june 2010
the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center
Creativity & Suicide T
he most common question I receive when speaking about Nuçi’s Space is “Are creative people more vulnerable to depression and suicide?” However, the question that is inferred is “Why is Nuçi’s Space focused just on musicians?” This a fair question. The mission of Nuçi’s Space is to prevent suicide by providing obstacle-free treatment for musicians suffering from depression and other such disorders, as well as to assist in the emotional, physical and professional well-being of musicians. However, after careful examination, maybe a slight alteration to the first sentence would provide some clarity—“The mission of Nuçi’s Space is to prevent suicide.” It is true that we are limited financially to assisting musicians and the creative community. However, no one who has called, visited or emailed Nuçi’s Space seeking help, has been turned away. We are fortunate to have many allies in the field of mental health to turn to when Nuçi’s Space is unable to pay for a sufferer’s treatment. Using resources that offer a sliding-scale fee structure and discounted rates we are able to work as an advocate for all sufferers. To answer the first question, there have not been any conclusive studies, to our knowledge, that support the premise that creative people are more vulnerable to depression and suicide. As our founder, Linda Phillips, likes to say, “Mental illness is so prevalent in our society that it often spills over into the arts, just as it does into other communities.” Depression and suicide of creative individuals is often romanticized by the media and music fans. The reaction of the media and the public to suicide in other cases is quite different. I suppose we can attribute this to the stigma of mental illness that is still all too present in our culture. When a banker or accountant commits suicide, the public perception is that financial ruin was the motivating factor for the event. If an elderly person commits suicide, it is assumed that they were going to die soon from a terminal illness anyway. If a seemingly healthy man or woman takes his or her own life, the perception is something that was hidden from public view must be responsible or the event was a sign of personal weakness. Unfortunately we have yet to accept as a society that depression and other
nuçi’s space by
Bob Sleppy
forms of mental illness are diseases. And, as with many other untreated diseases, death is sometimes the result. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “Depression is among the most treatable of psychiatric illnesses. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of people with depression respond positively to treatment, and almost all patients gain some relief from their symptoms. But first, depression has to be recognized.” Unfortunately 2 out of 3 sufferers do not seek treatment. The reluctance of some musicians and artists to seek treatment, for fear of losing their “creative drive”, may serve as an example of a unique occupational risk factor in the creative community. Although most creative people are not productive during their illness, many use the emotional lows and highs as inspiration to create when they are feeling more stable. Unfortunately the myth that “one must suffer for their art” is a difficult falsehood to change within the artistic community. The image of the “starving artist” or the “creative, tortured-soul,” who sacrifices themselves for the good of the art, has been mistakenly accepted in our culture. Experiencing a full range of emotions and being present in each moment of life is healthy. However, living with the pain and debilitating effects experienced by sufferers of mental illness is not. Although research does not provide conclusive evidence to support the premise that creative people are more vulnerable to suicide, the creative community may be at greater risk because of increased exposure to risk factors. These risk factors include use of readily available drugs, accepted financial instability and the stress of having one’s artistry repeatedly rejected. The decision for Nuçi’s Space to focus on musicians was not so much a decision, as it was predisposed. Nuçi was a musician—plain and simple. However, our hope is that the work Nuçi’s Space has done in the creative community will “spill over” into the general population to help all sufferers of mental illness. Just as a voice is amplified to a crowded room through the use of a microphone and speakers, we hope our message will be amplified to the world through the health of our creative community.
396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 space@nuci.org www.nuci.org
Newsletter Contributors
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Photos
Jim Walsh Desiree Grigsby 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 Barbe, John Baxendale, Scott Berg, Kristen DBT Recording Inc. Eli Lilly & Co. Frierson, Sarah & Jack Gordon, Bobbi Herman Goldman Foundation Heyman, Martha Hinds, Killick Jarrett, Diane & Seth Copeland Kim, Bo-Kyung Lester, David Ordonez, Dr. & Mrs. Carlos Pattavina, Denise Roberds, Thomas & Pamela Rosenberger, Charles & Chandler Sanders, Walter & Emily
Saucier, Scott & Cindy Schools, David Spalding, Margie Starrs, Chris The George Link Jr. Charitable Trust Weissman, Barr Zanone, Chuck & Kim In Memory of Vic Chesnutt Drinkard, Susan Georgia Music Hall of Fame Hartle, Lee Matthew & Diana Yehle Houston, Jack & Jacquelyn Knighton, Lisa L. & Mark W. Huber In Memory of Danny Brown, Donna
In Memory of John Coggins III Kim Coggins In Memory of Tommy Conklin Roberts, Don
In Memory of Steve Gore Donohoe, Brian In Memory of Lane Greene Apostolik, Charles Traendly, John & Susan
In Memory of Reese Fitts In Memory of Kris Langley Fitts, Rhett Mama’s Boy Restaurant Brown, Jared Langdon, Mark & In Memory of Elizabeth Nuçi Phillips In Memory of James Ford Ellenberg, Virginia & Richard Ford, Bruce & Lisa McCarthy, Francis In Memory of Jerry In Memory of Bob Ross Fuchs Ross, AJ Wilson, Andrew In Memory of Jerome Garcia Pollard, John
In Memory of Richard Sleppy Laux, Peter & Joyce
Funding News Since Nuçi’s Space opened almost 10 years ago, it has relied on the generosity of individuals and organizations that believe in the mission of preventing suicide and supporting the artistic community. Recently Nuçi’s Space has been humbled to receive a number of grants from foundations around the country, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize the organizations that are supporting Nuçi’s Space’s programs. The Herman Goldman Foundation of New York, the George Link Jr. Charitable Trust of New Jersey, and the Lyndhurst Foundation of Tennessee all recently awarded Nuçi’s Space grants to support Nuçi’s Space’s mission of preventing suicide by providing obstacle-free mental health treatment to uninsured musicians. Nuçi’s Space was also recently awarded grants from the D’Addario Music Foundation, the Junior League of Athens, and the Jackson EMC Foundation, funded by members of Jackson EMC through the Operation Round Up Program, for its Camp Amped Youth Outreach Programs. Thanks to the generosity of these organizations, Nuçi’s Space will be able to provide scholarships to young musicians who would not otherwise be able to attend Camp Amped programs. To find out more about these organizations and read about all of the worthy programs they support, please www.juniorleagueofathens.org, www.daddariofoundation.org, and www.jacksonemc.com. Herman Goldman Foundation
George Link Jr. Charitable Trust
CAAS Spring 2010 Wrap-Up Nuçi’s Space’s most recent Camp Amped After School session ended with a bang on Sunday, May 2nd with a Grand Finale show at the Melting Point. This session’s participants were divided into two bands: Floss and Delicious. Each band played a half hour set of cover songs and originals compositions. Floss’s covers included songs by Radiohead and Drive-By Truckers, while Delicious took the heavier route and played songs by Danzig and Slipknot. Pictures from the show taken by Jim Walsh can be found online at www. flickr.com/nucisspace. For more information about the Fall 2010 session of Camp Amped After School or about Nuçi’s Space’s Camp Amped Youth Outreach Programs in general, please contact Laura Ford at laura@nuci.org. Delicious
nuçi’s space Staff
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Matt Hudgins Dan Nettles Chris Byron Terrance Medina
Floss Nick Brown Caleb Hunter Blake Mustard Marisa Mustard Delicious Chase Brown Ana Colon Joey Kegel Robert Motes Sascha Smith Seth Walsh
CAAS Spring 2010 Instructors: Dan Nettles (lead instructor) Seth Hendershot Thayer Sarrano Allen Owens
5th Annual Depression Awareness and Suicide Prevention Week nuçi’s space Staff
Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Dan Nettles Chris Byron Terrance Medina Roy Coughlin Matt Hudgins
This year, a small group of students, volunteers and staff members organized the 5th Annual Depression Awareness and Suicide Prevention Week in Athens. The awareness week took place April 12th–16th, and the goal of the week was simply to raise awareness throughout the community about the issues of depression and suicide and bring attention to the fact that there are resources in the Athens area if you are in need of mental health treatment. In the past, the event has been focused mainly on the student population, and this is the first year that Nuçi’s Space has reached out to the Athens community with their awareness week activities. Some highlights of the week were a screening of the documentary Boy Interrupted, a “community read” and book discussion
Hello, Goodbye… We’d like to welcome Matt Hudgins as our newest staff member at Nuçi’s Space. We have known Matt as a musician, customer, volunteer and friend of Nuçi’s Space for many years. As a multi-instrumentalist, Matt has performed with several great Athens bands, including Brown Frown, Mother Jackson and his newest incarnation, Matt Hudgins & His Shit-Hot Country Band. He is also a recent graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in history. Matt will be responsible for the general operation and maintenance of Nuçi’s Space.
of William Styron’s Darkness Visible, and a dance party thrown by GROOP. To create a visible impact downtown, Nuçi’s also organized a window campaign and got local businesses to collect $1 donations for blue discs with the Nuçi’s logo that they then displayed in their windows. Special thanks go out to all who helped organize and support 5th Annual Depression Awareness and Suicide Prevention Week, especially Cine and The Globe for hosting our major events. The awareness week also coincided with the annual Suicide Prevention on College Campuses conference at UGA, and Nuçi’s Space would like to thank the organizers for being so supportive of Nuçi’s Space and Depression Awareness and Suicide Prevention Week, and for working to prevent suicide on Georgia campuses. As delighted as we are to have Matt join our “Island of Misfit Toys,” we will be sad to lose our friend and co-worker, Terrance Medina. After two long years of coursework, Terrance completed his second undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Georgia in mid-May. He previously graduated from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music with a degree in flute performance and music education. Earlier this year Terrance accepted a position with the Department of the Air Force in Warner Robins and will start in mid-July. We are very happy for Terrance and appreciative of his contributions to our success since his arrival in 2005.
Back to Rockville: Benefit Concerts Return to Nuçi’s Space
This Spring we were lucky enough to have UGA student and former Nuçi’s Space intern Paul Prae step in as our booking coordinator. Paul runs live sound at the downtown venue New Earth Music Hall and works with local bands in a variety of capacities in addition to his class time on campus. His first venture was an all-ages show in late March that raised money for our upcoming Camp Amped summer program. The bands were all highschool-aged or younger—Second Suns (a band formed during Camp Amped ‘09), Athens and Tealvox.
the all-day affair. Later in April, a group of students from the UGA Leisure Services program, led by Nuçi’s Space volunteer and graduate student Brian Kumm helped kick off our 5th Annual Depression Awareness & Suicide Prevention Week with a benefit concert at the Space. Nashville folk rockers Trees Leave (finalists in the 2009 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest) joined locals Catawba and 3 Foot Swagger for the show. There was a big turnout and the students raised a considerable amount of money for our counseling assistance program.
Paul’s second show veered away from the first genre-wise, bringing in two metro Sigma Alpha Iota, Atlanta-based metal the music fraternity at bands in early April— University of Georgia, Doomed Youth and put on a benefit for Living Decay, the Camp Amped in late Savagist onstage (April 2010) March featuring Athlatter featuring Prae’s ens’ own atmospheric brother David. Those pop band Venice is Sinking. The funds two were paired with two local acts—the sonic behemoth Savagist and scene veterans raised that night will help provide tuition money for Camp attendees. The dedicated Stygian Apothegm. students of SAI have put on this annual conOutside organizations also got involved in cert for the past 3 years. our Spring concert series. A group of young Teacher Allen Witt and the brand-new bands performed all day on March 27th at the local venue The Office Lounge as a benefit Clarke Central High School Music Business for the 2010 Camp Amped session. Marisa Club put on a benefit for Darfur in early May. Mustard, a Camp Amped alumnus, joined Headlined by The Agenda and WildKard, the bands 706 and Athens (both performing the show featured six high-school acts as feain their first of 2 benefit shows this Spring) in tured performers.
Active Volunteers
McKenzy Bailey Alyssa Bernstein Van Beville Allie Brantley Kelly Byers Michael Cairelli Devin Campanella Lesley Cobbs Ana Colon Chuck Dobson Desiree Grigsby Caleb Hunter Joey Kegel Brian Kumm Annie Marcum Kate McCann Bonnie McRae Nancy Milligan Paul Prae Norma Pylant Sara Samuelson Star Scott William Smith Ashley Walker Desiree White Kevan Williams Michael Ziegler
Upcoming Events at Nuçi’s Space
PUSH
June 19th: Camp Amped Session 1 Finale 26th: All-Ages AthFest show: Lauren Lieu, Henry Barbe, Connelly Crowe, and Ram Jam winners Second Suns.
July 17th: Camp Amped Session 2 Finale For more info, please visit www.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