Jim James to perform in NYC for benefit

[Padraig]

Though this might be of interest....sorry if it's a repeat.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2007/07/feist_ac_newman.html

[NoVa_NoLa]

 
826 NYC and THE BOWERY PRESENTS



REVENGE OF THE BOOKEATERS

An all-star evening of music, comedy and storytelling featuring:

A.C. Newman (of The New Pornographers)

Grizzly Bear

Feist (a solo reading performance)

Jim James (of My Morning Jacket)

Sarah Vowell

Demetri Martin (host)

SUNDAY AUGUST 26

The Beacon Theatre

Tickets on sale Friday July 20 at 10 AM!

THIS EVENING WILL BENEFIT 826NYC, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING STUDENTS AGES 6 TO 18 WITH THEIR CREATIVE WRITING AND EXPOSITORY WRITING SKILLS, AND TO HELPING TEACHERS INSPIRE THEIR STUDENTS TO WRITE.

[JacketGal]

How cool is it that JJ does this stuff? WAY cool, I'd say. Right ON!

[ms. yvon]

and wilco is playing in santa barbara on that same night.  whose ass to i have to kick for continuously scheduling these acts on the same night????!!!   ::)


argh.

also:  this is fucking rad!

[BH]

http://www.amny.com/entertainment/am-concert0823,0,7319382.story

Brooklyn concert to feed love of books
By Hal Bienstock | Special to amNew York
August 23, 2007

It's an age-old question writers and rockers have been arguing about for years: Which is better, words or music?

On Sunday, the Brooklyn-based nonprofit 826NYC, which aims to help kids develop creative writing skills, is hosting a benefit concert that it says will try to answer that question.

The concert will feature heavy hitters from both worlds, including comedian Demetri Martin, author Sarah Vowell and musicians Feist, Grizzly Bear, Britt Daniel of Spoon, A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers and Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

"I think now more than ever, in our age of constant computer screens and television, we need to keep reminding kids and their parents that the creative arts, and good old-fashioned book-learning, are essential to keeping this world vital and beautiful and non-zombified," said James.

"I look at it as a way to help stave off the zombification of America -- which is drawing dreadfully close."

The money raised by James and the others will help support programs at 826NYC, including free drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications.

Since opening in 2004, the center, which is located on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, has served more than one thousand students. The 826 organization also works in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, among other cities.

With all the time spent helping kids, it's possible the question of words versus music will have to go unanswered.

"You can't settle that question," said Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear.

"If a kid's reading a book and feeling that rush or listening to a record or MP3 and feeling that rush, either way, that¹s a bit of a calling. The most important thing is that it shouldn't be ignored."

Revenge of the Book Eaters Benefit Concert Sunday Aug. 26th, Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway @ 74th Street, 212-465-6500, 7 p.m. $35-$50

[fitzcarraldo]

Word. My nephew turned 6 the other day. I got him some Shel Silverstein and this:



AWESOME!

[slimsloslider]

dunno if this has anything to do with why jimmy decided to fly up for an event benefitting nyc public schools, but i figured its a story worth retelling:
a few years ago my girlfriend at the time was teaching fourth grade at ps 163 in the south bronx, where she still works. anyone familiar with the area knows its not the greatest part of the city. its not uncommon for shootings or drug deals to take place within a few blocks of the school. many of the children she has taught come from broken homes or have terrible stories of being neglected or abused in one way or another. she does her part as a teacher to make their lives better, and one way is by playing music in the classroom during personal study hours. she plays music the students bring in if its appropriate, but mostly she plays things that might inspire creative thought. this was around when it still moves came out, and she played that as well as at dawn and the tennessee fire on a regular basis. the kids loved my morning jacket and would often ask her to play them. she and i made plans to go see the jacket in philadelphia one weekend, and she shared this with her class. at the end of the day, one of her kids asked if it would be alright if he wrote a letter to the band. she was completely enthused and she helped him write it that day after class. it was a letter to jim james telling him how much he loved his music and how fun it was to be a 4th grader. really cute. he couldn't have been more excited when jenn promised to give it to jim at the show. it didn't matter that we didn't know anyone affiliated with the band personally. it was just a blind promise you make a kid. after my morning jacket melted our faces at the tla, jenn made an attempt to flag down a roadie to pass the letter on, but to no avail. she tossed it on stage and figured it at least had a chance of reaching the band. not 2 weeks later she got a letter from louisville, ky in her mail box at school. jim didn't just write a little thank you note, he went out and got children's stationery and wrote a 4 page letter about the beauty of music, roy orbison, outkast, and elvis. when she delivered it to the student, he was ecstatic. the kid didn't want to listen to anything but elvis for weeks. she had an elvis day and taught the class "return to sender." it was simply remarkable. we've never had a chance to thank jim personally, but we know how very real of an impact his generosity and kindness has had on the lives of some of the students in the new york city school system.

[getinthevan]

Thats phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.  

[cmccubbin@work]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/08/24/2007-08-24_they_bear_watching.html

Jim Farber


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They Bear watching

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Friday, August 24th 2007, 4:00 AM

Forget the ferocious name. Grizzly Bear plays decidedly fey music that both cascades and evades. The Brooklyn foursome's latest CD, "Yellow House," washes over the listener with airy vocals, fluid orchestrations, and tunes that wobble from the pretty to the strange. Think Brian Wilson's most adventurous work with the Beach Boys - only skewed through the vision of David Lynch.

"It's not the kind of album that you can get into immediately," allows front man Ed Droste.

But once you do, you may have trouble getting back out again. Fans of cutting-edge music certainly feel that way. In the past year, Grizzly Bear has become one of the most blogged-about bands in the land. All that chatter helped land it a spot in one of the year's coolest concerts, taking place Sunday at the Beacon.

Titled Revenge of the Bookeaters, the show pairs Grizzly Bear with the cream of current hipsters: Britt Daniel (of Spoon), A.C. Newman (of the New Pornographers), Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) and Feist. They're all playing to benefit 826, a three-year-old organization that aims to make reading and writing cool for kids. It has operations in six cities (among them one in Park Slope, Brooklyn), luring in tweens by selling things like "pirate supplies" and "superhero supplies" in the front.

Then, in the back, the stores introduce the young 'uns to more literary pursuits. "In the age of TV and the Internet, it seems like a lot of creativity is slipping away," says My Morning Jacket's James. "This event tries to bring it back and make it fun."

Grizzly Bear will help make the event challenging, too. It'll present its thickly woven music in a new way: acoustically. "Our live shows always differ from our albums because there are only four of us and we can't afford to hire all these extra people [to play]," says Droste. "But we enjoy figuring out new ways to present our songs."

In fact, the group's sound has already evolved quite a bit. Droste recorded the first CD under the Grizzly Bear name (2004's "Horn of Plenty") as essentially a solo work, cut in his Greenpoint apartment. "Yellow House" represents the band's first work as a foursome. Some of the songs may remind listeners of Elliott Smith, given Droste's pillowy vocals and the band's love of flickering guitar arpeggios. But ultimately, the dreamlike tone sounds like nothing else.

"There's this weird sense of nostalgia to our music," Droste says. "It reminds you of something, but you can't quite pinpoint what. And because you can't figure it out, you keep coming back for more."

[bridget]

slim - I don't know what to say to that. thanks so much for sharing.

that story make me want to meet jim's parents. seriously. how did he become this person...

[Jernigan]

Yes, that story is great......instant smile to my face...

[JacketGal]

I am in awe of your story, slimsloslider. Thank you so much for sharing that.

Every single day there are more reasons to love this band.

[dragonboy]

That's such an amazing story Slimsloslider, thanks 4 posting  :) :) :)

[hflpjtrade]

pics
enjoy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hflpjtrade/sets/72157601716061955/

[Don Dante]

Slimsloslider, thank you so much for that story and for you and your wife's effort to deliver the letter.  That just made me choke up a bit and was a great start to the day.