About 30 local musical acts will gather March 10 to rock out in support of Project iAm, a charity that provides scholarships to children with autism.

This is the sixth year of the event called Acoustics for Autism. The concert, which features three stages, is the result of founder Nicole Khoury’s hard work. The attorney started Project iAm after speaking with her best friend, whose child has autism, about the financial difficulties that families whose children have autism can face.

“I’ve seen the struggles of these families. They’re the people who need the money for their treatment and therapy and unfortunately there aren’t a lot of resources at all,” Khoury said.

Khoury’s band Arctic Clam is one of the bands playing at the show, which takes place at The Village Idiot and Buster Brown’s Lounge. Each venue features a stage and a heated tent will house kid-friendly activities and a third stage.

Many of the bands playing have been part of the event for years, Khoury said. Her band plays at 6:15 p.m. on The Village Idiot stage.

“It’s just an awesome, feel-good event. The musicians that are there want to support us and not because they want to put it on their resume,” Khoury said.

One of those musicians is Dave Carpenter, who will play with The Jaeglers at 8:15 p.m. on The Village Idiot stage. Carpenter helped co-found the concert six years ago.

Carpenter said when they started the event, he didn’t foresee it becoming as big as it is today.

Front row, left to right: Bobby May, John Barile, Nicole Khoury. Second row: Anthony Beck, Kyle White. Third row: Allen Spencer (seated), Zak Ward, Steve Knurek, Scott Hayes, Jeff Stewart, Mike Merritt, Isaac Snyder, Sean Lapan, Brian Bocian, Dave Carpenter, Judge Gary Byers, Sidney Marious. Back row: Lane Smith, Josh Whitney, Pat Lewandowski, Darryl Robinson, Chas Hill.

“I jokingly say to Nicole, ‘It’s like pushing a snowball off a mountain.’ It just continues to build,” he said, adding that the musicians who keep coming back make it successful.

“I really want to highlight all the other musicians that have really helped us out. These musicians have donated their time on a Sunday.”

Playing on a Sunday is one of the things singer-songwriter Kyle White enjoys about Acoustics for Autism.

“It’s nice that it’s on a Sunday and I get to see all my musician friends,” White said. “We all play the same nights [the rest of the week].”

White, who has been involved with the annual concert since its start, also emphasized, “The energy’s always just amazing. All of the best music in the city is there in one day, so that’s always a bonus.”

White is set to play at 3:10 p.m. on The Village Idiot stage.

Another featured musician is John Barile, who is set to play with Bobby May at 3:50 p.m. on The Village Idiot stage.

“[Project iAm] does such a good job promoting [the concert] and it’s a great cause,” Barile said. “[Khoury’s] just a fantastic person.”

He said his favorite part of Acoustics for Autism is “the camaraderie of all us musicians coming together for a great cause.”

Jeff Stewart will play with the 25’s at 7:15 p.m. at The Village Idiot stage. Like Khoury, he has a personal connection to the concert’s cause.

“One of my best friends has a son that’s autistic and I know what he goes through,” he said. “It’s great to do this thing for the kids.”

He added that he is looking forward to playing at The Village Idiot.

“The Village Idiot is a small little community bar. … I’m looking forward to drinking the beer, eating the pizza and playing the music,” Stewart said.

The musicians also include The Eight-Fifteens. Pat Lewandowski, Calen Savidge, Brian Bocian, Zak Ward, Flabongo Nation and several others. DJ Sid will play between sets.

The concert also features chances for attendees to score some loot with a raffle, prize vault and silent auction.

Prizes include an iPad, an Ohio State University University of Michigan cornhole board with signed merchandise, a bat signed by Prince Fielder, a ball signed by Miguel Cabrera and a one-week stay in a Charleston, S.C., condo.

There is no admission fee at the door so all proceeds are made from donations and bidding.

Khoury said, “We don’t charge to get in. We hope you make a donation at the door, but you’ll never see us pushing stuff. I mean, I might have a cute little girl running around selling wristbands that you just can’t help but give her money, but we don’t sit there and say, ‘Donate, donate, donate!’ We hope you come in and feel the love at the event and want to donate.”

Last year’s Acoustics for Autism event made about $15,000 and a second concert with Pittsburgh-based Rusted Root made $12,000.

Community partners also chip in for different supplies and prizes, Khoury said.

Last year, the nonprofit helped three or four families with treatment, therapy and other needs, she said. The criteria for receiving scholarship funds are available at www.aboutprojectiam.com/scholarships.php.

Khoury stressed that volunteering helps give applicants an edge.

“My main plea to people, parents who are applying, is get involved with this charity. We don’t ask for much of you; you know, volunteering for an event, or if you can’t get out of the house, I’ve got plenty of things for you to do at home. There’s a lot of grunt work that gets laid on my shoulders that I will happily delegate,” she said.

Those wishing to help with Acoustics for Autism can contact Khoury at info@aboutprojectiam.com. To learn more and see a complete schedule, visit http://acousticsforautism.com/.

The Village Idiot is located at 309 Conant St., Maumee, and Buster Brown’s is at 313 Conant St., Maumee. Acoustics for Autism starts at noon March 10 and runs until 2 a.m.

Tags: Allen Spencer, Anthony Beck, Autism, Bobby May, Brian Bocian, Chas Hill, Darryl Robinson, Dave Carpenter, Isaac Snyder, Jeff Stewart, John Barile, Josh Whitney, Judge Gary Byers, Kyle White, Lane Smith, Mike Merritt, Nicole Khoury, Pat Lewandowski, Project iAm, Scott Hayes, Sean Lapan, Sidney Marious, Steve Knurek, Village Idiot, Zak Ward

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2013 at 6:59 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Fundraiser, Music.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Five prominent Toledo musicians are the subjects of the new documentary, “Playing Nightly.”

Jeff Stewart, Johnny Rodriguez, John Barile, Bobby May and Kyle White are featured in the film, which will premiere March 5 in Maumee. Toledo natives Jason Hamilton and Mike Malone produced the film.

Hamilton, also a director, started making a film about a guitar player years ago, but the project’s financing fell through. However, he still wanted to make a film about professional musicians.

Toledo musicians, from left, Bobby May, John Barile, Mike Malone, Kyle White, Jason Hamilton, Jeff Stewart and Johnny Rodriguez. Toledo Free Press Photo by Joseph Herr.

“Sometimes we have a concept or are given a concept of what ‘making it’ is. What we lose sometimes is that people are making a living doing what they love and that’s pretty cool,” he said.

Hamilton and Malone, also a videographer, first worked together on 1998’s “The Toledo Conspiracy,” the first 35-mm feature film shot totally in Toledo.

Malone, a member of the band Locoweed, also brought his own experience as a musician to the film.

“It was a labor of love, I’ll tell you, it really was,” he said.

Toledo itself is also an integral character in the film.

“A lot of people, my wife for one and her sisters, think that this is a great thing for Toledo because it looks like Toledo is a really boppin’ town,” Malone said.

While the crew was filming a segment on May and Barile at Ye Olde Cock n’ Bull, a Toledo Mud Hens game got rained out.

“So it looks like there’s people walking around in the rain; that’s how happening Toledo is,” Malone said with a laugh.

Stewart, a busy singer/songwriter, added, “That’s how it is now. It’s starting to happen now a little bit. It’s happening in waves.”

“We have the ability to make a living here with our trade. People talk about how there’s so many gigs here. We can do that; we can work as much as we want and be comfortable.”

Barile, who has shared the stage with Jethro Tull and Foreigner, said he hopes the film gets big so people can see the quality of musicians Toledo has to offer.

“There’s awesome, awesome musicians in Toledo. I’ll put them up against any musicians in the country,” he said.

“[The musicians in the film] are all fantastic musicians and it takes a more or less special type of person to play music seven or eight times a week.”

Rodriguez, a longtime performer on the Glass City music scene who has performed with The Drifters, said with a chuckle, “I felt kind of humbled by the fact that I was featured [in the film].”

The musicians also said Hamilton and Malone put them at ease during the interviews and filming.

“They’re such easygoing guys. It was easy to get right into the plan,” said May, who is the inspiration for Crystal Bowersox’s “Grey Haired Rock Stars.”

White, who has been playing in Toledo for 15 years, said, “I didn’t feel weird or intimidated by it or anything. Just because these guys are so cool and made me feel really comfortable.”

Stewart said everyone came across authentically in the documentary.

“Once you started talking, Jason’s very good at making it conversational so you really started forgetting about the camera,” he said.

Hamilton said he allowed the musicians to tell the story rather than have a narrator.

“The interesting thing that we do with this is there’s no narration and we try to take the interviewer out of the equation totally … it’s a little different from a standard documentary you might see,” he said.

May chimed in, “And if it’s a huge success, can we do our own voices on the cartoon series?”

The producers plan to use any donations gathered at the Maumee premiere to enter the documentary into film festivals to build acclaim.

“The more we have of that, it will create a certain amount of awareness. With a documentary, you’re not going to see a lot of theatrical releases, but you can have an avenue for Netflix, iTunes, for those kind of structures,” Hamilton said, adding that he plans to continue to explore the Toledo music scene in future works.

Hamilton said his favorite part of the film is “when you hear people talk about their families and that life and kind of [developing] their original voices … that’s wildly interesting.”

Barile said his favorite moment of filming was talking about “his greatest performance” — playing guitar for his then 25-minute-old daughter Aria. She is now three and already a musician.

Hamilton said that while filming, he learned how close-knit Toledo musicians are, something the musicians also echoed.

“I thought it was awesome to be included with a group of such inspiring musicians who have been inspiring me musically over the years,” White said.

Hamilton and Malone also noted that the Toledo community has been supportive of the project. Many bars let them hang posters in their businesses, they said, and about 15 Toledo bars are featured in the film.

Barile credited Toledo with enabling him to perform for a living.

“People have always supported me on both a personal and professional level,” he said, later adding, “I can’t imagine having to wear a tie.”

“Playing Nightly” is 73 minutes long. The film will be shown at 7:15 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. March 5 at the Maumee Indoor Theatre, 601 Conant St., Maumee. A red carpet photographer will be on hand and a donation of $5 is suggested for attending.

May and Barile will play at an after-party at the Village Idiot, 309 Conant St., Maumee.

For more information, visit leatafilms.com.

Tags: Bobby May, Jason Hamilton, Jeff Stewart, John Barile, Johnny Rodriguez, Kyle White, Mike Malone, Playing Nightly

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2013 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Featured, Film, Music, Star.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The fifth annual Acoustics for Autism event gathers nearly 30 of Toledo’s musical acts together for a benefit concert March 4.

“It’s probably the greatest event in Toledo if you’re a music lover,” said event co-chair Dave Carpenter, adding, “Every year, you’d have to drive all over the city to see these people.”

The concert benefits Project iAm, a charity that provides scholarships to Toledo-area children with autism. Nicole Khoury, an attorney who also plays in Arctic Clam, started the charity after talking with her best friend, whose child has autism, about the struggles families can face when it comes to finances.

“I don’t ever want a family not to get their kid tested or not seek a treatment,” Khoury said. She added that although there are state funds available, there is only so much to go around.

This is the first year that the show at The Village Idiot features an outdoor stage for younger, newer performers.

“Last year, it was so busy; I needed another space, but I refuse to move it. I don’t care how big the event gets, I’ll never move it from [the Village Idiot],” Khoury said. The event now needs three stages.

Kyle White

Acoustics for Autism also gives patrons a chance to go home with loot. A silent auction features Detroit Red Wings tickets, signed Detroit Tigers merchandise, a Chicago Cubs package and deals from local restaurants. There is also a raffle in which participants can buy a key that might open a merchandise-stuffed vault for $10 or two keys for $15.

Artists playing this year include Arctic Clam, Carpenter’s band Dave Carpenter & the Jaeglers, Kyle White, Chris Knopp, Mark Mikel, Chris Shutters, Bobby May, John Barile and The Eight Fifteens.

The artists enjoy playing the annual event as much as patrons enjoy watching. “It’s such a good cause and all the proceeds go to local families and it’s fun. Lots of great musicians are there so you get to see a lot of people you normally wouldn’t see,” said White, who has performed at every concert since the benefit’s inception.

Carpenter agreed and said “if it weren’t such a good time” the event wouldn’t have the response it has. Even with free admission, the event raised $15,000 for the cause last year.

Despite her busy schedule, Khoury makes time for the charity and event because it’s so important to her. She largely runs the charity from her computer with little overhead.

“I’m kinda an energy-driven person; I thrive on stress,” she said, adding, “[The cause is] too close to the heart. I’m a woman of my word — if I say I’m gonna do something, I do it.”

Project iAm’s board decides together which families get the scholarships. The next application deadline is April 20.  Applications are available at http://aboutprojectiam.com/applications/. The best way to get a boost on your application is to volunteer for Project iAm, Khoury said.

“If I don’t have volunteers, I don’t have events,” she said.

The fifth annual Acoustics for Autism starts at noon March 4. The Village Idiot is located at 309 Conant St., Maumee. For a full schedule, visit http://acousticsforautism.com/.

Tags: Acoustics for Autism, Arctic Clam, Bobby May, Chris Knopp, Chris Shutters, Dave Carpenter & the Jaeglers, John Barile, Kyle White, Mark Mikel, Project iAm, The Eight Fifteens

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 at 10:33 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Fundraiser, Star.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.