|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
by Eric Steiner This month, Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties will release Blues
for Kids Sake, a compilation CD of blues artists designed not
only to promote the blues but also to raise money for a very worthy
cause: our children.
Artists lending a hand
to Big Brothers Big Sisters include a who’s who of area blues
musicians, including – J.B Ritchie, Deb Seitz of the Chicago
Blues Posse, Little Johnny
Moore, the Pauline York Band,
Twist Ferguson and Al Spears, T-Bird Huck, Kathy
Smith, the Big Dog Mercer
Band, Brent James, the Chicago
Kingsnakes, Doug “The
Bluesman” Lee, and Keith
“Junior Blues” Zolfkie.
Big Brothers Big
Sisters Public Relations Director Deborah
Smolen’s enthusiasm for the project is positively infectious.
“There’s been a
real resurgence in the blues here locally,” she said. “Jam sessions are cropping up all over the place, and there
are some very fine local blues artists out there.
We’re very fortunate that a great line-up of artists are
donating their time and effort to help Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will
and Grundy Counties.”
Big Brothers Big
Sisters is a national federation with more than 500 affiliated agencies
throughout the United States. For over 90 years, Big Brother and Big
Sister volunteers have helped boys and girls from single-parent families
make the sometimes difficult transition into adulthood.
In Will and Grundy
Counties, Big Brothers Big Sisters offer many programs to help young
people, including One to One (a program that matches adults to
children), Career Path (matching adults to junior high school-aged
youth), the inter-generational Homework Connection (matching college and
high school students with elementary school-aged youth), and Sports
Buddies (matching college athletes with elementary students). Blues
for Kids Sake will support these much-needed community-based
programs for young people who live in single parent families.
Producer Knight
contributes one cut on the CD himself, through his own Kelly Knight Blues Project.
“Project Coordinator Tom
Johnson came up with the idea of highlighting quality local blues
acts, and it just took off,” said Deb.
“Tom is one of our Advisory Board members, and he’s also one
of our Big Brothers. We’re
very lucky to have him and his experience.
He’s been jamming with several of the CD artists at local
taverns and thought it would be cool to put a blues CD together.
Tom’s been great to work with.
At one of our meetings,
Advisory Board members also suggested that, if Blues for Kids Sake is
successful, we could branch out into country, Latino, or gospel music.
We’ve also had some pretty strong support of the local arts
community around Joliet and Plainfield, Illinois, and it’s been
incredible.”
The CD will be released
on October 17th, and it will be available on the Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties’ web site , which can be accessed
at – www.bbbswillgrundy.org
It will also be found at the brick and mortar store, Crow’s
Nest Records in Crest Hill, Illinois, not far from the Louis Joliet
Mall or via the store’s site at: www.crowsnestmusic.com Several local clubs
will have copies of the CD for sale, including Carter’s Place in Lockport, a 150-year old bar that’s got a hot
blues jam on Wednesday nights. You’ll
also be able to pick up the CD at Leo’s
Bar & Grill in Romeoville, which has one of the largest dance
floors in the area, and at the popular blues haunt
Blues, Etc.
in suburban Joliet. All
three venues regularly feature many of the artists on Blues for Kids Sake.
I see it or read about
it every day, no matter where I go, and I’m going to jump up on my own
soapbox as I sprint toward this issue’s deadline.
The way we treat our
children in this country is a national disgrace. Communities of all colors across America are fighting for
safe and decent schools for their children, after school programs that
help give young people a leg up, and playgrounds free of drugs,
hopelessness and bullies.
I’ve
seen nasty tax revolts nationwide that have robbed children of an
essential part of childhood: the opportunity to play in safe
neighborhoods. Our parks
nationwide are in perilous shape, and it doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to figure out that if children don’t have opportunities to
play, trouble for their idle hands is not that far away.
I’ve read far too
many stories of boys and girls who have no caring adults in their lives.
A true big brother or big sister is a rare thing:
someone to hang with, to show you the ropes, or just to talk
about growing up. While many families have access to high-speed Internet or the
latest video game, nothing will replace the love and caring of a
thoughtful friend.
While the latest techie
gizmos are fine, there’s no substitute for an adult who will shut off
the e-mail (faxes, voice mails, etc.) and simply go out and play.
With so much bad news filling our TV and/or computer screens
today, kids need playtime and playmates now more than ever.
I wouldn’t trade the memories I have of playing catch with my
dad in our front lawn or shooting hoops in the sun for any videogame,
and it’s a sad fact of life that many parents, particularly single
parents, are being stretched to the limits by their jobs to take time
out for their kids.
I’ve been called a
dreamer more times than I care to remember, but I do know one thing
about kids: if you give
them the opportunity to learn new social and academic skills, and give
young people the opportunity to give back to the community, they’ll
often surprise you. They’ll
often surprise themselves, too. There
will likely be some mistakes made along the way, but isn’t that a part
of growing up, too?
While the outings,
social development, homework help, and other assistance that young
people receive through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy
Counties are crucial to success in school and in life, I’d like to
think that they do much more than that.
They give children hope, and perhaps more importantly, give young
people a reason to dream. Until next month, let’s give it up for Blues for Kids Sake. It’s for three of my favorite causes: the blues, our children, and our future. |
||
|
Web
Design By: All Rights Reserved © Hungry Mind Design2003 |
||
“The CD was produced
by Kelly Knight in his 2
Fish Studio in Joliet,” Deb continued.