New music: Residual Kid charity single drops July 15, free show Saturday

Tomorrow Austin garage act Residual Kid drop a new single, "Friday on My Mind" an Easybeats cover from 1966. The locals have been enjoying national buzz since SXSW 2013, recording with J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) and performing all over the country. All proceeds from the sale of the new record will be dontated to Hospice Austin and Livestrong. The all-under 18 band was inspired by fan, Miriam "Miri" Hyman who requested they record the song before she... Continue reading at Examiner.com

Weekend music preview: Casual Strangers, HAAM Chili Cook-off, Shakey Graves

This weekend is shaping up to be another great one for local live music in Austin. We realize the weather has been cold in Central Texas this week but Saturday forecasters predict a high of 72 degrees. Friday night The Boxing Lesson side project, Casual Strangers play the Mohawk. Music fans can warm up even more Saturday by sampling spicy goodness at the HAAM benefit chili cook-off which will feature music by... Continue reading at Examiner.com

What Was I Doing Fasting for Ramadan?: Try Fasting Part II

Last year my friend, Amanda Quiraishi  (we call her Q) suggested I try fasting for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, as part of a one-day, interfaith experiment. I chose to join and it was a good decision. The event was a success in terms of the participants enthusiasm for  fasting, the support each gave one another and the conversation generated. This year, Q expanded upon the theme, convincing many more folks to "try fasting" and hosted an Iftar (break the fast dinner) at her home. Needless to say, the conversation in Q's living room that evening was exceedingly interesting. The goal of fasting in observance of the holiday is to realize how fortunate we are not to worry about hunger and poverty as millions on the planet still do. Yet another benefit is understanding that our religious differences are outweighed by our similarities.

A noticeable difference in Try Fasting this year to last was the amount of charitable acts folks performed in honor of Ramadan. Rob Quigley distributed water and snacks to homeless folks in Austin. Genevieve Pardo impulsively covered the cost of groceries for a customer in line next to her who did not have enough money to purchase food for herself in Florida. Hannah Kapasi volunteered pro-bono legal assistance. Many donated money to their chosen charity. In all, the good energy sent into the world was awe inspiring. I could not get over how amazed I was at myriad of good deeds performed humbly and selflessly. The idea of "paying it forward" really DOES work. The idea of Try Fasting is brilliant, as it our friend, Q whose work in this area I have been admiring since I met her at a blogging event.

As each of us coped with fasting that day and reflected upon our experiences and shared with each other, I was reminded that this feeling of camaraderie and hope stemmed from the variety of people involved and the realization that we were sharing the experience, that is, we were not alone in our slow realization of what Ramadan really means and why Muslims are "just like us". The same realization extends to who we share the Earth with. We begin to understand that human behavior is universal and our differences are minuscule. Regardless of where we live, what we believe, who we pledge our allegiance to, man has the same basic wants, needs and desires. No one culture is the proper way to do things. Rather, we begin to understand there are many paths that lead to the same destination.

Personally I have observed benefits in my own world as a result of participating in Try Fasting; I feel more gratitude, I became more compassionate and aware of others in need, I feel more optimistic and most significantly, I feel hope for our future. Those results are convincing enough to give others reason to Try Fasting. I know I will be there with the rest of our group next year. In fact, I am looking forward to it.

Q's post-mortem blog post provides screen shots highlighting the conversation and and an excellent overview of the day.

Had to share a shots of the delicious meal featuring traditional dishes and an amazing dessert:

The star of the meal was the stew in the foreground, which contained beef, garlic, onion lentils and spices that we topped with fried onions, fresh ginger, lime, cilantro and jalapeno. 

Shahi Tukhra (Royal Portions)

Special thanks to Amanda Quirishi, Sarah Vela, Rob Quigley, Stacey K Face, Anwar Pandit, Kay Marley-Dilworth, Sadia Termizi, Jane Grenier and everyone that participated. See the entire conversation on Facebook by visiting the Try Fasting Group Page. 

Have you ever fasted for religious purposes? What was your experience like? Did it change the way you view the world?

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!

Austin Twestival to Support Meals on Wheels and More

Early in my social media life I decided to emulate others I was learning from in this space by choosing a local charity to support. When Twestival Local organizer, Wesley Faulkner asked for suggestions on which local charities to nominate,  a group came to mind immediately, MOWAM. It gives me much pleasure to announce Austin Twestival, a local branch of an international Twitter charity, Twestival has selected Meals on Wheels and More .

I have gotten to know Andrea Torres and Sarah Andrews of MOWAM as I've volunteered with the group over the past year. Both of these women work tirelessly to ensure their clients receive the services they desperately need. Without question, this organization is deserving of the support Austin Twestival has offered. Read what we wrote about MOWAM on the Austin Twestival site:

"At last! The news you’ve all been waiting for….
We’re thrilled to announce that Austin Twestival will be supporting the incredible local charity Meals on Wheels and More (MOWAM) with our 2011 event on March 24. In addition to delivering hot, nutritious meals to the elderly, disabled or homebound, MOWAM:

•    delivers groceries to clients twice a month,
•    makes “care calls” via phone to homebound clients,
•    provides transportation for clients to medical appointments,
•    offers free vet services and food to pets of homebound clients,
•    helps clients with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia ,
•    provides home repairs that are related to the health and safety of clients, and more!

MOWAM is a 501(c)(3) multi-service organization that relies on the help of approximately 5,000 volunteers to serve nearly 3,400 clients every day. And this year, MOWAM will benefit from the funds raised by you and your fellow Austinites through Austin Twestival.

 We’re pleased to say that 100 percent of ticket sales and donations will go directly to MOWAM, where it will be put to great use supporting the elderly, disabled and homebound in the Austin area.

Our ticket sales page can be found here. In the meantime, help us spread the word about Austin Twestival 2011! We look forward to supporting MOWAM…and having a great time while we’re at it."

The idea is simple. The Austin Twestival committee asked the community to suggest a charity to support. We plan an event (see Facebook Event page). Details of the party planned for March 24th at The Dogwood are being finalized soon. If you have attended a Twestival event in Austin before, you know how much fun it was. This event is going to follow in the same tradition. Buy tickets here. Click here to get involved.  I hope you will join us.

~ Greg

Rock Raizer Fashion Show & Concert benefiting Big Brothers/Big Sisters Austin

Rock Raizer and event founder, Julie Taylor are hosting the first of two annual fashion shows. This event will benefit some children participating in Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Austin and local foster children on Saturday April 17th at Encore Club ~ 611 Red River in downtown Austin. The fashion show will feature the designs of some of Central Texas' hottest new fashion designers, including 2009 Texas Next Top Designer, Megan Summerville .

In keeping with Austin music tradition there will also be an afternoon concert line-up of six kids bands. The fashion show will follow with swag bags for all paid guests. The show will conclude with a concert by Eleven-Fingered Charlie (EFC) and Sun Salutations. Here's EFC's Reverbnation bio:

"Eleven Fingered Charlie is an inventive genre-crossing rock/reggae project based out of Austin, TX. Since 2001, the band's status has been expanding with each passing year through word-of-mouth grass roots efforts. EFC's devotion to their musical career has opened the door to opportunities such as the Barack Obama Political Rally as well as many shows with major artists like The English Beat, Pepper, OAR, The Expendables, etc. Dedication and creativity remain paramount as EFC continues to push forward, writing new music, building new friends/fans and sharing their interpretation of what the future of rock and reggae music can sound like."

VIP tickets with preferred seating and bonus swag bags are available as well at http://rockraizer.eventbrite.com/.

Links:

http://do512.com/event/2010/04/17/premiere-of-the-semi-annual-rock-raizer-benefit

Facebook Fan Page

http://rockraizer.tumblr.com/

Five for Phive

Since I have joined the fun on Twitter the amount of loving, caring, quality individuals I have met hs been staggering. Austin has been the well from which most of these people came (although there are others all over the world). It's been a wonderful side benefit to learning how to use this platform to help my clients. In the process, Twitter allowed me to help people on a larger scale than I'd been able to do in the past. My desire to help others stems from my father's influence. In CA he runs a children's charity called the Orange County Children's Book Festival. He is also active in Kiwanis International, March of Dimes and some others. His lifelong example has instilled these same values in me.

There's a guy I met that is truly a cool cat. He's been putting on these INCREDIBLE dub reggae shows at Ruta Maya because he loves the music and is trying to encourage a more vibrant Dub Scene here in Austin. He's from North County, San Diego where dub has a big presence locally. There is definitely a market for this music here. After all, we host Bob Marley day in April at Auditorium Shores and the place looks like it's going to overflow with concertgoers during that weekend.

On New Year's Eve I actually left the sold-out show at Stubb's (sorry BJL love you guys) and met up with a good friend and we hit Ruta Maya. I could feel the bass in my chest, OUTSIDE the coffee/kind beer house. When we got inside, I gave the nice lady (Phive's wife it turned out) at the door my name. When I did, this tall, ginger-haired guy exclaimed, "Dude! You're Greg Ackerman?!" and reach out to give me a big, warm hug. He was awesome. So positive. The kind of person you WANT to hang around.

Phive encouraged me to check out the show. Which was great. There were a number of DJs spinning that night, but the guy who seemed to do it for me was McPullish.

Later, in front of the club, Phive and I were talking. I asked him how he ended up in Austin. He told me it was a cool place to raise his family and hang. He also told me he had to sell his top of the line Nikon Camera along with both his lenses to put food on the table. He said it with a smile on his face and quickly changed the subject. But I could tell he was crushed.

You see, Phive is not a concert promoter. He's a professional photographer. With no camera. He told me Music Festivals INVITE him to shoot. It would sure be nice to have him shooting SXSW. I asked Phive last week what gear he'd owned. After calculating costs to replace these items, I created a button named Five for Phive at the bottom of this page. If 600 of you caring ATXers I've met in the past six months decide to help by donating only $5 to the fund I created (I set up an account at Velocity Credit Union), I'll be able to turn over enough funds for Phive to get back to his bread and butter, shooting fantastic live music photos.

Please use Pay Pal or a CC to donate at the top of the page . My goal is to raise $3k by March 1st. I know it can be done. Read my post on the Build Texas blog. Thank you for reading. And for donating.