Greetings from Asbury Park...It's never been so important to say those words, because compared to the rest of the Jersey Shore, we are fine. The Stone Pony, Paramount Theatre and Asbury Park Convention Hall are open for business and the rest of our boardwalk and surrounding beaches are progressing into the New Year.But our neighbors, our families and our friends however are not as fortunate. For the past month we've been with them, shoveling, ripping out drywall and now know why they call a crawl space a crawl space. We’ve been trying to salvage what we can and come to terms with what happened before our new lives are re-built. What we’ve seen in our hometowns is heartbreaking, but the stories of survival and the resilience shown by the residents of the Jersey Shore reaffirm the heart. Between getting the sand out of our eyeballs and drying our hands from wet insulation, three Jersey Shore residents who all happened to meet each other at the beach, oh so many years ago, acclaimed rock photographer, filmmaker, musician Danny Clinch, writer, producer, activist Tim Donnelly and rock promoter Tony Pallagrosi of Concerts East have come together to throw a benefit show “On The Beach- A Sandy Relief Concert” at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park on January 2, 2013. Tickets will go on-sale Friday 12.14.12 at Noon EST at the Stone Pony Box Office, By Phone 800.745.3000, Ticket Master Outlets and Ticketmaster.com.Headlined by My Morning Jacket and supported by Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Joseph Arthur, Nicole Atkins, River City Extension, Tangiers Blues Band and special guests, the evening, which begins promptly at 7pm, will be hosted by New Jersey’s own Matt Pinfield.“Following Hurricane Katrina, the response from around the world was overwhelming,” say Ben Jaffe, creative director of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. “Now it's our time to give back to a devastated community where many of our friends, family and supporters call home. In New Orleans, we turn to our music during hard times. It offers us hope and the feeling that things will be better. We are doing what we always do during hard times: celebrate life. Hopefully this will bring some joy to the residents of the devastated region at a time of great heartache.”The proceeds from “On The Beach-A Sandy Relief Concert” are going to local, Jersey Shore centric non-profit organizations: Coastal Habitat for Humanity, The Food Bank of Monmouth/Ocean Counties, Waves for Water, Food For Thought By The Sea, and RebuildRecover, organizations who are on the ground doing the heavy work in the relief efforts.My Morning Jacket is also donating a portion of every ticket sold to their sold out three consecutive shows at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and the special New Years Eve show in Boston to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The band chose each organization for the important and effective work they are doing to help the communities affected most deeply by the storm to recover and rebuild.--My Morning Jacket Performances:12/27: Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre - New York Cares (SOLD OUT)12/28: Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre – Team Rubicon (SOLD OUT)12/29: Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre – Occupy Sandy (SOLD OUT)12/31: Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena – Waves For Water (Tickets Available)
