Brooklyn benefits for Japan

Just like it did after Haiti, Brooklyn is putting together benefits to help the victims of the earthquake in Japan.

Here's what's on our radar for the coming weeks:

Brooklyn >3 Japan
The Bell House
149 Seventh St. between Second and Third avenues in Gowanus
April 5 and 15 at 7 pm

Comedian Liam McEneaney hosts two nights of music, comedy and dancing, with Ra Ra Riot, Sean Bones, Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry and more on April 5, and  Wyatt Cenac, Kristen Schall, Kurt Braunohler, and more on April 15. Both nights also feature a dance party. All proceeds go to Global Giving. Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door, $25 for both shows.

Japan Benefit Concert

Coco66

66 Greenpoint Ave. between Franklin Avenue and West Street in Greenpoint

April 7 at 7 pm

Las Matematicas, Joe Crow Ryan, New Damage, Tomo Kano and New Rising Sun, The Nihon, and The Bloody Tampons play. All proceeds donated to Japan relief efforts. Tickets $10.

Art Love Japan

Rivers Gallery

165 Greenpoint Ave. bertwene Manhattan Avenue and McGuinnes Boulevard in Greenpoint

April 8-10

Donated art (one piece pictured) will be on sale for $20 during this three-day event, with all proceeds going toward charities supporting earthquake victims. 

Rock 4 Japan
Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Ave. between N. 11th and N. 12th streets in Williamsburg
April 12 at 8 pm

This benefit concert features Cheap Trick or Treat, Acey Slade and the Dark Party, The Orion Experience, High Teen Boogie and The Youngthings. All proceeds go to the Red Cross for its relief efforts. Tickets $10-$50.

Readers, have any benefits you plan on attending? Share in the comments section below. 

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For the beasts

By Meredith Deliso

If you like Sweet Action and puppies, you’ll find yourself in good company at the Bell House this month.

That’s because on March 26, the Gowanus hosts “Beer for Beasts,” a day of good food, beer and tunes that benefits the Humane Society.

Better still is that Sixpoint Brewery will present at least 16 new brews created specifically for the fundraiser.

“We’re excited to be working with our friends at Sixpoint to celebrate our passion for good beer, food, people, and our love for animals,” said Todd Alström, founder of BeerAdvocate, an online network of beer enthusiasts.

Beyond the beer and beasts, JerseyFresh Burlesque will provide some live entertainment, and Calexico, Mile End, Pizza Moto and Prime Meats will provide some food pairings to match the Red Hook-made brews. Because after all that beer, it’ll be wise to have some food in your stomach.

“Beer for Beasts” at the Bell House [149 Seventh St. between Second and Third avenues in Gowanus, (718) 643-6510], March 26 from 1-5 pm and 6-10 pm. Tickets $60. For info, visit beerforbeasts.com.

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One Sharp benefit

By Meredith Deliso

Arts heavyweights are coming out to tackle one important Issue.

On March 4, Steve Buscemi and his wife, Jo Andres, host a benefit for the avant-garde Issue Project Room at its future Downtown home on Livingston Street.

The evening will feature the concert premiere of “Trilogy” by Elliott Sharp, one of the most-prolific jazz guitarists in the city and a long-time Issue Project Room supporter. The performance features film work by Andres and text and narrative by Buscemi. Additional performers during the evening will include Jack Quartet, Sirius Quartet, Jack Womack, and Tracie Morris.

Founded in Manhattan in 2003 before moving to Gowanus two years later, Issue Project Room is in the midst of a $2.5-million campaign to move into its future location Downtown at the redeveloped Department of Education building, where David Walentas offered the group free rent for 20 years — if Issue Project Room could raise the money to build out the space.

Of course, Sharp hasn’t forgotten about Issue Project Room’s current Gowanus spot; the next night, you can you can catch him performing his new composition, “Flexagons.” Did we mention he’s prolific?

Elliott Sharp and Friends at the American Can Factory [232 Third St. at Third Avenue in Gowanus, (718) 330-0313], March 5 at 5 pm. Tickets $35; Elliott Sharp at Issue Project Room [110 Livingston St. at Boerum Place in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 330-0313], March 4 at 8 pm. Tickets $50 ($250 for a pre-concert cocktail reception). For info, visit www.issueprojectroom.org.

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Go to Southpaw to laugh at cancer

By Elizabeth Dana

Cancer is hilarious. At least, it is at Southpaw this month.

On May 20, the Park Slope bar hosts “Comedy for Cancer,” a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society that’s aimed at “people you don’t see at fundraisers,” said Garland Harwood (pictured at last year's event), a cancer survivor who’s organizing the night of comedy for the second year in a row. “It’s not a Bill Cosby crowd.”

This year’s benefit includes rising comedy star Sean Patton, who was recently featured on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Returning from last year’s show are Adam Newman, Trevor Williams and Nick Ross, a regular at Upright Citizen’s Brigade and on CollegeHumor.com.

Ross, a cancer survivor as well, doesn’t shy away from including his experiences in his routine; he even has a whole one-man show about going through cancer treatment called, “Highly Evolved Human” that’s toured the country.

“So, why do a show about cancer?” Ross shot out at the audience at last year’s benefit. “I don’t know. Maybe I just want to get it out of my system.”

Other bits of his routine explore what it’s like to tell your friends you have cancer when you’re in your mid-20s and the realities of dating when you’re about to go through eight months of chemotherapy.

“He doesn’t make light of cancer, but he makes light of all the hilarious things that happen to you when you have cancer,” said Harwood.

Maybe laughter really is the best medicine.

Comedy for Cancer at Southpaw [125 Fifth Ave. at Sterling Place in Park Slope, (718) 230-0236], May 20 at 8 pm. Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door. For more, visit comedyforcancer.org.

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Rock the Bowl tonight

Some African flavor is coming to Williamsburg tonight with the first “Rock the Bowl” fundraiser at Brooklyn Bowl.

Afrobeat band Antibalas, Geologist from Animal Collective, and the casts of “Fela!” and “The Lion King” will perform to raise money for the Ubuntu Education Fund, which supports children in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

The event will feature South African-inspired cuisine by Blue Ribbon Restaurants, an open bar and surprise guests. This night of entertainment, food, drinks and bowling will help to provide over 40,000 children and their families with life-saving HIV support services.

Rock the Bowl at Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wyeth Ave between 11^th St. and 12^th St.) tonight at 7 pm. Tickets $99 general admission, $199 VIP. For more information, go to brooklynbowl.com or call (718) 963-3369.

-Elizabeth Dana

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NYC Rocks for Haiti

A diverse roster of indie music acts from across New York City will lend their talents to N.Y.C. Rocks for Haiti: A Benefit Concert for UNICEF’s Haiti Emergency Fund, March 7.

Among the acts scheduled so far are Park Slope mainstay Debbie Deane, the adult-pop songstress signed to Ravi Coltrane’s RKM Music; four-time Grammy-nominated producer and singer/songwriter Doug Yoel (pictured); from New York’s 131 records, rock artists Last 2 Fall and Lot 16; celebrity impersonator and actress Michele Marzano; pop/rock duo Jac&Jill and many other special guests and surprises.

The event is at Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. Tickets for the musical marathon, which runs 4-11 p.m., are only $10; all proceeds will benefit UNICEF’s Haiti Emergency Fund.

The event will have a fundraising raffle with $5 tickets for a variety of great prizes. For more, call 718-230-0236.

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Even more in Brooklyn for Haiti

Nearly three weeks after the hurricane, and Brooklyn's arts community is continuing to show support.

In addition to the afro-beat-tinged benefit at Knitting Factory tonight, The Woods in Williamsburg is throwing ROCK + RESCUE, featuring sets from Das Racist (pictured), Fresh Kills and Columboid, and a special guest. All proceeds will be donated to the resucue relief efforts.

There is a $10 donation. The Woods is located at 48 S. 4th St.

This coming Saturday, February 13, the MOMS Club of Park Slope is throwing a Haiti relief sale. All proceeds from the rummage sale, which will include kids and baby clothing, toys, books, household items and more, will be donated to the relief efforts as well.

The event is from 10am-2 pm at the St. Savior Parish Hall (611 Eighth Ave.). From 1-2 pm, everything will be half-off.

ADDED: Southpaw hosts bklyn2haiti tonight, which is raising funds for Partners in Health, which has been providing health care services to the people of Haiti for over 20 years. With performances by Girls in Trouble, Air Waves, SCREENS, and Ill Ease, as well as DJ Jonathan Toubin (NY Night Train). Tickets $12. Doors at 8 p.m. Southpaw is located at 125 Fifth Ave.

ADDED: In non-music news, Pomona Beauty Sanctuary is offering $35 haircuts on February 16, from 1-6 pm. All proceeds will be donated to the Haiti relief fund. Space is limited so call for an appointment at 718-768-1343. The salon is located at 447 Seventh Ave.

ADDED: Members of the Kingsboro Temple Church (415 7th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenue) in Park Slope, among one of the largest Haitian populations in New York City, are partnering with the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) to throw a benefit concert on February 6. Among those performing include singer Jovita Sheppard, David Metayer and One Accord, spoken word artist Shanelle Gabriel and the Kingsboro Mass Choir.

The Kingsboro Temple Church is located at 415 7th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, with the concert at 6 pm. Donations are encouraged and all proceeds will be donated directly to the Adventist Development Relief Agency.

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Strength Through Unity tonight

The Bell House's mega-benefit for Haiti tonight is sold out, but don't despair - you can follow the venue's Twitter to see if they release any tickets.

Scheduled to appear (in approximate order of appearance):

JIMMY FALLON

THE WAHOO SKIFFLE CRAZIES

New York State Senator DIANE SAVINO

HERE WE GO MAGIC

PAT KIERNAN of NY 1

FREELANCE WHALES

EUGENE MIRMAN

SONDRE LERCHE

MICHAEL SHOWALTER

THE WRENS

TODD BARRY

AC NEWMAN of NEW PORNOGRAPHERS plus RHETT MILLER of OLD 97s plus NICOLE ATKINS as a SEEKERS cover band.

TED LEO

JIM GAFFIGAN

LAUREN AMBROSE & THE LEISURE CLASS

THE BLOW

fun.

THE WALKMEN

All performers will be playing abbreviated, acoustic and/or stripped down sets.

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More in Brooklyn for Haiti

Brooklyn came out in full support for Haiti over the weekend, with a benefit at Music Hall netting over $20,000. You go guys.

In other Haiti benefit news, Zebulon is hosting a benefit February 2 at 8 pm, with live Haitian music, djs, and dancers, plus an auction.

All of the proceeds and 25 percent of bar sales will go directly to Haiti relief funds via Radio Nago and La Troupe Makandal. There will be a $10 suggested donation or canned and dry goods, clothing, flashlights, and medical supplies. Zebulon is located at 258 Wythe Ave.

Also, this isn't quite in Brooklyn, but Wilco is offering as a download-for-charity their July show at Brooklyn's Keyspan Park. It's $15 and available at Wilcoworld, so if you missed that one, here's a great - and good - way to see it.

ADDED: Sycamore will be hosting a benefit for Haiti this Sunday, January 31. At 3 pm, Lloyd Miller will perform a children's concert, followed by Curtis Hasselbring, Tim Kiah, Sam Bardfeld, and other special guests TBA from 4-8 pm. Tickets are $20 at the door (call 347-240-5850 to reserve), and all proceeds go to the relief effort. Sycamore is located at 1118 Cortelyou Rd.

ADDED: This Thursday at Southpaw (125 Fifth Ave.) will be Hip Hop for Haiti relief party, presented by The Wax Cafe and a group of indie hip hop artists. There's a $5 suggest donation at the door, with all proceeds going to Yele. At 8 p.m.

ADDED: On February 1, the Knitting Factory hosts their Help Haiti benefit, starring Fu-Arkist-Ra, an Afro-beat ensemble from Williamsburg. Tickets are $15, with 100 percent of proceeds going to charity. At 7 pm. Located at 361 Metropolitan Ave.

Planning a Haiti benefit in Brooklyn? Let us know in the comments section.

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Brooklyn benefits for Haiti

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, that has multitudes of Brooklynites worrying about their families, several Brooklyn venues and galleries are coming out and showing their support for disaster relief.

This Wednesday, January 20, for instance, Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg hosts a Haiti benefit show featuring a jam session with Robert Randolph & the Family Band. All proceeds go to the American Red Cross's Haiti Fund and Yele Haiti. Tickets are $25 (higher donation levels are available), with the show at 9:30 p.m. Brooklyn Bowl is located at 51 Wythe Ave.

Next week, the Bell House has a jam-packed night of bands, comedians and other entertainers for its Strength Through Unity benefit for the vicitims of the earthquake. The bill includes Jimmy Fallon, Cold War Kids, Ted Leo, Eugene Mirman, The Wrens, Sondre Lerche, Toddy Barry, Here We Go Magic, The Wahoo Skiffle Crazies, and The Seekers (A.C. Newman of New Pornographers with Rhett Miller of Old 97s and Nicole Atkins).

All performers will be playing abbreviated sets, with the acts kicking off at 6 p.m. Early birds can come for free food courtesy of Great Jones Cafe, Dub Pies, and more. Tickets are $50. The Bell House is located at 149 7th St.

The Causey Contemporary Gallery in Williamsburg feels the ugency of the situation as well. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the gallery hosted a benefit auction. With a show currently in their space, director Tracy Causey-Jeffery has selected pieces of art that if bought, she will donate the gallery's portion of sales to the American Red Cross and Oxfam. For more information, call 718-218-8939.

Another gallery, Tabla Rasa in Sunset Park, is contributing in a similar way. Donations of $75 and $150 to the gallery will entitle you to pieces of art work in the space, which in turn will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services, and the Mayor's Fund. Because the pieces are donated, 100 percent of the proceeds can go to the charities. Tabla Rasa is located at 224 48th St. For more information, call 718-833-9100.

UPDATE: The Music Hall of Williamsburg (66. n. 6th St.) will host two Haiti benefits. The first, Saturday, January 23, with Zach Galifianakis, Britt Daniel (of Spoon), Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), St. Vincent, Janeane Garofalo, Wyatt Cenac (of the Daily Show), the live debut of John Shade (ex Dave Godowsky) and more. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 day of show, and all proceeds go to the Red Cross. At 8 p.m.

Then on Wednesday, January 27, the venue will host their N. 6th for Haiti Benefit, featuring The Roots, Kaki King, Matisyahu, and more. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 day of show. All proceeds to benefit Partners In Health. At 8 p.m. This event has been cancelled.

Do you know of other Brooklyn venues that are helping in sending aid to Haiti, or are hosting something yourself? Let us know in the comments section.

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Not for Tourists

Dust off those vintage bowling shirts that have been hanging in your closet since the '90s. It's time to break 'em out for the NFT Brooklyn release party tonight at Brooklyn Bowl.

In celebration of the 2010 Brooklyn Guide, and Brooklyn on the NFT iPhone App, NFT is taking over Brooklyn Bowl for a giant blowout featuring free drinks and guides (while supplies last), and free bowling for 2 full hours (shoe rental required).

They'll also be giving away prizes from Brooklyn businesses like Cafe Grumpy, Spoonbill & Sugartown, Zenkichi, Roberta's Pizza, Joyce Bakeshop, Sprout, The Habitat, Tanoreen, and Northeast Kingdom.

The party's from 6-8 pm at Brooklyn Bowl (51 Wythe Ave.) in Williamsburg.

After bowling, stick around for the venue's benefit for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, featuring a jam session with Robert Randolph & the Family Band. All proceeds go to the American Red Cross's Haiti Fund and Yele Haiti. Tickets are $25 (higher donation levels are available), with the show at 9:30 p.m.

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Room to dance: Brooklynite clears the way for Generation Next

By Meredith Deliso

Brooklyn may have a plethora of recording studios, art studios and rehearsal studios, but one Brooklyn resident sees one area where the borough is lacking – dance studios.

Since she was a young girl, dance has been Coney Island resident Arelah Thompson’s passion, honing her skills taking classes at Sheepshead Bay High School and then at the Broadway Dance Center in Manhattan. Today, her dream is to open a studio in her native Brooklyn to teach children the same.

“This has always been a dream of mine,” says Thompson, who for nearly 10 years has taught in after-school programs and community centers in the city, including currently the Red Hook Community Center Beacon at PS 15 (71 Sullivan St.), where she teaches middle schoolers and teenagers hip-hop, reggae, jazz and African dance.

Thompson sees her own studio teaching those forms of dance, as well as salsa, ballroom dancing, tap, ballet and point, reaching out to kids in low-income, urban neighborhoods.

“So many of them are so talented but don’t have the right recreational facilities and resources that they can go to that’s affordable and available to them,” says Thompson. “I want to make sure I provide a facility where these teenagers can have a safe place to go to express their talent.”

On November 29, Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO hosts a benefit for Thompson’s dance center, with all proceeds going towards building a new studio in Brooklyn. Dance companies will perform a variety of different forms of dance, including hip-hop, ballet, stepping and capoeira. The night will also include motivational speakers, with hosts Jay Laraque and Hot 97 DJ Magic Pitbull presiding over the evening.

“The benefit is going to be the breakthrough for everything,” says Thompson.

Indeed, the next few months will see Thompson not so much working on dance, but paperwork, applying for grants, writing her mission statement, copyrighting the studio’s name, and also shopping around for possible locations for her studio. Right now, she is considering Brownsville or Bedford-Stuyvesant. She hopes to have her doors open before 2012.

“The hassle and hustling and footwork that’s been done to just go into this event – it’s so worth it,” says Thompson. “The end product is my passion and what makes me happy.”

Arelah’s Dance Benefit is November 29 at 8 p.m. at Galapagos Art Space (16 Main St.). Tickets are $25 in advance through ticketweb.com or $30 at the door. To reserve tickets, e-mail arelah2003@yahoo.com. For more information call 718-222-8500.

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Artist comes out of his shell

By Helen Klein

The stunningly beautiful scenery of the Galapagos Islands impressed Paul Franzetti, an amateur artist who rarely is found without a pencil or paint brush in his hand.

The Canarsie native -- who was educated at Canarsie’s recently closed Holy Family School and at the long closed St. John’s Prep on Myrtle Avenue -- was equally taken by the area’s amazing wildlife.

But, what moved him, almost beyond words, was a simple home for people suffering from Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

There, Franzetti found a shelter for people suffering from a misunderstood illness, who needed help in day-to-day living. The refuge, Damien House, was founded and is still run by Sister Ann Credidio, a woman who, Franzetti is convinced, will one day be a saint.

Spending a day at the shelter left Franzetti and son Joe wanting to do something to help its residents, who live with a quiet dignity enhanced by Credidio’s efforts, but who -- because of their physical limitations -- cannot experience such locations as the Galapagos.

“It was humbling,” Franzetti noted. Sister Ann, he noted, was, “So overtly giving and focused on others. Her legacy is to give all these people hope.”

Franzetti’s first idea was to do some paintings of the Galapagos to hang at Damien House. That morphed, eventually, into an idea to create a calendar that could be sold in the United States, with all profits going to Damien House.

Together, Paul and Joe produced their first Galapagos Wildlife wall calendar in 2009, gracing each month with a painting by Paul and a sketch by Joe. Their first year, they sold 2,000 calendars featuring glowing renditions of the area’s birds and animals, and sent the profits off to Sister Ann, who is, Franzetti stressed, “Always two weeks away from closing the hospital,” which she founded, almost literally, on a prayer and a shoestring. “That she’s survived for 15 years is amazing,” he contended.

Now, the 2010 calendar, with all new illustrations, is ready to ship, and Franzetti is hoping that it will make even more money for Damien House.

His visit to Damien House, while coincidental, wasn’t precisely haphazard, Franzetti recalled. In 2006, the year that he and Joe visited the Galapagos for the first time, he had intended to go to Israel but changed his plans because of unrest in the Mideast. When he broached the idea of going to the Galapagos, Franzetti’s oldest son, James, who had worked in Ecuador on behalf of the Rostro de Cristo lay missionary program and who was originally supposed to accompany him as well, urged him to visit Damien House. That visit almost didn’t happen, but did eventually come off. What Paul and Joe saw there amazed and moved them, setting in motion their project.

Franzetti, an untrained artist whose day job involves teaching English to both high school and college students, painted his illustrations from photographs. He has painted since he was in his teens, but never done it for money, he said. While the compulsion to create art for its own sake is strong with Franzetti, even stronger is to paint in order to provide a benefit to those in need, he said.

“I’m working now more than I ever have, and I’m much more focused,” Franzetti confided.

While the refuge needs all the money it can get to keep its doors open -- the main reason the Franzettis have committed themselves to their annual calendar project -- this could be a good year for Damien House, Franzetti opined. Father Damien, who worked with victims of Hansen’s Disease on the island of Molokai, will be canonized in October, an event that he hopes will raise awareness of the ailment and the needs of those who have it.

Painting and producing the calendar, Franzetti noted, allows him to give back, something he has yearned to do. “I said to Sister Annie, you need help. I want to help. Your dream and my dream have met,” he stressed.

Calendars cost $15.00 a piece, plus $2.84 for shipping. People interested in purchasing one can get further details by emailing Franzetti at paul9527@earthlink.com.

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Rock out for the troops with Ridge's best

Tony Ieva is rockin' for our troops

By Meredith Deliso

It would be hard for Tony Ieva to forget the troops.

With a nephew in the Marines currently stationed in Iraq for a second tour, as well as multiple war veterans in his family, including his late brother and father, the Bay Ridge native is very proud of past and current members of the armed forces.

Three years ago, he decided to give back the best way he knew out – a night of rock and roll.

“I would hear so many people say they supported our troops but, I didn’t see anything but protest marches, and demonstrations on TV, so I decided something positive needed to be done,” says Ieva, the drummer for the local band Our Back Pages.

On September 12, the third annual Rockin for our Troops benefit returns, with a night of music and dancing this year at the Leif Erickson Bar in Bay Ridge.

“I learned they are not only a group of owners dedicated to the military, they have a lot in their family,” says Ieva. “It was a perfect fit.”

Local acts on the bill include British Invasion act Windsor Terrors, kicking things off at 3 p.m., followed by the Canny Brothers band, The Ridge, Pill Hill Radio, Our Back Pages, Prodigal Child, and, lastly, The Piranha Brothers.

“I chose a variety of music, from Irish to classic rock. We all know each other, all help each other out,” says Ieva, who, in addition to being the drumming in the Bay Ridge music scene, can also be found on the B1 bus as the driver.

Ieva also hopes to have the either the Fort Hamilton ROTC drill team and the color guard, or the Xavier high school team, at 2:30 p.m. outside Leif Erickson. The Liberty Bells, the USO’s own female act, a nostalgic 1940’s troupe reminiscent of the “Andrews Sisters,” will also be performing that night.

The money raised from the benefit Ieva will be donating to the USO of Metropolitan of New York, a nonprofit organization which sends entertainment to our troops abroad, the Wounded Warrior Project, which raises public awareness and enlists the public’s aid for the needs of the severely injured service men and women, and Operation Gratitude.

“That one’s a little special to me,” says Ieva. “It’s a mother in California who lost her son in Iraq. Instead of being negative and disgracing his name, she decided to start sending care packages to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. She sends 70,000 packages a month. I especially want to help her out.”

Sounds like a perfect fit.

Rock for our Troops is September 12, starting at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20, which includes food donated by local merchants. Those unable to attend the event who wish to donate, or those who wish to become a sponsor, can contact Tony Ieva by calling 347-668-412, at ringos12@aol.com, or through www.ourbackpagesband.com. A full schedule can be found there as well. The Leif Erickson Bar located on 67th St. at Fifth Avenue.

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Help keep Rooftop Films alive in 2010

Like seeing movies on the roof of the American Can Factory in Gowanus and other unlikely places? Here's your chance to help out if you want to enjoy the view again next summer.

From Rooftop Films:

Dear Friends, Fans, Filmmakers— Rooftop Films needs your help. While you have already made the 2009 Summer Series our most successful ever – your attendance, your feedback, and your films have all been through the roof – that is sadly not enough in today’s economic climate. Successful programming is not enough for a community-based nonprofit arts group like Rooftop to survive. As the 2009 festival winds down, cutbacks by funders and sponsors have created a severe gap in our budget, which threatens to drastically shrink our future programming. We must raise $70,000 by October to ensure that Rooftop can continue without compromise in 2010. Your donation – whether it’s $1,000 or $100 or $10 – is crucial to that effort.

Bringing independent film to the diverse communities of New York City is central to our mission, which is why you've been able to enjoy the 2009 Summer Series as planned, despite major budget cuts behind the scenes. This year at Rooftop, you've gotten to see more premieres than ever before, had the opportunity to engage in groundbreaking partnerships with organizations like the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Reel 13, and forged record attendance numbers for independent outdoor screenings. By the end of the season, we will have presented more than 40 nights of incredible films in stunning locations to over 25,000 people.

Rooftop wants to be able to bring it all to you again in 2010, but it will be extraordinarily difficult without financial support from our audience.

We understand the economic crisis has affected you, too. Buying tickets to a Rooftop show probably seems harder than it did a year ago, and our heartiest thanks go to everyone who has bought screening tickets, raffle tickets, t-shirts, and made tax-deductible donations to Rooftop. At this critical moment, though, we must ask for additional contributions to ensure that we can continue with our programs in the coming years.

Whether you have donated to Rooftop before, have shown a film or attended a screening, or have only read about us, you are a part of the engine that keeps Rooftop going. So in the spirit of community that Rooftop holds at the center of its mission, we sincerely hope you will consider a financial contribution to Rooftop Films today.

The Impact of Your Support

Just as you rely on Rooftop to bring the best new independent films in the world right to your neighborhood, we rely on your support to maintain the quality and accessibility of our programs. Donations from the public help to ensure that:

+ Public school students learn valuable filmmaking and media literacy skills through our Rooftop Education program+ We can continue offering affordable tickets to our screenings

+ Our submission fees stay low, providing filmmakers of all kinds the chance to show their work

+ Projects by emerging filmmakers are supported by grants from the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund

+ Our staff can program insightful panel discussions and Q&As to supplement our screenings

+ Other artists and non-profits can take advantage of our low-cost equipment rentals

For more information about Rooftop Films and our 13th Anniversary season, please download our colorful newsletter. To make your tax-deductible donation now, click below

Donate

or mail a check, made out to Rooftop Films, to: Rooftop Films 232 3rd Street #D101Brooklyn, NY 11215

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Buzz-worthy: After the Jump Fest is back in action

Drink-Up Buttercup

This month, music, charity and blogging unite.

For the past two summers, local music blogs have banded together in Brooklyn to promote their favorite bands, as well as raise money for a good cause – underfunded city music programs – in the After the Jump Fest.

Now in its third year, After the Jump Fest is back again for the entire weekend, from August 28-30 at Littlefield, with a line-up of indie music faves, buzz bands and soon to be buzz bands, including Javelin, Dinosaur Feathers and My Teenage Stride on August 28, Drink-Up Buttercup and Das Racist on August 29, and Julianna Barwick and Suckers on August 30.

Also expect guest DJs, J. Morrisson from Space is the Place doing live screen printing (bring clothing you’d like to give a second live), gourmet food in the courtyard, and Brooklyn Brewery specials all weekend.

The bloggers curating the weekend include those behind Bumpershine, Merry Swankster, The Modern Age, and The Music Slut, whose creator, Jennifer Kella, founded the festival with the goal of helping new artists gain exposure while raising money for struggling inner-city school music programs.

Usually held at Williamsburg venues, this year’s festival moves to the newish Gowanus venue hosting. Doors are at 7 p.m. August 28 and at 2 p.m. on August 29 and August 30. Tickets are $10 each day, or $25 for the whole weekend.

For more information, including the entire line-up, and to buy tickets, go to http://www.littlefieldnyc.com/.

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Chuckling in the face of cancer: benefit is serious about laughter

By Meredith Deliso

Comedy benefits for the American Cancer Society are not novel, though a lot, Garland Harwood found, are geared toward the baby boomer demographic.

Harwood, a 28-year-old cancer survivor who lives in Ditmas Park, wanted to create a night specifically for the Brooklyn crowd.

“There weren’t as many people that were involved here as they were back in my hometown of Richmond, Va., when I was in high school,” said Harwood, who has been involved with ACS since being diagnosed with sarcoma cancer three years ago (watch a moving video documenting his illness, as well as engagement to his current wife, here). “Because central Brooklyn is such a transient culture – people are all from other places and they don’t necessarily think about, say, Park Slope as their home – something like a comedy event would be a much better fit for them to be involved.”

On June 18, Park Slope’s Southpaw will host the Comedy for Cancer benefit, a night of sketch, stand-up and improv featuring local comedians from MTV, The Upright Citizens Brigade, The People’s Improv Theater, College Humor and more.


Reaching out to acts in Brooklyn and the New York area, Harwood has assembled a line-up that includes sketch groups The Uncles, The Adam & Trevor Show, improv group Beyonce Knowledge, and stand up comedians Brett Anderson and Nick Cobb.

“Everybody was really excited about doing this,” says Harwood. “I didn’t get anybody that said no.”

Talking to some of the acts that confirmed led Harwood to Nick P. Ross, a Williamsburg-based comedian who himself is a cancer survivor, six months in remission from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Harwood checked out Ross’s one-man show, Highly Evolved Human, which pulls from his experiences with cancer, at Upright Citizen’s Brigade earlier this spring, in consideration of inviting him to be on board.

“It was just amazing. It’s hilarious. And I really identified with it,” says Harwood. “I e-mailed him that night. He confirmed the next day.”

Ross, a regular at UCB’s Harold Night as well as on the comedy Web sites Funny or Die and CollegeHumor, developed the show while getting treatment back home in Denver.

“Obviously this situation was so intense. A lot of what I was writing about were things I encountered maneuvering the world as this cancer patient,” says Ross, 27, who was diagnosed in the fall of 2007. “It’s not necessarily a ‘Why me?’ show, but this is a strange way to view the world through.”

Blending elements of storytelling, stand-up, and abstract theatre, Ross looks to try more material at the Southpaw benefit and hopes to expand the show into a run at UCB.

“I’m really excited I get a chance to do it at an event like the Southpaw event,” says Ross. “It’s so personal but also immensely relatable. The response I got after the first run of the show was the most heartfelt and earnest one I ever got from a comedy show.”

At the benefit, 80 percent of the proceeds from Comedy for Cancer will go to The American Cancer Society’s free programs for cancer patients and survivor services in Brooklyn, such as rides to and from treatment, something Harwood is himself is a grateful recipient of. While going for treatment every single day to St. Vincent’s on the Upper West Side, he would take the subway when he was up for it, but most often relied on cabs.

“[ACS] helped me pay for some of my transportation costs, which were astronomical,” says Harwood, who adds that while he had health insurance, not all cancer patients do. “That’s what this is for,” he says. ““I don’t have huge expectations that this event is going to raise thousands and thousands dollars, it’s just about getting younger folks involved.”

The Comedy for Cancer benefit is June 18 at Southpaw (125 Fifth Ave.) at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the show. The show is 18+. For more information, call 718--230-0236.

If you are unable to attend but still want to donate to the cause, go here.

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Sonic you

By Meredith Deliso

It’s no mystery that the city is loud, a noisy, cacophonous landscape.

But on June 7, you can experience Brooklyn like you never have before in one of ISSUE Project Room’s Soundwalk-A-Thon, a take on the “walk-a-thon” and a fundraiser for the Gowanus-based performance space.

Throughout the day, 20 leading sound artists and musicians will become sonic tour guides as they lead groups of 10-20 people on walks that range from meditative deep listening to sing-alongs, complete with instruments and iPods.

“ISSUE’s Soundwalk-a-thon takes the live experience from our venue and brings it outdoors,” says IPR’s Founder and Artistic Director Suzanne Fiol. “While many people in the experimental arts community are familiar with the work we do, the public-at-large is not. This event will bring together artists and audience, physically demonstrating the dynamic impact that experimental art is constantly having on New York City culture.”

Gowanus
As ISSUE is located in Gowanus, at the Old American Can Factory at Third Street and Third Avenue, it’s no surprise that a number of the soundwalks occur in the neighborhood. “Gowanus Field Reflections & The Great Steel Elevator,” led by composer Bradford Reed, moves through the neighborhood, ultimately ending up at the freight elevator of the Old American Can Factory, where the group will experience spontaneous “elevator music” being automatically created by custom software and the sounds of the elevator. Artist Betsey Bigg’s “Detox Project” starts at the courtyard of the factory and loops around the Gowanus Canal, as participants walk, hum and sing together. And Dylan Gauthier’s “Crudophonic Sound Event” places the “maligned urban oasis” of the Gowanus Canal, which potentially awaits a Superfund makeover, at the center of a meditation on open space, the open sea, floating gardens, green industry and utopian redevelopment.

Carroll Gardens
Nearby in Carroll Gardens, the Tin Can Telewalk, led by composer Kurt Gottshalk and vocalist Marie Evelyn, takes inspiration from the childhood game of “Telephone” and has participants echoing what they hear through tin can phones as they move through the neighborhood. Performance and installation artist Todd Shalom will guide walkers on a “Carroll Street Soundwalk,” encouraging different ways of listening.

DUMBO/Downtown Brooklyn
In DUMBO, let visual and sound artist Bruce Tovsky lead you on an underpass walk starting at the York Street F train station. Nearby at Brooklyn Bridge Park, sound artist Daniel Neumann leads “Demasking The Bridges,” exploring the noisy triangle between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges while wearing masks to uncover more sounds. Walkers will sport iPods, not masks, on the Collective Opera Company’s “Shuffle Sing-a-Long,” and sing along - and out loud - with their music during the walk to create an a capella chorus (albeit one that’s not harmonizing together).

Prospect Park
Though Prospect Park may be a place Brooklynites go to escape the more chaotic, noisy elements of their lives, several soundwalks will make their way through the park. Sound and installation artist Andrea Williams’s walk focuses on to learn about the park’s sound and ecology; the “Prospect Park Ravine Walk,” led by interdisciplinary sound artist and composer Jonny Farrow, will explore those sounds occurring in the middle of Brooklyn – in the park’s ravine; drummer Kenny Wollesen will teach Lithuanian folk songs on his Balloon Bassoon Promenade soundwalk; and composer Edmund Mooney looks to lead a soundwalk through the park to “explore the unique sonic signature of various places in and out of the park.”

Starting Place Unknown
Other walks that might be for the more brave include Steve Dalachinsky’s Poets March, where an undisclosed number of poets will gather in Brooklyn and march toward ISSUE Project Room; Flaming Fire’s “We will run past all your walkers, opposite direction, screaming songs” soundwalk; Michele Nagai’s All Borough Bag Walk, which starts at the location of the participants’ choice, and Jonathan Kane’s “Bang a gong for ISSUE” soundwalk, a percussion improv march to ISSUE.

Beyond Brooklyn
The soundwalk-a-thon extends throughout the city as well, with ones along the East River Park (“Listen2009”), near the Bronx Museum of Art [“Transmutation in the Shift (---Documenting the Grand Concourse)”] and at the Battery Park Labyrynth (“Urban Zen Sound Meditation and Labyrinth Walk”).

Walkers interested in participating are committed to raising a minimum of $100 from “sponsors.” Registration for walks ends June 1.

All walk participants are invited to attend a post-walk after-party at ISSUE Project Room (232 3rd St.), with a musical performance by Ne(x)tworks. Food will be provided.

For more information, including start times and locations of the soundwalks, call 718-330-0313.

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They rock today so that girls can rock tomorrow

Twenty bands will rock out at four different Brooklyn venues this month to help benefit a camp that helps make young girls own rock-star dreams come true.

From May 28 - 31, the 3rd Annual Willie Mae-Ra-Thon, a weekend of shows featuring all local bands at some of the borough’s best and newest venues, will invade Brooklyn.

Proceeds will go toward the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, a summer camp that helps teach young women and girls songwriting skills and how to play instruments.

Williamsburg’s Union Pool (484 Union Ave.) kicks things off on that Thursday with Brooklyn-based noise rock band Parts & Labor. Sarah Lipstate, the guitarist for Parts & Labor, will also play that night in her solo project Noveller. Also performing that night are equally experimental bands Omega Jarden and Talk Normal.

The next night, Public Assembly (70 North 6th St.) plays host to the Mae-Ra-Thon, with experimental funk group Burnt Sugar, jazz group Sex Mob, with DJ Olive that night, hardcore band Secretary, coming all the way from California for the event, featuring Big Boss. DJ Scribe, DJ shErOck, Joro Boro, and eMMA Sound Sista will also be behind the turntables.

Brooklyn’s newest venue, Bruar Falls (245 Grand St.), will feature art punk upstarts Taigaa and Pterodactyl, Grass Widow and Querent on Saturday, May 30.

And The Bell House (149 7th St.) in the Gowanus will feature an indie lineup with Babe the Blue Ox, Antietam and The Last Town Chorus on Sunday, May 31.

Show times and costs vary. For more information on the Willie Mae-Ra-Thon, as well as the rock camp (which also has a camp for ladies for all you dying to get on stage yourselves), go to http://www.williemaerockcamp.org/ or call 212-777-1323.

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Party with a purpose

Tonight, Brooklyn Vanguard, the young donar group of the Brooklyn Public Library, wants you to party with a purpose at its fundraiser for its Support Our Shelves campaign.

Proceeds help purchase books and DVDs, as well as suport educational programs at the Clinton Hill Library.

The party will be in the neighborhood at the Franklin Park Bar and Beer Garden (618 St. Johns Place near Franklin Avenue), and DJ Cosmo Baker will be supplying the music. You provide the cheer.

Tickets are $40 in advance, available here, or $50 at the door (cash only). There will b complimentary hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer. Specialty drinks are $5. (Bar is cash only, too.)

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