AXLER%Upenn-1100%upenn.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA (05/02/85)
While I'm not a big metal fan myself, I thought the following news release would be of interest to enough info-music readers to be worth entering: Date: 17 April 1985 From: METAL FOR MEALS, John Lasek, Director, 43 Fuller Rd. Albany NY 12205 When one usually thinks of a tour of the USA, it's the band bringing its music city to city. Now, for the first time, an idea goes on tour. On Sunday, May 19, 1985, over 100 bands will perform in 27 venues Coast to Coast for the benefit of the Ethiopian Relief Fund. All the bands have two things in common, they all perform Heavy Metal music, and they all have a desire to help feed the starving people in Ethiopia. Coordination for the shows is being handled by Metal for Meals, a non-profit organization based in Albany, New York. Metal for Meals, the brainchild of Dane Schneider, a 29 year old native of Los Angeles, was inspired by a radiothon broadcast on KLOS radio, and by the Band-Aid Project. Dane, who handles merchandising for Hans Naughty, an LA metal band, noticed that the vast metal market wasn't being approached to help out in this cause. He enlisted Holly Gass, President of North East Associated Talent, who was in LA and started to coordinate the West Coast benefits. After contacting John Lasek, Holly's Director at NEAT, MfM was formed and the idea had spread across the country. Many of the directors of the nation's most prestigious showcase and concerty venues are enthusiastic about the idea and commited themselves and their facilities to the cause. L'Amours East, The Agora, Spit, Harpo's, The Waters, The Metro, and Rock Neon (in San Juan, PR) were just a few of the many who committed to the project. Every day, as word spreads, promoters are calling to find out how they can join the movement. Once dates at the halls were set, and word spread to the musicians, MfM head- quarters was swamped with calls from interested groups, both nationally known recording artists and regional bands, who wanted to do their part to feed the starving. One band, Societies Children, from Hartford CT, even wrote a song called "Metal for Meals", to debut at the show at the Agora in Hartford (which, due to scheduling conflicts, is actually scheduled for 21 April 1985). With local TV and radio stations donating advertising time, and newspaper and magazine articles and advertisments appearing almost daily, interest byu the fans is building rapidly. To prolong the impact and to continue generating important dollars, MfM is trying to arrange for both a video cassette and an album to be produced. This, along with t-shirt and other merchandising sales, should help to make a substantial donation to the Ethiopian Relief fund. For further info, contact MfM at the address above, or call 518-489-2916/2911.