Monkeywhale Productions

Helping You Help Teresa: A Local Hero Needs 20 Seconds Of Your Time

emily — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:18:04 +0000

: Teresa Staley – activist, advocate, and rockstar – needs a new accessibility van with a lift for her wheelchair. You can help simply by voting at the link below and spreading the word.

The folks here at Monkeywhale were asked to be part of a very special project last week. A local hero and a friend of the crew, Teresa Staley, found her van and herself in a bit of a pickle recently. Teresa, who lives with muscular dystrophy and drives an electric wheel chair, has places to be. She writes, plays in bands, advocates for others with disabilities, hosts a summer concert series in her backyard, employs a small fleet of caregivers on a modest government stipend, supports the arts and music scene throughout Greensboro, and works hard to manage her paperwork, grocery list, doctor’s visits, and various other time consuming aspects of daily life.

Lately, however, Delilah, the van that Teresa needs to get around to her numerous affairs, including meetings for the statewide Independent Living Board in Burlington, has been showing signs of great distress. In addition to the usual minor hiccups, Delilah’s gas gauge no longer works, leaks are taking over, and the back door is no longer functional in the event of an emergency, but most importantly, the hydraulic seals on the lift that actually gets her into the van are worn out. When the mechanic informed her of this, Teresa realized the repairs were out of her reach and that after 25 years of faithful transport, it might be time for Delilah to retire.

Fortunately, this gloomy forecast was not the only thing she found when she took her van to the shop that day. Hanging on the wall was a promising flyer with information about a contest being held for National Mobility Awareness Month. The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association will soon be giving away 3 wheelchair accessible vans to people with disabilities who are active in their communities like Teresa. Three lucky winners must be able to gather upwards of 5,000 votes by this Sunday, May 13th. That’s why Teresa needs your help.

Last Tuesday, we gathered at Teresa’s house to make a video in record time that demonstrates just how much she needs your votes and a new van. You can watch the video here, and, while you’re at it, vote for Teresa. Once a day, every day, between now and Sunday.

You may vote at www.nmeda.com/mobility-awareness-month/heroes/north-carolina/greensboro/1872/teresa-staley.

Here are some additional details that may come in handy:

You can vote by clicking on the link above, watching the video, filling out the form (enter a promo code from below), and clicking the “VOTE” button.
You can vote once every 24 hours from any IP address. In case you’re wondering, the IP address is associated with the wireless router you are using. That means that only one vote per day will be accepted from any computer connected to your home internet router. One vote per day will also be accepted from your wireless phone with internet or any computer connected to the router at any coffee shop or other location with public wireless internet access.
IMPORTANT: To turn your vote into 5 votes, you may enter one of the following promo codes from dealerships per day: 830, 829, 828, 994, 998, 999, or 735.
If you are passionate about Teresa winning, please do not attempt to nominate her for the contest an additional time. You will only succeed in splitting the vote. Instead, maximize voting by pointing your friends to this page or e-mailing them the link to this video for voting.

Thanks for voting, and be sure to keep an ear out for more information about Teresa’s quest for a new van!

Harvey’s Kitchen Episode #166: Natalie Prass, ‘When I Am Alone’

harvey — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:18:10 +0000

Here’s part two. Natalie Prass performing in our spare bedroom.

“Not only one of the sharpest up-and-coming songwriters in Nashville, Natalie Prass possesses a rare artistic method she infuses into all her endeavors. She handcrafts album artwork and flyers and organizes local vinyl listening parties/drawing sessions, and there appears to be little end to the homespun creativity of this bright young talent. She’s also no slouch in the pipes department either — the girl can sing. Prass’ brand of indie folk is not to be underestimated. While her delicate alto evokes clear benchmarks of influence — see early Rilo Kiley, Feist, Karen Carpenter, etc. — Prass never seems weighed down by the artists she’s absorbed. Instead, she has developed a refreshing guitar-grounded musical vocabulary and a knack for infectious and entrancing tunes. Still, it’s a spirit of invitation and friendship that continues to be Prass’ most pronounced attribute.”

Harvey’s Kitchen, Episode #166: Natalie Prass ‘Beg’

harvey — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:23:37 +0000

Here’s Part One. Natalie Prass currently living in Nashville, TN performs ‘Beg’ in our upstairs spare bedroom.

Taking It Up a Notch

carolyn — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:41:10 +0000

It’s been an exhilarating, exhausting, anxiety-inducing, gleeful, sweaty, car and hallway constantly full o’ gear, hair pulling, cheek pinching, “Is this really happening?”, whirlwind kind of a month. Or is it two? We’ve lost count. But we do know that we’ve had the very good fortune of working on lots of interesting projects with some very inspiring people recently. We’ve learned a heck of a lot and hopefully ramped up our skills a bit, too. Lots more coming soon!

Robin Doby Easter, Vote Against Amendment One Video

Dennis Quaintance and family and friends, Amendment One rally

On the set of The Hollers with Frantic Puppy Productions

Donna Smith, AD For Life, on the set of The Hollers with Frantic Puppy Productions

David Wax Museum Music Video Shoot, Monkeywhale Productions

David Wax Museum music video shoot, Monkeywhale Productions

Monkeywhale interviews Elvis Costello

Monkeywhale interviews Nick Lowe

Teresa Staley: Advocate, Activist, Rockstar

Stephen Murray, Holy Ghost Tent Revival

“Vote Against”(ers) Have More Fun

carolyn — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:31:34 +0000

We’ve been deeply inspired and touched by the numerous beautiful projects springing up across North Carolina as people band together to vote against Amendment One. Much to our delight, the video we made with the lovely and talented Laurelyn Dossett featuring some North Carolina superstar musicians and city leaders has been making the rounds, and we’ve had tremendous feedback from people all over the country. Monday night we went down to College Park Baptist Church to shoot what turned out to be a very inspiring rally. Although the topic of discrimination is not fun, somehow this evening of speakers, music, and community had a very joyous feel to it. The diversity, spirit, and friendly faces in the huge crowd were a thing of beauty. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the goodness of our community and feel truly lucky to be in Greensboro. Monday night was one of those times.

Here are a few photos from the event. More photos on flickr and a short video about the event coming soon. Early voting begins today! Please get out there and do the right thing for your fellow North Carolinians.

Vote Against Amendment One rally, Greensboro, NC

Here are just a few of the great projects happening around our state.

Raise Your Voice Against Amendment One

Commitment/NC

The Vote Against Project

Jack Carter and the Armory: Live at the Flatiron

harvey — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:36:28 +0000

Here’s a preliminary experiment shot with a 5d mark III and a 7d both at ISO 6400.

Many thanks to Jack and the Armory for being guinea pigs.