FOURTH ANNUAL FODFEST SCHEDULED FOR
OCTOBER 10-26, 2008
MUSICIANS GATHER TO HONOR THE LATE DANIEL PEARL


FODfest is the annual concert tour honoring the life and ideals of the late Wall Street Journal reporter DANIEL PEARL, who lost his life to terrorists in Pakistan in 2002 at the age of 38.  Daniel Pearl made international headlines when he was kidnapped on January 23, 2002, only to be executed nine days later.   A video tape of the beheading rocked the world and made Daniel Pearl a household name.
In addition to being an award-winning journalist, Daniel was also an extremely talented musician, a classically trained violinist who played a variety of instruments.  Wherever he lived, Daniel was actively involved in the local music scene, and wherever he traveled, he sought out local musicians and "jam" sessions.  Daniel believed in the power of music to bring people together regardless of their differences.  

"FOD" is an acronym for "Friends of Danny" that began when friends of Daniel came together around his 1999 marriage to Mariane Van Nevenhoff, who would later be portrayed by Angelina Jolie in the movie "A Mighty Heart."

FODfest began in October of 2005 as part of Daniel Pearl World Music Days, which is organized by the Daniel Pearl Foundation and celebrates Harmony for Humanity. The tour is organized by musician, songwriter, and producer Todd Mack, a former band mate and close friend of Daniel's. Now in its fourth year, FODfest has grown considerably from its humble beginnings as an informal backyard jam session to a full-blown, three week tour which will include nearly 20 shows on the East and West coasts.  FODfest is presented in a unique performance format: part song-swap, part jam session, and part concert.  The tour features several musicians who knew Daniel and played music with him while he was alive and many who never knew him, but who connect with his story.  Most of the participating musicians will meet for the first time on stage the evening of the concert.

At press time, FodFest is still seeking local musicians to perform.  Interested parties should contact Todd Mack at info@fodfest.org.   Venues interested in hosting this year's tour should contact Bruce Houghton at Skyline Music.  The agency is the co-sponsor of the tour.
 
FODfest is a non-profit organization and all concerts are free and open to the public.  In lieu of an admission charge, donations are collected at each performance to help offset tour and production costs.  For more information please visit the links listed below.


FODfest 2008 Tour Schedule:
10/10 – Mahaiwe Theater, Great Barrington, MA
10/11 – • Narrows Arts Center, Fall River, MA
10/12 – • Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, CT
10/13 – • Sullivan Hall, NYC
10/14 – IOTA, Washington, DC
10/15 – The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC
10/16 – The Handle Bar, Greenville, SC
10/17 – Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
10/18 – Smith's Olde Bar (Atlanta Room), Atlanta, GA
10/ 19 – The Basement, Nashville, TN
10/20 – Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA
10/21 – White Eagle Pub, Portland, OR
10/22 – Axe and Fiddle, Cottage Grove, OR
10/23 – Somewhere in CA, TBA
10/24 – Starry Plough, Berkeley, CA
10/25 – Somewhere in CA, TBA
10/ 26 – Hotel Café, Los Angeles, CA

• denotes a show where Nik Rael or Nik Rael & Steve Petrone will appear.

For more info, please visit:

http://fodfest.org
http://myspace.com/fodfest
http://youtube.com/fodfest
 

JOHN MELLENCAMP ANNOUNCES FIRST
FARM AID MUSIC FESTIVAL IN NEW ENGLAND

Willie Nelson, Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews
to headline Sept. 20 all-star concert event

BOSTON — Alongside farmers and food buyers at the Copley Square Farmers Market, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Governor Deval Patrick welcomed Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp to New England as he announced Farm Aid 2008 Presented by Whole Foods Market and Horizon Organic. The concert will take place on Sept. 20 at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Mass., marking the first time the organization will bring its annual benefit concert to the region.

"New England was built on the strength of independent family farmers," said Mellencamp. "We can honor that independent spirit by joining Farm Aid to grow the movement that is changing the way all of America eats."

Farm Aid 2008 Presented by Whole Foods Market and Horizon Organic will feature headliners Willie Nelson, Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews, plus other top artists to be announced. The annual benefit concert will celebrate music and good food, featuring hands-on activities in the HOMEGROWN Village that will showcase the direct connection between who is growing our food and what we eat every day.

"We are proud to bring our annual Farm Aid concert to a region that has such strong agricultural roots and to the many people who love to eat the good food grown in New England," said Farm Aid president Willie Nelson. "I'm looking forward to bringing my friends together on the Farm Aid stage to celebrate and support family farmers."

The concert event will again feature family-farm identified, local and organic foods at concessions, setting an example of the many ways that family farm food can be integrated into the general marketplace.

"Bringing Farm Aid's unique concert event to New England creates an unparalleled opportunity to showcase the innovation and determination of the area's farmers," said Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid. "We're looking forward to a day filled with outstanding music and delicious food grown by these farmers from across the region."


As part of its work to increase the affordability and availability of fresh, healthy foods, Farm Aid also announced its support for the collaborative initiative between the Food Project and the city of Boston to help more families shop at farmers markets by building infrastructure that allows market vendors to accept food stamps.

Since its beginning, Farm Aid has traveled the country, staging annual concerts and supporting local organizations working to strengthen family farms. Farm Aid builds the Good Food Movement by connecting people with family farmers who are increasing the supply of local, humanely raised, sustainable and organic food.

Tickets for Farm Aid 2008 Presented by Whole Foods Market and Horizon Organic will go on sale July 28 at 10 a.m. EDT and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling (866) 448-7849.

Farm Aid will offer special advance sale tickets to its FarmYard members. To become a member of Farm Aid's FarmYard, visit www.farmaid.org.

Farm Aid offers corporate sponsorship opportunities for select companies. Contact Glenda Yoder at glenda@farmaid.org.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family-farmed food. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $30 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7W6KBL08k8

FODfest '08 Promotional Video

HeadSoup plays from the gut

By Diana Costello
The Journal News • April 1, 2008


Music doesn’t have to be complicated to be good.

That’s the philosophy Nik Rael brings to his songwriting, whether he’s going at it solo with an acoustic guitar or he’s rocking out on bass with a band behind him.
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For in the end, he’s all about writing songs that resonate with listeners.

"When it comes to writing good songs, you should be able to just pick up a guitar or sit at a piano and play it. Or just sing it. And it should be great," says Rael, the creative force behind the band HeadSoup, whose members are from throughout the Lower Hudson Valley.

"As a band leader, you deal with a lot of guitar players who want to play a thousand notes instead of just playing 20 well," he adds. "The true greats can play as many or as few notes as they want, but it should sound like they’re talking to you."

Last week, HeadSoup drummer Steve Petrone joined Rael for an acoustic performance in the Listening Room, an online concert series produced by LoHud.com.

Together the duo showcased tunes, from a heartfelt story about betrayal to a country track about chasing an impossible dream to a spiritual tale about giving thanks, even for life’s tribulations.

The connective tissue running through each of these songs was that they sprung from the gut.

"Raw emotion is what gets me started," Rael says. "And then it evolves from there."

The music has a hint of The Black Crowes, especially in Rael’s voice. The similarity is particularly pronounced on the HeadSoup album "Worlds Fade Away," which is packed with soulful rock ’n’ roll and was produced by Van Morrison guitarist John Platania.

The Black Crowes comparison is one Rael has heard before. He’s even felt the similarities while listening to the band on the radio one day and thinking "Hey, I know those chords!" as if he were hearing his own song, "Worlds Fade Away."

Yet despite the likeness, the comparison is really just a happy coincidence. HeadSoup’s more poignant influences include The Beatles, The Allman Brothers Band, Louis Armstrong and Bob Dylan.

The band also counts The Rolling Stones as a major inspiration, though the name HeadSoup has nothing to do with the 1973 Rolling Stones album "Goats Head Soup."

Rather, the name HeadSoup came out of a college buddy’s "hard-luck story" about how his father was a fisherman and the family would have to eat fish-head soup when times got rough. It was his favorite story to tell, and everyone would pre-empt the tale by saying "Yeah, yeah. Fish head soup. We know."

So when Rael’s college band landed its first gig and was forced to come up with a name, this college buddy threw out "Fish Head Soup." They ran with it, but eventually dropped the ’Fish’ because too many other bands at that time had some sort of fish fetish. (Fishbone, School of Fish, Phish.)

Today the band is spreading its name -and its music -across the globe.

Connecting with listeners through MySpace.com has been an especially rewarding experience, being able to hear that the music has helped people through some difficult times.

"For a guy like me, I just channel it into my encouragement bank account," Rael says. "Because you need a lot of that."

Reach Diana Costello at dcostell@lohud.com or 914-694-3528.