Corey Paige fundraised an amazing amount of money for multiple charites with his GTFI livestream shows. Among the recipients were: We Rise Above the Streets, I am ALS, HEAL, Adopt a Classroom and Hope for the Holidays. See the full list of charities on his website. Many events that would normally take place to benefit these causes were put on hold in 2020 but Paige and his fans came through in a big way.
MT: Hi Corey, you organized some really great fundraising livestreams. Congratulations on raising so much for SO many charities. Tell me about the idea you had to fundraise for different causes each show.
CP: Thanks Misse, I really appreciate it. I think when COVID first hit I realized quickly that I wasn’t going to be playing out for a while, and that I’d better find something to do to keep from losing my mind. A few other musicians I know had been doing a little streaming and I thought it would be a fun way to keep busy and keep playing. Also, I was lucky enough to not be out of work, so I thought I’d try and raise money for some causes I care about.
MT: I enjoy hearing your original songs. It looks like you have a lot of dedicated fans from Candid that showed up. A band’s fan base can say a lot about them….
CP: Hmmm, I’m not sure what this bunch says about me exactly—you’d have to ask them I suppose. But I am eternally grateful for them. There were quite a few viewers that showed up for every single stream and donated every time. I’m very lucky to have so many people that enjoy my original music enough to watch me every week.
MT: Did you have a favorite or most meaningful GTFI?
CP: I think my favorite was when my friend and Candid guitarist JP Midgley joined me (he was my only “guest”). For those that haven’t tried it, streaming in a room by yourself as opposed to playing in front of an audience is really weird and strangely nerve-racking. It was nice to have another human to play with.
MT: I saw that one. It was a lot of fun to watch the chemistry between you two. I lost my favorite person in the world to ALS so I appreciate your charity and I’m sure many others share that gratitude. Do you have any livestreams planned for 2021?
CP: Nothing solid yet, but I’m sure I’ll be doing more of them soon. People can follow me on Facebook or Instagram where I always announce them. There’s also more info at gtfishow.com.
MT: What thoughts do you have on how the pandemic affected your creativity or lifestyle?
CP: I was actually just talking to a friend about this today. I thought all of this extra time indoors would spur me to write and be creative more often, but honestly it kind of had the opposite effect. I’m not sure about other songwriters, artists, etc., but it seems like I’ve had to work extra hard to get myself in gear.
MT: Well, you definitely made an impact with your time livestreaming. How much did you raise in total?
CP: Between people sending money directly through me, and what others reported they donated directly to the charities, we raised $17,906 over 19 weeks.
Be sure to follow Paige’s website and socials for more from GTFI.
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