A Day in the Life

To view my resume and online portfolio, go to: www.krop.com/stephanieaugello
To view my personal music blog, go to: www.uncountedcircles.blogspot.com


While living in Savannah, GA, I spent time contributing to local website NewYorkisBoring.com as a music photographer and writer. Even after leaving the city to return home to NY, I kept on working with the site. Below are a series of links to the articles I've played a part in creating. They are in chronological order, from newest to oldest. Enjoy!

Yet We Are the Movers & Shakers of the World, Forever, It Seems

Tales of "Sad Bastards" & Other Showmen

The Northern Invasion

Jamison Murphy: Born to Perform

A Day with Oryx & Crake (and then some)

Give Us Your Tour!

Oryx & Crake: 9 Pieces of Margaret Atwood

Halloween Photo Roundup

Wednesday Photo Roundup: 10/27/10

Wednesday Photo Roundup: 10/20/10
Dare Dukes: Evidence of an Underground

Slingshot Via Savannah: The Sleeping Wake Here

"Bird" Music Video Shoot: Day 2

A Lil' Venture with General O

Fitzsimmons & Golan @ Wormhole

Mobbing the Midnight Hour

Robot Love Conquers All

Hope for Youth Benefit

This Friday, May 13th, is...well...it's Friday the 13th. Yes, yes, I think of a masked Jason Voorhees and Camp Crystal Lake too. Pop culture has infiltrated my soul. Before I get to the point of this post, I will take a moment to grace you with some interesting information about this presumably inauspicious day, brought to you by our friends at Wikipedia. The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, which in and of itself, is a pretty interesting word. Also, there is no written evidence regarding the negative superstitions associated with Friday the 13th prior to the 19th C. That wasn't that long ago. So, that being understood, we will carry on perceiving this as simply Friday, May 13th, when Mr. Beery's in Bethpage will be holding a benefit show for Hope for Youth from 8PM-2AM. The line-up will include my summer, All New Episode, Riot Punch, The Kid Henry, AfroDJMac (who creates quite the dance party), Glen and the Boys and Vision Through Sound.

According to the show's Facebook.com invitation, the goal of Friday's event is to "reunite families, by providing services from parenting skills, to financial help and much more."With administrative offices based in Amityville, Hope for Youth has been "serving the children and families of Long Island since 1969." It was then that Judge Elizabeth Bass Golding of the Nassau County Family Court created "a group home program for adolescent boys." Hfhy.org also states that "Judge Golding envisioned a community based alternative for Nassau County youth placed in residential treatment centers, but capable of living in the community with appropriate supports." Currently, Hope for Youth offers "7 residential facilities, over 50 foster homes and 130 staff" members. They sustain contractual relationships with agencies throughout both Nassau and Suffolk counties, and accept referrals from those such institutions listed on their website. In addition, Hope for Youth provides diagnostic and emergency services, a therapeutic group home program, foster care and outpatient/preventive services.
May 13th will not be the 1st time Mr. Beery's has hosted a fundraising program. The popular watering hole has a history of contributing to the greater good of the Long Island community. This past March, they were the organizers of the Benefit for the People of Japan, raising money to send to the nation after it was ravaged by both an earthquake and tsunami. Below are a few photographs taken that night. Many of the performers featured here are also on Friday night's bill.

my summer
All New Episode
Imaginary Weapons
Playing Dead
AfroDJMac
The Terence Marciano Band
So, Wikipedia has spoken; you've learned a little about Hope for Youth; have seen photos from a previous benefit show. In case you missed the key information mixed in with all of this, here it is again: Friday, May 13th, Mr. Beery's, Bethpage, 8PM-2AM. Hope to see you there.

"Who Spilt the Milk?" or "Sharper than a Butter Knife"

I spent my time yesterday working on a sticker design for Long Island band All New Episode. I've been involved with vocalist Nicole Heller and guitarist Sean Timpa since they began their adventure as a band years ago. I always enjoy contributing to their progress. So, when Nicole gave me this little assignment, complete with correction notes and a deadline, I was more than happy to create something for her group. Below is the finished product, which ended up being, not just a graphic design/merchandising piece, but also something indicative of my (slight) background in sequential art. Yes, I really enjoy the drawings in Love and Rockets.
Note: The featured photo is one I personally took of the band this past January.

All Grown Up & Back in NY

Since returning to my home state of NY 2 months ago, I have spent most of my time at home, organizing things, and figuring out where exactly to go from here. I ventured out for one show back in January, and didn't step forward for another until Saturday, March 18th. That night, I saw All Grown Up play at Mr. Beery's in Bethpage, LI, and couldn't have been more delighted. The bar was overflowing with elated attendees, excited to see a favorite band of theirs performing on a home stage. Though I knew little about the band walking in (late) to the show, I left feeling like I connected parts of my musical past in this place with those of the present and future.
All Grown Up's drummer has relocated to North Carolina, the same state that I moved to in my escape from NY back in 2006. Feeling an affinity with both states left me feeling an affinity with this band. During the performance, a few jokes flew that involved the word "confederate," and I couldn't help but crack up and get as giddy as a child, as I recalled the countless times my NY friends have referred to me as being the exact same thing. Down south, the proper terms are usually "damn yankee" and "carpetbagger." That moment reminded me of why I felt the need to peek at the world outside of this place, how I grew to love the south, and also why I'm happy to be home again.

Benefit for the People of Japan

Photos by Phillip Retuta, Nicole Heller & Stephanie Augello

On Saturday, March 26th, from 6PM-12AM, Mr Beery's in Bethpage, LI will be holding a fundraiser for the people and infrastructure of Japan. I could very easily go into a limitless diatribe about the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear instability that has rattled that country, but really, news sources such as CNN, BBC and even Twitter have already served to inundate the public with information and images. I will though, throw a few factual figures at you.
According to BBC.com, as of March 21st, the death toll from the dual disasters had climbed to "8,450, with nearly 13,000 people still missing." It is believed that, in Miyagi Prefecture alone, the number of lives lost could ultimately reach 15,000. BBC also reports that, "More than 350,000 people are still living in evacuation centres in northern and eastern Japan. There are shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in shelters...Nearly 900,000 households are still without water." It has been estimated that the cost of rebuilding the country will cost 25 trillion yen, which is the equivalent of $309 billion.
In addition to being currently unable to fulfill the basic needs of many of their citizens, Japan is also in the process of confronting potential nuclear catastrophe, stemming from a multitude of issues at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The progression of these problems has already been compared to the 1979 and 1986 meltdowns at Three Mile Island in the United States and Chernobyl in the Ukraine, respectively. As of March 23rd, there had been warnings issued to citizens regarding the drinking of tap water in Tokyo, "after radiation from Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant affected the capital's water supply."
Friends of mine, Alex Stachelek and Phillip Retuta, had a flight to Tokyo scheduled for the day after the quake struck. Despite the disaster, they went anyway. Phil has been nice enough to let me post a few of his pictures below. Though much of the extreme, initial physical damage to the nation did not occur in Tokyo, Phil's photos offer us insight into the current state of the capital city.

So, now that we've gone over all of what has, unfortunately, gone down in Japan, let's go over what we're going to do to help out. As was previously stated, on Saturday, March 26th, Mr. Beery's will be raising money to aid in disaster relief for the country. Slated to perform that night are My Summer, Playing Dead, All New Episode, Glen and the Boys, Signal for Pilot, Terence Marciano, Imaginary Weapons, Afrodjmac and The Kid Henry. Mike Longo, frontman of My Summer, sound engineer at Mr. Beery's and Saturday's organizer stated, "The goal of the show is to raise as much money as possible. It was supposed to be a smaller thing...but now we've added a lot more in the hopes of raising money for the Red Cross...It's just really sad, and I wanted to help, that's all."
My Summer are regular performers at Mr. Beery's, consistently sharing the bill with many different acts, including All New Episode. The two bands have a well-established system of collaboration, with Nicole Heller (aka, Noko Ohno) of the latter having recently shot a series of promotional photographs for the former.

When asked what she enjoyed most about being a female in the music field, Heller replied, "Someone has to keep these boys in check, and it's great not being part of a conventional girl-lead band. Who wants to be a cardboard cutout when you can show people that you're talented, smart and know how to do your thing?" In addition to being active in the local show circuit, All New Episode is also working on a 5 song EP at Killingsworth Studios in Farmingdale, LI.

Being a part of Saturday's line-up is just one aspect of the intelligence and compassion alluded to by people like Longo and Heller. The two musicians and their bands are a part of a more expansive collective of artists, passionate about their craft, scene and the larger world. So, join us on Saturday for a night of great music, good company and the opportunity to help out our friends in Japan.