A Benefit for the Scotty Hard Trust – Tonight at The Highline Ballroom

Just a last minute reminder to anyone that has not yet purchased tickets for the Scotty Hard Trust Benefit show tonight, tickets are moving fast and the show is almost sold out. I have heard word that there might be more of these in the works but nothing definite yet.

Should be a great night of music, see you there.

Doors are at 8, show starts at 9 PM. Many artists who are long time friends and have worked with Scotty over the years are scheduled to appear including:

John Scofield
John Medeski
Billy Martin
Bill Laswell
Eric Krasno
Neal Evans
Marco Benevento
Joe Russo
Antibalas
Sex Mob
DJ Logic
John Ellis
Michael Blake
Vijay Iyer
Tommy Hamilton
Kevin Kendrick

Downtown NYC luminaries unite for one astonishing benefit concert at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on Wednesday, March 19 , 2008 , coming to the aid of beloved record producer Scott Harding and the Scotty Hard Trust.At 3am on Friday, February 15, music producer Scott Harding was a victim of a car crash in which he was a passenger of a car service, returning home from a late night mixing session. The cab he was riding in was broadsided by a stolen car; the impact crushed Harding’s T5 vertebrae, leaving him partially paralyzed. Scott Harding’s condition is serious and like many dedicated musicians he is without health insurance and is facing very large medical and legal fees.The short term need to raise cash in order to handle Scott Harding’s affairs is very real. His friends and the dedicated musical community that Scott has long been a part of quickly united, offering performances in the form of a benefit concert for The Scotty Hard Trust, a special account that has been set up by friends of Harding which helps to handle Scott’s short-term financial needs through private monetary donations.The confirmed lineup for the Scott Harding benefit concert includes: John Medeski, Billy Martin, John Scofield, DJ Logic, DJ Olive, Bill Laswell, Eric Krasno, Neal Evans, Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Antibalas, Sex Mob, John Ellis, Michael Blake, Vijay Iyer, Tommy Hamilton, Kevin Kendrick, and many more.Vancouver native and longtime New Yorker Scott Harding has a long and flourishing career as a producer and engineer in the hip-hop and jazz genres. His list of production credits includes the Grammy award winning Chris Rock CD Never Scared and an impressive artist list that includes: Charlie Hunter, Tricky, Crooklyn Dub, Dubadelic, Bailter Space, DJ Logic, Badar Ali Khan, Sex Mob, Medeski Martin & Wood, Material, Soul Crib, Michael Blake, Chris Brown, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Wu-Tang Clan, Vernon Reid, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, PM Dawn, De La Soul, Boogie Down Productions, Brand New Heavies, Prince Paul, Biz Markie, Chubb Rock, Teo Macero , to name but a few. * VIP Tickets include reserved seating and an after show VIP meet & greet with the performing musicians. 100% of the concert proceeds will be going to The Scotty Hard Trust. Personal donations can be made directly to the Scotty Hard Trust, payable to “The Scotty Hard Trust” and sent c/o Heesok Chang, 970 Kent Ave #401, Brooklyn NY 11205

info and logo courtesy: http://www.highlineballroom.com

RIP Martin Fierro: January 18, 1942 – March 13, 2008

photo courtesy: www.zerolive.com

This week the music world lost a gifted artist and friend, Martin Fierro.

Meester as he was known to many, left his mark on music history with his involvement with many bands and artists over the last 40 years including:

Mother Earth, recording with Michael Bloomfield, Mark Naftalin and Tracy Nelson. He also formed a lifelong musical alliance with Jerry Garcia, appearing on The Grateful Dead’s Wake of the Flood album and joining Garcia in The Legion of Mary. Among other groups and artists, The Meester has recorded with James Cotton, The Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Shades of Joy and Merle Saunders, and performed with Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs and Queen Ida. In 1970 Fierro composed the musical score for the cult film classic, El Topo.

Martin Fierro is currently a founding member of the jam band Zero. He has also performed in recent years with The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, Dark Star Orchestra and New Monsoon.

source: http://www.martinfierromusic.com/biography/

There are so many people with great “remember the time we were at that show and meester……” stories.

One of my favorite meester performances with Jerry Garcia (and well worth seeking out)

Jerry Garcia & Merle Saunders
The Lion’s Share
San Anselmo, CA
June 4, 1974

Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Merl Saunders – keyboards, vocals
John Kahn – bass
Martin Fierro – saxophone, flute
Bill Kreutzmann – drums

1st Set:
1. Bag’s Groove
2. Expressway (To Your Heart)
3. I Second That Emotion
4. Wonderin’ Why
5. Soul Roach

2nd Set:
1. All Blues
2. New York City *
3. Harder They Come
4. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

* With Alice Stuart – vocals