NOVEMBER 2008
the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center
Connecting The Dots
I
was first introduced to the “nine-dot puzzle” as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia during an elective leadership development course. For those of you who may not be familiar with this particular puzzle, it’s designed by placing nine dots in a perfect square. The goal is to connect the dots by drawing four straight, continuous lines, and never lifting the pencil from the paper. As I stared at the puzzle I became increasingly frustrated. I thought to myself, “The answer can’t be that hard.” I tried every conceivable approach to solving the problem— starting my line at the top, bottom, side and diagonal. Despite my “brilliant” attempts, there was always one dot still left untouched. My frustration accelerated to a boil as I noticed that a kid sitting a few rows ahead of me had already finished. My ego deflated, I surrendered and waited for the professor to reveal the solution. After a few minutes the professor asked if we were ready for the answer. The class groaned with an affirmative. Starting with the dot located in the bottom right-hand corner, the professor quickly drew four straight lines, connecting all nine dots. After careful examination, the class erupted in objections and questions. “Hey, you can’t draw your line outside of the box!” “But you drew the line past the dot before you changed direction?” “Of course! It’s easy when you do it that way.”
by
Bob Sleppy
The professor agreed with the last statement. The puzzle is quite easily solved if you draw the lines outside of the restrictions of the square area defined by the nine dots themselves. It was this puzzle that inspired the popular phrase, “thinking outside the box.” The phrase and the use of this puzzle and others like it gained popularity with the study of lateral thinking during the late 1960s. Lateral thinking can be defined as methods of thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception. In general, it is the use of reason to look beyond the obvious and find solutions that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. Suicide prevention, mental illness and awareness of these issues are “nine-dot puzzles” we are confronted with on a daily basis. Fortunately, Nuçi’s Space lies “outside of the box.” After eight years of challenging the traditional methods of access to care and message delivery, we are seeing concrete and quantifiable results to these difficult problems. As Nuçi’s Space’s success continues and our programs grow to meet an increasing community need, the influence and power of traditional thinking has increased its pressure to keep us in a “box.” The “box” represents strict adherence to acceptable guidelines, regardless of their success, that conform to their preconceived ideas. However, our results will suffer if we are limited to out-of-date thinking. We will have to challenge not only our own way of thinking, but the boundaries and perceptions dictated to us by others. If we can not find the courage to challenge the status quo, there will always be one dot that we are unable to connect.
nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 space@nuci.org www.nuci.org
Newsletter Contributors
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Beth Johnson Photos
Terrance Medina Mike White 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 Emerita
Virginia Ellenberg Jan Barstow Legal Counsel
James C. Warnes Timmons, Warnes & Anderson, LLP
Recent Donors Athens Beard and Mustache Club Athens Hospitality Holdings Group LLC Athfest, Inc. Ballard, Matthew Burch, Jr., Charles Digital Insight Dollar, John & Priscilla Durrett, Dr. Donald M. Dutton, Lafe Epperly, David Epperly, Lindsey Flanagan, Nancy Gaines, Joseph & Vicki Gimson, Deborah Gimson, Florence K Gimson, Frederick & Victoria Grace, Carlise GreyBird Foundation Guibert, Mary Hale, Benjamin & Stacey Hale, Sanders & Lenoir Hinsch, Steve & Hollis Jackson EMC Foundation, Inc. Johnson, Bryce Jones, Everett and Ann Knox, John and Pamela Koplan, Carol & Jeffrey Lester, Bill Lichtman, Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Modern Skirts, LLC Montevideo, Harry & Mickey Nichols, Carl & Kathryn Nicholson, Dr. Peter Ordonez, Dr. & Mrs. Carlos Paine Insurance & Realty Company, Inc Peach, Jason And Jane Pentecost, Mark
Pettyjohn, Vanessa M. Plexus Web Creations Potter, Jinny R.E.M./ Athens, LLC Roberts, III, Ben Rosenberger, Charles & Chandler Ross, AJ Schear, Abe & Linda Short, Bonnie Shumate, Carol & Jerry Sleppy, Janet Soileau, Jeff & Sheridan Steadman, Nancy Stein, Daniel Team Clermont Tucker, Shonna Unwala, Adi H. & Scheherazade A. Van Wieren, Jon Vanderyt, Brittany Best Wiebe, Robin Williams, Matthew In Memory of James Ford Pospahala, John & Wanda In Memory of Ted Hafer Bierema, Laura Greene, Jessica Hourihan, Carrie In Memory of Ben Hardman Spalding, Margie In Memory of Sims Hibbert Barwick, Clark & Molly In Memory of Nuçi Phillips McCarthy, Frances
In Memory of Matt Stephenson Hood, Patterson & Rebecca In Memory of Jesse Tewksbury Tewksbury, Lyndon & Rene Donations in Memory of George Mathis and Mary Ogletree Moore, Robert & Marina Widespread Panic’s Tunes for Tots Fund Abrams, John Allen, Craig Bailey, Aaron Barnes, Zachary Benefield, Brandon Bingham, Casey Branch, Josh Connaly, Carla Daniels, Jeramy Fountain, Thomas Glustrom, Robert Gower, Terry Groover, Michael Heavner, Wes Houchens, Nicholas Lawson, Robert Lombardi, Christine Nelson, Jeremy O’Neil, Ian Pritzker, Nicholas Ray, James Roberts, George Smith, Terra Smith, Wyatt Tormey, John Wagstaff, Dawn Wessinger, Jacob
Nuçi’s Space 8th Anniversary Party nuçi’s space Staff
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Alyssa Bernstein Dan Nettles Terrance Medina Chris Byron
On the evening of October 4th, Nuçi’s Space invited supporters, volunteers and musicians to help celebrate our 8th year of existence. Food was generously provided by Marti’s At Midday, The Grit, East-West Bistro, Papa John’s, Sons of Italy and Last Resort. Beer and wine was provided by Terrapin, Gosford Wine and Ansley Wine Merchants. Performing at the anniversary party were some musicians who’ve played an integral part in Nuçi’s Space’s history. Bands S2 and Shot From Guns played, along with sets from Ben Mize and Dan Nettles, Paige and Rachel Keane and singer-
songwriter Jim White. Nettles is a long-time staff member and Mize is a former Nuçi’s Space board member and Camp Amped counselor. The Keane twins were campers at both the 2007 and 2008 sessions of Camp Amped. Also part of the anniversary party was a silent auction. Some of the highlights included signed memorabilia from Gnarls Barkley, Widespread Panic, Drive-By Truckers, Cat Power and Perpetual Groove. Jewelry from Aurum Studios in downtown Athens and pottery from R. Wood Studio was also auctioned off to benefit Nuçi’s Space.
CAMP AMPED 2008 This past July 7th–19th, Nuçi’s Space presented Camp Amped, its summer rock day-camp for youth ages 11–17. For the second summer in a row, Camp Amped participants received instrument-specific instruction, formed bands, wrote and learned original songs, participated in style survey classes, recorded a demo in a professional recording studio, and had the opportunity to listen to some knowledgeable guest speakers. Camp Amped 2008 also included a new component, “Survival Skills for Creative Minds,” an hour-long session in which participants were able to discuss the difficulties of being a teenage musician with their peers and instructors. These sessions were facilitated by licensed counselors Sally Speed and Michelle Estile. Some of the topics addressed were effective conflict resolution, how to use music to cope with difficult
Yield to Pedestrians
Instructor: Ben Mize
Instructor: Claire Campbell
Isik Benson Mary Cook Justin Granados Aaron Hunnicutt John Layher
Lucy Barsness Hunter Hulsey Deylah McCarty Jack Reynolds DJ Wayland
Minor Miracle
Camp Facilitator Carl Lindberg
Sam Benson Alex Blankenship Josh Duncan Paige Keane Maddie Schmidt Public Affair Instructor: Joel Byron
Roy Beatty Emmett Cappi Xqyuavis Clay Mack Gregory Rachel Keane
by
Laura Ford
situations, occupational hazards of being a musician, and what to do when you or someone you love is struggling with mental illness. The two weeks of Camp Amped 2008 were packed with lots of excitement. In addition to
Indecisive
Instructor: Dan Nettles
Active Volunteers
Lead Instructor Dan Nettles Assistants Donna Barnett Chris Jensen Kaitlin Jones Thayer Sarrano Wyatt Pless Administration Laura Ford Bob Sleppy
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Sponsors Anna & Ken Zankel The Recording Academy (Atl.) Jackson EMC Foundation Kim Coggins Athfest Sigma Alpha Iota The Georgia Music Hall of Fame Bruce & Lisa Ford Neal & Pat Priest In Kind Musician’s Warehouse Moleskine Kroger Publix Barberitos Johnny Carino’s DePalma’s Downtown Five Star Day Café Mama’s Boy Jimmy John’s Taco Stand
Active Volunteers McKenzy Bailey Thomas Barrineau Isik Benson Kristen Berg Lauren Bloodworth Michael Cairelli Phillip Carpenter Wick Cauthorn Devin Campbell Deborah Chasteen Jayne Clamp Lesley Cobbs Casey Crock Kelly Defilippis Jodi D’hollosy Lori Dionne Lindsey Epperly Jessica Ewing Brett Gabriel Deborah Gimson Carrie Goggans Teresa Groover Corey Hartley Marini Helton Chrismon Hinsch Rebecca Hood Ashley Howell Bill Hussey Catherine Johnson Nicole Jones Emma Kiser Katie Kapp Colleen Kennedy Brittany Kimball Brian Kumm Jiahui Liu Daniel McCarter Paige Mitchell Garry Moon Ellen Mundy Diana Orquiola Katie Parker Louis Pelot Kristin Phillips Paul Prae Tyler Robertson Jessica Rogers Micah Rosenberger Lynne Seymour Will Smith Julia Thomas Chisholm Thompson Holly Thornton Bonnie Turner Marshall Yarbrough
CAMP AMPED
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daily lessons, campers were treated to a variety of special activities. On July 8th, local heavy rockers and friends of Nuçi’s Space, Pride Parade, performed for the camp participants. Campers also took part in a field trip to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, GA and received a special tour of the Otis Redding “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” exhibit by GMHOF Education Director Jared Wright. While in Macon, campers had the opportunity to hear some inspirational words from Karla Redding-Andrews, Otis Redding’s daughter. One of the highlights of Camp Amped 2008 was on July 15th when Patterson Hood, Brad Morgan and John Neff of Drive-By Truckers visited Camp. Patterson was able to participate in the day’s Survival Skills session on “the occupa-
tional hazards of being a musician” and sat in on a songwriting class led by Ben Mize. Meanwhile, Brad Morgan gave some of the camp’s drummers a private lesson and John Neff showed campers and instructors a thing or two on the pedal steel guitar. The trio then played a show for the campers and took the time to explain the story behind each song and offer some advice to the kids. They ended their set on a moving rendition of “World of Hurt” with Patterson exclaiming “It’s great to be alive!” The Grand Finale on July 19th was a huge success. Members of Indecisive, Minor Miracle, Public Affair, and Yield to Pedestrians performed for an audience of over 200 family, friends and community members. The video of the final performance will be available for purchase within the next month. Nuçi’s Space is pleased to announce that we are in the process of developing an after-school
program to keep young musicians involved with our organization yearround. Camp Amped 2009 will take place June 8th–20th and will have 20 available slots for campers. If this session fills up quickly and there is enough demand, there is a possibility for a July session as well. Please check www.nuci.org for updates, and please email Laura Ford at laura@nuci.org for more information about the after-school program or if you are interested in participating, sponsoring, or being involved with Camp Amped 2009. Thank you again to everyone who helped to make Camp Amped 2008 a success!
Special Thanks to: Chrismon Hinsch, Pride Parade, Drive-By Truckers, Sally Speed, Michele Estile, Athens School of Music, Bruce Burch, Keith Perissi, Michele Caplinger, Catherine Stinson, Ashley Reiner, Kaylah Walker, Marini Helton, McKenzy Bailey, Michael Cairelli, Bill Hussey, Julia Thomas, Bonnie Turner, Gary Moon, John Seay, Nick Canada, Frankie Wylie, Mike White, Pete Dugas, DARC, Chase Park Transduction, John Keane Studios, Eikon Productions, and the entire Nuçi’s Space staff.
Nuçi’s Space Student Organization Update
by
Beth Johnson
The Nuçi’s Space Student Organization started off the year strong by planning the first ever Nuçifest, an all-day music two-part concert event on November 14th. The first part was on campus and featured local and student acts. The NSSO held auditions on October 25th and had 14 total acts try out for the six slots. With such an overwhelming response to the auditions, the NSSO is
hoping to have a second showcase in the spring. The second part of the concert was at Nuçi’s Space and featured Ben Deignan, The Jompson Brothers Band and Trances Arc. Admission was a $5 donation that went toward Nuçi’s Space and the NSSO. The NSSO hopes to continue to grow throughout the year, and we can expect many more awesome events from them!
Fundraising Events
preview tracks from the album and check out a series of paintings that Sanithna Phansavanh created to go along with each of the 12 songs.
For the past five years, Digital Insight has hosted a chili cook-off featuring recipes from local restaurants and individuals. The proceeds from this year’s affair benefited Nuçi’s Space. The cook-off took place on October 10th at The Arch bar on Lumpkin Street. Digital Insight provides online banking services to community banks and credit unions like Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union and First American Bank and Trust. Every year employees of the Athens Digital Insight office nominate the non-profit who they believe does the most good in their community. The chili cook-off was made possible by contributions from over 30 individuals and local vendors who participated by serving chili or by donating prizes for the cook-off winners. This year, vendors included Barberito’s, City Salon, Dondero’s, Espresso Royal, Five Star Café, Harry Bissett’s, Honey Baked Ham, Last Resort, Little Italy, Loco’s, Georgia Theatre, Mama’s Boy, and Weekday Gourmet. The Athens Beard and Moustache Club held an Artists Market at Nuçi’s Space on October 19th. Locals sold paintings, sculptures, handmade wooden toys and other artwork throughout the morning. The AB&M Club did all the work for the market, seeking out artists whose table rental fees benefited Nuçi’s Space. Nuçi’s Space volunteers helped promote and staff a listening party for the newest Modern Skirts album All Of Us In Our Night. On October 1st at the Ciné theater downtown, fans got to
nuçi’s space
Student Organization Co-Presidents
Beth Johnson Liz Evans
By The Numbers: S.P.A.C.E. Race 2008 Thank you to everyone who helped make our 5th Annual S.P.A.C.E. Race 5K our most successful race yet! Here are a few facts to let you know just how successful the 2008 S.P.A.C.E. Race was: • The turnout for this year’s race was our best yet—over 260 people registered. • 17 teams of runners registered. • The overall winner was Nuçi’s Space board member Dr. Bill Orr with a time of 19:25. Susan Adams was the first female to finish, running the 5K race in 21:10. • 12 Nuçi’s Space interns and 30 volunteers worked the morning of the race. • Our biggest fundraising team was Drive-By Truckers, headed up by Nuçi’s Space board members Patterson and Rebecca Hood. Fans of the band donated online and raised $1,615 in the days leading up the race. • The individual fundraising efforts of Charles Hale, Alyssa Bernstein, Deborah Gimson and Matthew Ballard raised another $1,385.
Fall 2008 Interns:
Jenny Bailey Kristen Berg Allie Brantley Dennis Byrd Mel Chiz Lindsey Epperly Beth Johnson Julie McCollum Paige Mitchell Sydney Slotkin Jordan Tate Billy Wilson High School Intern:
Abby Willis
Would you like your advertisement here? If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of Nuçi’s Space’s Right Side Glows newsletter, please contact Bob Sleppy at bob@nuci.org
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nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601
right side glows the newsletter for nuçi’s space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center