APRIL 2015
the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center
Mentally Ill or Just Bad?
“It’s
people like that who give those suffering with depression a bad name.” That’s what I think every time I read a story like the one recently about the pilot who flew his plane into a mountain, taking 149 innocent people to their deaths. Is it because of mental illness that someone would not only kill him/herself but would also murder unknown men, women and children? Andreas Lubitz, Adam Lanza, Dylan Klebold and the list goes on. In the discussion that follows each tragic suicide-murder, mental illness enters the picture. So many of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes have been singled out as loners with a history of depression and often have been in treatment. My own son Nuçi, after having made a very serious suicide attempt, confided in his brother that he had often thought of running his car into the median on I-285 but didn’t because he was afraid someone else would be hurt. So I ask myself, “What made Nuçi and the vast majority of mentally ill people who are not violent and harm only themselves, different from the Adam Lanzas of this world?” The search for the answer requires knowledge of the perpetrator’s mental health or lack of, personality and perception. This inquiry needs much attention and creative thinking considering the number of mentally ill people who today are incarcerated in our penal institutions. Adam Lankford, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama says that in his research on mass killers who also took their own lives, he has found “a significant number of cases where they mention a desire for fame, glory or attention as a motive.” In other words there is much more going on with these individuals than depression which cannot begin to explain such drastic and statistically rare acts. “People want an easily graspable handle to help understand this, to blame something or to
by Linda V. Phillips
scapegoat,” said Dr. James L. Knoll, the director of forensic psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. “There’s something fundamentally different here, aside and apart from the depression and that’s where we need to look.” To add to what Dr. Knoll says, we know from various studies that serious mental illness is a factor in only about 20% of mass killings. Yes, we must look elsewhere for explanations, for answers. Common to many perpetrators who kill themselves and murder others are the distortions of personality—excesses of rage, paranoia, grandiosity, thirst for vengeance or pathological narcissism and callousness. One of the most salient features of mass killers is their belief that they have been wronged. They almost always have a personal grief and are driven to retaliate in a manner they see fit. Parents, teachers and responsible adults should be aware of such characteristics in children and respond in appropriate ways to address such tendencies. Human beings are very complex and it’s not always easy to give a simple, single explanation for our actions. But some things we do know for sure. Mentally ill people rarely are violent and when they are, it is mainly toward themselves. Bad people do bad things. They may suffer from depression, but that is not the prime moving force that leads them to kill. So the next time there is a suicide-murder, and there will be others for sure, I will remind myself that yes, this person may suffer from depression, but that is not why he did what he did. I remember Nuçi who would never have done anything that would endanger another person and I know for sure what the difference is between him and an Adam Lanza. I then thank the universe for giving me a good son and I mourn for those left in the wake of such horrendous crimes.
nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 space@nuci.org www.nuci.org www.facebook.com/ nucisspace Newsletter Contributors
Bob Sleppy Chris Byron Lesley Cobbs Kristie Greene Debbie Watson Dave Chamberlin Photos
Lesley Cobbs Design & Layout
Larry Tenner
Recent Donors November 11, 2014– April 10, 2015
Nuçi Phillips
Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
President: Helen Herring Vice President: temporarily vacant Secretary: Ellie MacKnight Treasurer: temporarily vacant Lisa Allen David Barbe Barrie Buck Julie Cheney Amy Coenen Todd Emily Jon & Nadine Forché Patterson Hood Rebecca Hood Jack Jones Bill Orr Linda Phillips Anna & Ken Zankel Founding Family
Linda Phillips Pierre Phillips KP Devlin Legal Counsel
Jim Warnes Executive Director
Bob Sleppy Nuçi’s Space Staff
Chris Byron Lesley Cobbs Debbie Watson Kristie Greene Dave Chamberlin Glenn Reece Marisa Mustard Joe Linehan
Allen, Joe & Rachel Anonymous Athens Area Community Foundation Athens-Clarke County Charity Drive Committee Athens-Oconee Junior Woman’s Club Avery, Bill Babaliaros, Constantine & Fotini Barbe, John Bohannon, Tom Boland, Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Brinson, Ryan & Kate Broad, Adam Brown Cat Bryan, Philip & Jane Burnsed, Trevor Campbell, Alan & Beth Campbell, Ann Carlin, Drs. Richard & Enid Cheney, James & Julie Cohen, Richard Community Connelly, C Sutton & Susan Davis, Dr. Charles & Mrs. Julie Davison, Heidi & Al Deutsche Bank Dowd, Jennifer Davidson Downs, Bertis & Katherine Dugas, Pete & Tonya Durrett, Donald & Karin FirstGiving Forche, Jon & Nadine Fyock, Richard Gaitens, Karen A Gambatesa, Gianluca Gaskill, Kemp Goetz PHD PC, Theodore M. Harvey, David & McDuff, Nancy Johnson, Jena Johnson & Johnson Kim, Bo-Kyung King, Mrs. Harold W. Kroger Community Rewards Team Kruger, Aaron Lester, David Lichtman, Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Limelli, Nicola Martin, C.J. & Teddy Martin, Dr.& Mrs. David McLucas, Bryan Mixson, Charles & Mastrodonato, Jordan Newell, Gideon & Seltzer, Melanie Nicholson, Dr. Peter Orr, Jr., William Ortiz, Domingo & Sanders, Kelly Pattavina, Denise Perry, Sharon Peters, Andrew Phillips, Dr. Greg Poling, Eve
Porter, Derek & Kendall Raeburn, Susan Delaney Raque, David & Susan Riser Adkisson LLP Roberds, Thomas & Pamela Robinson, David & Christine Rosenberger, Charles & Chandler Ross , William & Debra Roth, Ira & Julie Saad Dine, Dr. Yssa Sanderlin, Bob Sanders, Walter & Emily Saucier, Scott & Cindy Stirling, John Tapp, Gary & Robey The Dan T. & Sally Wyche Coenen Fund The George Link Jr. Charitable Trust The James E. Huffer & Betty J. Huffer Foundation Trust Thrasher Photo and Design Thomas, Kecia Vanderpool, Jennie Vandyck, Peter & Marla Venable, Lucy Wear Your Music LLC Witte, Brandt Wooten, Jeani Wright, James & Linda Young, Barbara In Honor of Andy Hay Kozlosky, Steven & Chris In Honor of Angela Roberts Roberts, Donald In Honor of Camp Amped Canine, David In Honor of Cindy Nash McDowell, Jennifer In Honor of David Lamb Lamb, Cathy In Honor of Sally Speed Hadley, Cecilia In Honor of Anna Gore & Robby King Etgen, Matt & Brook In Honor of Linda Phillips Glazer, Judith Nettles, Victor & Quist, Charlotte In Honor of Leara Rhodes Dovey, Nicola & Davis, Gregory In Honor of Paige Campbell and Betsy Pless Capie, Judith In Honor of Pier Selenica Sala, Gezim & Evis In Honor of Traci Thomas MBUS
In Honor of Virginia Nellans Smith, Susuan In Memory of A. Nuçi Phillips Baron, Richard & Maggie Chalmers, Gayla Houston, Carol Karchenes, Ruth Matherly, Heather & Jason Phillips, Dr. & Mrs. Pierre In Memory of April Bachtel Crawford, Jerry & Judy Gomez, Jo In Memory of Bon Scott Lohlein, Matthew In Memory of Brian Crane Crane, Jerry & Lynn In Memory of Bruce Cooper Cooper, Denise In Memory of Ben Hardman Spalding, Margie In Memory of Casey Wood Casey, Noleen & John In Memory of David Peacock Braun Peacock, Harriet I Geiger, Jane Braun, Josh
In Memory of Michael Blaine Courtner Athens Holiday Market In Memory of Michael Gray Sleppy, Bob & Rachel In Memory of Philip Carpenter Dawgfish Corporation In Memory of Ted Hafer Bechet, Claudia & Tenner, Larry Dynamite Clothing Gavrilles, Beth & Juras, Philip Pringle, Cori & Nackashi, John Scarborough, Steven & Amy Schoenbaum, Cecilia Love Shain, Laura Slatton, Jason In Memory of Ted Hafer and Vic Chestnut Coastwise Consulting, Inc. / Chris Slay Lesemann III, Thomas Ballard In Memory of Vic Chestnut Chesnutt, Tina Crane, Lorinda & Peter In Memory of Vince Gladin Gladin, Sue
In Kind Donations Aiken, Caroline In Memory of Erin and Kevin Allen, Trent Kallaugher, Stephen Anon Avery, Bill In Memory of Ann Marie Fallon Baxendale, Scott Boroja, Maria Bell, John Blashak, Anita In Memory of Ian Brussack Bohannon, Tom Coulter, Tommy & Elisa Bramblett, Randall Brown, Lisa In Memory of Jimmy McLean Chapman, Wes Benson, Bill & Erin DeHart, Martha Dwyer, Mikey In Memory of Garrie Vereen Evans, John Akridge, Ben & Joi Fluhr, Rob Bell, John & Laura Hazinski, David Bostwick, John & Tricia Hesse, Ben Clamp, Jayne Katzman, Mark Ellis, Nade Keaton, Eric Garrison, Shaw Kitchens, James L. Good, George Lee, William T. Grady, Jeffrey Mayer, Philip Heavner, Wes Olivera, Ryen Hood, Patterson & Rebecca Osburn, Matt Pritzker, Nicholas Reece, Greg Ryan, Thomas Robison, Andrew Worth, Mike Ruppersburg, Tricia Stepp, Jared In Memory of Craig Lieske Stewart, Mark Donnelly, Aimee Uhler, Marie Lieske, Dale & Elaine Vanderpool, Jennie Walter, Patrick In Memory of Kristi Nolan Naas White, Jim Clark, Samantha Whitehead, Donny Wills, Anne In Memory of Lane Greene Woods, Mark Downes, Marion & Melanie Zevos, Dorian Roberts, George & Mary
Meet our new Youth Programs & Development Coordinator! Debbie Watson is our new Youth Programs and Development Coordinator. However, she is not new to Nuçi’s Space. The first event she worked on at Nuçi’s Space was back in 2010, while she was in the UGA Music Business Program. Under the guidance of David Barbe, she and her fellow classmates were the first class to develop and coordinate “Space Jam”. Space Jam is a fundraising event for Nuçi’s Space where the students learn all aspects of running an event from booking bands, running sound, stage managing and more. That summer she became very involved in Athfest, taking the role as Chair of Kidsfest. As a mom of two kids, she has always strived to combine her passion of music with her love of learning. During this time, she met Laura Ford, the former Youth Programs Ripples Yet another interview with a student today… There is a seemingly constant stream of students in and out of Nuçi’s Space. Journalism, social work, health care students and more interview us. They are moved by Nuçi’s Story and want to use it in their college work. For us emailing so many students back and forth, setting up interviews, answering phone calls, requests for being filmed or photographed seems to take a lot of time away from our work; of course it is far from that, it is just another facet of work life at Nuçi’s Space. Every student takes away Nuçi’s story and spreads it a little further. Every student becomes a little more open to talking about mental health and suicide and of course every student gets to see what we do and how well we do it. Ripples
Coordinator, and started to build the relationship between Kidsfest and Camp Amped. “My favorite part of Kidsfest is watching these young musicians hit the stage for the first time and watching the magic happen.” She continued to support Nuçi’s Space in the years after, volunteering and spreading the word. She is excited to share Nuçi’s mission and being in a position that combines her interests and skills to help people. A daughter of a caring and generous Minister, it was instilled in her at a very young age to reach out to people in need. Debbie brings a dynamic vision, especially to develop and nurture kids’ lives through the power of music and performing. “Camp Amped is truly an outreach program and the skills taught during camp are not just musical, they are life learning.” A little later Nuçi’s Space started filling up with young students. 5pm they arrived to decorate the Space 10, 20, then 30, young women all smiles all excited about the event they were planning. They started practicing their show, fan work and ribbon silk dancing on the stage, a street style dance off in the parking lot. Then the guys arrived and started their drill on the porch. Flower balls being hung and all the usual set up for an event. I asked one of the women why choose Nuçi’s Space and she said they had read about us in the student paper and wanted to support our mission. Ripples One of the women asked me if she could talk in private. She was having some mental health problems and asked for guidance. We talked through her issues and she went back to the party having worked out a clear course of action. Ripples
CAAS Spring 2015 Spring Break Session From March 21st–29th, fourteen middle and high school-aged was so instrumental to this session. And even though she conmusicians took part in a Spring Break –themed Camp Amped tinued to say she was a better “Shauna” than a “Dan”, there were After School session. The young musicians were arranged into 3 several times during our “apples and onions” where the campers bands and each worked with an instructor toward the end goal of shared, “Shauna is my apple”. The ritual of “Apples and Onions” their grand finale rock show. Considering this was my first camp is where each camper and instructor shares their best moment as the new camp coordinator, I kept an open mind and was ready (apples) and low-point (onions) of the day. We were also privifor anything but on day 2 when one leged to have Philip Mayer on board. He of our instructors became ill, I had a was an instructor back in 2009 and now moment of, “now what”. With the supSPRING BREAK Session that he is back in Athens, we hope he port of the other camp instructors and will share more of his musical talents in Nuçi’s Space’s staff, I was able to find future Camp Amped programs. Connor Byers Participants: not one, but several instructors. Each We’d like to send a special thank you Natie Burkins Surfing Space: of them came in on different days and to Trader Joes’, Lisa Parker and Phillip Joseph Mullen Ethan Houseman helped out with our “nameless” band. Meyer for providing our snacks and Aaron White Parker Allen By day 3, this nameless band finally Nuçi’s Space volunteers with the ins and Nathan Beveridge had a name: The Orphans. Despite the outs of camp. Thanks to our sponsors, Lead Instructor: Jacob Samuelson uncertainty of which instructor they we were able to award $950 in scholarShauna Greeson Herstory: would have that day, these five amazing ships to participants in financial need to Instructors: Kadi Bortle campers kept rockin’ on; adjusting to attend CAAS. Philip Mayer Flynne Collins the instructor’s different teaching styles I had so many favorite moments of Allen Owens Naomi Hendershot and experience. The majority of campers camp: from “Ms. Debbie, can you get Jim Wilson Cat Hennessey have attended previous Camp Amped us pizza again” and “this is my favorite Chris Byron Bianca Oliveri programs, but we did have two new part of my day” to “you gave us a sense Seth Hendershot The Orphans: comers. They were welcomed with open of family”. But my favorite moment was Erica Strout Graham Beveridge arms. Camp Amped is such a unique during the grand finale when you look program where they have the same goal out at a PACKED space and watch these in mind, finding their way through music. talented musicians doing what connects them to each other, makOur lead instructor, Shauna Greeson, led CAAS like a champ. ing music! I look forward to seeing this program grow and reach Shauna is a veteran instructor, but this was her first time as lead even more young musicians. instructor. She took on the challenge while Dan Nettles, our camp lead instructor, was on tour. Her natural ability to connect with Please email debbie@nuci.org if you’d like to be added to our the kids and willingness to make their experience a positive one Camp Amped programs mailing list.
Volunteer Profile: Caroline Mayberry Let’s say it’s a seemingly average Friday afternoon at Nuci’s Space. The rehearsal rooms are thumping with bass and crashing with drums. A few visitors are enjoying the breeze on the patio. The staff are answering emails and tying up loose ends for the week before calling it a day, thinking in the back of their minds that a busy day is about to come to an end… Then all within 10 minutes multiple people walk in wanting to rent equipment right away, the phones are ringing, and all four bands in the rehearsal rooms would like to check out, pay, and leave at the same time! It’s a good thing we have such committed and helpful volunteers for just these types of moments. Caroline was working at the front desk on just such an afternoon in March and stepped right into the hectic situation and helped it all go as smoothly as possible. Caroline Mayberry is a junior at UGA, studying psychology
and cognitive science. She has friends that rehearse here so she decided to look into volunteering and started at the front desk on Friday afternoons in October. It also helps that she lives right down the street and has a built in interest in music which has been a big factor in learning our equipment rental system so quickly. She was looking for a way to contribute to the well-being of others and has fit right into the community at Nuci’s Space. Caroline also helped us decorate and setup for the Three Dimes Down auction in February and lists that event and getting to meet The Drive-By Truckers and going to the show at the 40 Watt as her biggest highlight of volunteering here so far. Whether it’s an average day or an especially busy day, it wouldn’t be possible to do what we do without all of our volunteers contributing in so many varied ways!
Reconstruction of the Steeple Begins Just a few days prior to the 35th anniversary of R.E.M.’s first performance at the St. Mary’s Church on April 5th, 1980, Whitsel Construction began constructing the scaffolding around the remaining church steeple that will allow them to start renovation of this iconic music landmark. As we shared in our previous newsletter, Nuçi’s Space accepted ownership of the steeple from its previous owners, the Steeplechase Condominiums, in April 2013. Because of its iconic status as a significant music landmark, the steeple provides an opportunity to amplify our story and introduce Nuçi’s Space to a large audience of potential donors and supporters. The overarching goal is not only to become good stewards of the music history we cherish by saving the steeple, but also to raise the funds needed to insure the health and stability of our programs. A restricted gift from longtime Nuçi’s Space contributors, Kenneth and Anna Zankel, who saw the significance of the project and its potential for bringing greater attention and resources to the organization, allowed us to pursue this project without fear of risking the current financial stability of the organization. To achieve the goals of this project, Nuçi’s Space produced an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign from November 3rd, 2014 to January 2nd, 2015. Using many unique and one-of-a-kind items donated by well-known
bands and musicians, as well as the bricks salvaged during our stabilization efforts, the campaign raised $147,620 of our $250,000 goal. Approximately $60,000 of the amount raised will be used to complete renovation of the steeple, while the remaining funds will be held in a reserve fund to ensure the long-time financial health of the organization. Although we failed to raise our financial goal, the campaign was our single most successful fundraising endeavor since our inception and we were successful in introducing Nuçi’s Space to a much wider audience. During the 2-month campaign, the site received over 28,000 visitors from over 130 countries and over 2000 of those visitors shared the site with their friends and families. The interest generated from the campaign resulted in over 800 contributions from 13 countries. The next phase of the Steeple Project is to complete renovation and begin work on the donor recognition wall to be constructed in the shadow of the steeple. For those of you who may have missed the opportunity to donate during the Indiegogo campaign, we have created an online store where you can continue to donate, purchase a souvenir brick or other unique music memorabilia. Please visit http://nucisspace.bigcartel.com/ to take a look. If you have any questions or inquiries about the Steeple Project please contact Kristie Greene at kristie@nuci.org.
3DD Homecoming Auction
The Drive-By Truckers online community, Three Dimes Down once again converged on Athens for the annual Homecoming shows at The 40 Watt and wow, did they turn out in support of both the band and Nuci’s in a big way! This year the community produced a DVD of a DBT show performed on Patterson Hood’s 50th birthday. They offered copies for a $20 donation to Nuci’s Space and went above and beyond by raising over $8000 from the DVD’s! But that wasn’t all. Fans came from all corners of the U.S. and points abroad as far away as Scotland as Nuci’s Space once again hosted a gathering and silent auction before the final show of the 3 night run and the turnout was fantastic. Items for the auction included autographed posters from Alabama Shakes, DBT concert posters with artwork by Wes Freed, custom made jewelry and art pieces contributed by fans, as well as countless autographed books and vinyl from friends of the DBT community. Altogether the auction brought in over $7000 with the highest dollar single item being Jason Isbell’s handwritten, framed lyrics for his song “Cover Me Up”. When you combine the DVD donations and auction the grand total came to over $15,000! We were able to show our gratitude for the longstanding support of Three Dimes Down by presenting them with a gold record on the wall to serve as a reminder of their love for more than the once a year we get to put faces with names of our supporters from around the world. Overall the weekend lived up to the standard that’s been set as one of the highlights of our year. See you all next year…
nuçi’s space A huge thank you to our recent volunteers!
Jennifer Campbell Tim Chirikalov Cory Cromer Charlie Davis Ryan Farist Tom Garne Bobby Gray Kali Gray Russell Haggard Hannah Harrison Riley Kirkpatrick Charles Lu Caroline Mayberry Nancy Milligan Colin Moriarty Cindy Nash Olga Pyshnyak Ishana Ratan Cole Rushworth Stefan Santavicca Sascha Smith Willem Styles
Survivors of Suicide Support Group (S.O.S)
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Nuçi’s space will be offering 2 sessions of its popular Camp Amped summer program again during the summer of 2015. Camp Amped is a 2 week summer day camp for young musicians in middle and high school. During Camp Amped, participants are put into bands that work with an instructor to write, learn and perform songs for a Grand Finale show on the last Saturday of each session. In addition to working with their bands, participants take part in special workshops, have their band photos taken by Jason Thrasher and spend a day at a local professional recording studio. Session 1 will take place June 8–20, and session 2 will take place July 6–18. For more information, email debbie@nuci.org
Nuçi’s Space hosts the regions only Survivors of Suicide support group (S.O.S). It’s open to anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide. We meet at 5:30 every 3rd Wednesday of the month and the meeting usually lasts 2 hours. Kathy, the person who facilitates the group is a survivor herself, healed after losing her son and finding her way to this same group. She is a warm compassionate woman who I can’t say enough good things about. She is an inspiration and gives hope that we too can heal with time. The attendees are all in various places regarding healing and include the very recently bereaved to many years passed, young to old and many different backgrounds and circumstances. Because of this there is within the group a wealth of understanding, experience, advice and comfort available from many differing perspectives. Sometimes, being in the presence of others who are going through similar circumstances can be of help just on its own. If you know anyone who might benefit from our S.O.S group please contact Lesley at the email or phone number below. Email lesley@nuci.org or phone her 706-227-1515
PUSH
We are excited to announce the return of Athens Business Rocks to The Fabulous 40 Watt Club on May 15th & 16th. We already have an exciting lineup taking shape with a variety of businesses that have played in the past, along with several newcomers to the event. With a total of 16 bands each playing 3 cover songs there is sure to be something for everybody, so be sure to make your plans to come to the shows to support your favorite bands/ businesses!
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Upcoming Events at Nuçi’s Space Be sure to check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nucisspace for updates on all the exciting things happening around the Space.
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
right side glows the newsletter for nuçi’s space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center