Amanda Palmer and Alt Variety Magazine Join for 'Save the Mermaid Parade' Concert, 5/25

By: May. 15, 2013
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Coney Island USA has announced that Amanda Palmer and Alt Variety Magazine have joined forces for a concert on May 25th at 7pm at the Bowery Ballroom. All proceeds from this benefit will support Coney Island USA's Kickstarter campaign to save the Mermaid Parade. Ticket prices start at $25.

Amanda Palmer said, "This parade means so much to the NYC performer community, and I'd be devastated to see it defeated and washed away. This night will be a beautiful collision of helping and celebration and I can't wait to be among the people...I plan to dress appropriately and hopefully learn some mermaid-appropriate songs on the ukulele."

The Mermaid Parade is in trouble because of the increased costs of managing an event that last year drew 750,000 people to Coney Island and because Coney Island USA suffered extensive damage to their building at 1208 Surf Avenue during Hurricane Sandy. Funding the recovery and the Mermaid Parade has proven to be too much for the small organization. Information on the Kickstarter campaign and the Mermaid Parade can be found at savemermaids.org.

Lee Wong of Alt Variety Magazine said, "As a natural born freak, Coney Island has always been a second home. That dumb storm tried to blow it all away, but we're going to stick it to her, and stick it to her good. By saving the parade we're helping to restore the island to, at the very least, a small semblance of normality, and I'm honored to have been able to help."

"I'm freaking flabbergasted," said Coney Island USA director and founder Dick Zigun. "Would I bet money that there will be a Mermaid Parade? Send a bookie my way."

Coney Island USA welcomes Amanda Palmer and Alt Variety Magazine for Save the Mermaid Parade at the Bowery Ballroom - 6 Delancey Street, New York, NY, on Saturday, May 25, 2012, 7pm - 11pm. Tickets are $25. Further information and advance tickets at www.coneyisland.com. For information on the Save the Mermaid Parade Kickstarter: savemermaids.org.

Amanda Palmer: Coming into public consciousness in 2002 with punk-cabaret troupe The Dresden Dolls, Amanda f-ing Palmer has heaved her way to the top of the music industry's summit wearing little more than a corset and a bra. Four albums and five tours later, she and her independent attitude went solo, releasing Who Killed Amanda Palmer, produced by Ben Folds, in 2008. After extricating herself and her art from a suffocating record contract with Roadrunner Records, two self-released EP's followed (Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukelele and Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under), along with a musical theater-esque Evelyn Evelyn album and tour with Jason Webley.

Beyond her recorded work and touring, Palmer also starred in Statuesque, a short silent film with well-known author and now-husband Neil Gaiman, inspired by her years as a living statue of the Eight-Foot Bride in Harvard Square. She co-wrote and produced a play, With the Needle That Sings in Her Heart, with the students at her high school alma mater in Lexington, Massachusetts, based on Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. She played the Master of Ceremonies at 43 sold-out performances in the American Repertory Theater's 2010 Boston production of Cabaret. She toured the West Coast with Gaiman in the fall of 2011 and recorded an album of the performance that was released to fans who pre-ordered the album online, and which will be released commercially at some point in the future.

In addition to all of the above, Palmer has made a name for herself in the last few years as the quintessential social media artist, engaging in daily interactions with her fans 365 days a year and making an art form out of using Twitter for everything from finding her band and crew a place to crash on the road to canvassing for band names (her new band's name - The Grand Theft Orchestra - is a lyrical nod to their belief in crowd sourcing all that they do). With over half a million Twitter followers, a deeply personal blog where she bares her soul and her tits, and the ability to amass hundreds of people for spontaneous 'ninja gigs', Amanda Palmer has one of the most responsive and supportive online fan bases on the internet.

Mermaid Parade: The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is a celebration of ancient mythology and the honky-tonk rituals of the seaside. The Parade showcases over 1,600 New York City trendsetters, opening the summer with artistic self-expression, entrepreneurial spirit and community pride. The parade highlights Coney Island Pageantry, celebrates the artistic vision of the masses, and ensures that the summer season is a success by drawing over half-a-million people to the Coney Island Amusement District in a single day.

The MERMAID PARADE specifically was founded in 1983 with 3 goals: to bring mythology to life for local residents living on the streets named Mermaid and Neptune; to create self-esteem in a neighborhood that is often disregarded; and to let artistic New Yorkers express themselves in public.

Coney Island USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation based in the amusement park area of the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. In existence since 1980, Coney Island USA has developed and produces a number of different programs including some of New York City's best-loved summer programming, such as the Mermaid Parade, the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, the Coney Island Museum, Burlesque at the Beach and the Coney Island Film Festival.

Photo courtesy Laure Leber. Copyright 2010.



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