Warped Tour 2008 Interview: Kristina Grossmann of Rock for Health

One of the great things about the Warped Tour is its desire to showcase activist and charitable organizations. Rock for Health is one such organization whose goals center around health care and advice for musicians who are frequently without any resources. Kristina Grossmann, president of Rock for Health, answered a few questions about the organization and its presence on the tour.

RnRnMN: You are a relatively new organization, formed in October of last year. How much have you been able to accomplish in the last 10 months?

KG: ROCK FOR HEALTH has accomplished a great amount in the last 10 months. By December of last year, when we were two months old, we already had Warped Tour confirmed. We received an invitation to SXSW this year, have done numerous press such as FUSE TV and Radio&Records Magazine, locked down a few tours, and have helped countless artists! The organization is growing very quickly - I'm very pleased!


RnRnMN: With the election this year and health care being an increasingly big issue at the state and federal levels, do you do (or hope to do) any advocacy work?

KG: Part of RFH's mission statement is advocating health and preventative care for artists. The biggest misconception about my organization is that we are an insurance provider -which we are not. We partner up with health insurance and health benefit agencies to help artists get affordable care. In advocating preventative care, we work with nutritional companies and other health companies to educate and offer artists healthy alternatives. I created a tour manual for artists that contains locations of free clinics, hospitals, ambulance services, pharmacies, ear/nose/throat doctors, chiropractors - you get the gist - in every major touring city. It also has information on how to stay healthy on the road, such as tour exercises and what to eat when at a gas station. RFH is an organization that makes people thing - "Why didn't I think of that?"


RnRnMN: Is your goal strictly health advice for musicians or do you hope to ultimately provide a means for musicians to obtain health insurance?

KG: One of the companies that we work with is a health benefit agency called MEDILINQ. We have a plan with MEDILINQ that for $39.95 a month, a whole entire band up to 15 members receives 40-60% off on prescription drugs, doctor visits, dental, urgent care, chiropractors, etc. We have already signed a few bands up for this service and they absolutely love it. I had a client save over $600 on a root canal! I have since been dubbed "The Healthcare Angel."

RnRnMN: How has your presence with the Warped Tour helped?

KG: Warped Tour has helped RFH immensely! With over 130 bands on the tour and an average venue size of 15,000 kids, Warped has been great. The best part is seeing how fast the company grows everyday while on the tour. I get more and more people coming up to me on the tour telling me how they heard about us or how they saw a certain artist on the tour wearing one of our shirts. More and more kids buy shirts everyday, more and more artists wear the shirts everyday, and we are helping so many more people in such a short period of time that we ever would have been able to. It's very humbling meeting people that are so genuinely thankful for an organization like this, and seeing the happiness of bands when they find out that someone is
tackling an issue like this. We are the only non-profit on this tour that is for the musicians themselves. With so many bands on the tour and so many people within the scene with connections to other artists, this tour is a no-brainer.


RnRnMN: Have you been able to enjoy the music or has it been all work on the tour?

KG: With me, it's always all work! But I love it. I absolutely get to watch bands on the tour - especially the bands that I am working with. Some of them are so hard to find that sometimes finding them at their set is the only option! I show them support for their support of ROCK FOR HEALTH.


RnRnMN: How do you envision Rock for Health growing over the next few years?

KG: In the future, I would like to have the funds to sponsor research on musician related illnesses, such as an ear/nose/throat doctor studying a singers vocal chords. I'm going to be having ROCK FOR HEALTH sponsored tours, benefit shows, etc, as well as being able to donate money to artists who are in some sort of health bind.


RnRnMN: Other than donations, how can fans help?

KG: To make a donation, you can visit our webpage or myspace. Donations are tax-deductible! Buying tee-shirts also helps, as that money goes into helping the artists. Fans can help by adding me on myspace and volunteering at shows and tours that we participate in. Everything from handing out fliers, posting our banner on your site, wearing tee shirts, to telling people about the organization helps us out so much!



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See all of my coverage from the Warped Tour in Columbia, MD on July 16, 2008 here.

Beatles Charity Auction

A charitable auction, benefiting The Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation, launches on eBay today at 3pm PST. The auction lot includes the Beatles’ Help! flag, bearing the classic artwork of The Beatles’ 1965 movie, a luxurious trip for two to London, England and a deluxe, limited edition Help! DVD boxed set. Beatles fans around the world can place bids now until 3pm PST on November 16, 2007, when the listing ends. All bidders will be pre-qualified through Kompolt Online Auction Agency (www.kompolt.com).

In addition to becoming the proud owner of the unique flag, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Ringo Starr, and a limited edition Help! boxed set, the charity auction’s top bidder and a guest will enjoy a special VIP tour of world-famous Abbey Road Studios while on holiday in London.

Visit Ebay for more information or to place a bid.

All proceeds from the charity auction will directly benefit The Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation.

Flogging Molly and Bouncing Souls set to Headline Charity Event in Hollywood December11, 2007

From Side One Dummy Records:

Los Angeles, October 19, 2007. The second annual ROCK TO ROLL charity event spearheaded by SideOneDummy Co-Founder Joe Sib is happening this year at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, CA on December 11th. The event will directly benefit the non-profit organization WHEELS FOR HUMANITY. Headlining the event this year is FLOGGING MOLLY just back from recording their new album in Ireland. Also on the bill will be BOUNCING SOULS and DEAD TO ME. The night will kick off with a set from PUNK ROCK KARAOKE (featuring members of NOFX, Bad Religion, Adolescents & Social Distortion).

The WHEELS FOR HUMANITY mission is to provide increased self sufficiency and mobility to people with disabilities throughout the world, without regard to political affiliation, religious belief or ethnic identity. WFH began in 1996 and is a non-profit organization and has since helped over 30,000 people with disabilities in over 58 countries gain increased mobility and dignity. WFH is located in North Hollywood where a small professional staff and a large volunteer workforce collect, refurbish and ship donated wheelchairs.

Last year, Joe Sib's ROCK TO ROLL benefit concert at the Key Club rose over $27,000 for WFH. The average wheel chair costs $150 to refurbish, which means last year's event directly improved the lives of roughly 180 individuals in need. This year we've moved the event to the Avalon Theater in Hollywood and our goal is to double our fundraising efforts. TICKETS go on sale Friday Nov.9th