Independent Artist Aid

Independent Artist Aid on Myspace

2006-06-21T03:48:00.000Z

Mercy Corps work in regions affected by the Asian Tsunami continues, and Independent Artist Aid is proud to continue supporting the charity workers' efforts to assist survivors in rebuilding their lives and their communities.

To see what they have been doing with your donations, click here.

We are now on myspace, where we hope a wider public will buy some more CDs to help fund this important work. And of course we hope that all the myspacers dig our tunes too.

If you're on myspace, please add us to your friends list:

http://www.myspace.com/independentartistaid

Thanks.

One Year On

2005-12-21T03:46:00.000Z

A year on from the Tsunami disaster, work goes on in the affected regions.

The Mercy Corps has achieved an amazing amount, and there is still much to do:

From the hours after the disaster, we have known that recovery across the tsunami zone will take years, not months. We continue to work with communities to achieve strong, sustainable results.

It is important to remember that the Aceh and Sri Lanka recoveries are taking place in the context of long-standing civil conflicts. In Aceh, the tsunami has helped bring the two sides closer together. In Sri Lanka, it remains to be seen whether the recovery process will help ease tensions between the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.

Mercy Corps' recovery programs in Aceh and Sri Lanka are designed to bring people together, emphasizing their many shared goals over their past differences. In both places, the peace process and the tsunami recovery are totally interdependent: you cannot have success in one without progress in the other.

We want the legacy of our work to be not just a healthier and more prosperous region, but a more peaceful one as well.

A year has passed and so much has been accomplished - but much work remains. As the anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami nears, please consider a generous gift to let hard-working survivors know you're still standing with them.
read rest of article

And of course what better way of donating than buying a copy of Hope Never Dies?? All the profits go to the Mercy Corps ongoing Tsunami Relief program.

There's an opportunity to refresh your memory on Christmas Day when the special programme originally broadcast by Radio Six International at Easter is repeated at 16:00GMT.

And Woodstock Taylor's track Happening, from the CD, has been nominated as Record Of The Year by the station. Currently it's at #6 in the chart; to help it win, click here.

just a rumour

2005-10-01T04:36:00.000Z

There is a rumour that a follow-up to Hope Never Dies may be on the way to help raise funds for the Mercy Corps Hurricane Relief appeal.

We hope to bring you more about that soon.

Happening still happening

2005-10-01T04:31:00.000Z

Woodstock's song Happening is currently sitting at #3 in the Record Of The Year Chart at Radio Six International, who have been consistent supporters of our efforts on behalf of Independent Artist Aid. If you want to help it along, click on the link above and follow the voting instructions.

All votes gratefully received. It won't help save the world, but it would be a selfless act that could add vital ballast to Woody's self-esteem.

Woodstock Taylor & jps* Make the Radio Six International Random Playlist!

2005-06-28T01:11:00.000Z

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to tell you that I checked Radio Six's Random Playlist and I was not only pleased to see that Woodstock Taylor made the list this week, but so did I!

Just wanted to share!

If you haven't purchased the Hope Never Dies album, please do so! It is certainly never too late!

jps*

Six Months On

2005-06-26T23:09:00.000Z

Six months ago the Asian Tsunami struck, killing a quarter of a million and radically affecting the lives and livelihoods of a far higher number of people throughout the affected region and beyond.

Today all the talk is of Africa and of how at next week's G8 summit here in Scotland the leaders of the world's eight richest countries might be able to do something about a situation there that currently amounts to economic genocide by neglect.

In news terms, the Tsunami is last season's model. "I gave already." "I thought they had more money than they needed." "Well, that's all sorted out now." "Nobody's dying there any more - the Africans need help more urgently."

The reality is that although the short-term relief goals have largely been met, the longterm rebuilding of Tsunami-ravaged regions - and psyches - will take years. The quick fix of the initial public outpouring of aid donations was just that - a quick fix.

Mercy Corps is sticking with it - and their Asian Tsunami Relief Appeal has now extended its brief to include Somalia.

The African crisis is real and it's fervently to be hoped that the men who can do something about it use their power wisely.

It doesn't have to be an either/or situation, however. It could be - should be - AND. The smallest donations still make a difference when they are put together.

Make Poverty History - please!!! But don't forget about others who still need your help.

Join Make Poverty History - make a difference now.

Read more about the Mercy Corps efforts on behalf of Tsunami survivors.

Buy a copy of Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies and enjoy some great music knowing that all profits are going to help the continuing process of rebuilding normal lives for the ordinary people who survived this extraordinary catastrophe.

"Neptune Retrograde" got playlisted again!

2005-05-26T14:54:00.000Z

Nepture Retrograde is now featured in the playlist on INDIE-UNSIGNED, an independent music webcaster located in Toronto, Canada.

He wrote a very nice review for me too!

Frankie Ho - Neptune Logic

"Neptune Retrograde" Track of the Week

2005-05-05T03:45:00.000Z

Frankie Ho's song, "Neptune Retrograde", song #4 on Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies, will be featured as GarageBand.com's Ambient Track of the Week starting Monday, the 9th of May, 2005. It is currently at #4 in the Ambient chart at Garageband (a former #1).

As well as a front-page spot on GarageBand.com's Ambient page, the track will also be highlighted at Klipsch.com who have a partnership agreement to promote GarageBand's leading tracks on their site.

Congratulations to Frankie on this success.

Front Page News

2005-04-23T11:20:00.000Z

Leading music website Garageband.com has got behind Independent Artist Aid with a portal-to-portal link from its front page.

Although Independent Artist Aid is in no way an official Garageband.com venture, it is nevertheless something that came about because all of the participants in Hope Never Dies first "met" at Garageband - either through the messageboards there or via the site's blind review process. Some are still active in the GB community while others have moved on, but the opportunity for all of us to find each other was provided in the first instance by Garageband. Which in my opinion is the kind of thing that online music communities should be doing.

Thanks to everyone who posted at the Garageband BBS in favour of an official acknowledgement of our project, and also to the many who contacted me privately about it. And big thanks to Ali Partovi, Garageband's CEO, for listening and making it happen.

Everything helps here. And whatever you read in the papers or see on TV about the Tsunami survivors having enough aid money now, please don't believe a word of it. There's SO much still to do over there and if we can put a tiny drop of cash towards helping some traumatised fellow-humans to get their lives back on track, let's do it. And what better way to benefit everyone than by supporting independent music at the same time??

Radio Six playlist Robin Frederick

2005-04-22T19:55:00.000Z

Radio Six International have playlisted Robin Frederick's song Water Falls Down from tonight.

It's the second song from Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies to make the regular rotation of this small independent station: Woodstock Taylor's Happening is in the final week of a 10-week stint on the playlist.

Last month Radio Six transmitted a feature-length special on Hope Never Dies, airing all the tracks between a small amount of commentary.

Good Energy from Geetan

2005-03-31T07:45:00.000Z

Enigmatic, energetic Manchester (UK) based artist Geetan has posted a page about Independent Artist Aid on his website, Geetan.com.

A friend made through the pages of the DIY musicians' resource MWS Media (check it out) and at Garageband.com, we're proud to list Geetan among the friends of IAA. Thanks!!

New Earthquake in Tsunami region

2005-03-29T01:01:00.000Z

A massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia has killed hundreds of people and triggered tsunami alerts around the Indian Ocean.

picture from BBCi
Read BBCi news story

Mercy Corps, which responded quickly to aid survivors of December’s tsunami, has over 200 staff in the region ready to provide rapid assistance. The organization has offices in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, two cities on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Mercy Corps is monitoring the situation, and is prepared to act quickly to deliver lifesaving aid, if needed.

Mercy Corps prepared to take immediate action... (read more)

Did you hear it?

2005-03-27T03:08:00.002Z

If you missed the Radio Six International special just now, all is not lost.

Don't forget you can stream the whole of Hope Never Dies from Indienetunes.com.

Most importantly, don't forget to buy a copy while you're there.

There's an update on WHY at the Mercy Corps site.

International Artist Aid

2005-03-27T02:20:00.000Z

Don't forget to tune into Radio Six International's special programme on Hope Never Dies which starts very shortly...

Radio Six International is a private (not for profit) experimental Internet and shortwave station run from Scotland by radio enthusiasts (some of whom moonlight for the BBC on their days off from Radio 6. That's how much they love radio - they just can't get enough...). Tune in and you will hear an interesting mixture of easy listening, lounge, exotica, oldies and contemporary music with a little light music, classical, country, and jazz. With a loyal and vocal listenership in around 100 countries, the station has a policy of championing new and unsigned acts alongside seasoned stars such as Janis Ian, The Electric Prunes, Thunderclap Newman and Tony Hatch.

A special full-length feature programme on Independent Artist Aid airs at 0250 British Summertime....0150 GMT on Easter Sunday, March 27 (that's 2050 EST/1750 PST Saturday March 26 in the USA, 0350 CEST Easter Sunday in Vienna, 0950 Easter Sunday in Hong Kong and 1150 Easter Sunday in Melbourne). In about half an hour from now, in other words.

Enjoy!!

Banner added

2005-03-26T02:38:00.001Z

Me again. Just a short message to tell you that I have added some news and an IAA banner at the following websites:

www.newsjuice.net (a news portal that I have founded years ago)
pages.at/narr (my personal website and online-portfolio)

Maybe I'll find a way to get this banner on other pages too in which I was involved...

IAA at IAC

2005-03-23T15:29:00.000Z

I am helping out at the independent music portal IAC as a designer and I recently asked them if they would place a IAA banner on their frontpage. They did. :) They put one of my own IAA banner prominentely on their frontpage which links to http://www.independentartistaid.tk.

I guess it's a great place for some promotion as IAC really support independent artists a lot. This huge potential of IAC and their ingenious way of promoting artist by letting users create their own radio stations from a selection of the songs available there, has been recognized by many indie-musicians, everyday new musicians register and upload their music to this cozy place.

Some of the artists who are on "Hope Never Dies" are also IAC artists btw. - like Woodstock Taylor, Steve Ison, Isenho, Back Bone Shiver and myself.

Radio playlist

2005-03-22T09:37:00.000Z

Dear all, well in fact this is a very old news hehe :P

My IAA-HND track Neptune Retrograde was featured in a radio playlist quite a while ago before we got this CD going, just would love to share with you too!

The station is called Sounds Like Radio which is run by another GB member. My track was featured in the Fresh #2 playlist. Actually quite a lot of the tracks featured in this station's playlists are written by GB artists.

Frankie

Banners

2005-03-21T01:58:00.000Z

If you scroll down the Media Resources page at Independentartistaid.tk you will find all manner of buttons, flyers and banners, in numerous shapes and sizes, to help us spread the word about Hope Never Dies, as well as help with how to post images in case you need it.

This one, which measures 400x80px, was designed by Frank of Aussie band isenho (song #12... Shining Star).

New stuff gets added to that page from time to time, so it's worth checking every now and then.

Hello to all...

2005-03-21T00:53:00.000Z

I'm new to this blogging thing (that makes me a blog virgin, I guess.) so we'll have to see how this goes. First, I want to say how proud I am to have been included in the HOPE NEVER DIES CD. There are so many wonderful songs and artists! It's always a thrill to discover new music and all for a good cause. Woodstock, thanks for the time and effort you've put into this project. You have been one busy gal!

So... thought I'd mention a little news and maybe ask a question or two. The news is, my song "Water Falls Down," the opening track on HOPE NEVER DIES, has been added to the playlist at IndieGuild (http://www.indieguild.co.uk) a new internet site where audiences can hear selected independent artists. Tony and Stuart, who developed the site, have put in a lot of work and it looks like it! I am very excited by the rapidly growing interest in independent artists. You don't hear it so much in broadcast radio, which is locked into rigid formats, but it's exploding on the internet and, interestingly, in film and television where series like "The O.C." are using tracks by indies rather than established, well-known artists.

Now for a question: I'd like to put a banner link on my website for the HOPE NEVER DIES CD. Have we got a small banner or can someone make one? 480 X 60 would be good, not too huge. This might be something we could talk people into posting on various web sites if we make it easy enough for them to do it.

Here's another question - technical this time. I am on a MAC. Right now I'm using OS X but I prefer OS 9.2. (Don't ask.) It looks like IE 5 for MAC does not have the same support for linking and html usage that IE for Windows does on this blogging site. If anyone knows how to activate the linking feature for MAC (if it's even possible) it would make my life a whole lot easier.

Some news by Richard

2005-03-20T19:04:00.000Z

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of news, but I asked the editor of culture at my work (I am working as a designer at one of the biggest daily news paper online-platform here in Austria - http://diepresse.com) to mention our project. He told me, that next time they are reporting about the Tsunami disaster, they will try to mention "Hope never Dies" amongst other musical charity projects. Maybe it will even be mentioned in the newspaper aswell.

Also, two friends of mine would like to buy a copy. But as they don't want to order online I will purchase the copies for them. Maybe others will follow...:)

Then I will have a concert soon and I will try to mention the project and share some flyers.

The story so far...

2005-03-20T04:43:00.000Z

Indienetunes.com sent off the first cheque - for $752.00 - from profits on sales of Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies to Mercy Corps this week.

The quest to promote Hope Never Dies continues apace with a lot of action taking place behind the scenes right now, which will be reported here as soon as we are able to do so.

In the UK we had a very nice plug on BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday at the end of the Iain Anderson show (this can be heard till Wednesday April 23 by clicking on the "Wed" link on this page). Still in Scotland, the Tollcross Channel at myEdinburgh.org has added a link to us, and next Saturday at 0150 GMT (0250 British Summertime) Glasgow-based internet station Radio Six International will broadcast a full length feature programme on Independent Artist Aid.

Still online, talent scouts LoadPuller have selected Happening (song #6 on the CD) for this week's playlist on Hidden Radio. Full previews of all tracks have been playlisted on Planet of Sound TK Radio on Live 365.

We now have a spanking new URL address - independentartistaid.tk - to house all the various sections of the IAA project: one click away from the order page, streaming audio and all the background information you could possibly desire.

The major media spotlight has moved away from the tsunami-affected regions now, with governments advising people to give to other causes and many charities pulling out of the trickier areas.

BUT:
The death toll is still rising. It's likely that more may die from diseases spreading due to contaminated water supplies and the breakdown of public health and sanitation systems. Aid agencies face difficult logistical issues in distributing clean water, food and medical supplies. More than 5 million people were made homeless. Many have lost their families, their communities and livelihoods. The task of rebuilding the lives of survivors will take years. The knock-on effect of the psychological damage inflicted by the tsunami shouldn't be underestimated either.

All these issues are being addressed by Mercy Corps, who are in for the long haul, dealing with all the less glamorous aspects of the aftermath that others have left behind for a multitude of reasons. We're hanging in there too - a very small drop in a large and turbulent ocean - and every penny counts.

Thanks to all who have bought copies of our CD already - if you haven't, what are you waiting for? This is a REALLY GOOD ALBUM with some CRACKING TUNES on it and it's for a GOOD CAUSE. What more do you need?

Easy Access (3)

2005-03-18T22:00:00.000Z

Well the problems with the short URLs seem to have abated for the moment, and we are now connected up via the long address hosted at cupparecords.com.

Just because I discovered we can, I've also signed up for our own domain name -

http://independentartistaid.tk

which takes you to the same place.

It's free and will stay online as long as we get a miniumum of third-party traffic (this means you) stopping by the site.

IAA song playlisted

2005-03-16T15:10:00.000Z

Woodstock Taylor's track Happening (song #6 on Hope Never Dies) will be playlisted on Hidden Radio from March 19.

To find out more about Hidden Radio, check out their site, view their blog and most importantly, listen to the music!!

Until Further Notice...

2005-03-10T23:46:00.000Z

In the light of recent server problems with our redirect host, I've put up a new page which links to all the different public elements of our compilation CD project.

http://cupparecords.com/iaa

It's all at cupparecords.com - at the above link.

Easy Access (2)

2005-03-10T20:00:00.000Z

The bad news - There have been some problems accessing the servers hosting our re-direct URLs at iaa.does.it and iaa.says.it over the past few days. This means that people using those addresses to reach the main order page and background information will have seen an error page instead of what they were looking for.

The good news - IAA is alive and well and open for business.

Click here to listen to full audio previews of the album Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies

Click here to order the CD

Click here to learn more about Independent Artist Aid and to download media resources.

Click here to contact Independent Artist Aid.

Servers back online

2005-03-09T19:25:00.000Z

Our custom URL addresses at http://iaa.does.it/ and http://iaa.says.it/ were offline for a short while but normal service has now been resumed.

The redirect URLs come from a great free service operating out of Sweden - http://has.it - it's been terrific for a project like this, which is operating completely on goodwill and without a budget, to be able to get short, memorable URL addresses to help people remember where we are on the Web.

However we don't have any control over server outages at their end, so it's worth encouraging people to check here if it happens again - there will always be a visible direct link both to the main iaa.does.it order page at Indienetunes.com and to the Electronic Information Kit and media resources at iaa.says.it.

Easy access

2005-03-09T02:37:00.000Z

In case you have been trying to access either the main Independent Artist Aid page at http://iaa.does.it or the electronic information kit at http://iaa.says.it and failed to reach the required pages, it appears the servers hosting our short web addresses have been experiencing some down time.

So please feel free to use these links to reach your destination.

Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies:

LISTEN AND BUY

LEARN MORE

A Date For Your Diary

2005-03-09T01:58:00.000Z

Cult radio station Radio Six International has scheduled a special full-length feature programme on Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies over the Easter weekend.

One of the true veterans of the indie broadcasting scene, Radio Six has been on the go for over 40 years and is currently bringing in an enthusiastic and loyal listenership from close to 100 countries, including areas affected by the Tsunami last Christmas.

Radio Six International is a private (not for profit) experimental Internet and shortwave station operating from Scotland and playing an interesting mixture of easy listening, lounge, exotica, oldies and contemporary music with a little light music, classical, country, and jazz. The station has a policy of championing new and unsigned acts alongside seasoned stars such as Janis Ian, The Electric Prunes, Thunderclap Newman and Tony Hatch.

You can hear the special on Hope Never Dies at 0150 GMT on Easter Sunday, March 27 (that's 2050 EST/1750 PST Saturday March 26 in the USA, 0250 Easter Sunday in Vienna, 0950 Easter Sunday in Hong Kong and 1150 Easter Sunday in Melbourne). Enjoy!!

Vagabond - The Musical

2005-03-08T10:34:00.000Z

Hey this is the trailer of the upcoming musical I am working on. I know it's all Chinese but well.... :)

www.dramagallery.com/trailer3min.wmv

I am working on getting an ad in the house programme for the IAA CD... well it won't be open till the end of April but I hope that still helps. Anyway will let you know when they approve it (well the theatre company has no control on the contents of the house programme so we need to wait till the approval of the Arts Development Council or whatever that thing is called!)

Frankie

Hope Never Dies - it's official

2005-03-02T00:18:00.000Z

We are now an official Mercy Corps fundraising venture, with the announcement of Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies on the Mercy Corps' own site:

'Hope Never Dies'
March 1, 2005

A consortium of independent recording artists has joined with online distributor IndieNetunes to raise money for Mercy Corps' tsunami-relief efforts.

Musicians from seven countries banded together as "Independent Artist Aid" and contributed 17 tracks to a benefit CD entitled "Hope Never Dies." read more...

Sales of the CD have been increasing steadily, with an extra boost thanks to this latest acknowledgement, supplemented by promotional efforts from musicians and the staff at Indienetunes.com, who have been hard at work canvassing support through website postings and mass mailouts. Some donors have given well over the asking price for the album - great news for the long task ahead for Mercy Corps as they work with survivors of the Tsunami to rebuild economically productive lives out of the shattered ruins.

Find Out More

2005-02-22T22:59:00.000Z

Woodstock Taylor track playlisted

2005-02-22T22:32:00.000Z

Woodstock Taylor's Happening, Song #6 on Hope Never Dies, has just been playlisted on the independent station Radio Six International.

A veteran on the indie radio stage, Radio Six, which has been running for over 40 years, is a private (not for profit) experimental Internet and shortwave station operating from Scotland and playing an interesting mixture of easy listening, lounge, exotica, oldies and contemporary music with a little light music, classical, country, and jazz thrown in to spice up the mixture from time to time.

In addition to a 24 hour internet stream, Radio Six broadcasts daily programmes on shortwave from a transmitter in Maine, USA on 5,105kHz from 0000 to 0200UTC beamed to North America, Eastern Canada and Western Europe, plus monthly broadcasts from a transmitter in Milan, Italy beamed to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East on the second Saturday, Sunday and Thursday of every month.

Radio Six has been an enthusiastic supporter of Woodstock Taylor's music for several years. And a song from another IAA artist, Richard Kapp, recently finished a 10-week stint on their playlist.

Texan fundraisers do it with lemons

2005-02-21T19:06:00.000Z

From Mercy Corps newspage
Texas-Sized Generosity
by Roger O. Burks, Jr., Feb 18, 2005

One January day in Houston, lemons seemed to be the biggest thing to hit the state since the ten-gallon hat. On Saturday January 15, several area students put together Lemon Aid, a fundraiser to help survivors of December's devastating tsunami. The students sold lemonade and Lemon Aid t-shirts in front of the local Whole Foods Market.
With assistance from parents, the community and Whole Foods, Lemon Aid raised more than $6,200 for Mercy Corps' tsunami relief efforts.

That's a lot of lemons... . - read more

New Public Forum for Independent Artist Aid

2005-02-21T18:49:00.000Z

A new public forum has opened where anyone who wants to can air their views on the fundraising CD project Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies.

It's being hosted by Indienetunes, who are also manufacturing and distributing the CD. In addition, iNt is also providing full streaming audio of the whole album and individual tracks (complete with audio tags announcing each song) for those who want to try before they buy.

Reviews added

2005-02-21T18:39:00.000Z

The media kit now contains a reviews section, which can be reached by clicking on the Resources link at iaa.says.it.

We look forward to adding full album and individual track reviews as they come in.

JPS on TV

2005-02-21T11:33:00.000Z

Catch IAA artist John Paul Sharp live on the TV show "Out In Denver" here:
http://www.outindenver.org/ep011.htm

Planet of Sound Radio

2005-02-17T11:29:00.000Z

Just Added full previews of 'Hope Never Dies' to the station playlist - it is programmed to play every hour or so.

Working with Mercy Corps

2005-02-16T17:12:00.000Z

It's Mercy Corps Day today - I just got back from a meeting with David Welch at the Mercy Corps Headquarters in Edinburgh. Very positive and exciting.

The Edinburgh office is really lovely - very peaceful, with a beautiful view out of the window. A really good vibe.

David filled me in on a lot of the history of MC and also on the work they're doing to help the Tsunami survivors.

One thing he stressed was how this is just the beginning - Mercy Corps ARE in for the long haul, and the generous donations in the immediate aftermath of the disaster have all been spent already. Huge amounts of money are going to be needed to help so many people recover and build new, sustainable communities out of the wreckage.

This is a LONG TERM commitment, and it's going to need long term funding. Our small effort here may be just a drop in a very turbulent ocean, but it's not unnoticed, and it will make a difference to some real people with real wounds to heal.

And the other side of the Atlantic,

Don Spradlin, one of our esteemed co-producers, just had a lovely letter from Mercy Corps USA in response to news of the CD.

Dear Don,

Wow! Thank you so much for this incredibly generous effort. I have listened to some of the songs at the link you provided and I personally think they are wonderful. Thank you so much for your efforts and for helping spread the Mercy Corps mission!

We do have you listed in the database and really appreciate your partnership and support. You are right, we are planning to be in the region for years to come and hopefully contribute to long-term recovery and peace in the region, so your support will be put to powerful and good use.

If I can provide any additional information for you, please let me know.

Again, thanks to you and your colleagues for this amazing and inspirational effort!

Sincerely,

Traci Schick

Mercy Corps

John Paul Sharp on TV

2005-02-15T12:09:00.000Z

The TV show John Paul Sharp is taping tonight for "Out In Denver" airs on Feb 20 at 10.30pm on Cable Channel 57. If you're out in Denver and staying in, tune in. If you're out in Denver and going out that night, you can catch a repeat at 9pm on Thursday 24. Whether you're in, out or shaking it all about in Denver or anywhere else in the world, you can buy Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies, featuring John's haunting song Perhaps Just Maybe, from iaa.does.it today, and help raise money for the Mercy Corps Asian Tsunami Relief Campaign.

IAA-HND listed in Blogshares

2005-02-15T10:56:00.000Z

With barely 24 hours online, this blog has merited a mention on the Blogshare index. OK, so it's at #196 of the most recent 200, but it's nice to know we've been noticed. Even if it is just by some digital spiders.

Hope Never Dies Promoted by jps* This Week:

2005-02-14T14:41:00.000Z

Hi everyone, (Happy V-Day!)

I'm going to be promoting the compilation album, Hope Never Dies twice this week:

1. Tonight I am performing at The Other Side Arts gallery (in Denver, CO, USA) for a charity event where 50% of the art sales this evening will go to The Red Cross and 100% of my own CD sales (for my latest LP release, afflatus animus) will go to Mercy Corps. I will have a table where I will be promoting Hope Never Dies and the web address where people can buy a copy will also be available.

2. Tomorrow night I will be at a taping of "Out in Denver," a local television show where I will be a guest, performing a song and talking about my music. I definitely plan on bringing up Indepedent Artist Aid and the compilation album, as well as where people can go (http:iaa.does.it) to buy it. :)

That's what I'm doing to promote it! jps*

The Tsunami and PTSD

2005-02-14T05:56:00.000Z

Up to 90 percent of tsunami survivors suffering trauma: health experts - BANGKOK (AFP)

The mental health side of this disaster is less glamourous than some of the other aspects of the story. Mental health issues aren't very glamourous in general. Years down the line from a major trauma, those around the affected person can often become bored and frustrated with the behavioural side-effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The knock-on effect of long-term psychological damage to such a huge number of people is very difficult to quantify.

Up to 90 percent of the millions affected by the Asian quake disaster are suffering mental trauma, conditions which could prompt a "second tsunami" unless support and treatment are given, experts said.

In an article written for the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD), Susie Stevens and Laurie Slone write:
Millions of people have been directly affected by this tsunami and yet according to percentages, the vast majority of them will recover due to the resiliency of human nature. At the same time, many of those people will develop psychological disorders such as major depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Many more will experience non-specific distress, somatic complaints and other medical health conditions. If the rate of psychological problems turns out similar to previous severe natural disasters studied (e.g., Armenian earthquake, mudslides in Mexico, Hurricane Andrew in the United States) 50% or more of those effected could suffer from clinically significant distress or psychopathology.

garageband loonies

2005-02-14T04:11:00.000Z

Shankarji has posted an announcement about the CD in the Loony Bin forum at Garageband.com. You can read it here. For those not familiar with the rough and tumble of Garageband's lively BBS (bulletin board service) this'll give you a gentle introduction to some of the larger than life characters who populate it, many of whom are also featured artists on Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies.

In another thread, a GB (GarageBand) member raised some questions about why we were doing this, and whether the payment module was safe. Valid points, which I've addressed in the FAQ section of our Information Kit.

Information Kit PDFs

2005-02-14T01:19:00.000Z

The Information Kit can now be downloaded in PDF form from the resources section at http://iaa.says.it. It's already available for download in MSWord and plain text versions.

Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies: Tsunami Relief CD released

2005-02-13T13:20:00.000Z

Since the beginning of January a few assorted unsigned musicians, who became friends on the messageboards at Garageband.com and other forums, have been working night and day to put together a compilation CD of original songs to help raise money for the Mercy Corps Asian Tsunami Relief Campaign. More musicians were recruited because they'd written songs that the original bunch thought were really good, and things began to take shape.

The result is Independent Artist Aid - Hope Never Dies, and it's now on sale from the online music distributor Indienetunes, who are co-producers in the venture.

You can listen to the music and purchase the CD here: http://iaa.does.it/. A full electronic information kit is also online here:http://cupparecords.com/nmc-iaa/.