January 19, 2005
Area musicians raise $4,000 for relief aid in Iraq
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Area musicians rocked Lars Hockstad Friday evening during the Into the Blue concert that raised an estimated $4,000 for humanitarian aid in Iraq.
Singers and groups included Song of the Lakes, the Benzie Playboyz, Third Coast, Peacemeal and Ruth Bloomquist. The event had a strong emphasis on folk music with some Cajun, blues and original poetry thrown in.
Noted singer and songwriter Claudia Schmidt both performed and served as the emcee for the event, which drew an enthusiastic audience of 500 people.
The money raised will be donated to the International Red Cross/Red Crescent for their use in Iraq.
Kip Diotte, executive director of the American Red Cross of Northwestern Michigan, was pleased at the effort to help the needy in Iraq. Although Diotte noted that the structure of the relief agency only allows country designations for donations, not to specific causes or areas within a country, the money will be put to good use.
"This money will help with cooking items, food, water and electricity," he said.
Combining music and activism on a stage showcases the strong historical synergy between the two, noted Schmidt.
"Folk music seems to be the symbiotic relationship between music and causes because we can't write fat checks to great causes like the Red Cross," Schmidt told the audience. "The Red Cross is one of the few NGOs [non-governmental organizations] going into this war-torn area and I feel honored to be here tonight."
For the participating artists, they reveled in the positive vibes from the audience as they performed on stage Friday evening.
"It's a powerful thing and it feels good to be part of a people who are all working toward the same thing," said Patrick Niemisto of Third Coast.
The concert featured most of the dozen musicians or musical groups from the region who are on the Into the Blue compact disc, which was also for sale at the event. This recording, which was released last spring, has its roots in pure politics.
The idea began as a fund-raiser by the Manistee County Democratic Party: compile recordings of some area musicians to sell and raise money for their election endeavors, specifically anti-President Bush ones. The political inclinations of many artists created a stampede of enthusiasm and the recording quickly came together.
"The artists were delighted to be part of it because it was an effort to get a new president, which we weren't successful with," said Tim Joseph, chair of the Manistee County Democratic Party and a member of band Peacemeal. "They were glad to do it."
Plans for an Into the Blue release party were eclipsed for months by the election, the results of which disappointed the artists and organizers alike. Regrouping, the musicians and CD organizers created the Into the Blue concert as a fund-raiser that expressed their anti-war sentiments.
Tsunami victims paled in comparison to victims of what they deemed imperialist aggression: the residents of Fallujah whose their lives and infrastructure were disrupted as Allied Forces in Iraq rooted out terrorists there. Prompted by these events, the Into the Blue concert organizers designated profits from the concert for the International Red Cross/Red Crescent, earmarking them specifically for Iraq.
"The concert was really an effort on the part of the musicians and artists involved and we chose to use it as a fund-raiser for relief in Iraq," Joseph added.
On a local humanitarian note, Diotte added that with last summer's hurricanes and the recent tsunami disaster, he hopes that area residents still support local Red Cross causes.
"When this much money is given to national and international disasters, then the local chapters experience severe reductions in donations," Diotte noted.