Jul 15, 2005  |  By: Johanna Lunglhoffe  | COMMENTS     

A group of local musicians will take the stage at the Staccato Music Hall & Lounge in Adams Morgan next week to sing a few songs and, in the process, raise money for the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

The organization, which focuses on helping people affected by HIV/AIDS and providing health services for gay and lesbian clients, is struggling to cope with a financial crisis that recently prompted its board of directors to approve the layoff of nearly a third of its staff and a drastic cutback in clinic programs.

The majority of musicians who plan to perform at the music hall on July 22 are not gay.

“I was reading on their Web site about D.C. having one of the largest HIV-positive populations of any city in the country,” says John Thayer, the drummer for Exit Clov, an indie pop quintet and one of the groups slated to perform. “We’ve got to do our part. We can go out and do what we love to do, which is just play music, and if it has a positive effect for someone else, then that’s great.”

In addition to Exit Clov, other artists slated to perform include lesbian rocker Mara Levi, folk-rock artist Wes Tucker of Wes Tucker and the Skillets, and Plastic Sky, another D.C.-based group.

Organizers say all the proceeds raised will be donated to Whitman-Walker’s marathon program, an initiative that involves training people to run in various marathons to help raise money for HIV/AIDS causes.

The benefit concert next week is expected to draw up to 120 people and organizers hope to raise at least $1,000. In addition to musicians, who are donating their time and talent, James O’Brien at Staccato’s says he isn’t charging anything for the space where the event will be held, and ABS Printing, a D.C.-based company, contributed free posters to help spread the word.

The HIV/AIDS fund-raiser came about because of Fancy Records’ Emily Stark, a lesbian and Mara Levi’s manager, who plans to run in the Marine Corps Marathon this year and donate funds raised to HIV/AIDS causes. She says the lineup for the benefit concert was assembled after an informal search for crowd favorites among Washington’s local bands.

Each musician or band is scheduled to perform for just under an hour, beginning with Plastic Sky and ending with Wes Tucker. Between performances, guest speakers will discuss topics related to HIV/AIDS.

Levi, who lives in Washington, has been performing for about six years. The only openly gay musician on the bill, she performed during the Capital Pride celebration last month.

Having recently parted ways with several other musicians who played with her, Levi describes her new solo sound as “a little bit folky, with an acoustic guitar but hopefully still a rock ‘n’ roll edge to it.” She said Aimee Mann and Melissa Ferrick influence her work.

Wes Tucker usually performs his blues-inspired folk rock along with several band members, known as the Skillets. But for the upcoming benefit, he plans to take the stage with only one of them.

Tucker has been performing music for about four years, but his current band has only been together for about eight months. He expects their new album — with a style comparable to musicians like Jack Johnson and Ben Harper — to be released in the next few months.

Like Tucker, Exit Clov’s Thayer says that even though not all of his band members would be able to attend the concert on July 22, the group still agreed to perform.
“Realistically, if it were any other show, we would have said, ‘No, we can’t do it,’” Thayer says. “But really, we don’t turn down benefit shows. We try to do as many as are offered to us.”

Exit Clov’s name is a reference to the Samuel Beckett play “End Game.” Thayer’s fellow band members, sisters Emily and Susan Hsu, sing and play the violin. Emily also plays keyboards and Susan plays the guitar. Aaron Leeder plays guitar, and Brett Neiderman plays the bass.

Exit Clov’s members record, mix, produce and distribute their own music. So far, they’ve finished two EPs, which are available online and at their shows.

Among the band’s influences, Thayer sites the Beatles and early 1990s British pop groups like Blur and Pulp. Emily and Susan’s vocal sound has garnered comparison to Tanya Donelley of the alternative band Belly.