Gabe (aka DJ Idlhnds)
Hip-Hop to Help happens May 27th, 2011 in the beer garden at Boundary Bay Brewery.
Hip-Hop to Help is the senior project of Gabriel Ghirardini, aka DJ Idlhnds, graduating in June from Fairhaven College. The show will feature the talents of local hip-hop artists My Dad Bruce, Bloodshot, The Bad Tenants, DJ Einstein, and DJ Idlhnds. All of the performers are friends that have united around hip-hop music, and can be found freestyling in various locales around town. This lineup, uniting all of these artists on the same bill for the first time, promises to put Bellingham hip-hop on the map!
Gabe Ghirardini, who planned Hip Hop to Help for his Senior Project said “a show seemed like a wonderful way to tie in the elements of my education, and to be able to share that with people in a celebratory environment, all for a great cause. My degree is clled Experiential Musicology (yes, you read that correctly). My time at Fairhaven College is drawing to a close, and this concert is part of the culmination. I have been able to fuse the creative and technical aspects of making music with the business and promotional side of putting on a concert, gaining solid experience (and credits) by doing so. Though it has certainly been a lot of work, for the most part everything has been happening smoothly. Fortunately, the folks at Boundary (my former employers) have been very receptive and helpful from the get go. Promoting concerts is not something I normally do…so this has been a lot of emails. From securing the venue (huge thanks to everyone at Boundary who has helped out) to organizing acts, finding publicity, getting and distributing posters, Facebook and online advertising, and working on a solo set and a set with my group The Bad Tenants. Music is my future, and I have found it helpful to get some knowledge of the more business oriented, behind the scenes side of putting on shows.
Wanna know more about the bands?
The Bad Tenants are musicians as much as they are lyricists. In front of the crowd the group is a charismatic tornado, whether it’s singing, rapping, dancing, DJing, or just joking around, their sharp wit and welcoming demeanor shines through to grab hold of the audience’s attention. Bloodshot brings us organic Northwest hiphop and My Dad Bruce was born from collaboration upon collaboration of Bellingham, Wash. hip hop royalty such as The Educataz, Rec Rm, and Somebody Cares. The What’sUp magazine says “DJ Einstein has been one of Bellingham’s most unique spinners for quite some time. He has at one time or another, spun live for almost every Bellingham hip-hop group past and present. Don’t think of Einstein as just a rip off artist. He makes these beats original by throwing in a crab scratch, juggling the beat, adding a vocal sample, or mashing two songs together. It takes more gusto to take a hit song, that everyone knows, and effortlessly achieve in making it his own.”
The concert will be a celebration of music, art, and community, and proceeds from the event will benefit Amy’s Place for Youth. Amy’s Place Drop-in Center began in December 2006 to address the gap in services being provided to the homeless, runaway and street youth population in Whatcom County. Amy’s Place quickly grew from serving only a few youth a night to now providing services for up to 48 youth Friday and Saturday evenings. Many of the youth we serve at Amy’s Place are the hardest to serve and really don’t fit into Whatcom County’s current shelter and support system network because of chemical dependency issues and mental illness. Gabe chose Amy’s Place as the recipient of this benefit show because “…it seemed to fit with the concept of the show. The mantra of think globally, act locally came into play. Who knows what kind of positive impact the youth that are getting mentoring and staying off the streets thanks to Amy’s Place can have, if they are steered in the right direction.”
Come celebrate Bellingham’s Hip Hop scene with us and help support a great, local nonprofit while you’re at it. Doors are at 9pm and music starts at 930. The cost is $5, and the show is 21+.
