MARCH 2009
the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center
“Easy Miss, I’ve got you.” “You’ve got me… who’s got you?”
T
his is the exchange between Superman and Lois Lane, in the 1978 movie Superman, as he catches her after she falls out of a helicopter crashed on top of a skyscraper. It’s Lois’ question to Superman that has often crossed my mind during my time at Nuçi’s Space. Whether it’s raising funds for victims of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina or a local family in need of expensive medical care for a child, those in the creative community tend to be some of the first ones to volunteer their time and talent to assist others. The musicians and artists that I mention do not include only those featured on the cover of magazines or featured on television shows. I have been fortunate to witness some incredible moments of generosity from bands, musicians and artists who are struggling to make a living in their own right. When their community is in need, these compassionate souls step in to provide what they can— their contribution sometimes as simple as providing a song to get us through a difficult period. A new challenge is upon us. We have been warned that the economy will get worse before it gets better. We are reminded by our quarterly 401k statements or by instances of friends and family members looking for work, that we are all touched by this crisis. Non-profit trade magazines such as Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Quarterly are featuring articles about how to weather the storm of decreasing donor contributions, dwindling foundation investments and the increased need for support services as more Americans lose their jobs and health insurance. These topics have found relevance in our own community as we’ve begun to feel the ripple effect of this economic crisis on our organization. Many of our clients and customers work in the service industry to supplement their income as musicians.
As we’ve seen locally, this industry is being hit particularly hard by the recent economic downturn. Restaurants, venues and other service-focused businesses are being forced to cut back and in some cases close their doors. These decisions have and will continue to have a profound impact on our community, especially our creative community.
nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 space@nuci.org www.nuci.org
Newsletter Contributors
So what happens to these musicians and artists when they are in need of help? Well… you happen. We have received several inquires from musicians, volunteers, clients and donors regarding the health of the organization, accompanied by offers of continued help and support. Because of your support, Nuçi’s Space has been able to help over 600 clients with direct financial assistance and increase our funding for these services by 50% in just two years to over $85,000 annually. Your investment in Nuçi’s Space has provided the opportunity for those in need of assistance to make the life-changing and sometimes life-saving decision to seek and receive help. Despite my gloomy reminder of our economic state, I am optimistic and excited about what the future holds. As most of us have learned, adversity is often followed by triumph. It’s during trying times like these that people begin to rediscover the importance of community, relying upon one another and caring for one another. This is the heart of what Nuçi’s Space is founded upon. It’s simple, but very effective. I’d like to think that our creative community can continue to focus on their craft and enrich our lives through music and art because in some small way they know Nuçi’s Space is looking after them. I believe this because we are able to focus on our mission because we know you are looking after us. We’ve “got” them, because you “have” us. Thank you. By Bob Sleppy
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Terrance Medina Laura Ford Photos
Mike White Terrance Medina Design & Layout
Larry Tenner
Nuçi Phillips
Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
Ben Roberts Linda V. Phillips Pierre Phillips KP Devlin Patterson Hood Rebecca Hood Matt Justus Bill Orr Stephanie Sharp Sally Speed Ellie MacKnight Robert Bachman Emerita
Virginia Ellenberg Jan Barstow Legal Counsel
J. Mike Lavender, Jr. Timmons, Warnes, & Anderson, LLP
nuçi’s space Staff
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Dan Nettles Terrance Medina Chris Byron Kane Stanley
Recent Donors ADA Recording, LLC Advanced Massage Therapies Athens Beard and Mustache Club Babaliaros, Constantine & Fotini Baker, R. Stan & Crystal Chastain Barbe, John Baron, Richard & Maggie Bel-Jean Copy/Print Center Blanks, Matthew Boyd, Richard and Jane Bryan, Philip Campbell, Alan & Beth Cohen, David Collins, K. Scott Concrete Thinking, LLC Costing Services Group, Inc. Cullen, Theresa Daniel, Renae DBT Recording Inc Downs, Bertis & Katherine Dunphy, Deirdre Durrett, Donald & Karin Ellenberg, Virginia & Richard Fontaine, George and Celia Forehand, Shasta & Arthur Frambach, Daniel FrontGate Tickets Goetz PHD PC, Theodore M. Griffin, Allen Hoss & Leigh Harrison, Hilary Hayes, Mr. & Mrs. Mark Hinsch, Steve & Hollis Huszagh, Rick & Sandi Johnson, Bryce Joiner, Mr. & Mrs. Hank Jolles, Mary Ann Jones Jr., Stanley & Barbara Cleveland Keane, John Kim, Bo-Kyung Kiser, Mr. & Mrs. Howell Knox, John and Pamela Laughlin, Barbara Laux, Peter & Joyce A. Lee, Charlotte H. Lester, Bill Lester, David Lilly & Co. Lococo, Michael Lowe, Michael & Kaye A. Lyndhurst Foundation Madison House Martin, Dr.& Mrs. David Messick, M. Kendall Mize, Ben & Amy
Music Exchange Neff, John Nelson, Don & Phyllis Nettles, Victor Norris, Peter Norton, Jim Ocel, Timothy Orr, Jr., William Osborn, Madelyn Ouzts, Harvey Parker, Blaise Pettigrew, Sharon & Harry Pettyjohn, Vanessa M. Phillips, Dr. Greg Piha, Leonard & Cyndy Plexus Web Creations Poling, Eve Purdin, Heather Purdin, Sue Pylon Music, LLC R.E.M. / Athens, LLC Raeburn, Susan Delaney Raque, David & Susan Lynn Todd Raw Talent Inc. Richter, Dr. Paul Roberts, III, Ben Rose, II, Richard Saad Dine, Dr. Yssa Sanders, Walter & Emily Seymour, Lynne Shortridge, Bill & Libba Smith, Daniel Smith, Walter E. & Rosie O. Starrs, Chris Stegeman, Janet Stephenson, F.J. & Sharon Tanzman, John Thornton, Molly Trinity Accounting Group, P.C. Tull Charitable Foundation Tyree, Leslie Uzupis Theatre Company Wagner, Etta Warm Electronic Recordings Windey, Courtney Wright, James & Linda Zankel, Anna & Ken In Memory of Jackson Barsness Dunphy, Claire In Memory of Ted Hafer Ashley, Donna D. & Arthur B. Johnson Coastwise Consulting, Inc. / Chris Slay Greene, Jessica L.
Hafer, Genevieve H. & Matthew J. Hudson, Paula Jordan, Rebecca Lesemann III, Thomas Ballard MacKnight, Ellie Juras, Phillip & Beth Gavrilles Schools, David Wright, Allison and Gene In Memory of Turner David DeHart DeHart, Martha In Memory of James Bruce Ford Ford, Bruce & Lisa Pospahala, John & Wanda Roos, Azalea In Memory of Elissa Hadley Stroud, Theresa M. In Memory of Donald Dallas Keyes Ball, Milner In Memory of Daniel Kirkland Kirkland, Rebecca In Memory of Randy Ogletree Moore, Robert & Marina In Memory of David Partridge Blessington, Brian In Memory of Dr. Jeffrey Perchick Perchick, JoAnne In Memory of Angus Peyton Venable, Lucy In Memory of Nuçi Phillips Barstow, Janet Carr, Suzanne & Timothy Corish, Jr., Walter & Patty English, Melissa & Dr. Roger Hartley In Memory of Barbara Roberts Ziskind, David In Memory of Matthew Stephenson Stephenson, Glen & Janet In Memory of Stan Stephenson Stephenson, Alice In Memory of Karl Unwala Unwala, Adi H. & Scheherazade A.
Recent Developments:
Space. The magazine boasts a quarterly distribution of 25,000 copies.
NEW BOARD MEMBERS: The Nuçi Phillips Memorial Foundation welcomed two new members, Ellie MacKnight and Robert Bachman, to the Board of Directors. Ellie works for Brown Cat, Inc., the management team for Athens’ own Widespread Panic. Robert is an active shareholder of Trinity Accounting Group and is responsible for both client services and operational areas of the firm.
PROPERTY TAXES: Despite a favorable ruling for Nuçi’s Space in Superior Court, the Athens-Clarke County Attorneys Office has decided to appeal the court’s decision to grant our organization a property tax exemption.
GA MUSIC MAGAZINE: The recent issue of Georgia Music Magazine features an article on Nuçi’s
CAMPUS SUICIDE PREVENTION: Founder Linda Phillips and staff members attended the 2nd Annual Conference on “The Public Health Approach to Preventing Suicide at Colleges and Universities in Georgia” on February 19th and 20th.
Drive-By Truckers Benefit Huge Success January’s Drive-By Truckers benefit weekend was our most successful yet—and the band has been performing benefit concerts in our honor since Nuçi’s Space opened in 2000. The Truckers played a three-night run at the 40 Watt in downtown Athens from January 15th-17th. Ticket sales from the first show benefited Nuçi’s Space. DBT was joined by locals The Whigs and Denton, Texas’ South San Gabriel on Thursday (Centromatic opened the other two nights). Mike White · www.deadlydesigns.com
The 2009 benefit incorporated various fundraising strategies in with the concert—including an auction of signed memorabilia and an out of the ordinary element that had fans bidding to write the band’s set-list for the evening. Truckers’ front-man Patterson Hood and his wife Rebecca (both are Nuçi’s Space Board
members) hatched the plan to auction off the set-list in the fall of 2008. What makes the idea even more interesting is that the Truckers never use a set-list during live shows—instead switching back and forth between the main songwriters in the band and improvising their way through performances. The set-list fundraiser was split between an auction and a raffle—the auction winner picked 12 songs and the raffle winner chose 8 songs. Jimmy Coogan (New York) won the auction and Peter Halblieb (Wisconsin) was the raffle winner. Both made the trip to Athens for the three shows. On Saturday the 17th, before the last of the three shows, Nuçi’s Space hosted a pre-party and auction. We auctioned off some incredible items—signed photos and memorabilia from DBT, Widespread Panic, of Montreal and The Whigs. One of the auction highlights was the 20 X 10 foot stage backdrop from DBT’s 2008 tour with Brooklyn band The Hold Steady. Food and beer were provided by East-West Bistro and Terrapin beer. Many thanks to our incredible sponsors and donors for making this event possible in the first place: Wes Freed, Jason Thrasher, Widespread Panic, Drive-By Truckers, Scott Baxendale and Colfax Guitar Shop, East-West Bistro, Terrapin Beer, Holiday Inn Express and Chad Osborne.
Camp Amped 2009 is going to ROCK… Twice! We are excited to announce that because of increased interest in our Camp Amped program, Nuçi’s Space has decided to hold TWO sessions this summer! Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, Camp Amped made a difference in the lives of 20 remarkable young musicians last summer, and this year we have the opportunity to provide twice as many youth with an unforgettable Camp Amped experience.
The dates for 2009’s sessions will be June 8th– 20 and July 6th–18th. Session choice is based on a first-come first-serve basis and availability of open spots per instrument, so apply today! More information, applications and scholarship applications are available at www.nuci.org. Please contact Laura Ford at laura@nuci.org if you are interested in participating in or sponsoring Camp Amped 2009. th
NSSO and Intern Update nuçi’s space
Student Organization President
Beth Johnson
The Nuçi’s Space Student Organization has already been hard at work this semester, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down! The NSSO organized the Heartbreaker’s Ball as a benefit for Nuçi’s Space on February 14 at Little Kings Shuffle Club in downtown Athens. Local bands The Buddy System, Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters, and Horse Party donated their talents to the cause. In March, the NSSO will be putting on its second “Underage Music Show” for concert-goers younger than 21. This idea was conceived by Sanni Baumgärtner of the local band Dancer vs. Politician, and both last semester’s interns and this semester’s NSSO were very excited about giving the next generation of
Athens musicians the chance to see some real Athens music. Nuçi’s Space would also like to welcome its Spring 2009 interns: Beth Johnson, Julie McCollum, Paige Mitchell, Tara Sutton, Isha Ghodke, Hollister Hover, Cortez Wright, Courtney Thompson, Lindsey Epperly and Kristen Berg. These awesome interns are already hard at work planning the Fourth Annual Depression and Suicide Awareness Week themed “Share Your Story.” The week of activities taking place April 13th–17th is geared towards UGA students will include a student panel, a movie screening, an open mic night, an art show, and a concert/fashion show.
Featured Band: Dancer vs. Politician
Spring 2009 Interns:
Kristen Berg Lindsey Epperly Isha Ghodke Hollister Hover Beth Johnson Julie McCollum Paige Mitchell Tara Sutton Courtney Thompson Cortez Wright
Personnel: Sanni Baumgärtner—guitar/vocals/accordion/ musical saw Erin Wright—viola/glockenspiel Kie Cochran—bass Alliene Bouchard—trumpet/flugelhorn Andy Robison—drums Day Jobs: Vintage dealer, wedding photographer, bartender at Mercury Lounge, Best Buy, UGA test scoring. How long has the band been together? Four years, with various lineups. How long have you been practicing at Nuçi’s Space? Since it opened in 2001 with various bands. Musical Style/ Influences Nico, The Velvet Underground, Belle and Sebastian, Azure Ray.
Any big news coming up? They’ll be playing the Stomp and Stammer party at South by Southwest in Austin, TX this March. Also there’s a new collaboration with Jeffrey Bütner coming out in March or April on Lona Records. Check them out at: www.myspace.com/dancerversuspolitician
Volunteer Profile: Lesley Cobbs The voice answering the phone at Nuçi’s Space has a different accent on Tuesdays and Thursdays than we’re used to having. That’s because Lesley Cobbs, a native of Newcastle, England, has been putting in almost 20 hours of volunteer work per week at Nuçi’s Space since the Fall of 2008.
How she got here is a pretty interesting story. In 2005, Lesley was living in Newcastle when she was introduced through friends to a man she would eventually marry. Except there was one major hurdle the couple would have to face—he lived over 4,000 miles away in Athens, Georgia. But she took the plunge and in 2006 moved to the US. Once she got here, Lesley’s life slowed down greatly when immigration laws prevented her from finding work until her visa details were sorted out. With her husband Maurice at work at Athens Printing during the day Lesley began looking for something to occupy her time. Luckily for us she found Nuçi’s Space, just down the hill from the apartment she and Maurice share. Lesley became a volunteer—starting by collating and sending out newsletters, invitations and even helping to paint and plant the flower boxes on our patio last fall. After assisting with our 8th Anniversary Party in October, Lesley approached us about becoming involved on a more regular basis. Currently, Lesley volunteers at Nuçi’s Space on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10–6 pm. She
answers the phone and schedules bands in our rehearsal rooms and even lends her hand to data archiving and graphic design. Lesley brings with her a background in music and mental health—the very disparate elements that make Nuçi’s Space so unique. In England, Lesley worked in the field of Youth and Community Services during the 1990’s. As a training officer she had a variety of jobs including drug and alcohol counseling and coordinating educational and outreach programs for inner city youth. After her years in the Youth and Community Services, Lesley became one of the key organizers of the Stormin’ the Castle festival at Witton Castle in County Durham. The festival is a annual fundraiser for the Motorcycle Action Group and attracted over 7,000 participants each year. Unfailingly positive, Lesley is the perfect person for our new visitors to see when they walk into the building. Her experience working with people, event planning and the understanding of how a small nonprofit organization works is of great benefit to Nuçi’s Space. One of the perks that come with working for such a special nonprofit is that I get to meet the most incredible people—all of them passionate about what we do. Lesley Cobbs is one of those people. We are so grateful. By Will Kiser
What you should know about Lesley Cobbs • Total Volunteer Hours Since Fall of 2008: 265 • Lesley consults with people on dreadlock creation (and maintenance). Check her out online at www.myspace.com/ nanadread • The UK band Sisters of Mercy wrote a song about Lesley and her group of friends called “Floorshow.”
Active Volunteers
Visar Arifaj Isik Benson Kristen Berg Frances Beusse Liz Bloeser Michael Cairelli Wick Cauthorn Phillip Carpenter Jayne Clamp Lesley Cobbs Julie Coker Katie Collins Katie Cooper Casey Crock Kelly Defilippis Patricia Devine Henry Dionne Lori Dionne Lindsey Epperly Jessica Ewing Deborah Gimson Carrie Goggans Teresa Groover Corey Hartley Rebecca Hood Ashley Howell Laura Ingram Catherine Johnson Lauren McCall Chelsea Nix Diana Orquiola Katie O’Toole Katie Parker Kristin Phillips Paul Prae Greg Purser Ashley Renier Jessica Rogers Micah Rosenberger Will Smith Erin Stewart Mike Stone Holly Thornton Danielle Tyree Desiree White Meghan Wier Emily Williams Stefan Williams Cheryl Wilson
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right side glows the newsletter for nuçi’s space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center