Sturgell
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Chris Burke with Joe and John DiMasi have announced their 2009 touring plans, according to the group's website. The trio will be touring not just in support of their most recent album ...Singer With The Band, but in conjunction with their message of tolerance and brotherhood.
As explained in a statement released from the group:
"Everyone Can Be A... Singer With The Band" is designed to show young and old alike that everyone is special, that everyone has a song to sing and that what truly matters in life is your ability, not your disability. Through music, acting and song Chris, Joe and John celebrate the many kinds of people who make up our world."
Not many people can pull off a Coogi Sweater(as pictured above) other than Burke and the Cos.
You might remember Chris Burke from the ABC program Life Goes On where he played Charles "Corky" Thacher. The program ran from 1989-1993, won two Emmy awards for outstanding acting, and was broadcasted around the world in 11 different languages. Burke has Down Syndrome, and his parents were told to institutionalize him when he was born, but they decided to raise him at home and nurture his talents. Chris studied acting, tap dancing, wrote scripts, and eventually coauthored a New York Times Best Seller A Special Kind Of Hero.
Joe and John DeMasi are long time friends of Burke. The three originally met at a camp for persons with disabilities when Burke was a teen where the DiMasis' were music counselors. Not much is known about the brothers DiMasi, who maintain a low profile in comparison to that of Burke. While they seem to uphold a veil of mystery and ambiguity, it does little to leave the trio's fan base wanting. Burke is clearly the frontman of the act. He utilizes his ability to continuously stoke the flames of the imagination and aspirations of people from all walks of life with his resiliency and determination.
Chris Burke with Joe and John DeMasi preforming live for Minneapolis' NBC affiliate CARE 11
On Tour:
December 11-12, 2008
Jefferson Rehabilitation Centers
Watertown, New York
February 06-07, 2009
Up Side of Down Syndrome Family Group Regional Conference
Bettendorf, Iowa
March 21, 2009
Wake Forest University KidFest
Winston-Salem, N.C.
April 15, 2009
Solidarity Conference
Columbus, ohio
May 03, 2009
Wyckoff Family YMCA
Wyckoff, New Jersey
July 28, 2009
Camp PARC
Davidsville, Pennsylvania
September 19, 2009
F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Buddy Walk
Frederick, MD
October 07-10, 2009
Down Syndrome Indiana school appearances and Buddy Walk
Indianapolis, Indiana
For more information, refer to the group's website:
The Phonographantasmascope!
Using the Zoetropes principle, Jim Lefevre created a bunch of special 3D discs that he set spinning using an old fashioned turntable to create the illusion of 3D movement.
The creator remarks:
"It is all live action and works by using the shutter speed of the camera rather than the rather irritating stroboscope methods other 3D Zoetropes use."
For more info about the artist who did this:
It's not everyday we get to peer into the mind of the artist. Literally.
Eddie Adcock has been a bluegrass banjo mercenary for a good part of 50 years. Not only can he run circles around most folks with his banjo, chances are he can lick any son of a bitch at the bar. Born in 1938, he left home and supported himself through semi-professional boxing when he was 14 years old. Later, he tried he hand as a race car driver. He boasts an impressive 34 straight wins with his car, which he named Mr. Banjo. His first break in music came in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys as a banjo player, a group which had a regular show at a radio station in his home state of Virginia.
He is most commonly known as the banjoist for The Country Gentlemen with whom he released numerous albums. These days, he performs almost exclusively with his wife Martha.
Eddie and Martha
For years Eddie had a problem with a tremor in his right hand. It got to the point where he wasn't able to play banjo like before.
Martha was the first to notice the tremor.
When I first noticed, his skills were not the same and we were trying to figure out what was going on," she said. "It was distressing because this has been his whole life.
Eventually, ol' Eddie deemed it necessary to go in and see if somehow the doctors could restore his capacities for playing the instrument which he loved so. His only option apparently was brain surgery....
Eddie about to go under the knife
(Just watch the vid.)
Eddie's comments on the surgery:
I came up in music the hard way and learned to be a trooper fast. Some of those early days were pretty rough, and I’ve been stomped, cut and kicked; but I never went through hell like this — it was the most painful thing I’ve ever endured. And it was risky. But I did it for a reason: I’m looking forward to being able to play music the way I did years ago prior to getting this tremor. It means that much to me. I’m far from being done!
Eddie's last entry on his site explains (09.25.08) "the playing is really coming back around."
For more info about Eddie and Martha, check out:
http://www.eddieandmarthaadcock.com
Comments
[i only have one word to describe this man, his journey, his music, his situation...]
amazing.
im glad they showed it from that side. or else i would be seeing mojito and popcorn in reverse.
Comments
Oh jeez! I forget, is it Across The Street or Down The Road? ...Hurry!!!
I <3 Corky!!
wow Sturg - you sure know how to shake up a party! Coogi sweaters kind of frighten me though...