Solidarity Rock

Solidarity Rock is an artist run organization working to partner musicians, artists and creative people in Cuba, Canada and beyond. Since 2008, we have been working to collect instruments and musical equipment to help our friends in Cuban rock bands find their own way through music.
Jan 5 '12
CUBA BOUND! Ok, well, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Toronto with my friends Sandy Phimester, photographer extrordinaire and our new friend, Calgary’s Jimmy Gamble. We’re waiting for about half an hour to get on the shuttle back to the airport for our 6:15 flight to Varadero. A lot has been going through my mind lately. Cuba is a country which has been at war for 50 years. It’s a country where the people live in difficult circumstances because of the political situation both inside and outside the country. I think that bringing the joy that comes from punk rock to the young people in Cuba is very important. In fact, it’s the thing which I have seen as the most important thing I could do for several years. Looking back, throughout the last 4 years, I’ve had an opportunity to interact with a lot of amazing people. This project has allowed musicians, artists and other sympathizers to use their creative talents to make the world a little bit better. In the lead up to this tour, we had a lot of help. Ben Disaster, The Mandates, and the Collapse played a show in Calgary and donated what they could to the cause. We’ve been able to use that money to be able to cover part of the bus costs on this tour. We had a show at the Baby Seal Club in Edmonton, and Diehatsu Hijets, Book Of Caverns, Camembert and Morals played and donated everything to help us take care of our Cuban tourmate’s needs on the road. The kick off show in Vancouver brought the AK-747’s and Rich Hope together with the Vicious Cycles to get them on the bus. We also had the great support of Matt Jeffries, of Stylewise Media who designed the beautiful poster, and Jen Fritz of Fritz Media who handled press for the Vancouver show. We had a full page in the Vancouver Sun and coverage in the Province and the Straight. If you need media relations work, do yourself a favour and call Jen Fritz.So, we’re heading out with the best hopes possible and the power of friendship to overcome whatever adversity we find. This really is a great thing. We appreciate everyone who has put their time or money towards ensuring our success. We’ll see you in 10 days!VIVA ROCK SOLIDARIO.Drew

CUBA BOUND!

Ok, well, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Toronto with my friends Sandy Phimester, photographer extrordinaire and our new friend, Calgary’s Jimmy Gamble. We’re waiting for about half an hour to get on the shuttle back to the airport for our 6:15 flight to Varadero.

A lot has been going through my mind lately. Cuba is a country which has been at war for 50 years. It’s a country where the people live in difficult circumstances because of the political situation both inside and outside the country. I think that bringing the joy that comes from punk rock to the young people in Cuba is very important. In fact, it’s the thing which I have seen as the most important thing I could do for several years.

Looking back, throughout the last 4 years, I’ve had an opportunity to interact with a lot of amazing people. This project has allowed musicians, artists and other sympathizers to use their creative talents to make the world a little bit better. In the lead up to this tour, we had a lot of help. Ben Disaster, The Mandates, and the Collapse played a show in Calgary and donated what they could to the cause. We’ve been able to use that money to be able to cover part of the bus costs on this tour. We had a show at the Baby Seal Club in Edmonton, and Diehatsu Hijets, Book Of Caverns, Camembert and Morals played and donated everything to help us take care of our Cuban tourmate’s needs on the road. The kick off show in Vancouver brought the AK-747’s and Rich Hope together with the Vicious Cycles to get them on the bus.

We also had the great support of Matt Jeffries, of Stylewise Media who designed the beautiful poster, and Jen Fritz of Fritz Media who handled press for the Vancouver show. We had a full page in the Vancouver Sun and coverage in the Province and the Straight. If you need media relations work, do yourself a favour and call Jen Fritz.

So, we’re heading out with the best hopes possible and the power of friendship to overcome whatever adversity we find. This really is a great thing. We appreciate everyone who has put their time or money towards ensuring our success. We’ll see you in 10 days!

VIVA ROCK SOLIDARIO.

Drew

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