It was a slow day in Columbus Ohio for the press. There were three members of the press for the eight artists. Yungchen Lhamo, Madeleine Peyroux, Lisa Loeb, Sarah McLachlan, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers (The Indigo Girls), Michelle Malone and Patty Griffin sat patiently as questions were asked of them.
Amy and Emily had a chance to mention the benefit concerts they are involved with called Honor The Earth. Emily began by describing Honor The Earth as a "grassroots environmental group" which takes the money to multinational corporations. The focus for the concerts in September will be nuclear waste storage.
Lisa Loeb was asked if Emmylou Harris, who has been guesting in on backing vocals for Lisa's song "Falling In Love" would be appearing on Lisa's new record. Lisa said that the track had already been recorded with Shaun Colvin on backing vocals. Lisa, who is mastering her record tomorrow, said she hoped to have Emmylou's vocals on a b-side for the song.
Yungchen Lhamo, speaking through her husband and interpreter Sam, mentioned her reason for starting the Yungchen Lhamo Foundation which raises money to sponsor projects for Tibetan women. Yungchen said that most organizations which aid Tibet do not focus on women and children. "Reflecting the experiences that I had growing up in labour camps where I worked form the age of five I realized that much of the help the west gives does not reach in particular single mothers and women outside of the aid system."
Yungchen was then asked how it felt to be helping women in Tibet when she herself cannot return to Tibet due to the political situation there. She said "there is no sadness worse than not being able to return to your homeland. But to be able to know that you are somehow enriching the lives of the people there is some kind of compensation. The first project that we are doing is building a dormitory for orphans that have arrived in northern India at the Tibetan TCB schools. In the future no matter what happens I will find a way back into Tibet at whatever cost."
A donation of $15,800 was given to the Ohio Coalition on Sexual Assault. Lilith Concourse Manager Donna Westmoreland accepted the donation for the OCSA.
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