We normally try to stay away from major tragedies, because we're a music site, but today we're making an exception. In the wake of last week's shocking tragedy, Boston music blog Allston Pudding put together a mixtape raising money for Governor Deval Patrick's One Fund, which helps those most affected by the Boston bombings. The compilation contains 130 songs from local and nationwide artists, offering a diverse range of genres and sounds. The mixtape reached #1 on Bandcamp, a stirring testament to the fundraising power of DIY music scenes in response to the disaster. We spoke to Allston Pudding co-founder Daniel Schiffer for a closer look at the process behind this heroic project.Before you read that, though, listen below, and please donate here by buying the mix.Noisey: Where were you when the bombs went off?
Daniel Schiffer: I was with some friends at the 24 mile mark along the marathon route. A couple of us were about to split off from the group to bike down to the Fenway Park area when we heard about the bombs--we ran into one of my roommates whose girlfriend was on Boylston Street and was appropriately freaking out. I don't think we really understood the severity of the situation so we proceeded to bike down to Boston University's South Campus. On the way, we ran into a few familiar faces, some of whom had no idea of what had happened. When we reached the South Campus area though, it was clear something was up: lots of police, lots of upset students, and no phone service.Can you tell me your immediate reaction that made you want to make this compilation?
This hit so close to home. We felt obligated to help in some fashion and we wanted to do something that seemed appropriate for a local music media source. We figured the best way we could help would be to make a mixtape and give the proceeds to charity and that's exactly what we did/are doing.How quickly did this mixtape come together?
We posted on our Facebook page Tuesday morning that we were looking to make a mix to benefit those affected by the marathon bombings. We got a huge response from the Boston music community right off the bat. We wanted to let anyone on the mix that was interested because the goal here was to try bring the local music community together to raise money to help those who were affected. We also reached out to the folks over at Bandcamp to see if they could lower or remove the fees associated with hosting music on their site which they did. After a couple of long nights, lots of uploading, and lots of emailing, we released the mixtape on Thursday April 18th. We also wanted anyone to be able to get the mix and be part of the relief effort, so we decided to release the 130-song compilation at a minimum donation of $1 (the average donation has been far higher than that).What is Allston Pudding?
Allston Pudding is a Boston-based, Boston-centric music blog that covers acts coming through and based out of the city. We are made up of roughly 50 writers, photographers, videographers, and street teamers who all share a love of local music and aim to support it in many ways. We started AP in November 2010 as a few bored BU students and it has since grown into a community of its own.Can you tell me about a few of the local artists involved in this compilation?
The majority of the bands who contributed were from Massachusetts, but we got people reaching out from different places like California, Chicago, South Carolina, and beyond. As for locals, there were a bunch that we hadn't even heard of before, which was cool, but also some of our favorite bands like Speedy Ortiz and Krill, who both gave previously unreleased tracks, and Kal Marks and Bunny's a Swine, who gave new stuff. All in all, it's a pretty diverse collection of stuff, but it's got some real gems too.How are the proceeds from the mixtape being used for relief efforts?
All proceeds from the mixtape are going directly to the One Fund, which is the charity Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Tom Menino formed right after the marathon to help those affected by the marathon.How much money have you raised so far?
As of yesterday we've raised over $7,500 and we set a goal of raising $10,000 by next Thursday.Head to Allston Pudding for more info, and donate right here by buying a digital copy of the mix.
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Daniel Schiffer: I was with some friends at the 24 mile mark along the marathon route. A couple of us were about to split off from the group to bike down to the Fenway Park area when we heard about the bombs--we ran into one of my roommates whose girlfriend was on Boylston Street and was appropriately freaking out. I don't think we really understood the severity of the situation so we proceeded to bike down to Boston University's South Campus. On the way, we ran into a few familiar faces, some of whom had no idea of what had happened. When we reached the South Campus area though, it was clear something was up: lots of police, lots of upset students, and no phone service.Can you tell me your immediate reaction that made you want to make this compilation?
This hit so close to home. We felt obligated to help in some fashion and we wanted to do something that seemed appropriate for a local music media source. We figured the best way we could help would be to make a mixtape and give the proceeds to charity and that's exactly what we did/are doing.How quickly did this mixtape come together?
We posted on our Facebook page Tuesday morning that we were looking to make a mix to benefit those affected by the marathon bombings. We got a huge response from the Boston music community right off the bat. We wanted to let anyone on the mix that was interested because the goal here was to try bring the local music community together to raise money to help those who were affected. We also reached out to the folks over at Bandcamp to see if they could lower or remove the fees associated with hosting music on their site which they did. After a couple of long nights, lots of uploading, and lots of emailing, we released the mixtape on Thursday April 18th. We also wanted anyone to be able to get the mix and be part of the relief effort, so we decided to release the 130-song compilation at a minimum donation of $1 (the average donation has been far higher than that).
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Allston Pudding is a Boston-based, Boston-centric music blog that covers acts coming through and based out of the city. We are made up of roughly 50 writers, photographers, videographers, and street teamers who all share a love of local music and aim to support it in many ways. We started AP in November 2010 as a few bored BU students and it has since grown into a community of its own.Can you tell me about a few of the local artists involved in this compilation?
The majority of the bands who contributed were from Massachusetts, but we got people reaching out from different places like California, Chicago, South Carolina, and beyond. As for locals, there were a bunch that we hadn't even heard of before, which was cool, but also some of our favorite bands like Speedy Ortiz and Krill, who both gave previously unreleased tracks, and Kal Marks and Bunny's a Swine, who gave new stuff. All in all, it's a pretty diverse collection of stuff, but it's got some real gems too.How are the proceeds from the mixtape being used for relief efforts?
All proceeds from the mixtape are going directly to the One Fund, which is the charity Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Tom Menino formed right after the marathon to help those affected by the marathon.How much money have you raised so far?
As of yesterday we've raised over $7,500 and we set a goal of raising $10,000 by next Thursday.Head to Allston Pudding for more info, and donate right here by buying a digital copy of the mix.