North Carolina MUSICIANS ARE struggling!
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Over the past four years, longtime musicians Rob Slater, Ed Bumgardner and the late Chris Garges - the owner/engineer of Old House Studio and percussionist of note - created Be Good To Yourself - Mental Health for NC Musicians, a 27-song, four-format benefit collection by 60 Tarheel musicians.
Participating musicians include Don Dixon, Mitch Easter, Peter Holsapple, Libby Rodenbough (Mipso), Rick Miller and Mary Huff (SCOTS), John Howie Jr., Caitlin Cary, Bill Lloyd, Snüzz, Jeffrey Dean Foster, Danielle Howle, Doug Davis, John Elderkin (The Popes), Rod Abernethy and Robert Kirkland (Arrogance) and more.
The collection seeks to generate funds for uninsured North Carolina musicians to have the financial means to seek initial treatment for addiction and suicidal depression.
The project was released November 8, 2021 as a digital download and a double CD. Later that fall we released a 10-song vinyl record and a limited vinyl EP of four songs not on the other formats. After Chris's passing, we produced and released a twelve-song tribute (all new music, but with artists from Be Good…), the proceeds from which also went to The Be Good To Yourself Foundation.
Proceeds from the of sale of music, merchandise, and benefi concerts will go to providing the means of treatment for uninsured North Carolina working musicians and music industry support staff through the expanded support of Austin Texas's SIMS Foundation and music industry clinical case management specialists Backline (hello@backline.care).
The core group behind the project has invested $30,000 in recording and manufacturing costs. This money WILL NOT be recouped. It is our seed gift in the hope that no more friends and colleagues will suffer because they can’t afford treatment.
That seed money was only just that. We absolutely need your help to see our mission through!
We need to raise money to make treatment available through associated clinical mental-health professionals provided by backline. (hello@backline.care)
Be Good to Yourself is allied with the SIMS Foundation (simsfoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of some twenty-five years standing, and mental health case management specialists backline. (hello@backline.care)
We know that the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Be Good To Yourself was initially produced, affected everyone’s life. Long-term, subsequent times in the music industry continue to be unquestionably challenging. So we are very grateful for any amount you can share.
No donation is too small. All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
You will literally be helping save the life of someone who wants nothing more than to make your life a little bit better with music.
We can’t thank you enough. Hope you enjoy the music.
WHY YOUR HELP MATTERS
We are losing our musicians at an alarming rate. According to the January, 2020 Rolling Stone article, “We Can’t Have All Our Artists Die," musicians are suffering from addiction and mental-health issues at an unprecedented rate. Depression. Anxiety. Dependency. All these affect musicians every day.
The Rolling Stone article goes on to say, “In a 2018 study from the Music Industry Research Association, 50% of musicians reported battling symptoms of depression, compared with less than 25 percent of the general adult population. Nearly 12 percent reported having suicidal thoughts — nearly four times the general population. According to a 2019 study published by Swedish digital-distribution platform Record Union, the numbers are even starker: It found that 73 percent of independent musicians have battled stress, anxiety, and depression. Sadly, about half the people who suffer mental illness will also experience substance abuse during their lives.
Across North Carolina, musicians are struggling with anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide. Those relative few who can afford health insurance most likely have little to no coverage for mental health counseling and/or treatment.
our partners
The Be Good To Yourself initiative, the SIMS Foundation, and backline partner to Provide Clinical mental health support For North carolina musicians and support staff.
Be Good To Yourself is a mental health initiative for and by NC Musicians. The SIMS Foundation and backline are among the few non-profits in the nation providing mental health and substance abuse services and support to musicians, music industry professionals, and their dependents.