We now know a little more about the organizers of these No Name #1 tribute shows celebrating the life and music of Elliott Smith and scheduled in August in 4 cities. ‘Friends and family’, it was a little vague, but this new article published by Billboard cites Ashley Welsh, Elliott’s half sister, and musician David Garza as the main organizers:
‘To celebrate what would’ve been Smith’s 44th birthday on Aug. 6, [Ashley] Welch and musician David Garza have organized benefit shows that week at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Ore. (Aug. 4), Largo in Los Angeles (Aug. 6), Scottish Rite Theater in Austin (Aug. 9) and Bowery Ballroom in New York (Aug. 10). Proceeds from the events will benefit local charities Outside In, Free Arts for Abused Children, SIMS Foundation and New Alternatives for LGBT Homeless Youth, respectively.’
The article mentions Elliott’s generous nature, telling the story about a benefit show for a Los Angeles club booker he attended with Ashley:
“He actually stopped at the door and paid for himself and me to get in, she recalls, ‘They were like, ‘No, come on, you’re playing the benefit, you’re not paying to be here.’ But he insisted on paying. That stuck with me.”
At the memorial concert organized a week after his death in 2003, she was also the one who said her brother used to slip $100 bills into the shoes of homeless peoples, so this may have stuck with her too.
David Garza is the indie rocker from Austin Texas who mixes Latin American accents with the overpowering vocals of a Jeff Buckley. He is also part of the Largo crowd, where he has played with Jon Brion and Fiona Apple (he even toured with her on the ‘Extraordinary Machine’ tour), so it totally makes sense. In other articles, he was cited as one of the participants of the shows, but according to this Billboard one, he seems to be a much more involved.
We were nicely surprised to see No Name #1 Twitter account send us this tweet a few weeks ago:
‘@_rocknyc_ We hope to see you at the @boweryballroom on Aug 10! #elliottsmith #charity’
Of course, we answered that we will be in New York City (Iman) and in Los Angeles (me), and whoever is behind the account replied:
‘@_rocknyc_ @boweryballroom So glad to hear it- we’ll see you there! #elliottsmith @LargoLosAngeles @boweryballroom’
We are so honored to have been noticed!