APRIL 2008
the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center
Ignorance is bliss… S
everal nights ago I was at home enjoying the lightning show, the much-needed rain and the sound of hail on the window. I love this kind of weather and because I now live in a highrise building, I no longer worry about a tree falling on the house or the gutters filling up with debris. Not until a friend called did we find out that just seven or eight miles down Peachtree a tornado was decimating the Atlanta downtown area. It reminded me of 9/11. We had just moved into our condo and our TV was not yet connected. It wasn’t until a friend called to ask about our son who lives in New York that we understood what had happened.
Ignorance is bliss… There are so many things that many of us are ignorant of and because of such ignorance we shortchange our health and our happiness. Some of us choose ignorance out of fear—fear of pain, fear of judgment, fear of an inability to accept reality. Since November, the Athens community has lost two musicians to suicide. In reading about these deaths in the local papers, I noticed that in both cases, the writers hinted that a possible reason for these people taking their lives was that both had been suffering from various “physical” illnesses. Instead of addressing the most obvious reason why someone would kill himself or herself, mental illness, many of us dance around the subject as if it were to be avoided as a plausible explanation. As if the very mention of Depression is taboo. Such an omission is very telling. We know for a fact that Depression is a physical illness. Our failure to “believe” this is problematic and stigmatizing and is the reason many don’t get treatment. People kill themselves not because they want to die but because they can’t live with the pain. Imagine being
in so much pain that the only way you can see to stop the pain is by putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger. We must not trivialize the 30,000+ lives that are lost each year to suicide. We must make appropriate treatment available, affordable and nonstigmatizing. Research is revealing just how big a role Depression plays in our lives. Dr. Charles Nemeroff, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University, says “depression is a systemic illness not just of the brain, but of the body.” It is a disease enhancer. Dr. Nemeroff states that depression increases the risk of heart attacks, congestive heart failure, hypertension and “is as significant a risk factor as cigarette smoking” is for heart disease. There needs to be a major campaign on par with the anti smoking crusade to alert people to the dangers and risks associated with unidentified and untreated Depression.
Ignorance is bliss… For a while, I was ignorant of the tornado that tore up downtown Atlanta. For a while, I was ignorant of the airplanes flying into the World Trade Center. But not even for a little while am I ignorant of the devastating effects of untreated Depression. I know what it can do. I lost a son to it. It got my attention! Just as I know now that it’s a myth that tornadoes don’t hit urban, highly populated areas like downtown Atlanta, I also know that Depression wreaks its havoc across the board. It attacks us all. It does not discriminate. Being ignorant of this terrible disease does not keep it at bay. In fact, ignorance is just ignorance… the stuff of which myth and stigma are made. Linda V Phillips
nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 space@nuci.org www.nuci.org
Newsletter contributors
Linda V Phillips Bob Sleppy Alyssa Bernstein Will Kiser Laura Ford Design & Layout
Larry Tenner
Ted Hafer Memorial Show By Will Kiser Nuçi Phillips
Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
Ben Roberts Linda Phillips Sally Speed Bruce Burch KP Devlin Patterson Hood Rebecca Hood Heather Malcom Bill Orr Stephanie Sharp Brandon Hanick
When Ted Hafer died on November 9, 2007, the entire Athens community mourned. He was known as a seasoned musician, owner of The Grit with his wife Jessica, a community activist and an all around good guy. Some of his many friends came together on February 2nd at the 40 Watt to play music and reminisce. The music was provided by Vic Chesnutt, David Barbe, Ham1, Dave Marr, Nick Bielli, Larry Tenner, Philip McArdle, Curtiss Pernice, Dave Gerow, John Neff, Creston Spiers, Frank MacDonell, Sam Mixon, Ballard Lesemann, Paul Trudeau and Steve Hurley.
Proceeds from the concert benefited Nuçi’s Space—a special thank you goes out to the 40 Watt, Barrie Buck, Curtiss Pernice, David Barbe and Jessica Greene for planning the event.
Photos and music from the Ted Hafer Memorial Show online: Deadly Design Photos: www.deadlydesigns.com Southern Shelter: www.southernshelter.com
Emerita
Virginia Ellenberg Jan Barstow Legal Counsel:
Mike White · www.deadlydesigns.com
J. Mike Lavender, Jr. Timmons, Warnes & Anderson, LLP
Donations Made in Memory of Ted Hafer: 283 Inc. 40 Watt Club, Inc. Adams, Dr. & Mrs. Michael F. Allen, Jenny & John Alvanos, Peter Apostolik, Charles Athens Downtown Development Authority Ball, Milner Barbe, Mr. & Mrs. David Bel-Jean Copy/Print Center Benson, Ms. Barbara Berry, William T. Bierema, Laura Bleakley, Charles & Martha Bourque, Ryan Britt, John & Carolyne Buck, Peter L. Carter, Gwenn Chu, Gloria Clarke, Al & Sara Coastwise Consulting, Inc. Collier, Curtis & Georgia
Cordell, Ken H. & Barbara L. McDonald De La Cruz, Raoul & Missy Kulik DeHart, Martha DeMarco, Tony Downs, Bertis & Katherine Elliott, Matt Farber, Happy, Derrick & Kieffer Franklin, Fred & Cheryl Delk Gasperec, Robert & Renee Goetz PHD PC, Theodore M. Greene, Amanda Greene, Lane & Nancy Greene, Matthew Haag, Marya Hafer, Mary Kay Harding, Mona Hourihan, Carrie Hudson, Paula Jacot, Cort & Victoria Jedlicka, Carrie
Johnson, Arthur Juras, Philip & Beth Gavrilles Kalb, Eva Marie Keeble, Gary Kelly, Terri & Hilary King, Bonnie Lee, Charlotte H. LeMaster, Andy Lendved, Nancy Leseman, Claire Lesemann III, Thomas Ballard Lesemann, Linda S. MacKnight, Ellie, Robert & Angus Massey, Angela Mathes, Lara & Tony Eubanks Mayfield, Kristy & Shannon Mills, Michael Nickles, Alicia & Matt Alston O’Reilly, Christy, Colm, Sage & Roan Padilla, Michael & Rosemary Peters, Andrew Pittard, Wilma R.E.M./ Athens, LLC
Ramsay, Donald & Dawn Reece, Greg & Evelyn Reynolds, Mary Hayner Ripps, Michael & Elizabeth Roberts, George & Mary Rutledge, Sharon & The Henry Family Scarlett, Steve Schools, David Scott, Tom Sellew, Susan & Paul Sims, David & Vicki Spiers, Ms. Alison Spraker, Benjamin Adams Stipe, J.M. Stock, Barry & Susan Stoltz Business Services Inc. Trinity Accounting Group, P.C. Waserman, Howard Washburn, Robert & Beverly Williams, Lance Wright, Allison & Gene Zap Electric, LLC (Quinton Phillips & Cindy Jerrell)
Active Volunteers:
Recent Donors Allen, Corinne C. Amick, Ryan Athens-Clarke County Jury Scrip Athens-Oconee Junior Woman’s Club Barbette Houser Baron, Richard & Maggie Barrett, John Barstow, Janet Bernstein, Alyssa Blackmon, Dan Bohannon, Jennifer & Thomas Bolton, Iris Brown, Cathy Brown, David Brown, Scott Bruce, Keisa Brya, Margaret S. Buchwald, Laura Campbell, Alan & Beth Carr, Suzanne & Timothy Cauthorn & Nohr, P.C. Clarke, Al & Sara Coggins, Christian Coker, Matthew Constante, Frank & Ervis Corish, Jr., Walter & Patty Costing Services Group, Inc. Culler, Mel & Kaye Custard, Wendy Darren Port, Kenneth Grusso & Davella, Jennifer David Harvey & Nancy McDuff Davis, Melissa Delk, Wes Demmin, Julia Derby, Shane Doughtie, Richard & Johnnie Dugas, Pete & Tonya Earth Fare Market & Cafe Ellenberg, Virginia & Richard Emily, Joseph English, Dr. Roger Hartley &
Melissa Eskenazi, Tina Fletcher, Stewart Fontaine, George & Celia Ford, Bruce & Lisa Fountain, Thomas Frambach, Daniel Gholson, Jag & Chris Goodsell, Bob & Connie Graf, Alexis Griffin, Allen Hoss & Leigh Hale, Charles Harrison, Hilary Heath, Diana & Dave Henschel, E. William & Betty Hernandez, Sonia Hicks, Brandon & Heidi Huffman, Patrick Hunt, Harrison Huszagh, Rick & Sandi Jarrett, Seth Copeland & Diane Jones Jr., Stanley & Barbara Cleveland Kaiser Permanente Kaltenbach, Lawrence Karchenes, Ruth Katz, Elizabeth Kessinger, Erik Kidd, David & Jane Kim, Bo-Kyung Kiser, Emma Kiser, John & Miriam Kudulis, Jason Laughlin, Barbara Lenard, Kyle Lester, Bill Liedberg, Michael & Margaret MacArthur, A. Sonny Magnani, Katharine Mahon, Gerald And Judith Martens, Jamie Martin, Dr.& Mrs. David McCarthy, Frances Messick, M. Kendall Metcall, Mark Moore, Joe
Cayle Bywater 1978-2007 On January 11, 2008 the body of Nuçi’s Space volunteer and grad student Cayle Bywater was recovered from the pond at Memorial Park in Athens. Bywater had been missing for almost two weeks, and her disappearance consumed the Athens community with search parties and missing posters. On January 19th over 100 family members and friends met at Memorial Park to remember Cayle. As snow poured down on the park Cayle’s friends, sisters and mother spoke about her life and remembered her as a gentle and loving person who cared deeply for other people. She will be missed by many. This past winter, Bywater had begun work on a large-scale database project for Nuçi’s Space that significantly raise the efficiency and range of our rehearsal room reservation system—something we could not afford to do unless the system overhaul was approached as a volunteer project. Since her death, Bywater’s classmates in the computer science program
Napier, Neal Natarajan, Dr. Radha National Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences Nettles, Victor Newcomb, Horace & Sara Nichols, Ed Nicholson, Dr. Peter Noland, L. Christopher Norton, Jim Ocel, Timothy Ogden, Eugenie Ordonez, Dr. & Mrs. Carlos Orr, Jr., William Osborn, Madelyn Ouzts, Harvey Paine Insurance & Realty Company, Inc Pettigrew, Sharon & Harry Poling, Eve Purdin, Heather Rackley, Brant Raeburn, Susan Delaney Rich, David Robbins, Jay & Mary Ann Roberts, III, Ben Rose, II, Richard Rosenberger, Charles & Chandler Rosenthal, Jill Rusk, Andy Saad Dine, Dr. Yssa Schimmel, Bastiaan Schneider, Alice Schneider, Matthew & Dawn Seymour, Lynne Singh, Jay Skarda, Michael Sleppy, Janet Smith, Nicolas Snow, Janice Soileau, Jeff & Sheridan Sparrow, Henry Stanley, Kane Starrs, Chris Stone, Jonathan
SunTrust Bank Suttle, Albert Tift, Christine Tull Charitable Foundation W.S. & Ethel Stuckey Foundation, Inc. Warm Electronic Recordings Weinstein, Noam Weitzman, Karen William B. Whitman and Wolens, Lois WUOG Young, Mike Ziskind, David Zankel, Anna & Ken In memory of A. Nuçi Phillips: Carlin, Drs. Richard & Enid King, Cam & Barbara Phillips, Dr. & Mrs. Pierre Tapp, Gary & Robey In memory of Ben Hardman: Cullen, Theresa The Dot & Lam Hardman Family Foundation, Inc. In memory of Donald Dallas Keyes: Justus, Matthew & Mary Beth Raque, David & Susan Lynn Todd In memory of Dr. Jeffrey Perchick: Jo Anne Perchick In memory of Elissa Hadley: Theresa M. Stroud In honor of Bob & Jeane Argo and Bob & Sue Marion: Janet Stegeman In honor of Jan Barstow: Robin & Jack Allaire
at UGA’s Gwinnett campus have picked up where Cayle left off and taken over her project for class credit. The system design project will likely become the group’s final project and will take over one year to finish. On Friday February 29th, Nuçi’s Space supporter Farley Daniel organized a benefit concert in memory of Cayle at Foxz, an Athens bar and venue. Attic Space performed, featuring Scott Sanders, Paul Scales, Tommy Jones, Thomas Terrell and Ralph Roddenberry.
Danny Esposito Remembered On March 30th, friends of Danny Esposito gathered at Nuçi’s Space to honor and remember the beloved Athens musician. Esposito, who was 46, was a very talented musician and a fixture in the Athens music community. He will be remembered by all who knew him as a gifted musician, a caring friend and wonderful person.
Kathryn Amatriain Taryn Anderson McKenzy Bailey Sanni Baumgaertner Kristen Berg Hannah Campbell Jayne Clamp Katie Collins Sherry Crader David Dye Brent Efune Michael Evans James Fennelly Margaret Golden Rebecca Hood Melissa Horton Henry Kiser Mollie Kimmelman Daniel McCarter Jason Miller Jeff Montgomery Joan Musselman Allison O’Shea Louis Pelot Adam Poulin Norma Pylant Trisha Scurry William Smith Joe Spiccia Heather Swint Mike Swint Andrea Ashe Tutt Micki Waldrop Lindsey Weber Michael Will Nathalie Williams
Depression & Suicide Awareness Week By Alyssa Bernstein nuçi’s space Staff
Alyssa Bernstein Chris Byron Laura Ford Will Kiser Terrance Medina Dan Nettles Bob Sleppy Kane Stanley
Our 3rd annual Depression and Suicide Awareness Week will be held April 14th–18th. The interns and staff have agreed upon the idea of a theme for the week— this year’s theme: “Depression has many faces.” The goal of this week is to show how depression and other mental health issues do not discriminate. No matter who you are, what you look like, or where you are from, depression is a disease that can affect you and your community. In order to tackle this theme, our advertising campaign will feature faces of celebrities who have come out about their struggles with depression along with a significant quote. On Monday, April 14th, the interns will be tabling and advertising in the Tate Plaza. They will be displaying the Suicide Prevention banners that were created for our 1st Awareness Week and getting the students pumped up about the activities of the week. We are also proud to include the University Health Center in our activities this year. They will be sending out Dr. Gayle Robbins, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, to help screen “The Truth About Suicide” from the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.
The movie will be followed with a presentation by Dr. Robbins along with Dr. Chuck Zanone, the educational outreach coordinator at CAPS. Other activities planned for the week include an educational field day on the Reed Quad, and a “multicultural” discussion panel on Wednesday which will cover issues of depression and suicide in various cultures. Thursday will be our 2nd annual student movie fest. We are challenging students to come up with a 3–5 minute film that is inspired by the week’s theme and the submissions will be shown at Ciné in downtown Athens. Our awareness week will end with a benefit concert on Friday. This year, the interns decided to have student bands participate as the opening acts. They auditioned 20 bands who had a calming sound and decided on 4 groups to open for Hope for A Golden Summer. We have also received some great donations from New West Records to raffle off at the concert. Our 3rd year may just be our best year yet! If you are in the area and want more details, please contact Alyssa@nuci.org.
Preventing Suicide on College Campuses
more involved in suicide prevention in Athens. We are excited to follow up on the relationships we’ve made and hopefully join in on the efforts already in motion at the University of Georgia.
Nuçi’s Space was honored to be invited to an inaugural conference held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education on February 27th–28th. The conference, titled “The Public Health Approach to Preventing Suicide at Colleges/Universities in Georgia,” was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Georgia (SPCGA) and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. The aim of this event was to gather every public and private university and college in the state of Georgia and discuss ways of involving their entire campus in suicide prevention efforts. The conference kicked off with an open house here at Nuçi’s Space. There were many wonderful people in attendance including the Dean of Students from Georgia Tech, Mr. John Stein, and Laurie Davidson, the campus coordinator from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. We were the only non-university related community resource present at the event and were lucky to hear Mr. and Mrs. Satow, founders of the JED Foundation, tell the story of their son’s suicide and their efforts to provide funding for college’s suicide prevention projects. This was a special opportunity for Nuçi’s Space to get our name out, reach out to the university community, and learn ways that we can be
Nuçi’s Space Interns Spring 2008’s group of interns is bigger and, may I say, better than ever! We selected 14 bright and enthusiastic individuals who meet with us every Monday. This is a bigger group than we’ve had in the past, but each one surpassed the basic qualifications and they have been truly impressive over these past three months. This semester, in addition to planning the 3rd annual Depression and Suicide Awareness Week on the University of Georgia Campus, the interns are getting some unique opportunities to learn more about mental health. During the month of March, in preparation for the awareness week, they will be participating in an intimate Q&A with Dr. Bill Orr, Nuçi’s Space board member and local psychiatrist. This session will educate the interns on many different aspects of mental health including questions they may have about psychiatric medication or the physical effects of depression. Another unique educational opportunity for the interns will be a screening of the documentary, “The Bridge,” followed by a discussion led by Michelle Estile a social worker from Family Counseling Services. This is truly going to be an exciting semester!
DBT Show and Auction On January 10th the Drive-By Truckers performed a benefit concert for Nuçi’s Space at the 40 Watt in downtown Athens. Before the show, Nuçi’s Space hosted a preparty at Ciné—the art house movie theater downtown. The party featured live and silent auctions of signed rock and roll memorabilia— including signed posters and CD’s from R.E.M., Widespread Panic and Bill Wyman. Before the Truckers took the stage, Nuçi’s Space Board of Directors member Rebecca Hood auctioned off some very rare Truckers equipment
and memorabilia. The items included Patterson Hood’s acoustic Epiphone guitar, a special-edition First Act bass belonging to Shonna Tucker (and signed by all the members of the band) and an original Wes Freed painting. Nuçi’s Space would like to thank Drive-By Truckers, Marti’s at Midday, Widespread Panic, R.E.M., The National, Ciné, East-West Bistro, Holiday Inn, 40 Watt, Jenn Bryant, Henry Owings, AirTran Airways, Jittery Joes, Rebecca Hood and Ben Mize for their generosity in helping us to put on the DBT event.
nuçi’s space
Student Organization President
Sarah Walpert
Nuçi’s Space Interns:
Camp Amped 2008
Volunteer Project
Nuçi’s Space is pleased to announce that because of the overwhelmingly positive response to Camp Amped 2007, we will be conducting Camp Amped 2008! Camp this year will take place July 7th–19th and will be open to students age 11 to17. Tuition for the two week day-camp is $500. There will only be 20 slots available for Camp Amped ’08, so the selection process will be more competitive than it was last year. Because of the limited space, an application does not guarantee acceptance into Camp Amped, but the earlier you get your application in, the better! Applications can be obtained at www.nuci.org, and if you have any questions or would like more information, please email Laura@nuci.org.
During the month of February at the Athens Earth Fare location, every time a customer used a recycled bag, the store donated 10 cents to Nuçi’s Space. Our volunteers put in lots of hours bagging groceries and helped raise well over $1,000 for our nonprofit mission.
Interested in volunteering? Sign up at www.nuci.org/volunteer
Sarah Walpert Beth Johnson Brittany Hodges Cartter Fontaine Caity Campbell Emily Lamb Jaimie Spetseris Kaylah Walker Lauren Abbott Morgan Copper Paige Thompson Peggy Albertson David Dye Marie McCullom High School Intern:
Wyatt Pless
Thank You As a very small grassroots organization in a little blue building on a corner just beyond downtown Athens, Nuçi’s Space has a big mission and a big heart. We’re always looking for support from our community and beyond. Recently, help came from far beyond. Thanks to very special Drive-by-Truckers fans, Anna and Ken Zankel of San Francisco for a most generous donation. Such caring from 2500 miles away inspires and gives us hope to continue… and…thanks to Nuçi’s Space Board member, Patterson Hood and the Drive-by-Truckers. Their music and support coupled with Patterson’s passion for Nuçi’s Space erase the miles and bring us together in a common effort.
Want to Know What’s Going on at Nuçi’s Space? Simply go to www.nuci.org and sign up for our email list (the sign up box in the bottom left corner of the home page). After signing up, you will receive monthly updates about all the wonderful things Nuçi’s Space is doing. Thank you so much for your continued support!
nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601
right side glows the newsletter for nuçi’s space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center