Tune In and Tune Up Lends a Hand to Musicians This Holiday Season

Don Culp (left) Michael “Tunes” Antunes (middle) and Doc Puerini (right) presenting Antunes with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Every year The Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame takes a moment to go through all the members the music community lost the previous year to later spotlight at their annual event. About nine years ago while making the list, Don Cup, along with Ross Gusetti, noticed that the list wasn’t just getting bigger, it was also featuring more and more younger musicians. In noticing this issue, Culp thought back to his own music career, most prominently being the drummer for The Beaver Brown Band for decades, and how demanding, and at times unhealthy, the lifestyle is.

“Being a musician can really wear you out. You get home late and have to be up early to go to work in the morning,” says Culp. “No one’s really focused on taking care of themselves. A lot of musicians turn to drugs and alcohol to get through.”

This realization caused him to start Tune In and Tune Up, a nonprofit health awareness program for Rhode Island musicians. Culp eventually joined forces with Al Puerini, a retired physician, to take the nonprofit to the next level. The two work as Co- Directors, with a team of physical and behavioral health professionals working together for the organization. The organization helps musicians and music workers, ie stage managers, bookers, and promoters, among others, who are struggling to look after themselves.

Since its founding in 2011, the organization has put over 40 thousand dollars into the community to help their target demographic. Those in the music industry can apply for help through the organizations website. Some of Tune In and Tune Up’s success stories include helping a woman in the music community afford glasses, providing proper care to an amputee and even paying for Culps band mate to get a new set of teeth, after his wore out after years of saxophone playing.

The nonprofit doesn’t just deal with physical issues. Culp has dealt with mental health issues, specifically depression, for decades and knows first-hand how difficult it can be to get proper mental health care. That’s why he decided to start Trouble No More, the mental health branch of Tune In and Tune Up.

“Trouble no more came about from witnessing how musicians were doing during the whole Covid- 19 experience. A lot of what we’ve done is in response to the needs of the music community,” says Culp. “I saw a real downward spiral during Covid because when you can’t perform you can’t get paid, and it really wears on you.”

Tune In and Tune Up on The Rhode Show.

The organization has partnered with businesses to help them bring their mission to life. Their partnership with Stop and Shop has helped them give out close to 20 thousand dollars in gift cards to musicians who qualify, helping them afford food and other needs the store provides. During the holidays the requests for aid grow larger, especially with recent SNAP and WIC cuts. Thankfully Stop and Shop has offered a 5% kickback to help lessen the costs the nonprofit spends.

“Stop and Shop works well because they promote a healthy lifestyle; they don’t sell liquor or cigarettes,” says Puerini. “A big part of this partnership is to educate our music community on better eating and drinking habits.”

Along with applying for grants under their 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, the organization also holds fundraisers throughout the year. Notable fundraisers being AlSTOCK, a music festival, and Give the Drummer Some, a drumathon which takes place at The Met. Figures in the music community aid in the organizations mission, leading Tune In and Tune Up to begin giving out awards to recognize prominent figures helping the organizations goal. Notable winners include Rich Lupo, owner of The Met and Lupos Heartbreak Hotel (now The Strand), and Kathy Swank, a mental health therapist who provides her services to the organization.

“We want people to know, money aside, we’re here for them. I’ll have people call me to talk about drumming or with questions about their health, just to have someone to talk to,” says Culp. “You feel alone in this business, it’s nice to know that there’s an organization that’s goal is to help you.”

Tune In and Tune Up accepts rolling donations through their website. Visit their website here for more information on how to apply for aid.