|
NoHo's very own rock diva, Kelly Z, of Kelly's
Lot has, for the past four
years, applied her enthusiasm, energy and
dedication toward a campaign to
promote awareness of Hepatitis C. Her local
efforts have helped educate many here in Los
Angeles, but Kelly is now bringing her
grassroots movement to a national level.
In 2001, Kelly lost a close friend, Gioia
Siciliano, to Hep C, after they had
worked closely together raising awareness of the
dreaded virus. Kelly could
not believe the lack of information available to
the general public and decided
that she would do whatever she could to keep
getting the information out
to the general public.
The first thing she did was to organize a series
of benefit concerts at Hallenbeck's General
Store in North Hollywood. It was a monthly event
which went on for over two years. In January,
2002, Kelly's Lot was named the National
Spokesband for the American Liver Foundation
(ALF). The band went on a national tour from Los
Angeles to Boston and in the fall, Kelly hosted
The National GoGirlsMusic Fest, a 23-city
concert event that also benefited the ALF. That
same year, Kelly teamed up with the North
Hollywood/Universal City Chamber of Commerce to
produce a three-day concert in North Hollywood
Park to raise awareness of Hep C.
In 2004, the monthly concerts were moved to the
Universal Bar and Grill (also
in NoHo) and now take place every few months.
Kelly said, "The support from
club owners in the NoHo Community, like Casey
(Universal Bar and Grill), and
Rob (Hallenbeck's) is really a great help and we
could not do it without them."
Wanting to reach even more people Kelly started
www.HepCCoalition.com and put out a call to
musicians across the country to help bring
awareness about this epidemic to the national
forefront. Each member of the coalition
distributes postcards with facts about Hep C at
their shows and events. The response to the
postcards has been one of overwhelming interest
and support. "When I pass out the informational
postcards at our shows," Kelly says, "People are
very receptive. I figured if I got other bands
to do the same thing we could really reach a lot
of people".
On Feb 7, 2004, to kick off the coalition, Kelly
produced the first ever Hep
C Coalition Internet Telethon that featured
performances by Los Angeles area
musicians and comedians that lasted more than 12
hours and reached people all over the world.
This summer, the City of Los Angeles heard about
Kelly and her efforts to
bring Hep C to the forefront of health
consciousness, and after meeting with her, they
offered to provide funding to print 20,000 more
of her informational
postcards.
On Sunday, September 12, she will host the first
ever Punk Rock Unites for
Hepatitis C Awareness at the Galaxy Theatre in
Santa Ana, CA, sponsored by
radio station FM103.1, Guitar Center and others
and will feature performances by Boobie Trap,
The Crowd, Working Class Zeroes, Brass Taxx,
Saving Grace, Never Ready and Civet.
Most recently, Kelly has been asked to attend
the 2004 NEMO Music Festival & Conference in
Boston on October 1 & 2 (www.nemoboston.com)
to bring info about Hepatitis C to their
attendees, and in January 2005, she will bring
Hep C awareness to a major music event in
Houston.
Hepatitis C is a serious, relatively unknown
disease that not only infects 1
in 50 adult Americans but also is the number one
reason for liver transplants
in the U.S. It is also four times more
prevalent than HIV, and victims of
this disease can suffer serious liver damage
without outward symptoms and
85 percent of those infected, stay infected.
Experts estimate that deaths
from Hepatitis C will triple over the course of
the next 10 to 15 years.
Since Hep C is a blood-transmitted disease,
there are certain people with an
elevated risk of infection. These include
those who have had a blood
transfusion prior to 1992, hemodialysis patients
and those whose occupations require them to have
increased exposure to blood (such as healthcare
workers or members of the military). Sharers of
razors and toothbrushes are at risk, too. Also
at risk are those who have unprotected sex with
multiple partners (or a history of STDs), people
who snort drugs (like cocaine) through a straw
or a
rolled up bill, intravenous drug users (even if
they did it just ONCE), and people
who have tattoos or body piercings.
Musicians and volunteers are always needed to
assist with this campaign.
Interested parties should make contact through
www.hepccoalition.com.
Copyright 2004 Scott Detweiler. All Rights
Reserved.
Scott Detweiler is an accomplished musician in
his own rite and has just
released his sixth CD. For more details, log on
to
www.detweilermusic.com, or write to
scott@detweilermusic.com.
|
