HiPSTERWAVE

Up-and-coming pop artist Jess Penner. Check out her Facebook page here.

Radio Personality & Philanthropist Robin Quivers & 15 Foundation Give Gift Of $75K Towards Nutrition Education & $22K Towards Music Education Programs For Children

(New York, NY – December 12, 2011) – Just in time for the holidays, radio personality and philanthropist Robin Quivers and her 15 Foundation presented a gift of $75,000.00 to two formidable youth charities in California: The Edible Schoolyard Project and The Connolly Ranch in Napa Valley. Both organizations are dedicated to teaching children about proper food nutrition and establishing proper eating habits early in life to help set a pattern for success.

Robin founded her philanthropic initiative in 2010 with a mission to target organizations that are tackling some of the most pressing issues in our communities. 15 Foundation is taking an aim at improving academics, nutrition and arts education in K-­-12 schools by combining three elements that speak to the mind (academics), the body (nutrition), and creative soul (art).

15 Foundation’s gift of $50,000 to The Edible Schoolyard will give the organization an opportunity to develop a multimedia curriculum which will be shared with schools, school gardens and kitchens around the country in order to further the best practices and facilitate program development for Edible Education initiatives nationwide.

“We are so grateful to the 15 Foundation for their generous support,” explains Alice Waters, Founder of The Edible Schoolyard Project. “By documenting and sharing the best-practices from our flagship program, the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, we are able to reach many more children across the United States and give them the opportunity to experience the transformative power of Edible Education”

15 Foundation’s gift of $25,000 to the Connolly Ranch will help support the organization’s “Eco-Intervention” Field Trip program that targets elementary school children who live in low-income households as well as the organization’s Summer Camp program which bridges farming, gardening and cooking experiences in a dynamic, hands-on, youth-driven environment. “I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that the foundation has been the recipient of in it’s short life. I am very proud of the work that this support has enabled us to do and humbled by the dedication the Edible Schoolyard and the Connolly Ranch,” Quivers states. Robin has worked tirelessly over the past two years for the 15 Foundation – to support every child’s right to a high-quality education. As part of this comprehensive program Robin also sponsored MIMA Music with a grant of $22,000 to work with the kids from both organization and provide musical improvisation. The students from Berkeley wrote and recorded the music performed in the video in just 8 hours with many of them having never played an instrument before.

For more information, please visit 15foundation.org.

The latest artist to be championed by Jason Swinscoe’s Motion Audio imprint will be familiar to fans of The Cinematic Orchestra. Brooklyn-based L.D. Brown and AKA Grey Reverend met Swinscoe shortly after the Cinematics main-man relocated to NYC and started going to the coffee shop run by Brown’s sister for his hot caffeinated beverages. When Swinscoe heard some of Brown’s material he was impressed by it and they met up. Eventually, he asked the Reverend to supply a cover version of “To Build A Home.” Swinscoe liked the resulting “mix” so much that Grey Reverend began to tour with TCO, singing with them and performing his own material in support.

Now, four years on, Brown releases his first album, Of The Days, with Swinscoe’s new label. Brown performs his songs primarily as a soloist, using acoustic guitar and voice to convey his music to his audience. The devilish detail within the songs create flashes of allegory in which familiar sentiments simultaneously comfort and unnerve the senses. Compelling and positively ambiguous, with reverence for the grey, undefined areas of style, his songs are unconcerned with musical or social expectations. They sit completely outside of time and fashion, the beauty and simplicity of his voice enough to carry them.

Adele: “Lovesong”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A beautiful cover of a beautiful song.

A song from your favorite album.