Foster children to profit
from Ani DiFranco show
■ The singer will perform
in Corvallis to benefit In
Harmony, which works to
find permanent homes for
children in foster care
By Joe Walsh
Oregon Daily Emerald
Soft-spoken and warm-heart
ed, University graduate student
Brook MacNamara leads only by
example.
She has sunk her time,
energy and life savings
into In Harmony, an or
ganization that helps
foster kids. Hers is an
infectious dedication
that, without much
prodding, has lured
countless individu
als into helping
Ani DiFranco
Who: Ani DiFranco with Greg
Brown
What: Benefit concert for foster
care program In Harmony
When: Sunday, April 9,7 p.m.
Where: Gill Coliseum in Corvallis
Tickets: $25 in advance, $27 at
door; available at the EMU, CD
Worid and Ticketmaster outlets
For more information call In Har
mony at (541) 753-3960 or visit
www.inharmony.org
singer, song
writer and gui
tarist Ani
DiFranco to
perform at a
benefit concert
in Corvallis this
weekend, to
benefit In Har
mony.
MacNamara
is the executive
director of In
Harmony, an
organization
that is creating
an inter-genera
tional family
neighborhood that moves chil
dren who are lingering in foster
care into permanent homes.
There, they will be prepared for
adoption by professionally
trained parents. The neighbor
hood also includes senior citi
zens who add extended support
to the children. MacNamara,
who received her bachelor’s de
gree in elementary education in
1980 from the Oregon College of
Education — now Western Ore
gon University — conceived In
Harmony years ago while teach
ing. It was then when she recog
nized the need for such a pro
gram, as she saw how children
who remain in foster care homes
become vulnerable to many chal
lenges, including mental illness
and criminal behavior.
“We only get one childhood,”
said MacNamara, who is current
ly completing her doctorate at
the University’s College of Edu
cation, “and many of these chil
dren waiting for adoptive homes
have lost their childhood before
they even began.”
In 1993, her concept came to
fruition with the founding of In
Harmony. Since then, MacNa
mara and her vision have moved
hundreds of people.
Bud Fredericks, who now sits
on In Harmony’s board of direc
tors, was one of these people.
“The fact that she has sunk her
own personal money into this
program ... that’s a real testa
ment to her dedication,” he said.
Greg Brown, another Grammy
nominated folk artist, was equal
ly impressed by MacNamara’s
work. Brown happened upon In
Harmony when a mutual friend
of MacNamara and Brown pre
sented the idea of a benefit con
cert, and both agreed.
“I was very taken by it,”
Brown said. “It really touched
my heart.”
As Brown became more aware
of the program, he became more
dedicated to it. He was im
pressed by the community ap
proach of the program, its practi
cality and MacNamara, who he
said he believes is “in it for all
the right reasons.” Since Brown
got involved with In Harmony,
he has performed in five benefit
concerts, recorded the benefit al
bum “Solid Heart” and pledged
to raise $100,000. His next bene
fit concert will be with DiFranco,
whom he asked to help with the
cause last summer.
DiFranco is currently touring
the West Coast, promoting her
latest album, “To The Teeth.”
Sunday’s benefit concert in Cor
vallis will be her only Oregon ap
pearance. Both DiFranco and
Brown are giving all of their
artist’s fees from the concert to In
Harmony as they try to raise the
$800,000 that the organization
needs to begin building the In
Harmony neighborhood.
Sunday’s concert is just one of
many small steps in the right di
rection.
“How wonderful to have two
Grammy-nominated folk artists
come together for these children
who have no one,” MacNamara
said. “I think it’s really touching.”
MacNamara does not know
how much the concert will raise,
but she said she will be satisfied
no matter what the outcome.
“Really the goal of this concert
isn’t the money,” she said. “It’s re
ally about getting the word out,
and it’s a wonderful way to do it.”
Benetftconcert^tnce
■T-nMOW
■ The WOW Hall will
sponsor a charity event
for the Children’s Miracle
Network, featuring Big
Hippie, Courtesy Clerks
and more
By Joe Walsh
Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday night, three local
bands will entertain some of the
rowdiest rock and punk fans in
town, but it will be the infants
and children of Eugene who
will get the most out of the
show.
Big Hippie, Courtesy Clerks
and Gabriel Blue play Friday
night at the WOW Hall in a ben
efit for the Children’s Miracle
Network at Sacred Heart Hospi
tal.
The proceeds from the con
cert will help offset the costs of
a variety of needs from neo-na
tal intensive care units to emer
gency housing for people who
have newborns that end up in
incubators.
“The performers decided they
wanted to do a benefit and do
nate their share,” WOW Hall
spokesman Bob Fennessy said,
“and they are donating their en
tire share, so they’re basically
playing for free in the hopes of
raising some money for the
kids.”
When the WOW Hall puts on
a show, it takes 30 percent of
the net revenue, and the re
maining 70 percent goes to the
performer.
Tickets are $5, so assuming
tomorrow night’s show draws a
couple hundred people, the
benefit should raise several
hundred dollars, Fennessy
said.
“We’re a community center,
and our job is to do good things
for the community,” he said.
“And when young people like
this want to do something good
for the community, it’s our job
to encourage them.”
Fennessy added that the show
presents an opportunity for the
band to show what kind of a
draw they have, while at the
same time, doing a good deed.
Big Hippie, tomorrow’s head
lining act, formed about three
years ago, when the band’s four
members met at Elmira High
School, about 15 miles west of
Eugene.
That’s where keyboardist and
vocalist Farmer Greif first got in
volved with the Children’s Mir
acle Network through the Kids
Helping Kids program.
“This is my way of contribut
ing.” Greif said. “It’s also a good
excuse to get into the WOW
Hall.”
Big Hippie, which describes
itself as “the red-headed
stepchild of funk,” plays origi
nal hard funk with influences
that include James Brown, Red
Hot Chili Peppers and Primus.
In Greif’s words, “If Dave
Brubeck and Dave Matthews
were having a picnic and the
Chili Peppers came and started
a food fight,
that’s what we
would sound
like.”
Eugene’s
Courtesy
Clerks, a trio of
hard-rocking
University stu
dents, is no
stranger to ben
efit concerts.
The band has
been involved
in several, in
cluding bene
fits for the
WOW Hall
Who: Big Hippie, Courtesy Clerks
and Gabriel Blue
What: Benefit concert for Chil
dren’s Miracle Network
When: Friday, April 7 at 9:30 p.m.
Where: WOW Hall, located at 291
W. 8th St.
Tickets: $5 at the door, all-ages
show
For more information cal! the
WOW Hall at 687-2746
nine n inaians
and Oregon
Farm Workers.
So when Greif asked them to
do the benefit, they willfully
agreed.
The Courtesy Clerks play a
form of punk that sophomore
music major and bassist Mike B.
describes as “hypersmactive.”
“We’re just a rock ’n’ roll- in
fluenced band,” he said.
Gabriel Blue, Friday night's
opening act, also formed in Eu
gene.
The four singer/songwriters
formed the band two years ago
while attending the University.
They, too, have played several
benefit concerts before, includ
ing a Native American rights
benefit and a Gardenburger boy
cott concert.
Their music is best described
as rock ’n’ roll with a twist of
guitar experimentation, senior
music major and drummer Bri
an Gardiner said.
“Take Built to Spill and Pave
ment and mix that with a lot of
ambient guitar noise, and that
would be Gabriel Blue,” Gar
diner said.
Tickets for Friday night’s all
ages show are $5 at the door.
Doors open at 9 p.m., and
showtime is at 9:30 p.m.
For more information, call the
WOW Hall at 687-2746.
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