New Single from Jaime Michaels, “Black River,” Benefits Gulf Residents
Pigeon O'Brien
Posted On October 27, 2010
Santa Fe, NM — Recording artist Jaime Michaels announces that all proceeds from the sale of his brand new single, “Black River,” will be donated to the Greater New Orleans Foundation to benefit families whose livelihoods were affected by the recent Gulf oil spill.
While recording his latest CD at Jono Manson’s Santa Fe studio, Michaels was struck by a news report he glimpsed. Says Michaels, “I saw an interview with a young fisherman who just happened to have an Italian last name. He emotionally spoke of the loss of not only his livelihood but also of a way of life and sense of place that had sustained his family for five generations.”
Michaels, now living in Santa Fe, grew up in the Northeast in a close family. Says Michaels, “When I was young, the matriarch of my family was a 4′ 11″ feisty woman named Filmena Venucchi Falardi, ‘Fanny’ for short, my great-grandmother. Born in Salerno, Italy in 1879, she came to the United States as a young girl. I couldn’t help but think of Fanny and what it might feel like to lose something that had been at the center of our family since she was a girl. The song ‘Black River’ was born of those feelings.”
Michaels sought to benefit those whose livelihoods have been impacted by the spill; he chose to partner with the Greater New Orleans Foundation (www.gnof.org). The Foundation is active in supporting neighborhoods in Louisiana and fostering infrastructure, community growth and stability. Though the spill has been capped, the economic impact on the area will continue for years and years to come. All proceeds of the single will go to the Foundation to provide meaningful assistance to Gulf residents.
The single precedes Michaels’s new album, produced by famed studio magician Jono Manson and featuring Blues Traveler’s John Popper and New York indie legend Kevin Trainor (formerly fronting The Surreal McCoys). “Black River” is available through the website www.jaimemichaels.com.
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About Jaime Michaels: Soon to release his eighth album of solo work, Jaime Michaels is a Santa Fe-based singer/songwriter of national renown. His recent appearances have included a mainstage appearance at the Kerrville Folk Festival where he released his 7th solo CD, “crooked.” He was also the winner of the 2009 Susanne Millsaps Songwriting Competition at the Snowbird Music Festival in Utah and performed at the 2010 festival in July as a mainstage performer. He was an official showcase selection at the 2009 Southeast Regional Folk Alliance conference. And the 2010 FAR-West conference. He’s on the web at www.jaimemichaels.com
About the Greater New Orleans Foundation: Founded 25 years ago, Greater New Orleans Foundation seeks to create a resilient, sustainable, vibrant community in which individuals and families flourish and in which the special character of the New Orleans region and its people is preserved, celebrated, and given the means to develop. On the web at www.gnof.org
Facts about the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill:
Number of Oil Rig Workers Killed in Explosion: 11
source: CNN
Projected Job Losses Due to the Gulf Oil Spill: 12,000
source: Department of the Interior report, September 2010
Projected Average Loss of Value of Gulf-adjacent Real Estate: 10%
source: Bloomberg News
Jobs Lost in Virginia Oyster Industry Alone Due to the Oil Spill: 352
source: College of William and Mary/Marine Advisory Services Economic Impact Report July 2010
