A massive shout out to all our new artists for Fall 06!
Eddie Cain - Gustavo Alarco - Helienne - Kierstin Gray - NY Street Singers - Paula Valstein - Robert Bosscher - Stewart Lewis - Tom Hayes
And thank you to all of the amazing artists who kept us going strong over the last 3 months!
African Drum & Dance Al Lee Wyer - AlySun Panichi - Ben Godwin - Carlethal - Chavito - Chloe - Chris Jones - David Pearl - Eddie Cain - Eileen Esposito - Giorgio Tarchini - Grace Garland - Gustavo Alarco - Helienne - Imperial Court of NY - Jaami Ali - Jeffrey Leibowitz - Jill Kotler - Jill Melanie Wirth - JoAnna James - Kiersten Gray -Lucinda - Maria Davis - Markeisha Ensley - Marni Rice - Michael Ashanti - Michael Butler - Nhojj - Noam Weinsten - Ny Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble - NY Street Singers - Paula Valstein - Rhonda Schuster - Robert Bosscher - Seth Rudetsky - Stewart Lewis - Tha Heights - Tom Hayes - Voices In Unity - Willie Davis
A reminder- if you're a Hearts & Voices artist, we want to feature you on our website, lifebeat.org. Send us your photos and press kits so we can show everyone how great you are!
Spotlight on Lucinda
“When I was 12 years old I heard John Denver’s ‘Sunshine On My Shoulders’ for the first time on a tiny transistor radio. I fell in love. I knew that all I wanted to do was write music. The next day, I swiped my brother’s guitar and taught myself to play. I have been writing and performing ever since.”
Lucinda’s 30-year music career is a catalogue of remarkable achievements. She’s an award-winning artist who’s had Top 30 radio hits, opened for the likes of Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar and Edwin McCain, and sold over 35,000 records- all without a record label or distribution. Lucinda has been a LIFEbeat supporter since 1997, but her involvement changed when board member Daniel Glass suggested she play for Hearts & Voices. “I wanted to do something more than just write a check. Knowing I was blessed with the ability to really connect with an audience, I immediately knew I could make a difference by volunteering my talents.”
Her first shows for us were as a solo artist, but Lucinda was soon inspired to share the Hearts & Voices experience with her band. “I spend a huge amount of time with these guys- I know them extremely well. I’m the sensitive one- they’re always the strong ones. The first time I brought them with me we performed at Rivington House. The performance and the interaction with our audience that evening was magical. By the end of the performance, my big burly band had been brought to tears by the love that the residents were showing us. We were supposed to move THEM, and they moved US instead!”
Lucinda recently released her new album, ‘Aquamarine’, and chose to donate a portion of the proceeds of her CD release parties to LIFEbeat- helping to ensure that Hearts & Voices continues to be available, and helping to raise awareness about both our mission and the virus. But her commitment to the HIV+ community doesn’t stop there. “The band and I made the decision to reach out to the local AIDS projects in every town we visit. We contact them ahead of time and schedule an afternoon performance. Sometime’s it’s just 2 or 3 people, sometimes many more. As far as we’re concerned, even playing for one person is worth it. If we can’t set up a performance, we send a donation, and talk about them in our advance advertising for the show.”
As the music industry continues to evolve, opening up new opportunities for independents, Lucinda shows that it’s possible to make a big difference. “We’re not a huge corporate machine like many charity benefactors. We are a small group of people who believe that every little bit helps.” Her commitment to the cause is an inspiration to us at LIFEbeat, and we wish ‘Aquamarine’ every success, both as a record and as an awareness-raising effort.
For more on Lucinda and to hear ‘Aquamarine’, check out her website- www.lucindaworld.com.
Back to top
Volunteer Appreciation Party
We had a blast at this year’s Volunteer Appreciation Party, and we hope that you did too! Highlights of the night included performances from Cassandra Kubinski and Tha Heightz- but the best part of the evening for us was getting to spend time with all of YOU, the people who make our programs work. Your generosity inspires us every day, so thank you for giving us the chance to show our appreciation.
We love all our volunteers, but we wanted to take the opportunity to honor some of the best- people who really go above and beyond for us. Thanks to our star artists Lucinda, Maria Davis, Tha Heights, Jeff Liebowitz, Imperial Court, and African Drum & Dance- also to our star volunteers Rebecca Love, Jen Grossman, Hannah Manshel, Steffani Bangel, and Tyson Haller- and our Local Tour Outreach stars, Kizzy-Kay Graham, Catonia Whalen, Tonia Peppers, Elisa Encarnacion, Laraine Mills, Noranik Roldan, Malini Roopram, and Joey Zoldan. Extra special thanks and congratulations to Sabeen Pirani and Cassandra Kubinski, who recieved the Bob Caviano Service Award for LTO and Hearts & Voices respectively.
As you can see, we got lots of great pictures, too! Some of the best at online at LIFEbeat's Flickr page. Why not go have a look and see if you can spot yourself? And hey, hook us up with your photos, too. We know that some of you took some great shots- we’d love to see them! We’re already looking forward to the ’07 party- see you there…
Back to top
Hearts & Voices for the Holidays - and an extra special present for our audiences!
It's December already. How did that happen? Holiday season means different things to different people, but for us it means one thing- great music! We're putting on some very special shows to celebrate the season, with performances by Tha Heights, Illumination Chorale, Lavender Light Gospel Choir, the Imperial Court of New York, the Peace Of Heart Choir, and the Metropolitones. And the list keeps growing.
As we do every year, we're making holiday gift bags for our audiences, and we're fortunate to be able to stuff them with lots of donated goodies. But what we're really excited about this year is that we've created the first Hearts & Voices compilation CD. Some of our favorite musicians have contributed tracks and we are all wired up to our iPods with glazed, happy expressions on our faces- there's some serious talent on this disc.
We'd love to give the disc to all of you too, but it's exclusively for our audiences. What you can do is check out all the amazing artists on the disc- roll call!
Lucinda - Cassandra Kubinski - Tha Heights - Mike Butler - The Metropolitones - Michael Ashanti - Noam Weinstein - Grace Garland - The Body - Markeisha Ensley - Kierstin Gray - AlySun - Nhojj - Ben Godwin
Back to top
LIFEbeat marks World AIDS Day
December 1st was World AIDS day- and 2006 is a special year, commemorating 25 years of the fight against AIDS. It's always a busy day for us, with all sorts of special events.
- LIFEbeat volunteers were out on the streets handing out fact sheets, educational and safe sex materials at several community events, from New York to Puerto Rico!
- We were partying at Macy's, announcing the results of our Teddy Geiger competition. Teddy played a short acoustic set at the ceremony. We were overwhelmed by the response to the competition, with fundraising and awareness-raising ideas coming in from young people all over the country.
- Bid2BeatAIDS is live! For the second year, an incredible collection of rare and exotic music memorabilia is under the (virtual) hammer on Ebay. Top items include this, that and the other. Top items include a Jack Johnson acoustic guitar, tambourines from 50 Cent, and over 200 RIAA awards. Check it out on Ebay or at www.bid2beataids.com
It was a busy day for Hearts & Voices too. For people living with the virus, World AIDS day is a time to remember those who’ve gone before in the fight against HIV, to come together in the present, and to look to the future with hope. We were honored to contribute the talents of Hearts and Voices artists to mark the occasion. Lucinda played a morning show at Beth Isreal. Harry Thompson created an amazing vibe at Rivington House, and we were at Gibb Mansion in Brooklyn to hear a very special set from The Body. Not only that, but our very own AlySun Panichi was sharing the airwaves with none other than Cindi Lauper on the OUTQ show on Sirius Satellite Radio. One amazing day.
Back to top
Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls is set to be one of the biggest films of the winter, and we’re honored that DreamWorks and Paramount have allowed us to host an EXCLUSIVE pre-release benefit screening!
Catch it at-
The IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave, NYC
December 5, 2006
6:30 PM
Tickets $150
Outside of the premier, this is your only chance to see the film before it goes on release- and you even get to go to the VIP reception, which promises to be a bit more exciting than your usual bag of popcorn. Tickets are strictly limited- click here to order.
Back to top
Greener donate proceeds of ‘Christmas Song’ download to LIFEbeat
New York indie rock band Greener first recorded and released the demo version of Christmas Song five days before Christmas in 2004. The recording drew an enthusiastic response, and by 2005, Christmas Song had been downloaded over 1,000,000 times. This year, Greener returned to the studio to put a professional polish on the demo arrangement of "Christmas Song" and to produce an acoustic rendering.
Greener have pledged a portion of the proceeds from Christmas Song sales to LIFEbeat. You can help them break that million-download record and help LIFEbeat fight HIV all at the same time- and you can even get paid for it! Check it out.
‘Christmas Song’ is being made available in a new format called Weed, which actually encourages file sharing while paying musicians- and fans! You can download it for free and listen to it three times, after which you’ll be invited to purchase the song. Once you own it, you can share it with your friends, and when they buy it, you’ll earn some cash for yourself and some for LIFEbeat. Find out more.
To find out more about Greener and their music, visit www.greenermusic.com.
Back to top
Afterword
HUGE THANKS to everyone who particpated in 2006. We love this program and we're happy and grateful that we have so many amazing people who are prepared to make it work! 2007 is going to be even better.
One final note. It happens that every once in a while, one of our artists has to cancel. It's always a bit disappointing, but we understand that, in life, things happen that you didn't plan for! We are committed to providing the best live entertainment for our audiences and so we always try and make it work. As part of that effort, we're compiling a list of artists who are prepared to be on a 'short notice' list. Does that sound like you? Let us know!
Much love,
Aly and Ben
love LIFE beat AIDS
