Thank you to everyone!!

NY Sirens put on a hell of a show. Our charity event raised over $200, and every penny of it went to New York Cares!!! So thank you to everyone who came out, visited the site, donated money, donated raffle items, and in general made it all possible.

In case you weren't there, here's what happened:

We showed up at Googie's Lounge on December 10th, and were greeted by:

Gaines, our sound guy...

...and...


...Steph, our waitress. They were both very friendly and accommodating!

Then there was the music. Shanna Zell started things off. She sounded as lovely as she looked:

Shanna Zell is totally hot.

After Shanna, we were treated to a sultry and rocking set by Abby Ahmad, who was joined onstage by the facially hirsute (though partially obscured) Mark Marshall.

That's Mark on guitar behind the piano, and Abby kicking ass and taking names up front.

The talented and suddenly ill Jessi Robertson found herself unable to perform at the last minute (but has since recovered nicely)! In a stunning and heroic effort, Jeff Jacobson filled in, and was joined by Ryan Vaughn on the cajon and Jim McNamara on the upright bass. They were available on the fly, since both were there to play with me (Lara Ewen) anyway.


This is what a bunch of cool guys look like playing a surprise (for everyone) show. Please note the adorable pink gift bag from Flirt, Brooklyn and the goody bag from Alter in the foreground.

Since I was so busy taking pictures and then playing, I had no time to teach anyone how to use my stupidly complicated and obsolete digital camera. So no shots of me are available. However, instead, here's a gratuitous picture of my friend's puppy:


Her name is Li'l Baby Princess Herschell Gordon Lewis' Blood Feast.

Really.

Wrapping up the evening was the amazing Kelli Rae Powell, who was joined by everyone's favorite upright bassist, Jim McNamara.

They brought the house down.

Of course, the whole night was about the raffle, too, naturally. Did I mentioned we raised over $200?!? $204, to be exact. If you'd like to show how much you appreciate everyone who donated something to the cause, please visit one or all of these links and tell them how awesome they are for being so charitable, because it's these donations that made the whole evening's take possible:

• $20 bar tab at Bar Matchless, courtesy of Larry Hyland
• $20 bar tab at Bar 4, courtesy of Larry Hyland
• Three songs in the #10 slot at Bar 4 open mike, courtesy of Tanya Buziak
  
• Flier design, courtesy of Jessi Robertson
• Social network account set up, courtesy of Jessi Robertson
• T-shirt and tote from Alter, Greenpoint's coolest clothing store
• Amber necklace, courtesy of Bartikowsky Jewelers
• Free Custom Myspace Profile, courtesy of Jeff Schram at SchramDesign.com
• $25 gift certificate from Flirt, Brooklyn
• Original art print by Emily Rawlings
• Custom poetry written for you by Laura Jean Binkley
  
• CDs from all the artists who performed this evening, as well as donated CDs from The Undisputed Heavyweights, Andy Mac and Galuminum Foil's compilation!

So thank you so everyone who came to support NY Sirens for NY Cares! Please do think about donating a little something extra if you can... just click here to donate directly to NY Cares, or visit www.nycares.org to learn more. THANK YOU! Have a wonderful December, and see you in the new year.

To get more information the event like this, or to find out how you can be a part of such an event, please email events@unstrungmusic.com and let me know how you'd like to help!

xoxo, Lara

NY Sirens for NY Cares

who: NY Sirens, a series that encourages women to collaborate in an effort to increase the awareness of the incredibly talented community of female musicians in the city.

what: NY Sirens for New York Cares, a charity event featuring performances and an evening-long raffle to benefit New York City's leading volunteer organization.

where: Googie's Lounge (over The Living Room), 154 Ludlow b/w Stanton and Rivington

when: Wednesday, December 10th (doors at 7 p.m., music until 12:30 a.m.)

why: Because giving is the new getting. And it's free to attend!!

NY Sirens For NY Cares will feature performances from:

7:30 p.m.: Shanna Zell
8:30 p.m.: Abby Ahmad
9:30 p.m.: Jessi Robertson
10:30 p.m.: Lara Ewen
11:30 p.m.: Kelli Rae Powell

Throughout the evening, we will be raffling off a slew of excellent prizes, and 100 percent of the raffle proceeds will go to support New York Cares. Some of the goodies will include:

• $20 bar tab at Bar Matchless, courtesy of Larry Hyland
• $20 bar tab at Bar 4, courtesy of Larry Hyland
• Three songs in the #10 slot at Bar 4 open mike, courtesy of Tanya Buziak
  
• Flier design, courtesy of Jessi Robertson
• Social network account set up, courtesy of Jessi Robertson
• T-shirt from Alter, Greenpoint's coolest clothing store
• Amber necklace, courtesy of Bartikowsky Jewelers
• Free Custom Myspace Profile, courtesy of Jeff Schram at SchramDesign.com
• $25 gift certificate from Flirt, Brooklyn
• Original art print by Emily Rawlings
• Custom poetry written for you by Laura Jean Binkley
  
• CDs from some of your favorite local artists, and much, much more!!!!

New York Cares is New York City’s leading volunteer organization. Founded in 1987, New York Cares enables 43,000 New Yorkers each year to serve on hands-on volunteer projects that help New Yorkers in need break the cycle of poverty and build better lives. New York Cares offers a full range of volunteer opportunities that meet critical social needs, including helping children learn to read, preparing meals for homeless and housebound people, helping low income students get into college, delivering job training to unemployed men and women, revitalizing public parks and schools, providing companionship and meals to the elderly, giving coats to those who don’t have them, and much more. Last year, New York Cares volunteers helped 450,000 New Yorkers in need. For more information about New York Cares, visit www.nycares.org. To donate directly to New York Cares, please click here.