FEBRUARY 2010
the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center
Unbowed
I
nuçi’s space by
Bob Sleppy
don’t think that I’d be alone in my assessment that the past couple of years have been particularly difficult for most people. My own family has been touched by unemployment, financial instability and the death of several close friends and family members. Obviously these obstacles are not unique nor are they things we haven’t all dealt with before. However, most recently, I have felt my own ability to cope and persevere tested in this onslaught of challenges and bad news. Sometimes I’d like to just pack up my family, change our names and find a secluded island to run away to. I know… I know… that doesn’t really fix anything. But you have to admit that the idea sounds somewhat appealing. Within our small community of Athens, GA we’ve witnessed the effects of the economy through the closing of well-established businesses and friends losing jobs they’ve held for years. There’s a general feeling of people bracing for the next blow. In addition, our creative community has suffered the loss of many of our fellow musicians and artists to accidents, homicide, various illnesses and suicide. In such a small, tightknit community the loss of just one person can cause a ripple effect that touches everyone. However, as we lose more of our friends, that ripple begins to feel more like a tsunami. While a senior in high school I was given a poem by one of my favorite teachers. At the time I had just lost my father to Multiple Sclerosis and heart disease and was facing some other setbacks in my young life. I was lost. Fortunately, my teacher reached out to me and offered her support and guidance. The poem she gave me was called “Invictus” written by William Ernest Henley. This may sound familiar to you because a recently-released feature film, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, shares the same title. Although I haven’t seen the film yet, I understand that the poem plays a significant role in the story. Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 space@nuci.org www.nuci.org
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Newsletter Contributors
Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid.
Photos
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. It has been almost twenty years since I was introduced to these words. I’ve memorized them, shared them with friends, analyzed them and, on several occasions, relied on them for strength. However, the line that always sticks out to me and is especially comforting in the midst of personal adversity is “my head is bloody, but unbowed.” For me, there is strength in those words, defiance and an unwillingness to yield to the challenges ahead. I reference this poem because I find it hopeful. On the following page you will see that Nuçi’s Space has received a tremendous amount of support from you, our donors, since our last newsletter. We thank you for that. Many of these gifts have been given in memory of a friend or a loved one. Some people may look at this page and see only sadness and despair. But foremost, there is a lot of strength, love and resilience found within each name. In difficult times, we are brought closer together. We learn to lean on one another. We become stronger—together. Our heads may be bloody but our hearts are open to hope and a better tomorrow.
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford
Desiree Grigsby Jamie Jacobs Design & Layout
Larry Tenner
Nuçi Phillips
Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
President: Stephanie Sharp Vice President: Matt Justus Treasurer: Robert L. Bachman, CPA Secretary: Rebecca Hood Linda V. Phillips Pierre Phillips Patterson Hood Dr. Bill Orr Sally Speed Benjamin Roberts III Ellie MacKnight David Barbe K.P. Devlin Executive Director
Bob Sleppy Legal Counsel
Mike Lavender Jim Warnes
Recent Donors Adams, Heidi Anthony, Andrew Becker, Linda & John Bel-Jean Copy/Print Center Baron, Richard & Maggie Berg, Kristen Bilheimer, Chris & Hilary Blaschak, Anita Boyles, James W. & Sandra Carr, Suzanne & Timothy Constante, Frank & Ervis Corish, Jr., Walter & Patty Coursey, Craig Cumming, Elizabeth Davis, Craig Deucher, Richard & Gloria Dugas, Pete & Tonya Dunphy, Deirdre Durrett, Donald & Karin Epperly, David Flipswap, Inc. Forty Watt Club, Inc. Goetz PHD PC, Theodore M. GoodSearch Goodsell, Bob & Connie Gordon, Bobbi Gregory, Bruce & Julie Greiner, Charlie & Anita Hicks, Brandon & Heidi Huszagh, Rick & Sandi I.A.T.S.E. Local 824 Johnson, Bryce Johnson, Eric T. Jones Jr., Stanley & Barbara Cleveland Kaplan, Jack Karchenes, Ruth Killeen, Maureen Kim, Bo-Kyung Kiser, John & Miriam Kissane, Emily Knox, John and Pamela Koplan, Carol & Jeffrey Latona, John & Kay Leahy, Kevin Lee, Cheryl Lesemann III, Thomas Ballard Lester, David Lichtman, Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Lily Lomenzo, Jorene Lowe, Michael & Kaye A. Lutz, Richard & Barbara MacKnight, Ellie & Robert McKenna, Virginia & Arthur Archibald Marsh, Dave Martin, Dr.& Mrs. David McGaw, Jim Messick, M. Kendall Mitcham, Zach Nettles, Victor Noland, L. Christopher
Norton, Jim Ocel, Timothy Orange County Community Foundation Orr Jr., William Padilla, Michael & Rosemary Partner Software, Inc. Pentecost, Mark Perez, Dr. & Mrs. A.R. Phi Delta Theta Phillips, Dr. Greg Pittard, Wilma Poling, Eve Pylon Music, LLC Raeburn, Susan Delaney Richter, Dr. Paul Roberts, Don Rose, II, Richard Saad Dine, Dr. Yssa Saucier, Scott & Cindy Schimmel, Bastiaan Schools, David Schwanenflugel, Paula Seymour, Lynne Short, Bonnie Shortridge, Bill & Libba Shropshire, Mr. & Mrs. William Spalding, Margie Starrs, Chris Stephenson, Alice The Athens Band, Inc. The Lineage Group, LLC DBA Your Pie TSAV Tull Charitable Foundation Wagher, Etta Wolens, Lois In Memory of Randy Bewley Clarke, Eli Clarke, Emma In Memory of Ronnie Breedlove Rusk, Andy In Memory of Vic Chesnutt Ball, Milner Barbette Houser Borschell, Denise Bunnell, John Cheskin, Andrea Coastwise Consulting, Inc. / Chris Slay Core, Sharon Hamer, Lesley McArdle, Philip McCrory, Clint Moats, Charlie Parkinson, Laura Pitt, Carol Schinke, Bettina Seymour, Lynne Sims, David & Vicki Spalding, Margie
Thompson, Jodi Traphagan, Amanda Trinity Accounting Group, P.C. Turner, Lora Young, Frances In Memory of Sean Costello & Adam Mewherter Georgia Music Magazine
In Memory of Jed Nicholson, Colin In Memory of Jim Katz, Elizabeth In Memory of Anthony Lunetta Stirling, John Keane, John & Jo Rage Hair Studio
In Memory of Danny Esposito In Memory of Jim Martin Gaines, Joseph & Vicki Whyte, Ann In Memory of Reese Fitts In Memory of Wilfred Moorat Fitts, Ronnie Harrison, Hilary Fitts, Rhett Langdon, Mark & Elizabeth In Memory of Mama’s Boy Restaurant Dr. Jeffrey Perchick Perchick, Jo Anne In Memory of James Ford Ford, Bruce & Lisa In Memory of Nuçi Phillips Barbe, Mr. & Mrs. David In Memory of Jerry Fuchs Barstow, Janet Wright, Janissa Phillips, Dr. & Mrs. Pierre In Memory of Jerome Garcia Phillips Pollard, John In Memory of John E. Pospahala In Memory of Lane Greene Hodel, Oscar & Karen Apostolik, Charles Jacksonville, AR FUMC— Ball, Milner Prime Time Christians Baumgardner, Mr. & Mrs. J.R. In Memory of Cook, Mr. & Mrs. Earl P. Whitney Lane Rushing Downes, Marion & Melanie Dickson, Beth Gallant, Barb & Jim Latimer, Sandra In Memory of Drs. Armour & Mumford, Carole Dorothy Sherrer Nunn, David Kiser, Mr. & Mrs. Howell Reap, James & Carol Roberts, George & Mary In Memory of Johnny Siomis Shortridge, Pennie Buchwald, Laura Schultz, Debra Verner, Sara In Memory of Richard Sleppy Sleppy, Janet In Memory of Elissa Hadley Stroud, Theresa M. In Memory of Brittany Stadler In Memory of Ted Hafer Eastside DePalma’s staff Bierema, Laura Coastwise Consulting In Memory of Colin Sutton Chapman, Theresa R. Raque, David & Susan Lynn Greene, Jessica L. Todd MacKnight, Ellie, Robert & Angus In Memory of Israel Tyree Roberts, George & Mary Tyree, Leslie Sims, David & Vicki In Memory of Ben Hardman The Dot and Lam Hardman Family Foundation, Inc. Hardman, John & Laura In Memory of Sims Hibbert Barwick, Clark & Molly
In Memory of Karl Unwala Unwala, Adi H. & Scheherazade A. In Memory of Gloria Wigmore Sato, Paulette & Thomas
DBT Weekend Continues to Grow We’re running out of superlatives to describe what the annual Drive-By Truckers benefit has become for Nuçi’s Space. The 2010 8th Annual DBT-Nuçi’s Space weekend is in the books and it was our best-attended, most successful one yet. This year, each night of the 3-night run of concerts brought in a sellout crowd to the 40 Watt club downtown. The first show of the weekend has always been a benefit for Nuçi’s Space and three years ago we began holding an auction and pre-party on the final night of the series.
through their Guitar Art program, which sends instruments to nonprofits for artists to use as a canvas. The instruments are then auctioned off as a fundraiser for the selected nonprofit. As the Truckers become more and more popular, their legions of dedicated fans get introduced to Nuçi’s Space every year in January. The weekend has become an annual pilgrimage for DBT fans from all over globe—we met people at the pre-party who came from California, Florida, New York, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Scotland(!)
The pre-party featured a silent auction of artwork and signed DBT memorabilia. Photographers Jason Thrasher, Danny Clinch, Adam Smith, Chad Osburn and Erika Goldring all donated to the auction, along with artwork from Paul Pearman, Jeff Owens, Tom Bolan, Jason “Stimey” McFarland and Nina Barnes (among many others). DBT confidant Wes Freed donated two large pieces to the auction, including the original painting that became the poster for the weekend’s concerts. Freed has painted the cover art for DBT’s last five albums, as well as its website logos, t-shirts and posters. Freed also painted an acoustic guitar and had the band sign it. The guitar was originally donated to Nuçi’s Space by Gretsch
The staff at Nuçi’s Space is so thankful for the band, their management and crew for everything they’ve done for us. But in expressing our gratitude, we also want to include the fans that come visit us every year. They seem to support the band’s music and charitable endeavors with the same zeal, and they help us carry out our ongoing mission of suicide prevention, depression awareness and assistance for musicians. By coming to our events, buying raffle tickets, bidding on items in the auction and even just by being aware of us and helping to spread the word, they’re joining in to help us keep our music scene healthy. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again next year at the rock show!
nuçi’s space Staff
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Michael McGough Dan Nettles Chris Byron Terrance Medina Roy Coughlin
Camp Amped Showcase nuçi’s space
Student Organization President
Lindsey Epperly
A band made up of former Camp Amped participants had the incredible experience of being able to open the show at the sold-out 40 Watt for the first night of the Truckers’ run. It was Truckers frontman Patterson Hood who, a few months before the show, invited the group to open for the Truckers. The kids formed a band and immediately began rehearsing and working on a setlist in anticipation for the show. They played originals and covered songs from Centromatic and The Rolling Stones along with “Morally Challenged”—a rousing tribute to the late Vic Chesnutt. Flagpole music editor Michelle Gilzenrat reviewed their performance on the magazine’s website: “Talk about a big break! I am still reeling from the Camp Amped band that opened for Drive-By Truckers last Thursday at the 40 Watt Club. After a warm welcome on stage by Patterson himself, these five teens sauntered on stage like old pros, and then proceeded to absolutely rock. The crowd—and these are hardcore, hard drinking Truckers fans, remember— absolutely ate it up. The Camp Amped Band had everyone in the palm of its hands immediately.
This is a brand new act of amateurs, but it felt more like watching an all-star cast. Seriously, how many bands in town, of any age, have four members who can all really sing, harmonize and write their own songs? I went into the show expecting to see novices with potential. But these Camp
Amped kids are forces to be reckoned with right now. This band, assembled just a couple months ago, was tighter and stronger than half the local bands I’ve seen who are almost twice their age. Huge kudos go to Nuçi’s Space for its inspiring work and to Hood who gave us a chance to witness it.”
Volunteering at Nuçi’s Space in 2009 Total Volunteer Hours in 2009: 1,583 HOURS Examples of volunteer help in 2009: • Lesley Cobbs is a huge asset to Nuçi’s Space—she runs the front desk on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She signs bands up for time in the practice spaces, rents out gear and greets visitors. She also helps in lots of other administrative areas, mass mailings and with events. In 2009, Lesley LOGGED OVER 700 HOURS! • Joey Kegel is a local middle school student and
drummer who helps out twice a week here at the Space. He organizes music gear and works on our drum sets. In the past month he’s built 5 kick drum pedals out of donated and broken ones (they normally start at $75) and a snare drum, also out of other broken drums and spare parts. • Like Lesley, Nancy Milligan also helps run the front desk during the day a few times a week. This was a big help to us in 2009, as it gave staff members much more time on our hands to get through our daily To-Do List. In 2009, Nancy put in almost 300 volunteer hours!
Battle of the Restaurant + Bar Bands II The second Athens Battle of the Restaurant & Bar Bands was another successful fundraiser— but more than that, it was really fun. The enthusiasm and creativity the bands put into their show was refreshing and contagious—the kind of event that made you want to go home and start practicing the piano again. The rules were simple: 1. Bands had to be made up of employees of a certain bar or restaurant (or in the case of this year’s event, local businesses) 2. The bands got up to 20 minutes to perform. 3. The bands couldn’t be existing bands—they had to be put together especially for this event— if everyone in The Whigs worked at the same restaurant they couldn’t enter. 4. They had to play cover songs—no originals. The bands were incredible—they wore costumes, brought tons of friends out to the event and put in hours of rehearsal all in the name of fun (not to mention raising money for Nuçi’s Space). Put together by Rick Poss, a manager at the 40 Watt, the event was also sponsored by Terrapin Beer, Jack Daniels and Orange amplifiers. Last year’s winner, Caledonia Lounge, was right in the thick of it again in the opening round this year, gathering around a fireplace (a laptop with a video of a fireplace showing) to recollect their favorite “Christmas memories”—before moving into a randomly selected Blind Melon cover. After two rounds of preliminary shows, six of the bands advanced to the finals, held on January 6th.
The finalists were the groups from: Partner Software, The Globe, the 40 Watt, Caledonia Lounge, Espresso Royale Café and the UGA Music Business Program. The finals were extremely difficult to judge, and each band brought their A-game to the stage. Congratulations go out to Caledonia Lounge, who in the end was the winner for the second year in a row.
A little more info on each band Partner Software: performed as Iron Ritchie, playing Lionel Ritchie songs in the style of Iron Maiden (translated: ‘80s R&B songs played in a high speed, 3-guitar, falsetto-voiced heavy metal style). The Globe: covered songs by Aaron Neville, Erykah Badhu and others… in addition to their wildly popular PBR-chestra. This segment of their set had the group all lined up across the front of the stage using bottles of Pabst Blue Ribbon to whistle out the theme to “Beverly Hills Cop.” UGA Music Business Program: covers from The Strokes, Tom Waits and Red Hot Chili Peppers. 40 Watt: covered The Minutemen (and perfectly might I add). Caledonia Lounge: performed as the Caledonia Nitemare Band: covers, costumes, all performed while the singer wore last year’s trophy around his neck.
Murmurs Donation Drive R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe turned 50 years old on January 4th. In honor of Stipe’s birthday, Ethan Kaplan, who runs the R.E.M. fansite Murmurs, put together a donation drive to benefit Nuçi’s Space. “One of the artists Michael has mentored, been a fan of and championed was the late Vic Chesnutt. Michael discovered Vic, produced two
of his records and never shied away from evangelizing his work. Tragically, Vic died last week. In the spirit of the kind of person Michael is, and the message of selflessness he has always espoused, for Michael’s birthday I’m asking for the Murmurs community to donate to a charity whose mission is to help people like Vic: Nuçi’s Space.”
Active Volunteers
Margaret Akinhanmi McKenzy Bailey Isik Benson Randall Bray Devin Campanella Michelle Carrier Lesley Cobbs Ana Colon Kelly Defilippis Lori Dionne Chuck Dobson Deborah Gimson Desiree Grigsby Teresa Groover Dan Hesketh Meredith Hubbard Caleb Hunter Gina Jackson Joey Kegel Cynthia Krafft Brian Kumm Annie Marcum Kate McCann Julie McCollum Lorin Milk Nancy Milligan Chloe Peterson Paul Prae Norma Pylant Rischa Releford Jessica Rogers Morgan Ruedlinger Sara Samuelson Mark Sanz Justin Schrampfer Renee Simeon William Smith Amanda Sue Maddie Taylor Desiree White Kevan Williams Shujing Zhang Michael Ziegler
Upcoming Events at Nuçi’s Space
PUSH
March 19th: Camp Amped applications deadline 20th: ALL AGES SHOW: Athens, Tealvox, Second Suns 23rd: Free Cone Day @ Ben & Jerry’s benefiting Nuçi’s Space 27th: Benefit Concert hosted by Sigma Alpha Iota
April 10th: Benefit Concert hosted by UGA Leisure Studies 12th–16th: The 5th Annual Depression & Suicide Awareness Week
for options. color copies • forms• fax • digital output flyers • newsletters • binding full and self-service copies announcements & invitations volume discounts
May 2nd: CAAS Grand Finale Show For more info, please visit www.nuci.org.
Mon - Fri 8 am - 7 pm • Sat 10 am - 5 pm • Sun 1 pm - 5 pm
163 E. Broad Street Downtown Athens
706-548-3648 www.bel-jean.com
nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601
right side glows the newsletter for nuçi’s space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center