Meet ARTIE COLATRELLA
Songwriter, lyricist, published poet, and…
in a fight for his life against terminal cancer.
Like millions of Americans, Poet and Songwriter Artie Colatrella (Felicity, Party of Five, Dangerous Minds, Staying Alive, Sleep Stalker) is facing a life threatening medical crisis. With his condition worsening, friends and family of the artist led by independent artist Lisa Nemzo have come together to help him with a video to tell his tale (www.youtube.com/user/lisanemzo) and a fund to help the artist live, http://artiecolatrellafund.com. “I had heard about problems like this, “ said Nemzo, “but until I saw it happen…I couldn’t imagine how people get tossed overboard and so lost in our health care system.”
Colatrella’s story is tragic and true. He has earned a living as a songwriter, lyricist and published poet in Los Angeles, where he is a respected artisan and a vital part of the creative community. His work has been featured in TV shows such as “Felicity,” “Party of Five” and “Dangerous Minds”; and in the films “Staying Alive” and “Sleep Stalker.”
Singer/songwriter Lisa Nemzo was heartbroken when she learned that her long time friend and lyricist was dying of cancer, but her sorrow turned to anger when she found out the circumstances. Colatrella had been badly treated by the nation’s healthcare system, a system Nemzo thinks is broken and out of control. “Even a basic timely check up could have prevented this,” she says. “The treatment that could have helped arrest Artie’s cancer just didn’t reach him in time. Artie’s story is not unique. This is happening to thousands of people every day and it is unforgiveable.
In May 2007, Colatrella found a lump the size of a marble on the side of his rib cage. During a subsequent checkup he pointed this out to the doctors and was informed they would order an ultrasound. After waiting six weeks to obtain an appointment, the lump had grown to a six-pound tumor engulfing his kidney. The clinic sent Colatrella by taxi to a local County Hospital where he waited 23 hours to be admitted. He underwent emergency surgery to remove his kidney and a large malignant tumor. The surgeons had to leave remaining malignant cells as they proved inoperable. He was diagnosed with renal cancer and released. Despite the knowledge of the remaining malignant cells, he was never given standard follow-up chemotherapy or radiation. This was a dangerous turn of events. Like breast and colon cancer, renal cancer can easily show up in another part of the body – as it has with Colatrella.
For six months, lost medical records and red tape prevented Colatrella from receiving care. Frustrated by this denial, Nemzo stepped up to the plate. Organizing friends and family, she held a benefit concert to raise money for Colatrella’s essentials, including support, nutrition, medication and assistance. She called on a friend in Nashville, Dr. Mace Rothenberg, who was able to quality Colatrella for a program designed to help terminally ill patients extend their lives.
The genesis of the video “Artie’s Story” began with Nemzo collaboration with Colatrella on their song, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me.” Whenever Nemzo performed the song, she would speak about her co-writing experience with Colatrella and about his current challenges. ”People started responding with donations,” Nemzo said. “The song took on a life of its own. It was as if the music was addressing Artie’s cancer and telling us to do something with it.”
Lisa recruited a film crew, who donated their time and equipment to create a video of “Artie’s Story” and a performance of “Baby Don’t Hurt Me.” Lisa established a fund for Colatrella and a link on her website. The video is posted at www.lisanemzo.com and www.youtube.com/user/lisanemzo. Nemzo’s plea is for everyone to visit the site and donate what they can to provide health care and assistance for the remainder of Colatrella’s life.
Contribute to the Fund: http://artiecolatrellafund.com - and Bring Artie’s Story to Your Town
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MUSICAL GUEST: JACKIE RYAN
Jackie Ryan’s latest release, Doozy via Open Art, recently held the #1 position on JazzWeek’s industry-standard chart for seven weeks and has been called “One of the most satisfying albums to come along this year, or any year.” Doozy is only the second album in history to hold #1 slot on the JazzWeek charts for 7 weeks. The only other vocalist to exceed this milestone is Diana Krall (w/ From This Moment On). An achievement in itself, but even more impressive is the fact the album reigned at the top of the charts with only 2 weeks of radio play! In addition, Ryan has been noted as a featured artist on NPR, CNN en Espanol, Voice of America, and Primetime A&E.
A little bit about Jackie’s background:
Her mother’s family came from Acapulco. During the Mexican Revolution, living in this city became dangerous. So her grandfather brought all the children onto a ship and swam ashore each day to get them milk. Finally they moved to San Francisco - to an area called “Butcher’s Town” where all the immigrants of different cultures lived. Her father’s family, being Irish, also lived there and this is where Jackie’s mother and father met - in a church choir where they both sang. Children of Mexican and Irish marriages were not uncommon, both groups being Catholic (the gifted actor Anthony Quinn being an early example).
Jackie’s multicultural heritage (Mexican, Irish, Spanish and French) and her natural affinity for singing in several languages (she sings in English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese) has added to her increasing international acclaim. So it is not by accident that her appeal “bridges the gap between both geography and generations,” as BILLBOARD so aptly put it. She was born to it.
CNN TV en Espanol devoted an entire 15 minute segment to Jackie which was broadcast on television worldwide.
www.jackieryanmusic.com
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