Hard Proof Afrobeat and Tony Congas need your help during Free Week in Austin

All music fans, Austinites, and good folks,

My good friends, Hard Proof  need your help. Their conga player, Tony Cruz has been struggling with health issues since the Spring of last year. He has not been able to work a full-time job since. That, coupled with health care costs have put him in a precarious financial situation. Hard Proof members and folks close to the band have all expressed concern and have offered what financial support they could to Tony. But now they need your help. Ideally, you get something in return for your generosity. In this case, that means an outstanding Afrobeat-inspired album that you can own today, just name your price. Click the band website or bandcamp links below to download the album now. 

Here's a taste of what you will receive recorded live at KVRX radio at the University of Texas:

Other ways you can help:

1. Share this post with your friends, email list, on your website or republish to your blog

2. Come to the Free Week show at Red 7 Thursday and donate a few dollars

I hope to see y'all at Red 7 Thursday. If you have any questions on how to help or need to contact me, please use the email contact form in link below or connect with me on your preferred social media channel. I will respond as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Greg Ackerman

Austin Concerts Examiner

http://about.me/gregackerman

Here is a copy of the email Hard Proof sent to fans today:

Happy Holidays friends!

We’ve had quite a year.  Each show seems to be better than the last, and we’re cranking out some new righteous jams that promise to blow your mind. 

We’ve got a handful of shows inked for the next year.  Most notably, we’re playing Adi Anand’s free week throwdown on Thursday, January 5^th at the Red 7 with 5 other awesome bands.  Free week in general is a total blast, just head towards Red River, walk into a bar, and I promise you will hear something that will change your life (if you let it)

http://www.facebook.com/events/293534044016477/

Next we’ll be at the Sahara Lounge with Money Chicha on January 13^th.  Money Chicha is a Psych-Cumbia side project of Grupo Fantasma & Brownout.  Our drummer turns 35 at midnight.  He has but 1 birthday wish this year, which leads me to a story. 

Tony Cruz, our conga player, was diagnosed with the pulmonary disorder COPD back in the Spring.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001153/

Like most musicians in Austin, he doesn’t have proper health coverage and has been utilizing state services and whatever else to get by.  Since his diagnosis he’s had pneumonia at least once, just had his gall bladder out, and I can think of a few times where I looked over at him on stage and wondered if he was leaving the club in an ambulance that night.  He has been unable to work full time and has been waiting on disability payments to come through for months, and now may need a lawyer to get all of those that he’s entitled to.  As we're a family, we’ve helped out as much as we can from both band and personal funds, but we’re depleting our recording budget rapidly in doing so.  If you’d like to help, here’s a few ways. 

-Pay what you wish for the record.  Either from hardproofmusic.com or http://hardproof.bandcamp.com/

-If you see any of us at a show with a bucket that says “Tony’s Rent” or something similar, put a few bucks in.

-Hire him for conga lessons, gigs or light labor work in the Austin area. He’s been a handyman forever and can do just about any home repair you can think of.  Email the band account and we will connect you.  That being said, he’s hoping to get certified as a home inspector in the next few months as his health is becoming prohibitive of him doing hard labor all the time. 

-If you are in the healing arts or a dietician and would like to volunteer a consultation, by all means let us know.

   

-As always, COME TO THE SHOWS!