2011 March

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MARCH 2011 nuçi’s space 396 Oconee Street Athens, GA 30601 706.227.1515 [email protected] www.nuci.org Newsletter Contributors Bob Sleppy Will Kiser Laura Ford Matt Hudgins Lesley Cobbs Photos Pam Keener Desiree Grigsby Jason Thrasher Design & Layout Larry Tenner the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center Connecting through Music BY BOB SLEPPY T he evening “bedtime routine” at my household for our 2½ year old daughter consists of her helping to clean-up all of the toys flung around the house and gathering all of her stuffed ani- mals and a blanket to put into the crib with her. However the final request of the night, at least for the past several months, has been for her mom and dad to sing “Wheels on the Bus” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Per her request, “Wheels on the Bus” is always first and sung by “Daddy.” I gained this distinct privilege by being “silly” and occasionally singing the song as each of her stuffed animals; Walter (her favorite fluffy, brown rabbit), Jean Luc (the slightly effeminate puppy from France) and Gator Big (a very long, skinny alligator from southern Louisiana). I’ll let your imagina- tion determine how their singing voices may differ. Fortunately, my rendition of “Wheels” gets high marks in the form of giggling and proclamations to my wife, such as, “Daddy’s silly!” Just as we finish our clapping and cheers for “Wheels on the Bus,” our daugh- ter quickly grabs her blanket, lays her head on the pillow and gently asks–“Mommy, Twinkle?” is is our queue to switch places near the head of the crib and for my wife to take the lead on singing “Twinkle.” e timbre of her voice is gentle, comfort- ing and healing. She sings to her in the way a lullaby is intended to be sung. At the song’s conclusion, we simple say “Good night” and “We love you.” **Disclosure: e above scenario is my idealized version of our “bedtime routine.” I choose to ignore the more accurate ver- sion that includes her uncontrollable cry- ing and mini-tantrums when she’s told that it is “night-night time.” My motivation for thinking about our routine came from reading Daniel Levitin’s book, “e World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature.” Unfortunately it is impossible to fully explain the premise for Levitin’s work in this column. However, the following passage from the book’s introduction may help: “e World in Six Songs explains, at least in part, the evolution of music and brains over tens of thousands of years and across the six inhabited continents. Music, I argue, is not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for more complex behaviors such as lan- guage, large-scale cooperative undertak- ings, and the passing down of important information from one generation to the next. e book explains how we can better understand the role that music has played in our species by thinking about six kinds of songs. ey are songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love.” I am most intrigued by the role “comfort songs” play in our daily lives. It is widely known that a baby’s auditory system develops much faster than vision, recognizing the sound of their mother’s voice long before they can visually distin- guish her from other adults. e use of ‘song’ strengthens this bond even more so. e repetition, rhythm and melody of ‘song’ add an element of predictability that speech alone tends to lack. Simply put, predictability can be comforting and soothing. Two types of “comfort songs” that are a little less obvious include music for the dis- enfranchised and sad music. For instance, when teenagers feel misunderstood, cut-off and isolated from the rest of us, they may find an important ally in a lyricist that has written about similar troubles. I can con- firm that this was true for me as a “disaf- fected” youth and it is still true today when I listen to the songs our Camp Amped kids choose to play in our aſter-school pro- gram. Sometimes we all just want to know that we fit in somewhere and that all the things that we think and feel are normal. e other less obvious “comfort song” is sad music. At first blush, we may ask ourselves, “Why would anyone want to listen to sad music when they are sad?” Levitin’s research shows that prolactin, a tranquilizing hormone, is released when we’re sad. He states, “Sorrow does have a physiological purpose and it may be an adaptive response, which is to help us conserve energy and reorient our priori- ties for the future aſter a traumatic event.” It is suggested that sad music allows us to “trick” our brain into releasing prolactin in response to the feelings induced by the music, and the prolactin then influences our mood in a positive way. e less scientific explanation of “Why would anyone want to listen to sad music when they are sad?” is quite simple. ose who are sad or suffer from clinical depres- sion oſten feel completely isolated and mis- understood. Listening to “happy music” in this state of mind can be especially irritating, compounding those feelings of depression and isolation already present. e connection that a person may feel to a musician or lyricist may also help explain why talk therapy is vital in the treatment of depression. e connection found between two people, even when it’s just a stranger’s voice in a song, is an important first step towards feeling understood and getting better. Music plays a very important role in my life. I use the music and expres- sive genius of others to help guide my own mood and how I relate to the world. Despite the presence of all Levitin’s “Six Songs” in my life, I am most connected to “comfort music.” e soundtrack of my life is filled with songs that have helped to get me through some very difficult times as well as to celebrate my best moments. My hope is that our daughter will learn the power of “comfort music” from her parents. I may regret this wish as I hear angst-ridden, “I hate my parents” music blaring from her teenage bedroom. But I’ll be happy to know that at least the twenty- year-old boy with eyeliner and a faux- hawk singing the song make her feel a little better that day. As a back-up plan, while I listen to my wife singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to our daughter at bedtime, I’ll be think- ing of how to pull off an angst-ridden rock song as a stuffed alligator, with a southern Louisiana accent. Fortunately, I have a few years to practice.

description

Nuci's Space Newsletter

Transcript of 2011 March

Page 1: 2011 March

march 2011

nuçi’s space396 Oconee StreetAthens, GA [email protected]

Newsletter Contributors

Bob SleppyWill KiserLaura FordMatt HudginsLesley Cobbs

Photos

Pam KeenerDesiree GrigsbyJason Thrasher

Design & Layout

Larry Tenner

the newsletter for Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center

Connecting through Music by bob Sleppy

The evening “bedtime routine” at my household for our 2½ year old daughter consists of her helping to

clean-up all of the toys flung around the house and gathering all of her stuffed ani-mals and a blanket to put into the crib with her. However the final request of the night, at least for the past several months, has been for her mom and dad to sing “Wheels on the Bus” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Per her request, “Wheels on the Bus” is always first and sung by “Daddy.” I gained this distinct privilege by being “silly” and occasionally singing the song as each of her stuffed animals; Walter (her favorite fluffy, brown rabbit), Jean Luc (the slightly effeminate puppy from France) and Gator Big (a very long, skinny alligator from southern Louisiana). I’ll let your imagina-tion determine how their singing voices may differ. Fortunately, my rendition of “Wheels” gets high marks in the form of giggling and proclamations to my wife, such as, “Daddy’s silly!”

Just as we finish our clapping and cheers for “Wheels on the Bus,” our daugh-ter quickly grabs her blanket, lays her head on the pillow and gently asks–“Mommy, Twinkle?” This is our queue to switch places near the head of the crib and for my wife to take the lead on singing “Twinkle.” The timbre of her voice is gentle, comfort-ing and healing. She sings to her in the way a lullaby is intended to be sung. At the song’s conclusion, we simple say “Good night” and “We love you.”

**Disclosure: The above scenario is my idealized version of our “bedtime routine.” I choose to ignore the more accurate ver-sion that includes her uncontrollable cry-ing and mini-tantrums when she’s told that it is “night-night time.”

My motivation for thinking about our routine came from reading Daniel Levitin’s book, “The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature.” Unfortunately it is impossible to fully explain the premise for Levitin’s work in this column. However, the following passage from the book’s introduction may help:

“The World in Six Songs explains, at least in part, the evolution of music and brains over tens of thousands of years and across the six inhabited continents. Music, I argue, is not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for more complex behaviors such as lan-guage, large-scale cooperative undertak-ings, and the passing down of important information from one generation to the next. The book explains how we can better understand the role that music has played in our species by thinking about six kinds of songs. They are songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love.”

I am most intrigued by the role “comfort songs” play in our daily lives. It is widely known that a baby’s auditory system develops much faster than vision, recognizing the sound of their mother’s voice long before they can visually distin-guish her from other adults. The use of ‘song’ strengthens this bond even more so. The repetition, rhythm and melody of ‘song’ add an element of predictability that speech alone tends to lack. Simply put, predictability can be comforting and soothing.

Two types of “comfort songs” that are a little less obvious include music for the dis-enfranchised and sad music. For instance, when teenagers feel misunderstood, cut-off and isolated from the rest of us, they may find an important ally in a lyricist that has written about similar troubles. I can con-firm that this was true for me as a “disaf-fected” youth and it is still true today when I listen to the songs our Camp Amped kids choose to play in our after-school pro-gram. Sometimes we all just want to know that we fit in somewhere and that all the things that we think and feel are normal.

The other less obvious “comfort song” is sad music. At first blush, we may ask ourselves, “Why would anyone want to listen to sad music when they are sad?” Levitin’s research shows that prolactin, a tranquilizing hormone, is released when we’re sad. He states, “Sorrow does have a physiological purpose and it may be

an adaptive response, which is to help us conserve energy and reorient our priori-ties for the future after a traumatic event.” It is suggested that sad music allows us to “trick” our brain into releasing prolactin in response to the feelings induced by the music, and the prolactin then influences our mood in a positive way.

The less scientific explanation of “Why would anyone want to listen to sad music when they are sad?” is quite simple. Those who are sad or suffer from clinical depres-sion often feel completely isolated and mis-understood. Listening to “happy music” in this state of mind can be especially irritating, compounding those feelings of depression and isolation already present. The connection that a person may feel to a musician or lyricist may also help explain why talk therapy is vital in the treatment of depression. The connection found between two people, even when it’s just a stranger’s voice in a song, is an important first step towards feeling understood and getting better.

Music plays a very important role in my life. I use the music and expres-sive genius of others to help guide my own mood and how I relate to the world. Despite the presence of all Levitin’s “Six Songs” in my life, I am most connected to “comfort music.” The soundtrack of my life is filled with songs that have helped to get me through some very difficult times as well as to celebrate my best moments. My hope is that our daughter will learn the power of “comfort music” from her parents. I may regret this wish as I hear angst-ridden, “I hate my parents” music blaring from her teenage bedroom. But I’ll be happy to know that at least the twenty-year-old boy with eyeliner and a faux-hawk singing the song make her feel a little better that day.

As a back-up plan, while I listen to my wife singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to our daughter at bedtime, I’ll be think-ing of how to pull off an angst-ridden rock song as a stuffed alligator, with a southern Louisiana accent. Fortunately, I have a few years to practice.

Page 2: 2011 March

Widespread Panic was in Athens in mid-February to cel-ebrate their 25th anniversary, play-ing 2-nights in their hometown at the Classic Center. While they were here the band donated an acoustic guitar to Nuçi’s Space, signed by all the members of the band. We sold raffle tickets to fans, giving one fan a chance to go home with the guitar. Gregory Gonzalez, a Widespread Panic fan from Springfield, Missouri was the lucky winner.

Brown Cat, Panic’s management team, approached Nuçi’s Space

with the signed Washburn acoustic guitar and the idea to raffle it off. Nuçi’s Space Executive Director Bob Sleppy, joined by Nuçi’s Space volunteers, set up in the lobby of the Classic Center on February 10th and 11th. As concert-goers poured into the sold-out venue, they pur-chased tickets–some tickets were sold online as well. When the final show had ended and it was time to draw a winner, the guitar raffle had raised $10,000 for the nonprofit mission of Nuçi’s Space. Thank-you so much to Brown Cat and Widespread Panic!

Nuçi PhillipsMemorial Foundation

Board of Directors

President: Stephanie Sharp

Vice President: Matt Justus

Treasurer: Robert L. Bachman, CPA

Secretary: Rebecca Hood

Linda V. PhillipsPierre PhillipsPatterson HoodDr. Bill OrrSally SpeedBenjamin Roberts IIIEllie MacKnightDavid BarbeK.P. DevlinNikki Boatwright

Executive Director

Bob Sleppy

Legal Counsel

Mike LavenderJim Warnes

Widespread Panic Guitar Raffle Hugely Successful

Recent DonoRsAshley, Donna D. & Arthur B. Johnson

Athens CinéAthens Music CollectiveAthens-Oconee Junior Woman’s Club

Babaliaros, Constantine & Fotini

Baron, Richard & MaggieBates, HortenseBel-Jean Copy/Print CenterBenson, Kristina Petti & GregBerg, KristenBernstein, AlyssaBilheimer, Chris & HilaryBlakeman, DougBlaschak, AnitaBoyles, James W. & SandraBrown, PeteBryan, Philip & JaneCanine, DavidCoenen, Dan T. & Sally WycheCoggins, KimCoulliard, JoshDemmin, JuliaDowling, EdDowns, Bertis & KatherineDurrett, Donald & KarinFitzgerald, Katherine & StevenGlazer, JudithGoetz, Theodore M.Harvey, David & Nancy McDuffHinds, KillickHuszagh, Rick & SandiI.A.T.S.E. Local 824Jarrett, Diane & Seth CopelandJKC III FoundationJohnson, BryceJordan, JeremiahKarchenes, RuthKim, Bo-KyungKiser, John & MiriamKoplan, Carol & JeffreyLatona, John & KayLaux, Peter & Joyce A.Lee, JohnLester, David

Lines, RandLutz, Richard & BarbaraMalik, Robert & JenniferMartin, Dr.& Mrs. DavidMonroe, DougNettles, VictorNicholson, Dr. PeterOrr, WilliamPerez, Dr. & Mrs. A.R.Raque, David & Susan Lynn Todd

Roberds, Thomas & PamelaRose, II, RichardRosenberger, Charles & Chandler

Dine, Dr. Yssa SaadSanders, Walter & EmilySaucier, Scott & CindySchools, DavidSebok, ScottSleppy, JanetSmith, StacySommer, MarcSpalding, MargieStacy, MarkStephenson, F.J. & SharonThreedimesdown.comTobias, JeffreyTrandel, Gregory & MargaretVolo Trade Inc.Wagner, EttaWare, AmyWUOG

In Memory of April BachtelCooney, Mary Kelly & MarkCrawford, Jerry & JudyMcKissick, John & NancyVasenden, N. Arvid & Melissa

In Memory of Winship Carpenter

Mr. & Mrs. Howell Kiser

In Memory of Vic ChesnuttBarwick, Clark & MollyBunnell, JohnEubanks, Tony & Lara MathesHood, Patterson & Rebecca

In Memory of John Kim Coggins III

Kim Coggins

In Memory of Greg GarnerEric T. Johnson

In Memory of Thomas Michael Gordon

Bobbi Gordon

In Memory of W. Lane GreeneNancy Greene

In Memory of Elissa HadleyTheresa M. Stroud

In Memory of Ted HaferChris Slay / Coastwise Consulting, Inc.

Greene, Jessica L.Greene, NancyHourihan, CarrieJuras, Philip & Beth Gavrilles

In Memory of Sims HibbertClark & Molly Barwick

In Memory of Sherrill LackeyDon Roberts

In Memory of Pete McKennaRay and Breon Allen Family Fund

In Memory of Jared HillBartley, BudDale, PattiGilley, JillHall, KirstenHarris, DarcieJohnston, SamMason, KimO’Connor, MichaelSellers, RonStewart, CarmelitaRaybourn, SusanSchmidt FamilyScheffe, Charleen

Schmidt, PaigeSilberstein, SaraSouth, A.L. & CoradellSchmidt, JudithYelton, Michelle

In Memory of Andrea Mara Orlen

Belfiore, DorevaBuchwald, LauraCamp, SarahJackson, DaniMajid, AneesaSkurai, MichiStutz, Katie Lippa

In Memory of Christopher M. Page

Cathy Page

In Memory of A. Nuçi PhillipsBarstow, JanetCarlin, Drs. Richard & EnidCorish, Jr., Walter & PattyGreiner, Charlie & Anita

In Memory of Bradley RobinsonPhantasy Tour, LLCRobinson, David & Christine

In Memory of Tony StaianoFranklin, HowardKunzler, BrendaZeeman, Robert

In Memory of Stan StephensonAlice Stephenson

In Memory of Anthony StirlingJohn Stirling

In Memory of Israel TyreeLeslie Tyree

In Memory of Karl UnwalaLines, Rand

In Memory of Matthew WorleyJackie Burson

Page 3: 2011 March

Drive-By Truckers Begin Second Decade of Support for Nuçi’s Space by Will KiSer

This past January marked the 11th year that Athens-based rock band Drive-By Truckers has performed an annual benefit concert for Nuçi’s Space. The first show took place here at Nuçi’s Space, when the band had two, independently produced albums under their belt. Two years later the Truckers performed for the first time in its entirety, their stirring concept album “Southern Rock Opera” on our stage at the Space. Over the next few years the band’s profile grew, members moved on and they signed with a bigger record label. DBT began mak-ing appearances on late-night talk shows (they even squeezed into the Billboard Top 40 with their album “Brighter Than Creations’ Dark”).

Through all of the changes of the band, they’ve always been dedicated supporting the mission of Nuçi’s Space – not only by raising money for our counseling assistance pro-gram but by spreading the word across the globe and taking us with them everywhere they go.

This year’s benefit, like each one before it, was bigger and better than the year before. The model for the week-end has been consistent: the Truckers play a three-night stand at the 40 Watt, with the proceeds from one of the nights going to Nuçi’s Space. This year, it was the final

show of the three, which sold out in a few weeks.Nuçi’s Space also hosts a pre-party before the fi-

nal show every year, auctioning off signed Truckers memorabilia and artwork. This year we auctioned off donations from various local businesses, artists and photographers. Mike Cooley, guitarist/vocalist for DBT,

donated a signed acoustic guitar that he used on two of the Truckers’ albums and in various live shows and solo gigs. DBT drummer Brad Morgan donated the drum head from his bass drum, decorated with a logo from the band’s last album “The Big To-Do.” Wes Freed, the band’s official logo/concert poster/album cover artist, donated an original copy of the weekend’s poster. The painting was encased in a handmade wooden frame built and painted by Freed.

Fans came in from all over the world for the weekend of shows. Nuçi’s Space awarded the first annual Road Warrior Awards for the fans who either flew the farthest or drove

the farthest to be in Athens for the weekend. Tim and Fiona Peacock were the runaway winners for flying in from SCOTLAND (for the second year in a row). Two die-hard fans drove all-night from New York City to take home the award for farthest distance driven.

nuçi’s spaceStaff

Bob SleppyWill KiserLaura FordMatt HudginsDan NettlesChris ByronPaul PraeLesley Cobbs

High School Intern

Marisa Mustard

Active Volunteers

Brooks, CarrieCobbs, LesleyCurry, KatherineGrigsby, DesireeKeener, PamKegel, JoeyKokeza, DunjaKrafft, CynthiaMilligan, NancyMorris, JohnNorris, PeterPatterson, JustinPrae, DavidSenn, BrantleySims, AaronStojanovic, DuskoWashington, KahjaWetli, Renee

The idea for a musical instrument-inspired art show was first revealed nearly 4 years ago when The Gretsch Foundation awarded Nuçi’s Space 4 small acoustic gui-tars, 3 full-size acoustic guitars and a beginner-level drumset as part of a fundraising program called Guitar Art. The Gretsch Company, based in Savannah, GA, has been producing world-class drums and guitars since 1883. While maintaining an emphasis on by hand crafts-manship and its dedication to quality, Gretsch has kept its philanthropic commitment to the community as well. In 2002 the Gretsch Company started donating instru-ments to schools and organizations to help with their fundraising needs. Through this program, non-profit organizations receive used guitars and with the help of local artists turn them into beautiful and unique pieces that are then sold at auction.

The long awaited Guitar Art Show and Auction will be held on Thursday, April 14th in the Rialto Room at the award-winning Hotel Indigo in downtown Athens. The event promises to be an unforgettable night, filled with great music and art. Hotel Indigo is offering special dis-counted room rates for attendees interested in staying the

night and soaking up the hotel’s world-class accommoda-tions. Please check www.nuci.org for further details.

“Although it has taken us several years to get this show together, the collection of instruments and music memorabilia available for auction is very impres-sive,” says Executive Director, Bob Sleppy. In ad-dition to the instruments donated by Gretsch, the auction will include other instruments donated by local musicians.

Music memorabilia will include items auto-graphed by the B-52’s, Kenny Rogers, Drive-By Truckers, Colt Ford, Green Day, R.E.M., Ben Mize (formerly of Counting Crows), Kris Kristofferson and Oscar winner, Jeff Bridges (from the film “Crazy Heart”). A highlight of the show will include a cus-tom acoustic guitar, built by Athens-based luthier, Scott Baxendale and signed by Drive-By Truckers.

(Featured Artists: Wilma Pittard, Lou Kregel, Chris Bilheimer, Chris Wyrick, Chris Gholson, John Gholson, Jamie Calkin, Wes Freed, Jason McFar-land, Lamar Wood, Jeff Hannan and John Ahee.)

After Long Wait, Guitar Art Auction is set for April

Scott Baxendale performs at the Drive-By Truckers pre-party.

Page 4: 2011 March

It’s no secret that the Athens music scene is much, much larger than what many people perceive it to be. Just because you don’t play in a band at a downtown venue every week or make the coveted music column in Flagpole on a regular basis doesn’t mean you’re not a part of what makes Athens’ music scene so special. This notion sparked the idea for the inau-gural 2011 Athens Business Rocks, a benefit for Nuçi’s Space.

The fundamentals for the event were quite simple: employees of local businesses would form a band that would compete against other busi-nesses onstage at the world-famous 40 Watt Club. The ultimate goal was to raise money for Nuçi’s Space while having as much fun as possible. 26 bands signed up and performances were broken up into 4 nights–3 semi-final rounds during the first week of February and the Grand Finale on February 19th.

During each semi-final round, bands were asked to prepare 15 minutes (3 cover songs) of music. The bands were evaluated in three areas; scores from “celebrity” judges, audience favorite and fundraising. The judges scores were based on three categories; Showmanship, Creativity and Badassness. The audience favor-

ite was selected by how many fans they brought to the show and a (not-so-scientific) reading of the “applause-o-meter.” Lastly, fundraising was scored by giving 1 point for every dol-lar raised by each business/band. They were encouraged to ask friends, customers and fellow employees to donate online at athensbusinessrocks.com or make contributions the night of the event by adding to the “bribe jars,” located in front of the judges. One band from each round was selected as the “Semi-Final Round Winner” and asked to return two week later, on February 19th, to complete against the other two semi-finalists.

The talent level was incredible, and the amount of work everyone put into their show was more than we could’ve hoped for. Bands built props, put together video to be projected be-hind their performance, dressed up AND did a great job get-ting all their friends and co-workers to come out to the shows.

Over 250 people showed up to see the Grand Finale on Feb. 19th. The finalists were “The McCommunists” (Flagpole Magazine), “80 Pound Cougar” (Bel-Jean Copy/Print) and “The One-Hitters” (Volo). The final scores were tight but Flagpole’s band–named for their “Great Lead-er” and Publisher Pete McCommons–came out on top, the 2011 Athens Business Rocks Champion.

Thanks to our celebrity judges: Lisa Love, Parker Gispert, Julian Dorio, David Barbe, DeWitt Burton, Brad Morgan, Patterson Hood, Dan-iel Peiken, Dottie Alexander and Davey Wrathgabar.

Musician’s Warehouse Raffle Supports Nuçi’s Space

Nuçi’s Space would like to offer a big thank you to Ed Magruder and Musician’s Warehouse for offering four guitars to raffle at the Athens Business Rocks Grand Finale on February 19. Selling $1 tickets both before and during the shows, over $1,100 was raised to sup-port our nonprofit mission of helping local musicians and fighting depression and suicide. Special thanks are also in order to the Taylor, Martin, Fender and Great Divide companies for donating the guitars and to everyone who bought a ticket (or twenty). Congratulations to our win-ners John Watkins, Jim Kautz, Charlie Hartness, and Juliet Easton!

ParticiPating Bands:Sunshine Cycles “Gears for Fears”Flagpole Magazine “The McCommunists”Wisevest / White Systems / Classic Installations / AutoMax “The Nine G’s”Musicians Warehouse “Ed Magruder’s Last Minute All-Stars”Caledonia Lounge “Chapped Lips”Hot Breath Glass Studio / L Marie Adams Inc. / Ware Tutoring “Jailbait”The Red Zone “What Up Dawg?”D&D Heating & Air Conditioning “Static Pressure”Thrasher Photography & Design “Brian Enotown Massacre”Hendershot’s Coffee / Jittery Joes Tasting Room “Clusterphunk”Partner Software “Boy George Clinton”Baxendale Guitar “The Fret Dressers”Bel-Jean Copy/Print “80# Cougar”Transmetropolitan “The Wilfred Brimley Extravaganza Family Band Project”Epting Events “Pot Pie”Mama’s Boy “Sweater Biscuits”The State Botanical Garden of Georgia “Botjam”40 Watt Club “40 Cent”TSAV “Punch List”Peach Mac “The Mac Daddy”Volo “The One Hitters”

Judges winners: “Chapped Lips”, “Boy George Clinton”, “40 Cent”Fundraising winners: “The McCommunists”, “80# Cougar”, “The

One-Hitters”Crowd Favorites: “Gears for Fears”, “What Up Dawg?”, “BotJam”3rd Place Overall: Bel-Jean Copy/Print “80# Cougar”2nd Place Overall: Volo “The One Hitters”1st Place Overall: “Flagpole Magazine “The McCommunists”

The McCommunists

2011: The Inaugural

Page 5: 2011 March

The Medical College of Georgia and the University of Georgia have partnered to cre-ate a four-year medical education program in Athens to help alleviate a statewide shortage of phy-sicians in Georgia. The first class of 40 students started their first semester of the program in August 2010.

In addition to tradition-al coursework, MCG/UGA Medical Partnership is providing service-learning experiences for medical students that will fulfill learning objectives and provide service that meets a true community need. The medical part-nership has partnered with five local non-profit organizations through which students

will work during the coming year—Nuçi’s Space, Head Start, Athens Nurses Clinic, Athens Community Council on Aging, and

the UGA University Health Center.A group of 8 students and 2 faculty advi-

sors have been working closely with Nuçi’s

Space staff and mental health professionals since Fall semester 2010 to identify specific community issues related to depression in

the creative community. The goal for students dur-ing Spring Semester 2011 will be to implement some strategies to address these issues. A presentation of their work will be made on May 2nd on the University of Georgia campus.

(Medical Students: Ash-ley Austin, Brett Kodish, Kayla Koch, Rutvi Patel, Teddy Brandon, Travis Palmer, Saumya Dave and

Daniel Spollen Faculty Coaches: Leslie Petch Lee, PhD. and Laurel B. Murrow, M.D., M.Sc.)

Nuçi’s Space Partners with Medical School

Having taken the role of volunteer coordinator from Will this month I know I’ve got some pretty big boots to fill and I’m looking forward to learning the ropes.

Though I’ve been a volunteer here at Nuçi’s Space for a couple of years and worked with volun-teers previously, I was completely taken by surprise when I sent out my first shout out for “Help Needed.” The response was phe-nomenal! Within 2 hours I had to turn volunteers away and I could have filled the positions available 4 times over. And still the offers of help kept coming! Of course that isn’t always the case but for a first call, I was blown away. When I got home that night, before even “Hi Honey I’m home,” the words that came shouting out of my mouth were “Nuçi’s volunteers are phe-nomenal!” and I truly meant it.

I met a few of our volunteers at the ‘Athens Business Rocks shows where they worked hard all night long doing a multitude of different jobs. From taking photographs to managing the stage, each gave their time and energy freely, either filling in where needed or utilizing their own skills and experience to the fullest. It was a great intro-duction to my new post and a lot of fun.

We have a constantly updated calendar of events and appreci-ate all the assistance our volunteers can give, be it the occasional event or long-term involvement. If you would like to volunteer I’m available Tuesdays and Thursdays, so give me a call 706.227.1515

or come down and we’ll figure out how best to get you involved. You can also visit our website www.nuci.org and fill in the volun-teer application online; you will then be kept up to date with all event volunteer opportunities by email.

If you already volunteer I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you do. I look forward to meeting you and working with you soon!

Cheers!Lesley

Page 6: 2011 March

right side glows the newsletter for nuçi’s space, a nonprofit musicians’ support/resource center

In a move that shocked and dismayed attending fans of the Athens Business Rocks semi-final on Wednesday, February 2nd, the Nuci’s Space band Çicago was disquali-fied from the competition when it was alleged that former Chicago frontman and noted superstar Peter Cetera had performed with the group. This would have violated the rule that participating bands not perform original material, as Cetera was the author of such tender hits as “If You Leave Me Now” and “You’re The Inspiration.”

While utterances of terms such as “miscarriage of justice” and “kangaroo court” were bandied about the near-riotous crowd in the aftermath of this ugly announcement, this newsman would like to remind everyone that the point of this event was to have fun and raise funds for Nuci’s Space; a “FUNraiser,” if you will.

At each of these aims Çicago succeeded in spades. Without speculating as to the accuracy of the accusations made against the band and at the risk of editorializing, I find it

understandable that someone might have easily been con-vinced by the velvety-voiced falsetto stylings being emitted from onstage that the great Cetera himself was indeed present and performing at the 40 Watt Club.

While they may not have been able to move on into the final round of competition of Athens Business Rocks, many witnesses left breathless by their performance might well be said to have “left their hearts

in Çicago.” I for one can only hope that it won’t be “25 or 6 to 4” years before band members Bob Sleppy, Dan Nettles, Chris Byron, Will Kiser, Paul Prae, Joe McMullen, and espe-cially singer Matt Hudgins grace the public stage again!

Upcoming Events at Nuçi’s Space

AprilThursday, 14th: Guitar Art Silent Auction

@ Hotel Indigo, 5:30pm

MaySunday, 1st: Camp Amped After School Grand Finale

@ Hendershots, 7:00pm

For more details, visit www.nuci.org.

PUSH

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706-548-3648www.bel-jean.com

163 E. Broad StreetDowntown Athens

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Çicago Loses Competition, Wins Hearts by “patt DuDginS”