FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RAWKSTARS, INC. PARTNERS WITH WILLIAM CARTER SCHOOL TO BOLSTER MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM

Rawkstars has donated brand new equipment to support the Music Therapy Program for kids with severe developmental disabilities at the William Carter School in Boston.

“We first became aware of the program through our association with local musician and licensed music therapist, Sarah Blacker.”, says Jonathan Jacobs, founder and Executive Director of Rawkstars.

“We discussed how music therapy was being used to help kids learn basic skills and our Board of Directors thought it was a great opportunity to get involved and lend our support.”

The Arts Therapy Department at William Carter School has a 25 year track record of success working with individuals and groups of children that face a multitude of challenges. Creative arts therapy is a proven intervention which can foster increased independence and competency, improved coping skills, desired behavior change, and enhanced self-esteem.

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Rawkstars, Inc., is a nonprofit music organization which provides free instruments, lessons and music education programs for kids in the Greater Boston area.  Rawkstars has partnered with a growing list of local organizations including The Boys & Girls Club, The Home For Little Wanderers and Dana Farber, and The Passim School of Music to bring opportunity through music to kids who might not otherwise have access.

For more information, or to contribute to Rawkstars, visit www.rawkstars.org.
Contact: Jonathan Jacobs, Rawkstars, Inc. Executive Director, at 617-750-0775 or jjacobs@rawkstars.org.

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William Carter School:  At the Carter School art, music, drama and dance-movement activities are used initially as a point of contact that provides the motivation towards greater exploration of the student’s capabilities.  These methodologies make use of each person’s natural curiosity or expression and builds on existing strengths while engaging them in developmental tasks.

You may recognize Mia from her successful run on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, or from her recent stint as spokeswoman for Torrid Fashions.

First and foremost, Mia is best known for her musical prowess and other-worldly singing voice, both of which are clearly displayed on these new songs.   Recorded during the fall of 2010, Mia delivers her strongest, most mature material to date.

“We wanted to help Mia build on her past successes and the recording studio is where she really shines.” says Jonathan Jacobs, founder of Rawkstars, Inc. who co-produced and financed Mia’s first CD.

Once again, a portion of the proceeds from the digital sales of this material will benefit Rawkstars; a Boston based nonprofit offering free instruments, lessons and music education programs for kids.

“Mia is a great example of what is possible when kids have the support to pursue music and the arts.  She is immensely talented, and a powerful role model that kids and music fans of all ages can look up to.”

Full article here.

The following is an unedited letter from the mom of our very first Rawkstar.  Kevin began guitar lessons with us 6 years ago and this is his story…

“Back in 2003 my son came to me saying he wanted to learn how to play the guitar.  You see he was 10 at the time was a great kid who had a severe stutter and really didn’t fit in with many of the children at school because they just didn’t understand his disability.  I told him we would see, but lessons would be very expensive and an instrument such as a guitar would be as well.  That week I read a newspaper article about a gentleman who was starting a nonprofit to introduce children to the gift of music to help create self esteem, passion for the arts, creativity, and many other wonderful life skills.  We met with JJ shortly thereafter, and Kevin became Rawkstars first student.

I don’t know where to begin to tell you what this program has done for us.  My son has become a stellar student on The National Honor Society, and I believe it all stems from him learning how to listen, play, read, and write music.  His science and math grades improved dramatically once he really began understanding music theory. He began to gain confidence in himself from there.  Once he entered high school he started participating in The Battle of the Bands twice a year.  Not only did he conquer performing in front of others, but speaking and singing too.  To see and hear my son on stage after all he had gone through as a child brought tears to my eyes and to many others also. He has made many friends who share the same interests in music and art that he has, which is great for him socially. What a gift this has been to a young 10 year old boy who at that time in his life was feeling very hopeless and defeated.  He is now an eager young man who is so excited to go onto college and become the person he was meant to be.

If it had not been for the Rawkstars organization, and Jonathan Jacobs, I honestly don’t think my son would be who he is today, and the future of where he is going is so much brighter now.  Rawkstars gave him a chance that completely changed his life.  It was a saving Grace for him.  I appreciate this program, and can only tell you that the opportunity this opens for children is priceless.

Rawkstars is a wonderful opportunity for kids in need. What a blessing it has been for our family.

RAWKSTARS creates SUPERSTARS!!”

For more information, contact us at 617.750.0775 or via email, jjacobs@rawkstars.org.

The diminutive slayer of dragons is without question one of the most revered, influential, successful and talented singers to ever grace a stage.

For me it started in 1982 when Holy Diver was released.  By that time, Dio had already secured his musical legacy by playing with two of the biggest names in music; Black Sabbath and Rainbow, but for a 12 year old suburban, middle class kid, those were unknown quantities to me as of yet.

I walked to the local record store and thumbed through the tiny *heavy metal* section.  Before the internet, file sharing and global socialization, that’s the main way I found new music.  I either had a friend give me a homemade cassette of the latest cool band from Europe, read about them in Kerrang or bought albums randomly by deciding who had the coolest looking cover.  Holy Diver featured a chained priest being thrown into the ocean by a towering, muscle-bound demon.  Sold.  It was a non-scientific method of finding new music and sometimes yielded sketchy results.  This wasn’t to be one of those times.

I got the record home and dropped the needle.  After the first few revolutions of static that always built anticipation for what was coming, it started.  The title track kicked in and I was hooked.  I can picture myself instinctively banging my head to that riff and raising the devil horns Dio also popularized, in classic Beavis and Butthead-style.  I probably listened to the record 5 consecutive times that day, and 500+ times over the coming year.  Not because of that album cover, but because of the music inside.

That’s the thing about Dio; he meticulously crafted an image of himself to appeal to young fans and to deliver the style of lyrics and imagery he so clearly loved.  But his music had SUBSTANCE.  He knew how to put a band together and how to be a front man.  He knew how to write timeless melodies and could sing like the angels and devils portrayed in his songwriting.  He affected me not only with those first songs, but sent me on a journey that took me into the teeth of the music I was just starting to discover fall in love with.

I immediately went out and bought Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.  Then Rainbow Rising, Long Live Rock N’ Roll and Rainbow’s first album.  Over the ensuing months and years, those grew to be some of the most influential albums on me, even eclipsing his solo work in the pantheon of my musical catalog.  It led me directly into the incestuous family tree that was Rainbow, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Whitesnake and Ozzy; which each in turn sprouted branches of their own.  Like a great history lesson, music can send you on a journey of discovery, in search of the essence of what you have learned to see how it came to be.  Dio sent many of us on that path and left us hungry for more at every turn.

Dio was a connector.  More than just a link; he was a guide who took me on a pilgrimage back through the history of rock and metal music that defined a large part of who I am as a human being.

“Something’s calling me back.  There’s a light in the black.
Am I ready to go?  …I’m coming home!”

Stephanie was the youngest participant in this intense competition and will be the most junior candidate ever, to  achieve this status.  The Patriots cheerleaders participate in events and entertain folks all over the world.  Stephanie will be working very hard and traveling frequently; including an upcoming calendar photo shoot in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Join Rawkstars in congratulating Stephanie and her family, who spent many months training and working to attain this amazing goal!