked Dan what he gets out of performing for Hearts & Voices. 'Playing
these shows literally makes my heart bigger. Hearts and Voices audiences have
increased my capacity to stay open... I've played LIFEbeats shows where
afterwards audience members come up to me absolutely glowing, and and I know
I've made an impact on them.'
Dan has a fine collection of original songs, but says 'My favorite Hearts
& Voices experience was at Rivington House playing Lennon's "Imagine". It's
been covered ten trillion times, I know, but something very powerful happens in
a room whenever the first line of that first verse is sung. The consciousness in
the room just shifts and there's a lightness and openness in the audience thats
impossible to ignore- the man was truly loved by this world and I'm honored to
be able to witness the healing power of his most famous song.'
As well as his Hearts & Voices shows, Dan is currently self-producing an
album of his original material, and writing a poetry blog. Catch up with him on
Myspace!
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Show Highlights & Program News
This program never ceases to amaze me. Looking back over the last three
months, there have been so many great shows it's almost too much to take
in....
Back in December, Lavender Light Gospel Choir opened the holiday season for
us with a raise-the-roof show at Rivington House. When I talk about the healing
power of music- THAT's what I'm talking about!
We had an amazing time in the run up to the holidays. Eight shows in six
days, no less, and we handed out over 300 holiday gift bags, featuring the
second annual Hearts & Voices Superstars CD, featuring music donated by the
cream of our artist roster. The highlight of the week was an powerful, emotional
evening at Rivington House featuring no less than eight Hearts & Voices
artists.
The end of the year also saw us bidding farewell to Aly Panichi after a
three-year tenure in which she completely transformed and revitalized the
program. She's much missed by all, and we're looking forward to her coming back
to play for us when she returns to the city.
Moving on to 2008, we closed out February with a fantastic afternoon show at
Rivington House celebrating Black History Month. A wonderful lineup featuring
staff, residents and Hearts & Voices artists brought both the Black American
canon and some fantastic new music to life. Michael Ashanti, Ganessa James and
Robert Bosscher (with singers Jeanine Debique, Jeani Bridges and Jorrel
Williams) performed for Hearts & Voices. An unforgettable show.
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AIDS Walk New York 2008- register now!
Team LIFEbeat is live for AIDS Walk New York 2008! We had a record
year last year- we smashed our $15,000 target and raised over $20k. This year
we've set the bar even higher- we aim to raise $25,000. We know that's a tough
target, but we also know we have amazing people on our side. (that's YOU!)
Of course, this being LIFEbeat, you know we're going to make it fun. We have
all kinds of excitement lined up for you- parties, prizes, glamor and stunt
karaoke! Sign up now (remember, join Team LIFEbeat- number 0071!)
and be in on the loop ahead of everyone else.
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Valentine's Day Madness
We got rather carried away this Valentine's Day, with not one but
two big events in 24 hours. First up was an exclusive shop-til-you-drop event at
prestigious boutique, N Harlem, with celebrity hosts Terrence J of BET’s 106
& Park and Jasmine, WBLS midday personality, with music from the DJ’s at
Digiwaxx Media. Read more
here.
Then, on V-day itself (and hey, it's no coincidence that Valentine's Day and
venereal disease have the same initials) we were out in force on the streets of
New York in partnership with Borders, handing out discount cards that netted
LIFEbeat 10% of the transaction value. Our volunteers did an amazing job,
braving seriously frigid temperatures to raise vital funds in the battle against
HIV. What stars. We were aided and abetted by a veritable gaggle of stars- Idina
Menzel, Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate, Artie Lange, Suzanne Vega, Betty Buckley,
Andy & Orfeh from Broadway’s “Legally Blonde” and more came out for in-store
appearances, causing some serious excitement as well as round-the-block lines.
Thanks to all who participated! Here's the full story.
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LIFEbeat Online
People tell us that this Internet thing is getting quite popular, so when we
heard that Youtube had launched a new channel for non-profits, we joined up
straight away. To our surprise and delight, they sent us a brand-new videocamera
to play with! Check out
our channel - currently featuring videos from several Hearts & Voices
artists and LIFEbeat events.
You'll probably notice that there's not a whole lot of content up there yet-
that's where you come in! We plan on filming a 'virtual outreach'- if any of you
would like to star in it, drop me a
line. And, of course, we would love to see more Hearts & Voices artists
on the page- send us your Youtube
links!
The best of our Youtube content is syndicated all over the web on our Gydget.
It's a widget that you can add to your own Myspace, or pretty much any other
page, with just a couple of other clicks. Not only do we put up a new video
every week, we also keep you posted with all LIFEbeat outreach events, and who
knows what else we'll do with it in the future! Grab it from our Myspace (and
friend us while you're at it.)
LIFEbeat is also on Facebook, and Flickr. Come and connect with us! You know you want to. You can
upload your outreach & event pics and loads more.
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Afterword
I want to leave you with this email that I received recently regarding a show
at Jacob Perlow Hospice. We don't directly book shows at the hospice any more,
but I do refer on any performers who are interested- so if this resonates, drop
me a line or contact John Nagel at Continuum
Hospice Care.
Love and music,
Ben
Dear Mr. Godwin,
Two years ago my wife Simone was a patient at Jacob Perlow Hospice. I wanted
to say thank you for the beautiful gift of music that Hearts & Voices
brought not only to my family but to my wife. We believed that while she could
no longer communicate with us, she could still hear us and everything around
her. This made your gift of beautiful music particularly special.
I would appreciate if you would kindly remind your musicians of that which I
am sure they already know: that their music is a wonderous gift, and greatly
appreciated. To those of us who are grieving and dealing with a terribly
difficult situation, and to our loved ones, who are in their last moments, your
musicians bring a heightened awareness of this world's beauty. They are the
agents of calm and wonder and peace. For beautiful music to be among the final
sounds a person hears as they leave this life: that is a special gift
indeed.
Thank you for this program, and for the talented musicians who so graciously
partake in it.
Take care,
Mike Timoney
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