Blog | BAND CENTRAL

4 min read

On Happiness✨- April '24

Dear Friends,

Last month, the 2024 World Happiness Report from Gallup reported that the US dropped out of the top 20 happiest countries. In fact, the state of happiness appears to be in crisis, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic period of 2020-2022. During this time, rates of depressive symptoms have quadrupled and have not declined since according to Harvard University professor Arthur Brooks, and the co-author of, 'Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier.'

What is at the root of this crisis? Too much time on social media, financial troubles, political polarization, increased isolation resulting in loneliness? While the truth lies in a combination of many factors, let’s turn our attention from “why” to “how" can we be happier?

The basic remedy according to Brooks is to have love in our lives and feel that our work is serving other people - which is part of what we aim to do at Band Central by connecting audiences and musicians with local nonprofit causes.

Brooks identifies 4 pillars to happiness:

FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS & WORK

Brooks doesn't define FAITH as narrowly as religion. Rather, it's about having something that brings transcendence from the psycho-drama of our own lives. Brooks encourages that we reflect on our life as observers, which activates the prefrontal cortex region of our brains, and liberates us from getting caught up in our own drama. Faith can empower us in so many ways - religion, yoga, meditation, walking in nature, studying philosophy, caring for a pet, etc.

Regarding FAMILY, it is common for there to be periods of difficulty or tension. Taking actions to restore harmony, when it is possible and safe to do, can be a worthwhile effort toward being happier. Additionally, cultivating 'chosen family' with friends and community members can provide us with support, love and happiness.

Regarding FRIENDS, Brooks encourages us to find “real friends”, not “deal friends”, and to be clear on the difference. Real friends accept you as you are and support you unconditionally through life's ups and downs. Deal friends are the buddies who can help you get ahead in life, the friend from whom you need or want something.

Finally, regarding WORK, serving others, fostering appreciation, and adopting an appropriate work-life balance are integral to happiness. Managers and bosses can prioritize doing more in the workplace to emphasize the merit and dignity of work to improve staff morale and overall happiness.

A few other takeaways that relate to Band Central are:

Money is connected to happiness, although maybe not in the way we think. Access to money for survival reduces unhappiness as it reduces stressors. For those of us with our essential needs met, there are 5 things we can do with money; spend it on stuff, time, or experiences, give it away, or save it. The joy of having stuff is fleeting, but experiences, sharing and saving bring happiness.

Finally, regarding HAPPINESS, remember to “put your own oxygen mask on first” . When we take care of ourselves, we can better take care of the relationships, friendships and work that we are truly engaged with.

In sum, happiness is love and connection. Substituting other things for love is a problem. When we are complementing love in our lives, we are doing it right.

The YouTube interview below between Arthur Brooks and Professor Scott Galloway inspired this letter. It is well worth the 30 minute view!

I hope you find our communications entertaining, informative and useful and will join us by attending our live music events, listening to Band Central Radio on WPKN at 12 noon the 4th Monday of every month, or via the Podcasts App on WPKN Podcasts and following us on Facebook.

Peace and love,

Rob & The Band Central Team

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

We are fortunate to have an organization in Black Rock, Connecticut, called Team Woofgang & Company, led by the dynamic duo of Kelly Maffei and Amy Stern and their new executive director, Christine Paine. Woofgang & Company provides individualized vocational training, lifelong learning and social opportunities to neuro diverse adults, all free of charge to the team members and their families.

Since their inception in 2017 Team Woofgang and Co. have evolved from baking healthy products for animals in their homes to establishing their very own kitchen in Black Rock. In addition to their production curriculum, they also have a storefront where individuals can learn how to balance the cash drawer, monitor inventory, practice customer service and perform general shopkeeping skills.

Now in their 7th year of operation, they have grown in size to help over 80 individuals. They participate in 24 different markets, fairs and festivals and promote socialization through engagement with local universities and high schools. 10% of the revenue required to keep the non-profit moving forward comes from sales of their products and the balance comes from donations, grants and fundraisers. They provide daily purpose, honoring each individual for their ability to contribute meaningfully to their community all while honoring their basic needs for social opportunities.

TAKE A BREATH

The past two months we have shared videos from the Playing For Change Series. This month, we offer our own rendition of Journey's Don’t Stop Believin’, performed live by Band Central on April 4, 2024 at Park City Music Hall to benefit CT Institute For Refugees & Immigrants.

Please enjoy this classic performed by Stephanie Harrison, Gray Fowler, Chris Parker, Tommy Weeks, Pat Marafiote, John Torres & Rob Fried.

3 min read

Infectious Generosity✨- March '24

Dear Friends,

Recently a friend sent me a book titled Infectious Generosity by Chris Anderson with a note saying “there’s no getting around it, if we are lucky enough to have a surplus, we are going to have to decide what we are going to do with our money – self indulge, help others, which others, and how much? How do you choose? We all have our own abilities and our own ways”.

I quickly opened the book and began to read. I want to share some quotes from the introduction as they reflect Band Central perspectives:

"You wouldn’t think that a cluster of atoms weighing less than one-trillionth of a gram could amount to much. Yet one such cluster, following a tiny tweak to its shape, entered a human body in late 2019, sparking a chain of events that killed more than seven million people and shut down the world economy.

Among the many lessons of Covid-19, one of the most profound is this: You don’t need to be big to be powerful. You just need to be infectious.

I want to persuade you that one such possible contagion could actually transform the world for the better. Its name? Generosity. If we figured out how to make generosity truly infectious, it could turn the tide on the growing divisiveness in our world and usher in a new era of hope.

Any generous act can have an extraordinary impact if it can make the leap from isolated to infectious. With a few little tweaks to their shape, acts of generosity can become explosively powerful. This book is devoted to showing you how."

I hope you are intrigued by this idea of infectious generosity and feel the same sense of urgency about this topic that we do at Band Central.

Let me close with some news that caught my eye: at 114 years and 217 days old, Elizabeth Francis recently became the oldest living American and the fifth-oldest person on Earth. With that in mind, it is interesting to hear her longevity advice – “Try to do the best thing you can to everybody. Love everybody.”

Peace and love,

Rob & The Band Central Team

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Connecticut is lucky to have an organization in our state, The Center for Family Justice, (led by the dynamic Deb Greenwood) that provides free and confidential trauma-informed services and care coordination for any victim or survivor of domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, and child abuse.

May 9 at Park City Music Hall Band Central will gather to play music and celebrate The Center for Family Justice. We have a great funk and soul line up including Carole Sylvan, Anthony Gadaleta, Eric Kalb, Marcos Torres Jr, Pat Marafiote, Chelsea Baratz, John Torres and Rob Fried.

Learn more and get your tickets today!

TAKE A BREATH

Learn more and get your tickets today!

3 min read

On Connections✨ - February '24

Dear Friends,

In 2005, after decades of performing at nightclubs and festivals, I had the opportunity to perform alongside Meryl Streep and Paul Newman to preserve Connecticut farmland. This experience ignited a vision to play “music with purpose”, like the large-scale Farm Aid event, but applied locally.

Combining my experience as a founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates with musical passion, the early Band Central team began to unite nonprofits, musicians, donors and audience members to help Connecticut families. We set up a foundation called The Band Central Fund.

We attracted John Oates (Hall & Oates), Ronnie Spector (The Ronnettes), Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult), Christine Ohlman (Saturday Night Live Band), Debbie Davies (Albert Collins) and scores of local musicians who have performed in our shows to inspire generosity and kindness; two essentials to making our community a better place.

We also established partnerships with the Center For Nonprofits at Sacred Heart University and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation to deliver fundraising and event consultation.

Our efforts to conjoin joy and fundraising can be summed up in our Band Central motto - Show Up Get Down Do Good.

Showing up means making a commitment with passion,

Getting down means having fun and keeping our moods light, and

Doing good means being generous and kind.

Many of our nonprofits get some of their funding from government or foundation grants, yet every year they need to fill gaps in funding to keep their programs going. If you are a nonprofit leader reading this letter, and are curious about live music fundraising, contact Paola Murphy, our director of operations at paolagmurphy@gmail.com to set a call or meeting.

Band Central consists of about 150 musicians and nonprofits, each caretakers of Connecticut in their own way. Every act of caretaking, no matter how small, sends out a concentric ring of positive energy to the world. The hope is that if we act as caretakers, we will connect, like the name of our state – “Connect-icut." Through connection and care, we can make our state a better place for our community, our children, and our children’s children.

Peace and Love,

Rob & The Band Central Team

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

As our country contends with the ongoing immigration and border crisis, it’s refreshing to know that we have an organization in Connecticut, led by the capable and dynamic Susan Schnitzer, that provides legal, economic, linguistic and social services to immigrants and refugees in our community, The Connecticut Institute For Refugees & Immigrants (CIRI).

CIRI President & CEO Susan Schnitzer will join our 12:00pm March 25 Band Central Radio program on WPKN 89.5FM as a special guest. Then at 7:30pm on Thursday, April 4 Band Central will perform for CIRI at Park City Music Hall in Bridgeport, to celebrate the work they do for a rockin’ evening.

TAKE A BREATH

We hope you enjoy this version of “The Weight” from the Playing For Change series on YouTube, featuring Ringo Starr and The Band’s original member Robbie Roberston, along with musicians across 5 continents. Great songs have the ability to bridge divides, inspire and connect us!