Alex Maiolo
Encyclopedia
Alex Maiolo is a musician, writer, and health care reform
advocate who lives in the Chapel Hill
/ Carrboro area of North Carolina
.
access for musicians and other creative professionals.
He has presented on the need for affordable health insurance options for musicians at conferences including South by Southwest
, CMJ Music Marathon
, the SF MusicTech Summit, the Creative Chicago Expo, and the Pitchfork Music Festival
. He has been interviewed on the subject for publications including Pitchfork Media
, Spin Magazine, the Chicago Tribune
, and Crawdaddy!
, and contributed op-eds to the Chicago Tribune and Billboard Magazine.
Since 2001, Maiolo has worked with the national non-profit organization Future of Music Coalition
. In 2005, Maiolo and the Future of Music Coalition
received a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation
to develop the Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), a free service offering musicians advice and information about their health insurance options.
On May 28, 2010, Maiolo and other Carrboro-area musicians performed in a tribute concert remembering recently deceased Big Star
lead singer Alex Chilton
. Because Chilton was uninsured at the time of his death, Chilton's widow opted to donate the proceeds of the concert to HINT.
for the Chapel Hill neo-psychedelic band Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies
. He also plays guitar
in Fan Modine
, Soft Company, the side project of Missy Thangs, keyboardist
of the Merge Records
artists The Love Language
, and with Tim Sommer
's ambient pop band Hi Fi Sky.
In 2010 he was asked by Chris Stamey
to aid in organizing a live performance of Big Star
's Third/Sister Lovers
record, to take place over two nights at The Cat's Cradle, in Carrboro North Carolina that December. Guest musicians included Jody Stephens
, the only surviving member of the band, Mitch Easter
, Will Rigby, and Mike Mills
of R.E.M.
. The Performance was repeated at Webster Hall, in New York City
, on March 26th, 2011, again with Stephens, Easter, Rigby, and Mills, and also included Michael Stipe
, Matthew Sweet
, Norman Blake
of Teenage Fanclub
, Ira Kaplan
, Tift Merritt
, and many other guest musicians.
He writes about music and recording
as a senior contributor to Tape Op
magazine.
He is also a recordist who's work has been featured on independent and college radio, as well as The John Peel
show.
Health care reform
Health care reform is a general rubric used for discussing major health policy creation or changes—for the most part, governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place...
advocate who lives in the Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
/ Carrboro area of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
Activism
Maiolo is an advocate for health care reform in the United States, particularly the issue of health insuranceHealth insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
access for musicians and other creative professionals.
He has presented on the need for affordable health insurance options for musicians at conferences including South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
, CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
, the SF MusicTech Summit, the Creative Chicago Expo, and the Pitchfork Music Festival
Pitchfork Music Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by Pitchfork Media and held in Union Park in Chicago, IL. The festival, which is normally held over three days in July, focuses primarily on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance...
. He has been interviewed on the subject for publications including Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, Spin Magazine, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, and Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...
, and contributed op-eds to the Chicago Tribune and Billboard Magazine.
Since 2001, Maiolo has worked with the national non-profit organization Future of Music Coalition
Future of Music Coalition
Future of Music Coalition is a U.S. 501 national non-profit organization specializing in education, research and advocacy for musicians with a focus on issues at the intersection of music technology, policy and law.- Background :...
. In 2005, Maiolo and the Future of Music Coalition
Future of Music Coalition
Future of Music Coalition is a U.S. 501 national non-profit organization specializing in education, research and advocacy for musicians with a focus on issues at the intersection of music technology, policy and law.- Background :...
received a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation
Nathan Cummings Foundation
The Nathan Cummings Foundation was endowed by Nathan Cummings , founder of Consolidated Foods, now called Sara Lee Corporation...
to develop the Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), a free service offering musicians advice and information about their health insurance options.
On May 28, 2010, Maiolo and other Carrboro-area musicians performed in a tribute concert remembering recently deceased Big Star
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later...
lead singer Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
. Because Chilton was uninsured at the time of his death, Chilton's widow opted to donate the proceeds of the concert to HINT.
Music
Maiolo plays bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
for the Chapel Hill neo-psychedelic band Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies
Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies
Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies is an indie sunshine pop/garage rock band formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. They are part of the neo-psychedelia movement in the Chapel Hill music scene...
. He also plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
in Fan Modine
Fan Modine
Fan Modine is an American indie pop band, whose core member is singer and songwriter Gordon Zacharias. Originally based in Boston, Zacharias has lived in Carrboro, North Carolina since 2001....
, Soft Company, the side project of Missy Thangs, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
of the Merge Records
Merge Records
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...
artists The Love Language
The Love Language
The Love Language is an indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina headed by Stuart McLamb.-Origin:The Love Language began amidst a torrent of quarter-life crises and angst. Following a split with his band, The Capulets, Stuart McLamb and his girlfriend broke up and he fell into a serious...
, and with Tim Sommer
Tim Sommer
Timothy Andrew Sommer is an American musician, record producer, former Atlantic Records A&R Representative, WNYU DJ, Trouser Press journalist, MTV News correspondent, and VH1 VJ. Tim is perhaps best known as a bass player in the slo-core, dreampop bellwether Hugo Largo and the creator and host of...
's ambient pop band Hi Fi Sky.
In 2010 he was asked by Chris Stamey
Chris Stamey
Chris Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. After a stint playing with Alex Chilton, and a brief partnering with Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, he formed The dB's, whose stewardship he would share with Peter Holsapple.In 1977 in New York, Chris founded the...
to aid in organizing a live performance of Big Star
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later...
's Third/Sister Lovers
Third/Sister Lovers
Third, also issued as Sister Lovers, is the third rock album by American power pop group Big Star, recorded in 1974 and eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records...
record, to take place over two nights at The Cat's Cradle, in Carrboro North Carolina that December. Guest musicians included Jody Stephens
Jody Stephens
Jody Stephens is an American drummer, who has played in Big Star and Golden Smog . When not on tour with Big Star, he works at Ardent Studios, which is where Big Star has recorded all of their albums...
, the only surviving member of the band, Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...
, Will Rigby, and Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
. The Performance was repeated at Webster Hall, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, on March 26th, 2011, again with Stephens, Easter, Rigby, and Mills, and also included Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
, Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s...
, Norman Blake
Norman Blake (Scottish musician)
Norman Blake is a singer-songwriter in the Glasgow based band, Teenage Fanclub.Blake and Sean Dickson were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few.Blake and Carson were...
of Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
, Ira Kaplan
Ira Kaplan
Ira Kaplan [born 1957] is the co-founder, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. He is married to Georgia Hubley, Yo La Tengo's vocalist, drummer, songwriter and co-founder....
, Tift Merritt
Tift Merritt
Catherine Tift Merritt is an American singer-songwriter, musician and North Carolina native. With her longtime band, she has built what has been called a "unique" and critically acclaimed body of work of "sonic short stories and poignant performances." She has been compared to songwriters like...
, and many other guest musicians.
He writes about music and recording
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
as a senior contributor to Tape Op
Tape Op
Tape Op is a recording magazine that focuses on creative recording techniques. Subtitled, "The Creative Music Recording Magazine," It is free to subscribers in the United States and United Kingdom, as well as offering paid subscriptions to the United States of America, all of Europe, Canada,...
magazine.
He is also a recordist who's work has been featured on independent and college radio, as well as The John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
show.
External links
- Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT) official page
- Future of Music Coalition official site
- "Better Days: What U.S. Health Care Reform Means for Working Musicians" (Billboard Magazine op-ed)
- "End the Need for Benefit Concerts" (Chicago Tribune op-ed)
- "The struggle for musicians' health insurance" (Independent Weekly)
- "Taking the Pulse on Musicians and Health Insurance" (KnowTheMusicBiz.com)
- WKNC Eye on the Triangle interview