So another year comes to a close... our 12th year of existence, and our
11th year of doing benefit shows.
These days two things continually come to mind -
My personal financial situation, which is an unmitigated disaster, and my desire to push Stop The Bleeding to the next level. I often think of these things at the same time, because they are unfortunately linked.
To effectively move into the next phase and really help the homeless to the extent I would like, I will need to be able to do it full time, but guess what? I can't, because in order to do that I would need to leave my job, which I can't do because of the aforementioned debacle. Short version I need to be able to employ myself full time working for Stop The Bleeding, and I can't do that without the appropriate amount of funding.
This is a constant source of stress and frustration for me, as I continue to see the homeless epidemic spread. They say patience is a virtue; right now my patience has been replaced by frustration and doubt and my patience has worn beyond thin.
That said, it would appear to be my only option at this time.
And so we wait...
But you know here at STB while we wait, We Rock! on behalf of the homeless.
In 2016 we were only able to put on 5 shows, instead of our usual 7, for various reasons, but they were, as always, fantastically epic shows in which the Boston area's most talented musicians came together and kicked ass to help the homeless.
The recap:
At theSTB Metalfest 15 we raised $308.05for the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, at A Tribute To The Homeless 10we raised $562 for Boston domestic violence shelter Renewal House, at our Death Becomes Us show we raised $233.50 for the Mustard Seed soup kitchen in Worcester, at
A Tribute To The Homeless 11 we raised $1,058.70 for homeless veterans shelter Veterans Transition House in New Bedford, and at the
STB Metalfest 16 we raised $295 for Lucy's Hearth, a shelter for women and their children in Middletown, Rhode Island.
So as you can see, we had our usual ups and downs with amounts of money raised at each show, but it was nice to have a whopping total like the one we came away with for homeless veterans - we've only hit $1,000 once before this in 11 years of doing these shows - it was the perfect combination of a decent turnout, people being generous with their money in the form of buying raffle tickets and straight up donations, and a great venue like Pete's Bar and Grille in Quincy.
So a total of $2,457.25 raised for 5 different shelters this year - not bad, because this was a tough year in terms of making these shows happen, specifically due to lack of venues.
Many thanks to those venues who were willing to help us -
The Wreck Room in Peterborough, New Hampshire
The Raven in Worcester
The East Boston Yacht Club
and
Pete's Bar and Grille in Quincy
And many thanks to the following bands for their awesome performances at our shows this year - check them out!!!!!