Letter
from Dallas
Dear
friends of Spirit Of New Orleans and New Orleans Helsinki Connection,
As
I write this I'm in Dallas, Texas, still evacuated from New Orleans since
Katrina. It is hard to believe that it has been a month since the storm.
And even harder to believe the devastation that our beloved Crescent City
has been through. New Orleans' musicians, as its other inhabitants, are
still scattered around the country, with little knowledge of the future.
All the members of the New Orleans Helsinki Connection safely evacuated:
Tricia and Paul are in Houston, Todd in Chicago, Nobu in Portland and Leroy and
myself in Dallas. And Thomas, of course, in Helsinki.
Even
though the future will without a doubt bring many changes to New Orleans,
all of us are hoping that the spirit of the city will remain the same.
Hopefully it won't be too long before we can return and start picking up
the pieces. At this point it is impossible to know if any of our
possessions can be salvaged. Leroy's apartment had about 7 feet (2 meters)
of water, Tricia's a little less, and I'm sure that by now mold will have
conquered the houses.
But
most importantly we are alive. As are our other musician friends that were
in the city before (and some during) Katrina. So many things went wrong
with this storm: evacuation efforts, levee breaks, extra flooding caused
by hurricane Rita,… the list seems endless. In order to rebuild lives and homes a lot of people will need A LOT of help for a long time.
If
you would like to donate money to help New Orleans' musicians some good
places are:
New
Orleans Musicians Clinic - http://www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/
Provides free or low-cost health care to musicians, in the aftermath of
Katrina also helps with other things. Operating in Lafayette at the
moment.
New
Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief - www.nomhrf.org
Helps musicians with instrument and housing needs.
Back
Beat Foundation - www.backbeatfund.org
Dedicated to preserving the unique musical identity of New Orleans. Helps
musicians with instrument and housing needs.
Tipitina's
Foundation - www.tipitinasfoundation.org
Helps musicians with instrument and housing needs.
For
additional information log on to:
WWOZ – New Orleans Radio - www.wwoz.org
Website has a list of all the musicians that have been located since the
storm + a lot of other information and links. You can also listen to OZ
live over the internet.
Leroy
and I are planning to travel to Helsinki in the end of October. We will
have a benefit concert for New Orleans' musicians at one of the local
churches, please check for updates later.
Until
then, best wishes to everyone,
Katja
: )
PS.
Check out the new pictures... they bring back lots of happy memories!
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