May 21, 2004
A pillar of the music community
On the east side of Athens there’s a strange-looking purple-colored building on the corner of Oconee and Williams streets. University of Georgia students pass it by every day, with no clue as to what purpose the building serves.
The name of the place is Nuçi’s Space.
It’s home to the Nuçi Phillips Memorial Foundation. And in four years the foundation has helped more than 300 local musicians in times of need.
"The numbers are growing exponentially," says Will Kiser, director of development at Nuçi’s Space. “It’s kind of a snowball effect. People are finding out about the place through word-of-mouth. And people are becoming more and more comfortable talking about mental health. So they’re getting more comfortable coming to see us when they need help." ...
But providing medical attention for musicians is not the only facet of Nuçi’s Space. The foundation also provides practice space for local bands. At prices ranging from $6 to $10 an hour, a band can rent out one of the four sound-proof rooms inside the building.
"There’s drums and a PA system in each room. So drummers can just show up with their cymbals and their sticks," says Kiser.
And the money made from this benefits Nuçi’s Space. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the emotional, physical and occupational well-being of the music community.
The space also provides physicians on specified days. Musicians who don’t have health insurance can make an appointment to see a doctor for $10.
The foundation has a growing library of magazines and books on mental health and spirituality. There’s an open computer in the library too, so that musicians can come in and check their e-mail during practice.
Founded in 1999 by Linda Phillips, the space was formed in memorial of her son, Nuçi.
Nuçi was an Athens musician and University of Georgia student. He was a psychology major, and a rising local guitar player. In 1996, at the age of 22, he committed suicide.
Nuçi could not find counseling at a time when he needed it the most.
Linda Phillips started the foundation to help out area musicians like her son.
"Many of the musicians in this city work in the service industry, where they don’t offer insurance. And basically they’re stuck. Because they don’t have insurance and they can’t afford a psychiatrist. So they come in, and we set them up with a counselor," says Kiser.
The foundation covers most of the cost for counseling. But they do prefer that the musician help with the cost by paying $10. Nuçi’s also helps the musician pay for medication.
"Last year we spent over $40,000 on counseling and medication. So it’s gone up a lot every year,” says Kiser.
Nuçi’s raises a lot of the money for the foundation by hosting concerts. Local bands like the Drive-By Truckers and the B-52's have been instrumental in this cause.
"We have some people who help us out who don’t necessarily have that much to give. I mean it’s not like the Drive-By Truckers are rich. They just really like what we do.”
Other local bands that have played benefit shows for Nuçi’s Space include hope for agoldensummer, Audition with Max Reinhardt, eLeMeN.O.P., Five-Eight, and Ishues.
Kiser says that everybody has been very generous in the way of giving the foundation donations and grants. Yamaha and Shure Microphones have both donated equipment to the foundation. "A lot of people have been really good to us."
Linda Phillips comes in to the space on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She makes the commute from her Atlanta home to personally see that those musicians who have come to the foundation for assistance, get what they came for.
"And then she follows up on them," says Kiser. "You know, she’ll call and find out how they’re doing after they’ve gotten treatment.”
Nuçi’s Space exists, put simply, to help local musicians. "We’re at the point where we just want people to know about what we do. People drive by and it’s kind of unusual-looking. And I guess they’re not really sure who we are yet," says Kiser.
"We just wanna be a safe haven for people who are down or having trouble. They can hang out here and play music, or talk to us."
To volunteer at Nuçi’s Space, go to their Web site at nuci.org, and fill out a form. Or to book practice space, call the main office at (706) 227-1515.