As part of The Pixel Project’s Music For Pixels Summer Charity Concert, we talk to the music artists who have participated in the concert about why they are using their music to speak out and to say NO to violence against women.
Our eighteenth featured artist is Philadelphia raised and Los Angeles based Indie Singer/Songwriter Mary Scholz. Mary has spent the past seven years on the road, playing shows in songwriter venues and festivals all over the country. Singing since the age of four and writing since the age of fourteen, Mary’s music is a blend of lyric folk & pop/rock with a bittersweet twist that puts her in a category of her own. She’s come a long way since her start singing in choirs, school shows and playing in the school band, with a 2011 Hollywood Music and Media Award nomination for her song, “Tennessee,” released on her third EP, “Water Rising.” A graduate of The University of the Arts, Scholz released her first full length album, “The Girl You Thought You Knew,” in February of 2014. It’s release was supported by a three month tour of the US. “I write about things that matter to me – things that are close to my heart. It’s my hope that through music we can connect to one another, to better understand that we are all alike and that no one is alone.” To find out more about Mary, follow her on Facebook, or check out her videos on YouTube.
The Music For Pixels Summer Charity Concert was held in support of the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign in benefit of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and The Pixel Project. Donate at just US$1 per pixel to reveal the mystery Celebrity Male Role Models and help raise US$1 million for the cause while raising awareness about the important role men and boys play in ending violence against women in their communities worldwide.
Donations begin at just US$1 and while the Music For Pixels Summer Charity Concert Indiegogo fundraiser is running from June 5th to July 5th 2015, donors can donate to get exclusive music and artist goodies ranging from personal Skype concerts to treat bundles for the serious music lover.
Tell us about yourself and why you have decided to take part in The Pixel Project’s Music For Pixels Summer Charity Concert.
It’s important to me that we bring awareness to this issue in any way that we can. Being able to use music as a platform for that is a wonderful thing – it makes it easier for me to raise my voice and be heard.
The fundraiser is in support of NCADV (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence), which works to promote helpful and necessary legislation, as well as provides support for victims of domestic violence, and The Pixel Project, which works to create change through facilitating awareness and discussion on social media platforms, where much of today’s news and information is gathered. The NCADV’s mission to care for those affected is hugely important to me – we must take care of each other. And the Pixel Project is working towards making it a real conversation, and there cannot be change without that.
Why is ending violence against women important to you?
Ending violence of any sort is important to me. And violence against women specifically spans generations, continents, cultures.
The smaller, less obvious representations of violence is overlooked and deemed acceptable – the large representations of it are ugly, and overlooked as a manner of avoiding an uncomfortable issue. Sweeping the topic away just perpetuates the problem.
Violence is used as a controlling tactic to put people in their place. Women are an integral part of our society. We should be working, together, to better that society. We are all human beings, and this is our world. Think about what we could do with it if a huge percentage of our population weren’t living in fear for their safety.
In your opinion how does music help in efforts to end violence against women?
Music reaches people in a way that conversations, articles and news stories often do not. We absorb information in a different, more open way with music. We take it to heart. It promotes introspection and awareness of your own internal instincts of what is important to you. Consciousness promotes action. For me, musically, my role is to reach those who have, or are in, the struggle. To remind them that they are beautiful, that there is hope, and that their life and freedom is always worth fighting for.
What actions can music artists take to help end violence against women?
Start the conversation. Be a living example. Write to reach those who need to be reached.