[SBB] Message from AC Bushnell

Alan Bushnell acbushnell at gmail.com
Wed May 3 15:04:08 UTC 2006


Dear Friend,



Let me tell you a quick story.



As you know, I play the fiddle, and a couple of years ago I was at the Mt.
Airy Fiddlers Convention.  It was two in the morning, and I was walking with
a friend when we came upon the hottest session I ever heard in my life.  It
was David Bass on fiddle and Mark Olitsky on banjo along with a guitar and
bass and it was so wonderful I couldn't believe it.  I turned to my friend
and said, "You know, the best stuff isn't on CD's!"



The next morning I woke up early and suddenly felt a kind of whoosh -- I
instantly knew that I could start a nonprofit organization and put out this
music.  My vision came fully formed -- I even knew what the first four
projects were!



So it was that I founded the Rising Tide Foundation (a National Heritage
Foundation) to create, preserve and bring music into the word that otherwise
wouldn't exist.  At the same time Rising Tide gives artists their own CD
with free copies to sell which helps them financially.  They benefit and the
world benefits.



And good news…thanks to generous donations, the first Rising Tide Foundation
CD has been recorded --- it's David Bass on fiddle, Mark Olitsky on bass,
Charlie Pickford on guitar and Alex Scala on bass.



David Bass was the fiddle player for The Freight Hoppers, and this is his
first recording since that time and his first since he had a heart
transplant.  Mark Olitsky has never been recorded, and yet he is one of the
very best banjo players in the country and greatly in demand at
festivals.  Charlie
Pickford is a hard driving, excellent guitar player and Alex Scala, the bass
player with The Hix, is top notch.



It's vitally important that this uniquely American music be preserved.  David
Bass is one of the greatest old-time fiddle players of all time, now healthy
and at his peak, and it would be a great loss to society and the nation if
this wonderful music was not preserved.  Copies of the completed CD will be
donated to libraries across the country including the Southern Folklife
Collection.  This recording will be their – and our – legacy to the world.




The band is called Killer Grits, the CD is called *Midnight on the Run* and
it's great:  straight ahead, high energy old time tunes that'll knock your
socks off!  It's been recorded, mixed and mastered so it's ready to
roll…except:  we're $2,100 short to finish the art and manufacture the CD.



So I need your help…and here's an idea:

   - If you will send a tax-deductible donation of $25 or more to the
   Rising Tide Foundation (a National Heritage Foundation), I'll send you a
   free pre-release copy of the CD as soon as it's off the press.



   - If you send a donation of $100 or more, I'll send you a free
   pre-release copy of the CD along with a free bonus CD of 7 additional hot
   tracks in addition to the 18 that are on the CD.  The bonus CD is
   available only to special donors who help this dream come true and will not
   be available to anyone else.



   - If you send a donation of $500 or more, you will receive both free
   CDs and be listed on the CD as an Executive Producer.



We're almost there.  If 84 of you send $25, or 21 of you send $100, or 4 of
you send $550…we're there!



Here's how you can help:



   1. Send your tax-deductible donation in any amount ($25 or more if you
   want the free CD of *Midnight on the Run,* $100 or more if you want
   the free *Midnight on the Run* CD plus the 7 bonus tracks CD, and $500
   or more if you want both CDs and you want to be an Executive Producer on the
   album).



   1. Make your donation payable to "The National Heritage Foundation"
   and write "Rising Tide" in the memo area of your check.



   1. Mail it to:            The Rising Tide Foundation

460 Bayberry Drive

Chapel Hill, NC  27517



That's it!  I hope you will be able to support the dream of bringing great
music into the world, preserving it and helping the artists.  I'm grateful
for your help.



Sincerely,



AC Bushnell

(919) 932-3037



PS:  Any monies raised in excess of the $2,100 or raised by sales of the
Killer Grits CD will go towards the next Rising Tide project.



PPS:  If you can take a moment now to send a check, I'd be grateful.  Thanks
for your support.


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