The Dropkick Murphys have always been very
vocal about their love for Boston. They
were out on tour when the bombings in Boston happened. Even though they were across the United
States at the time the band quickly reacted to the news and began selling
shirts to help with the relief. The news
channels might have moved on from the bombing’s aftermath, but the Dropkick’s
haven’t. They just released an EP on iTunes
that contains three songs from the excellent album Signed and Sealed in Blood.
You get three songs for 1.29 and 100% of that
money is going to the Claddagh Fund to help those affected.The first of the songs is Rose Tattoo with Bruce
Springsteen.The other two songs are
acoustic recordings of a show they played in Vegas just after the
bombings.It’s a fantastic EP, it’s 3
songs for under 2 dollars, and it goes to a great cause.I can’t recommend you go to iTunes and
download it for yourself. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rose-tattoo-for-boston-charity/id648685714
Happy Flash Friday everyone! I know, I know, you’re probably expecting me to update you on my big comic decision. Well, real life got in the way of that and I won’t be able to get to the store until this weekend. That’s okay, because I really wanted to talk about Peanuts anyway. Over at Speedforce.org Kelson is looking for sponsors in the Walk for Food Allergy.
I really recommend you go read what Kelson has to say about FAAN and food allergies. I’m extremely lucky not to have any food allergies myself and I hope that my son ends up not having any of them either. Considering half the people that read Flash Friday come here because of Kelson, I obviously want to support him as much as I can. The fact that it is a great cause just makes it even easier to talk about it.
So click HERE to make a pledge. And if the Black Flash Peanut causes anyone to have nightmares, I’m sorry.
I’m going to take the site off the rails here for a moment. For a website that’s mantra is Comics, Games, Booze I sneak in a lot of articles about music. My secret shame is how utterly inept it comes to playing music. I’ve got no rhythm. Regardless of that, music is very important to me. I watched a documentary last night called Playing for Change; I’d be lying if I didn’t say it moved me.
It started with Producer Mark Johnson. He was in a subway one day and two Monks were playing guitar and singing. It was one of those amazing moments where everyone stopped, listened, and shared the experience. That music connected people regardless of race, religion, or social class was the driving force. So Mark Johnson and Enzo Buono began traveling the world with cameras and recording equipment. 100 musicians and ten years, we have Playing for Change.
Recording vocals and instruments through separate channels they were able to take musicians from all over the world and have them contribute to the same song. “Stand by Me” is the one they are most famous for. Most of the artists are street performers and the recording took them to areas that had been devastated by poverty or natural disasters. In South Africa they asked one of the performers how they could help; he told them they needed a music school. And so the Playing for Change non-profit organization was created.
So now there is a documentary, CDs, tours, and a charity behind this. As of this writing, The Playing for Change charity has paid for 7 music programs, 600 students, and 130 jobs. On their website you can pick up the CD and the documentary bundled together, I highly recommend it. They come sepereately too, but if you're going to pick it up you will want both. You can also go to the charity’s website and donate or find other ways to get involved with the group.
I’ve spent a lot of time telling you if it was worth it to drop 10, 20, or 60+ bucks on toys and books. Now I’m telling you donations at the Playing for Change Foundation start at 5 dollars go up from there.
