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Jingle Ball!
By Richard | December 12, 2007
Z100’s Jingle Ball to help fight autism
David Hinckley | New York Daily News | Radio Dial
Whipping up excitement for Z100’s annual Jingle Ball concert, which rolls around again Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Garden, has never been a problem.
So this year, says Tom Poleman, senior vice president of programming for WHTZ (100.3 FM) parent Clear Channel, Z100 decided to harness some of that energy into raising money and awareness for the organization Autism Speaks.
That includes donating at least a dollar from every ticket. Equally important, says Poleman, it’s helping the audience understand how extensive autism has become.
“It affects one in 94 male children,” says Poleman. “A new case is diagnosed every 20 minutes. So at the show we’ll have large blue puzzle pieces, and hopefully they will make people curious enough to find out more about it.”
No, says Poleman, this won’t induce a revolution of understanding overnight. “But it all helps,” he says, and it gives another dimension to Jingle Ball.
“When you’ve got an event that already generates this much passion,” he says, “it’s great to channel some of it into something important like Autism Speaks.”
Autism Speaks will also be promoted from the stage and through short videos, says Poleman, and printed information will be available.
There has already been an encouraging response, he says, during the ticket sales. In addition to the dollar Z100 is donating to Autism Speaks from every ticket, a number of ticket buyers tacked on an additional donation of their own.
The main attraction with Jingle Ball is the music, of course, and artists this year include Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, the Jonas Brothers, Alicia Keys, Timbaland and Jordin Sparks.
“It’s a good reflection of music this year,” says Poleman. “And you know the great thing about Jingle Ball crowds? You’d think some people would cheer for the rhythm acts and others for the rock or pop acts, but it doesn’t work that way. Every act gets a huge ovation.”
That’s the spirit, Poleman says, that he hopes will carry over into a better understanding of autism.
LIVE CD: John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and Dave Matthews are among the artists whose live recordings can be heard on the new CD “Scott and Todd’s Studio Sessions,” produced by WPLJ (95.5 FM) and available at Target stores.
The CD culls 15 performances done on the Scott Shannon/Todd Pettengill “Big Show,” including Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change,” Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day,” James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” and Los Lonely Boys’ “Heaven.”
Lifehouse, KT Tunstall and Vanessa Carlton are among the other artists on “Studio Sessions.”
Topics: Events |